West Bromwich
Encyclopedia
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands
, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) north west of Birmingham
lying on the A41
London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country
. Historically
within Staffordshire
, West Bromwich is the largest town within Sandwell, with a population of 136,940 at the time of the 2001 census.
The Latin motto on the town's coat of arms translates as "Work Conquers All".
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. 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
as well as a small section of Coseley
urban district, before joining with the neighbouring county borough of Warley
(which contained the towns of Rowley Regis
, Oldbury
and Smethwick
) 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 occupant was the widow of Thomas Jones, town clerk of Wednesbury 1897–1921. 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 1832
, West Bromwich became part of the new southern division of Staffordshire
, and under the Reform Act 1867
it was transferred to the parliamentary borough of Wednesbury. 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.
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 town centre. However, there are still many late 19th century and early 20th century buildings around the centre of West Bromwich today.
Mass immigration from the Commonwealth
took place in West Bromwich during the 1950s and 1960s, with most of these hailing from the Indian subcontinent
, 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.
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 dual carriageway, the Northern Loop Road (also known as The Expressway), after its opening in 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
s of the mid 1970s and early 1980s. Many local factories closed as there was no longer an adequate demand for the supply they were generating.
Many local towns, particularly Dudley, lost many of its major stores around the time that the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
which was developed at Brierley Hill
during the second half of the 1980s as businesses looked to take advantage of the Enterprise Zone incentives that the centre offered. West Bromwich's fortunes as a retail centre were affected by the Merry Hill development. This contributed to the closure of its Marks and Spencer store on 25 August 1990, along with the Dudley store, to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill, with most of the staff at the new store being transferred from either West Bromwich or Dudley. British Home Stores also pulled out of the town around the same time to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill which opened in November 1989 and also spelled the end of the Dudley store. The town lost another big retail name in 2005 when the Littlewoods
store closed; it was later occupied by New Look. Retail developments around Oldbury, beginning with the SavaCentre
hypermarket in 1980, have also affected trade in West Bromwich.The recession beginning in 2008
has pushed the town centre further into decline, a notable casualty being the Woolworths
store which closed on 30 December 2008 as a result of the retailer going into liquidation; the building has still not been re-occupied almost three years later.
Several more factories have closed in more recent years as manufacturers look to countries where the labour is cheaper, but West Bromwich remains a busy industrial area despite the decline of the last 35 years.
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 most parts of the town still have the highest unemployment rates in the West Midlands, and unemployment has risen again since 2008 as a result of the latest recession
.
West Bromwich was among the many towns and cities in England affected by the widespread rioting
in August 2011. On 9 August, shops closed their doors early to combat looting and vandalism. Widespread acts of vandalism and violence followed. Police closed the main roads leading into the town until the following morning.
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 been MP since the 1974 general election.
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 seat since the 2000 by-election
. Preceding him, the MP for the seat was Betty Boothroyd
, who for eight years served as the first female Speaker of the British House of Commons
.
West Bromwich is the largest town in the United Kingdom without its own Royal Mail postcode.
. The club was founded in 1878 and in 1888 it became one of the twelve founder members of the Football League
. It won the league championship
in 1920 and has won the FA Cup
five times, most recently in 1968
. The club recently won the Coca Cola Championship in 2008. 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
. The Hawthorns is the highest football ground (above sea level) in the country.
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.
Sandwell General Hospital
(On the site of the former Hallam Hospital) is located near the town centre. It is part of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
, 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 drover
s – knew him as "Brother Earl".
West Bromwich Town Hall
, situated in the centre of the High Street, is a Grade II listed building. It was built between 1874 and 1875 in brick and stone to an Italian Gothic design, and its interior reflects the Victorian interest in Gothic and Medieval architecture. Its Grand Organ, built in 1862, is considered to be of historic importance for its musical and technical qualities.
West Bromwich Manor House, Hall Green Road B71 2EA. Built by the de Marnham family in the late 13th century as the centre of their agricultural estate in West Bromwich only the Great Hall survives of the original complex of living quarters, agricultural barns, sheds and ponds. Successive occupants modernised and extended the Manor House until it was described in 1790 as “a large pile of irregular half-timbered buildings, black and white, and surrounded with numerous out-houses and lofty walls.” The Manor House was saved from demolition in the 1950s by West Bromwich Corporation which carried out an extensive and sympathetic restoration of this nationally important building.
