In the late-18th century and early-19th century, the workers of Walsall Wood were primarily involved in the mining of limestone. In 1864, the population of the settlement expanded as Walsall Wood Colliery was opened, as well as another colliery in nearby Shelfield. The Walsall Wood Colliery purchased the Pelsall Colliery from Pelsall Coal & Iron Co. in 1894. The opening of the Walsall Wood Colliery saw the establishment of the first public services, including a police station and a post office. The mine was closed in 1964 when the supply of accessible coal had been exhausted: In 2010 a memorial pithead designed by Luke Perry was erected to commemorate the village's mining heritage. The pithead is one of a number of additions by artist Luke Perry. The Fisherman located next to the bridge on the high Street. This piece had to be mounted on a three-metre plinth to allow it to be seen from the road. Despite the height of the work inspired locals replaced the fish which originally hung from the rod with a golden wellington boot, they then swapped that for the Olympic rings in July 2012. St John's Church in Walsall Wood was constructed in 1837 at a cost of £1,200. The church, with its quadrangular tower, is in the Gothic style, whilst the parsonage house is in the Elizabethan style. The church is constructed out of blue brick with stone dressings and has a capacity of 400. The current minister-in-charge is Reverend David Paul Simon Babbington.
The population in 2011 was 13,207 a 2.5% increase from 2001. 48.9% of the population being Male and 51.1% Female. 42.3 years old is the mean average age of a resident in the area. Ethnicity Breakdown: White – 93.6% White – 1.5% Mixed – 1.7% Asian – 2.1% Black – 0.8% Other – 0.3% Unemployment for the area was 4.7%. The borough of Walsall 6.8%.
Education
is located in Walsall Wood with 96% of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grade GCSE's in 2013. Walsall Wood is also home to Castlefort Junior School, St Johns Junior School and Walsall Wood Junior School.
Oak Park is a recreation centre located in Lichfield Road in Walsall Wood, which opened in 1974. This centre consists of two swimming pools, an astro-turffootball pitch, bowls lawn, BMX & Skate Park along with other sporting facilities. The centre moved to Coppice Road in Walsall Wood in 2016. The Lichfield Road centre was demolished in 2017. Walsall Wood also has a high number of pubs, including The Drunken Duck on Walsall Wood High Street, The Boatman's Rest also on the High Street, The Royal Exchange and Brickmakers Arms. There is an on-site KFC restaurant located right next to the parking for the Oak Park facility. Across the road from Oak Park is a Fitness First gym, a Co-Operative Supermarket opened in Spring 2013, a chip shop, and an Indian restaurant. Walsall Wood Library is located in the former Neighbourhood Office building at the junction of Coppice Road and High Street. There have been talks to move this to the Redeveloped Oak Park Leisure Centre. Planning approval has been granted for its redevelopment and work is due to begin early 2015 for re-opening later the same year.. Further details can be found via the Walsall Council Website or visiting the Leisure Centre itself. The site of the former library building on Lichfield Road has also undergone redevelopment. A purpose built car showroom was completed in Summer 2013.
At Streets Corner the 936 is served by National Express West Midlands between Brownhills and Birmingham. Also the 937 is served here by between Brownhills ad Birmingham There is also a bus service from Walsall to Lichfield via Aldridge which runs at the top end of Walsall Wood near Streets Corner. Walsall Wood railway station was opened in 1884, the station served the residents of Walsall Wood until 1930 when the passenger services were withdrawn although the odd DMU service would see passenger activity at the closed station. The line continued to serve as a goods line until the closure of the line in 1962. The line through the station was considered to be more of a colliery traffic route then a passenger service. The station is occupied by a park and houses now occupy the trackbed. Although some track is still preserved as either a footpath or agriculture.
