Smethwick
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (February 2022) |
Smethwick | ||
---|---|---|
Metropolitan county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Areas of the town | List
| |
Post town | SMETHWICK | |
Postcode district | B66, B67 | |
Dialling code | 0121 | |
Police | West Midlands | |
Fire | West Midlands | |
Ambulance | West Midlands | |
UK Parliament | ||
Smethwick (
In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246,[2] while the wider built-up area subdivision has a population of 53,653.[1]
History
It was suggested that the name Smethwick meant "smiths' place of work", but a more recent interpretation has suggested the name means "the settlement on the smooth land".[3] Smethwick was recorded in the Domesday Book as Smedeuuich, the d in this spelling being the Anglo-Saxon letter eth.[3] Until the end of the 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the south Staffordshire village of Harborne. Harborne became part of the county borough of Birmingham and thus transferred from Staffordshire to Warwickshire in 1891, leaving Smethwick in the County of Staffordshire.[citation needed]
The world's oldest working engine, the
One notable company was The London Works, manufacturing base of the Fox Henderson Company which made the cast-iron framework for
Other former industry included railway rolling stock manufacture, at the
The Ruskin Pottery Studio, named in honour of the artist John Ruskin, was in Oldbury Road. Many English churches have stained glass windows made by Hardman Studios in Lightwoods House, or, before that, by the Camm family.[citation needed]
During the
After the
In 1961, the Sikh community purchased the Congregational Church on the High Street in Smethwick. Soon after, this was converted into a gurdwara today known as the [Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick].
Bearwood Primary School appointed Tony O'Connor as head teacher in 1967. He was the first black head teacher in the UK, having been born in Jamaica and moved to Britain with the RAF in 1943. This bought Smethwick more unwanted publicity when, the day after the announcement of his appointment, racist slogans and swastikas were daubed around the school. However, O'Connor was well liked by both parents and children; he retired in 1983.[11]
In the mid- to late 1960s, a large council estate in the west of Smethwick was built. It was officially known as the West Smethwick Estate, but as all of the homes were constructed from concrete the estate was known locally as the "concrete jungle".[12] The homes, mostly three or four storey townhouses, were prone to damp and other faults. By the 1980s, levels of crime and unemployment on the estate were high, and by the early 1990s, Sandwell Council had decided to demolish it. Between 1993 and 1997, the estate was redeveloped with modern low-rise housing and renamed Galton Village. Another housing estate called the Windmill Lane Estate, located near Cape Hill, met a similar fate.[citation needed]
There is a collection of red brick turn-of-20th century terrace, 1930s semi-detached, newly built modern housing and a number of high rise blocks of flats. Other estates and areas include Black Patch, Cape Hill, Uplands, Albion Estate, Bearwood, Londonderry and Rood End.[citation needed]
In July 2013, a
Architecture
The oldest surviving building in Smethwick is the
The
The public library in the High Street was originally built as the Public Hall in 1866–67 and is designed by Yeoville Thomason.[15]
Rolfe Street public baths were among the first public swimming baths in the country when opened north of the town centre in 1888. The baths remained open for nearly a century before closing. In the late 1980s, the
Political history
The town has often enjoyed a somewhat turbulent political history: Smethwick was created as a separate parliamentary constituency in 1918, having previously been part of the Handsworth constituency. At that year's general election, Christabel Pankhurst, standing as a Women's Party candidate, narrowly failed to become one of Britain's first woman Members of Parliament. She lost to the Labour candidate by 775 votes in a straight fight.[18]
Labour held the seat until 1931: from 1926, the MP was Sir Oswald Mosley, future founder of the British Union of Fascists. Mosley resigned the Labour whip in March 1931, but continued to represent the constituency until it was taken by the Conservatives at that year's general election. Labour won in the UK general election of 1945, held on 26 July that year. However, the victorious MP, Alfred Dobbs, was killed in a car crash the very next day. He is thus the shortest-serving Member of Parliament (MP) in British history, if one discounts a few cases of people being elected posthumously. In the resulting by-election, Patrick Gordon Walker won for Labour.
