Janine Wiedel Photo Library - Documentary images

Taken in 1978 in the village of Cradley Heath an area south of Birmingham known as the Black Country. During the Industrial revolution the area was "black by day and red by night" Coal mines and iron works sprang up everywhere. Nailers and chainmakers settled here as iron and coal were right on hand. In 1890 the village was the centre of chainmaking in the world not just Britain. In the 1980s, during the Thatcher government most of the workshops were closed down and unemployment soared. Today whilst chainmaking still exists on a very small scale, most of the area is still amongst the most economically deprived communities in the UK. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

Florence Colliery in Stoke on Trent and Littleton Colliery in Staffordshire 1978. The last 6 photos were taken at a small independent mine / 'Footeral' nr Stoke on Trent. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

Smiths’ Drop Forge in Aston, was a typical small firm still surviving on the outskirts of Birmingham, forging components for the thriving automotive industry. Founded in 1910, by the ’70s they were producing the majority of ‘male-female couplings’ for articulated lorries. Most of the workers had been there for their entire working lives and many were from the same family. The work was tough. Red-hot furnaces heated the raw metal, which was then placed under a 35-hundredweight hammer; a rope released the ratchet, and the hammer dropped about nine feet to stamp the metal into shape. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

Harris Brush Works factory in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire in the mid 1970s. Founded in 1928, they are largest manufacturer of paint brushes as well as all other brush products. In 1961 they were awarded the Royal Warrant by Her Majesty as the preferred manufacturer of paint brushes and decorating tools to the Royal Sandringham Estate. TA small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

In the mid 1970's, The Jewellery Quarter was Britain's major center for the production of gold and silver. It still, however, retained traces of it's beginnings in the early 19th century. The area was made up of many small firms packed together within a quarter square mile. As the businesses grew they extended from one cottage to the next. Behind the small family firms and Dickensian atmosphere were high powered businesses distributing throughout the world. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

Price's Candle in Wandsworth, South London was founded in 1930 and became the largest candle supplier. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

These photographs were taken in 1978 at Shelton Bar Iron and Steel Works in Stoke on Trent and at Bilston Steel Works in the Black Country. By the end of that year, iron and steel making at Shelton ceased as the final blast furnace closed down with a loss of almost 2,000 jobs. The rolling mill, acknowledged to be one of the best in the world, survived for another 20 years but steel had to be brought down from Teeside. The steel works at Bilston closed one year later in 1979 with 3000 redundancies. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

The Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company in Sudbury Suffolk was first established as jacquard weaving mill in 1903. When these were taken in 1990 they were still using many of the traditional methods and machines. A small selection. To view a wider selection , please go to "search" and put in keywords or contact me direct.

As far back as Roman times potters were found in Staffordshire. In 1810 the six towns which make up 'The Potteries' were officially joined into one city called Stoke-on Trent. When I took these photographs in the mid 1970s, pottery was Britain's second biggest net earner with 75% produced in Stoke-on-Trent. These images were taken in Aynsley (est. 1774), known for fine bone china and at Spode (founded 1770) now merged with Royal Worcester To view: press "all" below.

The London Fancy Box Company in Dover 1990. A family run business founded in 1894 they make quality presentation packaging for beauty care, entertainment, wines & spirits and the publishing markets.