About Walsall

Walsall is an industrial town in the West Midlands of England.  It is located 8 miles north-west of Birmingham and 6 miles east of Wolverhampton.  Historically part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation.

Walsall is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. At the 2011 census, the town’s built-up area had a population of 67,594, with the wider borough having a population of 269,323.

The name Walsall is thought to have derived from the words “Walh halh”, meaning “valley of the Welsh speakers” (referring to the Brythons). Walsall is first referenced as ‘Walesho’ in a document dated 1002. Possibly as a result of a clerical error, it is not referred to in the Domesday Book.

Walsall and the surrounding areas have many attractions and places to visit. For example, The Art Gallery, The Black Country Living Museum, Walsall Arboretum, Birmingham canal Boat Tours, Dudley Zoo and the canals surrounding the college. The Walsall Leather Museum, which was opened in 1988 on the site of a Victorian leather factory, was renovated by Walsall Council.

Discover why Walsall became the British leather goods capital in this fascinating working museum, housed in a restored leather factory. For two hundred years Walsall people have been making some of the world’s finest saddles and leather goods. Walsall Leather Museum seeks to celebrate this great tradition and reflect the achievements of leather craftsmen and women of Walsall.