Is Smethwick Black Country?

To traditionalists the Black Country is the area where the 30ft coal seam comes to the surface – so West Bromwich, Oldbury, Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Bilston, Dudley, Tipton, Wednesfield and parts of Halesowen, Wednesbury and Walsall but not Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and Smethwick or what used to be known …

What is Smethwick known for?

In 1961, the Sikh community purchased the Congregational Church on the High Street in Smethwick. Soon after, this was converted into a gurdwara. The Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick is said to be the oldest and now the largest Gurdwara in Europe.

Where does the name Smethwick come from?

The name “Smethwick” derives from Anglo-Saxon and, although it was once thought to mean “the smith’s dwelling”, modern place-name experts interpret it as “The settlement on the smooth land”.

What was the Black Country of England known for?

By Victorian times, the Black Country was one of the most heavily industrialised areas in Britain, and it became known for its pollution, particularly from iron and coal industries and their many associated smaller businesses. This led to the expansion of local railways and coal mine lines.

Where did the town of Smethwick get its name?

Smethwick, in the Black Country (the name is derived from the factory pollution that turned the sky black), part of the greater Birmingham conurbation, is typical of the radical changes to urban Britain’s racial demographic.

When did Smethwick become a working class area?

Smethwick is representative of the changes experienced in Britain’s working class areas. Once dominated by skilled, industrial scale manual work that slowly decreased through the 1970s, until almost disappearing in the 1980s recession.

Where is the Black Country in West Midlands?

Today the Black Country is described, by the government, as most of the four Metropolitan District Council areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The term is used as a marketing tool to sell and promote the West Midlands region to the west of Birmingham. Stewart Aqueduct.

Why did Malcolm X come to Smethwick England?

Malcolm X, invited over by the Indian Workers Association to show solidarity with the Smethwick’s black and Asian workers, made his last speech in Marshall Street before his assassination, stating “I have come because I am disturbed by reports that coloured people in Smethwick are being treated badly.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoY2xhLdrxI