In medieval times Swinford (then spelt Swynford) was an extensive manor bordering the extensive manor of Swinford Regis (Kingswinford).

Swinford is mentioned in a Saxon charter of 950 AD (spelt Suineforde).

It is also mentioned in William the Conqueror's Doomsday Survey when the manor was in the possession of William Fitz Ansculf a powerful Norman Lord who resided in his hilltop castle at Dudley.

'Old' was added to Swynford to distinguish it from the adjacent Swinford Regis.

The Manor of Old Swinford changed hands many times during the Middle Ages.

In 1482 Henry VII granted the manor, then held by the Dean and Canons of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, the right to hold a weekly market with two fairs each year.

In 1486 the charter was renewed by Edward IV to the Earl of Ormond, who then held the manor, as a reward for his services in the Wars of the Roses.

In 1564 the Lyttelton family moved to the superior manor of Old Swinford following the destruction of their Frankley home during the Civil War.

During the times of the Stuarts the Lyttelton's lost their wealth through involvement in the Gunpowder Plot.

The Foleys, whose wealth was based on the expanding iron industry, took control of Old Swinford Manor and brought with them their substantial family fortune.

In 1666 Thomas Foley founded a charity school for boys at Old Swinford.

He set aside the majority of the parish of Pedmore to form part of the endowment of his Old Swinford Hospital.

St. Mary's Church is remarkably rich in memorials of the First World War.

There are 11 within the church, and the graves of four soldiers and a nurse who died at home can be found in the churchyard.

The original parish War Memorial stood outside the church in a small garden beside the main gateway and is now situated in the north porch.

This memorial records the names of 70 men who died between 1914 and 1919, together with another 356 names of those who served their country in uniform.