In the
Historian Rachel Yemm argues that the anti-immigration sentiment in the town was the result of a housing shortage, which local newspapers, such as The Smethwick Telephone, blamed on migrants. Griffith not only drew on these fears, but also raised concerns about 'miscegenation' and argued for the repatriation of migrants.[20] At the beginning of 1965 Smethwick Council was planning "to purchase all available houses on Marshall Street to prevent their sale to immigrants". This made national headlines, and the plan was later stopped by the government.[20][22] In February 1965, American black activist Malcolm X visited Marshall Street just days before his assassination. Earlier in his career he had advocated the complete separation of African Americans from whites, but he now showed his opposition to racial segregation,[23][24] telling the press:
I have come here because I am disturbed by reports that coloured people in Smethwick are being treated badly. I have heard they are being treated as the Jews under Hitler. I would not wait for the fascist element in Smethwick to erect gas ovens.
Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick had been organised by a BBC News journalist with a view to X having a debate with Griffiths outside a council house in Smethwick. Griffiths declined at late notice, and so an interview with X was conducted on the streets of Smethwick. This was to be X's last TV interview before his assassination nine days later. It was never aired.[23]
Labour candidate and actor Andrew Faulds defeated Griffiths in the 1966 general election, remaining as an MP until his retirement at the 1997 general election, 23 years after Smethwick became part of the Warley East constituency. Griffiths subsequently moved away from the area and served as Conservative MP for Portsmouth North.[25]
Civic history
Originally a hamlet within the parish of Harborne,
In 1888, there had been plans for Smethwick to be incorporated into the city of Birmingham, but the urban district council voted against these plans by a single vote.[28]
The archives for the Borough of Smethwick are held at Sandwell Community History and Archives Service.
Transport history
Canals
Smethwick has a long association with canals, which were the town's first major transport links from a time before decent roads and of course railways. The Birmingham Canal Navigation Old and New Main Line Canals run through the industrial areas and right past the High Street, running parallel to the Stour Valley Line: all three end up in Wolverhampton. James Brindley was the engineer charged with building the canal, a man who gives his name to the busy district in the centre of Birmingham near the International Convention Centre, National Indoor Arena and Broad Street.
The old main line was completed through Smethwick by 1769. It required 12 locks to climb over the hill through the town; Brindley had found the earth too soft to dig a cutting through at the time. Water was supplied by two steam engines. One of them was located on the
The new main line through Smethwick was completed by 1829 and completely bypassed all six remaining locks of the summit with a deep cutting. The Engine Arm and Stewarts aqueducts were built to carry their respective canals over the new mainline. The cutting was built through the land of the local businessman
Today Galton Valley is a nature area and of more historical interest than commercial, and used mainly for leisure rather than transporting commercial goods.
Railways
The
From 1854 the
Soho railway station closed in 1949, followed by Spon Lane station in 1968. In 1972 the section of line between Smethwick West and Birmingham Moor Street, as well as the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley railway, was closed, with the exception of a single line between Smethwick West and Coopers Scrap Metal in Handsworth; and all Stourbridge services were diverted into Birmingham New Street. In 1995 the line between Birmingham Snow Hill and Smethwick West was restored and a new station called Smethwick Galton Bridge was constructed over both the Snow Hill and Stour Valley lines to provide an interchange. Smethwick West was due to close when Galton Bridge opened, but due to a legal error British Railways had to maintain a parliamentary train service to the station. Most local trains from Stourbridge to Birmingham were diverted into Snow Hill although it was not until 2004 that the last regular service used the route into Birmingham New Street via Smethwick Junction.
Soho TMD is located next to Soho rail junction; road access is just off Wellington Street. It is the principal train depot for West Midlands Trains' Class 323 train fleet, which are often seen providing local train services in the area.
