Tipton

Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000.

History

Until the 18th century, Tipton was a collection of small hamlets. Industrial growth started in the town when ironstone and coal were discovered in the 1770s. A number of canals were built through the town, and later railways, which greatly accelerated the pace of industrialisation.

Related Topics:
Hamlet - Ironstone - Coal - 1770s - Canal - Railway

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The engineer James Watt built his first steam engine in or very near Tipton in the 1770s, used to pump water from the mines. In 1780, James Keir and Alexander Blair set up a chemical works there, making vast quantities of alkali and soap.

Related Topics:
James Watt - Steam engine - 1770s - James Keir - Alexander Blair

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The massive expansion in iron and coal industries lead to the population of Tipton expanding rapidly through the 19th century, going from 4,000 at the beginning of the century to 30,000 at the end. Tipton gained a reputation as being "the quintessence of the Black Country" because chimneys of local factories belched heavy pollution into the air, whilst houses and factories were built side by side. Most of the traditional industries which once dominated the town have since disappeared.

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The Black Country Living Museum in nearby Dudley re-creates life in the early 20th century Black Country, in original buildings which have been painstakingly rebuilt and furnished. There is a residential canal basin at the Museum - Tipton was once known as the Venice of the Midlands because it had so many canals, although some of the 'minor' canals in the town were filled in during the 1970's. The canals today form a vital cycling, wildlife and leisure facility.

Related Topics:
Black Country Living Museum - Dudley

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The area has a distinctive spoken dialect, different from the Birmingham accent. The richest of Tipton speech is very similar to how Shakespeare, or even Chaucer, would have spoken. Those who grew up here can often tell the difference between Tipton speech and the speech of people from other Black Country towns.

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - Chaucer - Black Country

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The town has retained a traditional horse-keeping culture; private horses are kept freely on public land, and are occasionally 'trotted' on roads (pulling a rider on a lightweigh racing cart). There are also totters (i.e. rag-and-bone men), who also have links to the horse culture. Despite persistent Council attempts to clear horses off public land, horses still appear in parks and on canal banks from time to time.

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