I’m from Sedgley, in the Black Country. I live on the south coast now but I will always be proud of my heritage and often gew back to the Black Country to see mar family. Black Country born and bred, strong in arm weak in yed!
Having seeing the crooked house in Gornal demolished…Which is a crying shame and should never happened…I’ve ended up here on this RUclips channel…and I’m so glad I have because this is fascinating to watch! Black Country folk are as unique as their dialect!
Well if you stopped genociding indigenous Europeans in their ancestral homeland with non stop displacement migration you wouldn't have to worry so much about it. But now you're down to 3% avg. primary school enrollments in the midlands for indigenous people because your women and weak men keep applauding genocide and voting for more of it over and over so they can brag on facebook when their daughter becomes a heroin addicted town bicycle for the local grooming gang or virtue signal about how much they like foreign food when their daughters end up in a flippin' kebab like the Rotherham grooming scandal that led to 1 MILLION children being raped according to the Home Office there. You guys need to fix your shit. Or allow a right of return so us diaspora can come back and fix it for you.
I was lucky that I started my haulage business when the Black country still made chain. I had 3 trucks in Perkson Forgings Balds Lane, Lye and went to the picklers, shotblasters, galvanizers as well as delivering the finished item. We picked up the bar for the hammers and the flats for the presses. All sadly gone now but I loved every minute. God bless the Blackcountrymon.
I was born in 'Tipton on cut' at home (not in a hospital) and went to Wednesbury Boys High School. Surrounded by canals, if you were in Owen Street - you couldn't get out of Tipton without either going over a canal or under a canal (next to Dudley Port Station). A great place to grow up in!
Born in Wednesbury, then moved to Bloxwich age 7, loved to play near the "cut" that's not there now, then moved on to the Pleck age 14, moved to Australia age 16, .......now 71... still think about the origins of the industrial revolution in the Black Country!
Great watching this old black country historic video. I was born and bred in the Black Country. My late grandfather worked in the Oldbury steel factory. Its great looking back sometimes. I was actually thinking of my late mum whom passed away in the Black Country in March of this year, and stumbled across this video.
My Staffordshire bull terrier Rogue Diamond is related to Gentleman Jim. He is a Darlaston Boy from the Delaney breeders Darlaston. He was so red. He had lots of names - Prince Oozzleflooozle, Ginger Winger, Little Red Dog and Pup . We had to say See you in the next life Pup.
My life overlaps this video, I remember hearing people telling stories like the monkey in th'oven, thinking I'll understand it when I'm older. Well, I dow understond it! What was a monkey and an oven doing by the river Severn? Great story, love this video, two double loffin at the monkey. My dad was born in a back to back in tip'n and might have known Mrs baker, who knows?
Black country born and bred, been nearly fifty years since i stepped on those streets and my accent's softened a lot but I'm right there watching this film, sadly the Dudley of my distant youth is long gone, and Street view suggests the place is a neglected fly blown tip, was a wonderful place, bright busy bustling, full of every trade and profession known to man, very sad decline.
Agree. It's turned into a sad and dull place with all the fave shops gone. I used to buy jeans at a discounted price from a shop in Hall St (opp. Tesco) which closed in the early 90s. The toy shop in the arcade has closed too which had been there for over 60 years.
Have you noticed that since the loss of a lot of the industry in the Black Country they have had to build gymnasiums, in them days work was your gym. I used to put me Ed over bridge in New road to get a sauna from the steam engines below.
This is brilliant Chas, many thanks indeed for posting this. Very timely for me as I've just discovered my 4G grandfather was a screw maker from Sedgley in the early 1800s.
I love the black history , I'm from Essex so wasn't aware of the life n history til I got older ,but the museum has taught me so much , that wasn't not taught in skool
I was born in Wednesbury 1942. I went to Hobs road primary then to Holyhead road sec mod. I left in 1958 and started work with Jack Brooks a builder. I now live in France. Great memories though.
My dad used to work for the Birmid (I don't know what it's short for or the full name of the company) in the Smethwick area in 60's and 70's. He always said it was heavy hot work and that's why he'd have to go straight to the pub after work ! In them days pubs used to close about 2pm I think and by 3pm he'd stumble home. Great video
The birmid too my understanding was just called the birmid my nan and grandma also worked there probably around the same time as your dad I'm also assume that the pub your dad would go to was the birmid social club on great Arthur Street which was owned by the company I use to go there as a very young kid hope this has given you a little bit more information
@Biggurs Bigz typical Smethwick bloke then there was alot to choose from back then tho all of my family were from there glad I could help or tho it wasn't much 👍🏻
I was born in Wordsley and grew up and still live in Stourbridge. My family are from Wednesbury, Walsall, Gornal and Sedgley. I work in Brierley Hill and service Cradley, Lye, Tipton, Bilston, Dudley and Coseley. I'm considered posh by my customers because I'm from Stourbridge which is funny all things considered. Things have changed a lot since this video. West Bromwich, Smethwick and Great Bridge seem to have moved more towards Birmingham culturally. With the A-roads there isn't a village community as it was here but heavy industry still exists although not quite as it used to.
Though born in London I was brought up in Wordsley from a very early age and developed a strong Black Country accent. I still visit regularly and have a great love for the place. Stourbridge always thought they were a cut above because originally it was part of Worcestershire and has a Waitrose!
