Visitor numbers rise at Black Country Museum
Visitor numbers are up by eight per cent at the Black Country Living Museum in the last 12 months - raking in an extra £500,000 to put towards new attractions.
A total of 292,530 visitors passed through the doors in 2015 - up more than 50,000 in the past two years.
Bosses are remaining tight lipped on where the money will be spent but said it will help the 'future stability' of the museum.
Chiefs said they were delighted with the figures coming after a series of high profile projects including filming for the new series of television show Peaky Blinders.
The upturn in figures comes after the attraction experienced a slump in numbers around four years ago.
Poor weather had hit numbers in 2012 which were 16 per cent lower than in 2011 when the peaked at 298,965.
Visitor numbers have markedly improved since 2012 when they stood at 249,574 and 2013 when the fell to 240,088.
In 2014 numbers were up to 271,467 and have risen again for the last 12 months almost recovering to 2011 levels.
The museum's deputy chief executive, Laura Wakelin, said: "2015 was a very strong year for the Museum, welcoming 292,530 visitors – eight per cent ahead of 2014 and over 50,000 additional visitors than we saw back in 2013. "We're delighted with this result, especially as it means we are now able to invest the surplus of £500k into the Museum to support future sustainability."
Popular events such as the 1940s weekend, bonfire nights and Halloween are among the highlights in the calender.
Features such as the 1930s street, the village, the mine and the ever popular Bottle and Glass Inn continue to drawn in the crowds.
Officials have also worked on welcoming more school groups to the museum, including creating a new school's entrance and exhibition space to enhance the experience for youngsters arriving for the day.
Hit television show Peaky Blinders returned to film scenes for its third series at the museum, in Tipton Road, Dudley.
And fans of the series have been arriving to visit some of the sets used for the show starring actor Cillian Murphy.
The museum is also crucial to a wider £10 million scheme under way by Dudley Council to bring visitors flocking to the town.
Cash has been spent improving links between the museum, Dudley Zoo and Castle and Dudley canal tunnels with the guide to bring in up to a million visitors a year in total.
