Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a compact 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 north of Stourbridge. Brierley Hill was historically 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 inside a heavily industrialised area of the Dudley Borough, it has a population of 13,935 inhabitants, based on the 2011 census. Primarily established by the Industrial Revolution, Brierley Hill boasts a comparatively current history, with the original written records of the town dating back to the 17th century. Initially established as a settlement within the woodland of Pensnett Chase, it started to expand rapidly after the chase's enclosure in 1748, and was first shown on a map in 1785 following the mapping of the Stourbridge Canal. The town is primarily famous for glass and steel production, although the business has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the biggest factories in 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 United Kingdom, 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 as the Strategic Town Centre of the Dudley Borough, with the aim to make a new town centre for the borough. For all your home improvements, ensure that you work with trusted experts in Brierley Hill to ensure you get a great quality service.