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Published: September 17th 2019
Tuesday Jim, Janet and I set off early for the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, 10 miles west of Birmingham. It is an open air museum of rebuilt buildings. It is set on land reclaimed from a railway goods yard, disused lime kilns, canal arm and former coal pits. There are over 50 shops, houses and other industrial buildings from around the area which have been relocated to form a specially built village. It portrays life spanning 300 years of history, with a focus on 1850-1950. The area is known as the Black Country due to the coal mining, coking, iron foundries, glass factories, brickworks and steel mills which all produced a high level of air pollution and made the buildings etc black.
It was the most wonderful day out, and it was a whole day. It is set in such a large area with people dressed up and giving you information in the homes and shops and workplaces. A similar concept to our Sovereign Hill in Ballarat.
The region had quite a different accent as well (I just love hearing all the different accents as we travel around). We were looking at the coal mine and a
Street of shops
Black Country Living Museum, Dudleychap came up and started letting us about it and for a few seconds I was sure he was speaking another language, I finally tuned in and I think managed to get about 60% of what he said and made up the rest. Sounded brilliant, just wish I understood it.
A lot of the show Peaky Blinders is filmed here, especially around the canal and foundry area. We’ve been watching the latest series while I’ve been here and it is great seeing the familiar landmarks now.
A magnificent day out and would highly recommend it if you are anywhere near it to set a day aside to go.
You can go from the museum into the Dudley Canal trust where we took a 45 minute canal trip through the abandoned limestone mines and tunnels.The tunnel isthe second longest navigable canal tunnel in the UK and was used to bring the coal from the mines. A really great experience and Jim even had a go at “legging” the barge through the tunnel.
Wednesday was a quiet day. Jim and Janet had to work so I took myself to Matlock to look around an amazing “tat” shop an
Fish and chip shop
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Jim calls it, I’d say antique and second hand store. Managed to get a couple of pieces for my Royal Albert dinner set at a bargain price compare to Australia. Quiet afternoon and cooked dinner for the family tonight.
Thursday, I awoke to news from home that my job, that I have been in 3 months, is closing the branch physical office and I have 3 options 1. Move to Melbourne, 2. Take a redundancy, or 3. Work from home. Lots of phone calls and messages back an forth to other staff that morning and felt a bit shell shocked. Jim and I decided I needed a dose of Arbour Low. “The most important prehistoric site of the East Midlands, Arbor Low is a Neolithic henge monument atmospherically set amid high moorland. Within an earthen bank and ditch, a circle of some 50 white limestone slabs, all now fallen, surrounds a central stone ‘cove’ – a feature found only in major sacred sites. Nearby is enigmatic Gib Hill, a large burial mound.” We visited it the last time I was over in a winter mist and this time it was windy but clear and sunny. It has the most
Inside the fish and chip shop
Black Country Living Museum, Dudley incredible “feel” about it and the perfect place to calm and centre myself. Just what was needed.
Jim, Janet and I then headed to Hadden Hall for lunch and a look around. Janet’s dad was the Agent for the Haddon Estate for most of his working life and it is where Jim and Janet were married. “Haddon Hall is probably the finest example of a fortified medieval manor house in existence. Present-day Haddon Hall dates from the 12th Century to the early 17th Century, whereupon it lay dormant for over two hundred years from 1700 until the 1920s, when the 9th Duke and Duchess of Rutland restored the house and gardens, and once again made it habitable. Avoiding fire; warfare; family misfortune and changing fashions, little has changed over recent centuries and Haddon provides a unique view of early English life and history. Film-makers flock to Haddon Hall to use it as a location. The house and grounds have played host to no less than three versions of “Jane Eyre”. Screen credits also include "Elizabeth”, "Pride & Prejudice”, “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “The Princess Bride”, the cult classic movie in which Haddon Hall becomes Prince Humperdinck’s Castle and
village.”
It really is like stepping back in time and such an amazing piece of history. Fabulous to have Janet as my tour guide who knew so much of the history and other tit bits. Amazing.
We finished the day with a beer at the Lathkill pub, high on a hill with an amazing view.
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