| Description | The Firm of Hill and Smith, Brierley Hill, was established in 1824 and was known as Hill's Ironworks. Edward Hill married an older sister of Henry Smith who got a job with Edward Hill and eventual partnership. Little is known of the Hill family, however, Henry Smith married Marianne Webb of Holly Hall - later Springfield House, Wordsley. Henry Smith died September 1906 aged 82.
Henry was succeeded by his eldest son Joseph H Smith who was the last working proprietor with founder connections. He was killed in a carting accident in 1909 aged 54. After this the firm was made into a private Ltd company, but an unmarried sister (later Mrs E.M. Lewis) held considerable interest in the firm until her death. Early products were: puddling machines, hurdles and fencing, wrought iron shafts, crank shafts, piston rods and connecting rods. Famous for supplying many miles of fencing for Queen Victoria in 1860, Ornamental Gates and parapet railing for the Royal House of Siam 19th/20th Century, work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Royal Dockyard at Simonstown, South Africa and gates at Hong Kong market and the European Club, Shanghai. Also responsible for structural steel work often whole factories, warehouses, iron-houses, market roofs, railway station roofs, footbridges and walkways, including the dome steelwork at Birmingham University.
Today, Hill & Smith is a decentralised group with specialisations primarily serving the infrastructure, building and construction industries. It is one of the largest suppliers of galvanized steel in the UK. In recent years, the Group has built an enviable position in the market for supplying such products as safety barriers and street lighting columns.
In this area, the Group has been helped by strong demand, resulting from the increased focus on health and safety, the ageing road and rail networks and the need for airport expansion. Responding to the need for transport infrastructure improvements, the Group has invested heavily in this area of its business, including the acquisition of businesses with complementary product lines as well as new technology.
The Group's success in recent years has been driven by innovation and product improvement as well as a focused and highly effective management culture. The Group also has a major stake in leading European and US businesses, enabling it to access global markets.
At the time of cataloguing (2006), the company is still in existence and the current web site is <www.hill-smith.co.uk/>
For detailed information on the history of this company up until 1972 see the Black Countryman, Vol.5, No. 1, Winter 1972, LD 942.091: The Hill and Smith Story by Harold Parsons, pp-17-25.
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