In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Smethwick like this:
SMETHWICK, a parochial division and three chapelries in Harborne parish, Stafford. The division is suburban to Birmingham; lies on the Birmingham canal, and on the Birmingham and Stour Valley and the Birmingham and Stourbridge railways, 3 miles W of the centre of Birmingham; is governed by a local board of health; carries on extensive manufactures, of the same kinds as those in Birmingham; enjoys great facilities of communication, with use of the canaland of four railway stations; and has post-offices,‡ of the name of S. ...
and West S. under Birmingham, a r. station with telegraph, of the name of S., on the Stour Valley railway, a r. station, of the name of S.-Junction, at the junction of the Stourbridge railway, a ''summit-bridge," 265 feet long and 68 feet high, over the new canaland railway, a literary institution, with library and news-room, four churches, numerous dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, and several public schools. Real property in 1860, £47,132. Pop. in 1851, 8,379; in 1861, 13,379. Houses, 2,588.-The three chapelries are S.-Trinity, S.-St. Matthew, and West S. or S.-St. Paul; and were constituted in 1842, 1856, and 1860. Pop., 1,058,3,935, and 2,817. Houses, 188,762, and 548. The livings are p. curacies in the diocese of Lichfield. Values, £300,* £191, and £146.* Patrons, Trustees, the Incumbent of S.-Trinity, and Five Trustees.
Smethwick through time
Smethwick is now part of Sandwell district. Click here for graphs and data of how Sandwell has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Smethwick itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Smethwick, in Sandwell and Staffordshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/512
Date accessed: 16th April 2024
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