Wow I love this . I started doing my ancestry tree it hope me a lot to see what life was back then big thank for uploading. Would love to see a video about the old Dudley port 1820or 30 my 10 great grandfather and a business there as a boiler maker
I'm 69, I worked in the forges at 15, working with real men, pissed on my hands when they blistered to harden them. Then worked in the foundry's and progressed to the rolling mills. I could buy 6 pints 10 woodbine fags a REAL bag fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, and still had change from a pound note, watching this almost brought a tear to my eyes, bury me in the black country
I was born on the Lost City, and went into a drop forge at 16 until i retired some 6 years ago, bloody hard work but enjoyable, you earned your pint in those days. You can take the man out of the black country but you will never take the black country out of the man.
@@macca1146 Real men like you and redchilly and my late father in law have my huge respect. I made films like this but not this one. Not real work at all compared to people like you. Well done.
This is an excellent documentary and an exceedingly good quality print. I am wondering where you got it. My first real job was with ATV Midlands making short films about people like these at the beginning of the 60s. This is much better than anything I ever did. But I hardly went to school and making TV was where I got my education. When Lew, later Lord Grade first met me he said I didn't look old enough to wear long trousers. I was like a sponge soaking up knowledge and skills from the crews I directed and from men like those chain makers. Oh boy! Real men. To this day I don't know why they gave me that job. But it gave me the education I lacked and taught me that there were far better people than me in the world.
That's a very moving testimony. Thanks for sharing it. The film had already been digitised when I received it a number of years ago. It was sent to me by an archivist who has since moved on from her job in the West Midlands.
@user-sc3ts6lf8r Actually not. After I had been making short films for a few months they moved me on to producing a few studio based shows, not directing multi camera because that is complicated and I hadn't been taught yet. One was a kids show. I had the presenter tell the viewers it was a nice day and they should go outside and play instead of watching the next show. Phone in the control room rang and it was Lew Grade. "Come and see me first thing in the morning." When I entered his office he told me to put the mail down and get out as he was waiting to fire a Producer. When we had cleared up that I was the Producer he was waiting to fire rather than the mail boy, he mellowed. He explained that my crime had been to tell the kids in the audience to stop watching before they had watched the Commercials. TV and the world was different then.
I was on holiday and some one asked if we was Brummie we both said no definitely not we are from the black country the lady said lol how because of all the Asian and blacks there I said it's the black country due to the black smoke from the foundry's she was not a young person I was shocked that people don't know but I think in time it won't be called the black country due to people thinking the same sad 😢
Born in Coseley 1939 lived in Sedgley went to Queen Victoria school Bilston street Sedgley My auntie was the publican at Miners Arms Hurst Hill Sedgley until it was knocked down My three uncles ran Breakwells garage Bilston and my father ran West central garage School street Wolverhampton Grandfather train driver Stewart and Lloyds
I'm from Walsall and I take issue with that mon saying we aye Black Country. M y owd mon left school at 12 and went down the mines of Walsall Wood, Browhills, Handsworth Colliery with me Grand Farther. Then 20 years at Chamberlin and Hills Iron Founders. I took my girlfriend from Hull to see my Nan and family when I was 20. Nan said, 'Is this yo wench yom acourtin'', my girlfriend spent the whole night at the club and said to me that she coudn't understand what was being said to her but still had a great night out!
When my now wife met my dad for the first time - she's from Somerset, he was telling her all about my last girlfriend for some reason, I was really embarrassed until I realised that her day know what he was a sayin! We still loff abart it, two double we bin!
Brilliant, what an important slice of history we have here, and not that long ago but getting farther in the past each second. I could not understand a word of that lipless bloke at 17:00, but that adds deeply to the charm - the filmmakers knew these were important lives and needed documenting. Shame about the dog and cockfighting, well we have sports betting today, natch. Anything left of the old Black country?? I want to come up and see it.
He’s saying he once stopped in a pub in Hampton loade in Shropshire and the landlord owned a monkey called Billy. I think he said the monkey would jump up on the table and pinch things off peoples plates lol. Anyway, he’s saying this happened to him and as they opened the oven to take the meat out he shoved the monkey in haha. The next sentence is completely indecipherable and I’m a native speaker of the dialect 😂😂 in the last part he says that When the landlord opened the oven to let the monkey out he ran and climbed up a pear tree. When the landlords wife shouted for him to come down he wouldn’t and jokes that “billy was cooling his feet off”. Brilliant stuff.
im the direct decendant of the man who owned the mine that is shown in the black country living museum (his picture is in the mine there), its so interesting to see what my ancestors lives were like
LOL! I am a Brummie, but my Mum and Grandparents were from West Brom/ Wednesbury. I have rellies in Walsall too and they regard themselves very much as Black Country folk.
Iam from Walsall but mom dad and all our family are black country all working class hAd factory or shop jobs two of us are trained nurses iam proud of them all
@J Polo I think it is a cultural thing rather than anything with fixed geographical boundaries. At the centre of the culture is a slightly self deprecating, but wicked sense of humour! Irony, bordering on sarcasm, also plays a part. Black Country people are always up for a laugh.
