The website of the
Black Country Society
Established in 1967 to Support, Record, Preserve and Celebrate the distinct
Character and Nature of the West Midlands area known since the mid nineteenth century as 'The Black Country'
Virtual Heritage Group 2023
Recordings of meetings
An Ecclesiastical Affair - Chris Baker
Wednesday February 8th 2023
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This presentation tells the story of events in the Black Country village of Pensnett in the 1860s and 1870s - about the relationship of the vicar of Pensnett in 1870 with a teenage pupil teacher at the church school, an illicit trip to the circus in Birmingham, a clergy discipline trial, a series of anonymous and scurrilous pamphlets and letters circulating in Pensnett about the incident, and a nationally reported libel trial. And what happened afterwards.
Amongst other things the presentation describes a series of anonymous letters and pamphlets that were circulating around the village. Copies of these can be accessed using the button below.
Mary Macarthur and the Cradley Heath Lockout by Andrew Homer
Wednesday March 8th 2023
In 1910, the chainmaking women of Cradley Heath downed their tools and went on strike under the leadership of Mary Macarthur and the National Federation of Women Workers. Although the strike or ‘lockout’ was about local wages, it was to have national repercussions. The authority of the newly formed trade boards to address the plight of workers in the sweated industries, and enforce minimum wages, was about to be tested right here in the Black Country.
The file on the right contains details of some of the sources used in the talk and suggestions for further reading
A Miscellany of Black Country Memories
19th April 2023
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Alan Graham - The music of Jon and Mike Raven 1 - The Dudley Canal Tunnel song
Geoff Taylor - Bert Wood’s canal memories
Jennifer Walker - A charabanc outing
Jennifer and Emma Pursehouse – The Family shop in Upper Gornal
Susan Roxburgh - Poem - 1957 Corbett Hospital, Stourbridge Summer Fete
Keith Bracey - Poem – Black Country lungs
Emma Pursehouse - Poem – That day (Video)
Chris Baker - Furnace and foundry – a picture by J L Petit and a poem by J William Jones
Brendan Clifford - A Black Country painting by Turner
Andrew Homer – Kidnapped – the extraordinary story of Black Country chain makers lured to Germany and kidnapped in 1906
Alan Graham - The music of Jon and Mike Raven 2 - The Navigators
Francis Brett Young
10th May 2023
Black Country History Quiz
14th June 2023