'Birmingham' (pron. /'Burr'-ming-um) is a
city and
metropolitan borough in the
West Midlands,
England. Birmingham is the largest of England's
core cities, and is often considered to be the
second city of the United Kingdom.
[1] The City of Birmingham has a
population of 1,001,200
(2005 estimate).
[2] It forms part of the larger
West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census)
[3] and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as
Solihull,
Wolverhampton and the towns of the
Black Country.
The city's reputation was forged as a powerhouse of the
Industrial Revolution in
Britain, a fact which led to Birmingham being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades".
[4]
People from Birmingham are known as '
Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of ''Brum''. This comes in turn from the city's dialect name,
Brummagem,
[5] which is derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive
Brummie dialect (distinct vocabulary and syntax) and
accent (way of speaking), both of which differ from those of the adjacent
Black Country.
Geography
Birmingham is situated just to the west of the geographical centre of
England on the ''Birmingham Plateau'' - an area of relatively high ground, ranging around 150-300 metres above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north-south
watershed between the basins of the Rivers
Severn and
Trent.
To the south and west of the city lie the
Lickey Hills,
[6] Clent Hills and
Walton Hill, which reach 315 metres (1,033 ft) producing extensive views over the city.
Geologically Birmingham is dominated by the ''Birmingham Fault'' which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through
Edgbaston, the
Bull Ring and
Erdington, to
Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer
Keuper Marl, interspersed with beds of
Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of the Rivers
Tame,
Rea and
Cole along with their tributaries.
[7] To the north and west of the fault, varying from 45-180 metres (150-600 ft) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder
Keuper Sandstone.
[8][9]
Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient
Forest of Arden, whose former presence can still be felt in the city's dense
oak tree-cover and in the large number of districts such as
Moseley,
Saltley and
Hockley with names ending in "-ley": an
Anglo-Saxon word meaning "woodland clearing".
[10]
Climate
The climate in Birmingham is a
temperate marine climate, like much of the
British Isles, with average maximum
temperatures in summer (July) being around 20°C (68°F); and in winter (January) is around 4.5°C (40°F). The weather is hardly extreme, however, there have been a few tornadoes in the area - the most recent being in
July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area.
[11]
Occasional summer heatwaves, such as the one experienced in July 2006 have become more common in recent years, and winters have become milder since the 1990s with snow becoming much less frequent. Similar to most other large cities, Birmingham has a considerable '
urban heat island' effect.
[12] During the coldest night recorded in Birmingham (14 January, 1982), for example, the temperature fell to -20.8°C (-5.4°F) at Birmingham International airport on the city's eastern edge, but just -12.9°C (8.8°F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre.
[13] Relative to other large UK conurbations, Birmingham is a snowy city, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation.
13 Snow showers often pass through the city via the Cheshire gap on North Westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North sea from North Easterly airstreams.
13
Nearby places
;Cities
★
Coventry
★
Lichfield
★
Wolverhampton
★
Worcester
;Towns
★
Aldridge
★
Atherstone
★
Bedworth
★
Bromsgrove
★
Cannock
★
Coleshill
★
Droitwich
★
Dudley
★
Halesowen
★
Hinckley
★
Kenilworth
★
Kidderminster
★
Nuneaton
★
Redditch
★
Royal Leamington Spa
★
Rugby
★
Solihull
★
Stafford
★
Stourbridge
★
Stratford-upon-Avon
★
Tamworth
★
Telford
★
Warwick
★
Walsall
★
West Bromwich
;Villages
★
Little Aston
★
Streetly
''See also'': The
Black Country.
History
William Westley's 1731 map of Birmingham
Birmingham started life in the 6th century as an
Anglo-Saxon farming
hamlet on the banks of the
River Rea.
[14] The name 'Birmingham' comes from "Beorma ingas ham", meaning "home of the people of Beorma."
[Birmingham.gov.uk: Birmingham or Brummagem?] Birmingham was first recorded in written documents by the
Domesday Book of 1086 as a small
village, worth only 20
shillings.
In the 12th century, Birmingham was granted a royal charter to hold a
market,
[15] which in time became known as the
Bull Ring, transforming Birmingham from a village to a market town. As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to supplies of
iron ore and
coal meant that
metalworking industries became established.
[16] By the
English Civil War in the 17th century Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing
small arms. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the
Gun Quarter.
[17] During the
Industrial Revolution (from the mid-18th century onwards), Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial centre and the town prospered. During the 18th century, Birmingham was home to the
Lunar Society, an important gathering of local thinkers and industrialists.
[18]
By the 1820s an extensive
canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources to fuel to industries.
Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 with the arrival of the
Grand Junction Railway, and a year later, the
London and Birmingham Railway. During the
Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million
[19] and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted
city status in 1889 by
Queen Victoria.
[20] The city established
its own university in 1900.
[21]
Birmingham was originally part of
Warwickshire, but expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of
Worcestershire to the south and
Staffordshire to the north and west. The city absorbed
Sutton Coldfield in 1974, and at the same time became a metropolitan borough in the new
West Midlands county.
Birmingham suffered heavy
bomb damage during
World War II's "
Birmingham Blitz", and the city centre was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s.
[22] This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as
Castle Vale, the reconstruction of the
Bull Ring and the redevelopment of
New Street station. In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the construction of new squares, the restoration of old streets, buildings and canals, the removal of the pedestrian subways, and the redevelopment of the
Bull Ring shopping centre.
[23]
In the decades following World War II, the population of Birmingham changed dramatically, with immigration from the
Commonwealth of Nations and beyond.
[24] The population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents.
[25]
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Birmingham
Birmingham is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. At the time of the
2001 UK census, 70.4% of the population was
White (including 3.2%
Irish & 1.5% Other White), 19.5%
British Asian, 6.1%
Black or
Black British, 0.5%
Chinese, 2.9% of
mixed race and 0.6% of other ethnic heritage.
[26] 16.5% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom.
The population density is 3,649 people per km² compared to the 377.2 people per km² for England. Females represented 51.6% of the population whilst men represented 48.4%. More women were 70 or over.
[27] 60.4% of the population was aged between 16 and 74, compared to 66.7% in England as a whole.
[2001 Census of Population: Key Findings]
60.4% of households were found to be owner occupied and 27.7% were rented from either the city council, housing association or other registered social landlord. The remaining 11.8% of households were rented privately or lived rent free.
Places of interest
:''See also: ''
[28]
Museums and galleries
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery has renowned displays of artwork that include a leading collection of work by the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the world's largest collection of works by
Edward Burne-Jones. The group also owns other museums in the city such as
Aston Hall,
Blakesley Hall, the
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and Sarehole Mill, a popular attraction for fans of
J. R. R. Tolkien.
Thinktank in the Eastside is one of the newest museums in the city. The
Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city.
[29]
The
Barber Institute of Fine Arts is both an art gallery and concert hall. It also has one of the world's most detailed and largest coin collections.
[30] Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and
the company.
Parks and squares
There are over 8,000 acres (32 km²) of parkland open spaces in Birmingham.
[31] The largest of the parks is
Sutton Park covering 2,400 acres (9.7 km²) making it the largest urban nature reserve in Europe.
[32] Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a Victorian creation, with a conservatory and bandstand, close to the city centre. The
Winterbourne Botanic Garden, maintained by the
University of Birmingham is also located close to the city centre.
The city centre consists of numerous public squares including
Centenary Square,
Chamberlain Square and
Victoria Square. The historic
Old Square is located on
Corporation Street. Rotunda Square and St Martin's Square are two of the newest squares in Birmingham, being located within the Bullring Shopping Centre.
Brindleyplace also consists of three squares.
Religious buildings
St Philip's Cathedral from the rear
was upgraded from church to cathedral status in 1905. Another cathedral in the city is
St Chad's, which is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Province of Birmingham.
St Martin in the Bull Ring is a
Grade II
★ listed church. There is also a variety of non-Christian religions in the city. In the 1960s,
Birmingham Central Mosque, one of the largest
mosques in Europe, was constructed for the
Muslim community of the city.
[33]
''See also'':
Religion in Birmingham.
Leisure
Two major developments have regenerated two parts of the city in recent years.
Brindleyplace is a major canalside development with restaurants and office buildings along with the
National Sea Life Centre. The other development was the
Bullring Shopping Centre.
The Mailbox features many designer stores as well as offices and apartments. The
National Indoor Arena is one of the busiest large scale sporting and entertainment venues in Europe. Outside of the city centre is
Star City entertainment complex on the former site of
Nechells Power Station.
[34]
Economy
Main articles: Economy of Birmingham
Although Birmingham grew to prominence as a
manufacturing and
engineering centre, its economy today is dominated by the
service sector, which in 2003 accounted for 78% of the city's economic output and 97% of its economic growth.
[35]
Two of Britain's "
big four" banks were founded in Birmingham -
Lloyds Bank (now
Lloyds TSB) in 1765
[36] and the
Midland Bank (now
HSBC Bank plc) in 1836
[37] - and today the city employs 108,000 in banking, finance and insurance.
[38] In 2006,
Cushman & Wakefield stated that Birmingham was the second best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 19th best in Europe.
