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.

Collecting has been concentrated on developing the open air site by the rescue and rebuilding of typical houses, shops, workshops and structures. These are the major items in the collections and are carefully researched and skilfully reconstructed to provide a basis for the display of a wide range of associated objects. The major displays are supplemented by research collections relating to the wide range of living and working conditions in the Black Country.

The collections total some 45,000 items, ranging from the complete buildings and engineering structures through to domestic objects and ephemera. This number also includes approximately 6000 photographs, 2500 books and 4000 items of archive material.

The Museum also has about 500 items on loan within its collections, the majority of which form part of the Rolfe St. exhibition. Loans also include the collections of the Sedgley Local History Society, the Thomas Trevis Smith cooperage collection, and the David Kenrick collection of domestic ironmongery.

As an aid to management of the collections the material collected by the Museum is classified according to the activity to which it relates. The Museum follows the guidelines for this established by the SHIC working group in 1983. The four general spheres of activity are defined as:

Community Life: Activities that are undertaken communally, involving other members of society.
Domestic and Family Life: Activities that relate to the home.
Personal Life: Mainly relates to costume and items kept about the person.
Working Life: A very large category, relates to all manufacture and other areas where people work.

This classification system enables the Museum to analyse its collections and to assess the quality and quantity of material that relates to a particular activity. Following this system the Museum's collections can be classified as follows:

Community Life: number of items in this category represent 11% of total collections.
Domestic Life: number of items in this category represent 25% of total collections.
Personal Life: number of items in this category represent 9% of total collections.
Working Life: number of items in this category represent 55% of total collections.

Metal Working

Machinery from Birchley Rolling Mills, Oldbury, many samples of iron section, archive material (mainly catalogues) from Hingley's of Netherton.

There is a small collection of items relating to iron founding, including 300 foundry patterns and moulders tools. The collection lacks other foundry equipment, such as mould boxes and ladles. There is a good range of locally made cast iron products, including items from Cannon’s of Bilston. The Kenrick Collection comprises approximately 1000 items of hardware produced by the West Bromwich firm and its competitors, as well as catalogues and other archival material. Further details of the Kenrick catalogue collection can be found on the Access to Archives webpage (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/).

Large collection of blacksmith's tools and equipment. This includes a collection of blacksmith's tools, a Goliath hammer and Oliver hammer from Eliza Tinsley's in the blacksmith's shop, a collection of blacksmith's tools from the British Steel Corporation at Brockmoor, Olivers and related tools from an oddwork manufacturer in Willenhall, and the entire contents, plus the actual building, of an Oliver shop from Lench's of Blackheath.

Steam hammer, furnace boiler, chimney and steam ancillaries from the anchor forge at Isaiah Preston's of Cradley Heath, thirteen examples of anchors of unknown provenance and nine anchor patterns from Wright Hingley Ltd of Cradley Heath. The nail making collection consists Mainly of nail samples, but also includes the equipment from a nailshop in Halesowen.

Chainmaking equipment has been collected from Griffen Woodhouse Ltd of Cradley Heath and from Noah Bloomers of Cradley Heath. The contents of a backyard chainshop were collected from Claremont Street in Cradley Heath. The Museum also has a collection of women's chainmaking tools. The Museum has a reasonable collection of photographs and documents relating to this subject.

Nailmaking is represented by examples of hand made nails, bellows and machinery including several nail making machines used at Crown Nail in Wolverhampton.

The Museum has the collection established by Guest Keen and Nettlefold, including 34 screw making machines. Other material relating to nuts and bolts etc. consists mainly of some samples and documents, but includes other bolt making machines.

The manufacture of edge tools is well represented in the Museum's collections with equipment from Wooldridge Spade Works of Stourbridge, the Beltane Tool Co. Oldbury and Yardley Edge Tool Works. Many fine examples of locally made edge tools are on display in the ironmongers shop. The Museum also has catalogues from Elwell's and Spear and Jackson.

Sheet working, pressing and stamping are well represented in the Museum's collections, with samples and catalogues from Price Eyland buckles, a good range of enamelled and tinplate domestic hollowware from James Fellows of Wolverhampton and Judge Brand ware from Stephens Brothers of Cradley Heath. The Museum also has a collection of panel beating equipment from Wolverhampton and examples of tinsmith's tools. Building and entire contents of an animal trap workshop from Wednesfield.

Lock and safe making are well represented by the collections of the Locksmith's House, Willenhall, incorporated by the Black Country Living Museum in 2003. The collection includes around 4,000 locks and keys as well as archival holdings, including trade catalogues and publications, and further documents and photographs relating to the Hodson family.

