Birmingham

Birmingham (pron. IPA: [ˈbɜ:mɪŋˌəm]/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 widely considered to be the United Kingdom's second city. 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".^[2]

The City of Birmingham has a population of 1,001,200 (2005 estimate).^[3] It forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census) and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.

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,^[4] which is derived from an earlier name of the city, '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.

History

Main article: History of Birmingham

Birmingham has a recorded history going back 1,000 years. In this time, it has grown from a tiny Anglo-Saxon farming village into a major industrial and commercial city.^[5]

The Birmingham area was occupied in Roman times, with several military roads and a large fort. Birmingham started life as a small Anglo-Saxon farming hamlet in the Early Middle Ages. It 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 charter to hold a market, which in time became known as the Bull Ring. As a convenient location for trade, Birmingham soon developed into a small but thriving market town.

Birmingham's industrial heritage pre-dates the industrial revolution by several centuries. As early as the 16th century, Birmingham's access to supplies of iron ore and coal meant that metalworking industries became established. In 1538 during the reign of King Henry VIII, a traveller named John Leland visited Birmingham, and noted that items such as knives and nails were being produced in small forges and workshops ^[6].

By the time of the English Civil War in the 17th century Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. After Birmingham was sacked by Royalists in 1643. 15,000 swords were reputedly produced in Birmingham for Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian forces ^[7]. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the Gun Quarter.

During the Industrial Revolution (from the mid 18th century onwards), Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial centre. Unlike many other English industrial cities such as Manchester, industry in Birmingham was based upon small workshops rather than large factories or mills.

From the 1760s onwards, a large network of canals were built across Birmingham and the Black Country, to transport raw materials and finished goods.^[10] By the 1820s an extensive canal system had been constructed; Birmingham is often described as having more miles of canals than Venice.

During the 18th century, Birmingham was home to the Lunar Society an important gathering of thinkers and industrialists.

Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837, with the opening of the Grand Junction Railway and later the London and Birmingham Railway the railways soon linked Birmingham to every corner of Britain. New Street Station was opened as a joint station in 1854; this was soon followed by the Great Western Railway's Snow Hill station.^[11]

During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million^[12] and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England and the third in Britain after Glasgow and then London. Birmingham's importance led to it being granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria.

The city built its own university in 1900, The University of Birmingham, which became the first of Britain's Redbrick universities.

Birmingham was originally part of Warwickshire, however the city expanded in the late 19th and early 20th century, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to the west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974, and at the same time became part of the new West Midlands county.

Birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II during the Birmingham Blitz, and partly as a result of this the city centre was extensively re-developed during the 1950s and 1960s, with many concrete office buildings, ring-roads, and now much-derided pedestrian subways. As a result, Birmingham gained a reputation for ugliness and was frequently described as a "concrete jungle".^[13]

In recent years however, Birmingham has been transformed, the city centre has been extensively renovated and restored with the construction of new squares, the restoration of old streets, buildings and canals, the removal of the pedestrian subways, and the demolition and subsequent redevelopment of the Bull Ring shopping centre, which now includes the architecturally unique Selfridges building.^[14]

In the decades following World War II, the face of Birmingham changed dramatically, with large scale immigration from the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond.^[15]

Birmingham's transition from an industrial centre to a tourism and services economy is best illustrated by the hosting of the first official summit of the G8 at the International Convention Centre (May 15 to May 17, 1998).

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 150-200 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,^[16] Clent Hills and Walton Hill, which reach 315 metres (1,033 ft) and have good 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 and their tributaries. 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.^[17][18]

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 (eg Moseley, Saltley, Hockley) with names ending in "-ley", an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "woodland clearing".

Climate

These are the average and record temperatures as provided by BBC Weather.^[19]

The weather in Birmingham is quite temperate with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 20C (68F); and in winter (January) is around 4.5C (40F). The weather is hardly extreme but there have been a few tornadoes in the area- the most recent being in July 2005 in the South of the city tearing homes and businesses in the area.^[20]

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.

