One of the first companies in the town to have large workshops was S & R Carter of King's Hill Works, which was located off Birmingham Street, on a site later occupied by Darlaston Tram Depot.

The area around Birmingham Street in the 1830s. Based on the OS map from the 1831 to 1838 series.

In 1841, brothers Simeon and Reuben Carter were both coach smiths, Simeon living in Eldon Street, and Reuben in Darlaston Road. By 1842 they had started a manufacturing business, as can be seen from the following entry in the Wednesbury section of Pigot & Company's 1842 Directory:

Simeon Carter was baptised at St. Lawrence's Church, Darlaston on the 25th January, 1818. He was the son of James and Lucy Carter who came to Darlaston in about 1800. His brother, Reuben, was born on the 9th February, 1816. Simeon married Ann Jones, daughter of John and Lucy Jones, at All Saint's Church, West Bromwich on the 31st December, 1840. Reuben married Martha Bayley, daughter of Samuel and Mary Bayley, at St. Matthew's Church, Walsall on the 19th April, 1836.

Both families were keen Methodists and attended Pinfold Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and Darlaston Green Methodist Chapel.

The brothers acquired a house, workshop and yard on 683 square metres of land  alongside a small alley on the western side of Birmingham Street (then known as King’s Hill Road), roughly on the site of  Corns Street. It can be seen on the 1846 Wednesbury tithe map. By 1851 the brothers and their families were living in two adjacent houses on the northern side of the Black Horse pub, in what is now called Old Park Road.

In the 1851 census the brothers are described as master smiths employing seven men. The census lists two apprentices at Reuben Carter’s house, and another at Simeon’s House, who were presumably employees. They were William Cooper, Henry Mansey, and Isaac Ennes. The firm is listed in Kelly’s Directory for that year as railway carriage and coach smiths, manufacturing railway carriage and coach bolts, draw links, steps and brakes, buffer rods, and ironwork of every description.

By 1860 the business had grown. It is listed in the 1860 Kelly’s Directory as S & R Carter, King’s Hill Works, contractors and manufacturers of iron bridges, girders, tanks, boilers, wrought iron roofs, fastenings and every description of railway ironwork. To produce these products, the firm would have required more and larger workshops, more staff, and more space. It is likely that some of the empty surrounding land was acquired from the owner, James Corns.

From Harrison, Harrod & Company's Directory & Gazetteer of Staffordshire, published in 1861.

In the 1861 census the brothers are listed as railway iron manufacturers. By this time their three eldest sons also worked in the business. In 1862 building work began on the London & North Western Railway’s Darlaston Branch, which opened on 1st September, 1863. It ran from a junction on the main line at James Bridge, through Darlaston town centre, to a junction close to Wednesbury Town Station, on the line from Walsall to Dudley. It included Darlaston Town Station, situated in the cutting between Walsall Road, and Darlaston Road. The railway, which ran close to King’s Hill Works, included a siding that ran directly to the factory. It must have been extremely useful to the firm. Large amounts of goods were transported by the railway company, both day and night, serving many factories along the route.

By this time Simeon Carter was running the business alone, because Reuben died on 27th March, 1863 at the early age of 47. The firm now employed a considerable number of people. An article appeared in the Worcestershire Chronicle on 17th August, 1864 that described a works’ outing to Malvern. Around three hundred people enjoyed their day out, which had been paid-for by the management. The group would have included not only employees, but also close family members, as well as a band of musicians from Bilston. The large number of employees gives an indication of the scale of the operation at the factory.

The following notice of a creditors meeting appeared in The Manchester Courier & Lancashire Advertiser on 20th July 1866:

Simeon Carter declared himself bankrupt and offered to pay his creditors 10 shillings in the pound on their respective debts, in three instalments. The first of 5 shillings, followed by two others of 2s. 6d.The offer appeared in the following notice in the London Gazette on 7th August, 1866:

The following notice of his bankruptcy appeared in the London Gazette:

A meeting of the creditors was held in James Slater's office on 6th March, 1867, during which most of those present agreed to accept his offer, and take no further action. As a result he was  discharged from bankruptcy on 15th May, 1867, and made the final payment to his creditors in July 1868.

On 15th June, 1867 an advert appeared in the Birmingham Gazette for the sale at auction of King's Hill Works. It includes a list of the workshops, and plant, and gives a good impression of the layout of the site:

As can be seen from the above description, the factory in its final form covered quite a large area. The auction was held at The Castle Hotel in Pinfold Street, on Monday 24th June, 1867 at 5 p.m. followed by a second auction at the site, on Wednesday 26th June.

The site was acquired by the Staffordshire Tramways Company Limited for the building of the Darlaston Tram Depot which opened in 1883.

The advert for the sale of the tram depot in 1927 also includes the dimensions of the site.

Simeon died in Tipton in 1890 at the age of 72. He was buried near his wife, his mother and his parents-in-law in the burial ground behind Pinfold Street Chapel. Two of his children were also buried there.