Chapter II

ROUTE. BIRMINGHAM TO WOLVERHAMPTON, Fourteen Miles.

BIRMINGHAM AND VAUXHALL STATION.

Distance to Liverpool and Manchester, 97.25 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

*** Those printed in small capitals are market towns.

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_.
Edgbaston 2.5 miles. Erdington 3 miles.
Harborne 4 -- Castle Bromwich 4.5 --
HALESOWEN 8.5 -- SUTTON COLDFIELD 6.5 --
STOURBRIDGE 12.5 -- Water Orton 6.5 --
Curdworth 7.5 --
COLESHILL 8.5 --
Wishaw 9 --
Middleton 9.5 --
Drayton Bassett 11.5 --
TAMWORTH 13 --

THE Birmingham Station of the Grand Junction railway, closely adjoins that of the London and Birmingham, which greatly facilitates the arrangements of travellers proceeding along the entire line. Until the completion of the permanent buildings, those at Vauxhall have been temporarily used. To a stranger coming into the station-yard for the first time, the whole scene is one of great novelty: the long train of treble-bodied coaches, waiting under a broad covered way for passengers and baggage; the bustle and animation of the host of porters, guards, conductors, &c.; the amazement depicted on some of the faces of the lookers-on; the state of "intellectual complication" evinced by others, especially those who, having various items of property to convey with them, are tremblingly solicitous for the welfare of sundry "red-striped carpet bags, trunks with wrappering over," bandboxes which will be ruined by a drop of rain, and fish-baskets which have a mortal antipathy to be squeezed. Other important-looking passengers make up their minds to take things as a matter of course, and not betray any vulgar surprise; and from their extremely over-done _nonchalance_, would fain persuade you they had made a journey round the globe in a first-rate train, and reached the antipodes by a tunnel. These valiant and adventurous individuals are by far the severest sufferers by the anti-cigar-act, passed by the Company, for which the unsmoking part of the community, especially the fair sex, are greatly indebted. The traveller may refer to the company's regulations at full, in the appendix at the end of this volume. Supposing all preliminaries adjusted, we commence our journey.

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Passing the station at Vauxhall, (closely adjoining to which are Vauxhall Gardens,) the railroad proceeds by Duddeston, and passes over the Coleshill road near Saltley Chapel, a small pigeon-house like edifice to the E. of the line. Aston Church soon appears on the W., above the rich woods surrounding it; and the high chimney of the Birmingham Water Works (lately established to supply the town) is passed on the E. The steam engines, Hercules and Atlas, erected here for pumping the water from the reservoir, into the pipes for conveyance to Birmingham, are perhaps the grandest and most perfect of their kind ever fabricated. Yardley Village and Perry Barr form the distant view. The railroad now passes over the Aston embankment, and a viaduct of ten arches, beneath which runs the high road to Sutton, and the Fazeley Canal. From this point the last view is gained of the town of Birmingham, on the W.; and on the E. a prospect of Gravelly Hill, now nearly levelled, and the village of Erdington. A short distance onwards the line passes the front of Aston Hall, a fine old baronial residence in the Elizabethan style of architecture, erected by Sir Thomas Holt in 1620, and in which he entertained Charles I. previously to the battle of Edge Hill. It is situated in a fine park, richly ornamented with stately timber of ancient growth, and thriving modern plantations. All the views of this fine old mansion are strikingly beautiful; but the one commanded from the railroad line, looking up the avenue of lofty elms, (which the line crosses,) is the most imposing.

James Watt, Esq., the present proprietor, has, it is said, expended
10,000 in preventing the line of railroad from passing through his
park, which the Company intended it to do; and in consequence of this
opposition a great curve appears in the course of the line at this
part. Iron works in the neighbourhood have been in operation from
remote antiquity. {14}

[Picture: Aston Hall]

The Church, which re-appears at several points of the line, is a beautiful and venerable structure, with a fine tapering spire, and remarkably musical bells, the sweet tones of which will scarcely reach the ears of railroad travellers. Part of the village of Aston is observable from the railroad, and also the grounds and fish-pans of its "Tavern," a spot much frequented by tea (and ale) drinking parties from Birmingham.

