Brierley Hill is a small town and electoral ward of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough within the West Midlands of England. It is positioned about 2.5 miles south of central Dudley and 2 miles to the north of Stourbridge. Brierley Hill was initially in Staffordshire, but is now part of the West Midlands metropolitan county ever since its establishment in 1974. Part of the Black Country, and in a heavily industrialised area of the Dudley Borough, it has a resident population of about 13,935 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. Largely produced by the Industrial Revolution, Brierley Hill features a relatively recent history, with the very first written records of the town going back to the 17th century. First created as a settlement within the woodland of Pensnett Chase, it started expanding quickly following the chase's enclosure in 1748, and was first recorded on a map in 1785 following the mapping of the Stourbridge Canal. The town is best identified for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the largest factories in the area was the Round Oak Steelworks, which was closed down and renovated during the 1980s to be transformed into the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The Merry Hill Shopping Centre is situated immediately to the east of Brierley Hill. One of the biggest shopping centres in the country, it was built between 1985 and 1989 on the site of Merry Hill Farm, the final operating urban farm inside the West Midlands. Since 2008, Brierley Hill, including the nearby Waterfront Business Park and Merry Hill Shopping Centre, has been designated the Strategic Town Centre of the Dudley Borough, with the purpose of creating a new town centre for the borough. For all of your home improvements, make sure that you employ reliable pros in Brierley Hill to ensure that you get a great quality service.