Willenhall’s renowned lock-making museum could be moved lock, stock and barrel to Dudley due to a cash crisis, it emerged today.

The Locksmith’s House has been struggling to stay afloat in recent months after Walsall Council axed a £12,000 annual grant which was used to cover its running costs.

Just a few weeks ago the Black Country Living Museum Trust, which runs the building, revealed it was prepared to put in the money itself to keep the New Road attraction open until March while its long term future is resolved.

Ideas included seeking grants and opening up the museum to children’s parties and corporate events, but now a new option of dismantling the building piece by piece and moving it and all the displays to the Black Country Living Museum is on the table. The news has stunned the friends group of the Locksmith’s House which recently reformed.

Chairwoman Jenny Ermoyenous said today: “We see ourselves as a community museum in the heart of the lock-making industry and relocating us would take the heart out of the museum and the community. We would like to hear from more people who want to help us prove our viability and maintain the museum’s existence in its Willenhall home.”

Opened in 1989, the museum charts the town’s famous lock-making heritage dating back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when it was commissioned to make all the locks needed for the Royal household.