58-604: The Engine Arm Aqueduct near Smethwick , West Midlands , England , was built in 1825 by Thomas Telford to carry a water feeder, the Engine Arm , from Edgbaston Reservoir over the BCN New Main Line canal to the adjacent and parallel Old Main Line. The structure is maintained by the Canal & River Trust. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is Grade II* listed . The bridge is
116-445: 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 the public house next to it is still called this. In the church there are several fine memorials, including one to Dorothy Parkes. The Grade I listed Galton Bridge spans
174-520: A 52ft (16m) span cast iron arch structure formed by 5 ribs, each of them consisting of four sections with bolted joints. The ribs are connected to each other by transverse members and they are fixed to the masonry abutments. The three central ribs support the 8ft wide (2.4m) cast iron trough and the outer ones support the 4ft-4in (1.32m) towpaths and the bracing that connects to the sides of the trough. The towpath support consists of an arcade of Gothic arches with quatrefoil spandrels. The eastern towpath
232-480: A hamlet within the parish of Harborne, Staffordshire , Smethwick was made into an urban district in 1894, on 31 December Smethwick became a civil parish , in 1899 the district became a municipal corporation , and the district became county borough within Staffordshire in 1907 with its base at Smethwick Council House . On 1 April 1966, Smethwick was merged with the boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis to form
290-635: A majority of the men being veterans of the war. After the Second World War, Smethwick attracted a large number of immigrants from Commonwealth countries beginning in 1945, the largest ethnic group being Sikhs from the Punjab in India, the majority of whom had served in that War. The ethnic minority communities were initially unpopular with the white population of Smethwick, leading to the election of Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Griffiths at
348-536: A military equipment. 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
406-628: 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. In July 2013, a major fire occurred at the Jayplas plastics and paper recycling plant on Dartmouth Road. The oldest surviving building in Smethwick is the Old Church which stands on the corner of Church Road and the Uplands. This was consecrated in 1732 as
464-450: A vote for Tory, Labour or Liberal is a vote for more Blacks!". Jordan would also use similar campaign tactics against Gordon Walker in the 1965 Leyton by-election . The election of Griffiths led to Smethwick becoming notorious as 'Britain's most racist town'. 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
522-566: Is a Grade II listed building built in brick in the Moderne style . The town is notable for a somewhat turbulent political history. It was first 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
580-579: Is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands , England. It lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Birmingham city centre . Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before being placed into West Midlands county. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider built-up area subdivision has a population of 53,653. It
638-616: Is as a builder of railway rolling stock that the company is best remembered, exporting to most parts of the new and old worlds. It supplied vehicles to all four of the pre-nationalisation "big four" railway companies ( LMS , SR , LNER and GWR ), British Rail , Pullman (some of which are still in use) and Wagons-Lits , plus overseas railways with diverse requirement including Egypt , India , Iraq , Malaya , Mandate Palestine , South Africa and Nigeria . The company even built, in 1910, Argentina 's presidential coach, which still survives, and once carried Eva Perón . Before World War II ,
SECTION 10
#1732843981671696-486: Is designed by Yeoville Thomason . 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. In 1802, William Murdoch illuminated the foundry with gas lighting of his own invention. The foundry was later home to weighing scale makers W & T Avery Ltd. Rolfe Street public baths were among
754-564: Is paved in brick with raised strips for horses. The ironwork was cast at the Horseley Ironworks at Tipton , which is where most of Thomas Telford bridges were cast. This article about a bridge in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This United Kingdom canal-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Smethwick Smethwick ( / ˈ s m ɛ ð ɪ k / )
812-527: The 1964 general election , who campaigned by appealing to the racist element and whose supporters had used the slogan, "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour". This came two years after race riots had hit the town in 1962; it was also set against a background of local factory closures. In 1961, the Sikh community purchased the unused Congregational Church on the High Street in Smethwick. Soon after, this
870-561: 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
928-793: The Labour candidate by 775 votes in a straight fight. 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 it back at the UK general election of 1945 , held on 26 July that year. However,
986-554: The Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, which was incorporated into the new West Midlands county. 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. The archives for the Borough of Smethwick are held at Sandwell Community History and Archives Service . Smethwick has a long association with canals, which were
1044-462: The Smethwick Engine on Rabone Lane and the other was near Spon Lane. New Smethwick Pumping Station next to Brasshouse Lane was added later in 1892. Because of the locks, the canal through Smethwick became a bottleneck and Thomas Telford was commissioned in 1824 to look at alternatives. The new main line through Smethwick was completed by 1829 and completely bypassed all six remaining locks of
1102-549: 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 entirely redeveloped with modern low-rise housing, and was renamed Galton Village. Another local housing estate called the Windmill Lane Estate, located near Cape Hill, was also redeveloped. There is a collection of red brick turn-of-20th century terrace, 1930s semi-detached, newly built modern housing and
