{"title":"Books by The Mount Pleasant Local History Group","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780752465111","title":"Brierley Hill at Work","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrierley Hill was one of those Black Country towns which was identified by the work that went on within its boundaries. \u003c\/b\u003eEveryone knows that Brierley Hill made steel and sausages and fine pieces of glassware. These activities are now in the past but the memory of such work lingers on while the town wrestles with the problems of regeneration. This book pays plenty of attention to steel, pork products and glass, but also provides a glimpse of the many other aspects of work that have made Brierley Hill such a busy place. People worked in local government and in public sector work which maintained the life of the town, while others worked in retailing and in the provision of transport. While looking at the world of work in Brierley Hill we have taken account of the many types of employment that were to be found in its satellites: the hollow-ware industry of Quarry Bank, the brick-making that went on in The Delph, Silver End and Pensnett, the iron trades in Brockmoor and Harts Hill, and the work on the infrastructure that served all these places. The arrival of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre on Brierley Hill’s doorstep has given retailing a new dominance in terms of providing local employment, but the picture of work in the twenty-first century is still emerging. Who knows what will bring Brierley Hill fame and fortune in the future?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56297102279029,"sku":"9780752465111","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780752465111_7c90b65b-7e9f-4f6d-a25d-35d7848b4e2e.jpg?v=1786016414"},{"product_id":"brierley-hill-brockmoor-bromley-and-pensnett","title":"Brierley Hill, Brockmoor, Bromley and Pensnett","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrierley Hill is one of the heavily industrialised towns that make up the region known as the Black Country.\u003c\/strong\u003e Like many such towns it can easily be divided into many smaller communities that, while being part of Brierley Hill, have quite an independent existence and identity of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book sets out on a journey across Brierley Hill that begins at the parish church and ends at one of the principal crossroads in the town centre, and then we make our way around the satellite communities of Brockmoor, Bromley and Pensnett. We find ourselves in a world that was dominated by many local pits where coal and fireclay were extracted, much of this coal being used in the manufacture of iron. When steel came along, Brierley Hill became the home to a large and important steelworks at Round Oak. Other companies came into the area to manufacture products using steel and some became very large local employers and integral parts of the community. Large scale industry and mining may have gone but the communities they spawned survive and this books provides a glimpse of the shops, pubs, schools, chapels and churches and other facilities that once made each ‘village’ so self-sufficient, intertwined with their railways and canals of industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith over 200 historic and fascinating photographs, this book is a must-have for locals and visitors alike, capturing Brierley Hill as it used to be and how it has been shaped into the place that it is today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481473982837,"sku":"9780752455631","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780752455631.jpg?v=1786089737"},{"product_id":"quarry-bank-past-and-present","title":"Quarry Bank Past and Present","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuarry Bank Past \u0026amp; Present\u003c\/em\u003e is the second book produced by The History Press devoted to the recent history of this Black Country township.\u003c\/strong\u003e Two hundred and fifty pictures bring you a glimpse of the many diverse facets of life in \u003cem\u003eQuarry Bank\u003c\/em\u003e. It may be a small place, but everything within its boundaries is experienced in great variety: of pubs, schools, workplaces, churches, landscapes and land use.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Mount Pleasant Local History Group, led by Ned Williams, have been exploring the past and present life and times of \u003cem\u003eQuarry Bank\u003c\/em\u003e for several years. The group has often been frustrated in its search for local photographs, yet once the photographs found have been assembled in a collection such as this the group feels it has something worth sharing. We hope you will delight in glimpses of carnivals, school days, pigeon flying, Sunday schools, shops and people. The past and the present are connected in so many ways, and in a small community so many people’s lives are interconnected.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the ‘real world’ of \u003cem\u003eQuarry Bank\u003c\/em\u003e every part of the township is connected to other parts, often by a mysterious network of footpaths. We feel confident you will be able to ‘connect’ with many pictures in this book: plunge into this treasure island called \u003cem\u003eQuarry Bank\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57520092316021,"sku":"9780750937153","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780750937153.jpg?v=1787581629"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-the-mount-pleasant-local-history-group.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}