BILSTON

bilston, a market town of staffordshire, england, 21/2 m. s.e. of wolverhampton and 124 n.w. of london, in the black country. pop. of urban district (1901) 24,034. it is served by the great western railway, and by the london & north-western at ettingshall road station. in the vicinity are very productive mines of coal and ironstone, as well as sand of fine quality for casting, and grinding-stones for cutlers. bilston contains numerous furnaces, forges, rolling and slitting mills for the preparation of iron, and a great variety of factories for japanned and painted goods, brass-work and heavy iron goods. though retaining no relics of antiquity, the town is very ancient, appearing in domesday. the parish church of st leonard, dating as it stands mainly from 1827, is on the site of a building of the 13th century. bilston suffered severely from an outbreak of cholera in 1832. the town is within the parliamentary borough of wolverhampton.