theblackcountry
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“He was a man for whom we had the greatest respect.” – Dennis Edwards 25 Platoon D Company 2nd Battalion Ox and Bucks Regiment.
We don’t usually identify Local Authority Trading Standards Officers with heroic deeds and bravery above and beyond the call of duty, but today’s blog will tell the story of the bravest ‘weights and measures’ man I’ve yet come across, whose heroic and selfless actions 80 years ago helped secure the success of the D Day… Continue reading
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They breed them tough in the Black Country.
One of the better known historical figures from the Black Country is Tipton-born William Perry, more widely known as the ‘Tipton Slasher’ and boxing champion of England from 1850 to 1857. His boxing exploits and successes need not be revisited – his story has been told many times on-line with many extracts from contemporary accounts… Continue reading
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Election Fever Begins!
As our news media begins to speculate about a forthcoming general election (it could be a long haul!) I thought we could reminisce a bit about those also-rans in our general elections, some of the defeated candidates who sometimes appear for a few weeks, are defeated at the ballot box and are never seen again… Continue reading
albrightandwilson, birmingham, chainmakers, christabelpankhurst, cradleyheath, gmb, history, labour, localhistory, marymacarthur, pankhurst, politics, sandwell, smethwick, suffragettes, theblackcountry, tory, votesforwomen, westmidlands, womens-history, womenshistory, womenshistorymonth, womenshistorymonth2024, wspu -
“shake the hand of the great George Smith”
It is difficult if not impossible to really know what a historical character was like – think of the polarised positions we take over Richard III, controversies over movie portrayals of Queen Elizabeth and Alexander the Great, and movie-makers themselves playing fast and loose with the historic record – Ridley Scott’s recent biopic Napoleon has… Continue reading
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The Twentyman Cross
A beautiful carved stone cross stands in St Bartholomew’s churchyard in Penn, reminiscent of 9th century crosses dotted around the British Isles. The cross is dedicated to Alfred Charles Twentyman (1833-1908) J.P., chairman of Wolverhampton Hospital and international merchant, exporter of iron goods, agricultural items and guns. Alfred’s father was Liverpool-born Lawrence Holme Twentyman (1783-1852) a… Continue reading
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“There is some corner of a foreign field…”
As Remembrance Sunday approaches we thought a few stories of men (and it was predominantly men) who served, often making the ultimate sacrifice, in either of the World Wars, and who came from, or had strong connections with, the Black Country, would be timely. But where to start? There are over 1500 graves cared for… Continue reading
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G. H. Randle and W. Randle of Kings Norton
Some of you may recall an earlier post where we wondered who had created the lovely St Mary & St Anne window at St Augustine of Hippo near Dudley. Well, one of us had the clever idea of looking at the recently updated Pevsner covering the Black Country which gave us a name and a… Continue reading
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“I shall be glad when this is all over.”
One of the very first World War One war memorials is on the edge of the Black Country. It is a beautiful stained glass window from the workshops of William Morris and Co., designed under the supervision of the Morris and Co. Artistic Director, JH Dearle and installed in St Mary’s, Oldswinford, in December 1915.… Continue reading
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What do you keep in your coal cellar?
We are blessed throughout the Black Country with some amazing stained glass in our churches – from Camm and Evans in Smethwick, Lemmon and Davies and the “members” of the Bromsgrove Guild, and of course the long-lasting Hardman company. It’s such a shame that so many of these delights are behind locked doors. But something… Continue reading
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Forgotten burial grounds of the Black Country #2 (and #3!)
Many non-conformist chapels built in the 18th and 19th centuries had their own burial grounds .This was both (especially in the 19th century) as a response to the overcrowding in many churchyards in the towns where population was growing as a consequence of industrialisation, but also because of a dislike by many non-conformists of being… Continue reading
The Black Country Dying Museum 