The first known prior was Prior John who appeared as a witness to an undated deed, possibly between 1194 and 1216. The Manor of Handsworth adjoined the land on which the priory was built. Handsworth was under the control of the de Parles family. The next known prior, Prior Reginald, was nominated for the position by William de Parles, during the reign of King John, which ended in 1216. The right to nominate priors was shared between West Bromwich and Handsworth. At this time there was a dispute about the boundary between West Bromwich and Handsworth. William de Parles sued the prior over ten acres of land in West Bromwich and in the following year there was a second dispute over ten acres of land in Handsworth. The dispute dragged on for ten years until Richard Fitz Guy intervened and William de Parles withdrew his claim in return for 100 shillings in compensation.

The 14th century was a difficult time because of the Black Death, which in Europe caused the death of up to 200 million people between 1347 and 1351. This followed the great famine between 1315 and 1317 which in Europe killed 30 to 60 percent of the population. As a result, the local population, which was small anyway, would have been further reduced. This may have contributed to the decision to reduce the size of the church, which in the 15th century could not be supported by the small population. A survey in 1526 recorded that the chancel was now 41 feet long by 18 feet wide and the nave was 57 feet long by 18 feet wide. In 1349 when Prior Richard le Warde died, Nicholas de Cumpton was the only monk in the community, so he became prior. In 1361, Prior William del Ree died, and again there was only one other monk in the community, Henry of Kidderminster, who became the new prior. By this time the property was neglected and not properly managed financially. The woodland and fences were also neglected and some of the land was let on leases that were too long.

In 1370 John de Kyngeston was prior, which was not liked by Shrewsbury Abbey, also a Benedictine establishment. The Abbot of Shrewsbury, Nicholas Stevens, encouraged Richard Tudenham to put himself forward as the rightful prior. Shrewsbury Abbey’s attempt to take over at Sandwell led to an assault on John de Kyngeston by five men. Kyngeston alleged that John de Witton had wounded him in the arm with an arrow. He also initiated a case against the Abbot, but the outcome is not known and also stated that he had been assaulted at Sandwell Priory by a gang, including the Abbot, Nicholas Stevens, along with Richard de Westbury and Ralph de Wyburbury, both monks of Shrewsbury Abbey and Henry Morwood, vicar of Handsworth. Kyngeston was then abducted and held prisoner at a house in Sleap, one of Shrewsbury Abbey's manors. He was then forced to sign his resignation statement and call off all proceedings against Nicholas Stevens.

Another view of the ruins.

Prior John, approximately between 1194 and 1218; Prior Reynold; Prior William, around 1230; Prior Richard; Prior Thomas, resigned in 1316; John de Duckebroc, 1316 to March 1323; Richard de Eselberg, 1323 to 1330; William de la Lee, appointed 1330; William Harell, appointed 1333; Richard le Warde,1341 to 1349; Nicholas de Cumpton, appointed 1349; William del Ree, died in 1361; Henry of Kidderminster, appointed 1361; John de Kyngeston, 1370 to 1379; Richard Westbury, 1380 to 1390; John of Tamworth, 1391 to 1400; John de Acton, appointed 1401; Richard Dudley, 1413 to 1416; William Pruyne, resigned 1436; John Atton, 1436, to 1461; John Newport, 1484 to 1487; Thomas Wynnysbury, 1488; John Sawer, appointed 1488; Prior William, around 1518; John Baylye, surrendered the priory in 1525.

Some of the priors were buried in the Chapter House. During an archaeological dig in the 1980s, the remains of five of them were discovered and re-interred at All Saints' Church.

The ruling families

In the 12th century, West Bromwich was controlled by William Fitz Guy, who by 1166 was a principal tenant of Gervase de Paganel, lord of Dudley, who was in charge of the area. William’s grandfather married the daughter of William Fitz-Ansculf, who held much of the Midlands after the Norman Conquest. William Fitz Guy’s father, Guy de Offeni, was in control at West Bromwich by 1140 and was still alive in 1155. In the early 13th century, William Fitz Guy was succeeded by his son, Richard, who died in 1222. He was succeeded by his brother William, who died in 1224, and had a young son, Richard, who was his heir. Richard had a short life, which had ended by 1255. West Bromwich was then divided between his two daughters, Sarah and Margaret. Sarah married Walter Devereux and Margaret married Richard de Marnham.

Sarah’s half of West Bromwich

By 1293 Sarah's half share had passed to her son Walter Devereux and by the early 1320s it had passed-on again to Stephen Devereux.

By 1356 it was in the hands of William Devereux, before being passed-on to John Devereux, followed by John Basset in about 1381. In the 15th century, it belonged to the Vernon family, who owned Haddon Hall, in Derbyshire. On the death of Sir William Vernon in 1467, the half share was inherited by his widow Margaret, who died some time after 1470. The estate then passed-on to her son, Sir Henry Vernon and on his death to his son Sir John Vernon of Sudbury, in Derbyshire. On his death in 1545 it was inherited by his nephew, Sir George Vernon, who in 1560 sold it to John Nall. By 1566 it had been sold to the Skeffington family of Fisherwick, Lichfield, who already owned property in West Bromwich. It was part of the marriage settlement of John Skeffington and his wife Alice. In 1585 it was given to his son, William, who in the 1590s sold much of his land in West Bromwich.

