This 26-acre open-air museum on social history gives insight into what life was like centuries ago for the men and women who worked in the coal-producing region known as the Black Country (a term that arose from the air pollution from the region's coal mines), and it’s a little like walking onto a film set. The town of Dudley, 10 miles northwest of Birmingham, was where coal was first used for smelting iron in the 17th century. The replicated village is made up of buildings from around the region, including a chain maker’s workshop; his-and-hers hardware stores (pots and pans for women, tools and sacks for men); a druggist; and a general store where costumed women describe life in a poor industrial community in the 19th century. In 2024, the museum added an old-fashioned post office, a military surplus shop, and a grocery store. You can also watch Charlie Chaplin films in the 1920s cinema, peer into the depths of a mine, or ride on a barge to experience canal travel of yesteryear. For sustenance, visit the café, a 1930s-era fried-fish shop, and the Bottle & Glass Inn for ales and drinks. Peaky Blinders fans will appreciate the special themed nights where you can dress up and step back to the 1920s.
To avoid the numerous school parties, visit on the weekend or during school vacations. The museum, 3 miles from the M5, is best reached by car. Leave M5 at Junction 2 by the A4123, and then take A4037 at Tipton. Trains from Birmingham New Street to Tipton Station take 17 minutes; buses from the train station run past the museum, which is a mile away.