I think most people regard Wolverhampton as a place with it's own identity, but having a lot in common with the Black Country. The shared sense of humour and dialect are very important.
@@chascox8806 That's the thing, you see. Most of Wolverhampton isn't in the Black Country. Part are, though. Anyway, Black Country people should be proud, and are. As should Wulfrunians
@@TenderHooligan Yeah, Stourbridge folk can get a bit sniffy about it. I'm from Amblecote and consider myself Black Country as a cultural thing but some of the posher Stourbridge oldies still think they're Worcestershire.
Back in the day the black country was a collection of smaller villages with loads of colliery and foundrys, but not a connected urban sprawl as it is today. Even back then wolves and walsall and obviously brum, were bigger towns. And so the black "country" was the country side in-between Wolverhampton and Birmingham
i was born and bred on the Lost City, and the pubs were the heart and soul of very city and town, i went to work in a drop forge at 16 until i retired some 6 years ago, and as was said in this film there is no harder work, and believe me it is true, as they say " You can take a man out of the black country, but you will never take the black country out of the man ".
Gwyn Richards provides the sound commentary. The late Dr John Fletcher (1934-96) of the Black Country Society provides the pieces to camera. JMF was originally from Wednesbury.
@@Nuttybott yeah but think about it. Bromwich is already a prominent name in the history of the area. I would guess that "West Bromwich" actually means "West Birmingham" and that Birmingham originally meant Bromwicham
@@shaunflavour6366 Nope. Brum is from a very long Anglo saxon name that I can't be bothered to copy to write here, but means 'the settlement of Beormund' while Bromwich is Bromwic 'Broom Village' .
Im a Netherton man born and bred , Im 68 now when I was a young man I just wanted to get out , my mom used to say there are a lot worse places than Netherton , as usual she was right 😁 , Nethertons claim to fame is its where the chain and anchor was made for the Titanic I grew up about 3 minutes walk away from the factory, the streets still there but the factory has gone thanks to Margret Thatcher she ruined the manufacturing industries in this country .
Not 100% but he was at a fishing contest, and the cat was going round getting the scraps. He shoved his meat (fish in the oven) his mate left the fish out , the cat got out, grabbed the fish and went up the pear tree, even when his missus, called it, it wouldn't come down. Darlo born n bread but that's a lot of slurring for even me to translate
@@garyborland6680 Just listened to it again with your partial translation in mind and I think he says something about a monkey eating the fish meat? I didn’t hear ‘cat’, though that would make more sense!
@@overlordnat yeah he says someone's running around like a monkey. Given the time period it could be one of 2 things really. A kid or an animal. I took it as a cat simply because he said they took the meat and ran up the tree and refused to come down. I know is black country peeps are weird. But I don't think I know any that'll take a fish up a tree. A few that have tried fishing from trees tho.
@@garyborland6680 I’m from cradley. He’s talking about a fishing contest at Hampton loade in Shropshire. The landlady had a pet monkey that would nick off peoples plates. So he shoved it in when she opened the oven. When she reopened it the monkey ran up a pear tree to cool his feet off. Brilliant lol
How dare that man say Walsall was not industrial and not part of the Black country wheways made the largest anchor chains Elkintons steel plateing leather industry from shoes to saddles ,power stations and many many more I was there and proud of the hardworking people
@ppppickup I've done some research into exactly where the coalfield is, Dr fletcher the bloke with the beard is referring to the southern section of the south Staffordshire coalfield below the Bentley faults when he's describing where the black country is but its not the most accurate description fortunately today with detailed geological maps you can find out the exact extent. The black country society used to say the black country was anywhere the 10 yard (30ft) coal came to the surface now this is part of the modern towns of Dudley, netherton, Coseley, Tipton, Bilston, Brierley hill, Sedgley, the Gornals, Kingswinford, Darlaston, Wednesbury, Cradley, Cradley heath, lye, Quarry bank, Pensnett, Amblecote, wollescote, moxley, Bradley, West Bromwich, and interestingly the monmore green, rough hills, ettingshall, parkfield areas of south east Wolverhampton. Plus shallow sections of the thick under Himley wordsley, Oldbury, Rowley regis/black heath, tividale, great bridge old hill and Halesowen. Plus much deeper under but not really considered on the south staffs coalfield under Baggeridge, Sandwell Valley, great Barr and Smethwick. There are other towns not on the thick seam but on other seams still on the coalfield below the Bentley faults that would be Willenhall, heathtown, Wednesfield, Bentley, the birchills, Alumwell area of walsall. Its actually really complex no wonder its so hard to define. There are maps on the BGS's website where you can find out if you look hard enough see attached map which covers large part of the black country where the thick comes to the surface is labelled TC, there are many other maps on there dating back to the 19th century also. largeimages.bgs.ac.uk/iip/mapsportal.html?id=1004274
@user-sc3ts6lf8ryes that's right the motorway is pretty much the border there you may be interested in this its the first ordinance survey map from 1834 of the black country and you can see what the original extent of it was and it matches up very closely with the 10 yard thick seam. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-271389036/view
Those misguided men and their fighting dog's. To say that the poor dogs weren't treated cruelly was ignorance with a capital I. Just listing to the dogs fighting for ten seconds would haunt you forever . The screams of the dog's would haunt you. These low life's should not be allowed to have dog's ever again. ✌🏻☘️
It is cruel and anyone caught doing it needs the book throwing at them but, the dogs don't scream, you can't make a dog fight, they're given the best food available, they're exercised until they hit peak fitness, they're made to feel as if they're unbeatable, the dogs fight in timed rounds, there's a line scratched across the centre of the pit, the dogs are released and they run up to the scratch mark and fight, they're taken back to their corners and wiped down, then released for the next round, if the dogs doesn't run up to the scratch (that's where the saying, 'he doesn't come up to scratch' comes from) the fight is stopped, they don't let a dog that doesn't want to fight be mauled by another dog, some good news, not every pup born in a litter would make a fighting dog, and they only bred of dogs that had proven themselves in the ring, few bull & terrier type dogs have the instinct in them to fight and it won't be long before it's completely bred out, thank god.
