Rowley Regis, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, was for a long time a separate entity, being in succession a chapelry, a parish, an Urban District, and a borough. It was made up of a number of separate villages, which later developed into the towns of Tividale, Blackheath, Old Hill and Cradley Heath. The centre was Rowley Village, which remained rural until the mid-20th century, despite the fact that all the villages were industrialised early. One of the most prominent industries was the manufacture of hand?wrought nails.