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diff --git a/old/14472.txt b/old/14472.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0e74980 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14472.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22632 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham +by Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham + A History And Guide Arranged Alphabetically + +Author: Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell + +Release Date: December 26, 2004 [EBook #14472] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHOWELL'S DICTIONARY OF BIRMINGHAM *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Carol David and the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: There are small sections where the print is missing +from the original. Missing words have been marked [**]. Minor obvious +typographical errors have been corrected. Fractions: example four and a +half = 4-1/2. Bold text is denoted by ~] + +SHOWELL'S + +Dictionary of Birmingham. + +A HISTORY AND GUIDE, + +Arranged Alphabetically, + +Containing Thousands of Dates and References to Matters of +Interest connected with the Past and Present History of the Town--its +Public Buildings, Chapels, Churches and Clubs--its Friendly +Societies and Benevolent Associations, Philanthropic and Philosophical +Institutions--its Colleges and Schools, Parks, Gardens, Theatres, and +Places of Amusement--its Men of Worth and Noteworthy Men, +Manufactures and Trades, Population, Rates, Statistics of progress, +&c., &c. + + * * * * * + +Compiled by THOS. T. HARMAN, Author of "The Local Book +of Dates," "Notes and Records," &c., + + +FOR THE PROPRIETORS-- +WALTER SHOWELL & SONS, +_CROSS WELLS BREWERY, OLDBURY_, + +Head Offices: 157, ST. CHARLES STREET, BIRMINGHAM. + + * * * * * + +BIRMINGHAM: + +Printed by J.G. Hammond & Co., 136-38 Edmund Street; and Published by +CORNISH BROTHERS, NEW STREET. + + + + + +SHOWELL'S + +~Dictionary of Birmingham.~ + + + + +~NOTES OF BIRMINGHAM IN THE PAST.~ + + +~Birmingham to the Seventh Century.~--We have no record or traces +whatever of there being inhabitants in this neighbourhood, though there +can be little doubt that in the time of the invasion of the Romans some +British strongholds were within a few miles of the place, sundry remains +having been found to show that many battles had been fought near here. +If residents there were prior to King Edward the Confessor's reign, they +would probably be of Gurth's tribe, and their huts even Hutton, +antiquarian and historian as he was, failed to find traces of. How the +name of this our dwelling-place came about, nobody knows. Not less than +twelve dozen ways have been found to spell it; a score of different +derivations "discovered" for it; and guesses innumerable given as to its +origin, but we still wait for the information required. + +~Birmingham in the Conqueror's Days.~--The Manor was held, in 1066, by +Alwyne, son of Wigod the Dane, who married the sister of the Saxon +Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to "Domesday Book," in 1086, it was +tenanted by Richard, who, held, under William Fitz-Ansculf, and included +four hides of land and half-a-mile of wood, worth 20s.; there were 150 +acres in cultivation, with but nine residents, five villeins, and four +bordarers. In 1181 there were 18 freeholders (_libere tenentes_) in +Birmingham cultivating 667 acres, and 35 tenants _in demesne_, holding +158 acres, the whole value being L13 8s. 2d. + +~Birmingham in the Feudal Period.~--The number of armed men furnished by +this town for Edward III.'s wars were four, as compared with six from +Warwick, and forty from Coventry. + +~Birmingham in the Time of the Edwards and Harrys.~--The Manor passed +from the Bermingham family in 1537, through the knavish trickery of Lord +L'Isle, to whom it was granted in 1545. The fraud, however, was not of +much service to the noble rascal, as he was beheaded for treason in +1553. In 1555 the Manor was given by Queen Mary to Thomas Marrow, of +Berkswell. + +~Birmingham in 1538.~--Leland, who visited here about this date, says in +his "Itinerary"--"There be many smithies in the towne that use to make +knives and all manner of cutlery tooles, and many lorimers that make +bittes, and a great many naylors, so that a great part of the towne is +maintained by smithes, who have their iron and seacole out of +Staffordshire." He describes the town as consisting of one street, about +a quarter of a mile long, "a pretty street or ever I enterd," and "this +street, as I remember, is called Dirtey." + +~Birmingham in 1586.~--Camden in his "Britannica," published this year, +speaks of "Bremicham, swarming with inhabitants, and echoing with the +noise of anvils, for the most part of them are smiths." + +~Birmingham in 1627.~--In a book issued at Oxford this year mention is +made of "Bremincham inhabited with blacksmiths, and forging sundry kinds +of iron utensils." + +~Birmingham in 1635.~--As showing the status the town held at this date +we find that it was assessed for "ship money" by Charles I. at L100, the +same as Warwick, while Sutton Coldfield had to find L80 and Coventry +L266. + +~Birmingham in 1656.~--Dugdale speaks of it as "being a place very +eminent for most commodities made of iron." + +~Birmingham in 1680-90.~--Macaulay says: The population of Birmingham +was only 4,000, and at that day nobody had heard of Birmingham guns. He +also says there was not a single regular shop where a Bible or almanack +could be bought; on market days a bookseller named Michael Johnson +(father of the great Samuel Johnson) came over from Lichfield and opened +a stall for a few hours, and this supply was equal to the demand. The +gun trade, however, was introduced here very soon after, for there is +still in existence a warrant from the Office of Ordnance to "pay to John +Smart for Thomas Hadley and the rest of the Gunmakers of Birmingham, one +debenture of ffour-score and sixteen poundes and eighteen shillings, +dated ye 14th of July, 1690."--Alexander Missen, visiting this town in +his travels, said that "swords, heads of canes, snuff-boxes, and other +fine works of steel," could be had, "cheaper and better here than even +in famed Milan." + +~Birmingham in 1691.~--The author of "The New State of England," +published this year, says: "Bromichan drives a good trade in iron and +steel wares, saddles and bridles, which find good vent at London, +Ireland, and other parts." By another writer, "Bromicham" is described +as "a large and well-built town, very populous, much resorted to, and +particularly noted a few years ago for the counterfeit groats made here, +and dispersed all oven the kingdom." + +~Birmingham in 1731.~--An old "Road-book" of this date, says that +"Birmingham, Bromicham, or Bremicham, is a large town, well built and +populous. The inhabitants, being mostly smiths, are very ingenious in +their way, and vend vast quantities of all sorts of iron wares." The +first map of the town (Westley's) was published in this year. It showed +the Manorhouse on an oval island, about 126 yards long by 70 yards +extreme width, surrounded by a moat about twelve yards broad. Paradise +Street was then but a road through the fields; Easy Hill (now Easy Row), +Summer Hill, Newhall Hill, Ludgate Hill, Constitution Hill, and Snow +Hill pleasant pastures. + +~Birmingham in 1750.~--Bradford's plan of the town, published in 1751, +showed a walk by Rea side, where lovers could take a pleasant stroll +from Heath Mill Lane. The country residences at Mount Pleasant (now Ann +Street) were surrounded with gardens, and it was a common practice to +dry clothes on the hedges in Snow Hill. In "England's Gazetteer," +published about this date, Birmingham or Bromichan is said to be "a +large, well-built, and populous town, noted for the most ingenious +artificers in boxes, buckles, buttons, and other iron and steel wares; +wherein such multitudes of people are employed that they are sent all +over Europe; and here is a continual noise of hammers, anvils, and +files." + +~Birmingham in 1765.~--Lord and Lady Shelburne visited here in 1765. Her +ladyship kept a diary, and in it she describes Mr. Baskerville's house +(Easy Row) as "a pretty place out of the town." She also mentions +visiting a Quaker's to see "the making of guns." + +~Birmingham in 1766.~--In "A New Tour through England," by George +Beaumont, Esq., and Capt. Henry Disney, Birmingham is described as "a +very large populous town, the upper part of which stands dry on the side +of a hill, but the lower is watry, and inhabited by the meaner sort of +people. They are employed here in the Iron Works, in which they are such +ingenious artificers, that their performances in the smallwares of iron +and steel are admired both at home and abroad. 'Tis much improved of +late years, both in public and private buildings." + +~Birmingham in 1781.~--Hutton published his "History of Birmingham" this +year. He estimated that there were then living ninety-four townsmen who +were each worth over L5,000; eighty worth over L10,000; seventeen worth +over L20,000; eight worth over L30,000; seven worth over L50,000; and +three at least worth over L100,000 each. + +~Birmingham in 1812.~--The appearance of the town then would be strange +indeed to those who know but the Birmingham of to-day. Many +half-timbered houses remained in the Bull Ring and cows grazed near +where the Town Hall now stands, there being a farmhouse at the back of +the site of Christ Church, then being built. Recruiting parties paraded +the streets with fife and drum almost daily, and when the London mail +came in with news of some victory in Spain it was no uncommon thing for +the workmen to take the horses out and drag the coach up the Bull Ring +amid the cheers of the crowd. At night the streets were patrolled by +watchmen, with rattles and lanterns, who called the hours and the +weather. + + * * * * * + +~AB House,~ so called from the initials inscribed thereon to show the +division of the parishes of Aston and Birmingham near to Deritend +Bridge. Early in 1883 part of the foundations were uncovered, showing +that the old building was raised on wooden piles, when the neighbourhood +was little better than a swamp. + +~ABC Time Table~ was first issued in July, 1853. A rival, called the +"XYZ Time Table," on a system that was to make all the puzzles of +Bradshaw as plain as pikestaves, was brought out in August, 1877, but it +required such extra wise heads to understand its simplicity that before +one could be found the whole thing was lost, the old Alpha being +preferred to the new Omega. + +~Accidents and Accidental Deaths~ are of constant occurrence. Those here +noted are but a few which, from their peculiar nature, have been placed +on record for reference. + +A woman fell in Pudding Brook, June 3, 1794, and was drowned in the +puddle. + +In 1789, a Mr. Wright, a patten-maker, of Digbeth, attempted to cross +the old bridge over the Rea, fell in and was "smothered in the mud." + +The Bridge in Wheeley's Road was burst up by flood waters, November 26, +1853. + +Five men were killed by the fall of a scaffold in New Street Station, +Oct. 11, 1862. + +A lady was accidently shot in Cheapside, Nov. 5, 1866. + +Pratt, a marker at Bournebrook Rifle Range, was shot April 12, 1873. + +The body of a man named Thomas Bishop who had fallen in a midden in +Oxford Street, was found Oct. 3, 1873. + +Charles Henry Porter, surgeon, Aug. 10, 1876, died from an overdose of +prussic acid taken as a remedy. + +Richard Riley was killed by the bursting of a sodawater bottle, June 19, +1877. + +Alfred Mills drowned in a vinegar vat at the Brewery in Glover Street, +March 7, 1878. + +Two gentlemen (Messrs. W. Arnold and G. Barker), while on a visit of +inspection at Sandwell Park Colliery, Nov. 6, 1878, were killed by +falling from the cage. Two miners, father and son, were killed by a fall +of coal in the following week. + +A water main, 30 inches diameter, burst in Wheeler Street, June 17, +1879. + +On the night of Sep. 5, 1880, Mrs. Kingham, landlady of the "Hen and +Chickens," fell through a doorway on the third storey landing into the +yard, dying a few hours after. The doorway was originally intended to +lead to a gallery of the Aquarium then proposed to be built at the back +of the hotel. + +January 12th, 1881.