Thanks for your informative post. It satisfies me that "dogfighting" was not an uncontrolled exercise in cruelty but was well controlled. The dogs would not now form a type or breed if dog-fighting was not part of life. "Irish Wolfhounds" would not now exist if we Irish didn't hunt Wolves etc. Thanks for your explanation of the term "up to scratch" - also very interesting. Slán agus Beannacht.
and now its a shithole....i grew up in smethwick..fam born n bred smethwick...i live in oldbury now....smethwick now is like a 3rd world country....gone downhill last 15 yrs....horrible place now...used to luv it.
I live in the black country and love these old videos of how things were back then Sadly it's not the same nowadays the black country accent is in decline as the previous generations leave us the friendly pubs full of singing people are replaced by mosques And the working men's clubs replaced by new build houses Sad really these truly look like better times
Dolly Allen is my great grandma. Proud mum of my grandad Ken Allen. She was part of the Black country night out x
I’m from Sedgley, in the Black Country. I live on the south coast now but I will always be proud of my heritage and often gew back to the Black Country to see mar family. Black Country born and bred, strong in arm weak in yed!
Having seeing the crooked house in Gornal demolished…Which is a crying shame and should never happened…I’ve ended up here on this RUclips channel…and I’m so glad I have because this is fascinating to watch! Black Country folk are as unique as their dialect!
Keep the black country culture alive
Videos like this are vital to the conservation of our heritage as Black Country men and wenches. Thank you!
You gotta be a Tiptoner lol
It ay arf x
so true how is was should be remembered forever
Well if you stopped genociding indigenous Europeans in their ancestral homeland with non stop displacement migration you wouldn't have to worry so much about it. But now you're down to 3% avg. primary school enrollments in the midlands for indigenous people because your women and weak men keep applauding genocide and voting for more of it over and over so they can brag on facebook when their daughter becomes a heroin addicted town bicycle for the local grooming gang or virtue signal about how much they like foreign food when their daughters end up in a flippin' kebab like the Rotherham grooming scandal that led to 1 MILLION children being raped according to the Home Office there. You guys need to fix your shit. Or allow a right of return so us diaspora can come back and fix it for you.
@user-sc3ts6lf8r🙏
I was lucky that I started my haulage business when the Black country still made chain. I had 3 trucks in Perkson Forgings Balds Lane, Lye and went to the picklers, shotblasters, galvanizers as well as delivering the finished item. We picked up the bar for the hammers and the flats for the presses. All sadly gone now but I loved every minute. God bless the Blackcountrymon.
I'm Dutch and when I think of the Black Country I immediately think of Slade. The one with Noddy and Jim of course! One of my all time favorite bands.
I've heard many times there's Dutch blood/ancestry here. Not sure if it's true or not.
@@bmc9504 very true Google battle of wensfield
@@bmc9504 blood of all kind!
Dogger land
Anglo-Saxon black country blood ,
Priceless social documentary, long live the Black Country !
My Dad, Aunty Marie & Uncle Herbert are in this video (in the pub) - how wonderful to see them!
That's great Lester! Fab-U-Luss!
Absolutely amazing find
I was born in Dudley the heart of the industrial revolution and im proud to be the apart of a place which created a massive revolution
The accent at 13:33 is very authentic and is just wonderfull. Some of the others come over as speaking more 'proper' possibly for the camera
I was born in 'Tipton on cut' at home (not in a hospital) and went to Wednesbury Boys High School. Surrounded by canals, if you were in Owen Street - you couldn't get out of Tipton without either going over a canal or under a canal (next to Dudley Port Station). A great place to grow up in!
Had mates who'd swim in the canal in Walsall! Lol a lad fell in once, stunk!
@@vincentwilliams8685 I learnt to swim in the cut in Tipton in the 60s.
@@macca1146 good days mate 👍
@theperson nextdoor No I live in Oz now!
Thanks for the upload at least you could walk the streets without worrying about who behind you...now look how life is.
Amazing how traditional and victorian Britain was even as recently as the 1970s!!!
Born in Wednesbury, then moved to Bloxwich age 7, loved to play near the "cut" that's not there now, then moved on to the Pleck age 14, moved to Australia age 16, .......now 71... still think about the origins of the industrial revolution in the Black Country!
Wow, just wow. This is real history. Thanks for posting this.
Could you imagine the grip on those chain makers? Goooood gravy. Their overall toughness and strength is something hard to imagine too.
