The Black Country is an area of the English West Midlands north and west of Birmingham and south and east of Wolverhampton. During the Industrial Revolution, it became one of the most industrialised parts of Britain with coal mines, coking, iron foundries and steel mills producing a high level of air pollution.
The Black Country as an expression dates from the 1840s and it is believed that it got its name because of black soot from heavy industries that covered the area.
The Black Country encompasses the three Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall and the southern parts of the city of Wolverhampton. A geological definition follows the South Staffordshire coal seam. The Black Country now lies within the West Midlands county but historically was divided between the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire. The Black Country does not include Birmingham.
Read more about Black Country: History, The Black Country Today, Black Country Dialect and Accent, Media
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