West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology, Seminar 5: Shaw
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Priorities for the archaeology of the Black Country and
Birmingham in the medieval period
Mike Shaw
Black Country Archaeologist, Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough Council
Mikeshaw.wmbc@dial.pipex.com
INTRODUCTION
At first sight the choice of the Black Country and Birmingham as an area for study may
seem a peculiar one. The region has never formed a single entity on its own and before
the local government reorganisation of 1974 it was spread across three counties,
Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. It must be admitted that the reason for
doing so is largely accidental, in that it is that part of the short-lived West Midlands
County which remains after Coventry and Solihull have been removed. Nevertheless
there is a coherence within the region so long as it is remembered that it really divides
into two areas – the Black Country and Birmingham - with different but complementary
histories.
The Black Country contains a wide range of mineral resources, particularly coal, iron and
limestone. These have been exploited from an early period, the mining of all three being
recorded in the 13th century. Manufacture is also recorded from an early date – at
Walsall metalworking is recorded from the 14th century and leather working from the
15th century.
Birmingham lacks its own natural resources and has always had to rely on trading and
importing material. A market was in existence by the 12th century and leatherworking,
cloth dyeing and commercial metalworking are all attested by the late medieval period.
This difference in natural resources is matched by, and has perhaps largely led to, a
contrast in settlement form. The Black Country is composed of a large number of small
settlements, often cut out of the forest, which have only recently coalesced. Birmingham
on the other hand is largely a product of growth outwards from a single centre.
This contrast is matched by a separate cultural identity and woe betide any outsider who
unwittingly conflates or confuses the two areas. Hence in 1952 the broadcaster Phil
Drabble railed against …Strangers in their ignorance who even confuse the Black
Country with Birmingham, while in 1970 Vivian Bird commented that …The greatest
insult that can be levelled at a Brummie is to equate him with a Blackcountryman.
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WHAT DO WE KNOW?
The medieval-period archaeology of the Black Country and Birmingham has been little
studied, perhaps because the area has been seen as of interest largely or even solely for its
post-medieval industrial archaeology. The region does, however, contain medieval sites,
which are of interest both for their own intrinsic merit and also as a background for the
later developments. We stand little chance of fully understanding the industrial
development of these areas from the 18th century onwards if we have no idea of what
preceded it or of the extent of industrialisation and exploitation of resources at earlier
periods.
As elsewhere, the archaeology of the Black Country and Birmingham is represented by a
wide range of sites and monuments. The degree of survival may be less than many other
places but this makes what does survive more important. The region is a sufficiently
distinctive one, with its reliance on industry from an early date, for us to be able to say
that the detail of its archaeology for this period, as for other periods, will differ from other
regions, particularly those with a larger dependence on agriculture. Accordingly analogy
with other areas will not be sufficient in reconstructing the archaeology of this region.
The history of research in the area can be divided into three phases: the pre-Rescue era
(before the early 1970s) when work was small-scale and largely amateur or university
based; the Rescue era from the early 1970s to 1990 when work was more intensive and
more concentrated on work ahead of development or other threats, funding at this time
was largely from Central Government through the then Department of the Environment or
from the Manpower Services Commission as part of a Job Creation Scheme; and the
post-1990 PPG 16 era when planning guidance has been used to require the evaluation
and preservation or excavation of archaeological sites. This latest phase has seen an
increase in the amount of work although much of it has been small-scale and piecemeal.
Nevertheless when properly directed this has led to significant advances in knowledge
and in some cases to larger schemes of work. The challenge here is to ensure that the
plethora of work undertaken is done with a specific purpose in mind and is disseminated
to a wider audience.
It is in the study of urban settlements that the greatest advances have been, and are being,
made. The excavations around Birmingham's Bull Ring and in Dudley's historic centre
have demonstrated that archaeological deposits do survive in the region's major centres
and that these deposits contain important information not available from other sources
including survival of organic remains, environmental evidence and industrial residues.
This work is currently transforming our knowledge of the early history of these
settlements and providing evidence for hitherto unsuspected periods of planned
expansion.
Recent work in the more minor urban settlements such as Bilston and Sutton Coldfield
has again demonstrated survival, but the scale of work is as yet insufficient to identify the
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nature of these settlements – largely urban or rural, agricultural or industrial – at this
period.
The rural settlement and landscape has been less studied, perhaps because where it
survives it is less threatened. Nevertheless the recent identification of a deserted
settlement and its surrounding fields at Cooper's Bank, Dudley, now scheduled, has
demonstrated that such evidence does survive and its relative infrequency makes it all the
more important that it is retained.
