The towns and villages west of Birmingham, around Dudley, Wolverhampton,
Sandwell and Wallsall, became known as the Black Country during the
Industrial Revolution due to the intense industrialisation of the area,
particularly coal mining and ironworking. The towns soon became one
continuously built-up area, which developed its own distinctive
character. Secret Black Country explores the lesser-known episodes and
characters in the history of the area through the years, from Dudley
Castle and royal connections with Lady Jane Grey and Queen Elizabeth I,
visits by Charles I and Charles II in the English Civil War and visits
by the future Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson to Himley Hall, which
became a Red Cross hospital for patients with severe facial injuries
during the Second World War, to the evidence of Charlie Chaplin's
birthplace on Black Patch Park in Smethwick. Entries include the massive
cavern beneath Dudley Zoo used for storage during the Second World War,
the stories behind the gruesome nineteenth-century robbery and murder
that caused Fir Tree Hill to be renamed and the tragic death of Dorothy
Beaumont, wife of the Deputy Commander of Dudley Castle, while under
siege in the Civil War, who is said to still haunt the ruins. Fully
illustrated throughout, this book will reveal the hidden heritage of
this historic area.