A beautiful film, thanks for uploading. Princes End born and bread, the Black Country will always be home for me.
Thank you for the video! My granddad worked in the black country.
I'm from Quarry bank. Although I was only 3...I still remember the men making chain in Oak Street behind my house like this in 1990
Black Country born and proud of it
Great watching this old black country historic video. I was born and bred in the Black Country. My late grandfather worked in the Oldbury steel factory. Its great looking back sometimes. I was actually thinking of my late mum whom passed away in the Black Country in March of this year, and stumbled across this video.
My Staffordshire bull terrier Rogue Diamond is related to Gentleman Jim. He is a Darlaston Boy from the Delaney breeders Darlaston. He was so red. He had lots of names - Prince Oozzleflooozle, Ginger Winger, Little Red Dog and Pup . We had to say See you in the next life Pup.
My life overlaps this video, I remember hearing people telling stories like the monkey in th'oven, thinking I'll understand it when I'm older. Well, I dow understond it! What was a monkey and an oven doing by the river Severn? Great story, love this video, two double loffin at the monkey. My dad was born in a back to back in tip'n and might have known Mrs baker, who knows?
Black country born and bred, been nearly fifty years since i stepped on those streets and my accent's softened a lot but I'm right there watching this film, sadly the Dudley of my distant youth is long gone, and Street view suggests the place is a neglected fly blown tip, was a wonderful place, bright busy bustling, full of every trade and profession known to man, very sad decline.
Interesting comment. That's so sad. Where did you move too?
@@TenderHooligan the cotswolds.
@@monteceitomoocher dump
@@monteceitomoocher Beautiful place.
Agree. It's turned into a sad and dull place with all the fave shops gone. I used to buy jeans at a discounted price from a shop in Hall St (opp. Tesco) which closed in the early 90s. The toy shop in the arcade has closed too which had been there for over 60 years.
At the near end of the video where everyone is singing and happy! if only we could be like that again! Got no chance!😡
I have a joke to tell you: "a man walked into a bar...."
I was born 1946 in Cradley Heath. Left in 1971 after watching this very doco on TV
Also, I was never happy about the cockfighting
Have you noticed that since the loss of a lot of the industry in the Black Country they have had to build gymnasiums, in them days work was your gym. I used to put me Ed over bridge in New road to get a sauna from the steam engines below.
So you think that other regions of the UK or world have just always had gymnasiums?
This is brilliant Chas, many thanks indeed for posting this. Very timely for me as I've just discovered my 4G grandfather was a screw maker from Sedgley in the early 1800s.
I love the black history , I'm from Essex so wasn't aware of the life n history til I got older ,but the museum has taught me so much , that wasn't not taught in skool
Thank you for such a educational video , I now live 20 moles from the borders of black country ,the accent is brilliant
I was born in Wednesbury 1942. I went to Hobs road primary then to Holyhead road sec mod. I left in 1958 and started work with Jack Brooks a builder.
I now live in France. Great memories though.
Was amazed to find this video clip as it features my mum & aunt in Wednesbury 😎🤪👍
That's great! All my Mum's family were from Wednesbury! Brill.
really enjoyed that coming from Rowley Regis
Interesting footage of Halesown Abbey.
My dad used to work for the Birmid (I don't know what it's short for or the full name of the company) in the Smethwick area in 60's and 70's. He always said it was heavy hot work and that's why he'd have to go straight to the pub after work ! In them days pubs used to close about 2pm I think and by 3pm he'd stumble home. Great video
The birmid too my understanding was just called the birmid my nan and grandma also worked there probably around the same time as your dad I'm also assume that the pub your dad would go to was the birmid social club on great Arthur Street which was owned by the company I use to go there as a very young kid hope this has given you a little bit more information
@@jonpaulbray1450 my dad went to every pub in Smethwick 😂😂
Thanks for your reply
@Biggurs Bigz typical Smethwick bloke then there was alot to choose from back then tho all of my family were from there glad I could help or tho it wasn't much 👍🏻
Birmid = Birmingham and Midland Motor Cylinder. I was born and bred in Smethwick (born 1945).
Thanks for sharing 👍🙏
"Industry has always been there" now look!
Great upload! Thanks so much.
My uncles record shop was in Lower High street Wednesbury.
Born and bread Black country hope our kids grandkids realise this is who we come from
I was born in Wordsley and grew up and still live in Stourbridge. My family are from Wednesbury, Walsall, Gornal and Sedgley. I work in Brierley Hill and service Cradley, Lye, Tipton, Bilston, Dudley and Coseley. I'm considered posh by my customers because I'm from Stourbridge which is funny all things considered. Things have changed a lot since this video. West Bromwich, Smethwick and Great Bridge seem to have moved more towards Birmingham culturally. With the A-roads there isn't a village community as it was here but heavy industry still exists although not quite as it used to.
Though born in London I was brought up in Wordsley from a very early age and developed a strong Black Country accent. I still visit regularly and have a great love for the place. Stourbridge always thought they were a cut above because originally it was part of Worcestershire and has a Waitrose!
@Iain Clark yeah thats true! North Worcestershire as they so often like to say!
