Preparations for Tipton Slasher heritage trail launch
Preparations are in hand for the launch of a new heritage trail to commemorate the Tipton Slasher.
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William Perry the Tipton Slasher was a famous heavyweight prize fighter in the 1800s.
His remains lay in St John's churchyard in Dudley and his statue stands in Coronation Gardens, in Tipton.
On April 25 local history buffs and will be gathering at the church in St John's Road, Kates Hill, for a special unveiling of his renovated headstone and the launch of the new trail.
The project is being organised by Tipton Town Library Local History Group in partnership with the church.
The heritage trail features locations relating to Perry who won multiple bare knuckle fights in his career including the heavyweight championships of 1850 and 1853.
Notable sites include his statue sculpted by Bill Haynes which was unveiled in 1993, the Fountain Inn which served as his headquarters in the early pars of his career and the Tipton Railway Station.
The statue will be number one on the trail.
This year marks the centenary of the church's involvement in fundraising for periodic repairs to the Slasher's headstone which was originally installed in 1925.
The last time it was repaired was in the 1980s.
Group chairman Rob Hazel said the latest fundraising effort included a Tipton Slasher calendar, a Go Fund Me page which has so far raised £350 and a special Slasher treasure hunt.
After losing his English champion title in 1857 he became a pub landlord before dying in Bilston in 1880.
In 1984 actors Pat Roach and Gordon Corbet stage the bare knuckle bout between the Tipton Slasher and his rival Tom Sayers for a TV film shot in Netherton.
The trail will be launched at midday on April 25. Trail leaflets will be available at the event
