Smethwick

Town in the West Midlands, England, 5 km/3 mi northwest of Birmingham, of which it is now effectively a suburb; population (2001) 11,000. Its principal industries are engineering, brewing, and the manufacture of weighing machines, metals, screws, nuts and bolts, and optical, technical, and domestic glass. There are also foundries.

Smethwick was the site of the factory where some of the leading engineers of the Industrial Revolution – Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and William Murdoch – developed their innovations in steam power and gas lighting.