@@iainclark5964🤣
@@APRS🤣
Wow I love this . I started doing my ancestry tree it hope me a lot to see what life was back then big thank for uploading. Would love to see a video about the old Dudley port 1820or 30 my 10 great grandfather and a business there as a boiler maker
I'm 69, I worked in the forges at 15, working with real men, pissed on my hands when they blistered to harden them. Then worked in the foundry's and progressed to the rolling mills. I could buy 6 pints 10 woodbine fags a REAL bag fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, and still had change from a pound note, watching this almost brought a tear to my eyes, bury me in the black country
I was born on the Lost City, and went into a drop forge at 16 until i retired some 6 years ago, bloody hard work but enjoyable, you earned your pint in those days. You can take the man out of the black country but you will never take the black country out of the man.
@@macca1146 Real men like you and redchilly and my late father in law have my huge respect. I made films like this but not this one. Not real work at all compared to people like you. Well done.
This is an excellent documentary and an exceedingly good quality print. I am wondering where you got it. My first real job was with ATV Midlands making short films about people like these at the beginning of the 60s. This is much better than anything I ever did. But I hardly went to school and making TV was where I got my education. When Lew, later Lord Grade first met me he said I didn't look old enough to wear long trousers. I was like a sponge soaking up knowledge and skills from the crews I directed and from men like those chain makers. Oh boy! Real men. To this day I don't know why they gave me that job. But it gave me the education I lacked and taught me that there were far better people than me in the world.
That's a very moving testimony. Thanks for sharing it. The film had already been digitised when I received it a number of years ago. It was sent to me by an archivist who has since moved on from her job in the West Midlands.
@user-sc3ts6lf8r Actually not. After I had been making short films for a few months they moved me on to producing a few studio based shows, not directing multi camera because that is complicated and I hadn't been taught yet. One was a kids show. I had the presenter tell the viewers it was a nice day and they should go outside and play instead of watching the next show. Phone in the control room rang and it was Lew Grade. "Come and see me first thing in the morning."
When I entered his office he told me to put the mail down and get out as he was waiting to fire a Producer. When we had cleared up that I was the Producer he was waiting to fire rather than the mail boy, he mellowed. He explained that my crime had been to tell the kids in the audience to stop watching before they had watched the Commercials.
TV and the world was different then.
Humbling watching how hard the people worked, the powers that be don't like common workers to have anything, god bless them all the workers 💯
Quarry bonk, he means...
SUPERB REMINISCENCES OF MY GREAT PAST HERITAGE - SINGING IN THE PUBS AND PLENTY OF BEER XXXXX
The youngsters of today don't care about our history and its such a shame
Fascinating!
Where did they get the idea that fighting dogs didn't endure cruelty ?
I was on holiday and some one asked if we was Brummie we both said no definitely not we are from the black country the lady said lol how because of all the Asian and blacks there I said it's the black country due to the black smoke from the foundry's she was not a young person I was shocked that people don't know but I think in time it won't be called the black country due to people thinking the same sad 😢
I get this all the time! 🙄
Dog fighting the worst crime against animals
I agree. Nasty in every way.
Born in Coseley 1939 lived in Sedgley went to Queen Victoria school Bilston street
Sedgley My auntie was the publican at Miners Arms Hurst Hill Sedgley until it was knocked down My three uncles ran Breakwells garage
Bilston and my father ran West central garage School street Wolverhampton
Grandfather train driver Stewart and Lloyds
I'm from Walsall and I take issue with that mon saying we aye Black Country. M y owd mon left school at 12 and went down the mines of Walsall Wood, Browhills, Handsworth Colliery with me Grand Farther. Then 20 years at Chamberlin and Hills Iron Founders. I took my girlfriend from Hull to see my Nan and family when I was 20. Nan said, 'Is this yo wench yom acourtin'', my girlfriend spent the whole night at the club and said to me that she coudn't understand what was being said to her but still had a great night out!
When my now wife met my dad for the first time - she's from Somerset, he was telling her all about my last girlfriend for some reason, I was really embarrassed until I realised that her day know what he was a sayin! We still loff abart it, two double we bin!
from work horses, mining etc first industrial revolution to the 4th one how did we get here.
By the Grace of God, with white knuckles we hang on by our fingertips!
Brilliant, what an important slice of history we have here, and not that long ago but getting farther in the past each second. I could not understand a word of that lipless bloke at 17:00, but that adds deeply to the charm - the filmmakers knew these were important lives and needed documenting. Shame about the dog and cockfighting, well we have sports betting today, natch. Anything left of the old Black country?? I want to come up and see it.
I would recommend go checking out the Black Country Museum if you haven't heard of that! Do the proper Fish & Chips there too!
He’s saying he once stopped in a pub in Hampton loade in Shropshire and the landlord owned a monkey called Billy. I think he said the monkey would jump up on the table and pinch things off peoples plates lol. Anyway, he’s saying this happened to him and as they opened the oven to take the meat out he shoved the monkey in haha. The next sentence is completely indecipherable and I’m a native speaker of the dialect 😂😂 in the last part he says that When the landlord opened the oven to let the monkey out he ran and climbed up a pear tree. When the landlords wife shouted for him to come down he wouldn’t and jokes that “billy was cooling his feet off”. Brilliant stuff.
