Birmingham

Birmingham first appears in FTHM Issue 88 

Birmingham is a vibrant and interesting city that is the most populated local government district with 1.2 million inhabitants, in the UK. It is located in the West Midlands of England and is 100 miles from Central London and has produced many world-famous artists, musicians and sports people. Its inhabitants are called Brummies.

Today, Birmingham is dominated by the service sector but if you delve deeper into its history, you will find that it has evolved differently to other major cities in the UK and has always possessed a very strong entrepreneurial spirit.

There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area which dates back to about 8000 BC and Stone Age artefacts have been found which suggest that there had been seasonal settlements and maybe overnight hunting expeditions. 

It is thought that burnt mounds mean that humans settled and cultivated the area during the Bronze Age. Then when the Romans conquered Britain during the 1st century, the Birmingham Plateau was a barrier to their advancement in the area, though they did build Metchley fort near what is today Edgbaston in AD 48 – this was important in the development of Roman roads in Britain.

But let’s fast forward to more recent times and the development of Birmingham as a significant urban and commercial centre. In 1166, Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle which resulted in an organised market town and borough within his manorial estate – this site became the famous Bull Ring and established Birmingham as a small commercial centre. The town grew into a prosperous urban centre within 100 years of the charter being issued. Interestingly, by 1327, Birmingham had become the third biggest town in Warwickshire and this status quo was preserved for the next 200 years.

In the 16th century, Birmingham experienced a collapse of its main governing institutions which meant the town was left with more social and economic freedom and started a period of change and growth. By 1700, its population was the fifth largest in England and Wales. It is worth noting that iron goods became increasingly important to Birmingham and the industry grew rapidly as the 16th century progressed. As the town became the centre for iron merchants, these became involved in finance, supplied raw materials and trade and promoted the products created by the industry. The iron production in the town continued to progress with a network of forges and furnaces and finished products were even sold as far away as the West Indies.

By the English Civil War, Birmingham saw an expansion of social mobility and cultural diversity but there was little loyalty to existing hierarchies of the Church and aristocracy which resulted in political radicalism. Consequently, the Royalist forces attacked these Parliamentarians in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643.

By the 18th century, Birmingham had evolved to become a centre of literature, music and theatrical activity and innovation. Men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir were influential in the exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacture and technology which served as a link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution which was to follow.

It can be argued that the town’s experience of the Industrial Revolution differed from elsewhere and preceded that of the textile industry manufacture in the North of England. It is also true to say that Birmingham’s industrial development was more entrepreneurial in nature with the existence of many small, often self-owned, workshops which involved exceptional levels of inventiveness and creativity. It is not an accident that Birmingham residents registered triple the number of patents than any other place in Britain between 1760 and 1850. The town also became a major international financial centre and Lloyds bank was founded there in 1765, followed by Ketley’s Building Society in 1775 – which was the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

During the 18th century, there were also some important innovations expressed in the town and by people from the town, like Abraham Darby I who built the first blast furnace in 1709 in order to successfully smelt iron ore with coke (which led to good quality cast iron) and the invention of roller spinning in the cotton industry in 1732 by Lewis Paul and John Wyatt. Importantly, the opening of Soho Manufactory by Matthew Bolton in 1765 influenced the whole of the factory system.

Birmingham has always been a home to political activists and, in 1832, John Bright helped bring about the Second Reform Act of 1867 which resulted in an extension of the voting rights of the urban working class. The 19th century saw many important developments in Birmingham like it becoming the terminus for the world’s first two long distance railway lines between London and Birmingham. In 1839, Rowland Hill created the first universal postal system and invented the postage stamp. Significantly, the 1820s witnessed the building of the town’s canal system which allowed access to natural resources and to fuel for industries.

Queen Victoria granted Birmingham city status in 1889 and, during her reign, the population grew to over half a million people which gave the city the second largest population in Britain.

WW II saw heavy damage to Birmingham as it was targeted by the German Luftwaffe. But there was a lot of much-needed regeneration of the city after the war such as: the building of two large tower block estates including Castle Vale, the reconstruction of the Bull Ring and the redevelopment of New Street Station.

The demographic makeup of the city changed following WW II with large scale immigration from commonwealth and also some non-commonwealth countries. The population actually peaked at 1,113,000 in 1951.

Birmingham remained very prosperous until the late 1970s when Government policy resulted in industry being dispersed to Wales and the North of England. As a result, the city became more dependent on the motor industry until the recession in the early 1980s caused the collapse of its whole economy with the result being mass unemployment and outbreaks of social disturbances in some inner-city districts.

