The tiny settlement of Darby Hand grew up in the late eighteenth century as a coal mining and nail making community at the side of the Dudley Canal.
It was affiliated to the Methodist New Connexion which broke away from the main Methodist body in 1797 and was very strong in the area.
The Mine-
The Chain maker- Since the eighteenth century chain making was a key industry within the Black Country, more importantly in the villages of Netherton, Old Hill and Cradley Heath.
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The Black Country Living Museum was re-built to represent the times of the Black Country Museum in the nineteenth century and to show how life would be if these conditions still applied in the twenty-first century. The Black Museum Country Living Museum started to be re-built in 1975; the cost of the Museum to be re-built was 2.5 Million pounds. Before the Black Country Museum knocked down to be rebuilt all the bricks where number so that they could build it back in the same order and in the same way as it was built before.
In the mid-nineteenth century due to the smoke from the many thousands of iron working foundries, the name “Black Country museum was given.
The aim of the Living Black country to reinforce the was the people lived and so that young students can learn the about the ways in which lives by poor people were lived and also it’s is also a Museum where the elderly come to revisit the ways they use to live in and all the conditions.
I observed many accuracies and inaccuracies that were implicated in the Black Country Museum. This dedicates that they have tried to keep everything the way it use to be but because of safety reasons they have had to make some tremendous changes to the museum.
In relation the Toll house had many accuracies that were observed such as people that went past the toll house; this was because the owner of the land around the toll house was owned by the owner of the house who name was Earled Dudley he was a rich man and had a lot of money. Even though having to pay to go past the house was an accuracy, we were not charged to go past which was an inaccuracies, this was because the owner no longer lives but eve thought this is and inaccuracy too.
The other accuracies of the toll house were that the floor of the building was still made out of wood, they had small wooden furniture this reinforces the idea that most yet all of their furniture was made out of wood and it also shows that the people where not as rich to afford metal furniture or ornaments made of marble or any other type of equipment.
In relation the in accuracies were that we did not get charged to go past the toll house, and the other inaccuracies was that we were not allowed to go into the other bedrooms, but we could only see one of them through the open doors, otherwise the toll house did not have many inaccuracies.
The second site was The Cottage, each cottage was back to back with each other exactly like how they were and the 1900’s, all the toilets and laundry rooms were out side in the garden. These cottages use to have 1 room upstairs which was used as a bedroom for the whole family and also just one room downstairs which was the kitchen where the mother would cook the food bath the children and also where the family would spend time together.
The waste from the toilets was used as fertilisers and a man at the end of each day would come and empty out the little pots that where underneath the toilets which were holes in a block of cement and he would spread on the ground and use it as fertiliser, which was good in two ways the waste was been out into use and not just left there to rot and smell in the house and also the ground would get natural fertiliser.
The third site is the School; schools within the early nineteenth century were very disciplined and strict. children were punished for their bad behaviour, this was the by getting the cane and also teachers use to let their parents and when the child had got home the father who would be the head of the house would take his belt off after asking his child “why they had misbehaved and ask if it was their child’s mistake then the farther would whip his child on the back off their legs. Normally it would be the boys that use to get into the trouble the most.
Even though schools in the Victorian times were very strict, whereas modern schools in the twenty first century are not, capital punishment has been a banished in Britain and also has become against the law to punish students through capital punishment. There are many differences between modern school and Victorian school, such as the way children were taught, what they were taught in what kind of manner, how students were treated and also many more.
In addition during my visit to the Black Country Museum at the school, there were many accuracies such as when we were being taught we had to sit with our backs straight, with our feet flat on to the ground and hands behind out back when the teacher was talking or explaining something. The teacher also known as teacher ma’am because the students would treat their mothers with respect so they would also treat their teachers with respect too, however I think that the reasons as to why the students would call their teachers “teacher Ma’am” is because the teachers had a right to hit or cane the child is they misbehaved, this was the way children were punished those days. The way the class room was set out in rows of benching, ink pot spaces in the right hand corner of the desks, at the end of each lesson the bell monitor would ring the bell, the children would write on black boards with a chalk called the scribes pencils which were made of metal because chalk would run out and they would have to buy some more but this way they saved money, this was in lower school in upper school the students would use paper and ink pens., students would right with their right hand and right hand only, the windows were big and at the back of the class room so that the light came in but the children did not get distracted by people looking in through the windows or to stop the children from looking out of the windows and not concentrating, the teacher was talking in a superior manor and wore old fashioned cloths similar to the cloths the teacher would wear, children would be referred to as Stanza’s and not by their names whereas in the 21st century students are called by their names.
