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Smethwick Old Church

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"Smethwick, the largest and most populous part of Harborne parish, is now divided into two ecclesiastical districts and has two churches.
Smethwick Old Church, or Chapel, was built in 1723 and has a square tower. The perpetual curacy is in the patronage of trustees, and incumbency of the Rev Edward Addenbrooke, BA."
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851)
Smethwick Old Church was a chapelry of Harborne parish, details of which can be found on the Harborne parish page.

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    Bibliography

    A History of the Old Church, Smethwick,
    together with background notes & some genealogies'
    by AC & D Guest
    Published 1997, by AC & D Guest, Warley.

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    Cemeteries

    A transcription of the Monumental Inscriptions of Smethwick Old Church has been published by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

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    Church History

    Smethwick Old Church was originally a chapelry to St Peter, Harborne, consecrated in 1732. The area became a district chapelry in 1842 and was designated the parish of Smethwick in 1892.
    The church has no dedication. It was originally known as Parkes's Chapel (after the founder, Dorothy Parkes) or Smethwick Chapel. When Holy Trinity church was built in 1837, it became known as the Old Chapel and eventually Smethwick Old Church.
    The church was built in 1723-28 in Church Road and is a structure of brick with stone dressings, in the Classical style, consisting of a chancel, aisled nave, north and south transepts, and a west tower containing two bells.

    Postcard of Old Church c1915.

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    Church Records

    Church of England Registers
    The register of Smethwick Old Church commences in 1732. The original registers for the period 1732-1962 (Bapts), 1732-1789 & 1840-1989 (Mar) & 1732-1971(Bur) are deposited at Sandwell Archives.
    Bishops Transcripts for Smethwick Old Church for the period 1774-1857 (with many gaps) are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.

    Pat Molloy's Transcriptions of the Old Church registers covers Bapts, Mar & Bur from 1732 - 1851.

    Nonconformist Church Registers
    Records of Nonconformist churches in Smethwick can be found on the Smethwick page.

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    Description & Travel

    You can see pictures of Smethwick Old Church which are provided by:

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    Gazetteers

    The transcription of the section for Smethwick Old Church from the Topographical Dictionary of England (1859)

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    Maps

    You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP024875 (Lat/Lon: 52.485414, -1.966087), Smethwick Old Church which are provided by: