Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton started off as a market town, although even as early as the 17th century it was renowned for making steel objects like jewellery and buckles, and sword hilts. There are a variety of reasons why it soon became an important town. To start with, in the 18th century it was on the road from Holyhead to London, and as a result of this many more people stopped off there, and so business grew and prospered. Other important industries were lock making and making enamel for things like snuff boxes, called ‘japanning’.

In the 19th century it became very famous for locks and iron goods. When the Great Western Railway came to Wolverhampton in the mid 19th century, a factory was built to make and repair locomotives for the railway. This led to bicycle making too.