Foundry Lane: 1910-2003

1910

 In 1910, a county boundary shifted. Handsworth was adopted by Birmingham, becoming part of Warwickshire. This meant that more of the Black Patch was now in Birmingham, while still isolated from it by the railway. At about the same time, the building that would eventually house Commercial X-Rays Ltd. was being built with one part in Staffordshire and the rest in Warwickshire.

The map shows the Staffordshire-Warwickshire county boundary in yellow, the Handsworth-Smethwick urban district boundary in orange, and the 1974 Birmingham-Sandwell metroplitan boundary in pink. The area in white was part of Smethwick, Staffordshire until 1974. The area within the orange line was part of Staffordshire county until it was annexed by Birmingham in 1910, becoming part of Warwickshire county until the 1974 reorganisation and creation of West Midlands county. The area within the yellow line was part of Birmingham, Warwickshire until 1974, and part of Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands thereafter. The blue stippled area represents the part of Handsworth, Staffordshire that became part of Birmingham, Warwickshire and subsequently became part of Smethwick, West Midlands. The pink stippled area represents the part of Birmingham, Warwickshire that became part of Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands.

 

1918

 By 1918, the north side of Foundry Lane was pretty much built up, as the building outlines show. The Handworth-Smethwick boundary is shown in pink.

 

1938

 1938 may have been the high point of industrialisation along Foundry Lane.

 

1945

 In the midst of war, two things come to the fore: the bombings, and the establishment of Commercial X-Rays in the old Morris building. The Soho Foundry Museum is said to have maps of bomb strikes, but I haven't seen/copied them.

 

1960-2003

 There's not much written about this area in this period. Big operations have been shifting to the newer suburbs and regional towns, assisted by planning policy, transport infrastructure, changes in technology, and by the 70s, changes in the manufacturing industry as a whole. Industrial decline has set in.

For Foundry Lane this means a new kind of change. In fact, it might be the first time things have been quiet since the mid-1800s.  

The 1974 metrolpolitan boundary between Sandwell and Birmingham is shown in pink. Both are now part of West Midlands county.

Foundry Lane in 2003 is undergoing another change. A huge regeneratin scheme is producing a variety of changes, from canal renovations to tenant relocations and a community-based art project.

(... to be continued.)