West Bromwich (pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, historically Staffordshire, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Holyhead road. The issue of its participation in the Black Country is often a topic of debate. West Bromwich is the largest town within the Borough of Sandwell with a population of 136,940 (2001). The motto on the town's coat of arms proclaims in Latin "Labor omnia vincit" which translates as "Work Conquers All".

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Features

The town is famous for its football team, West Bromwich Albion. The team won the league championship in 1920 and has won five FA Cups; the most recent in 1968. Albion were based in and around the centre of West Bromwich during their formative years, but moved further out of the town in 1900 when they switched to their current ground, The Hawthorns.

Engineering and chemicals are important to the town's economy, as it played a crucial part in the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century and still retains many manufacturing jobs to this day, despite a steady nationwide decline in this sector since the 1970s.

The Sandwell General Hospital is located near the town centre. The hospital is part of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, and is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the United Kingdom.

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth had his seat at Sandwell Hall. Legge was unusual as an aristocrat of this period by being a Methodist and attending the Wednesbury Methodist meetings, where fellow Methodists - many of them colliers and drovers - knew him as "Brother Earl".

West Bromwich Town Hall and the Grand Organ within, built by the West Bromwich Town Improvement Commissioners, are features along with the Walk West Bromwich Heritage Trail. The town improvement commissioners also constructed a market hall, free library and public baths. ^[1] In 2004, a modern community arts centre known as "The Public" was developed in the town centre. Designed by the architect Will Alsop, the £52 million venue consists of a massive cuboid building constructed in dark grey and silver metal cladding with irregularly-shaped windows edged in magenta; its appearance has drawn comparisons with a fish tank. ^[2] The development has been beset by financial difficulties, going into administration before the expected opening date of July 2006. ^[3]

History

Year	Population figure
1801	5,687
1811	7,485
1821	9,505
1831	15,377
1841	26,121
1851	34,581
1861	41,795
1871	47,918
1881	56,295
1891	59,538
1901	65,175
1950	89,000
1991	146,386

West Bromwich was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the name meaning "the little village on the heath of broom" (broom being a particular type of bush). It is believed that it may have originally been part of the Handsworth parish. ^[5] A Benedictine priory existed in West Bromwich from the 12th century around which the settlement of Broomwich Heath grew. In 1727, the town became a stop on the coaching road between London and Shrewsbury and its growth began. In the 19th century, coal deposits were discovered, ensuring that the town grew rapidly as an industrial centre, with industries such as spring, gun and nail making developing. Most of the coal deposits were found below the ground a mile or so west of Broomwich Heath, and so the "new" town adopted the name West Bromwich . Well before the end of the 19th century, West Bromwich had established itself as a prominent area to match older neighbouring towns including Dudley and Walsall.

In 1888, West Bromwich became a county borough, incorporating the village of Great Barr. It was expanded in 1966, acquiring most of the borough of Tipton and Wednesbury urban district, before joining with the neighbouring county borough of Warley in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell.

Charlemont Hall, built during the 1750s, stood on the west side of the present Charlemont Crescent, in the Charlemont and Grove Vale district of the town. Charlemont Hall was described c. 1800 as 'a lofty neat-looking house of brick, faced with stone, with iron palisades etc. in front'. An east wing was added in 1855. The last occupants were Thomas Jones, town clerk of Wednesbury 1897-1921, and his widow. The house was demolished in 1948, and is now covered by a number of smaller detached homes. Much of the surrounding area was developed during the 1960s as the Charlemont Farm housing estate, which ia a mix of private and council housing.

West Bromwich suffered heavily in the Cholera epidemic of 1831 which spread northwards into the town. A temporary board of health was set up and a hospital opened in the former Revivalist chapel in Spon Lane. The natural gradual slope of the land provided drainage within the soil, however, urbanisation made this increasingly difficult and drainage along the streets was described as inadequate. The West Bromwich Town Improvement Commissioners was established in 1854, and they tackled the drainage problem in the town. They appointed members to new titles and in the 1880s bought land in Friar Park for a sewerage farm.

Under the Reform Act of 1832, West Bromwich became part of the new southern division of Staffordshire, and under the Reform Act of 1867 it was transferred to the parliamentary borough of Wednesbury. ^[6] Under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, the borough of West Bromwich became a parliamentary borough returning one member. In 1885, it was held by the Liberal Party but from 1886 to 1906 it was held by the Conservative Party before being held by the Liberal Party again until 1910 when the Conservative Party regained the area which they held until 1918 under the representation of Viscount Lewisham. In 1918, it became a Labour hold who have held it since, except for between 1931 to 1935 when it held by the National Unionists. thumb By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, many of the older houses that had been built to house workers during the Industrial Revolution were becoming unfit for human habitation. Sanitation was inadequate, decay was rife, and the homes were becoming a danger to the health and safety of their inhabitants. After the end of the war, the local council started building new homes to rehouse people from the rundown inner city areas. The new homes were a vast improvement on their predecessors, with many modern features such as bathrooms, indoor toilets, running water, electricity and gardens. A significant number of privately owned homes were also built for the town's wealthier residents. This continued after World War II and by 1970, most of West Bromwich was unrecognisable to what it had been 50 years earlier, although a great deal of older houses remained and some remain to this day.

The local road network was also massively improved during the 1960s and 1970s. West Bromwich is located at the extreme northern end of the M5 motorway, and has had direct access to it since the early 1960s. This gave the town an immediate fast road link to faraway places including Worcester, Gloucester, Bristol and Exeter. Traffic passing through West Bromwich on the main route from Wolverhampton to Birmingham was diverted along the new Northern Loop Road (also known as The Expressway ) after 1972, with another dual carriageway being built to link The Expressway with neighbouring Oldbury.

