The Museum's Story
How it all began
The idea to create an open-air, living museum that told the story of the Black Country all started in the late 1960s. This was a period of rapid change for the region that saw the closure of the last working coal mine at Baggeridge in 1968. Manufacturing dwindled, many canals lay deserted, railways began to close, and the Black Country as many knew changed irrevocably.
In 1967, an exhibition about the Black Country was held in Dudley. It underlined the threat to the region’s heritage and attracted considerable support. The Black Country Society formed, and it was from there that the idea to create the Black Country Living Museum grew.
It wasn’t long before a site on Tipton Road was secured and a programme of land reclamation was started by the West Midlands County Council. Shortly after, the Museum separated from the council. By 1978, it was possible to hold a preview season to show how the Museum might develop.
In 1980, the tramway system was installed to transport visitors the half mile or so to the canal arm. By 1985, visitor numbers had grown to 250,000 a year. In 1990, when the underground mining display opened, 305,000 people visited the Museum. Attendance drastically fell due to the economic recession in the early 1990s and have since shown a year on year increase.
Since then, the Museum has continued to grow and develop. In 2010, the Museum launched a £10 million development, creating a 1930s high street. Other highlights were added during this time, including the translocation of Cradley Heath's Workers' Institute building.
Latest additions - the story of the 1940s - 60s
In 2019, the Museum successfully received the final go ahead for its biggest capital development project to date, Forging Ahead, bringing the Museum’s story into the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
The development has been opening in stages since 2022, with a brand-new Visitor Centre and several replica or recreated buildings in the heart of the Museum. These include Wolverhampton’s Elephant & Castle Pub, a Marsh & Baxter butcher and Stanton’s Music Shop.
In early 2023, a new Industrial Quarter was added showcasing the changes in Black Country industry in the 1950s. This area includes J. H. Lavender Aluminium Foundry, Cricket Field Brickworks and Joe H. Smith & Sons (Oldbury) Ltd.
Later that year, Lea Road Infant Welfare Centre was opened, telling the story of the introduction of the NHS and family care in the 1960s.
In 2024, three additional shops on the new high street were added to the story. Hasbury and Halesowen Co-operative, Langer's Army and Navy Stores and Spring Hill Post Office represent new stories from the region from the 1940s-60s.
The centrepiece of the latest development is Woodside Library, which once stood on Stourbridge Road. This translocated building is set to open in 2026. The translocation of this building marks the first time a library has been built in a living history museum.
Museum facts
Did you know...
- The Museum formed with just six members of staff. We now employ over 280 people.
- We have three different ways of describing our buildings: translocated, recreated, and replicated. Translocation is our most famous method - a building is taken down, brick by brick, and the pieces are numbered. It is then rebuilt at the Museum in the same order it came down, like a huge puzzle. A recreation is when a building no longer exists, and we use archive materials to bring the building back to life. A replica means we are creating a "copy" of an existing building to tell its historical story, but the building itself is still in use and serves its community. We have built and relocated over 80 buildings.
- There are over 100,000 items in our collection, ranging from small objects like letters and miniature ironwork to large items like anchors and buses.
- We welcomed our 11 millionth visitor in April 2024.
- Our storytelling spans over 250 years, from 1712 to 1968.