Brierley Hill is a compact town and electoral ward of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough within the West Midlands of England. It's situated around 2.5 miles to the south of central Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Brierley Hill was traditionally in Staffordshire, but is now a part of the West Midlands metropolitan county ever since its creation in 1974. Part of the Black Country, and within a heavily industrialised area of the Dudley Borough, it boasts a resident population of roughly 14,000 people, in accordance with the 2011 census. Largely established by the Industrial Revolution, Brierley Hill features a comparatively recent history, with the first written records of the town dating back to the seventeenth century. First created as a settlement in the woodland of Pensnett Chase, it started expanding quickly after the chase's enclosure in 1748, and was initially displayed on a map in 1785 following the mapping of the Stourbridge Canal. The town is primarily identified for glass and steel production, though the industry has declined significantly since the 1970s. On the list of the biggest factories within the area was the Round Oak Steelworks, which was closed down and renovated during the 1980s to turn into the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The Merry Hill Shopping Centre is positioned immediately east of Brierley Hill. One of the largest shopping centres in the UK, it was constructed between 1985 and 1989 on the grounds of Merry Hill Farm, the final functioning urban farm inside the West Midlands. Since 2008, Brierley Hill, including the close by Waterfront Business Park and Merry Hill Shopping Centre, has been designated the Strategic Town Centre of the Dudley Borough, with the purpose of making a brand new town centre for the borough. For all of your home improvement projects, ensure that you select reputable specialists in Brierley Hill to make sure that you get the top quality service.