Brierley Hill Festival of Christmas Trees 2013 – photos

Seriously. You have to go and see it. Brierley Hill Festival of Christmas Trees got underway today (Saturday 7th December), and it runs until next Sunday (15th December). At least 28 individuals, organisations and local businesses contributed a tree – a fantastic number for a festival which is in its first year. It is heartwarming when our local community comes together like this in Brierley Hill and it makes me very proud to live in the town.


New homes at Merry Hill take the cake!

A chance meeting with inspirational Laura Nolan of The Nuthouse Bakery brought back memories of planning battles, innovative new homes at Merry Hill, and an example being set on how to carry out sustainable development nationwide. All against a background of scepticism.





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.