surviving, fortified gatehouse and walls were built in the 13th and 14th centuries, the house itself was probably made of timber. The Leigh family succeeded the Harpurs in the mid-16th century and took a lead in county politics. At the start of the Civil War in 1642, Sir Edward Leigh was an MP and an opponent of the King. He fortified Rushall Hall and joined the Parliamentary Army, being appointed a colonel. His wife, left in command at Rushall, could not hold the Hall against the forces of Prince Rupert in 1643. The Royalists in their turn were ejected after a short siege in 1644. Sir Edward Leigh's younger son was the metaphysical poet Richard Leigh. During the 18th century, the Leighs became absentees, as were their successors, the Mellish and Buchanan families. Limestone of high quality lies near the surface at Rushall. It was exploited by the Romans and through the Middle Ages for building and agricultural purposes. The use of limestone as a flux for smelting iron caused great expansion in mining during the Industrial Revolution. A new settlement grew up at Daw End, and the Hay Head and Linley workings were both on a large scale. The quarries in Rushall Hall's park flooded to become the Park Lime Pits – today a nature reserve. The Arboretum lakes, then also in Rushall, were similarly formed by quarrying. Demography According to a population estimate which puts Rushall with nearby Shelfield, the population of the ward was 12,182 in a 2020-estimate. The statistics for which found Rushall-Shelfield to be 48.8% Male and 51.2% Female. The religious composition of both settlements was 71% Christian, 22.8% Irreligious, 1.1% Muslim, 3% Sikh, 0.6% Hindu and 0.3% Buddist. The ethnic makeup of the ward was 90% White, 5.4% Asian, 1.8% Black and 2.4% Mixed Race. There are a number of churches in the area and in other nearby settlements. The nearest mosques are in Walsall, Lichfield, Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Birchills. As well as Sikh and Hindu Temples. Amenities Rushall's main shopping center is divided by a junction controlled by traffic lights on Lichfield Road, Station Road, Daw End Lane, Walsall Road, Pelsall Lane, and Springfields. It contains basic amenities but there is also a war memorial, there was a library until its closure in 2017 as part of a council budget cut, there is a McDonald's on Daw End Lane, there is also a