Dudley, a historic market town in the Black Country, has been ranked the third-worst place to live in England in a Sunday Times poll, yet it holds a surprising distinction: it has one of the highest concentrations of pubs with historical interiors in the country, according to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) database.
The town has faced persistent criticism. Last year, the Sunday Times poll considered factors such as local crime rates, Ofsted school reports, GP waiting times, car parks, and community assets, placing Dudley third from bottom. It has also been rated Britain's worst-performing medium-sized town, with 29% of its shops lying empty, despite being the second-largest town in the country by population.
Local Voices Describe Decline
Earlier this year, Alison Wade, who has run the Cards and Gifts 4 You shop for 30 years, described the town's transformation since her first visit in 1984. "When I first came, I thought 'wow, this is lovely', it was all stone, high-street shops, really, really nice. It was still a thriving town. It's gone from being a nice town to getting dirtier and dirtier, and that is down to probably the council. Now, it's like a shanty town," she said.
Local resident Harriet Manly, 39, a mum-of-one, echoed these sentiments: "You walk around Dudley and there's more pigeons than shoppers. It has become desolate in recent years. The place is dying and it's really sad to see as the people of Dudley are amazing."
The town's struggles are not new. In 1832, the then Princess Victoria, aged 13, traveled past Dudley and remarked: "The country is very desolate everywhere. There are coals about and the grass is quite blasted and black." Some fans of The Lord of the Rings believe J.R.R. Tolkien, who grew up near Birmingham, found inspiration for the doomed orc lands of Mordor in the industry-scarred region, although this is hard to know for sure.
A Hidden Gem: Historic Pub Interiors
Despite this cloudy reputation, Dudley is gifted with a surprising number of tourist attractions. A couple of years ago, Labour Councillor Cat Eccles recommended Dudley Castle, the zoo, the Black Country Living Museum, the town center's historic marketplace, and Holden's, a local brewery.
It is the pub scene where Dudley really comes into its own. Dudley has three watering holes rated three stars for their interiors by CAMRA's Pub Heritage Group, which has spent years judging the finest historical inns and bars still serving. To put that into context, the whole of Kent has four, Essex has three, and Bristol has just one.
Around 300 pubs are in this category across the country, meaning one for every 223,000 Brits. Lucky Dudley locals are blessed with more than eleven times the concentration of historically poignant pubs than most of us. From experience elsewhere, these tend to be the best, most authentic, and fun pubs you're likely to find.
Visiting the Old Swan and Beacon Hotel
On a rainy October day, having been told of Dudley's country topping status by a well-informed travel companion, we decided to check out this hostelry hub - fresh off the back of a trip to the Black Country Living Museum, of course. It certainly didn't disappoint.
First up was the Old Swan in the borough of Netherton, which CAMRA described as a "legendary pub in the annals of real ale" that's one of "only four pubs to have kept its home-brewing tradition since built". Walking inside feels as if you are being transported back in time several decades. There is no blaring music or television screen to distract you from catching up with your friends. Instead, a slight touch of hostility fills the air when you enter (or at least, when we did). A smoking room is situated out back, past a mad-looking organ occasionally played by the landlord. The seats are comfortable and the pints of local ale we drank were delicious.
The next on our (admittedly quite short) pub crawl was the Beacon Hotel. This was, without doubt, one of the best pubs I've ever been to. Despite arriving just five minutes after the opening time, when we wandered, tables were in very short supply and the atmosphere was great. A number of different rooms, each with a slightly different feel, are centred on a small, singular bar, populated by three tenders who spin round to serving hatches around them whenever a customer appears.
The cheese cobs and pints here were incredibly cheap, both of which complemented the lovely interiors very well. The community warmth that radiated from both pubs and the beauty of their interiors were very clear on a short visit. It also served as a good reminder that while some places may be caught up in stories of general decline, such stories are rarely that comprehensive and often overlook little pockets of happiness, like the Old Swan and Beacon.
