West Smethwick Park

The Park

West Smethwick Park opened on the 7th September 1895. The park was bought and laid out by the Victorian industrialist Sir James Timmins Chance as ‘a gift to the public forever’. The land cost £15,000 to buy and another £15,000 to layout. Equivalent to around £4 million in 2020!
It is owned and maintained by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

View of West Smethwick Park pond
Big tree in woodland
Red Admiral butterfly
Swan with her signets
Artist impression of new park pavilion
Nuthatch sitting by it's nest hole in a tree
Monument to Sir James Chance

James T. Chance
M.A J.P D.L.
For fifty years a partner in the firm of Chance Brothers & Co at the Glass Works, Smethwick and the Alkali Works, Oldbury.
He purchased the land for the Park, laid it out and endowed it
and on September 7th 1895 opened it
A gift to the public for ever.
He also made the roads on the east and west boundaries.

The Park

West Smethwick Park opened on the 7th September 1895. The park was bought and laid out by the Victorian industrialist Sir James Timmins Chance as ‘a gift to the public forever’. The land cost £15,000 to buy and another £15,000 to layout. Equivalent to around £4 million in 2020!
It is owned and maintained by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

James T. Chance
M.A J.P D.L.
For fifty years a partner in the firm of Chance Brothers & Co at the Glass Works, Smethwick and the Alkali Works, Oldbury.
He purchased the land for the Park, laid it out and endowed it
and on September 7th 1895 opened it
A gift to the public for ever.
He also made the roads on the east and west boundaries.

Park Restoration

West Smethwick Park is currently undergoing important restoration work.

The restoration project is being funded thanks to players of The National Lottery via a £4.5million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and through additional funding from Sandwell Council. A key element of the project is to conserve and restore the Victorian heritage of the park. This includes the Grade II Listed James Chance Memorial, the ornate fountain and two sets of entrance gates. A new pavilion will have community rooms, outdoor performance space, café and toilets. Nature conversation improvements include woodland, grassland and wetland works. New outdoor gym equipment will extend the gym trail.

Click here for more information.