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Dudley Leasing

Did You Know?

Though the ship’s construction itself mainly took place in Belfast, the Titanic’s anchor was made in near Dudley in 1911 by English industrialist Noah Hingley. Once completed, the anchor was towed to Dudley train station by 20 shire horses, ready to start its journey from Ireland to the Americas.

It’s widely believed that acclaimed fantasy author JRR Tolkien was inspired by Dudley and other areas of the Black Country when writing his magnum opus, strongly basing the fictional location of Mordor on it. Tolkien himself was raised in the West Midlands and the name ‘Mordor’ even translates to ‘black region’ in Lord of the Rings’ Elven language of Sindarin.

The Black Country is a catch-all term that commonly refers to the West Midlands and its encompassing areas of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell, and of course, Dudley. Of these four districts, Dudley is referred to amongst locals as the capital of the Black Country, a title that was born out of the town’s strong links to industry. 

The earliest mention of Dudley in the history books reveals that the town originally started out as a Saxon village known as ‘Dudda’s leah’ – Leah being the Saxon word which means ‘clearing in a forest’. Dudley would eventually be upgraded to the town status it still sports today when the Lord of the Manor established a market here.

Dudley’s most famous celebrity export is perhaps celebrated actor and comedian Sir Lenny Henry, but did you know that it was also the birthplace of renowned Fantasy children’s author Susan Price? Her most popular book is probably 1987’s The Ghost Drum, an original fairy tale based on Russian folklore that would go on to win the Carnegie Medal literary award.

Prior to Dudley’s traditional motorbus system, citizens of the town would take trolley buses to travel to and from work, and before that trams. While their original design wouldn’t make much sense nowadays, a proposed extension of Dudley’s metro line which would run through Dudley could see a re-instated tram service return.

Ground zero for what would later become known as the Industrial Revolution, Dudley might be best known for its strong links to the iron, coal, and limestone industries before things settled down, but it's since become famous for so much more.

Dudley has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, its name deriving from the Old English Duddan Leah, meaning Dudda's clearing, and one of its churches being named in honour of the Anglo-Saxon King and Saint, Edmund.

At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. In 1138 King Stephen attacked Dudley Castle. Ralph Pagnell had sided with Empress Matilda during the anarchy and Stephen had marched on Dudley.

Dudley resists rising to Harry's bait about his new nickname, 'Big D', although the effort of keeping himself from hitting Harry appears to demand all his self-control. A muscle twitches in Dudley's jaw as Harry asks him about the children his gang have been victimising, furious at the jibes.