Wonderful
Shame there's hardly nothing left of all this in Tipton now.
im the direct decendant of the man who owned the mine that is shown in the black country living museum (his picture is in the mine there), its so interesting to see what my ancestors lives were like
Walsall isn't in the backcountry????? I refuse to accept this!!!! I am not a brummie!!!😭
LOL! I am a Brummie, but my Mum and Grandparents were from West Brom/ Wednesbury. I have rellies in Walsall too and they regard themselves very much as Black Country folk.
Iam from Walsall but mom dad and all our family are black country all working class hAd factory or shop jobs two of us are trained nurses iam proud of them all
Just say you are from Walsall then, nothing wrong with that
@J Polo Yea, that sounds right to me especially as your boundaries follow the underlying 'black' geology quite closely.
@J Polo I think it is a cultural thing rather than anything with fixed geographical boundaries. At the centre of the culture is a slightly self deprecating, but wicked sense of humour! Irony, bordering on sarcasm, also plays a part. Black Country people are always up for a laugh.
tipton aye we
What about bearwood
So what i heard from the bloke Wolverhampton isn't part of the black country?
I think most people regard Wolverhampton as a place with it's own identity, but having a lot in common with the Black Country. The shared sense of humour and dialect are very important.
You can start a verbal fight in a pub saying that!
@@chascox8806 That's the thing, you see. Most of Wolverhampton isn't in the Black Country. Part are, though. Anyway, Black Country people should be proud, and are. As should Wulfrunians
We may as well be at this point. A long with stourbridge
@@TenderHooligan Yeah, Stourbridge folk can get a bit sniffy about it. I'm from Amblecote and consider myself Black Country as a cultural thing but some of the posher Stourbridge oldies still think they're Worcestershire.
When I clicked on this I thought for sure that this would be interesting, boy was I wrong.
BLACK COUNTRY N PROUD
Gray pays love um
Y da he but brierly hill that's was mane place for steel
I can still remember the night-time glow from Round Oak Steelworks. Me fairther’s fust job was there.
Is that Harry Harrison at the beginning ?
Sorry I don't know, Andres.
its harry ok met him a few times great man
sorry but Walsall is in the Black Country
Back in the day the black country was a collection of smaller villages with loads of colliery and foundrys, but not a connected urban sprawl as it is today. Even back then wolves and walsall and obviously brum, were bigger towns. And so the black "country" was the country side in-between Wolverhampton and Birmingham
@@patjonas0ruclips.net/video/yjoKgyMChgk/видео.htmlfeature=shared
Black Country born and bred, shame to see it's demise
i was born and bred on the Lost City, and the pubs were the heart and soul of very city and town, i went to work in a drop forge at 16 until i retired some 6 years ago, and as was said in this film there is no harder work, and believe me it is true, as they say " You can take a man out of the black country, but you will never take the black country out of the man ".
A loud "Amen".Macca. Enjoy your retirement mate.
So is Bloxwich in the Black Country?
I would regard it was being just beyond the Northern edge of the Black Country but the accent is "Black Country" rather than Brummie.
How yam ya lol...this is cool...0121
What is the name of the journalist? Where was he from?
Gwyn Richards provides the sound commentary. The late Dr John Fletcher (1934-96) of the Black Country Society provides the pieces to camera. JMF was originally from Wednesbury.
2:17 Interesting how they pronounced Birmingham as "Bromwicham"
They are actually saying "Brummijum"...Birmingham people are colloquially known as "Brummies".
@@Nuttybott yeah but think about it. Bromwich is already a prominent name in the history of the area. I would guess that "West Bromwich" actually means "West Birmingham" and that Birmingham originally meant Bromwicham
So I've just read the history and I'm totally wrong lol. But there is definitely something going on phonetically
@@shaunflavour6366 Nope. Brum is from a very long Anglo saxon name that I can't be bothered to copy to write here, but means 'the settlement of Beormund' while Bromwich is Bromwic 'Broom Village' .
Im a Netherton man born and bred , Im 68 now when I was a young man I just wanted to get out , my mom used to say there are a lot worse places than Netherton , as usual she was right 😁 , Nethertons claim to fame is its where the chain and anchor was made for the Titanic I grew up about 3 minutes walk away from the factory, the streets still there but the factory has gone thanks to Margret Thatcher she ruined the manufacturing industries in this country .
You missed out Gornal..
Ow bin ya.
"Ah Bist?" In Gornal lol
Lower gornal heart of it all
What on Earth is the guy saying about taking meat out of something and going up a pear tree at 16 mins in??? 😂
I think he's telling a joke, but his brain and mouth aren't connected presumably because of the beer.
Not 100% but he was at a fishing contest, and the cat was going round getting the scraps. He shoved his meat (fish in the oven) his mate left the fish out , the cat got out, grabbed the fish and went up the pear tree, even when his missus, called it, it wouldn't come down.
Darlo born n bread but that's a lot of slurring for even me to translate
@@garyborland6680 Just listened to it again with your partial translation in mind and I think he says something about a monkey eating the fish meat? I didn’t hear ‘cat’, though that would make more sense!
@@overlordnat yeah he says someone's running around like a monkey. Given the time period it could be one of 2 things really. A kid or an animal. I took it as a cat simply because he said they took the meat and ran up the tree and refused to come down. I know is black country peeps are weird. But I don't think I know any that'll take a fish up a tree. A few that have tried fishing from trees tho.
