Dudley Archives and Local History

31/10/2026

Join us for a talk by Lin Gilbert, 'Top Secret': A story of WW2 intrigue based in Dudley!

All are welcome to the talk, which will take place in the Abbey Room here at Dudley Archives on Thursday 12th November at 2pm. Booking is not essential.

31/10/2026

Happy Halloween!🎃

Here we have a picture of Holbeche House where the Ghostly Cavaliers are said to haunt the grounds.

After the violent ending to the Gunpowder Plot at Holbeche House on the 8th November 1605, where Gideon Grove was mistaken for a plotter and killed, rumours of the Phantom Riders began to emerge.

These ghostly events have been reported in the Black Country Bugle where witnesses describe seeing a headless rider (presumably Gideon Grove), phantom fire as well as the sound of horses fleeing.

Holbeche House image ref: p7/1527

Black Country Bugle Issues:
August 1973, No. 17
September 1973, No. 18

27/10/2026

The Explore Your Archive theme of 'Folklore' this month has led us to find information on 'The Dudley Devil', Theophilus Dunn. Born in 1788 and living in Windmill end, he made local folklore as a Fortune Teller. People travelled from all corners of the country, and beyond, to seek his help. He was known to be able to locate lost and stolen property and to solve mysteries. He also healed broken hearts, provided cures and predicted the future. He was once asked by local schoolmaster what life would be like in 200 years, he replied
'So quickly in time wull they travel
That there'll be no 'ere or there
They'll pass by the moon in a bullet
And live on co'd cloud and 'ot air'
- taken from The Folklore of the Black Country, by Roy Palmer, p71 (LD398)
'Devil' Dunn died in October 1851 after taking his own life. A photocopy of his will, originally made in September 1851, is held at the Archives (LD B Dunn P) as well as several newspaper articles: (Bugle Annual '87, p) (NPC/195, p43) (NPC/12, p65). We found his burial record in St Andrew's Church burial Register.

22/10/2026

We had a very successful Local History Day at the Archives on Saturday 17th of October. Lots of local history stalls, tours of the Archives and Museum and local history talks. Mark Jeffs stood in for Graham Worton with a talk on local geology, and Kevin Goodman, Author and Medical Historian gave a talk on ' 'Quack Prince of Swindlers', Rise and falls of an "Electric" quack Doctor'. It was good to see so many faces.

15/10/2026

An article written by our Archivist, Paul Ford about Nellie Nestle, music hall performer.

This article is less of a mystery than a journey, as we seek to uncover a life within an all but lost profession on the basis that this person once performed in Stourbridge. As we only had her stag…

13/10/2026

October's Explore Your Archive theme is 'Folklore'.
We have a selection of books, re-telling some popular and some less known stories about the spooky side of the Black Country.
Have a read about the Grey Lady in Dudley Castle, the monk seen around Priory Ruins and some friendly (or not so friendly) ghosts visiting local pubs.
Do you have any ghosts stories from around the Black Country?
(Ref: LD 133.1)

09/10/2026

We would love to see you at this year's Local History Day, taking place on Saturday 17th October, here at Dudley Archives.
We have several talks and tours available on the day and we will be joined by a range of local stallholders, including stalls from local family history and society groups. There will be publications for sale, refreshments, and raffle tickets available for purchase. Our Friends of Dudley Archives will be on hand to help you with any family history questions you may have.
This is a FREE event and we welcome drop-ins, but we kindly request that talks/ tours are booked in advance as spaces are limited. To book, please speak to a member of staff at the Archives front desk, or call the department during our opening hours on 01384 812770 (Tuesday 10am-5pm, Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm), or email us: [email protected].
This year’s talks/ tours are:
10:30am – 11:30am: Talk by Graham Worton, ‘Discoveries in the darkness – piecing together the journey of the Black Country through deep time’, Keeper of Geology & Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark coordinator - FULLY BOOKED
11:40am – 12:10pm; 1:30pm – 2:00pm: Behind-the-scenes tours of our archive repositories
12:15pm – 1:15pm: Talk by Kevin Goodman, Author and Medical Historian, 'Aaron Geismar: Prince of Swindlers, Fraud of Frauds: Rise and Falls of an Electric Quack Doctor' - FULLY BOOKED
2:00pm – 2:30pm: Dudley Museum Tour by Graham Worton

06/10/2026

The Friends of Wren's Nest Nature Reserve had a very successful celebration on Saturday 3rd of October, of their 20th Anniversary. It also coincided with the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of the nature reserve. Both were celebrated with talks, an exhibition and a 'Dudley Bug' cake!

01/10/2026

National Poetry Day!

Here's a poem dated July 10th, 1884, regarding the Miners' Strike, which began due to the reduction of wages on June 28th, 1884. The miners were on strike for 15 weeks in total. Their needs were unfortunately not met, and they returned to work with the reduced wages on October 14th, 1884.

ref: PO/589

24/09/2026

Reminder - Spaces still available to book!

We are excited to welcome John Butterworth MBE here at Dudley Archives on Tuesday 29th September, 2pm, for his talk on the 'History of the Black Country Bugle' as part of this year's Dudley History Festival.

As an editor of the Black Country Bugle for several years, John's talk will cover how the Bugle started, the characters who appeared in the paper and some of the fascinating stories covered.

SPACES ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR THIS FREE TALK.

To book, please call the Archives Service on 01384 812770, email us at [email protected], or reserve a space by speaking to a member of staff at the public enquiries desk.