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. The development was beset by financial difficulties, going into administration
and finally finished in 2009. Many people refuse to visit the venue as they consider it a waste of money and an extreme eyesore. A sound production and music industry practice course is run in the building by Major key studios (http://www.majorkeystudios.com) and is provided by the University of Wolverhampton.
A large portion of the town centre has been procured by Tesco
for a development of a superstore. The store and its car park would have sat on the site of the current police station and the surrounding street, including the site of Cronehills Primary School. Cronehills staff and pupils have now relocated to the newly built Eaton Valley Primary School, which opened in September 2009 on the edge of Sandwell Valley Park to make way for future development.
The Church of England
provides the most places of worship across the geographically wider West Bromwich Deanery (taking in West Bromwich, Hill Top, Stone Cross, Carter's Green, Holy Trinity, All Saint's, St Andrew's, St Francis, Friar Park and others) which contains nine Anglican
churches and the newly formed West Bromwich Network Church
. Other Christian denominations are present, including Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist
, Methodist, Baptist
, Elim Pentecostal, Assemblies of God
and other independent churches. The deanery of West Bromwich is under the Diocese of Lichfield
.
West Bromwich has three main mosque
s, two on Dartmouth Street. 47 Dartmouth Street accommodates up to 400 worshippers during busy periods like Friday Prayers and Eid Prayer
s: it is mainly a Pakistani traditional mosque, soon to be reconstructed. 67 Dartmouth Street was the first mosque in the area, of Bangladeshi origin: it holds many programs and events. It will be shortly moved to a larger location. There is also another mosque, Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyah, which is renowned as the Madrasa of West Bromwich. It is situated at 1a-1b Moor street, and was previously a church. The transformation begin in 2001 and it now has Islamic evening classes and a big prayer facility. This mosque is also managed by Sunni Bangladeshi but attracts more citizens from all backgrounds, including Pakistanis and Arabs, because of its beautiful Qu'ran recitations. The building is also used for National Curriculum English, Maths and science tuition by members of the wider community, including people of other faiths. The tuition centre is run by local teachers and is called Cohort Tuition.
There is also a very large number of Sikh
s in the area. There are many Gurudwaras. Sikhs have settled in the area since 1950, when the first influx of immigrants came.
Hindus
have had a formal place of worship in West Bromwich since the opening of the Shree Krishna Mandir in 1974, in a converted church once called Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, which had closed in 1971. It was damaged by fire on 8 December 1992, the same date that a Mandir in Birmingham
and another in Coventry
were damaged in arson attacks. It was believed to have been connected to religious violence in India
that was spreading into Britain.
West Bromwich also has a significant black Afro-Caribbean
population.
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.
between the West Midlands and the West Country
and its junction with the M6 motorway
passes through the town, making West Bromwich at the hub of Britain's motorway network. 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 (25.7 km) away, is Birmingham International Airport
.
Carters Green, High Street and the beginning of Birmingham Road formed the original main route through West Bromwich as part of Thomas Telford's
London to Holyhead
route in the early 19th century. This later formed part of the A41 road
which links London with Merseyside
, taking in the midlands, Shropshire
, Warwickshire
, Oxfordshire
, Buckinghamshire
and Hertfordshire
on the way. However, the route through central West Bromwich was by-passed in the 1970s on the completion of the Expressway, a two-mile (3 km) dual carriageway beginning at Carters Green and finishing at Junction 1 of the M5 motorway
(which had opened a decade earlier) on Birmingham Road. The original A41 road through the centre of West Bromwich was downgraded to an unclassified route.
Around this time, West Bromwich Ringway was opened, circulating the main shopping areas.
Further revolution came to the local road network in 1995 with the completion of the Black Country Spine Road which stretches from Carters Green to Bilston
via Wednesbury
, forming another new section of the A41.
The town has 21 primary schools in total. Some of which are St. John Bosco RC Primary School, All Saints CofE Primary School, St Mary Magdalane, Hateley Heath, and Eaton Valley.
Sandwell Academy serves the whole of West Bromwich (along with the rest of Sandwell), Phoenix Collegiate Academy serves the area around Hateley Heath
, Tantany
, Charlemont and Grove Vale
. George Salter Collegiate Academy serves the west of the town near the border with Tipton
. Q3 Academy serves the north-eastern part of the town around Great Barr
.