--A helper in the menagerie at Sanger's Exhibition, +then at Bingley Hall, was attacked and seriously injured by a lion, +whose den he was cleaning out. The animal was beaten off by the keeper, +the said keeper, Alicamoosa (?) himself being attacked and injured a few +days after by the same animal. + +A child of 17 months fell on to a sewer grating in River Street, May +28th, 1881, and died from the effects of hot steam arising therefrom, +neighbouring manufacturers pouring their waste boiler water into the +sewers. + +~Accidental Deaths by Drowning.~--Five persons were drowned at Soho +Pool, on Christmas Day, 1822, through the ice breaking under them. + +In 1872, John Jerromes lost his life while trying to save a boy who had +fallen into Fazeley Street Canal. L200 subscriptions were raised for his +wife and family. + +A boat upset at the Reservoir, April 11, 1873, when one life was lost. + +Boat upset at Kirby's Pools, whereby one Lawrence Joyce was drowned, May +17, 1875. Two men were also drowned here July 23, 1876. + +Three boys, and a young man named Hodgetts, who attempted to save them, +were drowned, Jan 16, 1876, at Green's Hole Pool, Garrison Lane, through +breaking of the ice. + +Arthur, 3rd son of Sir C.B. Adderley, was drowned near Blair Athol, July +1, 1877, aged 21. + +Four boys were drowned at the Reservoir, July 26, 1877. + +Two children were drowned in the Rea at Jakeman's Fields, May 30, 1878. + +Rev. S. Fiddian, a Wesleyan Minister, of this town, aged nearly 80, was +drowned while bathing at Barmouth, Aug. 4, 1880. + +A Mrs. Satchwell was drowned at Earlswood, Feb. 3, 1883, though a +carrier's cart falling over the embankment into the Reservoir in the +dusk of the evening. The horse shared the fate of the lady, but the +driver escaped. + +~Accidental Death from Electricity.~--Jan. 20, 1880, a musician, named +Augustus Biedermann, took hold of two joints of the wires supplying the +electric lights of the Holte Theatre, and receiving nearly the full +force of the 40-horse power battery, was killed on the spot. + +~Accidents from Fallen Buildings.~--A house in Snow Hill fell Sept. 1, +1801, when four persons were killed. + +During the raising of the roof of Town Hall, John Heap was killed by the +fall of a principal (Jan. 26, 1833), and Win. Badger, injured same time, +died a few weeks after. Memorial stone in St. Philip's Churchyard. + +Welch's pieshop, Temple Street, fell in, March 5, 1874. + +Two houses fell in Great Lister Street, Aug. 18, 1874, and one in Lower +Windsor Street, Jan. 13, 1875. + +Three houses collapsed in New Summer Street, April 4, 1875, when one +person was killed, and nine others injured. + +Four houses fell in Tanter Street, Jan. 1, 1877, when a boy was lamed. + +Two men were killed, and several injured, by chimney blown down at +Deykin & Sons, Jennens Row, Jan. 30, 1877, and one man was killed by +wall blown down in Harborne Road, Feb. 20, same year. + +Some children playing about a row of condemned cottages, Court 2, Gem +Street, Jan. 11, 1885, contrived to pull part on to their heads, killing +one, and injuring others. + +~Accidents from Fire.~--February, 1875, was an unfortunate month for the +females, an old woman being burnt to death on the 5th, a middle-aged one +on the 7th, and a young one on the 12th. + +~Accidents through Lightning.~--A boy was struck dead at Bordesley +Green, July 30, 1871. Two men, William Harvey and James Steadman, were +similarly killed at Chester Street Wharf, May 14, 1879. Harvey was +followed to the grave by a procession of white-smocked navvies. + +~Accidents at Places of Amusement.~--A sudden panic and alarm of [**] +caused several deaths and many injuries at the Spread Eagle Concert +Hall, Bull Ring, May 5, 1855. + +The "Female Blondin" was killed by falling from the high rope, at Aston +Park, July 20, 1863. + +A trapeze gymnast, "Fritz," was killed at Day's Concert Hall, Nov. 12, +1870. + +A boy was killed by falling from the Gallery at the Theatre Royal, Feb. +16, 1873. + +At Holder's Concert Hall, April 1, 1879, Alfred Bishop (12) had his leg +broken while doing the "Shooting Star" trick. + +~Accidents in the Streets.~--On New Year's Day, 1745, a man was killed +by a wagon going over him, owing to the "steepness" of Carr's Lane. + +The Shrewsbury coach was upset at Hockley, May 24, 1780, when several +passengers were injured. + +The Chester mail coach was upset, April 15, 1787, while rounding the +Welsh Cross, and several persons much injured. + +Feb. 28, 1875, must be noted as the "slippery day," no less than forty +persons (twelve with broken limbs), being taken to the Hospitals through +falling in the icy streets. + +Captain Thornton was killed by being thrown from his carriage, May 22, +1876. + +The Coroner's van was upset in Livery Street, Jan. 24, 1881, and several +jurymen injured. + +~Accidents on the Rails.~--An accident occurred to the Birmingham +express train at Shipton, on Christmas Eve, 1874, whereby 26 persons +were killed, and 180 injured. In the excitement at Snow Hill Station, a +young woman was pushed under a train and lost both her legs, though her +life was saved, and she now has artificial lower limbs. + +Police-officer Kimberley was killed in the crush at Olton Station on the +Race Day, Feb. 11th, 1875. + +While getting out of carriages, while the train was in motion, a man was +killed at New Street Station, May 15, 1875, and on the 18th, another at +Snow Hill, and though such accidents occur almost weekly, on some line +or other, people keep on doing it. + +Three men were killed on the line near King's Norton, Sept. 28, 1876. + +Mr. Pipkins, Stationmaster at Winson Green, was killed Jan. 2. 1877. + +Inspector Bellamy, for 30 years at New Street Station, fell while +crossing a carriage, and was killed, April 15, 1879. + +~Acock's Green,~ a few years back only a little village, is fast +becoming a thriving suburban town. The old estate, of about 150 acres, +was lotted out for building in 1839, the sale being then conducted by +Messrs. E. and C. Robbins, August 19. The Public Hall, which cost about +L3,000, was opened December 20, 1878; its principal room being 74 feet +long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. + +~Adderley.~--Sir Charles B. Adderley was gazetted a peer April 16, 1878, +his title being Baron Norton, of Norton-on-the-Moors, Staffordshire. + +~Adderley Park~ was opened Aug. 30, 1856. Its area is 10a. Or. 22p., and +the Corporation hold it as tenants under a 999 years' lease, at 5s. +rental. A Reading Room and Branch Library was opened on Jan. 11, 1864. + +~Advertisements.~--The duty on advertisements in newspapers was +abolished Aug. 4,1853. One of the most attractive styles of advertising +was that adopted by Messrs. Walter Showell and Son, August 30, 1881, +when _The Birmingham Daily Post_ gave up a whole page for the firm's +use. 10,000 copies were sent to their customers by early post on day of +publication. + +~Afghan War.~--A stormy "town's meeting" on this subject was held in the +Town Hall, Dec. 3, 1878, memorable for the interference of the police by +order of the Mayor, and the proceedings consequent thereon. + +~Agricultural Labourers.~--Jos. Arch, their champion, addressed a +meeting in their behalf at Town Hall, Dec. 18, 1873, and other meetings +were held April 15 and July 3 following. A collection made for some of +the labourers on strike amounted to L137 9s. 2-1/2d. + +~Agricultural Shows.~--The Warwickshire Agricultural Show (with the +Birmingham Horse Show, and the Rose Show) began at Aston, June 17, 1873. +The first exhibition here of the Royal Agricultural Society took place +July 19-24, 1876, in Aston Park, specially granted by the Corporation.-- +See _Cattle Shows, &c_. + +~Albion Metal,~ tin rolled on lead, much used for making "lace," &c., +for coffin decoration, was introduced in 1804, being the invention of +Thomas Dobbs, a comic actor, then engaged at the Theatre Royal. He was +also the designer of a reaping machine, and made one and showed it with +real corn for his "Benefit" on the stage of the Theatre Royal in 1815. + +~Alcester~ Turnpike road was first used in 1767. + +~Aldermen.~--See _Corporation_. + +~Ales and Alehouses~ were known in this country nearly 1,200 years ago, +but the national beverage was not taxed until 1551, a few years previous +to which (1535) hops were first used in place of wormwood, &c. In 1603 +it was enacted that not more than 1d. (equal to 9d. value now) should be +charged per quart for the best ale or beer, or for two quarts of the +"smaller" sort. An additional excise duty was imposed on ale and beer in +1643. See also _Breweries_. + +~Almanacks.~--The first English-printed Almanack was for the year 1497, +and the London Stationers' Company had the monopoly of printing them for +nearly 300 years. The first locally printed Almanack was the "Diaria +Britannica" (or "British Diary"), by Messrs. Pearson and Rollason, +issued in 1787 for 1788, at 9d. per copy, in addition to the 1s. 6d. +required for stamp duty. It was barely half the size and not a tenth the +value of the "Diary" published by Messrs Walter Showell and Sons, and of +which 20,000 copies are given away annually. The stamp duty was removed +from Almanacks in 1834. "Showell's Almanack" in past years was highly +esteemed before we had been supplied with "Moody's," the "Red Book," +&c., and a copy of it for the year 1839 is valuable as a curiosity, it +being issued with a partly printed page with blanks left for the +insertion of the names of the members of the Corporation, whose first +election under the charter of incorporation was about to take place. To +prevent any mistake, the "Esqrs." were carefully printed in where the +names of the new Aldermen were to go, the blanks for Councillors being +only honoured with a "Mr." + +~Almshouses~ for Lench's Trust were built in Steelhouse Lane in 1764. In +later years other sets of houses have been built in Conybere Street, +Hospital Street, Ravenhurst Street, and Ladywood Road, the inmates, all +women, numbering 182. Jas. Dowell's Almshouses in Warner Street, +consisting of 20 houses and a chapel, known as the "Retreat," were built +in 1820. Mrs. Glover's Almshouses in Steelhouse Lane for 36 aged women, +were erected in 1832. James Lloyd's twenty-four Almshouses in Belgrave +Street were erected in 1869. + +~Aluminium.