Cape Hill
| Cape Hill | |
|---|---|
| urban area | |
  Cape Hill Location within theWest Midlands | |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SMETHWICK |
| Postcode district | B66 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
Cape Hillis an area ofSmethwick,in theMetropolitan Borough of Sandwell,West Midlands,England,2+3⁄4miles (4.4 km) west ofBirmingham City Centre.The area includes Waterloo Road nearShireland Collegiate Academyand the High Street near Victoria Park; it bordersBirminghamat theA457Dudley Road. Cape Hill is Smethwick's busiest shopping area.
History
[edit]The area began to be developed in the latter part of the 19th century. Henry Mitchell bought a large plot of land alongside the road and built his brewery there in 1879. This becameMitchells & Butlers Brewerywhen he entered into partnership with William Butler in 1897. The brewery grounds even included a county standard cricket pitch whereWorcestershire CCCplayed an annual match.[1]During the 19th and early 20th centuries the area became a thriving industrial and commercial area and in the 1950s and 60s it was a centre of immigration from the Commonwealth.
Facing each other on opposite corners of Durban Road are Cape Hill Primary School and the building which was once the local dispensary. Both were constructed in red brick with terracotta facings in 1888. The school is still providing education for the local children[2]but the dispensary is now an "at risk" Grade II Listed Building.[3]There have been plans to turn the building into an emergency refuge for asylum seekers, a casino and a restaurant but none of these has come to fruition.[4]
Smethwick had several cinemas which had all closed by 1970. The earliest was the Cape Electric Cinema, built in 1911.[5]On Windmill Lane was a skating rink built in 1909, but this was sold and converted into a cinema, named the Rink Picture House in 1912. In 1928 the cinema was taken over by Denman Picture Houses, the building demolished and the current building, designed by William T Benslyn erected. It was renamed the Gaumont Cinema in 1948. In 1964, the cinema closed and the building was repurposed for a bingo hall, eventually taken over by theMecca Bingochain. The building waslistedon 4 October 2000. It has a three-storey, 120 feet (37 m) frontage to Windmill Lane. The listing particulars describe theart-decostyleauditoriumas extremely wide and of double-height.[6]The bingo club closed in 2005, and the building was used as a function hall named the Victoria Suite. The building was put up for sale in 2015; its cinema interior intact except for the removal of rows of seating.[7][8]The interior was destroyed in a suspected arson attack on 4 May 2024.[9]
Governance
[edit]Cape Hill forms part of theSoho and Victoria wardfor elections toSandwell council.[10]
Housing
[edit]
Bearwood House on Bearwood Road was a 15-storey block of flats built in 1965 using the French, Sectra system, the British rights to which had been acquired byJohn Laing.The system made use ofprefabricatedsteelformwork.[11]It was reported to be the first time the method had been used in theMidlands.Bearwood House contained 89 flats each with a balcony, and had a games room in the basement.[12][13]It was demolished section-by-section over a five week period in 2008.[14]
Schools
[edit]The Cape Primary School buildings date back to 1887–8. The Cape schools were opened by the Harborne and SmethwickSchool Boardon 7 January 1888. The schools had accommodation for 250 each of boys and girls, and 389 infants. The school buildings in red brick andterracotta,under a Broseley tiled roof were designed in a "Rennaissance of Queen Anne character" in contrast to the usual 19th century Gothic style employed in local school design. A lofty bell turret was at the rear of the main entrancegable.The architect was G H Cox of Temple Street, Birmingham.[15]An extension for a new boys' department was added in 1901.[16]
Shopping
[edit]It is a busy shopping area of mostly Asian small businesses. The Windmill Retail Park has anAsdaincluding George,Matalan,Iceland supermarket,Bootsand other high street stores.
Transport
[edit]Smethwick Rolfe Streetrailway station is a mile away.
Bus route nos. 80 fromWest Bromwich,82 fromBearwoodand 87 fromDudleylink Cape Hill toBirmingham City Centre.Most buses are operated byNational Express West Midlands.
References
[edit]- ^Maxam, Andrew and Harvey, David "Smethwick". Tempus Publishing, 2007, p21
- ^"Home Page:: The Cape Primary School, Cape Hill, Smethwick".Capeprimary. Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2013.Retrieved16 March2013.
- ^[1]ArchivedAugust 19, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- ^"PublicAccess v7.4 @ Sandwell MBC: Property Related Information".Webcaps.sandwell.gov.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2012.Retrieved16 March2013.
- ^"Smethwick social life".British History Online.Retrieved3 September2013.
- ^Historic England."Mecca Bingo Club (1384947)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved17 May2024.
- ^Jones, Alison (21 November 2015)."Fancy buying your own cinema in Birmingham?".Birmingham Live.Retrieved17 May2024.
- ^"Gaumont, Smethwick".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved3 September2013.
- ^Lissaman, Clare (7 May 2024)."Suspected arson destroys historic Smethwick cinema building".BBC News.Retrieved17 May2024.
- ^"Election Maps".ordnancesurvey.co.uk.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^John Laing Photographic Collection (18 May 1966)."A view of Bearwood House, a multi-storey block of 'Sectra' flats, from the south-west".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved19 May2024.
- ^"The non-traditional prove their value".Express and Star.22 March 1966. p. 20.Retrieved19 May2024– viaBritish Newspaper Archive.
- ^John Laing Photographic Collection (August 1964)."A photographic reproduction of a design drawing of Bearwood House, a multi-storey block of 'Sectra' flats in Smethwick".historicengland.org.uk.Retrieved19 May2024.
- ^"Demolition on high rise flats starts".expressandstar.19 August 2008.Retrieved19 May2024.
- ^"Opening of the new Board Schools at The Cape, Smethwick".The Smethwick Telephone.14 January 1888. p. 2.Retrieved18 May2024.
- ^"New boys' school at Cape Hill".Smethwick Telephone.4 January 1902. p. 3.Retrieved18 May2024.