@@garyborland6680 I’m from cradley. He’s talking about a fishing contest at Hampton loade in Shropshire. The landlady had a pet monkey that would nick off peoples plates. So he shoved it in when she opened the oven. When she reopened it the monkey ran up a pear tree to cool his feet off. Brilliant lol
How dare that man say Walsall was not industrial and not part of the Black country wheways made the largest anchor chains Elkintons steel plateing leather industry from shoes to saddles ,power stations and many many more I was there and proud of the hardworking people
I would personally like to include Smethwick too...
Didn't he just say Walsall was beyond the Coal Seam?
@@MrSweetPhilly listen again please
@ppppickup I've done some research into exactly where the coalfield is, Dr fletcher the bloke with the beard is referring to the southern section of the south Staffordshire coalfield below the Bentley faults when he's describing where the black country is but its not the most accurate description fortunately today with detailed geological maps you can find out the exact extent. The black country society used to say the black country was anywhere the 10 yard (30ft) coal came to the surface now this is part of the modern towns of Dudley, netherton, Coseley, Tipton, Bilston, Brierley hill, Sedgley, the Gornals, Kingswinford, Darlaston, Wednesbury, Cradley, Cradley heath, lye, Quarry bank, Pensnett, Amblecote, wollescote, moxley, Bradley, West Bromwich, and interestingly the monmore green, rough hills, ettingshall, parkfield areas of south east Wolverhampton. Plus shallow sections of the thick under Himley wordsley, Oldbury, Rowley regis/black heath, tividale, great bridge old hill and Halesowen.
Plus much deeper under but not really considered on the south staffs coalfield under Baggeridge, Sandwell Valley, great Barr and Smethwick.
There are other towns not on the thick seam but on other seams still on the coalfield below the Bentley faults that would be Willenhall, heathtown, Wednesfield, Bentley, the birchills, Alumwell area of walsall. Its actually really complex no wonder its so hard to define. There are maps on the BGS's website where you can find out if you look hard enough see attached map which covers large part of the black country where the thick comes to the surface is labelled TC, there are many other maps on there dating back to the 19th century also.
largeimages.bgs.ac.uk/iip/mapsportal.html?id=1004274
@user-sc3ts6lf8ryes that's right the motorway is pretty much the border there you may be interested in this its the first ordinance survey map from 1834 of the black country and you can see what the original extent of it was and it matches up very closely with the 10 yard thick seam. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-271389036/view
2.34 Maccas
13:34 Chinese?
Up the black country love it
Up Blocko...
Those misguided men and their fighting dog's. To say that the poor dogs weren't treated cruelly was ignorance with a capital I. Just listing to the dogs fighting for ten seconds would haunt you forever . The screams of the dog's would haunt you. These low life's should not be allowed to have dog's ever again. ✌🏻☘️
I totally agree. People seem to be able to justify all sorts of totally unacceptable behaviour.
It is cruel and anyone caught doing it needs the book throwing at them but, the dogs don't scream, you can't make a dog fight, they're given the best food available, they're exercised until they hit peak fitness, they're made to feel as if they're unbeatable, the dogs fight in timed rounds, there's a line scratched across the centre of the pit, the dogs are released and they run up to the scratch mark and fight, they're taken back to their corners and wiped down, then released for the next round, if the dogs doesn't run up to the scratch (that's where the saying, 'he doesn't come up to scratch' comes from) the fight is stopped, they don't let a dog that doesn't want to fight be mauled by another dog, some good news, not every pup born in a litter would make a fighting dog, and they only bred of dogs that had proven themselves in the ring, few bull & terrier type dogs have the instinct in them to fight and it won't be long before it's completely bred out, thank god.
Thanks for your informative post. It satisfies me that "dogfighting" was not an uncontrolled exercise in cruelty but was well controlled. The dogs would not now form a type or breed if dog-fighting was not part of life. "Irish Wolfhounds" would not now exist if we Irish didn't hunt Wolves etc. Thanks for your explanation of the term "up to scratch" - also very interesting. Slán agus Beannacht.
@@Martin-tn5lm sla'n☘️
and now its a shithole....i grew up in smethwick..fam born n bred smethwick...i live in oldbury now....smethwick now is like a 3rd world country....gone downhill last 15 yrs....horrible place now...used to luv it.
The Black Country has gone back to the Black Country but not in a way they refer to here.
I don't like that bearded fella with the glasses.
LOL! He's not a personal friend of mine, but he seems committed to the cause! I wonder if he's still around?
@@chascox8806 I'm sure he's a good lad, just seems like he's yelling at me a little bit, ha ha. Cheers for the upload buddy!
12:15 Enhance.... enhance..
Halesowen is not black country
Yes it is.
@@jameswyer772 thay all talk like brumies in halesowen
@@jaclynfletcher6198 that doesn’t define where it is on a map unfortunately bab
Yer it tis
@@jaclynfletcher6198 colley gate sez ovawise lol
I live in the black country and love these old videos of how things were back then
Sadly it's not the same nowadays the black country accent is in decline as the previous generations leave us the friendly pubs full of singing people are replaced by mosques
And the working men's clubs replaced by new build houses
Sad really these truly look like better times