1160-538: The 87 in fact uses the same number. The West Midlands Metro , opened in 1999, is more of a light railway than a tramway. It follows the former Great Western Railway track bed from Birmingham Snow Hill station to the former Wolverhampton Low Level via West Bromwich until Priestfield in Wolverhampton. After that, it becomes a tramway proper and runs along the Bilston Road into Wolverhampton city centre. From late 2015
1218-523: The Fox Henderson Company which made the cast-iron framework for the Crystal Palace . This was founded by Charles Fox , whose inventions included the first patented railway points. His notable employees included William Siemens , the notable mechanical and electrical engineer. The company was bankrupted in 1855 by the failure of an overseas railway to pay for work done. The site was later used by
SECTION 20
#17328439816711276-863: The GKN company. In 2015 the site was being cleared to build the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which aims to combine the Sandwell General Hospital at West Bromwich and City Hospital , Dudley Road. Work at the site later came to a standstill because of a crisis in the construction industry. 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
1334-532: 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. 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
1392-488: The Indian Workers' Association. The BBC had been intending to make a feature about a new black-led newspaper, and a BBC News journalist had 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 one of X's last TV interviews before his assassination nine days later. The footage
1450-569: The Midland Red, West Bromwich and Birmingham. In the early 1970s, all local bus transport was taken over by the WMPTE until deregulation in the 1980s. Since then, National Express West Midlands has been the primary operator in the West Midlands. 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
1508-564: The New Line canal and railway. When built in 1829 by Thomas Telford , it was the highest single-span bridge in the world. Its name commemorates Samuel Galton , a local landowner and industrialist. It is identical to Telford's bridge at Holt Fleet over the River Severn built in 1828 and opened in 1830. The public library in the High Street was originally built as the Public Hall in 1866–67 and
1566-711: The North West, Rolfe Street and Spon Lane opened that year followed by Soho in 1853. In 1867 the Stourbridge Railway opened a link between the Great Western Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Dudley Railway (of 1852) near the current Hawthorns and Stourbridge with a station at Smethwick West and a link to the Stour Valley line towards New Street called Smethwick Junction, the Stourbridge Railway
1624-777: 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. During the Second World War , Smethwick was bombed on a number of occasions by the German Luftwaffe . A total of 80 people died as a result of these air raids. After the First World War about 50+ Sikh families settled in Smethwick beginning in 1917, with
1682-477: 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 Engine Arm which led to
1740-584: The company had a major impact on tank production as one of the many companies building the A10 Cruiser , Valentine , Churchill , Cromwell and Challenger tanks. They led the design and production of the Cromwell tank in liaison with Rolls-Royce and Rover on the Meteor engine. The company also built Hamilcar gliders in 1939–1945. Some of the locomotives and multiple units built by the company are listed below: In
1798-557: The company had built steam-, petrol- and diesel-powered railcars for overseas customers, not to mention bus bodies for Midland Red , and afterwards developed more motive power products, including BR's Class 26 , Class 33 (both diesel) and Class 81 (electric) locomotives. Examples of all three types are preserved. The company built hospital trains during the Second Boer War . Handley Page Type O bombers and Airco DH.10 Amiens were built during World War I . During World War II,
Engine Arm Aqueduct - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-565: The company manufactured steel window systems, roof glazing, gearings and metalwork. Council housing began in Smethwick after 1920 on land previously belonging to the Downing family, whose family home became Holly Lodge High School for Girls in 1922. The mass council house building of the 1920s and 1930s also involved Smethwick's boundaries being extended into part of neighbouring Oldbury in 1928. The Ruskin Pottery Studio, named in honour of
1914-530: The complete separation of African Americans from whites, but he now showed his opposition to racial segregation , 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 were under Hitler . I would not wait for the fascist element in Smethwick to erect gas ovens. Malcolm X had been invited to Smethwick by Claudia Jones on behalf of Avtar Singh Jouhl of
1972-469: The county borough of Birmingham and thus transferred from Staffordshire to Warwickshire in 1891, leaving Smethwick in the County of Staffordshire. The world's oldest working engine, the Smethwick Engine , made by Boulton & Watt , originally stood near Bridge Street, Smethwick. It is now at Thinktank , the new science museum in Birmingham. One notable company was The London Works, manufacturing base of
2030-408: The famous Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company (BMMO or Midland Red) was based on Bearwood Road on the site of the current Bearwood Shopping Centre until 1974. The garage later saw use as an indoor market until it was demolished in 1979. Smethwick never had its own Corporation Transport Department, like West Bromwich or Birmingham . Most bus services until the earlier 1970s were provided by
2088-582: 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 Black Country Museum expressed interest in transferring the building to its site in Dudley and so the transfer of the building began in 1989. It was finally opened to visitors at the museum in 1999, housing the museum's exhibition gallery and archive resource centre. Thimblemill Library
2146-623: The glazing for the Crystal Palace (the London works, in North Smethwick, manufactured its metalwork). Phillips Cycles , once one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world, was based in Bridge Street, Smethwick. Nearby, in Downing Street, is the famous bicycle saddle maker, Brooks Saddles . The important metalworking factory of Henry Hope & Sons Ltd was based at Halford's Lane where
