ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਮੈਦਿਕਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਸਮੈਦਿਕ

Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick stands at 130 High Street in Smethwick, in the borough of Sandwell near Birmingham, and serves one of the largest Sikh congregations in Britain. Opened on 31 July 1961 in a former Congregational chapel bought for 11,600 pounds, it has been rebuilt and extended in stages into a complex of prayer halls, classrooms and kitchens that draws more than 10,000 worshippers in a week, and it is an entry in our guide to ਯੂਕੇ ਦੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ.

What is Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick?

It is a gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship, whose name means the doorway to the Guru. It is named for Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith, and its prayer halls centre on the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh scripture treated as the living Guru. The gurdwara describes itself as the largest Sikh place of worship in the United Kingdom, and everyone is welcome there, Sikh or not: visitors cover their heads, remove their shoes, and sit together on the floor of the prayer hall as equals.

History: from a Brasshouse Lane school to High Street

Smethwick's Sikh community first held religious services in a school in Brasshouse Lane in 1958, drawing worshippers from across the Midlands. As the congregation grew, the community bought the Congregational Chapel building at 130 High Street, and the gurdwara opened there on 31 July 1961. It was the first gurdwara in Europe to be bought for the sole purpose of Sikh worship, and from its earliest days it played an active part in the town's life, fostering international friendship in the words of the local Warley News in November 1965. Local stories from those years even found their way into print: the historians Gurharpal Singh and Darshan Singh Tatla noted that Smethwick issues were taken up in Len Webster's 1984 novel The Turban-Wallah: a Tale of Little India.

The High Street building the sangat bought in 1961 is still the site today, but nothing of the old chapel remains on the surface: the premises have been totally rebuilt and extended, stage by stage, as the community around them has grown.

Architecture: a High Street landmark rebuilt in stages

The present complex rose in stages. Halls 1, 2 and 3 were built in 1985, halls 4, 5 and 6 followed in 1993 with two Darbar Sahibs and the langar hall, and the main building's ground and first floor Darbar Sahibs were built in 1999. In 2011 work began on a community annexe reported at 7.5 million pounds, adding an 800 seat langar hall, a wedding hall, a lecture theatre and classrooms, and a further extension was completed in 2012 with a larger langar hall, a modern kitchen, a gym and a function room. Extensive refurbishments followed in 2016. The gurdwara now has eight halls used for Akhand Path readings, weddings, sports and education, and next door at 128 High Street stands its library, named the Shaheed Gen. Subegh Singh Library.

The Shaheedi Tournaments: sport in memory of the martyrs

Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick was the first gurdwara to organise Shaheedi Tournaments in the United Kingdom and Europe: games held in memory of the martyrs of the Sikh faith. The tournaments have been held in the Birmingham area in the last week of July every year since 1963, with the single exception of 1984, and in 2000 they were staged at the West Bromwich Albion football ground. Sport and youth work remain part of the gurdwara's daily life, with activities that have included gatka, the Sikh martial art, wrestling, Thai boxing and turban tying classes, alongside youth forums and courses on the basics of Sikhism.

Worship, langar and community life

The day at Smethwick begins in the early hours, when the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is brought from the Sachkhand, its resting room, into the lower main hall. Morning prayers, the Nitnem, are followed by Asa di Var kirtan sung by the ragis, and programmes run continuously through the day until the evening Rehras Sahib, after which the scripture is carried back to the Sachkhand. ਲੰਗਰ, the free community kitchen, is served all day, every day of the year, to Sikhs and non Sikhs alike. The congregation numbers around 10,000 people a week, and the gurdwara's giving reaches well beyond Sandwell: its community has supported appeals for those hit by Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Thailand and the earthquake in Haiti.

How do you reach Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick?

The gurdwara stands at 130 High Street, Smethwick, in the West Midlands, a short distance west of Birmingham city centre, and its golden dome is a landmark on the High Street. It is open every day and visitors of all backgrounds are welcome: cover your head, remove your shoes, and ask any volunteer if you would like to be shown around. The fullest days are Sundays and the Sikh festivals, above all ਵੈਸਾਖੀ in April.