The Black Country Society was founded in 1967 with the general aim of creating interest in the past, present and future of the Black Country.
The Black Country Society, affiliated to the Civic Trust, was founded in 1967 by enthusiasts who felt that the Black Country did not receive its fair share of recognition for its great contribution to the industrial development of Britain and the world.
The Society grew out of the Dudley Canal Tunnel Preservation Society which successfully campaigned to save Dudley Canal Tunnel, which had been threatened with closure by British Waterways and British Rail. The Tunnel is now a major attraction at the Black Country Living Museum, started in 1975 by Dudley Borough Council on 26 acres of totally derelict land adjoining the grounds of Dudley castle. This has developed into an award-winning museum with over 250,000 visitors annually.
The Black Country Society is on the web at http://www.blackcountrysociety.co.uk/.
There are 2,500 members of the Society worldwide and all receive the quarterly magazine The Blackcountryman1. There are now some 2000 authoritative articles on all aspects of the Black Country. The whole constitutes a unique resource about the area and is a mine of information for students and researchers who frequently refer to it. Many schools and libraries are subscribers. Three thousand copies of the magazine are printed each quarter. It is non-commercial, and contributors do not receive payment for their articles.
Membership of the Society helps provide valuable financial support and in return offers opportunities to attend interesting meetings and social occasions. There are local Groups and Branches, and also specialist groups on Local History and Industrial Archaeology with their own meetings.
Further information can be obtained by writing to:
P.O. Box No. 71, Kingswinford, West Midlands, DY6 9YN, U.K
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1 An index to The Blackcountryman is available on the web at The Black Country Webpage