Papers of the Heirs of Parkes

The documents in the collection comprise mainly title deeds of the Heirs of Parkes and Lloyds Fosters and Co. to lands and mines in the Wednesbury area, together with documents relating to the transfer of shares in the properties by the Heirs of Parkes. Original bundles have been preserved and where the original wrapper contained an endorsement this has been summarised as a heading to the description of the contents. Where stray documents were clearly part of a group they have been returned to the group. It appears from endorsements on the documents that some of the bundles were created c.1819 by the solicitors, but some were later disarranged and new bundles created as a result of their use in the case in Chancery of Earp v. Lloyd 1858 (e.g. D1400/2/3).

Deposited by Messrs. Thursfield Messiter and Shirlow, Wednesbury

Richard Parkes of Oakeswell Hall, Wednesbury, died in 1728 bequeathing his property there jointly to his four daughters, Mary Wilkinson, Elizabeth Scandrett, Sarah Lloyd and Jane Pemberton (D1400/2/2/1). His estate included a 500 year lease of mining rights from Richard Shelton with whom he had been in partnership for a short time (D1400/1/6/5-6) as well as freehold lands and tenements in the Wednesbury area. These properties continued to be held jointly by the direct descendants of the four daughters, known collectively as the Heirs of Parkes. They met annually to administer the rents and royalties of the estate at least as late as the 1880s.

The minerals were worked only on a small scale in the eighteenth century, largely because of the technical problem of pumping out the water. Much of the mining at this date was by the open cast method and even well into the nineteenth century it is clear from the deeds that some of the common fields of Wednesbury remained unenclosed, while the rest consisted of small closes. The development of the steam engine made possible a more thorough exploitation of the minerals and this was principally the work of Samuel Lloyd II, known popularly as Quaker Lloyd. He inherited not only the Lloyd share of the Parkes properties, but also the properties of his Fidoe relations and he added to these by purchase. This can be seen reflected in the documents in the collection. He and others of the Heirs of Parkes established the firm of Lloyds, Fosters and Company in 1818 to operate the coal and ironstone mines as well as to exploit the clay for bricks and tiles, paying royalties to the Heirs of Parkes. The company at its Old Park works eventually began to manufacture bridgework, turntables, railway wheels and axles as well as providing half of Wednesbury's production of pig iron. It was wound up in 1867 after incurring heavy financial loss and the works and business were sold to the Patent Shaft and Axletree Company.