Five bostin’ Black Country women

8th Mar 2025

Women have helped shape the story of the Black Country in many ways. From nail makers to political activists to CEO’s, read on to discover the stories of five amazing local women.

Eliza Tinsley

A woman with a business in her own name, that is still running under her legacy today – that’s some impressive Black Country power! Eliza Tinsley was born in Wolverhampton in 1813. She married and moved to Sedgley in 1839 with her nail-making husband, Thomas Tinsley. Following his death in 1851, Eliza took over the business having learnt about the trade during her marriage. She immediately changed the business name to dispel any criticism that women should not be able to run businesses, challenging the historic stereotype that women should stay at home.

The new Eliza Tinsley & Co became the largest of its kind in Staffordshire. It was one of the most important employers of the local area, employing around 4000 people at its peak in 1871. Perhaps one reason for this was her reputation as a fair yet formidable woman. Eliza was well-respected by her clients as she was business-minded and knowledgeable. She was also respected by her employees because she refused to employ “floggers” or middle men that would often scam nail makers by unwarrantedly rejecting their work and using tampered scales to reduce the amount of money they paid the nailers.

Whilst Eliza was no doubt a great business woman, she was also a mother and matriarch. Eliza had six children, five of which made it to adulthood. Sadly, her eldest child died a month prior to her husband’s death. Though a tragedy, Eliza still managed to raise her family and provide for them whilst expanding her business. This really is a testament to how strong and committed Eliza was as both a mother and a business woman. Her company still thrives today under her name, specialising in chains and hardware items.

Patience Round

Patience Round lived and breathed chain making. She was born in 1831 in Cradley Heath, the centre for chainmaking in the 19th century, where there was an incredibly high demand for all types of chain during the Industrial Revolution. Patience’s father was a chainmaker and, from the age of 10, so was she. She worked as an outworker, typically making small block chain, for both Woodhouse Bros and N. Hingley & Sons Ltd, two of the largest chainmakers in the Black Country. Male chainmakers made heavy and medium weight chains in factories whilst women made lighter chains in outhouses behind their homes. Chainmaking wasn’t their only job though, most women were mothers too. Once the sun had gone down and it was physically impossible to make chain, Patience would return home to clean, cook and care for her children – the work never stopped.

Patience loved being a chainmaker. In 1910 the Daily Express wrote, ‘her life is wrapped up in the making of chains, and she will talk for hours of the sparks and the wonderful chains she has made during her career’.

1910 was a particularly important year for Patience. She participated in the Cradley Heath Chainmakers Strike and travelled outside of Cradley Heath for the first time in her life, aged 79. Speaking to the Daily Express alongside the likes of Mary Macarthur, Suffragist and Leading Trades Unionist, Patience revealed, ‘I never thought I should live to assert the rights of us women’. Having only 2 days off in her working career, 10 weeks of striking was a very new phenomenon to Patience! The result was well worth it though – the women chainmakers had successfully campaigned to increase weekly wages from 5 to 11 shillings a week. Patience played a pivotal role in this huge victory, kicking off the pursuit to gender pay equality and becoming a core part of Patience’s Black Country legacy.

Lillian Hodgkiss

Lillian was born in 1896. Her father, James, was a miner and following his death the family moved to the Toll House on Sedgley Road, Woodsetton. Without James’s wage, the family found the Toll House a more reasonable rent to pay at two shillings and sixpence a week. Most likely because it had no gas, electricity or running water, the family got water from the stream behind their house. The Toll House was translocated here to the museum and has stood on our site for almost 40 years.

Prior to the First World War, Lillian was a packer at a local drugs manufacturer. However, when the war broke out, Lillian answered her country’s call and took up work as a munitions worker at the National Projectile Factory on Hall Street, Dudley. As a munitionette, Lillian operated heavy machinery, lifted shells and handled dangerous substances in order to make shrapnel shells. This was dangerous work, and Lillian was injured whilst working when a shell fell on her foot meaning her toe was flattened and she lost part of the nail. Despite this being such dangerous work, Lillian did her bit and played a vital role in helping to sustain the production of shrapnel shells for the front line.

Emma Sproson

Emma Sproson was a thoroughly working class Black Country woman who went on to have an impactful political career. Born in West Bromwich in 1867 into a family of 7 children, she grew up in extreme poverty. She took on jobs after school to be able to support her family. Emma attended her first political meeting in Southport hosted by conservative candidate, Lord Curzon. Lord Curzon refused to answer a question posed by Emma because she was a woman, and Emma recalled this as the moment she became a feminist. From this point on, Emma became a fierce suffragette.

Emma was unique in the sense that most suffragettes were educated middle-class ladies, but she had only a basic education and was from a working class background. She was elected as the first female councillor of Wolverhampton in 1921 and was known from then on as ‘Red Emma’ for waving the red socialist flag outside the town hall. Emma was a passionate, excellent public speaker and a persuasive campaigner for the working class.

Emma’s husband, Frank, was also a huge advocate for the Suffragette movement. He was part of the Labour Independent Party and the Men’s League for Female Suffrage. Frank was also instrumental in coordinating the meeting of Emma and Emmeline Pankhurst. She invited Emma to a demonstration in London in February 1907 where she was subsequently arrested for trying to force entry into the Houses of Parliament. In her trial speech Emma stated, “the political status of women in this country is little better than the brute, and much below the lowest gutter-snipe on the Parliamentary registers”. Emma’s conviction and commitment to the greater democracy of women’s rights, especially working class women, drew attention to the issue of gender inequality and helped to propel the Suffragette movement beyond her home of the Black Country in order to bring the discrimination to national attention.

Cynthia Burgin

Cynthia Burgin ran one of the longest-running family newsagents in the Black Country. Her first job was as a cashier at the Co-op in Dudley, followed by a position at Lloyds Bank. In February 1954, Cynthia married John Burgin, an electrical engineer. Her mother in-law, Jane Burgin, ran the family newsagents and when Cynthia moved in in 1959, she taught Cynthia the ropes.

Burgin’s Newsagents was a prime example of a thriving, woman-led business. This was due to the hard work and dedication of the women who ran it. Cynthia woke at 4am ready for a 4.30am start and the shop didn’t shut until 7pm.

The shop was only ever closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday. They never had an electric till so Cynthia was very good at mental arithmetic too. On one occasion, Cynthia actually fought off an armed robber using a steel-lined armoured cable and shutting his hand in said till! For such a brave act, Cynthia received a commendation from the Chief Constable in recognition of her commitment to her business.

Cynthia was a key figure in the community. She knew everybody and provided fantastic customer service. Work and home were synonymous to Cynthia – she was incredibly committed and hardworking. Cynthia ran the shop right up until it closed in 2016. In her words, she “wouldn’t change it for the world!”.

Burgin’s Newsagents was recently recreated here at the Museum. It opened in 2023 and stands proudly in the centre of our 1940s-60s town. It was our honour to welcome Cynthia and her family to the shop just before it opened.

Find out more about these amazing Black Country women

With thanks to Rhi Edwards for researching and compiling this article.