WEST MIDLANDS

 

BLACK COUNTRY MUSEUM

NATONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM

THE BLACK COUNTRY MUSEUM (DUDLEY)

This is an urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle at the heart of the Black Country.

The Black Country gained its name in the mid nineteenth century due to the smoke from the many thousands of ironworking foundries and forges plus also the working of the shallow and 30ft thick coal seams.

There have been many artistic interpretations of the Black Country, this is one by Edward Wadsworth from 1919

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.
Among the featured buildings, are iron houses - yes, houses made out of iron!
Built in 1925 and listed as buildings of architectural and historical interest this pair of semi-detached council houses were built as part of a major housing development in Dudley.
There is so much to see and do here.

NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM  (SOLIHULL)

Early in 1980, Roy Richards, already a collector of British motorcycles, set his heart on establishing a museum dedicated to the history, personalities and products of the British motorcycle industry, using his personal collection of machines, financial backing and most tellingly, huge enthusiasm and dogged determination to see the project succeed.

The purpose-built museum opened  in 1984, and since then, the National Motorcycle Museum has grown today into the largest collection of British motorcycles in the world!

Despite a serious fire in 2003, the museum continues to be a huge resource of motorcycle history