In comparison the school had security cameras around school these were not invented and also they had security lights which also were not invented, the walls were painted with water wash, and the watch which was not original.
The source that links to the school is source 9 which is Dennis Road school Balsal Heath 1896.
The fourth site was the Baker shop was made in 1910 one hundred years ago. The bakers shop which mostly consisted of wooden furniture. The bakers shop was also was completely different to bakery shops in the modern days because the furniture in the bakers shop are made out of plastics, metal and are also made out of wood.
The bakery had many accuracies spotted in the such as the baker could bake the breads by himself, the baker cooked 400 loafs of bread a day and they would only last for 24 hours, the baker would work from 3 am- 6pm and sometimes until 10pm depending on how busy he was, the furniture such as the tables, floor was made out of wood, but the top of the table was made out of marble, the oven the bread was cooked in was built in the wall and the bread would be cooked on a very high temperature, and after the bread were baked the cake’s would b e bakers on a lower and cooler temperature,, in the year 1910 about 100 years ago there was a very low chance of bread going stale quickly, the bread was bakes in a loaf called a logger lope.
In comparison the bakery also had many in accuracies such as the baker s in the Victorian time use to bake the bread in front of you when you wanted it but he did not make it in front of us he had already made it before, the baker was also wearing a watch which was modern because the bakers in the olden days did not wear watches to keep track of the time, furthermore there was also a newspaper the baker had at the back which was up to date with the twenty first century back in the early nineteenth century bakers did not use to read newspapers simply because they did not use to get time.
The fifth site was Gregory’s store. Gregory’s store
The accuracies in Gregory’s store were that all the products were well presented in the same manor and way as 100 year sago, everything was put into sections, fly paper hanging from the ceiling, the packaging was coloured coded for each product s this was so that the people that could not read or right knew what each product was because in every store there would be the same colour codes for each product, the bell behind the door, the store use to be open for 24 hours, the prices were written in s,d or p, the people living in those days mostly lived off fat and bread, and also there was no electrical lighting or equipment.
The inaccuracies were that the store odes no any longer open for twenty four hours a day, prices were inaccurate because they want to make more money,, children at the age of thirteen were allowed to smoke and drink because people those days believed that if the children can work from that age doing jobs that men do then they should be allowed to smoke and drink., one hundred years ago milk was kept in jars at the store but there was no milk on display.
The sixth site was the chemist shop.
The accuracies in the chemist shop were that the method used to make the medicine was correct because she used the pin board to make the medicine pills, poison bottles with ridges blue, green and red, mortar and pistil were also used to mix herbs to make medicine, the equipment used was original and also the furniture was wooden which was also original the chemist was named after Mr Doo who use to be the owner of the chemist, his name was used at the top of the shop at the front, advice was given to people who were poor and others too.
The inaccuracies of the Chemist shop were that the materials used to make the medicine were not real, plastic was used instead this was because the lady was not a qualified chemist and was not allowed to make her own medicine and sell it to people as curing medicine.
The seventh site was the chain maker house.
The accuracies were that the dining room had wooden furniture and portrait of the royal family (King Henry the eight) small wooden sofa’s, wooden floor, long pantry in kitchen to put dishes and cutlery with newspaper put neatly underneath the plates and cutlery the newspapers were also used to be used to keep the dust out of the cupboards, stove fire on all the time, fly catcher hanging from ceiling, the chain maker was a skill full man and also was self employed, the fire place in the front room of his house was made of marble and had brass decorations put on it. The windows was not double glazed this was accurate because windows in those days were not invented all windows in every building were single glazed. In order to stay warm they use to have a fire on all day to keep warm of they would have a water bottle near them or the other way they could keep warm they would heat up a brick by the fire in the kitchen and keep it next to them. The house of the chain maker was moved from its original state and is typical because it only has two rooms down stairs a front room and a kitchen and two rooms upstairs these were rooms that we were not allowed to go to see because of health and safety regulations.
