Made in Smethwick

DigVentures has been appointed by Chance Heritage Trust to deliver an exciting season of community events and activities in Smethwick. The project is funded by a Community Renewal Fund Grant and aims to reconnect local residents with the town’s industrial heritage, as part of a mission to bring two disused former industrial sites – Chance Brothers Glassworks and Soho Foundry and Mint – back into use, and give them a new lease of life within the community.

Smethwick’s industrial heritage

Smethwick, in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, has a rich and varied heritage; from medieval archaeology linked to the growth of other towns in the area, such as West Bromwich, to a Cold War era nuclear bunker. But the town’s industrial heritage is perhaps its most significant; the town made a huge impact during the industrial revolution and beyond.

From the late 18th century onwards, the surrounding area was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution and its complex industrial landscape of canals, railways, factories, houses and public buildings has an internationally significant story, both of how it was a pioneer of British engineering, manufacturing, enterprise, local government and social reform, and also of its context of the British Empire and Commonwealth.

The Chance Brothers Glassworks, located on Spon Lane and stretching along the canals, and Soho Foundry and Mint sites, located on Foundry Lane, bookend the Galton Valley Conservation Area, and represent two important phases in the borough’s history. Both sites are located within the Galton Valley Conservation Area, part of the Black Country UNESCO Geo-Park.

Behind the remains of these disused buildings lie over 200 years of human stories, of men, women and children, and what it was like to live, work, and grow up here.

Chance Brothers and Company Glassworks

The former Chance Brothers Glassworks was the world’s leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glass-making technology for over 150 years, operating from 1824 to 1976 and finally closing in 1981. In that time, the factory produced glass used in places like Houses of Parliament, the Big Ben clockface in Elizabeth Tower, and the Crystal Palace in London. It also developed specialist glass for telescopes and lanterns, and in 1848 began working on lenses which were eventually used in around 2,500 lighthouses around the world – both across the British Isles, and throughout the former British Empire.

The nine-acre site is now a Scheduled Monument with eight Grade II listed buildings, including the iconic ‘Seven Storey’ building, all of which are in varying states of disrepair.

Soho Foundry and Mint

The Soho Foundry was constructed in 1795 for the manufacture of steam engines, the first dedicated factory of this kind in the world. The site is considered as one of the founders of the great industrial lineage in which Britain was pre-eminent in the world for much of the 19th century (see HE listing). It was of pivotal importance to the Industrial Revolution and the development and evolution of mass production techniques. Closely associated with the pioneering endeavours of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch, the site became home to the new Soho Mint building in 1860. The Foundry is Grade II* Listed and a Scheduled Monument. The site was acquired by W&T Avery Ltd in 1895 and they continue to operate from a significant area of the site manufacturing weighing equipment. The Foundry and Mint buildings are now unused with a temporary roof protecting the Foundry structures.

Chance Heritage Trust

Established in 2015, Chance Heritage Trust is dedicated to the restoration and protection of former industrial buildings in Sandwell (including Chance Glassworks and Soho Foundry and Mint), and to the advancement of education about the social, cultural, architectural, and economic history they represent.

They plan to bring both sites back into new working life by restoring the remaining buildings and converting them into a combination of educational space, heritage center, café, archive facilities, as well as residential units. Funded by a Community Renewal Grant, the project is motivated by the enormous positive impact that heritage-led regeneration at these two sites can have on the whole area, and includes feasibility work to engage and consult with the local community about their development.

The Activity Programme

The Activity Programme raises the cultural and historic profile of both former industrial sites, exploring the town’s position at the forefront of British technology and engineering, and also its place within the context of the former British Empire. It reconnects local communities with these disused spaces by creating opportunities to discover the history of their neighbourhood, acquire new skills and experiences, and hold space for people to share memories, forge new connections, and shape proposals for how the sites should be restored.

The hybrid online and in person Activity Programme makes it possible for local place-based communities and online interest-based audiences to explore:

• Sandwell’s industrial heritage, Chance Glassworks and Soho Foundry & Mint
• Industrial heritage and STEM subjects
• Impact of industry on climate and environment
• People and the ‘Commonwealth’

Project Partners

Design and delivery of the Activity Programme includes partners and contributors from University of Birmingham, The Jessop Consultancy, The Living Memory Project, Black Country Living Museum, Canal and River Trust, and many local cultural groups and social organisations, including charities, faith-based organisations, volunteer groups and heritage-based bodies, who will provide links into Sandwell’s local communities.