The Black Country

It is an area between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It was developed in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It’s growth was fuelled by the metal trades: nail making and chain making, locksmithing and gunsmithing, and the production of brassware, screws, nuts and bolts together with high quality heavy engineering. As the factories grew so did the demand for transport. Partly because of the lack of suitable natural waterways, canals were developed in the area to an extent not seen elsewhere and much of the network remains in use today. Birmingham was also served by two major trunk railways, the London and Birmingham and the Grand Junction. As far as roads, the area was served by the Holyhead Road which Thomas Telford improved in the early nineteenth century.

Civil Engineering Heritage Roger Cragg