Smethwick
Smethwick shown within the West Midlands
OS grid reference	SP0287
Metropolitan borough	Sandwell
Metropolitan county	West Midlands
Region	West Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	B66
Dialling code	0121
Police	West Midlands
Fire	West Midlands
Ambulance	West Midlands
European Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Warley East
List of places: UK • England • West Midlands

Coordinates: 52°29′34″N 1°58′06″W / 52.492854, -1.968226

Smethwick (pronounced 'Smethick') is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government History of the Borough The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the County boroughs of Warley (associated with Worcestershire Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one The West Midlands is an official Region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The B postcode area, also known as the Birmingham postcode area, provides postcodes for the boroughs of Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. West Midlands Police is the Home Office Police force responsible for policing the Metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and The West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS is the Statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection prevention intervention and emergency rescue The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WMAS is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK West Midlands is a Constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 7 MEPs using the D'Hondt method of Party-list proportional This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Warley East was a parliamentary constituency in the borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of cities, Towns Villages and other settlements in the ceremonial county &ndash not the region &ndash A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. History of the Borough The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the County boroughs of Warley (associated with Worcestershire The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um

Geography and administration

Originally the area was an Urban District and from 1894 a Municipal Borough in the county of Staffordshire. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of Local government district that covered an Urbanised area Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. In 1907 it became a County Borough. In 1966, Smethwick was merged with the boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis to form the new County Borough of Warley. Oldbury is a Town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county, and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom Warley was from 1966 to 1974 a County borough and Civil parish formed by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the non-county This in turn was merged with West Bromwich in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell. West Bromwich ( is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England History of the Borough The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the County boroughs of Warley (associated with Worcestershire

Smethwick had always been part of Staffordshire (even after its independence of county control following the creation of Smethwick County Borough in 1907). The Warley County Borough was placed entirely in Worcestershire on its creation, and since 1974 has formed part of the West Midlands county. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300

History

Street nameplate on Rutland Road, Smethwick in April 2007, showing painted out "County Borough" lettering.

Smethwick has previously been suggested to mean 'smiths' place of work' however a more recent interpretation has suggested the name means "The settlement on the smooth land". Smethwick was recorded in the Domesday book as Smedeuuich. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey Until the end of the 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the south Staffordshire village of Harborne. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre England.

The oldest building in Smethwick is The Old Church which stands on the corner of Church Road and The Uplands. This was consecrated in 1732 as a Chapel of Ease in the parish of St Peter, Harborne. The building was originally known as "Parkes' Chapel" in honour of Mistress Dorothy Parkes who bequeathed the money for the church and also for a local school. The chapel was later known as "The Old Chapel", and public house next to it is still called this. In the church there are several fine memorials, including one to Dorothy Parkes.

From the 18th century, three generations of the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line were built through Smethwick, carrying coal and goods between the nearby Black Country and Birmingham. The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton

• James Brindley built the first canal, the Old Line, over the Smethwick Summit in 1769
• his summit level was lowered and improved by John Smeaton in 1790
• Thomas Telford built a parallel, more direct route, in deeper cutings and without locks, the New Line, in 1829. James Brindley (1716 &ndash 30 September 1772) was an English Engineer. This article is about the 18th century civil engineer For the baggage handler involved in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, see John Smeaton (baggage Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 - 2 September 1834 was born in Westerkirk, Scotland.

The Grade I listed Galton Bridge spans the New Line canal and railway. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Galton Bridge ( is a Canal bridge in Smethwick, West Midlands, England built by Thomas Telford in 1829 When built in 1829 by Telford, it was the longest single-span bridge in the world. A bridge is a Structure built to span a Gorge, Valley, Road, railroad track, River, Body of water Its name commemorates Samuel Galton, a local landowner and industrialist. Samuel Galton may refer to Samuel Galton Jr, arms manufacturer Samuel Tertius Galton, businessman and scientist son of the above It is identical to Telford's bridge at Holt Fleet over the River Severn built in 1828 and opened in 1830. Holt is a place in the English county of Worcestershire. The church is dedicated to St For other rivers named "Severn" see Severn River. The River Severn ( Welsh: Afon Hafren, Latin

Matthew Boulton and James Watt opened their Soho Foundry in the North of Smethwick (not to be confused with the Soho Manufactory in nearby Soho) in the late 18th century. Matthew Boulton ( September 3, 1728 &ndash 18 August 1809) was an English Manufacturer and Engineer. James Watt ( 19 January 1736 &ndash 25 August 1819 Boulton proved to be an excellent businessman and both men eventually made fortunes Soho Foundry (not to be confused with the Soho Manufactory) was a Factory created in 1795 by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at Smethwick The Soho Manufactory ( not to be confused with the Soho Foundry, was an early Factory which pioneered Mass production on the Assembly line Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth District In 1802, William Murdoch illuminated the foundry with gas lighting of his own invention. William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) ( August 21, 1754 - November 15, 1839) was a Scottish engineer and inventor Gas lighting refers to a technology used to produce light from gas usually methane but also including hydrogen and ethylene The foundry was later home to weighing scale makers W & T Avery Ltd.. The concept of scale is applicable if a system is represented proportionally by another system W & T Avery Ltd is a British manufacturer of Weighing machines The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818

The world's oldest working engine, made by Boulton and Watt, the Smethwick Engine originally stood near Bridge Street, Smethwick. The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt. The Smethwick Engine is a steam engine made by Boulton and Watt; brought into service in May 1779 It is now at Thinktank, the new science museum in Birmingham. Thinktank is a Science museum in Birmingham, England. Opened in 2001 it has some exhibits from the now-closed Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery

The public library by Yeoville Thomason

The public library in the High Street was originally built as the Public Hall in 1866-7 and is designed by Yeoville Thomason. H R Yeoville Thomason (1826-1901 was an architect in Birmingham, England. H R Yeoville Thomason (1826-1901 was an architect in Birmingham, England. ^[1]

Other former industry included railway rolling stock manufacture, at the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company factory; screws and other fastenings from Guest Keen and Nettlefolds (GKN), engines from Tangye, tubing from Evered's, steel pen nibs from British Pens and various products from Chance Brothers' glassworks, including lighthouse lenses and the glazing for the Crystal Palace (the London works, in North Smethwick, manufactured its metalwork). The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company ( BRC&W) was a Railway Locomotive and Carriage builder founded in Birmingham, GKN plc ( is a leading British Engineering company The Company was formerly known as Guest Keen and Nettlefolds and can tracing its origins back GKN plc ( is a leading British Engineering company The Company was formerly known as Guest Keen and Nettlefolds and can tracing its origins back Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye ( 24 November 1833 - 14 October 1906) was a British Manufacturer of Engines and Chance Brothers and Company was a Glassworks in Spon Lane Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire) England. The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and Glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Phillips Cycles, once one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world was based in Bridge Street, Smethwick. Phillips Cycles Ltd. was a British Bicycle manufacturer based in Smethwick near Birmingham, England. Nearby, in Downing Street, is the famous bicycle saddle maker, Brooks Saddles.

The Ruskin Pottery Studio, named in honour of the artist John Ruskin, was in Oldbury Road. The Ruskin Pottery studio was founded in 1898 by Edward R Taylor, the Principal of Birmingham School of Art, to be run by his son William Howson John Ruskin (8 February 1819 &ndash 20 January 1900 is best known for his work as an Art critic, sage writer, and Social critic, but is remembered Many English churches have stained glass windows made at Hardman Studios in Lightwoods House, or, before that, by the Camm family.

Former Prime Minister John Major's parents married at Holy Trinity Church in Smethwick there while they were on tour with a music hall variety act. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Sir John Major KG CH ACIB (born 29 March 1943 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

In 1966, Smethwick ceased to be a single County Borough and was absorbed into the new County Borough of Warley, geographically although not administratively in Worcestershire. County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (excluding Scotland) to refer to a Borough or a City Warley was from 1966 to 1974 a County borough and Civil parish formed by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the non-county Worcestershire (ˈwʊstəʃə abbreviated Worcs) is a county located in the West Midlands region of central England.

In the 1960s, a large council estate in the west of Smethwick was built. It was officially known as "Galton Village" but as all of the homes were concrete blocks the estate was known locally as the 'concrete jungle'. The estate quickly became unpopular and was redeveloped in the early 1990s with modern low-rise housing. Other estates and areas include Black Patch, Cape Hill, Uplands, Albion Estate, Bearwood, Londonderry and Rood End.