[39]
Tourism is also an increasingly important part of the local economy. With major facilities such as the
International Convention Centre and
National Exhibition Centre the Birmingham area accounts for 42% of the UK conference and exhibition trade.
[40] The city's sporting and cultural venues attract large numbers of visitors.
With an annual turnover of £2.2bn, Birmingham city centre is the UK's second largest retail centre,
[41] with the country's busiest shopping centre - the
Bullring.
Although Birmingham has seen strong economic growth overall in recent years, with per capita GDP rising from 2% above the UK average in 1995 to 7% above in 2003,
[42] the benefits have not been felt evenly throughout the city. Many of the higher skilled jobs generated have gone to commuters from the surrounding area, and the two parliamentary constituencies with the highest unemployment rates in the UK -
Ladywood and
Sparkbrook and Small Heath - are both in inner-city Birmingham.
[43] Growth has also placed significant strain on the city's transport infrastructure, with many major roads and the central
New Street railway station operating considerably over capacity during peak periods.
Birmingham has a large
incineration plant, the
Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant which produces electricity for the
National Grid through the process of burning
waste.
Politics
Main articles: Government of Birmingham
Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the
UK.
[45] It has 120
councillors representing 40
wards.
[46] There is no overall control, and the council is run by a Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition. Birmingham's ten
parliamentary constituencies are represented in the
House of Commons by one
Conservative, one
Liberal Democrat, one
Independent Labour and seven
Labour MPs.
[47]
Birmingham City Council operates all aspects of the city's workings through it planning and leisure services. The council deals with all planning applications as well as adding designations for
locally listed buildings.
[48]
Law enforcement in Birmingham is carried out by the
West Midlands Police, fire and rescue by the
West Midlands Fire Service and ambulatory care by the
West Midlands Ambulance Service. Birmingham is also the seat of the
Government Office for the
West Midlands region.
[49]
Transport
Main articles: Transport in Birmingham
Due in part to its inland central location, Birmingham is a major transport hub on the
motorway,
rail, and
canal networks.
[50] The city is served by a number of major motorways and probably the most famous motorway junction in the UK:
Spaghetti Junction.
[51] Birmingham is home to
National Express's headquarters and
Digbeth Coach Station forms the national hub of the company's coach network.
Birmingham International Airport is the UK's sixth largest airport, third largest for charter traffic and has the second highest proportion of business traffic, behind London Heathrow.
[52]
Local public transport is by
bus, local train and
tram. The number 11A and 11C
outer circle bus routes are the longest urban bus routes in Europe. Bus routes are mainly operated by
Travel West Midlands, which accounts for over 80% of all bus journeys in Birmingham, however, there are around 50 other, smaller registered bus companies.
[53]
The city's main railway station,
Birmingham New Street, is at the centre of the national railway network.
Birmingham Snow Hill station, another major railway station in the city centre, is also a terminus for the
Midland Metro which operates between the station and
Wolverhampton.
[54] There are plans to extend the Midland Metro route further into Birmingham city centre.
[55] Birmingham is also notable for its expansive
canal system which fed the industry in the city during the Industrial Revolution.
Education
Main articles: Education in Birmingham
The city council is England's largest
local education authority, directly or indirectly responsible for 25
nursery schools, 328
primary schools, 77
secondary schools
[56] and 29
special schools.
[57] It also runs the
library service, with 4 million visitors annually,
[58] and provides around 4,000
adult education courses throughout the year.
[59] The main library is
Central Library and there are 41 local libraries in Birmingham, plus a regular mobile library service.
[60]
Birmingham is home to three
universities:
Aston University (founded 1966), the
University of Birmingham (founded 1900 as the first 'red brick' University) and the
University of Central England (UCE Birmingham, awarded University status in 1992). It also has two other
higher education colleges (
Newman College and the
Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies). The
Birmingham Conservatoire and
Birmingham School of Acting, both now part of UCE, offer higher education in specific arts subjects. The UCE opened the
New Technology Institute facility in the same area in 2006.
[61]
Matthew Boulton College of Further & Higher Education
is perhaps the most prestigious
independent school in the city. The seven schools of The King Edward VI Foundation are known nationally for setting the very highest academic standards and all of the schools consistently achieve top positions in national league tables.
[62]
Sutton Coldfield College merged with North Birmingham College in 2003 and Josiah Mason College in 2006 to form one of the largest further education colleges in the country.
[63] Matthew Boulton College is also located in the city and in 2005, the
Eastside branch of the college was completed and opened. Joseph Chamberlain College is the only
sixth form college in Birmingham and Solihull to have been awarded both
Beacon Status and an overall
OFSTED grade 1 (Outstanding).