As with many other parts of the Midlands, West Bromwich was hit badly by the recession during the late-1970s and the 1980s. Many local factories closed as there was no longer an adequate demand for the supply they were generating. Several more factories have closed in more recent years as manufacturers look to countries where the labour is cheaper, but there are still a considerably large number of factories in the West Bromwich area to this very day.

West Bromwich's road links were further enhanced in 1995 on the completion of the Black Country Spine Road that gives an unbroken dual carriageway link to Bilston. The completion of this new road opened up several square miles of previously inaccessible land, and has allowed several major businesses to set up along the route. This has helped relieve some of the unemployment problems in West Bromwich, although some parts of the town still have some of the highest unemployment rates in the West Midlands.

Politics

The town is divided into two constituencies; West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West. West Bromwich East is served by Tom Watson of Labour. He has held the position since the 2001 general election. Preceding him was Peter Snape, also of Labour, who had served the ward since the 1992 general election. ^[7]

West Bromwich West is served by Adrian Bailey of Labour who won a 54.3% share in the 2005 general election. He has been MP for the ward since the 2000 by-election. ^[8] Preceding him, the MP for the ward was Betty Boothroyd, ^[9] who for eight years served as the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

Religion

West Bromwich is a culturally diverse area with many places of worship for several different religions.

Christianity is still the predominant faith group in the area, with the Church of England providing the most places of worship across the geographically wider West Bromwich Deanery (taking in West Bromwich, Hill Top, Stone Cross, Carter's Green, Friar's Green and others) which contains nine Anglican churches and the newly formed West Bromwich Network Church. Other Christian denominations are present, including Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Elim Pentecostal, Assemblies of God and other independent churches. The deanery of West Bromwich is under the Diocese of Lichfield.

Hindus have had a formal place of worship in West Bromwich since the opening of the Shree Krishna Temple in 1974, in a converted church once called Ebenezer Congregational Chapel which had closed in 1971. ^[10]

In 1875, being locked out of a packed Evangelist meeting in Birmingham caused John Blackham of Ebenezer Congregational Church to start the Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Movement. ^[11]

Mass immigration from the Commonwealth took place in West Bromwich during the 1950s and 1960s, with most of these hailing from the Indian sub-continent, although a significant number of Afro-Caribbean immigrants also settled in West Bromwich. The majority of these immigrants settled in the older parts of the town that were mostly made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses.

Transport

For roads, the M5 motorway between the West Midlands and the West Country passes through the town. West Bromwich has its own bus station in the town centre, with connections to Birmingham and other major towns in the West Midlands region.

West Bromwich railway station was opened by the Great Western Railway on its route between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level on 14 November, 1854. The trackbed of that line is now served by the Midland Metro light rail (tram) system. The nearest main-line railway station is now Sandwell and Dudley railway station, approximately one mile away in Oldbury town centre. The nearest airport which is approximately 16 miles away, is Birmingham International Airport.

Education

The town is served by three secondary schools; Menzies High School, George Salter High School and Dartmouth High School.

Menzies High School serves the area around Hateley Heath, Tantany, Charlemont and Grove Vale. George Salter served the west of the town near the border with Tipton. Dartmouth serves the north-eastern part of the town around Great Barr.

Localities

• Carters Green
• Charlemont
• Charlemont Farm
• Grove Vale
• Great Barr
• Greets Green
• Hill Top
• Hateley Heath
• Lyng
• Newton
• Stone Cross
• Sandwell Valley
• Tantany

Famous residents

• Francis Asbury - Methodist bishop
• Denise Lewis - heptathlete
• Robert Plant - singer with Led Zeppelin
• Major Nichols - lightweight Racing bicycle manufacturer
• Madeleine Carroll - actress
• Jana Bellin - chess grandmaster
• Phil Lynott - Thin Lizzy
• Ian Hill - Judas Priest
• K.K. Downing - Judas Priest guitarist
• Dr Karl Shuker - zoologist, cryptozoologist and author
• Frank Skinner - comedian
• Brian Walden - Member of Parliament, journalist and broadcaster
• Matthew Marsden- actor
• Cindy Kent - former singer with The Settlers and currently Premier Christian Radio|a broadcaster
• Steve Webb - Member of Parliament, and Liberal Democrat leadership candidate
• John Byrne - comic book artist (Moved to Canada when 8)

Local dialect

The West Bromwich dialect owes much to the Black Country which has words of its own and strong pronunciation. The West Bromwich version, however, is slightly diluted but still contrasts markedly with the adjacent Birmingham "Brummie" dialect.

Quotes

• "I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to chose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I would make straight for West Bromwich." J.B. Priestley, English Journey

See also

• West Bromwich Building Society
• Charlemont and Grove Vale

References

1. Vision Of Britain: West Bromwich
2. ''What looks like a magenta fish, cost £52m and closed before it opened?'' - The Observer (Guardian Arts), June 25 2006
3. ''Debts put new arts centre on hold'', BBC News, 6 March 2006
4. GENUKI: West Bromwich Census information
5. British History Online: West Bromwich Churches
6. British History Online: West Bromwich parliamentary history
7. The Guardian: West Bromwich East
8. The Guardian: West Bromwich West
9. The Guardian: West Bromwich West full election history
10. British History Online: West Bromwich Hindus
11. Black Country Society:Pleasant Sunday Afternoon