Dudley

Dudley, metropolitan borough, central England. The borough of Dudley is located in the metropolitan area of the West Midlands, north of Worcestershire and south of Wolverhampton. From the local government reforms of 1975, until 1986, Dudley was administered by the metropolitan county council based in Birmingham. As a result of the Local Government Act 1985, the metropolitan county councils were abolished. The county council's functions devolved to the West Midlands' seven metropolitan district councils: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. The police authority is the West Midlands Police, with headquarters in Birmingham. Crown Courts sit in Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton.

The borough of Dudley incorporates the former county borough of Dudley and the former municipal borough of Stourbridge. The main centres are Dudley, Stourbridge, Halesowen and Brierley Hill. The region is a predominately urban one, which developed during the Industrial Revolution thanks to its mineral resources of coal, iron ore, sand and fireclay which fuelled Black Country industries. Stourbridge is famous for its glass and crystal, as several museums testify. Population 305,164 (2001).