The area was also served by Churchfields High School, approximately one mile to the north of the town centre. Due to constant closure rumours, less and less pupils began enrolling to attend the school and it was closed in July 2001. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
, who were founded in the town in 1879 and played at a stadium near the town centre until they moved to their current home, The Hawthorns
on Birmingham Road (directly on the border with Birmingham
) in 1900. Although they are now in their 109th year at the stadium, all traces of the original structures are long gone; the oldest stand is the Halfords Lane Stand that was built in 1979 and the other three stands were built between 1991 and 2001. Recently the Halfords Lane Stand was refurbished and is now called the West Stand.
Albion were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, along with their two fiercest local rivals – Aston Villa
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
.
The club has won seven major trophies; five FA Cup
s, one Football League title and one Football League Cup
. Their most recent major trophy came in 1968 when they won the FA Cup with a 1–0 win over Everton
at Wembley Stadium
. They enjoyed further success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they finished in the top five league positions three times in four seasons as well as reaching a UEFA Cup
quarter-final. However, since relegation from the old Football League First Division
in 1986 (this division became the Premier League in 1992) they have played in the top level of English football for a total of just four seasons. This spell of relatively disappointing performances included 16 successive seasons without top division football, two of which were spent in the third tier of the English professional league system.
Notable former players of West Bromwich Albion include Ronnie Allen
(who later had a relatively unsuccessful spell as the club's manager), Bryan Robson
(who was later the club's manager), Laurie Cunningham
(one of the first black players to play for the England national football team
, but who died in a car crash in 1989 aged only 33), Tony Brown (the club's all time leading goalscorer) and Jeff Astle
(who scored the club's winning goal in the 1968 FA Cup final and remained a cult figure among Albion fans).
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) north west of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
lying on the A41
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
. Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
within Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, West Bromwich is the largest town within Sandwell, with a population of 136,940 at the time of the 2001 census.
The Latin motto on the town's coat of arms translates as "Work Conquers All".
History
West Bromwich was first mentioned in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
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
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
parish. A Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
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
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
.
In 1888, West Bromwich became a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
, incorporating the village of Great Barr
Great Barr
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...
. It was expanded in 1966, acquiring most of the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
and Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
as well as a small section of Coseley
Coseley
Coseley is a town located mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands. Part of the Black Country, it lies south east of Wolverhampton and north of Dudley....
urban district, before joining with the neighbouring county borough of Warley
County Borough of Warley
Warley was a county borough and civil parish forming part of the West Midlands conurbation, England, and geographical county of Worcestershire. It was formed in 1966 by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis Warley was a...
(which contained the towns of Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
, Oldbury
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell.-Local government:...
and Smethwick
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....
) 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
Charlemont and Grove Vale
Charlemont and Grove Vale is a political ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the English Midlands constituency of West Bromwich East....
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 occupant was the widow of Thomas Jones, town clerk of Wednesbury 1897–1921. 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 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, West Bromwich became part of the new southern division of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, and under the Reform Act 1867
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
it was transferred to the parliamentary borough of Wednesbury. 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
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
but from 1886 to 1906 it was held by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
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.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, many of the older houses that had been built to house workers during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
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 town centre. However, there are still many late 19th century and early 20th century buildings around the centre of West Bromwich today.
Mass immigration from the Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
took place in West Bromwich during the 1950s and 1960s, with most of these hailing from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, although a significant number of Afro-Caribbean
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
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
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
terraced houses.
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
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
, 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
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. Traffic passing through West Bromwich on the main route from Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
was diverted along the new dual carriageway, the Northern Loop Road (also known as The Expressway), after its opening in 1972, with another dual carriageway being built to link The Expressway with neighbouring Oldbury
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell.-Local government:...
.
As with many other parts of the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, West Bromwich was hit badly by the recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
s of the mid 1970s and early 1980s. Many local factories closed as there was no longer an adequate demand for the supply they were generating.