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One very agreeable feature of the scenery on the line, is the unspoiled freshness and verdure of the ground on either side. The idea most persons entertain respecting such astounding innovations on ancient usages as steam carriages and railroads is, that they spread desolation around their path, and that the track of a locomotive engine must necessarily be as devastating in its effects as that of a lava course. We candidly confess to something akin to this suspicion ourselves. But all "Grand Junction" patrons must be gratified to find such expectations disappointed so pleasingly in the cheerful aspect of the fields, groves, and "little running brooks," closely bordering the excavations or embankments. Cattle are quietly feeding just on the other side the fence, and gay wildflowers already enamel the newly-made banks. Sometimes, certainly, a horse or cow may be abruptly interrupted in a quiet meditation by the rapid rushing by of a "Centaur" or "Alecto," with its lengthened _tail_ of many ponderous joints; and one accident, very singular, if true, occurred lately. A certain luckless individual of the pig family, having too far indulged an imprudent spirit of investigation on the Bilston portion of the line, had his curly conclusion very summarily amputated by a passing train:--he turned round briskly to ascertain the extent of his calamity, when another train, whirling along in an opposite direction, coming in contact with his head, put a period to the enterprising animal's existence by an instant decapitation. We might draw a wise and serious moral from this "cutting" event, but the fact presents a sufficient warning to all persons inclined to incur the penalty of two pounds in sterling coin, and limbs _ad libitum_, for the sake of a promenade on the forbidden ground. "Digression is a sin,"--on the defunct pig's head be ours! But for his tragic history, we should, ere this, have introduced the hill of these parts, Barr Beacon, to our readers; it appears to the N.E., crowned with a dense grove of trees. The intervening scenery is cheerful and cultivated, but not picturesque. The village of Witton shortly appears to the E., with Barr lying on the N.E. The bridge here passed is on the boundary of Warwickshire and Staffordshire, which latter county the line now enters. Aston Hall and Church again come in sight beyond Witton, and form a beautiful rear view, which is soon shut out by the banks of the excavation, precluding all prospect save of their own sloping sides, the pebbles and markings in which are made, by the rapidity of passing, to appear like flying lines.

Perry Barr Station.

Distance to Birmingham, 3.5--Liverpool and Manchester, 94 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_.
Handsworth 1 mile Perry .75 mile
Aston 1 -- Erdington 2.75 miles
Smethwick 4.25 miles SUTTON COLDFIELD 5 --
Little Aston 6 --
Shenstone 8.5 --

[Picture: Aston Church and Viaduct]

At this station, the line makes a considerable curve in an opposite direction to that hitherto followed, and passes Handsworth, (the church appearing among wood on the W.,) also Lea Hall, on the W., and over two bridges, named from J. Gough, Esq., through whose estate the line runs for two miles. Pleasant, quiet-looking scenery skirts the road for some distance, and about a mile from the last bridge, a view is gained of Perry Hall, seat of J. Gough, Esq., nearly encompassed by a grove of oak trees. At Hampstead Bridge, the old Walsall road crosses the line; and on either side the prospect is pleasantly varied by wood and water. Hampstead Hall, which lies near, is nearly concealed by its rich woods from the passers on the railroad. The line shortly enters a cutting, of from sixty to seventy feet deep; emerging from which into the open country, West Bromwich, and Sandwell Park, the seat of Earl Dartmouth, appear on the W., and Barr on the E. We now pass

Newton Road Station.

Distance to Birmingham, 6.75--Liverpool and Manchester, 90.75 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Place E. of Station_. West Bromwich 2 miles Great Barr 2.5 miles Oldbury 3.25 -- Rowley Regis 5 -- HALESOWEN 7.25 -- Cradley 7.25 -- The Lye 8.5 --

WEST BROMWICH has rapidly risen to importance from the rich iron and coal mines which abound in its vicinity. The great Gas Works are situated here, which supply the chief part of Birmingham, Wednesbury, Dudley, Bilston, Darlaston, and other places with gas; the main tubes extending to the aggregate length of 150 miles. There are two handsome churches, the one ancient, the other modern. Population, 15,330.

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The site of the present splendid mansion of Sandwell, was, in the reign of Henry II., occupied by a priory of Benedictine Monks. Charley Mount, pleasantly situated on a hill, appears W. of the line, Ray Hall and Burslem, or Bustleholm Mill, on the E. Before passing Tame Bridge, Barr Beacon again appears, heading the distant view. Friar Park is on the W., with the town and church of Wednesbury (usually pronounced Wedgebury), towering above the trees. Walsall appears from the same point, lying N.E. of the line.

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DUDLEY, a town in the centre of the mining district, lies 5.5 miles W. of the line. Population, 23,050. The ancient castle is a ruin of great beauty and interest, situated on an eminence, and surrounded with fine wood and beautiful walks. Stupendous cavern-quarries, canals, and labyrinthine excavations, extend under the Castle Hill. The limestone is remarkably rich in fossil treasures; trilobites, or, as they are vulgarly called, "Dudley locusts," have been found here in great variety, but from the eagerness of collectors, and the inadequate supply of these ancient creatures yielded by the rocks, they have become scarce and costly, instead of "not particularly valuable," as stated by a contemporary before alluded to.

