7 August 2026
From a medieval settlement and heathland community to one of the Black Country's great industrial towns, West Bromwich has undergone centuries of dramatic change. Discover how coal, iron, transport, Victorian…
View Record6 August 2026
Oldbury was not always the densely developed Black Country town we recognise today. In the seventeenth century it was still a small country settlement, home to smallholders and…
View Record5 August 2026
Oldbury grew from a small rural settlement into one of the Black Country’s heavily industrialised towns. Canals, coal, iron, chemicals and engineering transformed its landscape, while later redevelopment gave Oldbury…
View Record4 August 2026
Few forces changed Smethwick as dramatically as industry. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, canals, factories, engineering works and glassmaking transformed the area from a relatively small settlement…
View Record3 August 2026
Smethwick’s history is a story of extraordinary change. Once a comparatively small settlement on the edge of Birmingham, it became one of the most important industrial towns of…
View Record2 August 2026
West Smethwick Park has served generations of local residents since the late Victorian period. This research brings together the history behind the park, its lost features, memorials, waterways…
View Record1 August 2026
James Timmins Chance played an important role in the history of Chance Brothers and Victorian Smethwick. This biography explores his life, family, industrial career and contribution to one of the…
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