Wednesbury is a market town and parish, in the south division of the hundred of Offlow, county of Stafford, situated near the river Tame. This place was called Wednesbury by the Saxons, from its having been a forest, in which was a temple to their god Woden. In 916 it was strongly fortified by Ethelfleda, who, it is probable, also built the castle which formerly stood here. Pop. 1,437; An. As. Val. £,7614. Market on Friday; fairs, May 6, Aug. 3, for cattle. The principal trade of the town consists in the manufacture of gun-locks, horse shoes, ironmongery, screws, nails, gas fittings, agricultural instruments, iron axletrees, stirrups, bits, &c. &c. In the vicinity of the town are collieries, yielding a superior species of coal, which is principally used for forges, for which it is admirably adapted, from the intense heat it supplies. Here also is found that peculiar ore called blond metal, used principally for the manufacture of axes, and other heavy instruments which require sharpness. The Birmingham canal passes near, and gives it the advantage of an extensive water communication. The church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is an elegant structure, principally in the later style of English architecture; it has a handsome tower, with a lofty spire, and, in the interior, bas some very ancient monuments, and singular wooden seats. It is situated on a hill, and commands an extensive prospect. The living is a dis-vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Stafford, and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry. K.B.
