Maine Stays Journal · Local guide
From Round Oak Steelworks to Merry Hill: the site's story
Round Oak opened in 1857 as an ironworks for Lord Ward and made steel from the 1890s. It closed on 23 December 1982 with the loss of more than 1,200 jobs. The land, with Merry Hill Farm beside it, became an enterprise zone and was rebuilt as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and the Waterfront.
An ironworks for the Earl of Dudley
The Ward family, Lords of Dudley Castle, owned land and mineral rights across the Black Country. In 1855 the Dudley Estate began building the Round Oak Iron Works at Brierley Hill, beside the Dudley Canal, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the estate's own Pensnett Railway. It started production in 1857, founded by Lord Ward, who became the 1st Earl of Dudley in 1860, as an outlet for pig iron from nearby blast furnaces.
It was a big operation from day one: 600 men, 28 puddling furnaces and five mills. The works won a Prize Medal at the International Exhibition of 1862. After extensions between 1865 and 1868 it could produce 550 tons of finished iron a week. From 1889 it also made chains and ships' cables.
Steel
As steel overtook iron, the works was converted. Steel was first made there in August 1894, but the company went into liquidation that November and the Dudley Estate took it back. A new company under the 2nd Earl of Dudley was set up in 1897 and renamed Round Oak Steel Works Limited on 14 December 1936.
After the Second World War the plant was modernised at a cost of more than £4 million. It was the first steelworks in the UK to convert to natural gas from the North Sea. It was nationalised in 1951, sold to Tube Investments in 1953 and nationalised again in 1967 as part of British Steel. Among its products was a weldable extra high-strength steel sold as 'Thirty-Oak'.
Inside the works
A description from 1904 lists an iron works for high-class bar iron, a chain works and a steel works using the Siemens-Martin process, with five large open-hearth furnaces in a shop 350 feet long by 90 feet wide. By 1927 the plant had a 90-ton tilting furnace beside five fixed open-hearth furnaces.
The works had its own railway to Baggeridge, three and a half miles long, which closed in September 1966.
The closure
By the late 1970s jobs were being cut. The works closed on 23 December 1982, after 125 years, with the loss of more than 1,200 jobs. Unemployment in Brierley Hill peaked at around 25%, one of the highest rates in Britain at the time. The local MP, John Blackburn, had argued the plant was still profitable.
The buildings were demolished in 1984. An image of the works later became the cover of Depeche Mode's 1984 album Some Great Reward.
From farm and furnace to shopping centre
On 29 October 1980 the government announced an enterprise zone near Brierley Hill that included Merry Hill Farm, a well-loved green space. It was extended to the steelworks site in 1984. That October, Dudley Council approved plans by local twin brothers Don and Roy Richardson for a retail park and shopping mall on the farmland.
The first retail units opened in the autumn of 1985 and the final phase of the shopping centre in November 1989. The first businesses moved onto the old steelworks site itself in December 1990, when the Waterfront's first offices were finished. A steel terminal opened on the railway next door in August 1986 and is still in use.
Seeing the history today
The Black Country Living Museum, about 5 miles by road from our house, The Merry Hill Lounge, tells the wider story of the region's industry. Among its buildings is the Bottle and Glass Inn, which stood on the Dudley Canal at Brockmoor, just north of Brierley Hill town centre, until it was moved to the museum in 1980.
Where to stay: The Merry Hill Lounge
- Four bedrooms and a sofa bed, sleeping up to 10
- Two bathrooms, a full kitchen and a washer dryer
- Free off-road parking with room for vans as well as cars
- 500 Mb Wi-Fi and a private back garden
- Bills included, with up to 20% off stays of 28 nights or more
Sources
Sources checked on 6 October 2026. Road distances are measured on OpenStreetMap from the house, The Merry Hill Lounge, on 6 October 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
When did Round Oak Steelworks close?
On 23 December 1982, after 125 years, with the loss of more than 1,200 jobs.
What replaced Round Oak Steelworks?
The site and the farmland beside it became an enterprise zone and were rebuilt as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and the Waterfront offices and marina.
Where can I learn more about Black Country industry nearby?
The Black Country Living Museum is about 5 miles by road from the house, The Merry Hill Lounge.
Your Black Country stay,
sorted.
The Merry Hill Lounge: a whole house in Brierley Hill for up to 10, with parking, fast Wi-Fi and every bill included.