February 20th – When one talks about the excellent architecture in Darlaston, it’s easy to convey the impression that interesting and beautiful buildings are confined to a small area in the town centre around Victoria Park. While there are many fine examples there, the sheer joy of this wonderful place is that there are fine buildings waiting to be discovered all over the place, and this is really the story of not just Darlaston, but the wider Black Country, too, which hides many of its finest gems under its bushel.

This fine old townhouse – now bedsits I think – has the most remarkable circular ‘tower’ bay with conical roof and gorgeous gables. Everything about it is perfect, from chimneys to lintels, and it sits in a nondescript, unremarkable location on the Walsall Road.

Everywhere you turn, there’s another wonderful building.