Buses and trams
The town of Smethwick has a long association with buses. From 1914 the famous
Steam trams started through Smethwick in 1885 operated by Birmingham and Midland Tramways. These were replaced by electric trams in 1904 and then merged into the Birmingham Corporation Tramways in 1906 and trams eventually ran from both the Dudley Road and Hagley Road direction. Dudley Road trams operated to Cape Hill and then diverged to either take the route towards Dudley (Route 87) via the High Street or towards Bearwood (Route 29) via Waterloo Road, terminating near the site of current Bearwood Bus Station and Kings Head public house. Route 34 from Birmingham to Bearwood along the Hagley Road and terminated at the top of Bearwood Road next to the route from Cape Hill, despite terminating so close to each other there was no physical link between route 29 and 34 in Bearwood.[30] Route 34 was the first route in Smethwick to disappear, in 1930; the last tram route was closed in 1939 and replaced by motor buses. Both the current National Express West Midlands routes 82 and 87 are former tram routes and the 87 in fact uses the same number.
The
Geography
Smethwick borders West Bromwich and Oldbury to the north and west, and the Birmingham districts of Handsworth, Winson Green, Harborne, Edgbaston and Quinton to the south and east.
Demographics
At the
In terms of ethnicity:[32]
- 43.3% of Smethwick residents were Gypsy/Irish Traveller).
- 37.5% were Bangladeshi 0.4% Chineseand 4.6% from another Asian background)
- 11.3% were and 1.9% other Black)
- 4.7% were Mixed.
- 0.5% were Araband 2.8% were from another ethnic group.
In terms of religion, 39.5% of Smethwick residents identified as Christian, 21.8% were Muslim, 15.7% were Sikh, 14.0% said they had no religion, 5.8% did not state any religion, 2.3% were Hindu, 0.3% were Buddhists, and 0.6% were from another religion.[32]
Industry and commerce
Until the end of the 18th century, Smethwick was largely rural, with farming as the main industry. A water mill named Briddismylne is recorded in 1499 as belonging to Halesowen Abbey, thought to be on the more recent Thimblemill site.[33] In 1659, a mill in the Hockley Brook is recorded as belonging to a Mr. Lane.[33] The mill which led to the street name "Windmill Lane" was built on land bought in 1803 by William Croxall, a miller. The last part of the windmill building was demolished in 1949.[33]
The Soho Foundry, opened in 1796 by James Watt and Matthew Boulton, trading as Boulton, Watt & Sons, was built to produce complete steam engines to Watt's designs. Waste dumped from the foundry gave rise to the name Black Patch to the field to the east. The Soho Foundry is now the headquarters of the Avery Company.
The route of the canal, passing through the valley of the Hockley Brook, the boundary with Handsworth on the north side of Smethwick, resulted in most of the heavy industry being located there.[34] The railway was opened in 1852.
One of Smethwick's significant industrial enterprises of the 19th century was the
Richard Tangye was a notable builder of steam engines in the late 19th century. His designs, in a characteristic green colour, have a distinctive elegance of form. He demolished Smethwick Hall, on the border with Handsworth, and built his factory, the Cornwall Works, on the site.
Mitchells & Butlers opened a brewery on Cape Hill in 1879. It was a local landmark in Smethwick and provided employment in the town for 123 years. However, following a decline in sales and revenue, American owners Coors closed the brewery on 6 December 2002. It was demolished two years later and a 650-home private housing estate was developed on its site.[36]
Charles Carr opened a bell-foundry in the town in 1891, which cast bells for many churches including John's Lane (Dublin),[37] Castle Bromwich Church, Stoke Bliss and Astley, Worcestershire.[38]
Teale & Yates Ltd (Inc. 29 November 1962) was a fish, game and poultry shop which also sold fruit and vegetables. It was on the High Street for many years during the 1960s and 1970s providing good quality fresh food for many local people. The shop was owned by Arthur Teale and his wife Joan, with their eldest son joining the family business in the early 1970s.
The courier company Interlink Express established its head office and national distribution hub in the town in the early 2000s, and is a major employer in the area.