The inaccuracies were that the walls of the chain makers house were painted with a shiny white paint which was not original, the wall in the olden days did not use to be paint in which shiny paint it use to be just plain and not metallic, and also there was also a plant in the corner of the front room which seemed to look quiet modern as if it had just been brought and put there on show.
The eighth site was the public house
The accuracies were that the floor was wooden, small wooden stools and tables, piano, the women was dressed in the same way as the women in the pub would dress, and the pub was split up into two rooms, one room for women and one room for men. The rooms were used as entertaining rooms and also drinking, the type of entertainment involved was gambling, darts, arm wrestling, fighting and many other pleasurable activities people after work would come to and enjoy their evenings with. The colour of the walls and the decorations of the rooms were original because that was what the rooms use to look like. The poor people that use to come to enjoy themselves at the pub sometimes did not have to the money to pay the pub owner so the pub owner would take privilege of the land, houses and the money of the people if they did not pay their bills.
Inaccuracies were that the were wine glass bottles on the floor that were invented in the twenty first century, the beer sold at the time was original but it is not now because it is mixed with other substances, also in the rooms the people sit mixed with each other men and women because no body no longer cares as to if men and women sit together which is an inaccuracy because in the early nineties men and women sat separately in separate rooms mainly because of the entertainment activities men use to do. In order to keep warm there use to be a fire on all day which would attract buyers and customers to come inside the pub and spend t heir money because at their homes they would have to put the fire on which would cost them money, whereas at the pub the fire would be on all day and people could come and stay warm and have a relaxing evening.
The ninth site was the Methodist church this was built in the museum in 1978, and was rededicated in 1979.
The accuracies if this Methodist church were that the church had big windows on either side it had designed wooden features decorated, the benches were also wooden with soft cushions on top.
The tenth site was the mine which would be open for fourteen hours six days a week, which involved and children from the age of 12. 150 year ago in 1910 the law changed and children would work 84 hours a week having to dig tons of coal. Adults were paid £1.50 an hour, girls also called the pit bank wensh earned 45p a week for the hard work of 84 hours a week. The company would give the mine manager a horse a house for free, this was reliant on their job if they got sacked or left their job then the house and horse would be taken off them even if the whole family went homeless. One building on the mine site pumped out water and worked by coal burning and letting out steam, this was in the eighteenth century.
The accuracies of the mine were that we stood on the bridge which was from Wolverhampton in 1870, young children and women would work on the top on the mine in the air and men would work underground because they bring coal up on to the ground and also take it back down if the men fell in mines then they would die of be badly injured. Children do not work in the mines now because it is against the law which is an inaccuracy but because of safety reasons it is not allowed. If the farther worked in the mine then the whole family would also work in the mine even the youngest child of the family, if there was a small baby in the house then the mother would also have to bring it with her and feed it when it was her lunch time and for the rest of the day the baby would be put on a bench wrapped up warm and if the baby cried the mother was not allowed to pick it up and make it quiet.
The inaccuracies were that we were not allowed to go down to the mine and have a look because the safety alarms were not working properly so because of safety regulations we were not allowed to go down to the mines and have a look.
The eleventh site is the chain maker he would make 30-35 links a day, he would make the chain by hand without wearing and safety equipment apart from safety goggles to protect their eyes from the burning metal, the chain maker would use a Tammy hammer to give the object he was making a smooth finish.
The accuracies of the chain maker were that he did not wear and safety gloves of any other safety equipment, this was because he had been wearing gloves and a hot piece of metal went into the glove then it would burn his hand before coming out and it would be difficult to take out straight away as he would have to take off the glove first, but he should of worn goggles t protect his eyes but he did not and wore normal eyesight glasses instead, this was and inaccuracy because in the 1900’s chain makers would were goggles and not glasses to protect their eyes, the chain maker was also wearing a watch which was also and in accuracy. He wore jeans which were from the 1970’s.
In conclusion when I went into the museum o felt as if I had really gone back a hundred years into history, because everything and everyone was dressed in an old fashioned way, they talked in an old fashioned way and acted in an old fashioned way too. Furthermore I think that the museum was accurate in most of it regulations apart from the inaccuracies which mainly were for health safety reasons. This is also the reason as to why the museum can not be fully accurate because the have to consider the health and safety of staff and visitors.