The settlement is first recorded (as "Brownhill") on Robert Plot's 1680 map of Staffordshire, at which time it was a hamlet within the manor of Ogley Hay, which in turn was part of the parish of Norton Canes. Ogley Hay itself had existed since at least the 11th century and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, although the 1801 census lists it as having a population of only 8 people. Beyond Ogley Hay lay Catshill, another hamlet which pre-dated Brownhills and which lay within the parish of Shenstone.