Engineering

A good collection of general engineering books and tools, also several steam models built as hobbies by local engineers.

Documents and catalogues relating to boiler making, particularly from John Thompson's of Wolverhampton. Ten examples of boilers on site.

The Museum has six examples of steam engines in its collections. In addition the Newcomen engine is a working replica of Thomas Newcomen's original and the steamboat President also has a working steam engine. The Museum has a good collection of steam models built by local engineers.

The Museum has a collection of five pumps and the contents, including the complete machinery set up and examples, from Monway Plug and Valve Works.

Electrical engineering is well represented by examples of Revo products and photographs relating to the firm.

Civil engineering is represented by the Braithwaite and Kirk archive and Material relating to the Horsley Bridge Company. The Wolverhampton Broad Street bridge installed on site is another example of civil engineering.

The Museum has a good representative collection of locally manufactured vehicles these include a Bean car and lorry, two Star cars and lorry, three Turner cars, an AJS car, a Keift and Meadows Frisky. The Museum also has a Guy bus and chassis and three trolleybuses. The Motorcycle collection includes an example of every significant model produced by Sunbeam, a good selection of AJS motorcycles and examples made by Clyno, Orbit, HRD and Wolf.

Locomotive engineering and rolling stock manufacture is poorly represented, there are few items from the Patent Shaft and Axel Tree Company of Wednesbury, mine engineering is also poorly represented.

Other Manufacturing

The Museum has 500 items relating to local cooperage, including machinery, tools, product samples and documents. Woodworking generally is well represented in the collections. The Museum has collections of plumbing tools, leather working tools and shoe repair equipment.

Food production is reasonably well represented with material relating to slaughter and meat production, including a slaughterhouse from Old Hill awaiting reconstruction. There is also bread making equipment and a bakery from Oldbury, and a collection of sweet making equipment from Birmingham.

Transport

Passenger transport items include 11 tramcars, 2 horse trams, a double decker tramcar and three trolleybuses. There is also a collection of smaller items, uniforms and documents.

The Museum also holds the Marston collection of vehicles, which includes a selection of Bean, Star, Turner, Sunbeam, Clyno and AJS cars, a Guy Morris fire engine, Sunbeam, Clyno, Wolf and AJS motor cycles, and Sunbeam and Hercules bicycles.

Rail transport is poorly represented in the collections.

Canal transport is well represented with collections of boat builder's equiptment to, photographs and documents. The Museum also has a working boat dock on site and eight canal boats.

Retailing

This is a well represented activity; much of the material has been collected to fit out the various shops rebuilt on site. The three main categories within these collections are; grocery items, chemist's stock, the majority of which consists of the contents from Emile Doo's shop in Netherton, and ironmongery and hardware items. Retailing collections include the Hodson's collection of costume from their shop in Willenhall. The Museum is in the process of collecting for several new retail displays which will include a 1930s draper's, newsagent's, and wireless engineer's.

The ironmongery collection is the result of an active collecting policy in the area pursued over several years. The collection now comprises 2,000 items, many of which are fine examples of local products, including edge tools, enameled hollowware, galvanised hollowware, and tinware. The collection also includes a range of builder's hardware, shop fittings and packaging as well as the Kenrick collection of domestic hardware from the West Bromwich firm of Archibald Kenrick & Sons Ltd. This collection, which was transferred to the Museum in 2006, includes a comprehensive collection of the company's catalogues and archives from the mid-19th century onwards.

Other Working Life

The Museum has 300 items relating to public houses, a large number of these from the Fox Inn in Dudley. The Museum also has a reconstructed public house, the Bottle and Glass Inn from Brockmoor in Brierley Hill.

The Limelight Cinema building, equipment and arch also form part of the Museum's collections.

Archival Collections

In addition to the collections mentioned above the Museum holds a variety of documents and ephemera as well as books, photographs, slides and negatives relating to the Black Country. These include the Harry Eccleston print collection, the Black Country Society photographic collections, the Braithwaite & Kirk archive, the James Smellie collection of art metalwork catalogues, and other archival holdings relating to Black Country industries and firms.

Locksmith’s House, Willenhall

The Locksmith’s House collections include the house and workshops of 54 New Road, Willenhall. The house is recreated with the actual belongings and furniture of the Hodson family of lock makers, the last inhabitants of the site. The working class family home is accompanied in the back yard by a two-storey workshop building, including a working forge and machinery.

Significant collections of locks and lock making tools are cared for at the Black Country Living Museum site, along with archives relating to R.Hodson & Son and other local lock manufacturers.

A large range of early twentieth century costume from the Hodson Sisters’ Draper’s Shop is now cared for by Walsall Museum.