Archaeological excavations have been carried out at a number of castle sites within our
region, most notably at Dudley Castle. Here major excavations were carried out as part of
an MSC scheme in the 1980s. This work is not as yet, however, fully published.
So far as monastic sites are concerned the major piece of work has been at Sandwell
Priory which is notable both as a large-scale piece of work which included analysis of the
surrounding landscape and because it was fully published within three years of
completion.
We have seen there is documentary evidence of industry in our region in the medieval
period. Archaeological work has greatly amplified this, however. Hence at Dudley
ironworking residues are common on excavation sites from the 12th century levels
onwards and there is evidence of coal mining from the 15th century, while at Birmingham
evidence has been found for pottery manufacture, leather tanning and metalworking in the
13th century.
A number of medieval buildings do survive. The most visible of these of course are the
parish churches, many of which have surviving medieval fabric. Periods of building here
may indicate periods of prosperity. On the domestic scale timber buildings do survive,
many behind later facades. Hence in Wolverhampton the Old Dairy Farmhouse was
saved at the last moment when medieval timber framing was discovered during
demolition works. Subsequent study has demonstrated that it dates from at least the 15th
century. It has now been restored to something approaching its medieval form.
WHAT DO WE WANT TO KNOW AND HOW DO WE ADDRESS THE GAPS IN
OUR KNOWLEDGE?
Hence significant advances in our knowledge have been made but it is must be admitted
that there are massive gaps. How do we address these gaps?
Although this paper deals only with the medieval period many of the gaps and the ways
of addressing them apply for all periods. One for the historical period as a whole is the
use of documentary evidence. Recent archaeological work on the Old Hall at
Wolverhampton has been greatly amplified and informed by the analysis of the
documentary evidence. This has demonstrated that the construction of a large moated
mansion house in the 16th century was part of a display of wealth and prestige by the
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Leveson family who were at this time vying for the control of Wolverhampton. There is
undoubtedly a great deal of documentary evidence of similar value to archaeologists but
for the Black Country few historians seem to have looked at the records with a
topographical eye. John Hunt's work on the lordship of Dudley is an honourable
exception to this and points the way for future studies. There have been valuable studies
by historical geographers such as Terry Slater, Della Hooke and Nigel Baker and by
archaeologists using historical evidence but the integration of documentary with
archaeological evidence is in its infancy for our area.
Another means of addressing gaps is the wider and more consistent use of dating
evidence. In particular the use of dendrochronology for the dating of timbers from our
historic buildings may, as in other areas of the West Midlands region, demonstrate that
many buildings are older than previously thought.
The value of considering the landscape as a whole is demonstrated by John Hemingway's
map of medieval Dudley. Its very production forces us to think about the landscape as a
whole and what was in the gaps between the 'sites', and once produced it gives us a model
which can be tested. This also emphasises the importance of field studies of the overall
landscape such as those carried out for the Sutton Coldfield area by the Birmingham and
Warwickshire Field Group. The discovery of the deserted settlement at Cooper's Bank,
Dudley, emphasises that medieval sites can be found by fieldwork.
Related is the importance of characterisation. The emphasis here is slightly different as
characterisation projects tend to focus on the modern landscape and what survives within
it of former landscapes. A further value of characterisation is the ability it gives to
compare and contrast areas and settlements. Hence a comparison of the suggested extent
of Wolverhampton and Walsall at the medieval period informs the study of both areas.
They would appear to have been of a similar size although criteria such as tax returns
indicate that Wolverhampton was the more important of the two settlements.
If we turn to looking at work carried out under planning guidance, ahead of development
proposals, it should be emphasised that such work should be carried out at a sufficiently
large scale to determine definitely whether or not archaeological deposits do survive and
if so their state of preservation.
The recent work in Birmingham, Dudley,
Wolverhampton and other centres has demonstrated that islands of preservation do
survive even below intensively settled areas. Hence we cannot assume that because
archaeological deposits have been destroyed in a particular area of a proposed
development site that this holds true for the whole area. What is needed is careful
examination of the past history of the site, looking not just for its historical significance
but also its recent development history to determine areas of likely removal of deposits by
for example cellarage, terracing or quarrying/mining and for areas of likely preservation.
