Bescot is an area of

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in the West Midlands of England. It is served by

Bescot Stadium railway station Bescot Stadium railway station serves the Bescot area of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. The station is located in the borough of Sandwell, although it can only be reached from within the borough of Walsall. The station, and most tr ...

, adjacent to which is Bescot depot where locomotives are maintained. The

Banks's Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, and is the current home grou ...

was built in 1990 for

Walsall F.C. Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflec ...

The area is bisected by the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

, including its 'Junction 9', where it meets the

A461 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the ...

which leads to Pleck and Wednesbury. The River Tame also runs through the area.

History

Bescot was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as a

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment. ...

of waste land in the possession of the King. It was mentioned in other ancient writings under the name of 'Berkenscot' and 'Bresmundscote'. An ancient manor house was then constructed before 1311 in the area and first possessed by the Hillary family. In 1403, Sir Roger Hillary died and the manor was passed on to the possession of his wife, Margaret. When she died, the property was passed on to Sir John Saer de Rochford, Roger's nephew. It later passed into the possession of the Mountfort family. In 1460, the manor passed into the possession of Sir Baldwin Mountfort following the death of Sir William Mountfort. Edward Mountfort, who died in 1691, appears to be the last male heir in the family and the estate was passed on to his daughter who passed it on to her husband Jonas Slaney in 1717. By 1717, the estate was stated as having an area of . Slaney sold the estate to Richard Wilks and in 1794, the estate was purchased by Richmond Aston. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, Bescot was dominated by the Forge Works which were owned by Edward Elwell. The works featured a tall, tapered chimney and a pool from which was extracted, called Elwell's Pool. The forge employed 300 people and manufactured spades, hoes, shovels and axes.

References

External links

* Walsall {{WestMidlands-geo-stub