Smethwick Old Church

Smethwick Old Church is a church that was consecrated in 1732 and partly rebuilt in 1963. It is constructed of brick in Flemish bond and has a slate roof. The building includes a west tower, a nave, a narrow chancel, and a northeast vestry that was rebuilt in 1963. The four-bay nave features chamfered quoins, a cornice that extends around the tower, and a brick parapet. The windows have stone surrounds with round heads, keystones, and impost blocks. The tower parapet, which sits above a cornice, is swept upwards at the corners. The bell openings are louvred and have surrounds similar to the nave windows, each accompanied by an iron clock face. Below the bell openings is a band, and beneath that is a blind round opening. The west doorway has an outer round brick arch and an inner stone surround with a round head. The chancel has a square east end and convex walls connecting it to the nave. The east wall features a segmental pediment above the cornice and a window similar to those in the nave. On either side of the chancel, in the east wall of the nave, there are doorways with round windows above, under brick arches. The left-hand doorway is now blocked, while the right-hand one is obscured by the 20th-century vestry.

Inside, there is a west gallery added in 1759, which has a timber front supported by two fluted timber Doric antae. The walls are adorned with a dentilled cornice, with bays separated by a giant order. The round chancel arch is flanked by pilasters. Notable wall tablets include one on the north respond of the chancel arch dedicated to John Hinckley, who died in 1740, and another on the south respond to Dorothy Parkes, who died in 1727. Historically, Dorothy Parkes of Birmingham donated funds to build a chapel on her lands in Smethwick. The church was assigned a district in 1842 and does not have a specific dedication.