Politics

Main article: Smethwick (UK Parliament constituency)

The town has often enjoyed a somewhat turbulent political history. Smethwick was a parliamentary constituency, centred on the town of Smethwick in Staffordshire. Smethwick was created as a separate parliamentary constituency in 1918, having previously been part of the Handsworth constituency. In the United Kingdom (UK, each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly Birmingham Handsworth was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Handsworth district of Birmingham. At that year's general election, Christabel Pankhurst, standing as a Coalition candidate, was defeated by Labour. The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst LLB, DBE ( September 22, 1880 &ndash February 13, 1958) was a Suffragette The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the

Labour held the seat until 1931, from 1926 the MP being Sir Oswald Mosley, future founder of the British Union of Fascists. Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 &ndash 3 December 1980 was a British Politician, known principally as the founder of the British The British Union of Fascists (BUF was a Political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by a Labour government minister and former MP 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. Whip is a role in party-based politics whose primary purpose is to ensure control of the formal decision-making process in a parliamentary legislature The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The UK general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday

Labour won in the UK general election, 1945 on 26 July. Results |} Total votes cast 24073025 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Reason for Labour victory Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus However, the victorious MP, Alfred Dobbs, was killed in a car crash the very next day. Alfred James Dobbs (1882 &ndash 27 July 1945 was a British Labour Party politician and Trade unionist. He is the shortest-serving Member of Parliament (MP) in British history, if one discounts a few cases of people being elected posthumously. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. In the resulting by-election, Patrick Gordon Walker won for Labour. The Smethwick by-election 1945 was a By-election held on 1st October 1945 for the British House of Commons constituency of Smethwick Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December

In the 1964 general election, Gordon Walker, who was Shadow Foreign Secretary, was defeated in controversial circumstances in the constituency by Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths. Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty Peter Harry Steve Griffiths (born May 24, 1928) is a retired English Conservative Party politician Smethwick had been a focus of immigration from the Commonwealth in the economic and industrial growth of the years following World War II and Griffiths ran a campaign critical of the government's policy. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including There were rumours that his supporters had covertly circulated the slogan If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour. Nigger is a Noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a derogatory context to refer to Black people, and also as an informal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Hardly had the heat of the election subsided when, on February 12, 1965, U.S. black activist Malcolm X visited the region just nine days before his assassination. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little; May 19 1925 February 21 1965 also known as El-Hajj Malik El- Shabazz, was an African American He fueled further controversy when he told 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 the Peter Griffiths outside Smethwick council house. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends 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.

Labour candidate, actor Andrew Faulds, defeated Griffiths in the 1966 general election and was MP for the constituency until his retirement at the 1997 general election. Andrew Matthew William Faulds (1 March 1923 &ndash 31 May 2000 was a British Actor and Politician. National opinion poll summary Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101National Opinion Polls: 3 Results The election was fought under new boundaries with a net increase of eight seats compared to the 1992 election (The constituency was renamed Warley East in 1974. Warley East was a parliamentary constituency in the borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. )

Transport

The old Toll House

Smethwick is served by trains on both the "Jewellery Line" and the West Coast Main Line. The West Coast Main Line (WCML is a busy mixed-traffic railway route in the United Kingdom. The Jewellery Line links Birmingham Snow Hill station with Worcester, Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa. Birmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England on the site of a much larger station which was built by Worcester (ˈwʊstə is a city and County town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Stratford-upon-Avon (ˌstrætfɚd əpɒn ˈɛɪvən is a Market town and Civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. Leamington Spa, properly Royal Leamington Spa, commonly Leamington (ˈlɛmɪŋtən and "Leam" to locals is a Spa town in central The West Coast Main Line links Birmingham New Street railway station, Coventry and Wolverhampton, with onward connections. Birmingham New Street is a major railway station located in the centre of the city of Birmingham, England. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. The station on the West Coast Main Line is called Smethwick Rolfe Street. Smethwick Rolfe Street railway station serves the town of Smethwick, West Midlands, England. The former Smethwick West Station on the old Stour Valley line was replaced by a new facility opened at the same time as the Jewellery Line, serving both routes, which is called Smethwick Galton Bridge. Smethwick Galton Bridge is a railway station in Smethwick, West Midlands, England.

Neighbourhoods

• Galton Village
• Bearwood
• West Smethwick
• Cape Hill
• Abbey

Education

• Shireland Language College
• Holly Lodge High School

Notable residents

• Liza Goddard, actress
• Julie Walters, actress
• Jamelia, singer
• Frank Skinner, comedian
• Herbert Lewis Turner, footballer
• Lee Hughes, footballer
• Matt Hayes, TV angler, was born in Smethwick

See also

• Black Patch Park

References

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