[64]
Crime and policing
Digbeth Police Station
serves Birmingham and the West Midlands county. It is based in the city centre of Birmingham. Birmingham has been the location for many high profile incidents such as the
31 January 2007 Birmingham raid,
New Year Murders and more historically, the
Birmingham pub bombings.
Crime figures for 2005/ 2006 showed that Birmingham was above the English average in all fields.
[UpMyStreet: Crime figures for Birmingham] Of the eight major cities in the country (Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol), Birmingham has the lowest crime rate.
[65]
Crime figures for 2005/ 2006 in Birmingham| Crime | Birmingham statistic
(per 1,000 of the population) | English average
(per 1,000 of the population) |
|---|
| Violence against a person | 25.5 | 18 |
| Robbery offences | 4.7 | 1 |
| Theft of vehicle offences | 6.4 | 3 |
| Theft from vehicles | 10.7 | 8 |
| Sexual offences | 1.5 | 1 |
| Burglary | 8.6 | 5 |
Sport
The NIA has hosted many national and international sporting championships.
The city has played an important part in the history of sport. It was the first city to be named National City of Sport by the
Sports Council.
[66] It is home to two of the country's oldest professional
football teams:
Birmingham City (1875) and
Aston Villa (1874). Aston Villa won club football's most coveted prize, the
European Cup, in 1982. The
Birmingham derby is an event in which the two football clubs play against each other. Aston Villa has won 41 matches as opposed to Birmingham City's 36 match wins.
Birmingham is home to
Warwickshire County Cricket Club, whose
Edgbaston ground also hosts
test matches. The venue was the scene of the highest ever score by a batsman, when
Brian Lara scored 501 not out for Warwickshire. International
track and field meetings take place at
Alexander Stadium, the home of
Birchfield Harriers which has many international athletes amongst its members. The
National Indoor Arena (NIA) is a major indoor athletics venue, hosting the
2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships and
2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships as well as many
WWE wrestling events.
The first ever game of
lawn tennis was played by Major
Harry Gem and his friend
Augurio Perera in Edgbaston between 1859 and 1865
[67] and
ATP international tennis is still played at Edgbaston's Priory Club.
[68] Birmingham also has a professional
Rugby Union side,
Moseley RFC, who play at
Billesley Common, and there is professional
basketball team,
Birmingham Panthers, as well as professional
boxing,
hockey,
skateboarding,
stock-car racing,
greyhound racing and
speedway in the city.
Food & drink
The Old Crown pub in Deritend.
Birmingham based
breweries included
Ansells, Davenports and
Mitchells & Butlers.
[69] Aston Manor Brewery is currently the only brewery of any significant size. Many fine Victorian pubs and bars can still be found across the city. The oldest inn in Birmingham is the
Old Crown in
Deritend (circa 1450). The city has a plethora of nightclubs and bars, notably along Broad Street.
[70]
The
Wing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its headquarters in the
Chinese Quarter.
[71] The
Balti was invented in the city, which has received much acclaim for the 'Balti Belt' or '
Balti Triangle'.
[72] The city boasts two
Michelin starred restaurants: ''Simpson's'' and ''Jessica's'', both in
Edgbaston.
[73]
Culture and arts
Main articles: Arts in Birmingham
Music
Black Sabbath, a pioneer band in heavy-metal music, was formed in Birmingham.
Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied history over the last century. In the 1960s, the "
Brum Beat" era featured
blues and early
progressive rock bands. The city is often described as the birthplace of
heavy metal music,
[74] with
Judas Priest and
Black Sabbath being local. Then later on during the 80's bands such as
Napalm Death, joined the Birmingham heavy metal scene. In the 1970s members of
The Move and The
Idle Race formed the
Electric Light Orchestra and
Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of
reggae and
ska in the city with such bands as
UB40. Seminal 1980s pop band
Duran Duran are also from Birmingham.
Jazz is popular in the city, and the annual Birmingham International Jazz Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK.
[75] Venues for the festival are also located out of Birmingham in
Solihull. It was first held in 1984.
[76]
The internationally-renowned
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is
Symphony Hall. There is a City Organist; since 1834 only seven men have held this position. The current holder,
Thomas Trotter, has been in post since 1983.
[77] Weekly recitals have been given since the organ in
Birmingham Town Hall was opened
[78] but are now held in St. Philip's Cathedral, until the Town Hall organ opens in October 2007, following restoration. The
Birmingham Royal Ballet[79] resides in the city as does the world's oldest vocational dance school,
Elmhurst School for Dance.
