After the erection of the once world-known, but
now vanished Soho Works, by Matthew Boulton, a gradual change came o'er
the scene; cultivated enclosures taking the place of the commons,
enclosed in 1793; Boulton's park laid out, good roads made,
water-courses cleared, and houses and mansions springing up on all
sides, and so continuing on until now, when the parish (which includes
Birchfield and Perry Barr, an area of 7,680 acres in all) is nearly half
covered with streets and houses, churches and chapels, alms-houses and
stations, shops, offices, schools, and all the other necessary adjuncts
to a populous and thriving community. The Local Board Offices and Free
Library, situate in Soho Road, were built in 1878 (first stone laid
October 30th, 1877), at a cost of L20,662, and it is a handsome pile of
buildings. The library contains about 7,000 volumes. There is talk of
erecting public swimming and other baths, and a faint whisper that
recreation grounds are not far from view. The 1st Volunteer Battalion of
the South Staffordshire Regiment have their head-quarters here. Old
Handsworth Church, which contained several carved effigies and tombs of
the old lords, monuments of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, with bust of
William Murdoch, &c.
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