The Smethwick Heritage Centre museum was opened on 15 September 2004 by Professor Carl Chinn. It maintains a collection of material on Smethwick's industrial and social heritage.[39]
Education
- Abbey Junior and Infants (two sites), Abbey Road, Bearwood
- Annie Lennard Infant School, The Oval, Thimblemill
- Bearwood Primary School, Bearwood Road, Bearwood
- In 1967, Tony O'Connor was appointed headmaster at what was then Bearwood Junior and Infants School[40]
- Cape Hill Primary School, Cape Hill
- Crocketts Primary School, Coopers Lane, Cape Hill
- Devonshire Primary School, Auckland Road, Uplands
- Galton Valley Primary school
- George Betts Primary School, West End Avenue
- Holly Lodge High School, Holly Lane, West Smethwick
- Ruskin House Pupil Ref. Unit, Holly Lane, West Smethwick
- St Gregory's Roman Catholic Primary School, Park Road
- St Mathew's Church of England School, Windmill Lane
- St Phillip's Catholic Primary, Messenger Road
- Sandwell Academy, Halfords Lane, West Bromwich (built on the sites of Sandwell Secondary Modern and Albion Junior schools)
- Shireland Collegiate Academy, Waterloo Road, Cape Hill
- Shireland Hall Infant and Junior School, Edith Road, Cape Hill
- Smethwick College (part of Sandwell College, now in a new purpose-built building in West Bromwich town centre), Crocketts Lane
- Uplands Manor Primary School, Addenbrooke Road, Uplands
- Victoria Park Primary School, Ballot Street
Transport
Major roads The M5 runs along the western edge of Smethwick, passing over the two canals and a railway near Spon Lane. M5 Junction 1 is accessible at West Bromwich using the A41 road Soho Road. M5 Junction 2 is accessible at Oldbury on the A4123 Wolverhampton Road (Harborne to Wolverhampton) at Birchley Island. Another major road passing through Smethwick is the A456 (Hagley Road) from Birmingham to Halesowen, Kidderminster and Ludlow, which passes through Bearwood, along Lightwoods Park.
Public transport Local bus service is provided primarily by National Express West Midlands, as well as other operators. Smethwick is on both the Hagley Road (Birmingham, Dudley, Merry Hill, Halesowen and Stourbridge) and Dudley Road (Birmingham, Smethwick, Oldbury and Dudley) bus corridors and the famous Number 11 Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes. There are also direct regular bus services to West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Oldbury, Blackheath, Harborne, Birmingham University and Dudley.[41] Dudley Road corridor buses provide a bus link to the nearby City Hospital in Winson Green.
Smethwick has three operational railway stations providing regular local and some long-distance services. All of the stations are currently managed by West Midlands Trains who provide most of the train services. The closest 'intercity' railway stations are either Birmingham New Street or Sandwell & Dudley.
- Wolverhampton and Walsall.
- Jewellery Line. It has the same services as both the Hawthorns and Rolfe Street railway stations, plus it has direct long-distance services to Birmingham International, Shrewsbury, Chester, Northern Wales, Crewe, Liverpooland a limited peak time only direct service to London.
- London Marylebone.
Airports The closest airport to Smethwick is
- By road the fastest routes are either via the M5, M6 and M42 motorways, or via Birmingham city centre and the A45.
- For travellers by rail there are direct train services from Galton Bridge or from Rolfe Street railway station changing at Birmingham New Street.
- There are no direct bus services from Smethwick to the airport. Passengers would have to travel to Birmingham and change buses. The principal bus service to the airport is the National Express West Midlands 'Limited Stop' express service X1 (Birmingham to Coventry).
Public services and government
Government Smethwick is represented at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council by 12 councillors, covering the four wards of Soho & Victoria, St Pauls (which covers up to the Hawthorns ground), Smethwick and Abbey. It is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Warley constituency. It also included Bristnall ward until 2004, when that was transferred to Oldbury 'town'.
Library services There are two public libraries in Smethwick; the larger main library is located on the High Street[43] and a smaller one is located on Thimblemill Road.[44]
Smethwick Swimming Centre
Formerly known as 'Thimblemill Baths', it is a public swimming pool which opened in 1933, located on Thimblemill Road between Gladys Road and Reginald Road in Bearwood. It is a Grade II listed building. There are two pools (a 1933 main pool and a 1968 small pool), gym, dance studio, sauna and steam facilities.[45]
During the Second World War the basement was used as an
Emergency services Policing in Smethwick is provided by the West Midlands Police, who have a police station on Piddock Road just off the High Street. West Midlands Fire Service is responsible for fire and rescue. A fire station is located on Stony Lane a short distance from the High Street. Emergency medical care is provided by the West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Healthcare Smethwick is part of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. The closest hospital is City Hospital (previously known as Dudley Road Hospital) located in Winson Green. Other local hospitals include Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Selly Oak.
