Step back to the 1970s, when the sound of heavy machinery, the glow of furnaces and the bustle of factory floors were woven into everyday life across Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Staffordshire.
This gallery brings together archive photographs capturing life inside and outside the region’s factories and workplaces. From roaring furnaces and pneumatic hammers at historic toolmakers to quiet, ivy-clad works, purpose-built industrial estates, picket lines and factory closures, these images offer a vivid glimpse of the people, places and working lives of a region at the heart of Britain’s industrial story.
Do you remember these workplaces, or did you or someone in your family work there? Share your memories and stories in the comments.
- Take a look at these 31 pictures capturing the spirit of Wolverhampton and the Black Country.
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37. Factory closures, mounting redundancies, and a grim economic outlook for Brierley Hill
Prominently displayed above the brick façade and goods entrance, the Marsh & Baxter sign marks the laboratory and quality control building in September 1978. The quiet exterior image belies grim news for the workforce, as the famous meat processing firm announced the closure of its Brierley Hill bacon and sausage plant scheduled for December 8, making 200 workers redundant. Union shop steward Jim Payne warned of an "unhappy Christmas" for local families, while Chamber of Commerce officials expressed deep concern over worsening unemployment figures across Dudley, Kingswinford, and Stourbridge. The poignant photograph captures the waning days of a historic Black Country brand amidst the wider industrial decline of the late 1970s. | Express & Star archive
38. Overhead gantry cranes, structural steel beams, and a purpose-built fabrication bay in Oldbury
Spanning 200 feet in length and covering 10,000 square feet, the newly completed main fabricating bay of Broadwell Buildings stands filled with rolled steel sections and heavy machinery in May 1970. Designed and erected by the firm itself, the clear portal frame structure is equipped with two Wharton five-ton overhead travelling cranes and insulated cladding with translucent roof panels. Outfitted with heavy-duty equipment - including a steel-cutting guillotine, angle cropper, triple radial drillers, and cold sawing machinery - the facility represented a major modernization of structural steel fabrication in the Black Country. The wide interior perspective captures the pristine scale and order of a state-of-the-art engineering works at the dawn of the decade. | Express & Star archive
39. Repurposing historic aviation works along Wolverhampton’s busy industrial arterial
Showing the brick frontage along Birmingham Road, an exterior view from April 1973 captures the former Integral aircraft components factory in Wolverhampton. The site underwent a major transition to become a central factory warehouse and corporate headquarters for Yarnolds (Wolverhampton) Ltd, a prominent local curtain manufacturer. Featuring multi-paned factory windows, roofline railings, and the original "Integral" signage, the photograph highlights the ongoing adaptation of classic industrial architecture across the Black Country as mid-century manufacturing gave way to new commercial distribution hubs. | Express & Star archive