SMETHWICK
The Growth of the Town, p. 88; Communications, p. 96; Manor, p. 98; Other Estates, p. 99; Economic
History, p. 107; Local Government, p. 118; Public Services, p. 120; Parliamentary History, p. 123; Churches,
p. 123; Roman Catholicism, p. 129; Protestant Nonconformity, p. 129; Sikhs, p. 134; Social Life, p. 134; Education, p. 136; Charities for the Poor, p. 141.
Smethwick (fn. 1) was originally a township within the
ancient parish of Harborne to the west of Birmingham. Harborne parish was shaped roughly like an
hour-glass, with Smethwick forming the upper part
and the neck and Harborne township the lower part.
The boundary between the townships followed the
Birmingham-Halesowen road. (fn. 2) Smethwick became
an urban district in 1894, a borough in 1899, and
a county borough in 1907. In 1966 it became part
of the new Worcestershire county borough of
Warley, which itself became part of the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in 1974. (fn. 3) There was a
boundary adjustment in 1897 involving the transfer
of 8 a. to West Bromwich, (fn. 4) and in 1901 the borough
had an area of 1,929 a. (fn. 5) It was enlarged to 2,496 a. in
1928 by the transfer of Warley Woods from the
urban district of Oldbury (Worcs.). (fn. 6) The present
article is concerned primarily with the history of the
area covered by the borough of 1899; some account
is given of Warley Woods from 1928, but its earlier
history has been treated under its parent parish of
Halesowen (Worcs., formerly Salop. and Worcs.). (fn. 7)
Smethwick, a name which has been variously
interpreted as meaning the smith's dwelling and the
village on the plain, (fn. 8) is situated on the South Staffordshire Plateau. The geological formation is
mainly sandstone with drifted boulder clay. (fn. 9) The
higher ground is in the south and west, and a height
of 753 feet is reached in Harborne Road on the
former south-western boundary; the ground drops
to 421 feet at Black Patch on the north-eastern
boundary. (fn. 10) It is through the lower ground in the
north that the canals and railways run, and the
presence of those lines of communication led to the
siting of the main industrial area in the north. There
is some undulation of the ground, with several
streams, now largely culverted, flowing through the
valleys. Many of the streams helped to form the
boundaries: Hockley Brook on the north-east; its
tributary Shireland Brook (also known in the 1830s
as Bear or Cape of Good Hope Stream), forming
much of the eastern boundary; a stream rising in
West Smethwick Park and forming the northwestern boundary; and Spon Brook, forming much
of the northern boundary. (fn. 11) Thimblemill Brook
flows north-east through the town to join Hockley
Brook but is culverted from Edmund Road. (fn. 12) A
stream (known in the 1830s as Bluegate Stream) that
rises to the south of Holly Lane flows through
Smethwick Hall Park, part of the grounds of the
former Smethwick Hall, where it has been dammed
to create a pool; it is then culverted through the
lower ground by Stony Lane and discharges into
the Birmingham Canal and Hockley Brook. (fn. 13)
Before the 19th century Smethwick was a thinly
populated rural area, and in 1675 it was described
as 'a discontinued village' strung out along the
Birmingham-Dudley road. (fn. 14) A rental of the manors
of Smethwick and Harborne dating from c. 1275
lists 39 tenants in Smethwick. (fn. 15) In 1666 49 people
in Smethwick township were assessed for hearth
tax. (fn. 16) The first church was opened in 1732. (fn. 17) The
cutting of the Birmingham Canal through the
northern part of the township in 1768-9 brought
some industrial development. As a result there was
a sharp rise in the population of the township, which
numbered 1,097 in 1801. (fn. 18) From the later 18th
century too a number of Birmingham business and professional men came to live in Smethwick. (fn. 19) In
the early 19th century, however, settlement was
still scattered. (fn. 20)
The number of industries continued to increase,
above all with the opening of Telford's new canal