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WEDNESBURY is a town of ancient origin, having been fortified against the Danes by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, in 916. Extensive collieries enrich the vicinity, and tend greatly to darken the complexion of both houses and inhabitants; the workers of the black diamond hereabout being a marvellously murky fraternity. Various manufactures of iron are here carried on, and the air is generally redolent of the fumes of coal-smoke in no small degree. The market is on Friday, and fairs May 6, and August 3.

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WALSALL boasts an equally ancient history with the former place, and was fortified by the same princess. It stands conspicuously on the summit and acclivities of a limestone rock, which is crowned by the church, the lofty spire of which forms a fine object. Market on Tuesday; fairs September 24, Whit Monday, and Tuesday before Michaelmas day. Proceeding onwards we pass under

Bescot Bridge Station.

Distance to Birmingham, 9.5--Liverpool and Manchester, 88 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_. WEDNESBURY 1 mile WALSALL 1.5 mile Tipton 4 miles Rushall 2.5 miles DUDLEY 5.5 -- Over Stonnal 6.5 -- Netherton 6.75 -- Lower Stonnal 7.5 -- Brierley Hill 8.25 -- Shenstone 9 -- King Swinford 8.5 -- LICHFIELD 11 -- Wordesley 9.25 -- The Lye 9.25 -- STOURBRIDGE 9.75 -- Old Swinford 10.5 --

THE main road from Wednesbury to Walsall crosses this bridge; pass Bescot Hall, (Mr. Marshall's,) on the E., and reach

James's Bridge Station.

Distance to Birmingham, 10.25--Liverpool and Manchester, 87.25 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_. Darlaston .75 mile Walsall 1.75 mile Coseley 3 miles

THE high road from Walsall crosses here to DARLASTON, (seen in the distance on the W.,) another town in the iron and coal district, and, according to tradition, the seat of Wulphere, king of Mercia, who put his two sons to death for embracing Christianity. On the hill at Berry Bank, are the remains of a large castle and entrenchments, and near by, a Barrow, which it were heresy to doubt were the residence and grave of this redoubtable personage. The chief manufactures of this, as of the neighbouring towns, consist of various iron and steel goods. The whole district is abundantly traversed by canals, tram-roads, &c., for the convenient conveyance of merchandise, and presents to the passing traveller less subject for praise in point of beauty, than for admiration and surprise, at the closely-placed engines, mills, coal-pits, iron-mines, and factories, which greet him on all sides, with hissing, curling volumes of white steam, or thick massy clouds of rolling smoke. Should the traveller journey through this strange neighbourhood by night, the novel and wild, not to say, grand, effect of the fires, must strike him forcibly. Huge furnaces glowing on the earth, from a dark wayside forge; tall chimneys, themselves not seen in the gloom, vomiting forth flames and fiery-coloured smoke, or a long range of glowing hillocks, where flickering blazes play from the charcoal burning within: add to these, the dusky figures of the men and boys employed in the works, and a stranger will have a scene before him, in which the "fearsome" is oddly enough blended with the grotesque.

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In the distance, S.W. of the line, appear the Rowley Hills, a ridge of trap or basaltic rock, which, at the time of its elevation, upheaved and broke through the coal strata. The stone being hard and compact, the hills are quarried for paving flags, &c.

"The principal mass of these (trap rocks) occurs in the southern part
of the county, overlying the coal-field which surrounds the town of
Dudley. It there constitutes the material of a group of hills,
beginning on the S. of that town, and terminating about half-way
between Halesowen and Oldbury, a little beyond the village of Rowley.
These hills consist of very pure basalt, which in the neighbourhood
of Birmingham is called Rowley rag, because the village of Rowley is
situated on one of these basalt hills; and this hill appears to the
eye to be the highest of the whole range. These hills are all
covered with soil; but quarries have been opened in many of them, and
the basalt of which they are composed is employed for mending the
roads. The streets of Birmingham are likewise paved with it. The
columnar structure, though very frequent, is far from universal in
this trap, which very commonly occurs in large spherical masses,
decomposing on the surface into concentric layers. An amygdaloidal
variety containing calcareous spar and zeolite occurs S. of Dudley.
The highest point of the Rowley Hills is stated by Dr. Thompson to be
900 feet above the Thames at Brentford."--CONYBEARE AND PHILLIPS'S
_Geology of England and Wales_.

Passing through a cutting of considerable depth, we arrive at

Willenhall Station.

Distance to Birmingham, 12--Liverpool and Manchester, 85.5 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_.
Bilston 1.5 mile Bloxwich 3 miles.
Sedgley 4.25 miles Pelsall 4.75 --
Lower Gornal 5.75 --
Himley 7.25 --

THE small town of Willenhall, at the period of the Norman survey, was called _Winehala_, the Saxon term for victory, probably from the great battle fought near it in 311. The village began to flourish in the reign of Elizabeth, when the iron manufacture was first established here: at present, it is noted for its collieries and flourishing trade in locks, and other articles of hardware. Population, about 5,900.

