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  • Christmas 2025 payroll arrangements

    Christmas 2025 payroll arrangements

    Please note that the December pay date will be on Friday 19 December 2025.

    For hourly paid staff this will cover the four weeks from Monday 24 November to Sunday 21 December.

    January 2026 pay will be paid on Friday 23 January 2026 (one week before the last Friday in the month).

    For hourly pay staff this will cover the four weeks from Monday 22 December 2025 to Sunday 18 January 2026.

    February 2026 pay date will be Friday 27 February 2026 and there will be five weeks between the January and February pay dates.

  • Peaky Blinders Nights – Colleague Evaluation Survey

    Peaky Blinders Nights – Colleague Evaluation Survey

    Thank you to everyone who participated in our Peaky Blinders Nights. We’ve had some brilliant feedback from our visitors and now we need to hear from you!
    Please take a few minutes to fill in our colleague survey to tell us what you think by clicking here.
    What we did well:
    “The street performances where a big highlight immersing Into the whole experience. I loved how they didn’t break character and it felt authentic and good fun and encouraging people to participate”
    “I have been to a few now and they never disappoint! Its an awesome evening stepping back in time and having all that history around and the peakys! Everyone dressing up makes it an event i so look forward to and have already booked again for March 2026! Thanks everyone for your hard work!”
    Making improvements from our September date, we found more visitors not only enjoyed seeing the street theatre, but actually saw something pop up
    • 56% Excellent, 25% Good = 81% Overall Satisfaction Rating
    • 42% Excellent, 34% Good = 76% Food & Drink Satisfaction Rating
    • 78% of visitors saw some of the street performances by Historic Characters during the event.
    • 58% Excellent, 32% Good = 90% Rating for the quality of the map.
    What we can learn:
     
    In general, visitors commented on the time spent queueing, despite the high proportion of visitors who saw something happen on the street, some commented that they still didn’t see anything or hear the iconic theme song which we know was played by nearly all bands on site at some point in the night. Some reviewers mentioned safety concerns regarding the fire and whip shows, as well as the speed of the food service.
    A huge well done to all teams involved, it was an incredibly successful night and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, and overall satisfaction is much higher for this event than in previous years.. For any questions on the programme or feedback please email [email protected]
  • People News – November 2025

    People News – November 2025

    Welcomes

    In November, we were delighted to welcome several new colleagues to the Museum;

    We are delighted that Lisa Edwards has returned to the Museum as Team Manager (Historic Characters) after spending time in a managerial role at the Silverstone Museum.

    We are pleased to congratulate Jessica Bentley, who has been successful in securing the role of Team Manager (Historic Characters). Jessica has been engaged as a Historic Character since 2022 and its wonderful to see her progress into this role. Both Lisa and Jessica will be joining us next week.

    We also welcomed a number of new casual colleagues across our front-facing teams, including Historic Characters, Enterprise Team Members, and Site Cleaners. Some of these new starters were recommended by friends and family to help us cover the busy October half-term period – an initiative that worked brilliantly and enabled us to avoid using agency staff. We are delighted to share that these colleagues will be staying with us beyond October, and we are excited to have them as part of the team.

    If you see any of our new colleagues around the site, please do say hello and offer them a warm welcome.

    Sadly Departed

    It is with great sadness that we have to share that former colleague, John Crompton, passed peacefully on 23rd October 2025. John had previously worked for Black Country Museum for 10 years in the role of Keeper.

  • October Half Term – Colleague Evaluation Survey

    October Half Term – Colleague Evaluation Survey

    Thank you to everyone for your hard work and participation in our October Half Term Programme – Horrible Happenings. There has been some great feedback from our visitors, so now we would like to hear your opinions.

    Please take a few minutes to fill in our colleague survey and to tell us what you think by clicking this link.

    Here are some highlights of what our visitors thought:

    • 84% of visitors agreed or strongly agreed that they had the chance to participate in activities on site.
    • 92% of people thought their visit was good or excellent.
    • 40% of visitors were on their first visit to BCLM.
    • 65% thought they had gained a better understanding of migration to the Black Country.
    • Great to see all the buildings that have been preserved that would have otherwise be lost forever. The volunteers I spoke to were friendly and knowledgeable. I really enjoyed my visit.
    • Favourite part of the trail – The fun activities like the rat catcher and the night soil man. My daughter loved the talking privies, rat catcher and the UFO mystery. Finding the ghost in the school room.
    • Staff were brilliant, informative and engaged all that wished to listen.
    • There were some challenges – with queues for food, visitors noted inconsistency in the storytelling they experienced, signage is also mentioned in several comments. People wanting warm undercover picnic areas and improved vegetarian choices.

    Well done to all teams for your hard work, and please do complete the survey. For any specific questions

    on the programme or feedback, please email: [email protected]

  • Hannah Parsons – Secondment to Head of Development & Communications

    Hannah Parsons – Secondment to Head of Development & Communications

    We are pleased to announce that Hannah Parsons is being seconded to the role of Head of Development and Communications. Hannah joined the Museum team in 2018 as Marketing Assistant and will now lead the development and delivery of our Audience and Communications Strategy while supporting the growth of our fundraising streams. Please join us in wishing Hannah all the very best in this role.

