Description

SANDWELL MB CHURCH ROAD/THE UPLANDS
SP 08 NW
Smethwick
9/59 Smethwick Old Church
(formerly listed as
Smethwick Chapel)
21.3.49
GV II*

Church. Consecrated 1732, partly rebuilt in 1963. Brick in Flemish bond
with slate roof. Comprises a west tower, nave, narrow chancel, and north-
east vestry rebuilt in 1963. The four-bay nave has chamfered quoins, a
cornice which continues around the tower, and a brick parapet. The windows
have stone surrounds with round heads, keystones, and impost blocks. The
tower parapet, above a cornice, is swept upwards at the corners. The bell
openings are louvred and have surrounds similar to those of the nave windows.
Attached to each is an iron clock face. Below is a band, and below that a
blind round opening. The west doorway has an outer round brick arch and an
inner stone surround with round head. The chancel has a square east end,
and convex walls joining it to the nave. The east wall has a segmental
pediment above the cornice, and a window similar to those of the nave. To
each side of the chancel, in the east wall of the nave, there is a doorway
with a round window above, under a brick arch. The left-hand doorway is now
blocked, and the right-hand one is covered by the C20 vestry. Interior: west
gallery, added in 1759, has timber front carried on two fluted timber Doric
antae. Walls have dentilled cornice, with bays separated by a giant order.
The round chancel arch is flanked by pilasters. Wall tablets include one
on the north respond of the chancel arch to John Hinckley, died 1740, and one
on the south respond to Dorothy Parkes, died 1727. History: Dorothy Parkes of
Birmingham left money to build a chapel on her lands in Smethwick. It was
asigned a district in 1842 and has no dedication. (VCH, pp 123 & 124).

Listing NGR: SP0200187646

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Smethwick Old Church at Wikipedia
• Smethwick Old Church official website
• Wikidata Q17535779

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)