Black Country?

[Buttonstoo]

Why is the 'Black Country' in the Mildlands called so?

[SteveD]

There have been thoughts, theories, ideas and stories. Two have dominated Black Country minds over the years.

One evokes images of red, fiery furnaces by night and black, sooty citadels by day. Another, tells of the rich, loamy earth mixing with the eight foot coal seam which dominates the land.

The above is from this site:

http://www.blackcountrytourism.co.uk/

[firefly]

Yes, but why the Midlands in particular? Other areas are associated with industralisation, especially the coal industry. Take Lancashire and Yorkshire for instance.