~--This valuable material for the use of one of our staple +trades was first obtained by a German chemist in 1837, but was not +produced in sufficient quantity for manufacturing purposes until 1854, +at which time its market value was 60s. per oz. It gradually cheapened, +until it is now priced at 5s., and a company has lately been formed for +its more easy manufacture, who promise to supply it at about as many +pence. + +~Amphitheatres.~--Astley's celebrated amphitheatre was brought here in +October, 1787. Mr. and Mrs. Astley themselves had performed in +Birmingham as early as 1772.--A local amphitheatre was opened in Livery +Street in 1787, on the present site of Messrs. Billing's printing works. +After the riots of 1791 it was used for a time by the congregations of +Old and New Meeting, while their own chapels were being rebuilt. An +attempt to bring it back to its old uses failed, and "the properties" +were sold Nov. 25, 1795. Several sects occupied it in after years, the +last being the Latter-Day Saints. It was taken down in 1848.--Another +amphitheatre was opened at Bingley Hall, December 29, 1853, by the +plucky but unlucky John Tonks, a well-known caterer for the public's +amusement. + +~Amusement,~ Places of--Notes of the Theatres, Concert Halls, Parks, +&c., will be found under the several headings. Among the most popular +series of concerts of late years have been those of a Saturday evening +(at 3d. admission) in the Town Hall, which began on Nov. 8, 1879, and +are continued to present date. + +~Analyst.~--Dr. Hill was appointed Borough Analyst in Feb., 1861, his +duties being to examine and test any sample of food or drinks that may +be brought or sent to him in order to prove their purity or otherwise. +The fees are limited to a scale approved by the Town Council. + +~Ancient History~ of Birmingham can hardly be said to exist. Its rise +and progress is essentially modern, and the few notes that have come to +us respecting its early history will be found briefly summarised at the +commencement of this book. + +~Anti-Borough-Rate Meeting.~--In 1874 the Town Council asked for power +to lay a Borough-rate exceeding 2s. in the L., but after three days' +polling (ending March 30) permission was refused by a majority of 2,654 +votes. The power was obtained afterwards. + +~Anti-Church-Rate Meetings~ were frequent enough at one period of our +history. The two most worthy of remembrance were those of Dec. 15, 1834, +when the rate was refused by a majority of 4,966 votes, and Oct., 1841, +when the polling showed 626 for the rate and 7,281 against. + +~Anti-Corn-Law Meetings~ were also numerous. The one to recollect is +that held Feb. 18, 1842. + +~Anti-Papal Demonstration.~--A town's meeting took place in the Town +Hall, Dec. 11, 1850, to protest against the assumption of ecclesiastical +titles by the Catholic hierarchy. About 8,000 persons were present, and +the "No Popery" element was strong, but Joseph Sturge moved an amendment +for freedom to all parties, which so split the votes that the Mayor said +the amendment was not carried and the resolution was lost. + +~Anti-Slavery.~--The first Anti-Slavery meeting held here was that of +Nov. 27, 1787. A local petition to Parliament against the slave trade +was presented to the House of Commons, Feb. 11, 1788. A local society +was formed here in 1826, Joseph Sturge being secretary, and many +meetings were held before the Day of Abolition was celebrated. The most +noteworthy of these was that at Dee's Assembly Room, April 16, 1833, +when G.F. Muntz and the Political Union opposed the agitation; a great +meeting, Oct. 14, 1835; another on Feb. 1, 1836, in which Daniel +O'Connell and John Angell James took part. This last was the first large +town's meeting at which the "total and immediate" abolition of slavery +was demanded. Joseph Sturge following it up by going to the West Indies +and reporting the hardships inflicted upon the blacks under the +"gradual" system then in operation. Aug. 7, 1838, the day when slavery +dropped its chains on English ground, was celebrated here by a +children's festival in the Town Hall, by laying the foundation-stone of +"The Negro Emancipation Schools," Legge Street, and by a public meeting +at night, at which Sir Eardley Wilmott, D. O'Connell, Dr. Lushington, +Edward Baines, &c., were present. + +~Anti-one-thing-or-t'other.~--True to their motto, Birmingham people are +always ready to oppose the wrong and forward the right, but what is +right and what wrong is only to be ascertained by public discussion, and +a few dates of celebrated "talks" are here given:-- + +In 1719 the apprenticing of Russian youths to local trades was objected +to. + +In the Christmas week of 1754 public protest was made against the tax on +wheel carriages. + +March 12, 1824, a deputation was sent to Parliament to protest against +our workmen being allowed to emigrate, for fear they should teach the +foreigners. + +A proposed New Improvement Bill was vetoed by the burgesses, Dec. 18, +1855. We _have_ improved a little since then! + +An Anti-Confessional meeting was held Nov. 8, 1877. + +An Anti-Contagious Diseases Act meeting, April 19, 1877. + +An Anti-giving-up-Fugitive-Slave meeting, Jan. 1, 1876, when a certain +Admiralty Circular was condemned. + +An Anti-Irish-Church-Establishment meeting was held June 14, 1869. + +An Anti-moving-the-Cattle Market meeting Dec. 14, 1869, Smithfield being +preferred to Duddeston Hall. + +An Anti-Railway-through-Sutton-Park meeting, April 15, 1872, but the +railway _is_ there. + +An Anti-Rotten-Ship-and-Sailor-drowning meeting, with Mr. Plimsoll to +the fore, May 14 1873. Another July 29, 1875. + +An Anti-Ashantee War meeting Sept. 29, 1873. + +An Anti-Turkish Atrocity meeting, Sept. 7, 1876; followed by one on Oct. +2nd, properly settling the Eastern question. + +An Anti-Six-Million-War-Vote meeting was held on Jan. 28, 1878, when the +Liberal majority was immense. A Tory opposition meeting, in support of +the vote, was held Feb. 12, when chairs and forms were broken up to use +as arguments, the result being a majority of 2 to 1 for both sides. + +An Anti-War meeting, May 3, 1878. + +Anti-Vivisection meetings. April 24, 1877, and May 6, 1878. + +~Apollo, Moseley Street.~--Opened as a public resort in 1786, the Rea +being then a clear running brook. The first tenant did not prosper, for +in the first week of March, 1787, the _Gazette_ contained an +advertisement that the Apollo Hotel, "pleasantly situate in a new +street, called Moseley Street, in the hamlet of Deritend, on the banks +of the River Rea," with "a spacious Bowling Green and Gardens," was to +be let, with or without four acres of good pasture land. When closed as +a licensed house, it was at first divided into two residences, but in +1816 the division walls, &c., were removed, to fit it as a residence for +Mr. Hamper, the antiquary. That gentleman wrote that the prospect at the +back was delightful, and was bounded only by Bromsgrove Lickey. The +building was then called "Deritend House." + +~Aquariums.~--The Aquarium at Aston Lower Grounds was opened July 10, +1879. The principal room has a length of 312 feet, the promenade being +24 feet wide by 20 feet high. The west side of this spacious apartment +is fitted with a number of large show tanks, where many rare and choice +specimens of marine animals and fishes may be exhibited. On a smaller +scale there is an Aquarium at the "Crystal Palace" Garden, at Sutton +Coldfield, and a curiosity in the shape of an "Aquarium Bar" may be seen +at the establishment of Mr. Bailey, in Moor Street. + +~Arcades.~--The Arcade between Monmouth Street and Temple Row, was +commenced April 26, 1875; first illuminated August 19, 1876, and opened +for public use on 28th of that month. It is built over that portion of +the G.W.R. line running from Monmouth Street to Temple Row, the front +facing the Great Western Hotel, occupying the site once filled by the +old Quaker's burial ground. It is the property of a company, and cost +nearly L100,000, the architect being Mr. W.H. Ward. The shops number 38, +and in addition there are 56 offices in the galleries.--The _Central +Arcade_ in Corporation Street, near to New Street, and leading into +Cannon Street, is from the designs of the same architect and was opened +September 26, 1881. Underneath the Arcade proper is the Central +Restaurant, and one side of the thoroughfare forms part of the shop of +Messrs. Marris and Norton.--The _North-Western Arcade_, which was opened +April 5, 1884, is like a continuation of the first-named, being also +built over the G.W.R. tunnel, and runs from Temple Row to Corporation +Street. The architect is Mr. W. Jenkins, and the undertakers Messrs. +Wilkinson and Riddell, who occupy the principal frontage. Several of the +twenty-six shops into which the Arcade is divided have connection with +places of business in Bull Street.--The _Imperial Arcade_, in Dale End, +next to St. Peter's Church, is also a private speculation (that of Mr. +Thos. Hall), and was opened at Christmas, 1883. It contains, in addition +to the frontage, thirty-two shops, with the same number of offices +above, while the basement forms a large room suitable for meetings, +auctions, &c., it being 135ft. long, 55ft. wide and nearly 15ft. high. +Two of the principal features of the Arcade are a magnificent stained +window, looking towards St. Peters, and a curious clock, said to be the +second of its kind in England, life-size figures of Guy, Earl of +Warwick, and his Countess, with their attendants, striking the hours and +quarters on a set of musical bells, the largest of which weighs about +5cwt.--_Snow Hill Arcade_, opposite the railway station, and leading to +Slaney Street, is an improvement due to Mr. C. Ede, who has adopted the +designs of Mr. J.S. Davis.--The _Hen and Chickens Arcade_ has been +designed by Mr. J.A. Cossins, for a company who purpose to build it, +and, at the same time, enlarge the well-known New Street hotel of the +same name. The portico and vestibule of the hotel will form the entrance +in New Street to the Arcade, which will contain two-dozen good-sized +shops, a large basement room for restaurant, &c.; the out in Worcester +Street being nearly facing the Market Hall. + +~Area of Borough.~--Birmingham covers an area of 8,400 acres, with an +estimated population of 400,680 (end of 1881), thus giving an average of +47.7 persons to an acre. As a means of comparison, similar figures are +given for a few other large towns:-- + + + Area in Population Persons + Acres in 1881 to acres +Bradford ... 7,200 203,544 28.2 +Bristol ... 4,452 217,185 48.3 +Leeds ... 21,572 326,158 15.1 +Leicester ... 3,200 134,350 42.0 +Liverpool ... 5,210 549,834 105.6 +Manchester ... 4,293 364,445 84.9 +Nottingham ... 9,960 177,964 77.9 +Newcastle ... 5,372 151,822 28.3 +Salford ... 5,170 194,077 37.5 +Sheffield ... 19,651 312,943 15.9 +Wolverhmptn 3,396 76,850 22.6 + + +~Arms of the Borough.~--The Town Council, on the 6th day of August, +1867, did resolve and declare that the Arms of the Borough should be +blazoned as follows: "1st and 4th _azure_, a bend lozengy _or_; 2nd and +3rd, parti per pale _or_ and _gules_."--_(See cover)_. + +~Art and Artists.~--An "Academy of Arts" was organised in 1814, and an +exhibition of paintings took place in Union Passage that year, but the +experiment was not repeated. A School of Design, or "Society of Arts," +was started Feb. 7, 1821; Sir Robert Lawley (the first Lord Wenlock) +presenting a valuable collection of casts from Grecian sculpture. The +first exhibition was held in 1826, at The Panorama, an erection then +standing on the site of the present building in New Street, the opening +being inaugurated by a conversazione on September 10. In 1858, the +School of Design was removed to the Midland Institute. The "Society of +Artists" may be said to have commenced in 1826, when several gentlemen +withdrew from the School of Design. Their number greatly increased by +1842, when they took possession of the Athenaeum, in which building their +exhibitions were annually held until 1858. In that year they returned to +New Street, acquiring the title of "Royal" in 1864. The Art Students' +Literary Association was formed in September, 1869. + +~Art Gallery and School of Art.~--In connection with the Central Free +Library a small gallery of pictures, works of Art, &c., loaned or +presented to the town, was opened to the public August 1, 1867, and from +time to time was further enriched. Fortunately they were all removed +previous to the disastrous fire of Jan. 11, 1879. A portion of the new +Reference Library is at present devoted to the same purpose, pending the +completion of the handsome edifice being erected by the Gas Committee at +the back of the Municipal Buildings, and of which it will form a part, +extending from Congreve Street along Edmund Street to Eden Place. The +whole of the upper portion of the building will be devoted to the +purposes of a Museum and Art Gallery, and already there has been +gathered the nucleus of what promises to be one of the finest +collections in the kingdom, more particularly in respect to works of Art +relating more or less to some of the principal manufactures of +Birmingham. There are a large number of valuable paintings, including +many good specimens of David Cox and other local artists; quite a +gallery of portraits of gentlemen connected with the town, and other +worthies; a choice collection of gems and precious stones of all kinds; +a number of rare specimens of Japanese and Chinese cloisonne enamels; +nearly a complete set of the celebrated Soho coins and medals, with many +additions of a general character; many cases of ancient Roman, Greek, +and Byzantine coins; more than an hundred almost priceless examples of +old Italian carvings, in marble and stone, with some dozens of ancient +articles of decorative furniture; reproductions of delicately-wrought +articles of Persian Art work, plate belonging to the old City Companies, +the Universities, and from Amsterdam and the Hague; a collection of +Wedgwood and other ceramic ware, the gift of Messrs. R. and G. Tangye, +with thousands of other rare, costly, and beautiful things. In +connection with the Art Gallery is the "Public Picture Gallery Fund," +the founder of which was the late Mr. Clarkson Osler, who gave L3,000 +towards it. From this fund, which at present amounts to about L450 per +year, choice pictures are purchased as occasion offers, many others +being presented by friends to the town, notably the works of David Cox, +which were given by the late Mr. Joseph Nettlefold.--The _School of +Art_, which is being built in Edmund Street, close to the Art Gallery, +is so intimately connected therewith that it may well be noticed with +it. The ground, about 1,000 square yards, has been given by Mr. Cregoe +Colmore, the cost of election being paid out of L10,000 given by Miss +Ryland, and L10,000 contributed by Messrs. Tangye. The latter firm have +also given L5,000 towards the Art Gallery; Mr. Joseph Chamberlain has +contributed liberally in paintings and in cash; other friends have +subscribed about L8,000; Mr. Nettlefold's gift was valued at L14,000, +and altogether not less than L40,000 has been presented to the town in +connection with the Art Gallery, in addition to the whole cost of the +School of Art. + +~Art Union.~--The first Ballot for pictures to be chosen from the Annual +Exhibition of Local Artists took place in 1835, the Rev. Hugh Hutton +having the honour of originating it. The tickets were 21s. each, +subscribers receiving an engraving. + +~Ash, John, M.D.~--Born in 1723, was an eminent physician who practised +in Birmingham for some years, but afterwards removed to London. He +devoted much attention to the analysis of mineral waters, delivered the +Harveian oration in 1790, and was president of a club which numbered +among its members some of the most learned and eminent men of the time. +Died in 1798. + +~Ashford, Mary.~--Sensational trials for murder have of late years been +numerous enough, indeed, though few of them have had much local +interest, if we except that of the poisoner Palmer. The death of the +unfortunate Mary Ashford, however, with the peculiar circumstance +attending the trial of the supposed murderer, and the latter's appeal to +the right then existing under an old English law of a criminal's claim +to a "Trial of Battel," invested the case with an interest which even at +this date can hardly be said to have ceased. Few people can be found to +give credence to the possibility of the innocence of Abraham Thornton, +yet a careful perusal of a history of the world-known but last "Wager of +Battel" case, as written by the late Mr. Toulmin Smith, must lead to the +belief that the poor fellow was as much sinned against as sinning, local +prejudices and indignant misrepresentations notwithstanding. So far from +the appeal to the "Wager of Battel" being the desperate remedy of a +convicted felon to escape the doom justly imposed upon him for such +heinous offence as the murder of an innocent girl, it was simply the +attempt of a clever attorney to remove the stigma attached to an +unfortunate and much-maligned client. The dead body of Mary Ashford was +found in a pit of water in Sutton Coldfield, on the 27th of May, 1817, +she having been seen alive on the morning of the same day. Circumstances +instantly, and most naturally, fastened suspicion of foul play upon +Abraham Thornton. He was tried at Warwick, at the Autumn Assizes of the +same year, and acquitted. The trial was a very remarkable one. Facts +were proved with unusual clearness and precision, which put it beyond +the bounds of physical possibility that he could have murdered Mary +Ashford. Those facts hinged on the time shown by several different +clocks, compared with the standard time kept at Birmingham. But the +public feeling on the matter was intense. An engraving of the scene of +the alleged murder, with a stimulating letter-press description, was +published at the time, and the general sense undoubtedly was, that the +perpetrator of a very foul murder had escaped his just doom. Hoping to +do away with this impression, a well-known local lawyer bethought +himself of the long-forgotten "Appeal of Murder," trusting that by a +second acquittal Thornton's innocence would be acknowledged by all. +Though the condition of all the parties was but humble, friends soon +came forward with funds and good advice, so that within the year and a +day which the law allowed, proceedings were taken in the name of William +Ashford (Mary's brother, who, as next heir, according to the old law, +had the sole power of pardon in such a case) for an "Appeal of Murder" +against Abraham Thornton. What followed is here given in Mr. Toulmin +Smith's own words:--"I have seen it stated, hot indignation colouring +imagination, that here was a weak stripling nobly aroused to avenge the +death of his sister, by tendering himself to do battle against the tall +strong man who was charged with her murder. The facts, as they stand are +truly striking enough; but this melodramatic spectacle does not formally +true part of them." A writ of "Appeal of Murder" was soon issued. It +bears the date of 1st October, 1817. Under that writ Thornton was again +arrested by the Sheriff of Warwick. On the first day of Michaelmas Term, +in the same year, William Ashford appeared in the Court of King's Bench +at Westminster, as _appellant_, and Abraham Thornton, brought up on writ +of _habeas corpus_, appeared as _appellee_. The charge of murder was +formally made by the appellant; and time to plead to this charge was +granted to the appellee until Monday, 16th November.--It must have been +a strange and startling scene, on the morning of that Monday, 16th +November, 1817, when Abraham Thornton stood at the bar of the Court of +King's Bench in Westminster Hall; a scene which that ancient Hall had +not witnessed within the memory of any living man, but which must have +then roused the attention of even its drowsiest haunter. "The appellee +being brought into Court and placed at the bar" (I am quoting the +original dry technical record of the transaction), "and the appellant +being also in court, the count [charge] was again read over to him, and +he [Thornton] was called upon to plead. He pleaded as follows;--'Not +Guilty; and I am ready to defend the same by my body.' And thereupon, +taking his glove off, he threw it on the floor of the Court." That is to +say, Ashford having "appealed" Thornton of the murder, Thornton claimed +the right to maintain his own innocence by "Trial of Battel;" and so his +answer to the charge was a "Wager of Battel." And now the din of fight +seemed near, with the Court of King's Bench at Westminster for the +arena, and the grave Judges of that Court for the umpires. But the case +was destined to add but another illustration to what Cicero tells us of +how, oftentimes, arms yield to argument, and the swordsman's looked-for +laurel vanishes before the pleader's tongue. William Ashford, of course, +acting under the advice of those who really promoted the appeal, +declined to accept Thornton's wager of battel. Instead of accepting it, +his counsel disputed the right of Thornton to wage his battel in this +case; alleging, in a very long plea, that there were presumptions of +guilt so strong as to deprive him of that right. Thornton answered this +plea by another, in which all the facts that had been proved on the +trial at Warwick were set forth at great length. And then the case was +very elaborately argued, for three days, by two eminent and able +counsel, one of whom will be well remembered by most readers as the late +Chief-Justice Tindal. Tindal was Thornton's counsel. Of course I cannot +go here into the argument. The result was, that, on 16th April, 1881, +the full Court (Lord Ellenborough, and Justices Bayley, Abbott, and +Holroyd) declared themselves _unanimously_ of opinion that the appellee +(Thornton) was entitled to, wage his battel, no presumptions of guilt +having been shown clear enough or strong enough to deprive him of that +right. Upon this, Ashford, not having accepted the wager of battel, the +"appeal" was stayed, and Thornton was discharged. Thus no reversal took +place of the previous acquittal of Thornton by the Jury at Warwick +Assizes. But that acquittal had nothing whatever to do with any "trial +by battel;" for I have shown that the "wager of battel" arose out of a +proceeding later than and consequent upon that acquittal, and that this +"wager of battel" never reached the stage of a "trial by battel." + +What became of Thornton is unknown, but he is supposed to have died in +America, where he fled to escape the obloquoy showered upon him by an +unforgiving public. The adage that "murder will out" has frequently +proved correct, but in this case it has not, and the charge against +Thornton is reiterated in every account of this celebrated trial that +has been published, though his innocence cannot now be doubted. + +~Ashted,~ now a populous part of the town, takes its name from Dr. Ash, +whose residence was transformed into Ashted Church, the estate being +laid out for building in 1788. + +~Assay Marks.