Many local towns, particularly Dudley, lost many of its major stores around the time that the Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill near Dudley, West Midlands, England. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number...
which was developed at Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
during the second half of the 1980s as businesses looked to take advantage of the Enterprise Zone incentives that the centre offered. West Bromwich's fortunes as a retail centre were affected by the Merry Hill development. This contributed to the closure of its Marks and Spencer store on 25 August 1990, along with the Dudley store, to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill, with most of the staff at the new store being transferred from either West Bromwich or Dudley. British Home Stores also pulled out of the town around the same time to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill which opened in November 1989 and also spelled the end of the Dudley store. The town lost another big retail name in 2005 when the Littlewoods
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
store closed; it was later occupied by New Look. Retail developments around Oldbury, beginning with the SavaCentre
SavaCentre
Sainsbury’s SavaCentre was a chain of 13 hypermarkets and later a further seven discount supermarkets operated by Sainsbury's and BHS, then later by Sainsbury's alone, from 1977 until 2005. The stores have now been integrated into the Sainsbury's supermarket brand. The hypermarket stores ranged in...
hypermarket in 1980, have also affected trade in West Bromwich.The recession beginning in 2008
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
has pushed the town centre further into decline, a notable casualty being the Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
store which closed on 30 December 2008 as a result of the retailer going into liquidation; the building has still not been re-occupied almost three years later.
Several more factories have closed in more recent years as manufacturers look to countries where the labour is cheaper, but West Bromwich remains a busy industrial area despite the decline of the last 35 years.
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
Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
. 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 most parts of the town still have the highest unemployment rates in the West Midlands, and unemployment has risen again since 2008 as a result of the latest recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
.
West Bromwich was among the many towns and cities in England affected by the widespread rioting
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
in August 2011. On 9 August, shops closed their doors early to combat looting and vandalism. Widespread acts of vandalism and violence followed. Police closed the main roads leading into the town until the following morning.
Governance
Tom Watson (politician)
Thomas Anthony Watson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for West Bromwich East since 2001. Watson was a Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2009...
of Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He has held the position since the 2001 general election. Preceding him was Peter Snape, also of Labour, who had been MP since the 1974 general election.
West Bromwich West is served by Adrian Bailey
Adrian Bailey
Adrian Edward Bailey is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for West Bromwich West since winning the seat at a by-election in 2000...
of Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
who won a 54.3% share in the 2005 general election. He has been MP for the seat since the 2000 by-election
West Bromwich West by-election, 2000
The West Bromwich West by-election, 2000 was a by-election held on 23rd November 2000 for the British House of Commons constituency of West Bromwich West.The constituency's Member of Parliament was the Rt. Hon. Betty Boothroyd, the Speaker...
. Preceding him, the MP for the seat was Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
, who for eight years served as the first female Speaker of the British House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
.
West Bromwich is the largest town in the United Kingdom without its own Royal Mail postcode.
Geography
Below is a list of localities:Features
The town is famous for its football club, West Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
. The club was founded in 1878 and in 1888 it became one of the twelve founder members of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. It won the league championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
in 1920 and has won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
five times, most recently in 1968
1968 FA Cup Final
The 1968 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Everton at Wembley. West Brom won by a single goal, scored by Jeff Astle three minutes into extra time. The goal meant that Astle had scored in every round of that season's competition....
. The club recently won the Coca Cola Championship in 2008. 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
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, Sandwell, England, with a capacity of 26,484. It has been the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the...
. The Hawthorns is the highest football ground (above sea level) in the country.
Engineering and chemicals are important to the town's economy, as it played a crucial part in the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
during the 19th century and still retains many manufacturing jobs to this day, despite a steady nationwide decline in this sector since the 1970s.
Sandwell General Hospital
Sandwell General Hospital
Sandwell General Hospital is a busy acute teaching hospital of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in West Bromwich, England and provides an extensive range of general and specialist hospital services....
(On the site of the former Hallam Hospital) is located near the town centre. It is part of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest National Health Service teaching Trusts in England and comprises Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, Birmingham City Hospital and Rowley Regis Hospital.-External links:*...
, one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the United Kingdom.
William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge 2nd Earl of Dartmouth PC, FRS , styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered for his part in the government before and during the American Revolution....
had his seat at Sandwell Hall. Legge was unusual as an aristocrat of this period by being a Methodist and attending the Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
Methodist meetings, where fellow Methodists – many of them colliers and drover
Droving
Droving is the practice of moving livestock over large distances by walking them "on the hoof".Droving stock to market, usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs, has a very long history in the old world...
s – knew him as "Brother Earl".
