Steve brings us another round of Tales from the Taverns

Black Country pub expert is back with another alehouse compendium

- By GAVIN JONES

THE Black Country has a wealth of pubs and breweries serving the local population of its towns and villages, and Bugle readers will know that one of the experts on that subject is our regular columnist Steve James.

Now Steve has brought together some of his years of research in the form of a new book, which tells the fascinating stories of another selection of Black Country pubs, almost all of which still exist today. It follows on from his previous book, Tales from Black Country Taverns, and is based on more detailed research used for his earlier book, Pubs and Breweries of the Black Country, along with recent articles which have featured in the Bugle and The Blackcountryman magazine.

The new volume covers the history of another 80 historic Black Country boozers, and digs deep into the licensees and their families, notable customers and their misdemeanours, as well as their not-infrequent brushes with the law.