The Marnham Family

Richard de Marnham had died by 1296 and his wife Margaret lived until around 1300. Their son Richard inherited the family’s half of West Bromwich until his death around 1324, when it passed-on to John de Marnham. By 1329, the estate was under the control of William, son of Richard de Marnham, who had died by 1347. His son John inherited the estate, which he ran until his death in about 1420.

The estate was inherited by his nephew, William Freeman, son of his sister Isabel and Nicholl Thorley, grandson of his sister Margery. There was disagreement between them about the ownership of the estate, which in 1424 was taken over by William’s daughter Alice, followed by her son William Freebody. On his death in 1437, the Manor of West Bromwich was under the control of William’s son, William, until around 1515 when it was held by his grand daughter Cecily, the wife of John Stanley, who died in the early 1530s.

John and Cecily Stanley had three sons and one daughter. Cecily died on the 6th of May, 1552 and the manor was inherited by her son Francis, who died 6 years later at the age of 52 and passed it on to his young son George. Because George was only 11 years old at the time, Francis Stanley's widow Winifred remained in control of the estate until her death in about 1587, when her son Walter took over. He married Gertrude Hollys, daughter of Sir William Hollys, of Haughton, Nottinghamshire. Walter Stanley died in 1615, and was buried at West Bromwich. In 1614 he past his estate on to his son William, who was 29 years old. Several years later, William mortgaged the manor to his wealthy cousin Sir Richard Shelton and Sir William Hewitt. Sir Richard Shelton took over the whole estate after paying-off Sir William Hewitt and also promising to pay him £100 a year out of the estate funds.

The Sheltons

In 1626 Sir Richard Shelton became Lord of the Manor after acquiring the estate, along with 1,599 acres of land. In 1624 he had been appointed as Reader at the Inner Temple and thanks to the influence of the Duke of Buckingham he became Solicitor General in October 1625 and was knighted by Charles the first at Hampton Court. He was member of Parliament for Bridgnorth and in 1628 was appointed Treasurer of the Inner Temple.

After the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham in August 1628, Shelton lost his major patron and in October 1634 was pressurised into resigning from the post of Solicitor General. He then retired to the manor of West Bromwich, where he died in December 1647. He had been married to Lettice, the daughter of Sir Robert Fisher of Packington. They had no children and so the manor was left to his sister Alice Lowe, for the duration of her life. It was then to be passed on to their nephew, John Shelton.

John Shelton did little during his life. Between 1708 and 1709 he sold a lot of the land that he inherited and also Bustleholme Mill, a valuable corn mill and slitting mill. He died in 1714 and his son, Joseph, inherited the run-down estate with large outstanding debts. The Court of Chancery decided that West Bromwich manor should be sold to clear the debts and so in 1719 it was sold to Sir Samuel Clarke, a London merchant who was anxious to become lord of the manor. The money from the sale was distributed to cover the debts, which were disputed by relatives of the Sheltons. The estate was now a lot smaller because so much of it had been sold by John Shelton.

The Manor House

In the 13th century the Marnham family had a manor house at Hall End before deciding to build another house, presumably larger, with a hall and a moat, at Hall Green. The hall has been dated to around 1300. It originally consisted of two bays and a short entry bay, with extensions at the each end for the private and service rooms. The present cross wings were built in the 15th century, along with a chapel at the east end of the north cross wing. In the 16th century the west wall of the hall was rebuilt, the oriel was added at its northern end and the detached kitchen block at the south west of the service wing was built. Around 1600 a gatehouse with two storeys was built, which adjoined the service wing. The house became known as Bromwich Hall. In 1666, long after it had been acquired by John Shelton, he was assessed for hearth tax, and had 16 hearths.

The gatehouse.

In 1720 after Sir Samuel Clarke had purchased the manor house, he made some alterations to the house and greatly improved the gardens, growing many edible types of fruit and vegetables, as well as adding an orchard and planting many trees. After his death in 1733 the estate was inherited by his son, Samuel, who was married to Mary Jervoise. Samuel died in 1767 and the estate was passed on to their son Jervoise, who in 1777,  in compliance with the will of his maternal grandfather, Thomas Jervoise, added Jervoise to the family name and became Jervoise Clark Jervoise. After his death in 1808, the estate was inherited by his son, Thomas Clarke Jervoise, who was High Sheriff of Hampshire and MP for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) from 1787 to 1890. He became deranged and was described as a lunatic. He died in December 1809 at the age of 45. His manorial rights were sold in 1823 under a Chancery order of 1819 and purchased by the 4th earl of Dartmouth.

In 1823 the hall and a farm house were sold to James Smith of Hall Green House, who died six years later. The house and grounds were then owned by his trustees and initially occupied by George Cooper, followed by three families, one of whom was headed by the assistant curate of All Saints' Church. By the 1880s the building had been converted into a number of flats, which by 1950 were unoccupied. The building was then purchased by the corporation and much-needed restoration work began in 1957. The later additions from the 18th and 19th centuries were removed and in 1961 the building opened as a pub and restaurant, called The Manor House, which was leased to Ansells Brewery Limited and later Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries Limited.

The main hall when it was a dining room and a public house.

It was an up-market venue where many well-known personalities could sometimes be found. It closed in 2009 and is now run by Sandwell Council’s Museum Service as a heritage centre, using the old name of Bromwich Hall. It introduces people to its interesting past and runs many community projects and events. The building is Grade 1 listed.