SMETHWICK, an urban sanitary district of Staffordshire, England, on the borders of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, is situated on the Birmingham, Dudley, and Wolverhampton Canal, and on branches of the London and North-Western and the Great Western Railway lines, 3 miles west from Birmingham, of which the town of Smethwick is a suburb. It possesses a public hall and a free library and reading-room. Within the limits of the district is the Soho foundry originated by James Watt; and since its origin numerous other industries have been concentrated in the suburb, the more important being the manufacture of glass, chemicals, hydraulic jacks, patent nuts and bolts, and patent tubes. Many of the works are of great extent. The population of the urban sanitary district in 1871 was 17,158, and in 1881 (area, 1882 acres) it had increased to 25,084.