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
The Old Town with museum staff working in the roles of town figures i.e. merchant, blacksmith etc. adding to the illusion of a "living" town. In 1914 the Old Town was first opened to the public under the name "The Old Mayor's House". Apart from the renaissance-styled Mayor's House, there were a small garden pavilion and another large renaissance-styled house, all originally from the city of Aarhus. Over the course of the following half century the museum was slowly expanded as more buildings and collections from several parts of the country were donated or acquired. The historic Mayor's House of Aarhus was no