Original St Giles’ Church

This quiet rural scene, photographed in 1865, shows the original St Giles’ Church in Walsall, nestled among stone walls, cottages, and muddy paths — long before urban sprawl and motor traffic transformed the town’s character.

Two children can be seen standing along the roadside, while a group gathers further up the lane, their figures blurred by the long exposure. At the centre of the image rises the church tower, a familiar symbol of Victorian spiritual life and community belonging.

In the mid-19th century, Walsall was on the brink of industrial expansion, known for its leather trade and metalwork. Yet this photograph captures a stillness and simplicity that contrasts starkly with the factories and furnaces that would soon surround it.

⛪ Do you have old photographs of churches, villages, or neighbourhoods before they changed forever? Upload them to Oldpik.com and help us preserve the disappearing landscapes of local memory.