Black Country Living Museum
Encyclopedia
The Black Country Living Museum (formerly The Black Country Museum) is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings, located in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

 in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

 of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The museum occupies a 105000 square metres (26 acre) urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Dudley Zoo is located in its grounds. The location, Castle Hill, is an outcrop of Wenlock Group limestone that was extensively quarried during the Industrial Revolution, and which now along with Wren's Nest Hill is a...

 in the centre of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 conurbation. It was first opened in 1978, on land partly reclaimed from a former railway goods yard, disused lime kilns and former coal pits, and since then many more exhibits have been added to it.

The Museum preserves some notable buildings from around the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...

, Sandwell
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...

 and Walsall
Metropolitan Borough of Walsall
The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...

 and the City of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

; mainly in a specially built village. Most of the buildings are original, relocated from their original sites. As a living museum, these form a base from which knowledgeble, local historians portray life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Museum is constantly changing as new exhibits, especially buildings in the village, are being added.

Museum - general description

A prominent landmark on the Tipton Road passing the main entrance is the frontage of Rolfe Street Baths, relocated from Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....

. To the left of the main entrance is a more conventional exhibition area with displays of a number of artefacts made in the Black Country. This includes not only machinery but, various kinds of vehicles, and the iron products which are a major feature of Black Country industry. It also includes more fragile items such as glassware, reflecting the centuries old industry of lead crystal glass production as well as the Joseph Chance glass works between Oldbury
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell.-Local government:...

 and Smethwick.

Electric tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

s and trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

es transport visitors from the entrance in a re-created factory to the village area with thirty buildings situated by the canal basin. The museum is one of only three in the UK with working trolleybuses, the others being The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft is a transport museum which specialises in the preservation of trolleybuses. It is located by the village of Sandtoft, near Belton on the Isle of Axholme in the English county of Lincolnshire.-Description:...

 and the East Anglia Transport Museum
East Anglia Transport Museum
The East Anglia Transport Museum is an open air transport museum, with numerous historic public transport vehicles . It is located in Carlton Colville a suburb of Lowestoft, Suffolk...

 near Lowestoft. Nearby Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

 retained its trolleybuses until 1970. The village is only a short walk from the main entrance, passing the Newcomen pumping engine and Fun-Fair.

Coal mine displays include underground workings, colliery surface buildings and a replica of the 1712 Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...

 steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

. In all, forty-two separate displays have either been re-erected or built to old plans to create a living open air museum.

Visitors to the museum may also take a narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...

 trip on the adjacent canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

, into the Dudley Tunnel
Dudley Tunnel
Dudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley Canal Line No 1, England. At about long, it is now the second longest canal tunnel on the UK canal network today....

.

Exhibition area

Located by the main entrance is the exhibition area with an introduction to the Black Country and a selection of local artefacts. The BCLM is close to the site where Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the town's first home...

 first mastered the technique of smelting iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 with coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 instead of wood charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

 and making iron which was pure enough for industrial use. Thus having a claim to be the birthplace of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

, the Black Country is famous for its wide range of steel-based products from nails to the anchor and anchor chain for The Titanic. A representative range of smaller items are displayed at the BCLM.

It is also home to a working replica of a Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...

 steam pumping engine; an invention which was created in nearby Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....

 in 1712.

The Black Country was home to some early manufacturers of motor cars and cycles, such as Sunbeam. These are represented in the displays. It is affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust
The British Motorcycle Charitable Trust is a Charitable Trust dedicated to promoting and supporting the preservation and restoration of British motorcycles...

.

Glass working was a major Black Country industry. One source of skills in decorative glassware was refugees such as the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

s, leading to major producers of crystal glassware setting up in the area.

The Village and Old Trades

Houses, shops and public buildings have been rebuilt to create a single early 20th century street, peopled by staff in period costume. A number of the historic trades of the Black Country are also demonstrated.

