Ex-Wolverhampton pub recreated at Black Country Living Museum to open this summer

The Elephant and Castle pub, which once stood on the corner of Stafford Street and Cannock Road, has been painstakingly recreated at the tourist attraction.

It will be open this summer as part of the first stage of the museum's Forging Ahead project which will "transform" the site with buildings from the past.

The pub is a key building in the attraction's 1940s-1960s high street, with visitors being able to step back in time – to the 1960s – at the pub, demolished in 2001.

And the museum will also be opening its new Visitor Welcome Centre this summer , allowing it to host increased annual visitor numbers.

It comes after the expansion of the site was backed when a range of organisations, including the West Midlands Combined Authority, came together to raise £30 million.

Andrew Lovett, chief executive officer at Black Country Living Museum, said: “Forging Ahead is now more important than ever to the future of the museum and our region. It provides added momentum to thrive once again for our community following the unprecedented challenge of the pandemic.

"The modern Black Country, with its rich global connections and diversity of people, is the enduring legacy of the 1940s to 60s. It is a legacy to be proud of.

"Forging Ahead provides a new stage upon which we can share new stories and celebrate the contribution of everyone who came to call the Black Country home during this period of history."

The £30m support for the project has been awarded to the museum through a number of major donors, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Capital Kickstart Fund, the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and several other significant donors.

Development of the project has been able to continue while adjacent derelict land within the project compound was awaiting clearance, for which the funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority will provide "much needed support".

Forging Ahead is the museum's largest capital development since opening in 1978 and aims to create a world class visitor attraction at the heart of the Black Country.

The development includes a the new visitor welcome centre, learning spaces, a new industrial quarter, and historic town. The project will take the museum’s story into the 1940s, 50s and 60s – one of the most "dynamic periods in recent history, which saw the economy, society, and popular culture transform".

Museum bosses say it presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to save Black Country heritage, inspire people with stories that would otherwise be at risk of being lost, and transform our local community.

Phase one will see the construction of 22 historic buildings and structures on the museum site. Detailed research will enable the museum to recreate buildings and their stories from around the Black Country, creating a stage on which to share the incredible history of the 1940s-60s. The new development will expand the site by about a third, increasing the capacity to welcome around 500,000 visitors a year by 2026.

For more information about the project, along with a full list of supporters, visit bclm.com/forgingahead