~--These consist of the initials of the maker, the Queen's +head for the duty (17/-on gold, 1/6 on silver, per oz.), a letter +(changed yearly) for date, an anchor for the Birmingham office mark, and +the standard or value mark, which is given in figures, thus:--for gold +of 22-carat fineness (in oz. of 24) a crown and 22; 18-carat, a crown +and 18; 15-carat, 15.625; 12-carat, 12.5; 9-carat, 9.375. The value mark +for silver of 11 oz. 10 dwts. (in lb. of 12 oz.) is the figure of +Britannia; for 11 oz. 2 dwts. a lion passant. The date letter is changed +in July. At present it is k. The lower standards of 15, 12, and 9-carat +gold (which are not liable to duty), were authorised by an Order in +Council, of December 22, 1854, since which date an immense increase has +taken place in the quantity assayed in Birmingham. + +~Assay Office.~--There are seven Assay Offices in the country, the +Birmingham one being established by special Act in 1773, for the +convenience of silversmiths and plateworkers. A few hours per week was +sufficient for the business at that time, and it was conducted at the +King's Head in New Street; afterwards, in 1782, in Bull Lane, in 1800 at +a house in Little Colmore Street, and from 1816 at the old Baptist +Chapel in Little Cannon Street. In 1824 the Act 5, George IV., cap 52, +incorporated the assay of gold, the guardians being 36 in number, from +whom are chosen the wardens. On July 14, 1877, the foundation stone was +laid of the New Assay Office in Newhall Street, and it was opened for +business June 24, 1878. + +~Assizes.~--Birmingham was "proclaimed" an assize town January 14, 1859, +but the first assizes were held in July, 1884. + +~Aston.~--Eight hundred years ago, Aston filled a small space in the +Domesday book of history, wherein it is stated that the estate consisted +of eight hides of land, and three miles of wood, worth L5, with 44 +residents (one being a priest), and 1,200 acres in cultivation. The +present area of Aston Manor is 943 acres, on which are built about +14,000 houses, having a population of some 60,000 persons, and a +rateable value of L140,000. In the first ten years of the existence of +the Local Board (1869 to 1878) L30,000 was spent on main drainage works, +L10,000 in public improvements, and L53,000 in street improvements. +Aston has now its Public Buildings, Free Library, &c., as well as an +energetic School Board, and, though unsuccessful in its attempt in 1876 +to obtain a charter of incorporation, there can be little doubt but that +it will ultimately bloom forth in all the glories of a Mayor, Aldermen, +and Burgesses. Aston parish, which extends in several directions into +the borough of Birmingham, has an area of 13,786 acres. + +~Aston Almshouses~ were built in 1655, according to the provisions made +by Sir Thomas Holte previous to his decease. + +~Aston Church~ was probably built about the year 1170, the nave and part +of chancel being added in 1231, the east end and arch of chancel in +1310, and the tower and spire in 1440. The old building, which contained +an interesting collection of monuments in memory of the Holtes, the +Ardens, the Erdingtons, and other county families, has been lately +enlarged by the extension of the nave and aisles eastward, and widening +the chancel so as to accommodate about 1,200 people, instead of 500. The +whole of the monuments have been replaced in their relative positions. + +~Aston Cross Tavern~ was opened as a licensed house and tea gardens in +1775, the first landlord, Mr. Barron, dying in 1792, his widow keeping +it till her death in 1817. Of late years it has been a favourite resort +of all classes of athletes, though from being so closely built to it has +lost much of the attraction which drew our grandfathers to its shady +arbours when on country pleasure bent. The park wall extended to the +corner of and along the side of Park Lane, opposite the tavern. + +~Aston Hall and Park.~--This building was commenced by Sir Thomas Holte +in April, 1618, and finished in April, 1635, Inigo Jones being +accredited with the design. King Charles I., in his days of trouble, +paid a short visit to the Hall, his host being punished afterwards by +some of Cromwell's soldiers and the malcontents of Birmingham besieging +the place in the week after Christmas, 1643. The brick wall round the +park, nearly three miles long, but of which there are now few traces +left, was put up by Sir Lister Holte about 1750, and tradition says it +was paid for by some Staffordshire coal-masters, who, supposing that +coal lay underneath, conditioned with Sir Lister that no mines should be +sunk within [word missing--presume "its"] boundary. The Hall and Park +were held by the various generations of the family till the death of the +late Dowager Lady Holte. (For an accurate and interesting description of +the edifice see Davidson's "Holtes of Aston.") The Act authorising the +sale of the Aston estates received the royal sanction on July 10, 1817, +and the sale of the furniture and effects in the Hall was commenced by +Messrs. J. and C. Robins on September 22. The sale lasted nine days, +there being 1,144 lots, which realised L2,150; the farming stock, &c., +being sold afterwards for L1,201. The Hall and Park was put up on April +15, 1818, and was bought by Messrs. Greenway, Greaves, and Whitehead, +bankers, of Warwick, the estate of 1,530 acres being let off by them in +suitable lots. The herd of deer, reduced to 150 head, was sold December +21. The Hall was rented by Mr. James Watt, son of _the_ James Watt, and +for many years it was closed to the public. At his death, in 1848, the +changes which had been going on all round for years begin to make +themselves seen in the shape of huge gaps in the old wall, houses +springing up fast here and there, and a street being cut through the +noble avenue of chestnut trees in 1852. By degrees, the park was reduced +to 370 acres, which, with the Hall, were offered to the town in 1850 for +the sum of L130,000; but the Town Council declined the bargain, though +less than one-half of the Park (150 acres) was sold immediately after +for more than all the money. In 1857 a "People's Park" Company was +started to "Save Aston Hall" and the few acres close round it, an +agreement being entered into for L35,000. Many of the 20s. shares were +taken up, and Her Majesty the Queen performed the opening ceremony June +15, 1858. The speculation proved a failure, as out of about L18,000 +raised one-half went in repairs, alterations, losses, &c., and it would +have been lost to the town had not the Corporation bought it in +February, 1864. They gave L33,000 (L7,000 being private subscriptions), +and it was at last opened as a free park, September 22, 1864. The +picture gallery is 136ft. long, by 18ft. wide and 16ft. high. In this +and various other rooms, will be found a miscellaneous museum of +curiosities, more or less rare, including stuffed birds and animals, +ancient tapestry and furniture, &c. + +~Aston Lower Grounds,~ the most beautiful pleasure grounds in the +Midland counties, cover 31 acres, and were originally nothing more than +the kitchen and private gardens and the fish-ponds belonging to Aston +Hall, and were purchased at the sale in 1818 by the Warwick bankers, who +let them to Mr. H.G. Quilter, at the time an attempt was made to +purchase the Hall and Park "by the people." Adding to its attractions +year by year, Mr. Quilter remained on the ground until 1878, when a +limited liability company was formed to take to the hotel and premises, +building an aquarium 320 feet long by 54 feet wide, an assembly-room, +220 feet long, by 91 feet wide, and otherwise catering for the comfort +of their visitors, 10,000 of whom can be now entertained and amused +under shelter, in case of wet weather. Mr. Quilter's selling price was +L45,000, taking L25,000 in shares, and L20,000 cash by instalments. The +speculation did not appear to be very successful, and the property is +now in private hands. The visitors to the Lower Grounds since 1864 have +averaged 280,000 per annum. + +~Asylum,~ in Summer Lane, was opened in July 1797, by the Guardians of +the Poor as an industrial residence and school for 250 children. It was +dismantled and closed in 1846, though the "Beehive" carved over the door +was allowed to remain on the ruins some years after. + +~Athenaeum~--For the "diffusion of Literature and Science" was +established in March, 1839, but has long been merged in the Midland +Institute. In the building called the "Athenaeum", top of Temple Street, +some of the early exhibitions of paintings were held. + +~Athenic Institute,~ founded in 1841, was an institute of a somewhat +similar character to the Athenaeum, though including athletics, and +existed no longer. + +~Athletic Clubs.~--The first festival of the Birmingham Athletic Club +was held in 1868. On the 1st of March, 1880, an association was +organised of many of the bicycle clubs, cricket clubs, football clubs, +and similar athletic bodies in the town and neighbourhood, under the +name of "The Midland Counties Amateurs' Athletic Union." + +~Atlantic Cables.~--It would have been strange if Birmingham had not had +a hand in the making of these. For the cable laid in 1865, 16,000 miles +of copper wire, weighing 308 tons, were turned out by Messrs. Bolton and +Sons and Messrs. Wilkes and Sons. The cable itself was 2,300 (nautical) +miles in length. + +~Baby Show.~--Let Mr. Inshaw, of the "Steam Clock," have the _honour_ of +being recorded as the first to introduce the Yankee notion of a "baby +show," which took place at his Music Hall, May 15, 1874. + +~Bachelors.~--In 1695, bachelors over 24 had to pay a tax of 1s., if "a +common person," the scale running as high as L12 10s. for a duke! +Judging from the increase of the population about that time, we doubt if +even a "common" bachelor paid here. The married folks had not much to +laugh at though, for they had to pay duty on every child that was born. +Funny time, those! + +~Balloons.~--A Mr. Harper was the first to scale the clouds in a balloon +from this town, January 4, 1785. He rose again on the 31, from the +Tennis Court, in Coleshill Street, and is said to have sailed a distance +of 57 miles in 80 minutes. Mr. Sadler went up from Vauxhall, October +7th, 1811, and again on October 20th, 1823. Mr. Green rose from Newhall +Hill, July 17th, 1827, and several times after. + +~Balsall Heath.~--In some ancient deeds called "Boswell Heath." The land +round Mary street, known as the Balsall Heath estate, was sold in +building lots (234) in 1839, the last day's sale being August 26, and +the auctioneers, Messrs. E. & C. Robins. Edwardes-street takes its name +from the last owner of the estate, who, if he could now but glance over +the property, would be not a little astonished at the changes which have +taken place in the last forty years, for, like unto Aston, it may be +said to really form but a portion of the ever-extending town of +Birmingham. Balsall Heath, which is in the parish of King's Norton, has +now a Local Board (with its offices in Lime Grove, Moseley Road) several +Board schools, chapels, and churches, a police court, and that sure mark +of advancement, a local newspaper. One thing still wanting, however, is +a cemetery. Though an appropriate and convenient spot near Cannon Hill +Park was chosen for the last resting-place, the ratepayers, at a meeting +held July 21, 1879, decided that they could not yet afford the required +outlay of some L17,000 necessary for the purpose, notwithstanding that +the annual rateable value of the property in the neighbourhood is +something like L70,000, and increasing by three to four thousand a year. + +~Banks and Bankers.