Pelsall

Celtic Britain was divided up into tribal kingdoms.The area where Pelsall is today was under the dominion of the Cornovii ( pronounced cor-no-vee-eye ) the name is thought to mean "people of the horn" which could be a reference to the fact that they particularly worshipped the Celtic Horned God Cernunnos (pronounced Ker-noo-nohs). Cornovii territory extended throughout Staffordshire, Shropshire & into Cheshire, the capital being a massive hillfort on top of the Wrekin.
The Cornovii capital at the Wrekin was destroyed by the Roman Fourteenth Legion. Named Germanicus, it was made up of mainly German mercenaries. The Romans then built a large town at present day Wroxeter which extended down to the River Severn the town was called Viroconium Cornoviorum meaning "The Town of Viroco of the Cornovii" Viroco had been the Chieftain of the Cornovii.The famous Castle Ring at Cannock Wood was also a Cornovii hillfort.The fourteenth Legion was later to be housed at Wall near Lichfield.

The earliest written evidence dates the village of Pelsall back to Anglo Saxon times being part of the Anglican Kingdom of Mercia (pronounced Mershia). The capital of the kingdom of Mercia was at Tamworth and it produced many kings, perhaps the most famous being King Offa ( 757 - 796 ). There's a burial mound at Weeford between Tamworth & Lichfield which is claimed by many to be the resting place of King Offa, however other sources say that he was buried at Bedford.
Pelsall was Originally called Peolshalh which is Saxon and thought to mean 'land or nook between two streams belonging to someone named Peol'.One of the two streams would have been The Clock, the other probably refering to The Fordbrook, both can still be seen today, though now much smaller in size.

It seems likely that Peol was an Anglo Saxon, possibly a Ceorl ( Land owning Freeman). The actual date of this settlement is unknown, however Anglo Saxon migration took place from the 5th century A.D so it would have been some time after this. The settlement appears to have been in the vincinity of where Pelsall Hall is today, at the top of Mouse Hill, across towards the Clockmill Estate and back to Paradise Lane with the very earliest settlement probably being on the high point of the wooded copse opposite, which would have been clear of trees at that time. This would have provided a high vantage point from which to view the valley below and any approaching danger or threat. It would also have provided an ideal defensive position.
Even as late as the 1841 census the land surrounding Pelsall Hall is refered to as 'The Town' or actual village, later being called 'Old Town' after the development of the present village location, hence the origin of Old Town Lane, (the lane leading to the Old Town or original village).

It is of interest that the nearby town of Walsall derives its name from the Saxon words wealas ( meaning strangers) and halh (meaning nook of land or small valley). Wealas was the Saxon term for the native peoples they displaced (the Romano / Celtic Britons), the word Wealas is where the name Wales originates from (in fact Walsall was still named Waleshale in Norman times) and this indicates that the area was occupied mainly by native Britons prior to Anglo-Saxon times. The name Walsall therefore can be translated as the Nook of Land of the Foreigners or Strangers (the Britons being foreign or strange to the conquering Angles & Saxons).This information shows that the general area was well occupied during The Roman period and therefore indicates the distinct possibility that a british settlement existed at Pelsall prior to the Anglo Saxon one.

The Wulfrun Charter of 994 records the village as Peoles-hale, the land had been given by King Aethelred the second, to Lady Wulfrun, a Saxon Noblewoman (after whom the city of Wolverhampton is named) in 985 A.D. In 994 she donated land including Peoles-hale to a newly founded monastry at Wolverhampton. She is believed to have been the great granddaughter of Alfred the Great (of burnt cakes fame).