Smethwick

posted by Scott Andrew Bird
Tags : locations

The name "Smethwick" derives from Anglo-Saxon and is thought to mean "The settlement on the smooth land". Before the late 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the South Staffordshire village of Harborne; a district of scattered cottages and small farms, country lanes, heaths and woodland. There were nailmakers and blacksmiths from at least the mid 16th century with "metal-bashing" skills which were later to become a major feature of the area.

In the 1760s it was decided that a canal should be cut through Smethwick to carry coal more speedily from the Black Country to the booming industries of Birmingham. Three eminent civil engineers contributed to this: firstly James Brindley in 1769, whose design was improved upon by John Smeaton in 1790, and finally Thomas Telford in 1829. The canal was spanned by the elegant Galton Bridge (Grade I Listed), then the longest single-span bridge in the world. The coming of the railway in 1852 alongside the canal, together with the availability nearby of raw materials such as coal and iron, explains why Smethwick became of such importance as a manufacturing centre.

In the late 18th century Birmingham entrepreneur Matthew Boulton was looking for a site for his expanding business interests and, in partnership with James Watt, established the Soho Foundry. The foundations of one of James Watt's beam engines "The Smethwick Engine" can be seen in Bridge Street, Smethwick, while the engine itself is on display at The Think Tank, Digbeth. Boulton and Watt were both members of the famous Lunar Society which met at Boulton's house nearby. William Murdock, the pioneer of gas lighting, was the Chief Engineer at the Soho Foundry.

Because of its ready access by canal, rail and road, many other industries were soon attracted to the area including Guest Keen & Nettlefold, W & T Avery, Tangyes, Chances Glasswork and The Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Works. Smethwick's reputation for engineering continued to grow, as did the size of its population which by 1901 had grown astonishingly, from 1,097 in 1801 to 54,539.