Reuben Farley

[2] Farley was a pupil at Borwicks Heath Academy and an active member of the West Bromwich Institution for the Advancement of Knowledge.

The foundry became one of the largest of its kind in South Staffordshire, and the firm won a medal at the 1897 Brussels Exhibition.

He condemned the eight-hour day as ‘interference with the liberty of the subject’ [3] He also criticised union organisers at the Summit Foundry for alienating employers from workmen.

He felt obliged to ‘make the lives of the people brighter and happier’ [4] He believed civic improvement assisted prosperity and prevented business irresponsibility and excessive demands by working men.

He bought Oak House, West Bromwich with the intention of making it his private residence, but resolved to present it to the town as a museum.