BROMSGROVE, appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it is referred to as Bremesgrave. Breme meaning famous person and grave meaning a fortified clearing in a forest. In medieval times the town was a prosperous center for the woollen trade with the nailmaking trade arriving in the 17th century. Bromsgrove became the world centre for the manufacture of nails until the industry went into decline at the end of the 19th century.

Nailmaking was a hard trade and it took tough people to survive the poor pay and long hours. Except for the very young or very elderly, the whole family would work at the forge from dusk until sundown. They lived and worked in cramped, one up and one down nailmakers cottages with an outbuilding in the garden that housed the forge. Nailmakers cottages usually had one small window facing North, to conserve as much heat as possible, with an entrance door and windows at the front only.

When conditions were at their worst Bromsgrove nailmakers would gather for strike meetings and the cavalry would be called in to disband the trouble makers. Locals had a defensive weapon called a 'tis-was' from which the saying came 'all in a tis-was'. The Tis-was had several spikes that could be thrown under a horse's hooves causing injury to both horse and rider.