By Beverly Rademacher

Copyright expressandstar

It also offers the opportunity to buy a little slice of local history – for centuries Halesowen was the centre of the nail-making industry and the building was known locally as the ‘Nail Warehouse’.

The two-storey workshop/warehouse, on the corner of Laurel Lane and Powell Street, is locally listed as the warehouse where the “foggers”, or middlemen, supplied iron rod to the nailmaker and received the finished nails back.

Present on an 1885 Ordnance Survey map, the property was rebuilt in the early 1900s. For more than a decade before it closed it was the premises of the Halesowen Clothing Distributors business.

The former warehouse next to 17 Laurel Lane is listed with a guide price of just £20,000-plus in Bond Wolfe’s livestreamed auction on Thursday, October 23.

James Rossiter, senior auction valuer at Bond Wolfe, said: “This locally listed property, set back behind a small foregarden, is considered suitable for a broad range of alternative uses or redevelopment, subject to planning permission.

“This could range from a children’s nursery or a restaurant to retail or even residential use.”

Currently the property extends to 1,658 sq ft. On the ground floor are a warehouse/workshop area, a kitchen and staff room and a WC, in total extending to 835 sq ft.

Upstairs, where original wooden beams are a feature, is a further storage and workshop area extending to 823 sq ft.

The property is listed in the Dudley Historic Environment Record as it is considered to be the sole surviving former nail warehouse in Halesowen, serving as an important reminder of a significant past local industry. In 1901 it was occupied by James Heague, an iron nail and chain manufacturer.

Nail-making was a significant cottage industry in Halesowen from at least the 1600s, with the work carried out in backyards and sheds at family homes across the area.

The former warehouse in Halesowen will be among 177 lots appearing in Bond Wolfe’s next auction which will be livestreamed via Bond Wolfe’s website from 8.30am – with remote bidding by proxy, telephone or internet.

For more details and to register to bid, visit www.bondwolfe.com/auctions/properties/, email auctions@bondwolfe.com or call 0121 312 1212 or 01902 928510.