I visited a popular market town in the Black Country and found a community that has remained strong throughout a series of changes
Just saying the words 'Brierley Hill' to someone from the Black Country will evoke emotions that few other places can create.
Most people from the region will have their own memories of visiting the area, either to the market on Brierley Hill High Street, the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, and for those of a certain generation the Royal Brierley glassmakers.
Located three miles south of Dudley and one mile north of Stourbridge, the town has a rich industrial history and is best known for it's production of glass and steel.
While those industries declined, Brierley Hill has developed into the shopping hub of the Black Country, and after a £5 million regeneration programme of the High Street in 2024 the historic Brierley Hill Market is still thriving in a time where many are turning away from independent stores and towards online shopping.
"Next April I'll have had a stall here for 50 years," Mark Banks, owner of the large confectionary stall that is impossible to miss as you enter the market from the High Street, said. "They might even give me a gold watch to celebrate.
