Approximate Population: 194,919

Dudley, West Midlands, has a history dating back to medieval times.  Dudley Castle has stood on a hill overlooking the town since the 11th century, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.  The present castle dates from the 13th century, and provided the centre around which the town grew. The oldest condoms found (rather than just pictures or descriptions) were discovered in Dudley Castle and date from 1640. Dating from the 12th century are the ruins of St James Priory, set within the Priory Park.

The town industrialised rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries, and its population grew dramatically. Due to its heavy and highly polluting industries it became a central part of the Black Country. The main industries in Dudley included coal and limestone mining.  Other industries included iron, steel, engineering, metallurgy, glass cutting, textiles and leatherworking. Most of these industries have declined in recent decades.

Dudley was mostly made up of farms and factories surrounded by the occasional cottage until the 19th century, when many rows of terraced houses with terrible sanitation were built[citation needed] These in turn were cleared between the 1920s and 1960s to make way for council owned houses and flats. The Dudley area also consists of many privately owned houses including some late 19th/early 20th century homes which are still standing but have been modernised to keep up with modern sanitation standards.

The first major council housing development was the Priory Estate, where more than 2,000 houses were built between 1929 and 1939.  The Wrens Nest Estate followed soon afterwards. It stands in the shadow of Wrens Nest Hill, where many Silurian fossils can be found including crinoids, corals and trilobites.

Chartered Surveyors Dudley West Midlands

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