[80]
The
Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals took place from 1784 to 1912. Music was specially composed, conducted or performed by
Mendelssohn,
Gounod,
Sullivan,
Dvořák,
Bantock and
Edward Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham. Elgar's ''
The Dream of Gerontius'' had its début performance there in 1900. Composers born in the city include
Albert William Ketèlbey and
Andrew Glover.
Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include The
National Indoor Arena, which was opened in 1991, the
CBSO Centre, opened in 1997, and the
Adrian Boult Hall, which was built along with
Paradise Forum and
Birmingham Central Library, at
Birmingham Conservatoire.
Theatre
The Rep Theatre
Among the many theatres in Birmingham, the largest are the
Alexandra ("the Alex"),
The Rep, the
Hippodrome and the
Old Rep. The
Crescent Theatre and
Old Joint Stock Theatre are other city centre theatres. Outside of the city centre are the
Drum Arts Centre (on the site of the former
Aston Hippodrome) and ''
mac''.
[81] The
Fierce! festival collaborates with The Rep to present an annual series of performances from local and national companies.
Literature
Literary figures associated with Birmingham include
Samuel Johnson who stayed in Birmingham for a short period with Birmingham Central Library holding two thousand volumes of his work. Author
Arthur Conan Doyle worked in the Aston area of Birmingham whilst poet
Louis MacNeice lived in Birmingham for six years.
Washington Irving produced several of his most famous literary works whilst staying in Birmingham such as ''Bracebridge Hall'' and ''The Humorists, A Medley'' which are based on Aston Hall. Other authors who were born in or have resided in Birmingham include
David Lodge,
Jonathan Coe and
J. R. R. Tolkien, who is said to have been inspired by areas and buildings in the city. Influential poets associated with Birmingham include
Roi Kwabena, who was the city's sixth poet laureate
[82], and
Benjamin Zephaniah, who was born in the city.
Visual art
The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
has one of the largest collections of
Pre-Raphaelite art in the world.
Edward Burne-Jones was born in Birmingham, spent his first twenty years in the city, later becoming president of the
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. The
Barber Institute of Fine Arts was declared 'Gallery of the Year' by the 2004 ''Good Britain Guide''.
[83] The
Ikon Gallery hosts displays of contemporary art. Notable local artists include
David Cox,
David Bomberg,
Martin John Callanan,
Pogus Caesar,
Keith Piper and
Donald Rodney.
Festivals and shows
Birmingham is home to many national, religious and spiritual festivals including a
St. George's Day party. The
Birmingham Tattoo is a long-standing military show. The
Caribbean-style
Birmingham International Carnival takes place in odd numbered years.
Birmingham Pride takes place in the 'gay village' and attracts up to 100,000 visitors each year.
Party in the Park, a popular chart music event, is Birmingham's largest music festival. For several years the city also hosted an annual arts festival ''
ArtsFest'', the largest free arts festival in the UK. In December 2006, the City Council announced that it would no longer hold Artsfest.
[84] The city's largest single-day event is its
St. Patrick's Day parade (Europe's second largest, after the one in
Dublin).
[85] Other multicultural events include the Bangla Mela and the Vaisakhi Mela.
Media
Birmingham has two local daily newspapers - the ''
Birmingham Post'' and the ''
Birmingham Mail'' - as well as the ''
Sunday Mercury'', all owned by the
Trinity Mirror. ''Forward'' (formerly ''Birmingham Voice'') is a
freesheet produced by
Birmingham City Council, which is distributed to homes in the city. Birmingham is also the hub for various national
ethnic media.
The Electric Cinema, Station Street
The
Electric Cinema on Station Street is the oldest working
cinema in the UK,
[86] and
Oscar Deutsch opened his first
Odeon cinema in
Perry Barr during the 1920s.
Star City is said to be Europe's largest leisure and cinema complex and is not far from the Britain's only permanent drive-in cinema; both are in
Nechells.
The
BBC has two facilities in the city.
The Mailbox in the city centre is the location for the national headquarters of
BBC English Regions,
[87] the headquarters of
BBC West Midlands and the
BBC Birmingham network production centre, which were previously located at the
Pebble Mill Studios in
Edgbaston. The
BBC Drama Village, based in
Selly Oak, is a production facility specialising in
television drama.
[88]
The city is served by numerous national and regional radio stations, as well as local radio stations. These include
96.4 BRMB,
Galaxy,
Heart FM,
Kerrang! 105.2,
New Style Radio 98.7FM,
Smooth Radio 105.7FM and
BBC WM.