West Bromwich Town Hall
West Bromwich Town Hall
West Bromwich Town Hall is a Grade II listed town hall in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. It is part of the Walk West Bromwich Heritage Trail....
, situated in the centre of the High Street, is a Grade II listed building. It was built between 1874 and 1875 in brick and stone to an Italian Gothic design, and its interior reflects the Victorian interest in Gothic and Medieval architecture. Its Grand Organ, built in 1862, is considered to be of historic importance for its musical and technical qualities.
West Bromwich Manor House, Hall Green Road B71 2EA. Built by the de Marnham family in the late 13th century as the centre of their agricultural estate in West Bromwich only the Great Hall survives of the original complex of living quarters, agricultural barns, sheds and ponds. Successive occupants modernised and extended the Manor House until it was described in 1790 as “a large pile of irregular half-timbered buildings, black and white, and surrounded with numerous out-houses and lofty walls.” The Manor House was saved from demolition in the 1950s by West Bromwich Corporation which carried out an extensive and sympathetic restoration of this nationally important building.
The Public, West Bromwich
The Public is a multi-purpose venue and art gallery in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, at the forefront of a regional regeneration programme which – by late 2012 – will also bring Europe's biggest Tesco, a multiplex cinema, restaurants and a new retail centre.-Overview:The project grew out...
" was developed in the town centre. Designed by the architect Will Alsop
Will Alsop
Will Allen Alsop, OBE RA is a British architect based in London. He is responsible for several distinctive and controversial modernist buildings, most in the United Kingdom. Alsop's buildings are usually distinguished by their use of bright colour and unusual forms...
, the £52 million venue consists of a massive cuboid
Cuboid
In geometry, a cuboid is a solid figure bounded by six faces, forming a convex polyhedron. There are two competing definitions of a cuboid in mathematical literature...
building constructed in dark grey and silver metal cladding
Cladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....
with irregularly-shaped windows edged in magenta
Magenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
. Its appearance has drawn comparisons with a fish tank. The development was beset by financial difficulties, going into administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
and finally finished in 2009. Many people refuse to visit the venue as they consider it a waste of money and an extreme eyesore. A sound production and music industry practice course is run in the building by Major key studios (http://www.majorkeystudios.com) and is provided by the University of Wolverhampton.
A large portion of the town centre has been procured by Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
for a development of a superstore. The store and its car park would have sat on the site of the current police station and the surrounding street, including the site of Cronehills Primary School. Cronehills staff and pupils have now relocated to the newly built Eaton Valley Primary School, which opened in September 2009 on the edge of Sandwell Valley Park to make way for future development.
Religion
West Bromwich is a culturally diverse area with many places of worship for several different religions.The Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
provides the most places of worship across the geographically wider West Bromwich Deanery (taking in West Bromwich, Hill Top, Stone Cross, Carter's Green, Holy Trinity, All Saint's, St Andrew's, St Francis, Friar Park and others) which contains nine Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
churches and the newly formed West Bromwich Network Church
West Bromwich Network Church
West Bromwich Network Church is a new Christian church that was planted in January 2007 by Rev. Evan Cockshaw, working on behalf of the Church of England's Lichfield Diocese, in partnership with West Bromwich & District YMCA and the Walter Stanley Trust...
. Other Christian denominations are present, including Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, Methodist, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Elim Pentecostal, Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
and other independent churches. The deanery of West Bromwich is under the Diocese of Lichfield
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km² The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England...
.
West Bromwich has three main mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, two on Dartmouth Street. 47 Dartmouth Street accommodates up to 400 worshippers during busy periods like Friday Prayers and Eid Prayer
Eid Prayer
The Eid prayer was prescribed in the first year after the hijra. It is Wajib and Muhammad always performed these prayers.-Procedure:...
s: it is mainly a Pakistani traditional mosque, soon to be reconstructed. 67 Dartmouth Street was the first mosque in the area, of Bangladeshi origin: it holds many programs and events. It will be shortly moved to a larger location. There is also another mosque, Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyah, which is renowned as the Madrasa of West Bromwich. It is situated at 1a-1b Moor street, and was previously a church. The transformation begin in 2001 and it now has Islamic evening classes and a big prayer facility. This mosque is also managed by Sunni Bangladeshi but attracts more citizens from all backgrounds, including Pakistanis and Arabs, because of its beautiful Qu'ran recitations. The building is also used for National Curriculum English, Maths and science tuition by members of the wider community, including people of other faiths. The tuition centre is run by local teachers and is called Cohort Tuition.