~--The Birmingham Branch Bank of England (drawing on +the parent Bank of England), is in Bennett's Hill. + +The local Branch of the National Provincial Bank of England (Lim.), +Bennett's Hill, also draws on its headquarters. It commenced business +here on New Year's Day 1827. + +The Birmingham Banking Company (Lim.), also in Bennett's Hill, draws on +the London and Westminster. It opened its doors Sept. 1, 1829, with a +nominal capital of L500,000, in L50 shares, L5 being paid up at +starting. An amalgamation took place in the year 1880 with the +Stourbridge and Kidderminster Bank (established in 1834) the united +company having a paid-up capital of L286,000 and a reserve of L312,000. + +The Birmingham and Midland Bank (Limited) opened in Union Street, August +23, 1836, removing to New Street in 1869. London agents, the Union Bank +of London. Authorised capital, L2,400,000. + +The Birmingham, Dudley, and District Banking Co. (Limited) was commenced +in Colmore Row July 1st, 1836, as the Town and District Bank, with a +capital of L500,000, in L20 shares. London agents, Barclay and Co., and +Williams and Co. + +The Birmingham Joint Stock Bank (Limited) opened in Temple Row West, +Jan. 1st, 1862, with a capital of L3,000,000, in L100 shares, L10 paid. +Agents, London Joint Stock. Has branches in New Street and Great Hampton +Street. + +Lloyds' Banking Co. (Limited) Colmore Row, dates from June 3rd, 1765. +when it was known as Taylor and Lloyds, their first premises being in +Dale End [hence the name of Bank Passage]. This old established firm has +incorporated during its century of existence a score of other banks, and +lately has been amalgamated with Barnetts, Hoares, and Co., of London, +the present name being Lloyd, Barnett, Bosanquet, and Co. (Limited). +There are sub-offices also in Great Hampton Street, Deritend, Five Ways +and Aston. In this and adjoining counties, Lloyds' number about 40 +branch establishments. + +The Worcester City and County Banking Co. (Limited), drawing on Glynn +and Co., removed from Cherry Street to their newly-built edifice in +Colmore Row, June 1, 1880. + +The Union Bank of Birmingham (Limited), Waterloo Street, commenced +business with a nominal capital of L1,000,000, in L20 shares, L5 paid. +London agents, the City Bank. It has since been taken over by the +Midland Bank. + +~Banks.~--A popular Penny Bank was established in 1851, but came to +grief in 1865, closing March 16, with assets L1,608, to pay debts +L9,448. Another penny bank was opened in Granville Street, April 13, +1861, and is still carried on at the Immanuel Schools, Tennant Street, +with about 5,000 depositors at the present time. + +A Local Savings Bank was opened in May, 1827, and legalised in the year +after, but ultimately its business was transferred to the Post Office +Savings Bank, which opened its doors in Cannon Street, Dec. 1, 1863. By +a Government return, it appeared that at the end of 1880 the total +amount to the credit of depositors in the Post Office Savings Banks of +the Kingdom stood at L30,546,306. After the Metropolitan counties of +Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, Warwickshire comes next with a deposit of +L1,564,815, the average for the whole of the English counties being but +little over L500,000. + +~Banks Defunct.~--The old-established concern known so long as Attwood +and Spooner's closed its doors March 10, 1865, with liabilities +amounting to L1,007,296. The Joint Stock Bank took the business, and +paid 11s. 3d. in the L. + +Bank of Deposit stopped Oct. 26, 1861. + +The Borough Bank, a branch of Northern and Central Bank of England, +stopped Feb. 24, 1840. + +The Commercial (Branch) Bank, closed July 27, 1840. + +Coates, Woolley and Gordon, who occupied the premises at corner of +Cherry Street and Cannon Street in 1814, was joined to Moilliet's, and +by them to Lloyds. + +Freer, Rotton, Lloyds and Co., of 1814, changed to Rotton, Onions and +Co., then Rotton and Scholefield, next to Rotton and Son, and lastly +with its manager transferred to National Provincial. + +Galton, Galton and James, of 1814, retired in 1830. + +Gibbins, Smith, and Co. failed in 1825, paying nearly 20s. in the L. + +Gibbins and Lowell, opened in 1826, but was joined to Birmingham Banking +Co. in 1829. + +Smith, Gray, Cooper and Co., of 1815, afterwards Gibbins, Smith, and +Goode, went in 1825. + +~Banknotes.~--Notes for 5/3 were issued in 1773. 300 counterfeit L1 +notes, dated 1814, were found near Heathfield House, January 16, 1858. A +noted forger of these shams is said to have resided in the immediate +neighbourhood about the period named on the discovered "flimsies." When +Boulton and Watt were trying to get the Act passed patenting their +copying-press the officials of the Bank of England opposed it for fear +it should lead to forgery of their notes, and several Members of +Parliament actually tried to copy banknotes as they did their letters. + +~Bankrupts.~--In the year 1882 (according to the _Daily Post_) there +were 297 bankruptcies, compositions, or liquidations in Birmingham, the +total amount of debts being a little over L400,000. The dividends ranged +from 2d. to 15s. in the L, one-half the whole number, however, realising +under 1s. 6d. The estimated aggregate loss to creditors is put at +L243,000. + +~Baptists.~--As far back as 1655, we have record of meetings or +conferences of the Baptist churches in the Midland district, their +representatives assembling at Warwick on the second day of the third +month, and at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, on the 26th of the fourth month in +that year. Those were the Cromwellian days of religious freedom, and we +are somewhat surprised that no Birmingham Baptists should be among those +who gathered together at the King's Head, at Moreton, on the last named +date, as we find mention made of brethren from Warwick, Tewkesbury, +Alcester, Derby, Bourton-on-the-Water, Hook Norton, +Moreton-in-the-Marsh, and even of there being a community of the same +persuasion at Cirencester. The conference of the Midland Counties' +District Association of Baptist Churches met in this town for the first +time in 1740.--For Chapels see "_Places of Worship_." + +~Barr Beacon.~--A trial was made on January 10, 1856, as to how far a +light could be seen by the ignition of a beacon on Malvern Hills. It was +said to have been seen from Snowdon in Wales (105 miles), and at other +parts of the country at lesser distances, though the gazers at Worcester +saw it not. The look-out at Dudley Castle (26 miles) could have passed +the signal on to Barr Beacon, but it was not needed, as the Malvern +light was not only seen there, but still away on at Bardon Hill, +Leicester.--Many persons imagine that Barr Beacon is the highest spot in +the Midland Counties, but the idea is erroneous, Turners Hill, near Lye +Cross, Rowley Regis, which is 893 ft. above mean sea level, being +considerably higher, while the Clee Hills reach an altitude of 1,100 ft. + +~Barber of Birmingham, The.~--The knights of the pole (or poll) have +always been noted for getting into mischief, and it is not therefore so +very surprising to find that in March, 1327, a royal pardon had to be +granted to "Roger, the barber of Birmingham," for the part he had taken +in the political disturbances of that time. Was he a Con., or a Lib., +Tory or Rad.? + +~Baron of Birmingham.~--One of the titles of Lord Ward. + +~Barracks.~--Built in 1793, at a cost of L13,000, as a consequence of +the riots of 1791. + +~Barring Out~--On the 26th of Nov. 1667, the scholars of the Grammar +School "barred out" the Master, and then left the school for a time. +When they returned they found the worthy pedagogue had obtained +admission and intended to keep his young rebels outside. Whereupon, says +an old chronicler, they, being reinforced by certain of the townsmen "in +vizards, and with pistolls and other armes," sought to re-enter by +assault, threatening to kill the Master, and showering stones and bricks +through the windows. When the fun was over the Governors passed a law +that any boy taking part in future "barrings-out" should be expelled +from the School, but the amusement seems to have been rather popular, as +an entry in the School records some ten years later show that a certain +Widow Spooner was paid one shilling "for cleansinge ye Schoole at +penninge out." + +~Baskerville (John).~--This celebrated local worthy was a native of +Wolverley, near Kidderminster, having been born in the year 1706. He +came to this town in early life, as we find that he kept a writing +school in 1726. In 1745 he built himself a residence at Easy-hill, and +carried on the business of japanner afterwards adding to it that of +printer and typefounder. His achievements in this line have made his +name famous for ever, though it is said that he spent L600 before he +could produce one letter to his own satisfaction, and some thousands +before he obtained any profits from his printing trade. He was somewhat +eccentric in personal matters of dress and taste, his carriage (drawn by +cream-coloured horses) being a wonderful specimen of the art of +japanning in the way of pictured panels, etc., while he delighted to +adorn his person in the richest style of dress. The terms of his +peculiar will, and his apparent renunciation of Christianity, were +almost as curious as his choice of a place of sepulture. He was buried +in his own grounds under a solid cone of masonry, where his remains lay +until 1821, at which time the canal wharf, now at Easy Row, was being +made. His body was found in a good state of preservation, and for some +short period was almost made a show of, until by the kindness of Mr. +Knott the bookseller, it was taken to Us present resting-place in one of +the vaults under Christ Church. Mr. Baskerville died January 8, 1775, +his widow living till March 21, 1787, to the age of 80 years. + +~Baths.~--Ladywell Baths were said by Hutton to be the most complete in +the island, being seven in number, that for swimmers 36 yards long by 18 +wide, and cost L2,000. The place is now occupied by a timber yard, the +old spring being covered in, though fitted with a pump for public use. +For many years a tribe of water carriers procured a living by retailing +the water at a halfpenny per can. The red sand from the New Street +tunnels was turned to account in tilling up the old baths, much to the +advantage of Mr. Turner, the lessee, and of the hauliers who turned the +honest penny by turning in so near at hand. + +~Baths and Wash-houses.~--The local movement for the establishment of +public Baths first took practical shape at a meeting held Nov. 19,1844, +within a week of which date subscriptions amounting to L4,430 were +received for the purpose. The Association then formed purchased a plot +of land in Kent Street in June, 1846, and presented it to the Town +Council in November following, though the Baths erected thereon were not +opened to the public until May 12, 1851. It was at that time imagined +that the working classes would be glad of the boon provided for them in +the convenient wash-houses attached to the Baths proper, and the chance +given them to do away with all the sloppy, steamy annoyances of +washing-day at home, but the results proved otherwise, and the +wash-houses turned out to be not wanted. The Woodcock Street +establishment was opened August 27, 1860; Northwood Street, March 5, +1862; Sheepcote Street in 1878, and Ladywood in 1882. Turkish Baths are +now connected with the above, and there are also private speculations of +the same kind in High Street, Broad Street, and the Crescent. Hardy +swimmers, who prefer taking their natatory exercises in the open air, +will find provision made for them at the Reservoir, at Cannon Hill Park, +and also at Small Heath Park. The swimming-bath in George Street, +Balsall Heath, opened in 1846, was filled up in 1878, by order of the +Local Board of Health. + +~Bath Street~ takes its name from some baths formerly in Blews Street, +but which, about 1820, were turned into a malthouse. + +~Battle Of the Alma.~--A disturbance which took place at a steeplechase +meeting at Aston, Monday, March 26, 1855, received this grandiloquent +title. + +~Battles and Sieges.~--It is more than probable that the British, under +their gallant Queen Boadicea, fought the Romans more than once in the +near vicinity of this district, and very possibly in those happy days of +feudalism, which followed the invasion of the Normans, when every knight +and squire surrounded himself with his armed retainers, sundry +skirmishes may have taken place hereabouts, but history is silent. Even +of the battle of Barnet (April 14, 1471), when the Earl of Warwick and +10,000 men were slain, we have not sufficient note to say, though it can +hardly be doubted, that many Birmingham citizens went down. But still we +have on record one real "Battle of Birmingham," which took place on the +3rd of April, 1643. On that day our town was attacked by Prince Rupert, +with some 2,000 horse and foot; being pretty stoutly opposed, his +soldiers slew a number of inhabitants, burnt nearly 80 houses, and did +damage (it is said) to the extent of L30,000. It took five days for the +news of this exploit to reach London. In the week following Christmas of +the same year, a number of townspeople, aided by a party of the +Commonwealth soldiers, laid siege to, and captured, Aston Hall. + +~Bazaars.~--When originated none can tell. How much good done by means +of them, nobody knows. But that immense amounts have been raised for +good and charitable purposes, none can deny--and then, "they are _such_ +fun!". "Grand Bazaars" have been held for many an institution, and by +many different sects and parties, and to attempt to enumerate them would +be an impossibility, but the one on behalf of the Queen's Hospital, held +in April, 1880, is noteworthy, for two reasons:--first, because the +proceeds amounted to the munificent sum of L5,969, and, secondly, from +the novelty of the decorations. The body of the Town Hall was arranged +to represent an English street of the olden time, a baronial castle +rising tower upon tower at the great gallery end, and an Elizabethan +mansion in the orchestra, with a lawn in front, occupied by a military +band. The sides of the Hall constituted a double row of shops, the upper +storeys (reaching to the galleries) being filled with casements and +balconies, from whence the doings in the street could be witnessed. + +~Bean Club.~--The first anniversary we read of was that held July 17, +1752, at which meeting Lord Fielding gave L120 to erect an altarpiece in +St. Bartholomew's. + +~Beardsworth (John).~--Founder of the Repository, began life as driver +of a hackney coach, in which one night he drove a beautiful young lady +to a ball. John went home, dressed, procured admission to the ball, +danced with the lady, handed her to the coach, drove her home, and some +time after married her. The lady's cash enabled him to acquire an ample +fortune, being at one time worth nearly a quarter of a million, most of +which, however, was lost on the turf. The Repository was the largest +establishment of the kind in the kingdom, and Beardsworth'a house +adjoining was furnished in most splendid style, one centre table (made +of rich and rare American wood) costing L1,500. + +~Beelzebub.~--Watt's first steam engine was so christened. It was +brought from Scotland, put up at Soho, and used for experimenting upon. +It was replaced by "Old Bess," the first engine constructed upon the +expansive principle. This latter engine is now in the Museum of Patents, +South Kensington, though Mr. Smiles says he saw it working in 1857, +seventy years after it was made. + +~Beer.~--Brewers of beer were first called upon to pay a license duty in +1784, though the sellers thereof had been taxed more or less for 250 +years previously. The effect of the heavy duties then imposed was to +reduce the consumption of the national and wholesome beverage, which in +1782 averaged one barrel per head of the then population per annum, down +to half-a-barrel per head in 1830, its place being filled by an +increased consumption of ardent spirits, which from half-a-gallon per +head in 1782, rose by degrees to six-sevenths of a gallon per head by +1830. In this year, the statesmen of the day, who thought more of the +well-being of the working part of the population than raising money by +the taxation of their necessaries, took off the 10s. per barrel on beer, +in the belief that cheap and good malt liquors would be more likely to +make healthy strong men than an indulgence in the drinking of spirits. +Notwithstanding all the wild statements of the total abstainers to the +contrary, the latest Parliamentary statistics show that the consumption +of beer per head per annum averages _now_ only seven-eighths of a +barrel, though before even this moderate quantity reaches the consumers, +the Government takes [see Inland Revenue returns, 1879, before +alteration of malt-tax] no less a sum than L19,349 per year from the +good people of Birmingham alone. Of this sum the brewers paid L9,518, +the maltsters L425, beer dealers L2,245, and beer retailers L7,161. + +~Bells.~--There was a bell foundry at Good Knave's End, in 1760, from +whence several neighbouring churches were supplied with bells to summon +the good knaves of the day to prayers, or to toll the bad knaves to +_their_ end. There was also one at Holloway Head, in 1780, but the +business must have been hollow enough, for it did not go ahead, and we +find no record of church bells being cast here until just a hundred +years back (1732), when Messrs. Blews & Son took up the trade. +Birmingham bells have, however, made some little noise in the world, and +may still be heard on sea or land, near and far, in the shape of door +bells, ship bells, call bells, hand bells, railway bells, sleigh bells, +sheep bells, fog bells, mounted on rockbound coasts to warn the weary +mariner, or silver bells, bound with coral from other coasts, to soothe +the toothless babbler. These, and scores of others, are ordered here +every year by thousands; but the strangest of all orders must have been +that one received by a local firm some fifteen years ago from a West +African prince, who desired them to send him 10,000 house bells (each +3/4 lb. weight), wherewith to adorn his iron "palace." And he had them! +Edgar Poe's bells are nowhere, in comparison with + + Such a charm, such a chime, + Out of tune, out of time. + Oh, the jangling and the wrangling + Of ten thousand brazen throats. + + Ten bells were put in St. Martin's, in 1786, the total weight being 7 +tons, 6 cwt. 2 lbs. + +The peal of ten bells in St. Philip's were first used August 7, 1751, +the weight being 9 tons 10 cwt. 22 lbs., the tenor weighs 30 cwt. + +A new peal of eight bells were put up in Aston Church, in May, 1776, the +tenor weighing 21 cwt. The St. Martin's Society of Change Ringers +"opened" them, July 15, by ringing Holt's celebrated peal of 5040 +grandsire triples, the performance occupying 3 hours 4 minutes. + +Eight bells and a clock were mounted in the tower of Deritend Chapel, in +1776, the first peal being rung July 29. + +The eight bells in Bishop Ryder's Church, which weigh 55 cwt., and cost +L600, were cast in 1868, by Blews and Sons, and may be reckoned as the +first full peal founded in Birmingham. + +There are eight bells in Harborne Parish Church, four of them bearing +date 1697, two with only the makers' name on, and two put in February, +1877, on the 24th of which month the whole peal were inaugurated by the +ringing of a true peal of Stedman triples, composed by the late Thomas +Thurstans, and consisting of 5,040 changes, in 2 hours and 52 minutes. +The St. Martin's ringers officiated. + +The six bells of Northfield Church were cast by Joseph Smith, of +Edgbaston, in 1730. + +St. Chad's Cathedral has eight bells, five of which were presented in +1848 as a memorial to Dr. Moore; the other three, from the foundry of W. +Blews and Sons, were hung in March, 1877 the peculiar ceremony of +"blessing the bells" being performed by Bishop Ullathorne on the 22nd of +that month. The three cost L110. The bells at Erdington Catholic Church +were first used on February 2, 1878. + +~Bellows to Mend.~--Our townspeople bellowed a little over their losses +after Prince Rupert's rueful visit, but there was one among them who +knew how to "raise the wind," for we find Onions, the bellows-maker, +hard at work in 1650; and his descendants keep at the same old game. + +~Bennett's Hill.~--There was a walled-in garden (with an old brick +summer-house) running up from Waterloo-street to Colmore-row as late as +1838-9. + +~Benefit and Benevolent Societies.~--See "_Friendly Societies_." + +~Bellbarn Road~, or the road to Mr. Bell's barn. + +~Bermingham.~--The Irish family of this name descended from Robert, son +of Peter de Bermingham, who left here and settled in Connaught about the +year 1169. + +~Bibles and Testaments.~--In 1272 the price of a Bible, well written +out, was L30 sterling, and there were few readers of it in Birmingham. +The good book can now be bought for 6d., and it is to be hoped there is +one in every house. The Rev. Angell James once appealed to his +congregation for subscriptions towards sending a million New Testaments +to China, and the Carrslaneites responded promptly with L410 8s., enough +to pay for 24,624 copies--the publisher's price being 4d. each. They can +be bought for a penny now.--A local Auxiliary Bible Society was +commenced here May 9, 1806. + +~Bingley Hall~--Takes its name from Bingley House, on the site of which +it is built. It was erected in 1850 by Messrs. Branson and Gwyther, at a +cost of about L6,000, the proprietary shares being L100 each. In form it +is nearly a square, the admeasurements being 224 ft. by 212 ft., giving +an area of nearly one acre and a half. There are ten entrance doors, +five in King Edward's Place, and five in King Alfred's Place, and the +building may be easily divided into five separate compartments. The Hall +will hold from 20,000 to 25,000 people, and is principally used for +Exhibitions and Cattle Shows; with occasionally "monster meetings," when +it is considered necessary for the welfare of the nation to save sinners +or convert Conservatives. + +~Bird's-eye View~ of the town can be best obtained from the dome of the +Council House, to which access may be obtained on application to the +Curator. Some good views may be also obtained from some parts of Moseley +Road, Cannon Hill Park, and from Bearwood Road. + +~Birmingham.