Some of these buildings are still used in their original function, such as the pub, the sweet shop
Sweet Shop
- Overview :Sweet Shop is a limited edition compilation of rare and unreleased recordings by London-based glam rockers Rachel Stamp. It was released in 2004 via Rachel Stamp's official website and sold at gigs around the UK...

, the Methodist Chapel and the 'chippy
Fish and chips
Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...

'. Others are faithful replicas of their last use, with goods in the windows. Still others are only shells of the originals, such as the bath house. By immersing the visitor in the everyday objects of life, it becomes clearer how things connected.

While some food products may be sold, modern health regulations forbid the public sampling the delicious traditionally made bread from the village bakery.

A village school shows lessons and school life from the turn of the 20th century. The school building was that of St James's School which opened in the Eve Hill area of Dudley in 1842 for pupils aged 5–11. However, it was an infants school only from 1906 with junior pupils transferring to Jessons School. It was refurbished in 1912 and remained open until July 1972, when it finally shut its doors after 130 years. However, it remained in use for a school for a further eight years as an annexe of the reorganised Jessons Middle School (formerly the junior school) until a new school building opened on the Jessons site in 1980. That was the end of the building as a school after 138 years, but it would survive for another a decade at its Eve Hill site. When Jessons Middle School vacated the building, it was converted into a youth centre before falling short of modern health and safety standards and closing in 1989. The Black Country Museum officials then made the decision to transfer the building to the museum site and the relocation was completed by October 1990, with the exhibit opening the following year.http://www.bclm.co.uk/map14.htm

A short canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 branch runs between the school and the main part of the village. This allows the role of waterways in Black Country history to be portrayed. Alongside the canal basin is a forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...

 where chain-making is demonstrated.

Recent Developments - The Old Birmingham Road

The Old Birmingham Road links St James’s School
with the Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...

 Workers’ Institute. Here buildings have been set in the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...

 to tell the story of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 in the years leading up to the Second World War. Hobbs & Sons fish and chip shop and H. Morrall’s menswear shop have been returned to their 1935 condition. The building housing these two shops comes from Hall Street, Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

 and dates to the late 18th century but was refaced with bright red pressed brickwork in 1889. The impressive tiled interior of Hobbs features hand painted tiled wall panels which have carefully restored. The frying range is of a design patented in 1932 and made by E.W. Proctor of Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

. In the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...

 many of Joseph Hobbs’s customers worked in nearby factories or shops. Today visitors can eat their fish and chips in the reconstructed saloon with its wooden benches or walk through the cart entrance to the modern Hobbs Courtyard Café situated in the back yard. Next door, visitors can buy souvenir 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...

 style handkerchiefs, ties, scarves, gloves and hats in Harry Morrell’s menswear shop.

The next four buildings were rescued from Birmingham Street, Oldbury
Oldbury
Oldbury may refer to:*Oldbury, Western Australia, a district south of Perth, Australia*Oldbury, Shropshire, a village near Bridgnorth, England, UK*Oldbury, South Gloucestershire, a village south of Bridgnorth, England, UK...

 and date to about 1860. The block is dominated by the impressive green painted facia of Humphrey Brothers, builders’ merchants, who occupied these premises from 1921; it is a replica of the shop front as it was in about 1932. Humphreys sold fireplaces, toilets and a wide range of building supplies including ‘Walpamur’, a flat paint used for internal walls. The motorcycle shop is based on the business of A. Hartill & Sons which was located in Mount Pleasant, Bilston
Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...

. The window contains a display of six motor bikes of Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 manufacture dating from 1929-34. Next door is the tobacco shop of Alfred Preedy & Sons, a well known firm of wholesale and retail tobacconists, established in Dudley in 1868. James Gripton owned a radio shop in Birmingham Street from the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...

 and this reconstruction, set in 1939, contains ‘new’ and second radios for sale, some of which date to the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...

.

The brick tunnel and cart entrance provide access to a late thirties kitchen with an electric cooker made by Revo of Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....

. There is a radio workshop behind Griptons and then the stairs lead to two first floor living rooms and two bedrooms which are all set in the late 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...

 and furnished with original thirties style furniture and wall paper.

