It's LGBT+ History Month in the UK in February. A queer history of the Black Country has yet to be written - most gay histories focus on big cities, and in particular London. The LGBT Archive and the Pride of Place project has gone some way towards restoring a regional focus - it's well worth … Continue reading LGBT+ History Month: “one night after 8 hours of especially difficult work…”
Tag: black country
Place To Place: Translocality from Bilston to Barnsley
Monckton Colliery, Royston, South Yorkshire (source) This post follows the last about 19th century Irish people moving from Joyce Country to the Black Country. Full disclosure - some of this research was for the Black Country Living Museum. Firstly, my thanks to Dr Lucie Matthews-Jones who introduced me to the concept. You can read about … Continue reading Place To Place: Translocality from Bilston to Barnsley
Place to Place: Translocality from Kilmaine to Wednesbury
Lough Corrib viewed from near Cong. © Copyright Joseph Mischyshyn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. One of the things that has linked a lot of my recent work has been the idea of translocality: that is, that when people move they don't necessarily think of themselves as nationals of a certain nation state moving to another … Continue reading Place to Place: Translocality from Kilmaine to Wednesbury
Who made the ironwork for the Crystal Palace?
Lithograph by T Picken after an original painting by Phillip Brannan I've been working recently with the Chance Heritage Trust, who are busy whipping up enthusiasm for the restoration of the huge Chance Glassworks at Spon Lane in Smethwick. Chance's were an iconic local employer and had many claims to fame, but the most enduring … Continue reading Who made the ironwork for the Crystal Palace?
Farm to Vaccination Centre: geographies of industry, politics and religion in Tividale
Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, Tividale (Wikimedia Commons) I submitted my thesis on Wolverhampton and its diasporic Irish space at the beginning of December, and my brain is slowly starting to unclog so that I can think about things outside the four walls of my home office again. With a bit of luck I might have … Continue reading Farm to Vaccination Centre: geographies of industry, politics and religion in Tividale
Ag labhairt Gaeilge sa Tír Dhubh – speaking Irish in the Black Country
Digbeth Coach Station, Birmingham - its familiar "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes" sign is a traditional Irish greeting (Dreamstime) This post follows on from this one about the use of Gaeilge, the Irish language, in mid-19th century Wolverhampton. I will likely need even more correction on my Irish in this post... Last time around I looked … Continue reading Ag labhairt Gaeilge sa Tír Dhubh – speaking Irish in the Black Country
Gaeilge sa Tír Dhubh: the Irish language in the Black Country
It's been a while since a post here, and I'd presumed that being furloughed from work would provide me with tons of spare time to write a blog. Reader, it does not work like that. However, I have been able to cobble something together about something that's on my mind at the moment - Gaeilge, … Continue reading Gaeilge sa Tír Dhubh: the Irish language in the Black Country
Towards a bibliography of Black Country history
I've just added a new page to this website: a bibliography of Black Country history. This region is, as any scholar who tries to research it will tell you, tremendously under-researched compared to many comparable regions, which is strange when you consider the huge significance of the Black Country to British industrial, social, technological and … Continue reading Towards a bibliography of Black Country history
Maps for the National Plan
Over December I was the very fortunate recipient of a book advent calendar from my lovely wife. I could rhapsodise about some of the books but to avoid losing the reader, I'll concentrate on just one. It wasn't a hint when I retweeted Otto Saumaurez-Smith, but also it wasn't subtle: WANT https://t.co/KMKWgGPu2q — Simon Briercliffe … Continue reading Maps for the National Plan
Slavery and the Black Country: lords and ladies
This post, and possibly the next couple, is about the Black Country and the slave trade. Historians have had a busy few weeks lately, with the flag controversy, debates about the British Empire, Nazis and memorials in America and yes, this is a little in light of all of that. But I don't want to … Continue reading Slavery and the Black Country: lords and ladies