  • Tickets for Red By Night and Peaky Blinders Nights – March events 2026

    Tickets for Red By Night and Peaky Blinders Nights – March events 2026

    As you may be aware we’re moving to a new ticketing system in January 2026. To give our early events of 2026 the best chance to sell, we’ve created a temporary ticketing page which supports the sales of Peaky Blinders Night (Saturday 14 March 2026) and Red By Night (Saturday 21 March 2026). Tickets for these events were launched at noon yesterday and we’re excited to say we’ve already seen sales coming in. Tickets are available to the public via the website:​
    ​
    Peaky Blinders Nights
    ​
    Red By Night
    ​
    The project team are working hard on the development and launch of the new permanent ticketing system which will launch in January. Should you wish to purchase staff tickets for either Red By Night or Peaky Blinders Night in March, these will be made available in January when the permanent system is in place. This will also be the case for our business partner tickets. Thank you for your support and patience.
  • Alan Allcock (1948-2025)

    Alan Allcock (1948-2025)

    We are deeply saddened to share with colleagues that Alan Allcock, longstanding Transport Volunteer, passed away on Sunday 9th November.

    Alan first joined the Museum in June 2013, and for over 12 years he was an almost-daily presence on site. Those who knew him will remember him as a real gentleman and great supporter of the Museum, whose dedication did so much for the care and preservation of the transport collection.

    He loved the buses in particular. With spanner in hand, Alan’s knowledge, skill, and ingenuity helped the Museum overcome many an engineering challenge over the years to keep the fleet on the road. Each vehicle was like a living thing to him, and he would regularly speak to them as if they were family. Surprisingly, this often seemed to have a positive effect!

    Alan will be dearly missed for his quirky humour, enthusiasm, and kindness, as well as his remarkable contribution to the Museum over the years.

    Should anyone wish to send a card or message of condolence to Alan’s family, or enquire about funeral arrangements, please speak to any member of the People Team or email [email protected].

    We understand this news may be upsetting. If you would like to talk, support is available through our Mental Health First Aiders on 07918 348919. You can also contact the EAP scheme by calling 0800 756 0861, quoting “Perkbox” and “Black Country Living Museum”.

     

  • Peaky Blinders Nights – programme overview

    Peaky Blinders Nights – programme overview

    Date and times:
    Saturday 27 September, 7pm-10.30pm
    Concept:
    • An evening of entertainment including live music, dance and an emphasis on 1920s/30s fashion. Visitors will be encouraged to dress up and emulate their favourite characters from the show. Our HC team will be populating the site in role, representing themes, characters, and scenarios from the show.
    • To immerse visitors in the world of the Peaky Blinders, with an industrial set, live 20’s music and entertainment. Visitors are invited to participate, observe and enjoy street scenes, dancing and dress up to look the part!
    Take a look at the map, and the event poster. For more information, please see the context sheet.
    Contact: [email protected] (programme), [email protected] (event)
  • Halloween Nights – colleague survey

    Halloween Nights – colleague survey

    Thank you to everyone who participated in our Halloween Nights. We’ve had some brilliant feedback from our visitors and now we need to hear from you!

    Please take a few minutes to fill in our colleague survey to tell us what you think by clicking here.

    What we did well:

    “So much effort went into everything. I loved all of it, the Halloween/spooky music everywhere we went, the Ghostbusters, the way the museum was lit up, the actors everywhere, the fact it was so full of people yet so well managed. There was so much to do and I think the best part was that everyone was dressed up and participating.”

    In general, visitors commented on the atmosphere, the things they could do/get involved in e.g. clown scare mine, historic character and externals, and the visitors in costume.

    • 51% Excellent, 26% Good = 77% Overall Satisfaction Rating
    • 42% Excellent, 40% Good = 82% Food & Drink Satisfaction Rating
    • 94% of visitors used the map during their visit, with a satisfaction rating of 86%
    • 80% of visitors agreed or strongly agreed that the event was an “immersive experience”

    “Fantastic atmosphere. Lots to see and do! Our daughter has autism, so the quiet room equipped with sensory toys and ear defenders was a FANTASTIC idea. It’s great to see places being inclusive!”

    What can we learn?

    In general, visitors commented on the business of site and queues, as well as site orientation in the dark and generally. There are some comments that mention access requirements not being met, especially in relation to queues. Some visitors also commented that they would like more new activities due to being annual visitors for Halloween.

    Well done to all teams and please do complete the survey. For any specific questions on the programme or feedback, please email [email protected]

  • Help needed: greenery for Christmas decorations

    Help needed: greenery for Christmas decorations

    It’s that time of year again when we decorate the buildings ready for the festive season. We use traditional greenery for many of the houses and shops, and we are appealing for your help.

    Do you have rampant ivy or holly that needs pruning? Do you have excess Christmas/fir tree cuttings? Or do you have other evergreen materials you can spare?

    If you have any of the above we would be grateful for donations of greenery. Santa Hunts start on Saturday 29 November this year, so we will start preparing key buildings from Monday 17 November and continue the following week.

    If you can bring in any materials, you can deposit them outside the staff Guide Hut, and the team will collect them.

    If you have any questions about decorating the buildings for Christmas you speak to the collections team or email [email protected]

    Thank you.