Brownhills is a town in the far north of the county, historically part of Staffordshire until 1974. Brownhills is on Watling Street and traces of habitation from Roman times or even earlier have been found in the area. However, Brownhills does not appear until it was listed as a hamlet of the manor of Ogley Hay in 1680 (back then it was just the one Brownhill!) The name may comes from the brown heaps of spoil from the mines in the area.
The mining industry was developed in the 17 and 18th centuries, Brownhills was reached by the Wyrley & Essington Canal in 1794. Brownhills had expanded to become a parish in 1838 with mining dominating the local economy well into the 20th century. The population rose from 305 in 1801 to over 13,000 in 1891. Brownhills became a town in 1877.
The vast majority of the working population worked in the mining industry, though as the 20th century dawned the mines began to close as they became exhausted. The last mine was closed in 1950. Brownhills went into a severe economic slump which various waves of redevelopment and investment have only partially reversed.
