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Pelsall is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Forming part of the borough's border with Staffordshire, Pelsall is north of Walsall and midway between the towns of Bloxwich and Brownhills. It became a centre for coal mining and the site of an iron works in the 19th century. Pelsall is known for its Common land. The Wyrley and Essington Canal is nearby.
In the second quarter of the 19th century, clusters of houses were built on the fringes of the extensive common land and at the Newlands. The greatest concentration was in what is now the village centre. This area gradually developed; a Methodist Chapel and school were opened in about 1836, in the modern-day Station Road and a new St Michael's Church was built in 1844 – the old one in Paradise Lane had been considered too small for the growing population. Towards the end of the 19th century, shops became established in Norton Road and High Street. The population in 1801 was 477 and by 1901 had grown to 3,626. Pelsall had become a Mining community; in places deposits of coal were found only a few yards from the surface and by about 1800 the shallow and deep seams were 'much worked'. The cutting of the canal in about 1794 opened up the area for industrialisation, with entrepreneurs and landowners quickly exploiting the mineral wealth. Nailmaking, traditionally a cottage industry, was also carried out locally; in the census of 1841 thirty men stated this as their occupation.
On 14 November 1872, 22 miners died when the Pelsall Hall Colliery was flooded. 21 of the 22 miners were buried underneath a polished granite obelisk in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church.
An ironworks was established on the North Common which grew into a sizeable concern under the ownership of Messrs. Davis and Boaz Bloomer. This, together with Yorks Foundry and that of Ernest Wilkes and Co. at Mouse Hill, gave Pelsall a share of the heavy iron trade during the 19th century. Ernest Wilkes and Co. survived until 1977, but the others ceased trading in the 1890s and the pits became unworkable, mainly due to continual flooding problems. Several working farms survived in the local area until after the Second World War. Since then much land has been used for housing development but the ancient common remains.
Pelsall Ward has three seats on Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council. As of February 2025, Pelsall is represented by three Conservative councillors.
Pelsall was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of Wolverhampton, in 1866 Pelsall became a separate civil parish, on 1 April 1966 the parish was abolished to form Aldridge Brownhills, part also went to Cannock. In 1951 the parish had a population of 4954.
Pelsall is quite 'green' with a large turf central common around which previously stood several public houses: only The Railway and The Queens (formerly The Block & Chopper) survive today, with The Old House at Home further up towards the Fingerpost. Pelsall Carnival takes place in July each year, featuring decorated floats and bric-a-brac stalls. It has run continuously since 1972 with the exception of 2020.
The main shopping area serving the town is bordered by Norton Road and High Street and includes a range of shops, including a butcher, plus a variety of food outlets. On the northern edge of the village centre there is The Old House at Home public house, while the Fingerpost pub (formerly The Royal Oak) is situated just north of the Fingerpost road junction at Yorks Bridge, near to Pelsall Junction on the Wyrley and Essington Canal, and Nest Common and North Common, on the border with South Staffordshire. Pelsall has lost several pubs in recent years, including The Free Trade in Wood Lane, which, though the building remains, has been closed for several years, and The Swan on Wolverhampton Road, which in 2007 was converted to an Indian restaurant. The Red Cow public house and its car park have been converted into flats; the Old Bush stands derelict after several arson attacks and is now subject to a proposal by Aldi to build a supermarket and care home on the site.
In 1997, the Donna Cooper Memorial Garden off Goscote Lane was created in memory of thirteen-year-old Donna Cooper, who died after being knocked over by a stolen car outside her home in Pelsall Lane, Rushall in 1993. The garden was commissioned by Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, who also maintain it. The entrance consists of an arched gateway that contains an owl motif, taken from a design drawn by Donna shortly before her death. The garden is long and wide.
Pelsall railway station on the South Staffordshire Line to the east of the village closed to passengers in the 1960s and to freight in the 1980s; only the main road bridges survive.
A branch line to Norton Junction opened in 1858 to connect Pelsall and Cannock via Norton Canes, necessitated a junction at Ryders Hayes Crossing. In 1865 a connection was made to the Coal mining at Pelsall Common, however this was closed in 1903. Ryders Hayes station is listed in an 1866 railway handbook. A connection was also made to Pelsall Colliery and Pelsall Iron Works at Pelsall Wood. Ryders Hayes Crossing was later upgraded to accommodate both the main line and the sidings as a marshalling yard for coal and mineral trucks from the Cannock collieries around the region and had a signal box and cross keeper's cottage.
The line and stations between Walsall and Lichfield closed to passenger services in 1964. The line to Norton Junction was closed in 1981, followed by the Walsall and Lichfield line in 1984.
In 2000, the track bed from Walsall to Pelsall was made into part of the SUSTRANS National Cycle Route 5 and now forms the McClean Way greenway between Walsall and Lichfield, named after John Robinson McClean. A replacement line has been mooted since the early 2000s, but potential low demand has prevented this. A study carried out in 2009 by the Department for Transport suggested a new station at each of Pelsall and Brownhills. The route through Pelsall has been identified as a disused rail corridor with a long-term ambition to provide a rail service.
Pelsall was previously served by Pelsall Comprehensive School, although this was technically over the border in neighbouring Rushall. It opened in the autumn of 1963 as an 11–15 secondary modern school before adopting 13–18 comprehensive status in September 1972. The transfer age was reduced to 11 in September 1986 under Walsall's reorganisation of education in the former Aldridge-Brownhills area but falling pupil numbers led to its closure in July 1994. The old Pelsall Comprehensive buildings are now home to Rushall JMI School, Education Walsall offices, and a teacher training centre.
In 2024 volunteers planted Potentilla, Harebell and Cat’s Ear to attract the Tormentil Mining Bee to the common at Heath End, where there is also a wildlife pool. The common stages many of the attractions of Pelsall Carnival.
Points of interest around the common include:
A late 19th century Ordnance Survey map shows an iron works in close proximity to the Wyrley and Essington Canal; nearby were the Freetrade Inn and a Forge. The inn, which had been in existence since 1735, closed for good in 2005 and was left abandoned; it was converted into three houses in 2018. Pelsall Wood Colliery was opened by the Pelsall Coal & Iron Company, which was purchased by the Walsall Wood Colliery in 1894. It continued to operate until the coal deposits at the site were depleted. An entry from Walsall Wood in history by Walsall Council, states that "In the late 19th century the Company took over the Pelsall Coal & Iron Company, whose engineer developed and put into use one of the first coal cutting machines in the country". After closure of the colliery, the area around it was redeveloped for housing. Building of the estate was undertaken by Aldridge Urban District Council.
The A4124/Wolverhampton Road passes through the area. There is a regular bus service, operated by National Express West Midlands between Walsall, Bloxwich, Wednesfield and Wolverhampton. Additional buses operated by Walsall Community Transport link the area to Kingstanding, Brownhills, Leamore and Brownhills West.
Ryders Hayes School on Gilpin Crescent is an academy convertor primary school. A bus route, operated by Walsall Community Transport connects the estate with Bloxwich and Kingstanding via Pelsall, Aldridge and Pheasey.
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