Black Country Country" by the Reverend William Gresley, who was then a prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral. He introduces the area as "that dismal region of mines and forges, commonly called 'the Black Country'", implying that the term was already in use. Gresley's opening paragraph stated "The scene of this story lies in that part of Staffordshire to which the constant exhumation of its mineral resources has long since given the well-known name of the Black Country", implying that the original Black Country may not have included Dudley which was in Worcestershire. He also stated that the 'Black Country was twenty miles in
Black Country Living Museum in the 1880s from 17 Chapel Street, Halesowen. It houses equipment from the Halesowen workshop operated by Sidney Tether in the 1940s. It is in use on a regular basis by the resident nail maker who demonstrates the skill of forging nails by hand. The brass foundry was built in 1869 in Shaw Street, Walsall and closed after the Second World War but re-opened in 1964 by James Powell and used until his death in 1973. The building and its equipment were relocated to the museum in 1986. It can be seen in operation when the brass caster demonstrates traditional