It’s 1850. In the area south-west of Birmingham, sooty smoke billows from densely packed forges and foundries, obscuring the sky and shrouding buildings, landscape, and dwellings. Known as ‘The Black Country’, this is the powerhouse of Britain’s industrial revolution.
It’s 1967. The air is clear. Deserted foundries and forges litter a landscape ripe for re-development. In Dudley, an exhibition highlights the possible loss of the region’s rich, industrial heritage, and leads to the eventual opening in 1978, of The Black Country Living Museum.
It’s 2022. The Museum covers 26 acres of reclaimed land. At its entrance, an exhibition of goods, ranging from animal traps, laundry irons, enamels, nails, and locks, to delicate crystal glassware, once produced locally and exported throughout the world.
From here, trams and trolleybuses transport visitors back in time, past the 1930s fairground, to the canal basin village. Over 50 shops, industrial buildings, and houses, relocated from Black Country towns, and populated by re-enactors showing life as it was between 1850 and1950. A narrowboat carries passengers between the Dudley Canal basin and the Dudley Tunnel.
28th April 2022. The date when the newly combined Rotherham u3a Gardening and Out and About group will make its first outing of the year. With their new season programme about to be published, this nationally and internationally renowned Living Museum is a superb choice of venue.
The cost of the visit is £29.50 for members (non-members £31.50) including coach fare and entry costs. Only a limited number of seats remain, so act now if you would like to go.
For full details of this and other planned outings, contact Keith Smith on 07931 554 819 or visit www.u3asites.org.uk/Rotherham.