Derek,
You possibly already know that Dud Dudley's wife, Eleanor Heaton, was the daughter of Mary Dingley, b. 1579. Mary was the daughter of Francis Dingley, (1550-1624), and had a brother called Francis who died in infancy and another born in 1588 who I can't trace beyond that date and may also have died young. Probably more pertinent to Dud Dudley, she also had at least 2 nephews and a great-nephew named Francis Dingley. Quite which one was the Francis Dingley referred to by Dud is unclear (to me at least), but I have never come across any mention of records being left by any Francis Dingley of that time period. Nor is there any particular link to the Iron Trade or the West Midlands Industrial heartlands.
I hope this is useful, even if it doesn't offer any particular hope of finding original records.
Neil