Black Country unionism. The 20th century saw a decline in coal mining in the Black Country, with the last colliery in the region – Baggeridge Colliery near Sedgley – closing on 2 March 1968, marking the end of an era after some 300 years of mass coal mining in the region, though a small number of open cast mines remained in use for a few years afterwards. As the heavy industry that had named the region faded away, in the 1970s a museum, called the Black Country Living Museum started to take shape on derelict land near to Dudley. Today this museum
Providence Chapel, Black Country Living Museum Providence Chapel, Black Country Living Museum The Providence Chapel originally came from Darby End/Hand near Netherton. It was one of the first buildings to be rebuilt on the Black Country Living Museum site. It is an excellent example of a typical Black Country Methodist chapel. The Darby family brought a plot of land on Northfield Road and in 1828 work began on building the chapel. The ‘Providence Chapel’ was named after a chapel in Epwarth, Lincolnshire and was affiliated to the Methodist New Connection. The chapel played a central part in the life of the local community for one hundred