The town of Cradley Heath is at the heart of the Black Country, the “Workshop of the World”. In its heyday it was world famous as the centre of Britain’s chainmaking industry, providing the chain which was attached to the anchor of The Titanic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The town grew rapidly throughout the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. For the best part of 150 years Cradley Heath retained its reliance on the iron-working tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today there is still and iron- and metal-working industry; it is still possible to hear the crash of a forge hammer, the smell of a foundry or engineering works. But on the site of some former ironworks or coal waste mounds you will also find large and small industrial sites, and as they were 170 years ago, small firms starting up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cradley Heath quickly gained a reputation in the Black Country for having the best market, with food and clothing much cheaper than anywhere else in the district. Today it still thrives as a local shopping area, despite the competition from out-of-town shopping complexes such as Merry Hill, just a stone’s throw away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Salvation Army arrived in the town in 1881 and for the past 125 years has been living out its mission: