William White of Broom Bank, Sheffield produced his first “History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Staffordshire” in 1834 and updated it in 1851. The book includes a comprehensive history and trade directory for all of the towns and villages in Staffordshire, including Darlaston. The Darlaston parish directory includes the names of prominent residents and businesses in the town, and provides us with an insight into life at the time.

White only lists the main Darlaston streets, and often includes businesses that were actually in side streets. A good example is the Bush Inn that is listed as being in The Green instead of Bush Street. There is no mention of the Grand Junction Railway or James Bridge station which opened in 1837. By 1850 local industries were expanding thanks to the railway, and people were beginning to travel via the nearby station. Similarly no mention is made of the canal, other than that the town is situated nearby.

The directory was produced after the hey-day of gun lock making and so only includes 13 gun lock makers, similarly nail making was in decline and so only 9 manufacturers are listed, 4 of which were possibly from the same family, the Giles’s in Walsall Street and Cramp Hill.

Although 20 public houses are listed, many people purchased beer from beer houses, often located in the front room of a house. There are 73 such sellers listed, the number of which would eventually fall as the number and popularity of public houses increased. There were also 6 maltsters who would have made and sold beer and ale.

In 1851 large numbers of people were employed in the iron and steel factories. Darlaston Iron and Steel works had 1,000 employees, and George Addenbrooke’s Rough Hay Furnace & Foundry employed around 500. Many people would also have worked in the iron and steel factories at Moxley, and Wednesbury. The directory includes several family names which would later become well known as manufacturers in the iron and steel industries, including Garrington, Rubery, Longmore, and Golcher. Nuts, bolts and screws were also becoming an important industry. At the time there were 41 manufacturers.