Five reasons to visit the nation’s best visitor attraction…
20th Jun 2025
In case yow ay heard, we’m beyond proud that we have been awarded Gold for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2025 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence—a moment of real pride not just for the Museum, but for the entire Black Country region.
This national honour celebrates the rich heritage, warmth, and authenticity that define both the Museum and the community it represents.
Our award win has been featured in TimeOut Magazine, the Telegraph, and others – here’s what they had to say…
“This Museum has been named England’s best – and rightly so” – Chris Leadbeater, The Telegraph
“(Some say) the best fish and chips in the region. Because history tastes better battered.” – Dan Egg, Time Out Magazine
Here’s five reasons why we’ve been crowned the best…
Real lives, real stories
Our stories are real stories of real people. Our entire collection reflects the lives of Black Country folk who have shared their memories, heritage, and family histories with us. They, and the communities they represent, are at the heart of everything we do, and the reason we exist.
Most recently, we worked with families who helped us bring our 1940s-60s town to life. People like Cynthia Burgin who ran Burgin’s Newsagent in Dudley, and Steve Langer whose father Herbert was the founder of Langer’s Army & Navy Stores in Stourbridge.
We also continue to work with family businesses – take the Hyman family, for example: authentic fairground owners who bring joy to thousands of visitors with every smile, ride, and memory they help create. This powerful storytelling is made possible by the Museum’s dedicated staff and volunteers, whose passion, knowledge, and care bring our site to life every day.
Our historic characters
As part of our living history promise, visitors can meet our historic characters who’ll tell them stories of what it was really like to live and work during this revolutionary period of history. Most of our characters are based on real individuals, families, or occupations, making them powerful representatives of Black Country heritage. They help visitors see the relevance and richness of working-class histories, migration stories, and story-telling.
Our bostin’ fittle
Our fittle offer includes everyone’s favourite: traditional fish and chips, battered in beef dripping. But there’s so much more.
Visitors can enjoy pub classics like sausages and mash, steak and ale pie, and Black Country cobs at our 1960s pub, the Elephant & Castle – you can even taste flavours of the past like Babycham! Our food offer extends beyond the pub too. At the Workers’ Institute Cafe, enjoy warming jacket potatoes, hearty soup, and a variety of sandwiches, all served in an iconic building with deep roots in women’s rights history.
Interactive tours and demonstrations
Now that our stories span from the 1800s to the 1960s, we offer a broader range of demonstrations for visitors to watch and take part in. From traditional crafts like chain making and nail making to newer demonstrations in our Industrial Quarter, such as brickmaking and aluminium casting, we strive to provide a rich variety of industrial experiences.
Our engaging and informative tours – such as those of the boat dock and the Workers’ Institute – shed light on key moments in our history, including the chainmakers’ strike and the vital role that canals have played in shaping our landscape. And of course, everyone’s favourites: The Edwardian school lesson, mothercraft class, and underground mine experience to see what life was like for an 1850s coalminer.
Authentic settings and collections
Set across 29 acres, explore carefully reconstructed shops, houses and industrial areas that represent the Black Country’s story. Learn how steam power, human ingenuity and an increasingly interconnected world transformed this region into a manufacturing powerhouse.
Many of our buildings have been carefully dismantled and reassembled on site, creating a genuine and tangible sense of living history.
Ready to plan your next visit and discover more about our award-winning museum? Visit our planning page and get ready to step back in time.