Smethwick

Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Originally the area was an urban district and from 1894 a municipal borough in the county of Staffordshire. 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, and was transferred into the county of Worcestershire. This in turn was merged with West Bromwich in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, which was incorporated into the new West Midlands county.

Today the urban district of Smethwick includes the following neighborhoods : Galton Village, Bearwood, West Smethwick, Windmill Lane, The Uplands, Londonderry, Black Patch, High Street Smethwick, Victoria, Cape Hill (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Smethwick ). These are essentially to be found within the following five electoral wards of Sandwell MBC : St.Paul's, Soho & Victoria, Abbey, Birstnall and Smethwick (sometimes called Smethwick Central).

Smethwick had always had strong economic links to Birmingham (even after its independence of county control following the creation of Smethwick County Borough in 1907), although like most areas and towns of the West Midlands has a strong sense of its own identity. The Warley County Borough was placed entirely in Worcestershire on its creation, but Smethwick has also been in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, and since 1974 has formed part of the West Midlands county. The former boundary of Staffordshire, and detached parts of Worcestershire and Shropshire could be found at the Three Shires Oak, in Bearwood.

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. Until the end of the 18th century it was an outlying hamlet of the south Staffordshire village of Harborne.

further historic details available @ : www.smethwicklocalhistory.co.uk/#/brief-history/4538200...

Large scale online digi-map used in drawing attached polygon is viewable @ :
www.sandwelltrends.info/themedpages/WPSumm