Areas and suburbs of the city

Nearby places

• Cities: Coventry, Leicester, Lichfield, Wolverhampton, Worcester
• Towns: Bedworth, Bromsgrove, Cannock, Droitwich, Dudley, Halesowen, Kenilworth, Kidderminster, Kings Norton, Nuneaton, Redditch, Royal Leamington Spa, Rugby, Solihull, Stafford, Stourbridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tamworth, Warwick, Walsall, West Bromwich
• Villages: Aldridge, Little Aston, Streetly
• See also the Black Country

Economy

Main article: 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.^[21]

Birmingham is a major financial and administrative centre. The city's central business district has the largest concentration of administrative and private sector office-based employment in England outside Central London.^[22][23] Two of Britain's "big four" banks were founded in Birmingham - Lloyds Bank (now Lloyds TSB) in 1765^[24] and the Midland Bank (now HSBC Bank plc) in 1836^[25] - and today the city employs 108,000 in banking, finance and insurance - exceeded in the UK only by Westminster and the City of London.^[26] Birmingham has particular strengths in accountancy and commercial law, with the Birmingham Law Society having over 300 member firms.^[27]

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.^[28] The city's sporting and cultural venues attract large numbers of visitors, as does the nightlife district around Broad Street. In total the West Midlands County attracts 1.1 million international visitors^[29] and 4.2 million domestic overnight visitors^[30] per year, making it the UK's third most-visited county after Greater London and Devon.

With an annual turnover of £2.2bn, Birmingham City Centre is the UK's second largest retail centre,^[31] with the country's busiest shopping centre - the Bull Ring with 36m visitors per year,^[32] and its third largest department store - House of Fraser (formerly Rackhams) on Corporation Street. Other major shopping areas include New Street, High Street, the Pavilions and Pallasades shopping centres and the upmarket Mailbox.

Birmingham's industrial heritage pre-dates the Industrial Revolution, and up until the 20th century the city maintained a tradition of individual craftsmen, sometimes working independently in their own back yards or on piecework rates in rented workshops, alongside larger factories. During the Industrial Revolution many factories, foundries and businesses prospered in the city, including the areas known as the Gun Quarter and Jewellery Quarter. Pen manufacture in Birmingham helped revolutionise writing across the world with many companies based in and around the Jewellery Quarter.^[33] The Jewellery Quarter is still the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe, and one third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made within one mile of Birmingham city centre. Until 2003, coins for circulation were manufactured in the Jewellery Quarter at the Birmingham Mint, the oldest independent mint in the world,^[34] which continues to produce commemorative coins and medals.

James Watt improved the steam engine while working in the city, and historically the largest manufacturers in the city have been associated with the steam, electric and petrol transport and power industries. The city's workers designed and constructed railway carriages, steam engines, motorcycles, bicycles, automobiles and even – unusually for somewhere so far from the sea – ships, which were made as pre-fabricated sections, then assembled at the coast.^[35] Birmingham was home to two major car factories: MG Rover in Longbridge and Jaguar in Castle Bromwich. The MG Rover car works went into administration in 2005, resulting in the plant being mothballed and the loss of 6,000 jobs at the site, plus more in the supply chain. Things are looking more positive in 2006 with the Nanjing Automobile Group (MG Rover's main purchasers) hoping to restart production of MG cars at Longbridge by 2007.^[36] Another small sports car manufacturer has set up business in the Longbridge premises.

The city's products include motor vehicles, vehicle components and accessories, weapons, electrical equipment, plastics, machine tools, chemicals, food, jewellery and glass. Scientific research (including research into nanotechnology at the University of Birmingham) is expanding in the city. Other famous brands from the city include Ariel Motorcycles, Bakelite, Bird's Custard, Brylcreem, BSA, Cadbury's chocolate, Chad Valley toys, Halfords, HP Sauce (but soon to be closed down by its American owners Heinz), Norton Motorcycles, Triumph Motorcycles, Typhoo Tea, Velocette Motorcycles and Valor, the list is extensive.^[37]

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,^[38] 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.^[39] 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.

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Birmingham

Although Birmingham has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, as the real growth of the city began with the Industrial Revolution. Consequently, relatively few buildings survive from its earlier history.