[89]
Nightlife
There is a large number of clubs and bars in the city centre, mainly along
Broad Street and into
Brindleyplace which has now become the city's centre for night-time entertainment. There are many stylish clubs and bars outside the Broad Street area. The
Medicine Bar in the
Custard Factory,
The Sanctuary, Rainbow Pub and Air in
Digbeth are very popular. Many bars and club nights exist in areas such as the Arcadian and
Hurst Street by the
Chinese Quarter, Summer Row,
The Mailbox, and St Philips/Colmore Row - where once a month there is a party night held for Polish residents in Birmingham - and
Jewellery Quarter. There are number of late night pubs in the
Irish Quarter.
[90]
Architecture
Main articles: Architecture of Birmingham
Birmingham Council House, with Dhruva Mistry's sculpture, 'The River', in the foreground (commonly known as 'the floozie in the jacuzzi').
Statue of Lord Nelson on the Portland plinth and railings surrounding it.
Today's Birmingham is chiefly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, as its real growth began with the
Industrial Revolution. Consequently, relatively few buildings survive from its earlier history. There are 1,946
listed buildings in Birmingham and thirteen
scheduled ancient monuments.
[91]
Traces of
medieval Birmingham can be seen in the oldest churches, notably the original
parish church,
St Martin in the Bull Ring. A few other buildings from the medieval and
Tudor periods survive, among them ''The Lad In The Lane''
[92] and
''The Old Crown'', the 15th century ''Saracen's Head'' public house and Old Grammar School in
Kings Norton[93] and
Blakesley Hall.
A number of
Georgian buildings survive, including
St Philip's Cathedral,
Soho House,
Perrott's Folly, the
Town Hall and much of
St Paul's Square. The
Victorian era saw extensive building across the city. Major civic buildings such as the Law Courts (in characteristic
red brick and terracotta), the
Council House and the
Museum & Art Gallery were constructed.
[94] St Chad's Cathedral was the first
Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in the UK since the
Reformation.
[95] Across the city, the need to house the industrial workers gave rise to miles of redbrick streets and terraces, many of
back-to-back houses, some of which were later to become inner-city
slums.
[96]
The new Selfridges building
Postwar redevelopment and anti victorianism resulted in the loss of dozens Victorian buildings like
Birmingham New Street Station, and the old Central Library.
[97] In inner-city areas too, much Victorian housing was
redeveloped and existing communities were relocated to
tower block estates like
Castle Vale.
[98] Birmingham City Council now has an extensive tower block demolition and renovation programme. There has been a lot of construction in the city centre in recent years, including the award-winning
Future Systems'
Selfridges building, the
Brindleyplace development and the
Millennium Point science and technology centre. The regeneration of Birmingham has been prompted by the
Birmingham Redevelopment Scheme.
Highrise development has slowed since the 1970s and mainly in recent years due to enforcements imposed by the
Civil Aviation Authority on the heights of buildings as they could affect aircraft from the International Airport, (e.g.
Beetham Tower).
[99]
Second City?
Main articles: Second city of the United Kingdom
Birmingham has traditionally been regarded by many as the
Second city of the United Kingdom. It is the most populous English city and has an important cultural and industrial impact on British life for centuries.
A 2007 poll by the
BBC placed
Manchester ahead of Birmingham in the category of second city of England
[100], but also ahead in the category of ''third'' city. Neither categories are officially sanctioned, and criteria for determining what 'second city' means are ill-defined.
Notable residents
Main articles: List of famous residents of Birmingham, England
Birmingham has a number of notable residents from various walks of life.
Joseph Chamberlain, who was once mayor of Birmingham and later became an MP, and his son
Neville Chamberlain, who was lord mayor Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of the most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. Author
J. R. R. Tolkien was brought up in Birmingham with many locations in the city such as Moseley bog, Sarehole Mill and
Perrott's Folly supposedly being the inspiration for various scenes in
The Lord of the Rings. Entertainers who were born or who have lived in Birmingham include comedians
Tony Hancock and
Jasper Carrott and the actors
Trevor Eve and
Martin Shaw. In more recent times,
Cat Deeley became a popular television presenter in the UK and USA. Birmingham has also produced a number of popular bands and musicians.
UB40,
Judas Priest,
Black Sabbath,
Wizzard and
Duran Duran were all popular bands, whilst musicians
Jeff Lynne,
Ozzy Osbourne,
John Lodge,
Nick Mason,
Christine McVie,
Roy Wood,
Jamelia, and
Steve Winwood all were very successful.
''See also'':
Blue Plaques erected by the Birmingham Civic Society.
Science and invention
Matthew Boulton
Birmingham has been the location for some of the most important inventions and scientific breakthroughs. Local inventions and notable firsts include:
gas lighting,
custard powder, the
magnetron, the first ever use of
radiography in an
operation,
Lewis Paul and
John Wyatt's first
cotton Roller Spinning machine and the UK's first ever
hole-in-the-heart operation, at
Birmingham Children's Hospital.
