Steve Lewitt acquired his doctorate from the Institute for Historical Research in 2023 after a career in both the public and private sector. He has been Secretary of the Society since 2018.
This talk will consider the creation, development and subsequent decline of the iron-making industry in the Smestow valley, south Staffordshire - a precursor to the creation of the Black Country. It will consider how those who developed the industry from the late 16th century and then extended it can be categorised, and, if this new typology which is proposed here can be extended to cover the development of other iron-making areas, locally, regionally or nationally, or, indeed, other industries created in the same time frame.