Then evaluation by trial trenching on a large scale is necessary and this trenching needs to
be of a sufficient width to enable the trench to be taken down to the depth of the natural
subsoil. It is not sufficient to dig a single machine bucket's width trench and then
discover that it is not safe to dig down to a greater depth. Where destruction of deposits
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during development is unavoidable excavation on a large scale beforehand is needed if a
reliable record of past activity is to be obtained. A targeted strategy for the work is
needed as well as sufficient resources to enable ancillary work such as the retrieval and
analysis of environmental information and industrial residues.
Given the massive gaps in our knowledge it is important that work is co-ordinated and
focused and that there is continuity of purpose. The need for long term strategies and
syntheses widely disseminated has been recognised and this project is addressing this
need. Equally there is a need to retain people with knowledge of the area and to
encourage their work whether it is carried out in a professional or voluntary capacity.
PRIORITIES
We have seen the numerous gaps in our knowledge and looked at ways of addressing
these, but we do need to set priorities and achievable targets for work. Once again many
of the priorities for the medieval period are applicable to many if not all of the other
periods.
Characterisation
An overwhelming priority is for an overall characterisation of the landscape of the Black
Country and Birmingham. English Heritage has been supporting programmes of Historic
Landscape Characterisation for rural regions over the last decade and is now interested in
extending this process to the more urban areas. Hence the time for a study of our region
is ripe and a proposal is currently under discussion.
Industry
Given its undoubted importance from the mid-18th century onwards a particular priority
for our area is to assess how important industry was to the economy of the area in the
medieval period and the interaction and interdependence between different parts of the
area (e.g. to what extent were Birmingham's raw materials supplied by the Black Country
at our period).
Publication
There is little point in carrying out archaeological work if this work is not fully analysed
and published. There is a particular need for the completion of the analysis and for
publication of the results of the major excavations at Dudley Castle as well as more minor
projects. Additionally it will be important to ensure in the future that syntheses are
undertaken and published of the numerous pieces of work being undertaken as part of the
development process. The proposed publication of the Birmingham sites analysed as part
of the Bull Ring development through Oxbow Books is a model for major work while a
synthesis of smaller projects bring undertaken in a particular area is appropriate for
publication in a county journal.
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Updating of Historic Environment Records
Publication is not of course the only form of dissemination of information and for many
sites and projects the best form of dissemination is via a local Historic Environment
Record. These are of course the old Sites and Monuments Records but widened to
include not just listed buildings but all historically important buildings and to include
landscapes as a whole. Apart from including a wider range of material there is still a
basic job of bringing them into line with current best practice in storage and retrieval of
information. Hand-in-hand with this is making the data more widely accessible through
placing it on web sites. Many Historic Environment Records have received Heritage
Lottery Funding for provision of access and this may well be a future project for our area.
The choice will be whether to place an entire Historic Environment Record on a web site
or whether to offer an edited and more comprehensible selection of the data.
Research
Given the finite amount of money for development-led archaeology and its in-built bias
towards sites with immediate development pressure there is a need to encourage a wider
range of research by both professional and amateur groups. This also has the advantage
of encouraging a wider range of people to take an interest in and interact with the historic
environment.
This encouragement should include working with academics and encouraging historians
to look at the documentary record with a topographical eye and the encouragement of
field survey (by amateur groups etc). Given that the professional archaeologists currently
working within the area are already overstretched, however, how do we achieve this? A
recent application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a Community Heritage Officer for
Wolverhampton to encourage non-professional involvement in archaeology and local
history projects was turned down because it would create a precedent for elsewhere,
despite the fact that similar applications for more rural areas elsewhere in the country
were subsequently accepted!
Perception
This brings us to perhaps the most important priority for the archaeology and historic
environment of the Black Country and Birmingham – the need to overcome the
perception that the region is only of interest for its post-medieval industrial archaeology.
The great interest shown by local people in their past, as demonstrated time and time
again when open days and events are organised in the region, deserves better.
Acknowledgements
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This paper has benefited from discussion with other archaeologists and conservation
officers working in the area, particularly Mike Hodder at Birmingham, Pete Boland and
John Hemingway at Dudley and Sue Whitehouse at Wolverhampton.
Illustrations (draft list)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Excavations at Bull Ring, Birmingham
Excavations at Dudley Castle
Excavations at Sandwell Priory
Excavations at Netto site, Dudley
Old Dairy Farmhouse: before and after restoration?
Excavations at Old Hall, Wolverhampton
Map of medieval Dudley
Map of medieval Wolverhampton and Walsall