[101]
Among the city's notable scientists and inventors are
Matthew Boulton, proprietor of the
Soho engineering works,
Sir Francis Galton, originator of
eugenics and important techniques in
statistics,
Joseph Priestley, chemist and radical and
James Watt, engineer and inventor who is associated with the
steam engine. Many of these scientists were members of the
Lunar Society.
[102]
Twin cities
Birmingham's
town twins[103] are:
Birmingham,
Alabama, USA is named after the city and shares an industrial kinship.
[104]
See also
★
Constituent areas of Birmingham
★
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
★
Gallery of Birmingham images
★
Birmingham military history
★
List of songs about Birmingham
References
1. City Watch: Birmingham - From The Independent
Second coming - From The Guardian Unlimited.
Birmingham, Britain's second city The College for International Citizenship
OAG Cities Guide
2. Population - Birmingham.gov.uk
3. Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas Office for National Statistics
4. Decline of the city of a thousand trades (April 17, 2006) - Birmingham Mail
5. Worldwidewords.com
6. Lickey Hills Country Park
7. The History of Greater Birmingham - down to 1830, Victor Skipp, , , V. H. T. Skipp, 1987,
8. The Growth of the City, A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham (1964), pp. 4-25
9. Solid Geology - 1:250,000 scale (Source: British Geological Survey, NERC) - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
10. Forest of Arden
11. Birmingham Tornado 2005 - Birmingham.gov.uk
12. BBC: Inside Out: Living with global warming
13. Regional Climates of the British Isles, Dennis Wheeler, , , Routledge, 1997,
14. Origins of Birmingham - Birmingham.gov.uk
15. Birmingham.gov.uk: Origins of Birmingham
16. First Impressions of England and Its People, Hugh Miller, , , Gould and Lincoln, 1851,
17. Virtual Brum: A brief look at the heritage of the Bull's Head, Price Street
18. BirminghamUK: History of Birmingham 2
19. Historic Population Of Birmingham - Birmingham.gov.uk
20. Birmingham.gov.uk: History of Mayoralty
21. University of Birmingham: Inside the university
22. 1141397636571 Signalling the Sixties: 1960s Architecture in Birmingham
23. Major Development - Birmingham.gov.uk
24. Birmingham's Post War Black Immigrants - Birmingham.gov.uk
25. Birmingham City Council: Historic Population Of Birmingham
26. Ethnicity of Birmingham
27. 2001 Population Census: Gender Profiles
28. Places of Interest - Birmingham.gov.uk
29. 1157290087529 Birmingham City Council: Back to back in Birmingham
30. Barber Institute: The Coin Room
31. Birmingham City Council: Parks
32. Birmingham City Council: Introduction to Sutton Park
33. BBC Birmingham: Birmingham Central Mosque
34. MEM: Birmingham's New Leisure Complex
35. NUTS3 Gross Value Added (GVA) (1995-2003) Tables - Office for National Statistics. Data on sheet NUTS34, line 339
36. The History of Lloyds Bank
37. HSBC History (The HSBC Group in Europe) PDF document
38. Local Authority Profile: Birmingham - Office for National Statistics, Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics (Annual Business Inquiry Employee Analysis 2004)
39. Cushman & Wakefield: European Cities Monitor 2006
40. NEC Group (Conference City) - Locate Birmingham
41. Comparison Expenditure - CACI Retail Footprint 2005
42. NUTS3 Gross Value Added (GVA) (1995-2003) Tables - Office for National Statistics. Data on sheet NUTS33, line 102
43. Local area labour markets: statistical indicators - Parliamentary Constituency tables (Unemployment Rate January 2005 to December 2005) - Office for National Statistics
44. Coat of Arms Information - Birmingham.gov.uk
45. Business Objects Customers: Birmingham City Council - statement under "Local Service Management Devolved to the Districts"
