This summer, find out more about Smethwick’s fascinating heritage at a festival of free, family-friendly events, in-person and online.

Run by the Chance Heritage Trust, #MadeInSmethwick includes guided walks, visits, activities and workshops, on a wide variety of topics celebrating local history. The project is funded by a Community Renewal Fund Grant and aims to reconnect local residents with the town’s industrial heritage, and to give disused former industrial sites a new lease of life.

Starting on Sunday 8 May and going through to Thursday 16 June, there are opportunities to find out about the region’s industrial history, global communities, woods and wildlife. There are also sessions on maps, photogrammetry, cooking, social history and digital newspapers. 

The Chance Brothers Glassworks was built in 1824 on Spon Lane in Smethwick. It was a pioneer of British glassmaking, supplying glass to the Houses of Parliament and Crystal Palace in London, as well as the specialist lenses for over 2,000 lighthouses around the world. The Chance Heritage Trust is dedicated to the regeneration of the Chance Glass Works, and the restoration and protection of former industrial buildings in the region.

You can find out more about the #MadeInSmethwick festival on the trust’s website, with links to book your free tickets to the events.