in the later 1820s. (fn. 21) By 1831 the population had
reached 2,676. (fn. 22) Development was very rapid in
the 1830s, with the New Village growing up on
either side of the Birmingham-Dudley road north
of the old centre round Bearwood Hill. In 1842 the
new parish of North Harborne was created, covering the northern half of Smethwick. (fn. 23) The first railway through the town was completed in 1852. (fn. 24)
The population had reached 5,020 by 1841 and
8,379 by 1851. By 1871 it was 17,158, by 1891
36,170, and by 1901 54,539. Thereafter the increase
slackened, and eventually there was a decline. The
population of the enlarged borough was 84,406 in
1931, but by 1951 it had dropped to 76,407 and by
1961 to 68,390; in 1965 it was estimated as 67,370. (fn. 25)
The drop is partly to be explained by the fact that
the corporation had to build much of its housing
outside the borough owing to the shortage of available land within its boundaries. (fn. 26) Nevertheless
Smethwick was one of the most densely populated
county boroughs in England: outside London it was
exceeded only by Salford in 1951. (fn. 27) In the later
1940s only 21.2 per cent of its land was not built
up, whereas the figure for the Black Country
conurbation as a whole (including Birmingham) was
56.1 per cent. (fn. 28)
The French and Belgians whom R. L. Chance
brought to the Spon Lane glass-works in 1832 provide an early example of immigration into the town
from abroad. In 1837 there was a Belgium Street
on the north side of Union Street (now part of the
site of Kenrick Park and in West Bromwich). In
1851 there were several French and Belgian families
living in Scotch Row adjoining the works and in the
Smethwick part of Spon Lane. In spite of attempts
to replace highly paid foreign workers with cheaper
English labour, there was still a colony of French
workers and their families in 1862 living in a row
of houses adjoining the factory. (fn. 29) In the 1950s many
immigrants settled in Smethwick, notably Sikhs
from the Punjab. (fn. 30) There was a sufficiently large
Indian community in Spon Lane ward by 1955 for
the Conservative candidate in the council elections
to send out a translation of his address. In 1961 the
population included 1,219 people born in India,
209 in Pakistan, and 769 in Jamaica.
Among notable people with local connexions
George Frederick Muntz (1794-1857), the political
reformer who was M.P. for Birmingham from 1840
until his death, produced Muntz metal at the French
Walls from 1842. (fn. 31) Charles Fox (1810-74), the
engineer, knighted in 1851 for his work on the
Crystal Palace, was a partner at the London Works
from 1840 to 1856. (fn. 32) James Timmins Chance
(1814-1902), created a baronet in 1900, was associated particularly with the development of lighthouse glass at the Spon Lane works of Chance
Brothers & Co.; he was also prominent in local
and county affairs and was made high sheriff of
Staffordshire in 1868. (fn. 33) Edward Caswall (1814-78),
divine and poet, was a founder of the Roman
Catholic mission at Smethwick; ordained in the
Church of England, he joined the Roman Catholic
Church in 1847, and in 1850 he became a member
of the Oratory at Edgbaston (Birmingham), where
he remained until his death. (fn. 34) William Siemens
(1823-83), the metallurgist and electrician, knighted
in 1883, was as a young man employed by Fox,
Henderson & Co. at the London Works. (fn. 35) Joseph
Chamberlain (1836-1914), the statesman, was with
the firm of Nettlefold & Chamberlain from 1854 to
1874 and became a partner in 1869. (fn. 36) George Newnes
(1851-1910), created a baronet in 1895, the publisher who founded several magazines including
Tit-Bits, The Strand Magazine and Country Life,
attended Shireland Hall School c. 1865. (fn. 37) Alphonse
Bertillon (1853-1914), who became well known for
his application of scientific techniques such as
finger-printing to police investigation, taught French
at the Collegiate School in South Road in 1874. (fn. 38)
S. F. Barnes (1873-1967), the England Test
cricketer, outstanding as a bowler, was a native of
Smethwick. (fn. 39)