Handsworth, West Midlands
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Handsworth is a suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England.
It was part of Staffordshire until 1911 when it was incorporated into Birmingham.
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History
Handsworth is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "the land enclosed around hands farmhouse". It was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086, as a holding of William Fitz-Ansculf, the Lord of Dudley, although at that time it would only have been a very small village surrounded by farmland and extensive woodland.
The name Handsworth is of Saxon origin, from its Saxon owner Hondes and the Anglo-Saxon word weorthing meaning farm or estate. From the 13th century through to the 18th century, it remained a small village until Matthew Boulton who lived at the nearby Soho House set up the Soho Manufactory in 1764 on Handsworth Heath. Accommodation was built for the factory workers, the village quickly grew, and in 1851, there were over six thousand people living in the township. Forty years later over thirty-two thousand were counted at the census of 1881, and by 1911, this had more than doubled to 68,610.
The development of Handsworth was rather sporadic. The result is that many of the roads and streets have a mixture of types and periods of buildings.
Postwar
During the Second World War, West Indians had arrived as part of the colonial war effort, where they worked in Birmingham munitions factories. Post-war, a rebuilding programme required much unskilled labour and Birmingham's industrial base expanded, significantly increasing the demand for both skilled and unskilled workers. During this time, there was direct recruitment for workers from the Caribbean.
The West Indian population in Birmingham numbered over 17,000 by the 1961 census count. In addition, during this time, Indians, particularly Sikhs from the Punjab arrived in Birmingham, many of them working in the foundries and on the production lines in motor vehicle manufacturing.
Civil unrest
Although these groups contributed to the local economy, they have suffered much racism and in Handsworth the problems and discontentment escalated in September 1985 (an earler riot took place in 1981). As in many parts of Britain, the conflict between black people in Birmingham and the police was a long-standing one. Blanket raids on black meeting places and a "stop and search" policy increased the tension between the police and the black community.
Many of these problems were focussed upon attempts by media regulators continually trying to crush the "free radio" (pirate radio) station PCRL. This Handsworth station specifically catered to the West Indian population and gave voice to discontent. But the station also has a long and continuing history of attempting to provide not only a media outlet for alternative points of view, but it supported a cottage industry of self-help programs. Because of expatriot connections between Handsworth and the non-profit Four Freedoms Federation in the USA, PCRL carried its 4FWS (Four Freedoms World Service} network programs in an attempt to focus US media attention on the problems faced by PCRL and the West Indian community in Handsworth.
After the Handsworth riots caused a huge publicity shock to world perception of British toleration, the heavy handed approach on the community was slackened, although a weakened PCRL remained unlicensed. Local government was forced into building new community relations as a way of managing both racial and cultural differences. Encouragement was provided by arts organisation like West Midlands Ethnic Minority Arts Service and private groups such as Shades of Black, which works closely with the community and is still going strong today.
Musical legacy
Handsworth has produced some notable musical acts: Steel Pulse, Joan Armatrading, Benjamin Zephaniah, Apache Indian, Musical Youth, Ruby Turner and Bhangra group B21.
Events
Handsworth Park has hosted numerous events: The Birmingham Tattoo, The Birmingham Festival (both originally called Handsworth- rather than Birmingham-) and the Flower Show, and in 1967 The Birmingham Dog Show. The Handsworth Carnival grew out of the Flower Show and Carnival; Caribbean style carnivals began in Handsworth Park, in 1984, with a street procession via Hollyhead Road. In 1994 the carnival was held in Handsworth Park for the last time. The following year it was moved from the park out onto the streets of Handsworth, since which time it has been known as the Birmingham (International) Carnival. In 1999, it was again held in a park, but this time in Perry Barr Park.
See also
External link
- Birmingham City Council's Handsworth Ward pages (http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/handsworth)
- Digital Handsworth (http://www.digitalhandsworth.org.uk/)