A unique Heritage project.

A Victorian library that served communities in Dudley for more than a century has been rebuilt brick by brick at Black Country Living Museum.

Woodside Library, originally on Stourbridge Road, was gifted to the people of Dudley by the Earl of Dudley in 1894. It closed in 2008 and stood empty for a decade before being dismantled and moved to the museum site in 2018.

The restored building opened to visitors in late 2025 as part of a multi-million-pound development at the attraction which recreates life in the 1940s to 1960s.

The project required replica doors but built to modern fire door standards, delivered with full certification. For the exterior of the building, replica external doors, including the highly unusual main double doors were needed.

Heritage was trusted to provide a full solution for all of the internal and external doors. All of the internal doors were replicated from old images. Each door was built as traditional stile and rails doors but built about fire retardant core and fitted with concealed smoke control systems.

All of the doors were certified to BS476 & EN1634 standards and supplied with discreet NFC scannable datapins. The doors were uploaded to the National Firedoor Register to ensure they align with the Golden Thread recommendations of the Hackitt Report.