Local Archaeological Projects

The next meeting of the Society takes place on Thursday 8th May at 7:30 pm in St. Andrew's Church, Bilston Street, Sedgley.

The very short Annual General Meeting is followed by a presentation featuring local excavations by Wolverhampton Archaeological Group [WAG]. The speaker is Martin Holland a leading member of the group.

WAG has been undertaking digs for over twenty years in the Black Country and farther afield. On our doorstep investigations at Himley Hall, Dudley Priory, Wrens Nest and Penn have been undertaken. Other notable digs cover West Bromwich, Brierley Hill and obviously the Wolverhampton area.

Television programmes like Time Team and Digging for Britain have created a countrywide surge of interest in archaeology. However, this evening is an opportunity to hear about our local digs and WAG's surprising finds literally under our feet.

Admission is £2 – exact amount appreciated.

2025 – Winter Teaser Answer

The image shows a church built before 1600. It was replaced during the reign of George IV and still welcomes worshippers today. We asked if you could name the church.

This sketch shows All Saints' Church in Sedgley around 1800. A balcony was added c.1660 to accommodate around 400 worshippers. Four bells hung in the tower in 1552 and six in 1720.

A mortuary chapel was built on the south side for the Homer family. These vaults can now be seen outside today's church.

It took from 1826 to 1829 to build a larger church on nearly the same footprint even encasing part of the previous tower. The peal increased to eight bells.

The old church was constructed in red sandstone, the new one in buff / greenish yellow Gornal sandstone.

Sedgley Heritage Trails

During 2019 two trails were researched covering nearly forty places of interest within easy walking distance of Sedgley Bull Ring.

A leaflet was then prepared by Sedgley Evening Townswomen's Guild with support from Sedgley People's Archive and Sedgley Local History Society. There was specialist help and advice from Dudley MBC who printed the final version.

The trails can be followed using the street map alongside notes and pictures.

Follow this link to download a copy of the leaflet and enjoy the trails.

2025 – Spring Teaser

The car in the the foreground was built by one of the most famous Black Country firms.

Send an email if you can name the manufacturer.

The SLHS 2024 / 2025 Programme

The 2024/2025 Programme promises a season of informative and stimulating talks from local experts.

Take your pick from presentations covering the Wren's Nest, transport accidents, short films, Woodsetton's pioneer of the iron industry, women in the glass industry and in May discoveries on local digs..... hopefully there's something for everyone.

Meetings take place at St. Andrew's Church on Bilston Street in Sedgley, and are scheduled for Oct / Nov 2024 and Jan / Feb / Mar / May 2025. The Society is very friendly and, as always, visitors will be most welcome.

Sedgley Local History Society [SLHS]

Sedgley Local History Society [SLHS] is a Black Country group based in the village of Sedgley, which is situated at the northern tip of Dudley Metropolitan Borough and just 3 miles south of the centre of Wolverhampton.

Here, the heritage of the Manor of Sedgley, in south Staffordshire, is focused through its nine villages - Sedgley, Gospel End, Cotwall End, Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal, Woodsetton, Coseley, Ettingshall and Brierley. A history of people, places and events.

Please contact us if you have any comments, suggestions, contributions or questions.

Please note that genealogy isn't a prime interest of SLHS - it's a huge specialist area in its own right. We provide a list of useful sites on our genealogy links page that will help you to begin your research, however if you have a specific query drop us a line!