Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BROMWICH (West)

BROMWICH (West), a town, a parish, two subdistricts, and a district in Stafford. The town stands on the river Tame, on branches of the Birmingham canal, and on the Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the Stour Valley and South Stafford railways, 4¾ miles NW by W of Birmingham. It was, at the close of last century, a rural village amid a barren heath; but is now a town upwards of 3 miles long, all astir with industry, and progressing rapidly. The High street runs north and south, and is 1½ mile long; many handsome streets go east and west; and public buildings, churches, factories, and fine private residences show a grand aggregate of striking feature. St. George's hall, in Paradise street, originally a Wesleyan chapel, is a tasteful edifice, accommodates about 708 persons, and serves for concerts, lectures, and public meetings. The market place, at the south end of High street, is well supplied. The police station, erected in 1851, is the residence of officers with a strong body of men. All-Saints church, on an eminence at the north-east side of the parish, is an ancient structure, of nave, chancel, and aisles with a tower; and contains a curious Norman font, two very ancient effigies, and a memorial window of 1854 to the late Earl of Dartmouth. Christ Church, in High street, was built in 1828, at a cost of £18,446; and is a stone edifice, in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, 114 feet high. Trinity church, in Trinity road, was built in 1841, at a cost of nearly £3,000; and is a brick structure, in the early English style, with a turreted tower. St. James' church, at Hill-Top, was built also in 1841; and is a neat brick structure, without a tower. St. Peter's church, in Oldbury lane, was built in 1859; and is a neat stone edifice, with a small tower. An Independent chapel is a pleasing Doric structure; a Wesleyan chapel is a square brick building of 1835, raised at a cost of £3,401; and the Roman Catholic chapel is an edifice in the early English style, with a turret at each angle. There are likewise, within the parish, two other Independent chapels, five other Wesleyan, two Baptist, six Primitive Methodist, and one New Connexion Methodist. All-Saints schools, in All-Saints-street, were erected in 1851, and form a handsome pile. The Temperance and Educational mission, in High street, contains popular library and reading rooms, and has lectures during winter. The workhouse, in Hallam street, was erected in 1858, at a cost of about £27,000; is in the Gothic style; and has capacity for 600 inmates. The new cemetery, on an eminence near the old church, was opened in 1859; comprises about 8 acres; and has two Gothic chapels. An infirmary, to cost about £5,500, was founded in 1869.

The prosperity of the town has arisen from rich local mines of ironstone and coal. Extensive manufactures are carried on in all the departments of Birmingham hardware; also in malt, malt liquors, chemicals, bricks, cement, and paper. A grand gas-work, authorized in 1825, and constructed at a cost of £120,000, has an aggregate of nearly 150 miles of pipes, and supplies, in addition to West Bromwich itself, parts of Birmingham, Wednesbury, Dudley, Walsall, Darlaston, Tipton, and Great Bridge. Two stations of the Birmingham and Wolverhampton railway, of the names of West Bromwich and Swan village, each with telegraph, are at the town; and four stations of the Stour Valley and South Stafford railway are within a mile of the parish church. Numerous branches of canals also give great facility for traffic. A weekly market is held on Saturday; and a pleasure fair on 1 Nov. There are a head post office,‡ two banking offices, and three chief inns.-Pop., 17,024. Houses, 3,363.

The parish comprises 5,710 acres. Real property, £126,660; of which £35,961 are in mines, and £25,016 in iron-works. Pop. in 1841, 26,121; in 1861, 41,795. Houses, 8,109. The surface is pleasingly undulated; and some of it is in a state of high cultivation. The manor belonged, in 1230, to the barons of Dudley; in 1293, to Walton de Everons; in 1533 to the Stanleys; in 1660, to Sir Richard Shelton; and in 1682 to the family of Legge, one of whom became Baron Dartmouth, and was the ancestor of the present Earl. A Benedictine priory was founded here, in the time of Henry II. or of Richard I., by William de Offney; was given, at the dissolution, to Cardinal Wolsey; and passed soon to the Legges. Sandwell Park house rose on or near the site of the priory; is a square structure of stuccoed brick: and serves now as a training college for servants. The park itself possesses much beauty; and is now let in parts of from 20 to 30 acres. A "holy well" was within the park; and a chalybeate spring is at Wigmore. The livings of All-Saints, Christ Church, and St. James are vicarages, and those of Trinity and St. Peter are p. curacies, in the diocese of Lichfield. Value of All-Saints, £530;* of Christ-Church, £300; of St. James, £300; of Trinity, £200;* of St. Peter, not reported. Patron of All-Saints and St. James', the Earl of Dartmouth; of Trinity, Trustees; of Christ Church, the Earl of Dartmouth and Trustees; of St. Peter, the Bishop of Lichfield.

The two subdistricts are West-Bromwich-South-West and West-Bromwich-North-East; they are divided from each other by the road from Birmingham to Dudley; and they are jointly conterminate with the parish. The district comprehends also Wednesbury subdistrict, conterminate with Wednesbury parish; Handsworth subdistrict, conterminate with Handsworth parish; and Oldbury subdistrict, containing Oldbury and Warley Salop townships, and Warley Wigorn hamlet, all in Halesowen parish, and electorally in Worcester. Acres, 19,364. Poor-rates, £23,592. Pop. in 1841, 52,578; in 1861, 92,480. Houses, 17,567. Marriages, 858; births, 3,965,-of which 186 were illegitimate; deaths, 1,681,-of which 834 were at ages under 8 years, and 22 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 8,013; births, 34,686; deaths, 19,807. The places of worship in 1851 were 18 of the Church of England, with 13,020 sittings; 9 of Independents, with 3,966 s.; 6 of Baptists, with 1,371 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 300 s.; 13 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 6,434 s.; 5 of New Connexion Methodists, with 1,763 s.; 12 of Primitive Methodists, with 2,808 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 300 s.; 2 undefined, with 300 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 344 s. The schools were 36 public day schools, with 4,486 scholars; 82 private day schools, with 1,964 s.; 51 Sunday schools, with 11,012 s.; and 1 evening school for adults, with 43 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, two subdistricts, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: West Bromwich AP/CP       West Bromwich RegD/PLU       Staffordshire AncC
Place names: BROMWICH     |     BROMWICH WEST     |     WEST BROMWICH
Place: West Bromwich

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