In the centre of the Village, opposite the Pub and the Chapel, stands the Hardware and Ironmonger's Shop. The building was erected at the junction of Pipers Row and Tower Street in Wolverhampton in 1827 and had a variety of uses before it was dismantled to make way for redevelopments in 1980. Today it houses the Ironmonger's in the corner shop and the Hardware Store in the larger unit that fronts onto Canal Street. The two separate shops are assumed to be in the same ownership, as was the case in Piper's Row, and the upper rooms are reached by a single staircase.
The corner unit is based on Nash's Ironmonger's Shop from Oldbury from where the shelves and many of the contents came. In the windows is a display of tools and equipment typical of the products of the ironworking manufactureres of the Black Country. In the Hardware Store you can see the tin baths and wire netting, enamelled-ware and lamps so often made in the Black Country, together with the wide range of domestic items which a hardware shop would have sold.
A traditional feature of the hardware shop was the practice of displaying the wares outside the building. The tin baths and wire netting were stacked on the pavement and the baths and buckets hung above the windows. Every morning the shop assistant had to set up the goods outside and clear them away at night. When it rained the buckets even had to be emptied of water to prevent them from falling of the hooks.
The Hardware Store at the Museum is an Aladdin's Cave of goods that were once an essential part of life, such as the wooden-rollered mangle, galvanized dustbins, paraffin heaters, bristle brushes, carpet beaters, and wicks for lamps - the list is almost endless.
| Reference: | 526 |
| Keywords: | Pipers Row Canal Street Nash's Enamelled Baths Tin Paraffin Carpet Galvanized 1827 BCLM MCOL |
| Archive Ref: | Museum Guide Book 2001 |
| Updated: | 16/8/2001 11:46:17 |