During the eighteenth-century Industrial Revolution, the area of Staffordshire and Worcestershire to be known as the Black Country came to national prominence as the main source of wrought iron - based on the local coal.
As the regional economy developed, the second Lord Dudley embarked on a wide range of pioneering economic activities on his extensive estate, contributing substantially to the Black Country's importance, a situation that lasted until the nationalisation programme after World War II.
By the late nineteenth century the income of the Dudley estate was surpassed by few, and the third Earl of Dudley was probably the most successful aristocratic entrepreneur to survive into the twentieth century.
This book breaks new ground by demonstrating the interaction of national and regional economic trends, technological advances as an agent of change, the role of the dominant social class and the problems and opportunities of estate management during the Industrial Revolution. Other significant themes include the organisation of the coal and iron industries, developments in canal and railway transport, and the changing social and economic fortunes of the landed aristocracy over the last 200 years.
Contents:
List of Maps
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Dudley Estate in its Regional Setting, 1774
Chapter 2. Enclosure: The Cornerstone
Chapter 3. Transport Developments
Chapter 4. The Landed Estates
Chapter 5. Industrial Developments
Chapter 6. Mineral Exploitation
Chapter 7. Estate Administration
Notes
Acknowledgements
Index
