Read about how you can see the flame at the museum here
Britain’s Friendliest Open Air Museum
Discover a fascinating world when you visit this urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle at the heart of the Black Country.
Historic buildings from all around the Black Country have been moved and authentically rebuilt at the Museum, to create a tribute to the traditional skills and enterprise of the people that once lived in the heart of industrial Britain.
Visitors are transported back in time from the modern exhibition halls to the canal-side village, where costumed demonstrators and working craftsmen bring the buildings to life with their local knowledge, practical skills and unique Black Country humour.
Save money by purchasing your tickets online
Night at the Museum
19 May
As dusk falls, the Museum will be illuminated by gas and candlelight offering an atmospheric setting for a family night out. Visitors can enjoy musical entertainers; street performers, choirs singing in the chapel and brass bands performing in the Workers’ Institute. Join in with circus skill games, animal balloon making and face painting. Tuck in to tasty traditional food and drink and enjoy an evening full of traditional family entertainment.
Book HALF PRICE tickets for Night at the Museum online or call 0121 520 8054
*This is a pre-purchase only event.
For online bookings visit bclm.com/bookings
News
Flotilla fit for a Queen
by BCLM
President, one of the world’s only surviving steam powered narrow boats, prepares to set sail from Black Country Living Museum on 10 April, 2012. The boat, bound for Etruria in Stoke-on-Trent, will start a journey which will see the 100-year old steamer take part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, on behalf of HM Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire in a ‘flotilla fit for a Queen’.
The1000-boat tribute to Her Majesty’s 60 year reign will navigate along a seven mile stretch of the Thames, from Putney to Tower Bridge, on Sunday 3 June, 2012 in one of the biggest waterways spectaculars in living memory. A variety of vessels from the UK, Commonwealth and around the world will take part in the display and cargo boats, tug boats, rescue boats, leisure crafts and historic ships will all gather on the Thames in the largest flotilla seen in more than 400 years.
In a fitting testimony to President’s past, cargo representative of Staffordshire will be transported to London aboard the steamer. In its heyday President would have carried spices, tea, wool, soap and sugar between London, Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. Today it sets sail with a JCB digger, a steel swan, created by St Modwen Properties in partnership with social enterprise PM Training, a Michelin tyre and a hand-crafted Wedgewood Diamond Jubilee Commemorative set showcasing the best the county has to offer.
Making the journey aboard ‘President’, will be a JCB 8018 mini excavator which was lowered into position today ahead of the 336 mile journey to London. The 1.5 tonne machine, made by JCB Compact Products in Cheadle, Staffordshire, will be helping fly the flag for Staffordshire manufacturing on the deck of the steam powered narrow boat. JCB Worldwide Marketing Director Matt McClurg said: “JCB is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mini excavators and there is a huge sense of pride for everyone involved in producing these machines that the JCB 8018 will be aboard The President for this very special journey.” Staffordshire County Councillor Pat Corfield, Cabinet Member for Culture, Communities and Customers said: “It is a thrill and an honour for Staffordshire to be able to play such a significant part in the national Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It will be a central event, broadcast live across the world and I am delighted that Staffordshire will be so well represented by such fine county heritage at such a prestigious event. The treasures that will be making their way down to London will show the world what Staffordshire has to offer."
David J Eveleigh, Director of Collections, Learning & Research at Black Country Living Museum said: “Black Country Living Museum is delighted that ‘President’, one of our most important and best-loved boats, has secured a place representing the county of Staffordshire in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. As the country’s only restored operational steam narrow boat,and part of the National Historic Fleet, her journey from Staffordshire to London, as well as the Pageant itself, will allow many more people to view this important part of the region’s industrial past.”
Our Collections
Since its establishment in 1975, the Museum has collected material relating to the Black Country and held this in trust for the benefit of the public.
In addition to this the Trust assumed responsibility for collections made in the name of the Black Country Museum by Dudley Museum and Art Gallery since 1967.
In 2003 we took over the buildings and collections of the Lock Museum in Willenhall, now known as the Locksmith’s House.
Join Our Team
The Black Country Living Museum is one of the UK’s leading open-air museums – having recently welcomed its 7 millionth visitor since it opened 36 years ago and now attracting 312,000 visitors annually to its astonishing 26 acre site, two miles from the town centre of Dudley.
Gardener (full-time and fixed-term, initally until October 2012)
We are looking to recruit a full-time, fixed-term Gardener to work alongside our current part-time Gardener. The candidate will be responsible for developing and presenting the gardens and grounds in a way that is historically accurate and appropriate for their use as an education resource for students, schools, community groups and general visitors.
More details can be found here
The Museum as a Venue
The Black Country Living Museum offers a corporate venue with a difference just nine miles from Birmingham City Centre.
- Meetings & Conferences
- Presentations
- Product Launches
- Exhibitions
- Training Days and Seminars
- Corporate Evenings
- Company Family Days
Friends of the Museum
The Friends are the group of people who originally were the driving force behind the formation of the Black Country Living Museum in the 1970s.
Since then the Friends (a registered charity) have supported the Museum in collecting exhibits, manning displays, promoting the Museum, organising events and making donations.
The Friends are responsible for the services in the Museum Chapel and the Living History Weekends. In addition a group of Friends are trained to act as guides and demonstrators and there is a talks panel which provides speakers for outside bodies.
Locksmith's House
The Locksmith’s House is the only surviving lock-maker’s house and workshop in a town which was once the UK’s lock making capital. It was home to the Hodson family of lock makers, who first lived here over a century ago.
The Locksmith’s House is currently only open to the public on open days or for special events. It is the perfect venue for group and school visits, which can be made by appointment. To book your group visit call: 0121 520 8054
Pre-booked parties can take a guided tour in gas-lit rooms, soak up the atmosphere, hear the clatter of belt driven machinery in the workshop and explore a nationally significant collection of locks and keys.
NB Visits to the Locksmith House are Pre-Book Only
Black Country Living Museum Trust.
Tipton Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4SQ.
A Private Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England Company No. 1226321 and Registered as a Charity No. 504481
The Museum is run by The Black Country Living Museum Trust as a ‘not for profit’ organisation which earns most of its running costs from admission income and sales to visitors.
The Black Country Living Museum deals with the history of the Black Country, the heart of industrial England, with recreated buildings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought to life by costumed demonstrators and trained educational guides.
