Darlaston, in the part of the English midlands known as the Black Country, grew from a small village prior to the Industrial Revolution to a town of over 15,000 inhabitants by the beginning of the twentieth century. It played an important role in the area’s coal and iron extraction, and manufacture of gun parts, screws and bolts. Hitherto little has been written about the social history of this significant industrial urban location but by using a range of sources including the national censuses, maps and newspaper reports, the nature of Darlaston’s changing built environment and the experiences of its residents is investigated in a close focus, microhistorical study.

达拉斯顿位于英国中部被称为“黑色之乡”的部分地区，在工业革命之前从一个小村庄发展成为 20 世纪初拥有超过 15,000 名居民的城镇。它在该地区的煤和铁的开采以及枪械零件、螺钉和螺栓的制造中发挥了重要作用。迄今为止，关于这个重要工业城市位置的社会历史的报道很少，但通过使用包括全国人口普查、地图和报纸报道在内的一系列资源，对达拉斯顿不断变化的建筑环境的性质及其居民的经历进行了密切调查。重点，微观历史研究。