There is also a very large number of Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s in the area. There are many Gurudwaras. Sikhs have settled in the area since 1950, when the first influx of immigrants came.
Hindus
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
have had a formal place of worship in West Bromwich since the opening of the Shree Krishna Mandir in 1974, in a converted church once called Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, which had closed in 1971. It was damaged by fire on 8 December 1992, the same date that a Mandir in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and another in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
were damaged in arson attacks. It was believed to have been connected to religious violence in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
that was spreading into Britain.
West Bromwich also has a significant black Afro-Caribbean
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
population.
In 1875, being locked out of a packed Evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
meeting in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
caused John Blackham of Ebenezer Congregational Church to start the Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Movement.
Transport
For roads, the M5 motorwayM5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
between the West Midlands and the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
and its junction with the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
passes through the town, making West Bromwich at the hub of Britain's motorway network. 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 Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
.
West Bromwich railway station
West Bromwich railway station
West Bromwich railway station was a major intermediate station on the Great Western Railway's Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level Line. It opened in 1854 and served the town of West Bromwich in the English West Midlands...
was opened by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on its route
Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level Line
The Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line was part of the Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside route. As the name suggests, it ran between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level in England...
between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level
Wolverhampton Low Level railway station
Wolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...
on 14 November 1854. The trackbed of that line is now served by the Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
light rail (tram) system. The nearest main-line railway station is now Sandwell and Dudley railway station
Sandwell and Dudley railway station
Sandwell and Dudley railway station is on the Stour Valley Section of the West Coast Main Line, on the outskirts of Oldbury town centre on Bromford Lane , England....
, approximately one mile away in Oldbury
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell.-Local government:...
town centre.
The nearest airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
which is approximately 16 miles (25.7 km) away, is Birmingham International Airport
Birmingham International Airport (UK)
Birmingham Airport , formerly Birmingham International Airport is an airport located east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands, England...
.
Carters Green, High Street and the beginning of Birmingham Road formed the original main route through West Bromwich as part of Thomas Telford's
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
London to Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
route in the early 19th century. This later formed part of the A41 road
A41 road
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
which links London with Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, taking in the midlands, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
on the way. However, the route through central West Bromwich was by-passed in the 1970s on the completion of the Expressway, a two-mile (3 km) dual carriageway beginning at Carters Green and finishing at Junction 1 of the M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
(which had opened a decade earlier) on Birmingham Road. The original A41 road through the centre of West Bromwich was downgraded to an unclassified route.
Around this time, West Bromwich Ringway was opened, circulating the main shopping areas.
Further revolution came to the local road network in 1995 with the completion of the Black Country Spine Road which stretches from Carters Green to Bilston
Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
via Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
, forming another new section of the A41.
Education
The town is served by 4 secondary schools: Sandwell Academy, Phoenix Collegiate Academy, George Salter Collegiate Academy and Q3 Academy.The town has 21 primary schools in total. Some of which are St. John Bosco RC Primary School, All Saints CofE Primary School, St Mary Magdalane, Hateley Heath, and Eaton Valley.
Sandwell Academy serves the whole of West Bromwich (along with the rest of Sandwell), Phoenix Collegiate Academy serves the area around Hateley Heath
Hateley Heath
Hateley Heath is a residential area of West Bromwich in the West Midlands of England.-History:It was developed during the early 1950s to rehouse people from town centre slum clearances, with hundreds of new homes being built by the local council...
, Tantany
Tantany
Tantany is a residential area of West Bromwich. It is situated to the north of the town centre and consists predominantly of council housing constructed during the 1920s...
, Charlemont and Grove Vale
Charlemont and Grove Vale
Charlemont and Grove Vale is a political ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the English Midlands constituency of West Bromwich East....
. George Salter Collegiate Academy serves the west of the town near the border with Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
. Q3 Academy serves the north-eastern part of the town around Great Barr
Great Barr
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...
.
The area was also served by Churchfields High School, approximately one mile to the north of the town centre. Due to constant closure rumours, less and less pupils began enrolling to attend the school and it was closed in July 2001. The site has since been redeveloped for housing.
