Black Country Living Museum Wolverhampton (collectively known as the Black Country); mainly in a specially built village. Most buildings were relocated from their original sites to form a base from where demonstrators portray life spanning 300 years of history, with a focus on 1850-1950. The museum is constantly improving as new exhibits, especially buildings, are being added. The museum is close to the site where Dud Dudley first mastered the technique of smelting iron with coal instead of wood charcoal and making iron enough for industrial use. Having a claim to be "the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution", the Black Country is famous for
Black Country Living Museum Pawnbrokers Shop Bridge, Wolverhampton and Carter's Green in West Bromwich. The exhibit at the Black Country Living Museum combines pawnbroking with retail, as did many pawnbroking businesses in the 19th century. In the museum's reconstruction the unredeemed goods and other stock are sold in the front room, while pawning of goods was done in the 'pledge room' at the back. The shop window of the Pawnbroker's gives a good example of the types of goods that customers would 'pledge'. The display includes shoes, clothes, furs, musical instruments, children's toys and even a set of false teeth. Black Country Living Museum Pawnbrokers Shop