Sport
The town has a semi-professional
Smethwick Cricket Club, a founder member of the Birmingham League, is an amateur cricket club in the town.
The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion FC is also partially within Smethwick.
Districts
- Bearwood
- Black Patch & Soho
- Cape Hill, (including Windmill Lane and French Walls)
- High Street Smethwick (including Victoria Park)
- Londonderry
- North Smethwick (Brasshouse Lane, Albion Estate, Hawthorns, Middlemore Estate)
- The Uplands
- West Smethwick[47] (Including Galton Village)
Notable residents
This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (October 2018) |
- Charles Douglas Fox(1843–1921), English civil engineer
- Sydney Barnes (1873–1967), England fast bowler, was born in Smethwick.
- Billy Williams (1876–1929), English professional footballer entirely with West Bromwich Albion
- Harold John Colley (1894–1918), First World War Victoria Cross recipient, born in Smethwick.
- John Davison MP (1870–1927) Smethwick's first Member of Parliament (Labour) was born in Spon Lane.
- Ann George (1903–1989), actress
- Ken Wharton (1916–1957), British racing driver
- Richard Swinburne (born 1934), British philosopher specialising in philosophy of religion, was born in Smethwick.
- Julian Dawes (born 1942), musician, composer
- Christine McVie (1943–2022) musician, songwriter
- Bobby Thomson (1943–2009), English professional footballer
- David Hallam (born 1948), British Labour politician
- Julie Walters (born 1950), actress, born in Edgbaston, but spent her early years at 69 Bishopton Road, in the Bearwood area of Smethwick.
- Patrick Cowdell (born 1953), British boxer
- Mark Van Hoen (born 1966), electronic music artist, born in Croydon but brought up in Smethwick.
- Lee Hughes (born 1976), professional football player
See also
References
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- ^ a b "Smethwick Ward in West Midlands". City Population. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
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- ^ "Rolfe Street Baths - Black Country Living Museum". Bclm.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ British Listed Buildings. "Warley Branch Library, Smethwick". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
- ^ Hallam, David J.A. Taking on the Men: the first women parliamentary candidates 1918 Archived 29 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Studley, 2018 Chap 2 "Christabel Pankhurst in Smethwick"
- ^ Peter H. S. Griffiths A Question of Colour? (1966); See pp. 154, 166, 171.
- ^ S2CID 150219506.
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- ^ "Not everything is black and white - Marshall Street: Then and now". 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Malcolm X's visit to Smethwick remembered in pictures". BBC News. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
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- ^ "Peter Griffiths - obituary". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "Council House (1342665)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
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- ^ "MidlandRed.net - Depots - Bearwood depot". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Smethwick: Public services | British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Construction phases - Construction phases". Centro.org.uk. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Greenslade, Baggs, Baugh & Johnston, op. cit.
- ^ Greenslade, Baggs, Baugh & Johnston, A History of the County of Stafford, Volume 17 (Offlow Hundred) Archived 10 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 1976
- ^ "Fox, Henderson and Co - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ "M&B Cape Hill Brewery – Smethwick". Birmingham Roundabout. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Dove Details. [online]". Dove.cccbr.org.uk. 2018. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ "Church Bells in Worcestershire". www.ringing.demon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Smethwick Heritage Centre". Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "England's pioneering black head teachers". BBC News. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Buses | National Express West Midlands". Nxbus.co.uk. GB-BIR. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
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- ^ "Smethwick Library | Sandwell Council". Sandwell.gov.uk. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Thimblemill Library | Sandwell Council". Sandwell.gov.uk. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Smethwick Swimming Centre". Slt-leisure.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
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- ^ "Friends of West Smethwick Park - SCVO". sandwellvcs.info. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
External links
- Sandwell Council
- Smethwick Local History Society
- Smethwick: Economic history, A History of the County of Staffordshire: Volume XVII: Offlow hundred (part) (1976), pp.107–18
- Smethwick Borough Archive Catalogue
- Smethwick Heritage Centre