[Picture: Wednesfield Tunnel]

Nothing of particular interest occurs on either side of the line, till, in approaching the long Wednesfield tunnel, the geological traveller will observe the remarkable section formed by the excavation through the outcropping beds of coal, which in this part rise at a great angle towards the surface, and are worked in the neighbourhood by open cuttings. The complete change which this abrupt ending of the coal-field causes in the aspect of the country is very singular. On one side all is black and murky; on the other, green and bright.

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The tunnel is 180 yards in length, and the effect of a long train of carriages passing rapidly under, is novel and grand, nor less so the appearance of their emerging from the dark archway, to the expectant spectators at the

WOLVERHAMPTON STATION.

Distance to Birmingham, 14.25--Liverpool and Manchester, 83.25 miles.

DISTANCES BY ROADS FROM THIS STATION TO THE FOLLOWING PLACES:--

_Places W. of Station_. _Places E. of Station_. WOLVERHAMPTON (Town) 1 mile. Bushbury 1.75 mile. Tettenhall 2 miles. Wednesfield 1.75 -- Upper Penn 3.5 -- Codsall 4.5 -- Wombourne 5.25 -- Himley 6 -- Trysull 6 -- Pattingham 6.5 -- Albrighton 7 -- Donington 7.5 -- King Swinford 7.5 -- Bonningale 8 -- BRIDGENORTH 14 -- SHIFFNAL 14 --

THE panting and smoking engine, like a huge beast, rushing along with fiery jaws, and "such a length of tail behind," might, in a dark night, be easily suspected of being "no canny." Divers kinds of vehicles, from post-chaises and landaus, to caravans and _omnibii_ (as a refined friend of ours pluralizes these universal conveyances) are in attendance at this station, to convey passengers to the town of Wolverhampton, one mile distant, or to their future destination.

WOLVERHAMPTON is a place of considerable antiquity, and was called
Hanton or Hampton prior to the year 996, when Wulfrana, sister of
King Edgar, and widow of Aldhelm, Duke of Northampton, founded a
college here, endowing it with so many privileges that the town was
called in her honour, _Wulfranis Hampton_, of which its present name
is evidently a corruption. The College continued till the year 1200,
when Petrus Blesensis, who was then dean, after fruitless attempts to
reform the dissolute lives of the brethren, surrendered the
establishment to Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, and it was
subsequently annexed to the deanery of Windsor. In 1590, the greater
part of the town was destroyed by a fire, which continued burning for
five days. In the parliamentary war, Wolverhampton aided the
royalists, and Prince Rupert fixed his head-quarters here, while the
king was encamped at Bushbury.

The town is situated on an eminence, on the N.W. side of the great midland coal-district, and the neighbourhood abounds with iron, coal, and limestone. The manufacture of locks, forms here as in the other towns in the vicinity, the staple trade, to which may be added, smith's and carpenter's tools, machinery of all kinds, furnishing ironmongery, &c. The modern streets are well-built and lighted, and contain many handsome and substantial houses. A public Subscription Library and News-room, occupy the lower part of a commodious building, in which, assemblies and concerts are likewise held. A Literary and Philosophical Society is established, but not yet supported in a manner at all proportioned to its merits; a circumstance not reflecting much honour on the professedly intelligent and "higher" classes of the inhabitants. The Mechanics' Institution is in a more flourishing condition, for obvious reasons, being patronized by the more knowledge-loving part of the community. The Theatre is opened occasionally; it is a small and unpretending structure. Races are annually held in August, in an extensive area near the town, and are well attended. In the centre of the market-place stands a cast-iron column, forty-five feet high, surmounted by a large gas lantern, which was intended by its sanguine projector to enlighten the whole town and suburbs, but, alas for the great designs of short-sighted humanity!--its sphere of usefulness is unfortunately restricted to the attic and chamber windows of the houses immediately contiguous.

* * * * *

The Collegiate Church is an ancient and exceedingly beautiful cruciform structure, in the early decorated style of architecture, with a handsome square embattled tower rising from the centre. It contains a curious and elaborately-carved stone pulpit, formed of one entire block, an ancient font, and several interesting monuments. In the church-yard is a column, twenty feet high, greatly enriched with sculpture of various designs, supposed to be of either Saxon or Danish origin. There are several other churches in Wolverhampton, and many religious establishments belonging to various sects of dissenters; also a Free Grammar School, Blue Coat Charity, National, Sunday, and other Schools. The population of Wolverhampton is about 25,000; it has a market on Wednesday, and a fair on July 10.