Sport
The town's sport scene is dominated by West Bromwich Albion football clubWest Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
, who were founded in the town in 1879 and played at a stadium near the town centre until they moved to their current home, The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, Sandwell, England, with a capacity of 26,484. It has been the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the...
on Birmingham Road (directly on the border with Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
) in 1900. Although they are now in their 109th year at the stadium, all traces of the original structures are long gone; the oldest stand is the Halfords Lane Stand that was built in 1979 and the other three stands were built between 1991 and 2001. Recently the Halfords Lane Stand was refurbished and is now called the West Stand.
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
.
The club has won seven major trophies; five FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
s, one Football League title and one Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. Their most recent major trophy came in 1968 when they won the FA Cup with a 1–0 win over Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. They enjoyed further success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they finished in the top five league positions three times in four seasons as well as reaching a UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
quarter-final. However, since relegation from the old Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
in 1986 (this division became the Premier League in 1992) they have played in the top level of English football for a total of just four seasons. This spell of relatively disappointing performances included 16 successive seasons without top division football, two of which were spent in the third tier of the English professional league system.
Notable former players of West Bromwich Albion include Ronnie Allen
Ronnie Allen
Ronald "Ronnie" Allen was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 276 goals. He also won five caps for England national team...
(who later had a relatively unsuccessful spell as the club's manager), Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
(who was later the club's manager), Laurie Cunningham
Laurie Cunningham
Laurence Paul "Laurie" Cunningham was an England international footballer. When he joined Real Madrid, he became the first English player in the club's history....
(one of the first black players to play for the England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, but who died in a car crash in 1989 aged only 33), Tony Brown (the club's all time leading goalscorer) and Jeff Astle
Jeff Astle
Jeffrey "The King" Astle was an English footballer. He played 361 games for West Bromwich Albion, scoring 174 goals, and was one of the most iconic players in the history of the club...
(who scored the club's winning goal in the 1968 FA Cup final and remained a cult figure among Albion fans).
Notable people
- John BainbridgeJohn Bainbridge (author)John Bainbridge is an English author and campaigner for countryside preservation and access. He read Literature and Social History at the University of East Anglia....
– Author and countryside access campaigner, born in West Bromwich, raised in Great Barr. - Francis AsburyFrancis AsburyBishop Francis Asbury was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now The United Methodist Church in the United States...
– Methodist bishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the... - Denise LewisDenise LewisDenise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
– heptathleteHeptathlonA heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:... - Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
– singer with Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
Born in West Bromwich. - Keith Law, Songwriter for Velvett FoggVelvett FoggVelvett Fogg are a cult British psychedelic rock band. Tony Iommi was a member in mid-1968, but soon left to form Black Sabbath. Their lone eponymous album was released in January 1969, and re-released on CD by Sanctuary Records in 2002.-Development:...
born in West Bromwich. - Major NicholsMajor NicholsMajor Albert Nichols was the last of the craftsmen cycle makers of the West Midlands of England. He was born in West Bromwich in his father's cycle shop at 5 Reform Street. Major was a frequent name in Birmingham and the Black Country.He trained in the electrical industry and served in the Royal...
– lightweightLightweightLight-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
Racing bicycleRacing bicycleA racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale...
manufacturer - Dr. Stewart DonaldsonStewart DonaldsonStewart I. Donaldson is a psychologist, specializing in evaluation science and optimal human and organizational functioning. He holds appointments as Professor and Chair of Psychology, Director of the Institute of Organizational and Program Evaluation Research, and Dean of the School of...
– Author, psychologist, evaluation research scientist - Madeleine CarrollMadeleine CarrollEdith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:Carroll was born at 32 Herbert Street in West Bromwich, England. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with a B.A. degree...
– actor - Jana BellinJana BellinJana Bellin , chess player, was awarded her WIM of chess title in 1969, and WGM title in 1982....
– chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster - Phil LynottPhil LynottPhilip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
– Thin LizzyThin LizzyThin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums... - Ian HillIan HillIan Hill is a founding member and bassist for the Birmingham-based Grammy award winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest....
– Judas PriestJudas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
bassist - K.K. Downing – Judas PriestJudas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
guitarist - Dr Karl ShukerKarl ShukerKarl P. N. Shuker is a British zoologist, cryptozoologist, and author living in the West Midlands, England. He works as a full-time freelance zoological consultant, media consultant, and noted author specializing in cryptozoology.- Career :...