Traces of medieval Birmingham can be seen in the oldest churches, notably the original parish church, St Martin in the Bull Ring, where a church has stood since at least the 12th century.^[40] The current church (begun around 1290) was extensively re-built in the 1870s, retaining some original walls and foundations. A few other buildings from the medieval and Tudor periods survive, among them The Lad In The Lane public house in Erdington,^[41]also The Old Crown public house in Digbeth,^[42] the 15th century Saracen's Head public house and Old Grammar School in Kings Norton^[43] and Blakesley Hall in Yardley.^[44]

The city grew rapidly from Georgian times and a number of buildings survive from this period. Among them are St Philip's Cathedral, originally built as a parish church, St Paul's Church in the largely Georgian St Paul's Square, Soho House in Handsworth, the home of Matthew Boulton, Perrott's Folly in Ladywood (which is said to have later inspired J. R. R. Tolkien^[45]), and the Town Hall.

The Victorian era saw extensive building across the city. Major public buildings such as the Law Courts, the Council House (see picture) and the Museum & Art Gallery were constructed, many under the auspices of Joseph Chamberlain's reforming mayoralty. Saint Chad's Cathedral, built in 1839 by Augustus Pugin, was the first Roman Catholic Cathedral to be built in the UK since the Reformation. The characteristic materials of Victorian Birmingham are red brick and terracotta, and many fine Victorian buildings have been retained on New Street and Corporation Street in the city centre. 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.

Continued population growth in the interwar period, saw vast estates of semi-detached houses being built on greenfield land in outlying parts of the city such as Kingstanding and Weoley Castle, but the coming of World War II and the Blitz claimed many lives and many beautiful buildings too. However, the destruction that took place in post-war Birmingham was also extensive: dozens of fine Victorian buildings like the intricate glass-roofed Birmingham New Street Station, and the old Central Library, were razed in the 1950s and 1960s and replaced with modernist concrete buildings. In inner-city areas too, much Victorian housing was redeveloped and existing communities were relocated to tower block estates like Castle Vale and Bromford.

The planning decisions of the post-war years were to have a profound effect on the image of Birmingham in subsequent decades, with the mix of ring roads, shopping malls and tower blocks often referred to as a 'concrete jungle'. To ameliorate this situation, Birmingham has launched an extensive tower block demolition and renovation programme. There has been a lot of new building in the city centre in recent years, including the award-winning Future Systems' Selfridges building, an irregularly-shaped structure covered in thousands of reflective discs (see picture), the Brindleyplace development and the Millennium Point science and technology centre.

Highrise development has slowed since the 1970s and mainly in recent years due to enforcements on the heights of buildings as they could affect aircraft from the International Airport. Beetham Tower, standing on Holloway Circus was originally going to be about 190 metres tall however, the CAA forced the Beetham organisation to reduce the height of the tower to 122 metres. Another tower that has been forced to be reduced in height is Arena Central Tower which is yet to be constructed. The tower was originally going to be 245 metres in height however after the attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City, it was shortened to 180 metres. However, these rules are now being scrapped as it has been recognised that interest in highrise architecture for the city has been reduced. One of the latest towers that has been allowed to be increased in height is the Broad Street Tower which is set to be 134 metres and will most likely be approved due to the airport removing all objections to it.

Some fine architects hail from the city such as Glenn Howells and Ken Shuttleworth.

Politics

Main article: Government of Birmingham

Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK. Following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004 it has 120 councillors representing just under one million people, in 40 wards.

After the election of 4 May 2006, there is no overall control, with the 120 seats being divided between the Labour, (44 councillors), Conservative (41) and Liberal Democrat (33) parties, with 2 Others.^[46]

In the 2006 elections, when a third of the council was up for re-election, Labour lost a net total of two seats, the Conservatives made a net gain of one, the Liberal Democrats had no change, and Respect won a seat. It initially appeared that the British National Party had also gained a seat, but it soon transpired their candidate's election had been caused by a counting error and was subsequently overturned in favour of the previously third-placed Labour party candidate following an election petition.^[47]

There is a Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, with Conservative group leader Mike Whitby as Leader of the council and Lib Dem group leader Paul Tilsley as Deputy Leader.

Birmingham's eleven parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons by one Conservative, one Liberal Democrat, and nine Labour MPs.

Law enforcement in Birmingham is carried out by the West Midlands Police and fire and rescue by the West Midlands Fire Service.

Birmingham is also the seat of the Government Office for the West Midlands region.

Demographics

Birmingham is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. Birmingham has the smallest indigenous population by percentage of many of the major British cities. 29.6% of its population is non-white, where as London, commonly seen as the most diverse of British cities is 29.0% non-white. This is compared to Liverpool which is only 5.1% non-white.