As mentioned earlier, there has been a big attempt made at regeneration of the city like The Mail Box and Brindley Place areas and old streets, buildings and canals have been restored. The Commonwealth Games are due to be held in Birmingham this year and also in 2014, it was the most visited city in the UK by foreign nationals which shows how important the city still is.

Now let’s take a more detailed look at modern Birmingham. It is notable that the city possesses 591 parks (the most of any other equivalent sized European city) which include: Sutton Park, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Wildlife Conservation where you will find a mini zoo.

Birmingham obviously places a great importance on education and this is reflected by the fact that it has five universities as well as being the Open University’s West Midlands base. If you are interested in studying business there are various opportunities available to you in the city. There are also 25 nursery schools, 328 primary schools, 77 secondary schools and 29 special schools. If you prefer an independent education for your child schools are available for them to attend. Libraries are also well represented in Birmingham, though some have closed due to budget cuts.

As alluded to earlier in this article, Birmingham is now heavily reliant on the service sector with 88% of working people being employed in it. However, some notable companies like Severn Trent Water, Jaguar Land Rover and Cadbury still have a large presence in the city. Many small businesses also still thrive in Birmingham like those in the Jewellery Quarter. It also provides conference facilities and attracts 42% of the UK total conference and exhibition trade.

Birmingham is somewhat unique as it boasts a high level of entrepreneurial business outside of London although it does also experience income and employment deprivation.

If you are a visitor to Birmingham, you will find it architecturally pleasing and to be a very cultural place in which to spend time. In the city, there are 1,946 listed buildings and 13 ancient monuments. Churches like the original parish church, St Martin, reflect the medieval and Tudor eras as does the public house The Old Crown. It’s true to say that the city’s architecture mainly represents the last three centuries and includes buildings from the Georgian St Philip’s (cathedral) and the Victorian era (red brick and terracotta). A spirit of anti-Victorianism meant many buildings have been lost like the Old Central Library as much was demolished and redeveloped after the Second World War.

Music has played a large part in the social life of Birmingham and many great bands have originated from the city: ELO, The Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, Duran Duran and many more – half of the supergroup Led Zeppelin came from the city. Reggae and Ska have also been an important genre of music in the city with exceptional bands like UB40 and Steel Pulse.

If you like to enjoy the nightlife, then maybe Birmingham’s the place for you! Mainly based on Broad Street and Brindley Place, there are numerous bars and clubs as well as those in Hurst Street Gay Village. Outside the city centre, you could also visit the entertainment complex that is Star City. 1994, also saw the opening of The Glee Club which is dedicated to comedy.

There are many theatres in which you can spend many a happy hour like Birmingham Repertory Theatre and The Old Repertory. The Birmingham Royal Ballet also has an excellent international reputation as, has the Birmingham Opera Company which features many avant-garde productions which take place in unusual places like factories.

Many great writers including Arthur Conan Doyle, Samuel Johnson and J R R Tolkien have associations with the city.

If you are interested in live music, you could perhaps visit Arena Birmingham or 02 during your stay in the city – there is so much to do! Then again, if you prefer Classical music or ballet, you could go and see Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and/or the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Jazz is also popular in the city and if you time your visit right, you could attend the Harmonic Festival or the annual Jazz Festival.

For those with a penchant for museums and art galleries, then maybe a trip to Birmingham would be worthwhile as there is Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which has works by the Pre-Raphaelites and work by masters like Rubens and Bellini, and also a smaller gallery called The Barber Institute of Fine Arts which contains excellent examples of art from the 13th century until now. If you like chocolate, you could also visit Cadbury World!

Like in most large cities, sport plays a major role in the social life of many people – and Birmingham is no different. The city is the home to professional teams Aston Villa F.C. and Birmingham City F.C. and, although just outside the city boundaries, West Bromwich Albion F.C draws much support from within. You can watch test cricket and one-day internationals at Edgbaston Cricket Ground where Warwickshire County Cricket also play. Both codes of rugby are played in the city as is tennis and hockey, as well as there being provision for boxing, speedway, skateboarding and greyhound racing in the area. There are also two major championship golf courses: The Belfry and The Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club.

If you think you would like to experience life in Birmingham, it wouldn’t be hard for you to do so as there is an excellent road and railway infrastructure (including Spaghetti Junction!) which links the city to other major cities in the UK. Canals remain from the Industrial Revolution but today, they are mainly used for leisure purposes and are a tourist attraction.

In this article I have tried to give you a condensed taste of the city of Birmingham which has much to offer – but there is nothing like seeing it for yourself!

* With a lot of help from Wikipedia More from Dean’s Places here