– zoologist, cryptozoologist and author - Frank SkinnerFrank SkinnerFrank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
– comedian - Brian WaldenBrian WaldenAlastair Brian Walden is a British journalist and broadcaster who was a Labour Member of Parliament for a decade. He is the father of actor Ben Walden....
– Member of Parliament, journalist and broadcasterPresenterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show... - Matthew MarsdenMatthew MarsdenMatthew Marsden is an English actor and singer. In the United Kingdom he is widely remembered for playing the character Chris Collins in the popular soap opera, Coronation Street. However, he is best known in the USA as a film actor. He has played the roles of Paris in Helen of Troy, Dr...
– actor - Cindy Kent – former singer with The SettlersThe Settlers (band)The Settlers were a folk-oriented group from the English West Midlands , who formed in the mid 1960s. They started out as a trio comprising Cindy Kent , Mike Jones and John Fyffe , but added a bassist, Mansel Davies.-Formation...
and currently a broadcasterPremier Christian RadioPremier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station wholly owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust.Premier Christian Radio broadcasts Christian programming including news, debate, teachings and Christian music to London and the surrounding areas.It operates on three frequencies... - Steve WebbSteve WebbSteven John Webb, better known as Steve Webb , is an English Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Thornbury & Yate and the Minister of State for Pensions.-Background:...
– Member of Parliament, and Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... - John Byrne – comic book artist (Moved to Canada when 8)
- Lee WoodleyLee WoodleyLee Woodley , better known by his boxing alias Young Mutley, is a British boxer. He is a former British Welterweight champion. His professional record is 22 wins from 25 fights, 12 by knockout. He made his professional debut on 3 September 1999...
– boxer - Gary BullGary BullGary William Bull is an English footballer currently playing for Boston Town.Having been a trainee at Southampton, Bull joined Cambridge United in March 1988. Bull first came to prominence at Barnet, scoring the goal that took them into the Football League for the first time...
– footballer - Anne AstonAnne AstonAnne Aston is an actress and television presenter best known as the hostess of the The Golden Shot in the late 1960s and early 1970s....
– Real name Anne Lloyd. TV presenter and actress. Lived in Old Meeting Street. - Thomas GuinaneThomas GuinaneThomas Joseph Guinane was a Sergeant in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and holder of the Military Medal; it may also be that he was twice mentioned in dispatches but there is no formal evidence to corroborate this....
– Winner of the military medal in World War One - Mike Collins – Comic book artist, attended Churchfields High School
- Reuben FarleyReuben FarleyReuben Farley was born in West Bromwich on 17 January 1826 and died in 1899. He was the eighth of ten children of the mining engineer Thomas Farley ....
– First Mayor of West Bromwich - Al AtkinsAl AtkinsAlan John "Al" Atkins is an English heavy metal vocalist, perhaps best known for his association with Judas Priest...
Founder member of Judas Priest,and still lives in West Bromwich.
Quotes
- "I would rather spend a holiday in TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to chose between living in West Bromwich or FlorenceFlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, I would make straight for West Bromwich." J.B. Priestley, English JourneyEnglish JourneyEnglish Journey is a work of non-fiction by J.B. Priestley published in 1934.Commissioned by publisher Victor Gollancz to write a study of contemporary England, Priestley recounts his travels around England in 1933. He shares his observations on the social problems he witnesses, and appeals for...
See also
- West Bromwich Building SocietyWest Bromwich Building SocietyWest Bromwich Building Society is a UK building society, with its headquarters in West Bromwich, in the West Midlands of England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. It was the official club sponsor of West Bromwich Albion F.C...
- Charlemont and Grove ValeCharlemont and Grove ValeCharlemont and Grove Vale is a political ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the English Midlands constituency of West Bromwich East....
- West Bromwich Mountaineering ClubWest Bromwich Mountaineering ClubWest Bromwich Mountaineering Club is one of the oldest and most active climbing and hill-walking clubs in the West Midlands. It currently meets at "The Globe" in Reform Street every Thursday night and has a membership of almost 300...
- Primary schools in SandwellPrimary schools in SandwellThere are many minor primary schools in the Tipton, Blackheath, Warley, Great Bridge and Wednesbury districts of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell...