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'
WALKS AND VISITS Programme 2023
Provision House. - the former Co-op Emporium - Ned Williams
Wednesdaty 3rd May 2023 7.15 for 7.30 start. Provison House DY1 1PH
The former Co-op Emporium building in Dudley now run by a charity. There will be a look at their collection of Co-op memorabilia, interesting views of Dudley from its flat roof. The building was opened by the Co-op in 1939 and has hosted some refurbishment in recent years and is gradually being brought back to use by the Provision House Charity-as their own HQ and as space they can lease to other local Charites. Ned will also give a short talk on the history of Dudley Co-operative society
For further details or queries, contact Dave Galley on 01384 832157
Merridale Cemetery WW1 Graves - Quint Watt
Wednesday 10th May 2023
Meet at the Cemetery gates in Jeffcock Rd WV3 7AE at 2.00pm. Small car park and on street parking.
There are over 100 Great War era burials in Wolverhampton’s Merridale Cemetery. These include, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and one solitary nurse. This walk will visit the graves of twenty people and include details of their lives, military careers and circumstances of their deaths.
Please wear strong shoes as we shall be crossing uneven ground in some places.
Bantock House museum and cafe are nearby and could be visited beforehand.
Sandwell valley from prehistoric time to the twentieth century
Mike Hodder and Sue Whitehouse
Wednesday 17th May 2023 ay 7.00pm (prompt start.
Meet at the main entrance to Dartmouth Park, Reform St, West Bromwich B70 7PH. West Bromwich bus station and central tram stop are a short walking distance away and Tesco Car Park in New Square is free after 6.00pm.
The walk is about 3.5 miles long and will include the remains of the medieval Sandwell Priory and its surrounding landscape, the park around the 18th century Sandwell Hall, and Jubilee Colliery. It will end at the Crown and Cushion pub, near the starting point. It will include some rough paths and there will be no shelter, so please come appropriately dressed.
Bradley canal restoration - Gavin Hawkins and Rod Griffin
Wednesday 31st May 7.15 for a 7.30 start.
Meet Canal and River Trust Bradley Workshop on Bradley Lane WV14 8DW. Local parking available.
The walk will follow the route of the infilled Bradley Canal and Moorcroft Junction. The Bradley Canal Restoration Society will share the history of the canal, the work underway to clear vegetation, the remaining navigable section and plans for the restoration of the canal and locks. During the walk the benefits to the local economy and environment will be discussed.
The walk is along good paths and the route of the canal is approximately 1.5 miles, and will be returning along the same route.
A walk around Willingsworth - Keith Hodgkins.
Thursday 15th June 7.15 for 7.30
Meet at Tipton Sports Academy Car Park, Wednesbury Oak Rd, DY4 0BS
Willingsworth, on the North Western fringe of Tipton, is a name that has disappeared from modern maps. In the 19th century it was dominated by colliers and ironworks, the legacy of which was a massive area of abandoned derelict land which remained until the 1980s and was one of the last survivals of old pit’ bonks’ to be reclaimed in the Black Country. The two mile walk, using active and abandoned canal routes, will circumnavigate the houses which now cover Willingsworth Ironwork’s site and search for clues to the lost Landscapes.
Wordsley to Buckpool aling the Stourbridge canal (16 Locks) - John Smith.
Wednesday 21st June 7.15 for 7.30pm
Meet at the Dudley Tool Company, Mill Rd, Wordsley DY8 5SX, where car parking is available.
The walk will join the canal at Dadford Bridge by the Red House Glass Cone walking towards the Leys and return following the Wordsley Brook through the Buckpool Nature reserve. This part of the canal climbs approximately 100 feet up the Western Boundary Fault to reach the coal measures that lay beyond. On the return journey we shall look at the houses where the Richardson and Webb families lived. Names associated with glass making and horticultural seed production lived.