The Cradley Heath Workers’ Institute was built with surplus funds raised during the strike of Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 women chain makers in 1910 for a minimum wage. The Arts & Crafts style building was designed by the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...

 architect, Albert Thomas Butler, and opened on 10 June 1912. The Institute became a centre for educational meetings, social gatherings and trade union activities in Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Black Country, located in Sandwell metropolitan borough, England. The name is usually pronounced "Craid-ley", not "Crad-ley", but in the Black Country accent, it may even sound like "Craig-ley Aith"...

. Re-erected at the Museum it stands as a monument to a campaign to establish a national minimum wage in the ‘sweated trades’ where people worked long hours for poverty wages typically in appalling conditions. The building contains reconstructed offices, a news room with a digital interpretation of the background to the strike and a large hall which is used for a wide range of activities inclding theatre performances and concerts.

Traditional fun-fair

A traditional fun-fair is a prominent part of the museum site, located just outside the village, beyond the garage alongside the school. It includes traditional features, including a helter skelter and a 'Speedway' ride which has become increasingly rare, as one of the few examples of its type not to be later converted into a 'waltzer'.

Museum trams

  • Dudley
    Dudley
    Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

     Tram No 5 built in 1920. This was the Museum's first tram. It is currently in semi-retirement as it has worked much more here than for its original owners; it is currently out of service undergoing attention to its trolleypole and bodywork.
  • Wolverhampton
    Wolverhampton
    Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

     Horse Tram No 23 built in 1892. It is the Museum's oldest tram, and is currently on display at the back of the Tram Depot.
  • Dudley Tramcar No 34 built in 1919. Returned to traffic in 1997 after restoration, it is now used regularly at the museum.
  • Wolverhampton Open Top Tramcar No 49 built in 1909. Returned to traffic in 2004 after a 25 year restoration, is now in regular service in the museum.

Motor buses

  • Daimler CVG6 GEA 174 built in 1948. Currently undergoing restoration, the framework is complete and the main outer body panels are going on; completion is planned in another two years.
  • Midland Red
    Midland Red
    Midland Red was a bus company which operated in the English Midlands from 1905 to 1981. It was the trading name used by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Company , which was renamed Midland Red Omnibus Company in 1974...

     BMMO D9 6342 HA. In service following restoration.



Trolley Buses

Until early 2011 The Black Country Museum ran a number of trolley buses in service on certain days, unlike the tram which is operated 7 days a week. The route was one of the few double deck trolley bus services left in the world, as most of the worlds trolley buses are single deckers.

The museums fleet numbered three resident trolley buses from the Black Countries two former trolley bus networks, and at one time several visiting trolley buses most of which has some sort of connection with the Black Country. Unlike Birmingham's tram service, Birmingham Corporation Trolley Buses never operated in the Black Country. The Resident Fleet is listed bellow;
  • Walsall Corporation Transport 862 – A Sunbeam (of Wolverhampton) F4A with a Willowbrook Body, it was built in 1955 and retired from Walsall in 1970 on the closure of the trolleybus network.

  • Wolverhampton Corporation Transport 433 – Another Sunbeam and body work By C. H. Roe, this time a W4 built in 1946 and was retired with the rest of Wolverhampton’s trolley buses in 1967.

  • Wolverhampton 78 – A Guy Built 1931 Trolleybus that still requires restoration.


During January 2011 thieves broke in and stole part of both the tram and trolley bus overhead wires, and although the tram service is back in operation the trolley buses have not started running and there is no recent news as to if they will ever run again.

See also

  • Beamish Museum
    Beamish Museum
    Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...

     - County Durham, England
  • Summerlee Heritage Park
    Summerlee Heritage Park
    Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, formerly known as Summerlee Heritage Park is an award-winning industrial museum in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland...

     - Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
  • Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
    Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
    The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum is situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. It comprises two separate museums, the Folk Museum and the Transport Museum...

     - Cultra, Northern Ireland
  • St Fagans National History Museum
    St Fagans National History Museum
    St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...

    - Museum of Welsh Life, Cardiff, Wales.

External links

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