Dudley Black Country Museum

Sunday, 7th June we visited the Dudley Black Country Museum on the edge of the canal.  The collections of the Black Country Living Museum represent the single largest record of material in Britain which exemplifies the particular contribution of the Black Country to the Industrial Revolution.  The region was uniquely rich in coal, ironstone, limestone and clay including  the Staffordshire "Thick Coal". a seam of 30 feet thick which was the richest in Britain and in some areas outcropped at the surface.  Together steam power and canals helped create the Black Country and established it as the greatest iron producing district in Britain and one of the greatest in the world.  The term Black Country is described "as smoky and black by day and red at night from the fires of blast furnaces, forges and kilns" and dates to the 1830's.  The last colliery was closed in 1968 and then manufacturing dwindled and the canals became deserted.

View of some of the buildings and the canal and old canal bridge.

A view over the industrial part of the museum and the canal.

The site of the Museum, about 26 acres on the edge of an old coal mine and next to the canal was opened in 1978 and has grown slowly from that time.  Beside the original features some 150 items and buildings including large industrial and public buildings, shops, houses, outbuildings and backyards workshops and many items of street and canal related furniture which have been brought and shifted to the site to recreate an authentic Black Country landscape.

View of the Mine entrance.

Notice about the first steam engine.

Sue standing beside the steam engine.

It is a living Museum with traditional crafts such as nail making, chain making and brass founding being displayed.

There was also this steam engine on display, used to pump water out of the deep coal mine.  It was the world's first steam engine and built in 1712.  It was fired by a large coal burner underneath it.  It was not working the day we were there.

We also watched a link of a chain being made, it took 7 minutes but a good craftsman in his day could do 40 chain links in an hour.

Chain making

We visited many of the cottages which were all brought to the site and rebuilt as exactly as they could and many included the garden, flower and vegetable as they would have done years ago and people cooking meals on the coal rages etc.  Unfortunately were unable to buy the bread made in the bakery.  I have a book about it and the activities and buildings we visited are too many to mention all, but we were there until about 5 pm.

The vegetable garden of one of the cottages.

That night was the first night it was warm enough to enjoy "Pimms"  on the side of the canal before we went off for a meal.  We went to a nearby famous pie factory called Mad O'Rourkes and I had a Queen Victoria Pie which was beef and vegetables with their special gravy with mashed potato on top and chips, really yummy.

The boats moored on the side of the canal and people getting ready to walk to our restaurant.

The inside of Mad O'Rourkes Pie Factory.