2204-521: 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
2262-587: 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. In 1659, a mill in the Hockley Brook is recorded as belonging to a Mr. Lane. 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. The Soho Foundry , opened in 1796 by James Watt and Matthew Boulton , trading as Boulton, Watt & Sons,
2320-422: The median age of Smethwick residents was 32. In terms of ethnicity: 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. Until the end of the 18th century, Smethwick was largely rural, with farming as
2378-543: The migrants. Griffiths not only drew on these fears, but also raised racist concerns about ' miscegenation ' and argued for the repatriation of migrants. 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. In February 1965, American black activist Malcolm X visited Marshall Street just days before his assassination . Earlier in his career he had advocated
Engine Arm Aqueduct - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-489: The new County Borough of Warley , part also went to the County Borough of West Bromwich and the County Borough of Birmingham , Smethwick was transferred into the county of Worcestershire . The parish was also abolished on 1 April 1966 to form Warley , part also went to West Bromwich and Birmingham. In 1961 the parish had a population of 68,390. Warley county borough in turn was merged with West Bromwich in 1974 to form
2494-488: The new and old main line diverged at one end at Smethwick Junction near Bridge Street and rejoined at Bromford Junction near Bromford Road in Oldbury. Today Galton Valley is a nature area and of more historical interest than commercial, and used mainly for leisure rather than transporting commercial goods. The LNWR was the first to construct a railway through Smethwick in 1852 from New Street towards Wolverhampton and
2552-527: The school. However, O'Connor was well liked by both parents and children; he eventually retired in 1983. 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". The homes, mostly three or four storey townhouses, were prone to damp and other construction faults. By
2610-559: The service was extended from its former terminus at Snow Hill through the city centre to Grand Central . The metro can be caught at the Hawthorns railway station . 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. At the 2011 census , there were 48,765 residents in Smethwick in 18,381 households, and
2668-542: The slogan "If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour." Griffiths refused to condemn the slogan. Colin Jordan , a British Neo-Nazi and later leader of the British Movement , claimed that members of his group had produced the initial slogan as well as spread the publicised poster and sticker campaign which contained it; Jordan's group in the past had also campaigned on other slogans, such as: "Don't vote -
2726-456: 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 Samuel Galton and thus this cutting created the Galton Valley and Galton Bridge was named in his honour. The bridge was the longest single-span iron bridge in the world at the time. The canals of
2784-586: 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
2842-461: 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 again for Labour. The seat remained held by Labour until 1964. At the 1964 general election , sitting MP Gordon Walker, who
2900-403: The years before 1963, the company had built an extensive number of locomotives, diesel multiple unit trains, and Underground cars, but it then became apparent that fewer rolling stock orders were to be expected, and the company restructured itself as an industrial landlord and financing business. The self-funded main line locomotive prototype Lion was a particular disappointment. Powered by
2958-479: Was Shadow Foreign Secretary , was defeated in highly controversial circumstances in the constituency by the virulently anti-immigration Conservative Party candidate Peter Griffiths . Smethwick had attracted immigration from the Commonwealth in the economic and industrial growth of the years following the Second World War and Griffiths ran a campaign critical of the government's policy. His supporters had circulated
SECTION 50
#17328439816713016-428: Was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham , England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick , with the factory divided by the boundary between the two places. The company was established in 1854. BRC&W made not only carriages and wagons, but a range of vehicles , from aeroplanes and military gliders to buses , trolleybuses and tanks . Nevertheless, it
3074-508: 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 . Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company 52°30′19″N 1°57′39″W / 52.50528°N 1.96083°W / 52.50528; -1.96083 The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company ( BRC&W )
3132-560: 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. Smethwick received bad publicity when, the day after the announcement of his appointment, racist slogans and swastikas were daubed around
3190-508: Was merged into the Great Western in 1870. Not until 1931 was a railway station was constructed at the Hawthorns, although it was a 'halt' primarily for the football ground; this station closed in 1967. From 1854 the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company was based in Smethwick until its closure in 1963. The company not only built trains, but also London Underground stock, buses and
3248-455: Was never screened until Stephen C Page, a community artist, uncovered the footage in 2005. 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 later served as Conservative MP for Portsmouth North . Originally
3306-428: 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. The town of Smethwick has a long association with buses. From 1914
3364-427: 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". Smethwick was recorded in the Domesday Book as Smedeuuich , the d in this spelling being the Anglo-Saxon letter eth . Until the end of the 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the south Staffordshire village of Harborne . Harborne became part of
#670329