The Black Country Living Museum is to open new buildings, telling the story of the region in the 1940s-1960s.
Several buildings have been saved by demolition by a £9.8m Heritage Lottery grant, and will be moved brick-by-brick to the museum – including Bromwich’s Gas Showroom and Dudley’s Woodside Library.
Others, including Wolverhampton’s Elephant & Castle Pub and Lye’s Marsh & Baxter’s Butchers, will be recreated from archive material and images.
The Forging Ahead scheme, which totals £21.7m, will create 450 jobs and expand the museum by a third.
It’s phase one of the museum’s 40-year Masterplan, which will also transform the Visitor Welcome and Learning facilities.
The number of historic buildings will increase by 34%, and the number of collections on display to the public will double.
Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, says: “Black Country Living Museum is a world-class attraction that tells the story of the region’s history and provides a real boost to the local economy.”
