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
Diamond Jubilee Celebrations*
5 June
The Museum will be celebrating HRH the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a traditional street party. Join in and celebrate as our ancestors once did, with family entertainment including street performers, circus skills, balloon animal making, musical performances, sing alongs and themed crafts. Get patriotic and have your face painted with a Union Jack!
All visitors can join in the party atmosphere, however there is an optional pre-purchase ticket to sit down and join in for the street party food. *Party food and sit down tickets are pre-book only on 0121 520 8054 or online www.bclmbookings.com
News
Get steamed up and wax lyrical!
by BCLM
Black Country bards are invited to get steamed up and wax lyrical as Black Country Living Museum launches a poetry competition today to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Newcomen Engine. The invention of the Newcomen Engine was a creative leap that changed the world. The Newcomen Engine, believed to have been built near Dudley Castle in Tipton, West Midlands, was the world’s first practical working steam engine. It drove forward the industrial revolution, accelerated industrial development and formed the basis of all later types of automated mechanical power. Be inspired by Black Country ingenuity and commemorate this life changing invention in poetry and verse. Poets can explore anything from the engine’s dramatic appearance and innovative methods of operation, to the impact it had on working conditions in the mines and the key role it played in the development of automated mechanical power and the industrial revolution. Any form of poetry is acceptable but poems are limited to 40 lines. Entries for the poetry competition are invited from individuals and groups. There are three categories: children aged up to 11 years; young people aged between 12 and 18; and adults aged 19 and over. The closing date for entries will be Friday 22nd June 2012. The winner and two runners-up for each category will be published on the Museum website and exhibited at the Museum in a Poetry Trail over the weekend of 14-15 July 2012 as part of the Museum’s Newcomen Tercentenary Celebrations. On the 14 July there will also be a Poetry Festival and an award ceremony for the short-listed poets. The winning poet from the Adult Category will win £100 and 1 year free membership to the new Museum Membership Scheme. The winning poets from the Children’s and Young People’s categories will win book tokens of £50, an annual family passport ticket to the Museum and a Museum ‘goody bag’. The 6 runners-up will win book tokens of £25 and a Museum ‘goody bag’. For more details and to download our poetry competition entry form, check out our website: http://www.bclm.co.uk/events7.htm
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.
