The Black Country Living Museum Pawnbrokers Shop is a recreation of a

pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

's at the

Black Country Living Museum The Black Country Living Museum (formerly the Black Country Museum) is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings in Dudley, West Midlands, England.Himley Himley is a small village and civil parish in the English ceremonial county of Staffordshire, situated 4 miles west of Dudley and 5 miles southwest of Wolverhampton. At the time of the 2011 Census, Himley had a population of 802.It is most not ...

. The pair of cottages from School Lane in Himley originally operated as a corner shop. The setting of the display was designed to represent a small scale business. The shop takes its name from a well known Black Country pawnbroker, Joseph Wiltshire, who owned shops in Great Bridge,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

and Carter's Green in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

. The exhibition combines pawnbroking with retail, as did many pawnbroking businesses in the 19th century. In the museum's reconstruction the unredeemed goods and other stock are sold in the front room, while pawning of goods was done in the 'pledge room' at the back. The shop window of the Pawnbroker's gives an example of the types of goods that customers would 'pledge'. The display includes shoes, clothes, furs, musical instruments, children's toys and a set of false teeth.

Historical context

Pawnshops prospered in areas where the wages were low and unstable. In the Black Country in 1870 there were 160 pawnbrokers in the area,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

had 15 and

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

had 48. For a housewife with a large family to look after it was a constant struggle to make ends meet. It was not uncommon for a family to have linen or clothes that they would pawn as a bridging loan until next payday. The struggling family could pawn their goods on a Monday and could buy them back the following Friday or Saturday. The items pawned were taken as security for a loan, the value of the item was based on what the pawnbroker thought he would get if he sold the item on. In return the customer would receive the loan a ticket. To redeem their pledge the customer had to pay the loan back in full plus any charges this included the valuation of their items and the cost of the ticket. Pawnbrokers in the Black Country needed to be where the people were. Some of these businesses started in

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, which were frequently visited and saved customers a trip into town.Wilkinson, John A. 'Pawnbroking in the Black Country'. Black Country Living Museum, 1991, p.16. Other Pawnbrokers operated out of converted houses in prominent positions like corner shops.

References

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