At the time of the 2001 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^[48]. 16.5% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom.

The areas with highest percentage of Birmingham's white population were Northfield, Longbridge and Shard End, each with 3.4% of the city's total white population. Lozells and East Handsworth had the lowest percentage of Birmingham's white population with 0.7% of the city's total white population^[49].

In terms of religion, the main religion in Birmingham was Christianity with 59.1% of the population being Christians. The second largest religion was Islam with 14.3% of the population being Muslims. 12.4% of the population have no religion^[50].

The population density is 3,649 people per square km compared to the 377.2 people per square km for England. 23.4% of people were aged under 16, 57.7% were aged between 16 and 59, while 18.9% were aged over 60. The average age was 36, compared with 38.6 years for England.^[51]

The percentage of the population of Birmingham that were female was higher than the percentage of the population of Birmingham that were male. Females represented 51.6% of the population whilst men represented 48.4%.

Places of interest

See also Places of interest in Birmingham^[52]

Museums and galleries

Birmingham has a rich industrial history which is now preserved in many museums located all over Birmingham city centre and outside the city centre boundaries. Many museums are preserved buildings which are restored to the time period in which they were most significant.

The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery looks over Chamberlain Square. Its renowned displays of artwork include a leading collection of work by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones in the world. It also contains collections of archaeological findings, ethnography, and social history and also hosts exhibitions in adjacent halls.

The Birmingham Thinktank is one of the newest museums in the city which replaced the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Science Museum. It is part of the Millennium Point complex in the Eastside area of Birmingham.

Aston Hall is a large hall in Aston built between 1618 and 1635. It is now preserved, along with gardens, but is closed for renovation, throughout 2007.

The Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city. They are decorated in different time periods to give visitors an idea of what living in each house was like during different decades.

The Jewellery Quarter in Hockley is the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter shows the history of the area and the building it is situated in. The interiors are maintained to the standard to what was found when the building was first accessed after being abandoned.

Sarehole Mill is a water mill museum in Hall Green. J. R. R. Tolkien lived within 300 metres of the mill between the ages four and eight, and would have seen it from his house. This makes the mill a favourite destination for fans of the author.

Blakesley Hall is a Tudor house in Yardley which has been preserved as an attraction along with the gardens and a visitor centre.

The Gun Quarter was once the foremost gun manufacturing community in the UK and now contains a wide range of Victorian style buildings.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is both an art gallery and concert hall. As well as housing some famous works by Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, it also has one of the worlds most detailed and largest coin collections. In 2004, the gallery received the title, Gallery of the Year.

Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and the company which started on Bull Street in the city centre. However, the museum is located in Bournville, which can be reached by taking the train from Birmingham New Street Station (15 minutes).

Sports locations

Birmingham has two major football teams and two large stadia; Villa Park (Aston Villa Football Club) and St Andrews (Birmingham City Football Club). Villa Park is one of the largest grounds in the country, and often hosts FA Cup semi-finals, and hosted three World Cup matches in 1966. Aston Villa play in the FA Premier League while Birmingham City play in the league below, the Football League Championship. Birmingham is also home to greyhound racing and has two tracks in Perry Barr and Hall Green, Perry Barr undergoing a major refurbishment in 2004. Major cricket competitions are often held at Warwickshire County Cricket Club in Edgbaston. Sporting events are also held at the National Indoor Arena (NIA).

Parks and squares

There are over 8000 acres of parkland open spaces in Birmingham.^[53] The largest of the parks is Sutton Park covering 2400 acres making it the largest urban nature reserve in Europe.^[54]

Another major park in the city is Cannon Hill Park which contains a timber-framed house, a model of the Elan Valley Reservoirs and two lakes. BRMB, the local radio station, hosts the Party in the Park in Cannon Hill Park. The mac, a non profit arts centre, is located in the park not far from the model of the Elan Valley Reservoirs.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a Victorian creation which still exist to this day with a conservatory and bandstand. The large area is a superb opportunity for recreation and relaxation and is not far from the city centre.

There are numerous squares in Birmingham city centre. Many contain memorials and pieces of art. Four major squares in the city centre are:

• Centenary Square
• Chamberlain Square featuring a BBC Big Screen