Workers gather but plant’s fate is sealed
ROUND Oak Steelworks was one of the biggest employers in the Black Country – the huge site, established by the 1st Earl of Dudley back in 1857 originally produced wrought iron, and it was said that for a few decades the vast majority of all iron in the world was produced within twenty miles or so of Round Oak.
‘The Earl’s’, as it continued to be known well into the twentieth cenutry, moved into steel in the 1890s, and countless thousands of Black Country folk were employed there during its 125 year existence – almost everyone in the Brierley Hill and Dudley area will know someone who worked there at some point.
These pictures come from a very dark time – when the curtain finally fell on Round Oak after several years of decline and a real struggle as the recession began to hit.
At its peak Round Oak had employed around 3,000 people, and by 1982, when the axe finally fell, the number was down to around 1,200. Though many argued that it was still profitable the plant, which had long been part of the national British Steel network, was closed in December 1982, just two days before Christmas.
The picture on the left was taken when hundreds of Round Oak workers attended a meeting at Dudley Town Hall on November 30, when the ending was all but inevitable.
The main photograph shows the view of the plant as seen from the main road from Dudley into Brierley Hill town centre, and just below it is the sign for the main offices on the gate.
■ Do you have photographs or memories from working at Round Oak? Email gjones@blackcountrybugle. co.uk, give us a call on 01384 880531, or you can write to us at Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archive Centre, Tipton Road, Dudley, DY1 4SQ.