The Black Country Living Museum is an open-air museum of reconstructed important buildings, found in Dudley in the West Midlands of Britain . The museum occupies a 105,000 square metres (twenty-six acres) urban heritage park in the shade of Dudley Castle in the centre of the Black Country conurbation.It was first opened in 1978, on land in some measure reclaimed from a former train line products yard, disused lime kilns and previous coal pits ; and since that point a lot more exhibits have been added to it. The Museum preserves some important buildings from all over the Urban Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall and the Town of Wolverhampton ; generally in a specifically built town. The majority of the buildings are original, moved from their original sites. As a living museum is these form a base from which volunteers portray life in the nineteenth and early 20th centuries.The Museum is continually changing as new exhibits, particularly buildings in the town, are being added.
The features of the Black Country Living Museum is a first class open air museum brought to live by costumed characters in the numerous shops, homes and workshops in the Museum's canalside town. Enjoy a course in our normal schoolroom or explore the underground coalmine and thereafter steady your nerves with a normal ale or dandelion and burdock in the Bottle and Glass Hotel . On our twenty-six acre site the past actually comes to life!The Opening hours of Daily 1000-1700,November-February,Wed-Sun 1000-1600.
Exhibition area Found by the key entrance is the exhibition area with an intro to the Black Country, and a variety of local artefacts. The BCLM is near to the site where Thomas Dudley first mastered the method of smelting iron with coal rather than wood charcoal and making iron which was pure enough for commercial use. Therefore having a claim to be the birthplace of the business revolution, the Black Country is known for its good range of steel-based products from nails to the anchor and anchor chain for The Titanic.
The Black Country was a home to some early producers of motor automobiles and cycles ,eg Sunbeam. These are represented in the displays. It is associated to the Brit Motorbike Charitable Trust. Glass working was a major Black Country industry.One source of talents in ornamental glassware was refugees e. G the Huguenots of crystal glassware setting up in the area.