1873 – St Mary’s RC Church opens amidst pledges of support to the queen and to fight for equality

Designed by Walby Pugin the St Mary’s Church was opened on Wednesday 15th October 1873. The Birmingham Daily Post of 17th October contained the following article describing the events of the day. Even in those days there were worries about the condition of the building – foundations had cracked and the bell tower was (and is) yet to be be completed. During many toasts at a celebration in the public hall Brierley Hill dignitaries pledged the loyal support to Her Majesty “…if the socialistic, horrible, and infidel days which seemed imminent were to arrive”!





Memories of Round Oak – fantastic video

This is a fantastic video of Round Oak steelworks, taken in 1984, not long before it was demolished to make way for the Waterfront Business Park.
The video is embedded from The Only Way Is Dudley Facebook site, and may take a second or two to load. It is worth the wait.
The video appears to be taken from a vehicle travelling along Dudley Road and then turning into Level Street.
It has already had over 50,000 views on The Only Way Is Dudley Facebook page and there’s lots of comments reminiscing about the works underneath.



Lost Cricket and Football Clubs and Grounds in the south of the Black Country – Terry Church Book Launch

Terry Church’s new book recalls over 100 clubs now lost to the area, including many in Brierley Hill. Stuart Crystal, Brierley Hill Alliance, Round Oak, Richard Thomas and Baldwin’s, and Marsh and Baxter. Those last three sports ground belonged to massive industries which at one time employed over five thousand people. The book reminds us that the collapse of industry locally had implications reaching beyond the work place and into the social fabric of our community.


Mapping the Brierley Hill fallen of World War Two

Brierley Hill’s UDC Book of Remembrance contains the names, addresses, ranks and date of death of those who lived within the borough’s boundaries and lost their lives in service during World War Two.
Reading the addresses of the fallen is very moving, and brought home to me the emotional impact of the loss. These people could have been neighbours of mine.


The Brierley Hill Book of Remembrance

The Brierley Hill book of remembrance records the names of those who fell during the second world war and who lived the former Brierley Hill Urban District Council area. I found leafing through the pages and recognising the places where people lived extremely moving.