Avoncroft Chain Shop

Last crawled date: 1 year, 6 months ago

Situated at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Bromsgrove, this chain shop was originally at Colley Gate, Cradley Heath in the Black Country. It was built in the middle of 19th century and run by Dudley Jones & Lloyd, continuing in use until 1969. The building was re-constructed in 1970. In his 1897 social commentary 'The White Slaves of England', Robert Sherard examined the conditions of workers in both Bromsgrove and Cradley. Of Cradley he wrote: 'If the condition of the iron-workers in Cradley Heath is even worse than that of the nail-makers of Bromsgrove, it may at least be said of Cradley Heath that it makes no pretence of the rustic beauty with which Bromsgrove hides its cruelty as with a mask. It is frankly an industrial town, a town of the Black Country, where in smoke and soot and mud, men and women earn their bread with the abundant sweat not of their brows alone; a terribly ugly and depressing town in which, however, contrasts too painful are absent.' #Avoncroft #Bromsgrove #Chain_Shop #museum #UK #Worcestershire #workshop