Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in West Bromwich (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: The Public, Sandwell Valley Country Park, and Rowley Hills. Also, be sure to include Oldbury Library in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in West Bromwich (England).
Table of Contents
The Public
Art gallery in West Bromwich, England. The Public was a multi-purpose venue and art gallery in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, at the forefront of a regional regeneration programme which was – by late 2013– to also bring Europe's biggest Tesco, a multiplex cinema, restaurants and a new retail centre. It closed in November 2013.
Despite indications that the arts centre would be at the forefront of West Bromwich's 'Golden Future' on 9 May 2013 it was announced that Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council were in discussion with Sandwell College to potentially lease The Public for use as a sixth-form college. The College's own sixth-form is oversubscribed with six applicants for every place.
In 2012–13 there were 380,000 visitors to the building from all sections of society – an increase of over 40% from the previous year. The Public's mission is to be a place where people come to create and make things for themselves and to enjoy other people's creativity – an echo of Cedric Price's concept of a Fun Palace. In 2012, The Guardian's Robert Clark described The Public as "a playground for adults" and that "maybe that's a good role for a contemporary art gallery to embrace".
It is also home to 27 small companies as well as the Sandwell Arts Trust, who manage the building. Between them they employ around 120 people with a further 120 digital media apprentices.
An article in the previously critical Express and Star in 2012 demonstrated that The Public was finally winning local people over and had found its purpose, and that the odds of it having become one of the region's success stories had been quite remote in the recent past.
The Public closed on 23 November 2013.[1]
Sandwell Valley Country Park
Country park in West Bromwich, England. Sandwell Valley Country Park is a country park, run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, in Sandwell Valley, on the River Tame in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich in West Midlands, England.[2]
Rowley Hills
Nature preserve in Oldbury, England. The Rowley Hills are a range of hills located in the West Midlands county in England. The range comprises Turner's Hill, Bury Hill, Portway Hill and Darby's Hill. The ridge forms part of the east/west watershed between the River Severn and the River Trent, with rainfall on the western side going to the Bristol Channel via the Severn, and rainfall on the eastern side ending up in the North sea via the Trent. The hills are situated east of the town of Dudley in Rowley Regis, on the border between the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley and Sandwell.
The largest hill, Turner's Hill, is the highest point in the West Midlands, with an altitude of 269 metres (883 ft) above sea level. Views from the summit include the Clee Hills, Clent Hills, Cannock Chase, and much of Birmingham and the Black Country. The height has also led to the construction of two radio transmission towers on the summit.
Portway Hill is the site of a nature reserve of the Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country.
Rowley Rag, a form of Dolerite notably used to make kerbstones, was formerly quarried from the Rowley Hills.
Over the centuries that the hills have been inhabited there have been four churches located there, all named St. Giles, in the village of Rowley.[3]
Oldbury Library
The Municipal Buildings are based on the north side of Halesowen Street in Oldbury, West Midlands, England. The structure served as the headquarters of Oldbury Borough Council.[4]
Swan Village Gas Works
Gas company in West Bromwich, England. Swan Village Gas Works, is a historical manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom for the production of coal gas, or, as it was known in the vernacular, "town gas". The works are situated in Swan Village, a part of West Bromwich in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell. Most of the works have been demolished although a few relics survive. Parts of the works are still in operation today as part of the National Grid.[5]
Swan Village
Swan Village is an area of West Bromwich, England. The population taken at the 2011 census can be found in the West Bromwich listing.
It is now divided by the Black Country New Road and was the site of the Swan Village Gas Works. Nearby was the junction of the Ridgacre Branch with the Wednesbury Old Canal, both now disused.
The Great Bridge line closed in 1964 as a result of the Beeching cuts with Swan Village station eventually facing closure in 1972. A level crossing was situated at one end of the former station, and Black Lake tram stop on the West Midlands Metro route is situated on the other side of this crossing.[6]