46. Birmingham.gov.uk: Constituencies and Wards
47. Birmingham.gov.uk: Members of Parliament
48. What is a locally listed building?
49. Birmingham.gov.uk: Birmingham And Regional Planning
50. Canals in Birmingham - Birmingham.gov.uk
51. Spaghetti Junction - Birmingham.gov.uk
52. About BIA
53. Centro: Bus Services
54. Travelmetro.co.uk
55. The Midland Metro (Birmingham City Centre Extension, etc.) Order 2005
56. Birmingham City Council Primary and Secondary
57. Birmingham City Council Special Needs Schools
58. Facts about Birmingham Library Service - Birmingham.gov.uk
59. Birmingham Adult Education Service
60. Birmingham Mobile Library Service
61. ''College gets new bite of Apple'' - Birmingham Post, March 21 2006
62. Grammar Schools of King Edward the Sixth
63. Sutton Coldfield College
64. Joseph Chamberlain College
65. [1]
66. ''Birmingham - 'The National City of Sport''' - BBC Where I Live
Birmingham: European City Of Sport - Concept2
67. "Lawn Tennis and Major T. H. Gem" Birmingham Civic Society
68. Played in Birmingham, Steve Beauchampe, , , Malavan Media, 2006,
Birmingham's Sporting Heritage - Birmingham.gov.uk
69. Birmingham Breweries
70. BID Broad Street
71. ''Taste of the Orient sweet for Wing Yip'' - The Birmingham Post Midland Rich List 2006
72. Birmingham.gov.uk: The Balti Experience - Accessed 19/12/2006
73. Sugarvine: Michelin Recommended Restaurants in Birmingham
74. Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal, David Konow, , , Three Rivers Press, 2002,
75. Birmingham Local Events (BBC)
76. Birmingham International Jazz Festival venues
77. Thomas Trotter on Patrick Garvey.com
78. Birmingham Town Hall's Organ - Birmingham.gov.uk
79. Birmingham Royal Ballet - Birmingham.gov.uk
80. Elmhurst School for Dance's website
81. Birmingham.gov.uk: Theatres in Birmingham
82. About the Birmingham Poet Laureate
83. Barber Institute is 'Gallery of the Year'
84. ''Will a fest by any other name smell as sweet? - icBirmingham, Dec 1 2006
85. History of St. Patrick's Day
86. The Electric Cinema website
87. BBC: About Us - Information about BBC English Regions
88. Lights, campus, action for BBC Birmingham's Television Drama Village - BBC Press Release
89. Radio Now: Radio stations in the West Midlands
90. Birmingham.gov.uk: Nightlife in Birmingham
91. 1083070309470 Schedule of Nationally Listed Buildings of Historic Interest in Birmingham
92. The Lad In The Lane, Erdington pub-explorer.com
93. History of Kings Norton Birmingham.gov.uk
94. Self-Help and Civic Culture: Citizenship in Victorian Birmingham, Anne Baltz Rodrick, , , Ashgate Publishing, 2004,
95. BBC Birmingham: Birmingham's hidden jewel
96. ''Tower Block Modernism vs. Urban Morphology: An analysis of Lee Bank, Birmingham'' - Phil Jones (using Lee Bank as example)
97. Aerial View of New Street Station 1963
98. Birmingham.gov.uk: Castle Vale
99. Birmingham High Places document
100. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6349501.stm
101. BirminghamNet: Facts about Birmingham
102. BirminghamUK: Lunar Society
103. Partner Cities Birmingham.gov.uk
104. BirminghamNet: Birmingham, Alabama
★ ''Birmingham A Study in Geography, History and Planning'', By Gordon E. Cherry (1994) ISBN 0-471-94900-0
★ ''A History of Warwickshire'', By
Canon Doctor Terry Slater (1981) ISBN 0-85033-416-0
★ ''Positively Birmingham'', By Johnathan Berg (1994) ISBN 0-9523179-0-7
★ ''Managing a Conurbation: Birmingham and its Region'' Edited By A.J.Gerard and
Canon Doctor Terry Slater (1996) ISBN 1-85858-083-8
External links
★
Birmingham City Council
★
The Birmingham Civic Society
★
Birmingham Community Empowerment Network
★
Images of Birmingham Photo Library - A photo library of Birmingham
★
BirminghamNet - Digital photo gallery of Birmingham City and Suburbs
★
Virtualbrum.co.uk - photographs and information
★
Views of Birmingham in Old Postcards
★
Up Yer Brum - A Birmingham focused social news site.
★
Talk Like A Brummie - A wiki-based Birmingham dialect dictionary.
★
Birmingham: It's Not Shit - A humorous celebration of Brummie culture.
★
Birmingham Stories - Birmingham's past and the inventions from the city
★
Brumbeat Birmingham's Music - A guide to the city's musicians past and present.
★
Unsigned City - Not for profit guide to Birmingham's unsigned bands + forum.
★
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham, a circa 1885 "''history and guide, containing thousands of dates and references to matters of interest connected with the past and present history of the town''", from
Project Gutenberg.
★
Birmingham timeline
★
Made in Birmingham - industrial history
★
Birmingham Conservation Trust
★
★
Birmingham Insiders City Guide
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
.jpg)