~--A horse of this name won the Doncaster St. Leger in 1830 +against 27 competitors. The owner, John Beardsworth, cleared L40,000. He +gave Connolly, the jockey, L2,000. + +~Birmingham Abroad.~--Our brethren who have emigrated do not like to +forget even the name of their old town, and a glance over the American +and Colonial census sheet shows us that there are at least a score of +other Birminghams in the world. In New Zealand there are three, and in +Australia five townships so christened. Two can be found in Canada, and +ten or twelve in the United States, the chief of which is Birmingham in +Alabama. In 1870 this district contained only a few inhabitants, but in +the following year, with a population of 700, it was incorporated, and +at once took rank as a thriving city, now proudly called "The Iron +City," from its numerous ironworks, furnaces, and mills. Last year the +citizens numbered over 12,000, the annual output of pig-iron being about +60,000 tons, and the coal mines in the neighbourhood turning out 2,000 +tons per day. The city is 240 miles from Nashville, 143 miles from +Chattanooga, and 96 miles from Montgomery, all thriving places, and is a +central junction of six railways. The climate is good, work plentiful, +wages fair, provisions cheap, house rent not dear, churches and schools +abundant, and if any of our townsmen are thinking of emigrating they may +do a deal worse than go from hence to that other Birmingham, which its +own "daily" says is a "City of marvellous wonder and magic growth," &c., +&c. + +~Birmingham Begging.~--Liberal to others as a rule when in distress, it +is on record that once at least the inhabitants of this town were the +recipients of like favours at the hands of their fellow-countrymen. In +the churchwardens' books of Redenall, Norfolk, under date September 20, +1644, is an entry of 6s. paid "to Richard Herbert, of Birmingham, where +was an hundred fifty and five dwelling house burnt by Pr. Rupert." + +~Birmingham Borough,~ which is in the hundred of Hemlingford, and wholly +in the county of Warwick, includes the parish of Birmingham, part of the +parish of Edgbaston, and the hamlets of Deritend-and-Bordesley, and +Duddeston-cum-Nechells, in the parish of Aston. The extreme length is +six miles one furlong, the average breadth three miles, the +circumference twenty-one miles, and the total area 8,420 acres, viz., +Birmingham, 2,955; in Edgbaston, 2,512; and in Aston, 2,853. Divided +into sixteen wards by an Order in Council, approved by Her Majesty, +October 15, 1872. The mean level of Birmingham is reckoned as 443 feet +above sea level. + +~Birmingham Heath.~--Once an unenclosed common, and part of it may now +be said to be common property, nearly 100 acres of it being covered with +public buildings for the use of such as need a common home. There is +not, however, anything commonplace in the style of these erections for +sheltering our common infirmities, as the Workhouse, Gaol, and Asylum +combined have cost "the Commons" something like L350,000. The Volunteers +in 1798 made use of part of the Heath as a practice and parade ground. + +~Birmingham Bishops.~--The Rev. John Milner, a Catholic divine and +eminent ecclesiastical antiquary, who was educated at Edgbaston, was +appointed Bishop Apostolic in the Midland district, with the title of +"Bishop of Castaballa." He died in 1826, in his 74th year.--Dr. +Ullathorne was enthroned at St. Chad's, August 30th, 1848, as Bishop of +the present Catholic diocese.--The Rev. P. Lee, Head Master of Free +Grammar School in 1839, was chosen as the first Bishop of Manchester.-- +The Rev. S. Thornton, St. George's, was consecrated Bishop of Ballarat, +May 1, 1875.--The Rev. Edward White Benson, D.D., a native of this town, +was nominated first Bishop of Truro, in December, 1876, and is now +Archbishop of Canterbury.--The Rev. Thomas Huband Gregg resigned the +vicarage of East Harborne in March, 1877, and on June 20 was consecrated +at New York a Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. + +~Birmingham~ (~Little~).--In a record of the early date of 1313 there is +mention of a place called Little Birmingham (parvam Birmingham), as +being in the hundreds of North and South Erpyngham, Norfolk. + +~Birmingham in the Future.~--It has been proposed that the Borough +should be extended so as to include the Local Board districts of +Harborne and Handsworth, Balsall Heath, Moseley, King's Heath, part of +King's Norton parish, the whole of Yardley and Acock's Green, part of +Northfield parish, all Aston Manor, Saltley, Witton, Little Bromwich, +and Erdington, covering an area of about 32,000 acres, with a present +population of over half a million. + +~Blind Asylum.~--See "_Philanthropic Institutions_." + +~Blondin~ made his first appearance at Aston Park, June 8, 1861; at the +Birmingham Concert Hall, December, 1869, and March, 1870; at the +Reservoir September, 1873, and September, 1878. Mrs. Powell, who was +known as the "Female Blondin," was killed at a fete in Aston Park, July +20, 1868, by falling from the high rope. + +~Bloomsbury Institute.~--Opened in 1860. The memorial stones of the +lecture-hall in Bloomsbury Street were laid August 6, 1877, the L750 +cost being given by Mr. David Smith. Seats 500. + +~Blue Coat School.~--See "_Schools_." + +~Blues.~--The United Society of True Blues was founded in 1805 by a +number of old Blue Coat boys (formerly known as "The Grateful Society") +who joined in raising an annual subscription for the School. + +~Board Schools.~--See "_School Board_." + +~Boatmen's Hall,~ erected on Worcester Wharf, by Miss Ryland, was opened +March 17, 1879. + +~Bonded Warehouses.~--Our Chamber of Commerce memoralised the Lords of +the Treasury for the extension of the bonded warehouse system to this +town, in December, 1858, but it was several years before permission was +obtained. + +~Books.~--The oldest known Birmingham book is a "Latin Grammar, composed +in the English tongue," printed in London in 1652, for Thomas Underhill, +its author having been one of the masters of our Free School. + +~Book Club (The).~--Commenced some few years previous to 1775, at which +time its meetings were held in Poet Freeth's, Leicester Arms, +Bell-street. As its name implies, the club was formed for the purchase +and circulation among the members of new or choice books, which were +sold at the annual dinner, hence the poet's hint in one of his +invitations to these meetings:-- + + "Due regard let the hammer be paid, + Ply the glass gloomy care to dispel; + If mellow our hearts are all made, + The books much better may sell." + + +In these days of cheap literature, free libraries, and halfpenny papers, +such a club is not wanted. + +~Books on Birmingham.~--Notes of Birmingham were now and then given +before the days of that dear old antiquary Hutton, but _his_ "History" +must always take rank as the first. Morfitt's was amusing as far as it +went; Bissett's was ditto and pictorial; but it remained till the +present period for really reliable sketches to be given. The best are +Langford's "Century of Birmingham Life," Harman's "Book of Dates," +Dent's "Old and New Birmingham," Bunce's "Municipal History," and the +last is "Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham." + +~Botanical Gardens.~--See "_Horticultural Societies_." + +~Borough Members.~--See "_Parliamentary Elections_." + +~Boulton (Mathew).~--The son of a hardware manufacturer of the same +name, was born here on September 3, 1728 (old style) and received his +education principally at the academy of the Rev. Mr. Anstey, Deritend. +He is accredited with having at the early age of seventeen invented the +inlaying of steel buckles, buttons and trinkets, which for many years +were in great request. These articles at first were exported to France +in large quantities, being afterwards brought from thence and sold in +London as the latest Parisian fashion. In 1762 (his father having left +him a considerable property) Mr. Boulton leased a quantity of the land +then forming part of Birmingham Heath, where at a cost of over L10,000 +he erected the famous Soho Works, and later on (in 1794) he purchased +the freehold of that and a considerable tract of the adjoining land. In +1767 steam was first brought into use to supplement the power derived +from the water wheels, and in 1769 he became acquainted with James Watt, +with whom he afterwards went into partnership to make steam engines of +all kinds, sinking L47,000 before he had any return for his money. Mr. +Boulton lived to the patriarchal age of fourscore and one, leaving this +life on August 7, 1809. He was buried at Handsworth, 600 workmen, +besides numberless friends, following his remains; all of whom were +presented with hatbands and gloves and a silver medal, and regaled with +a dinner, the funeral costing altogether about L2,000.--See "_Coinage_," +&c. + +~Bourne College,~ erected by the Primitive Methodists and their friends, +at Quinton, at a cost of nearly L10,00, was formally opened on October +240 [Transcriber's note: as original] 1882. When completed there will be +accommodation for 120 students. + +~Bowling Greens.~--These seem to have been favourite places of resort +with our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The completion of one at +the Union Tavern, Cherry Street, was announced March 26, 1792, but we +read of another as attached to the Hen and Chickens, in High Street, as +early as 1741. There is a very fine bowling-green at Aston Hall, and +lovers of the old-fashioned game can be also accommodated at Cannon Hill +Park, and at several suburban hotels. + +~Boys' Refuge~ is at corner of Bradford Street and Alcester Street, and +the Secretary will be glad of help. + +~Boyton.~--Captain Boyton showed his life-preserving dress, at the +Reservoir, April 24, 1875. + +~Bracebridge.~--A very ancient family, long connected with this +neighbourhood, for we read of Peter de Bracebrigg who married a +grand-daughter of the Earl of Warwick in A.D. 1100, and through her +inherited Kingsbury, an ancient residence of the Kings of Mercia. In +later days the Bracebridges became more intimately connected with this +town by the marriage in 1775 of Abraham Bracebridge, Esq., of +Atherstone, with Mary Elizabeth, the only child and heiress of Sir +Charles Holte, to whom the Aston estates ultimately reverted. Many +articles connected with the Holte family have been presented to +Birmingham by the descendants of this marriage. + +~Bradford Street~ takes its name from Henry Bradford, who, in 1767, +advertised that he would give a freehold site to any man who would build +the first house therein. + +~Breweries.~--In the days of old nearly every publican and innkeeper was +his own brewer, the fame of his house depending almost solely on the +quality of the "stingo" he could pour out to his customers. The first +local brewery on a large scale appears to have been that erected in +Moseley Street in 1782, which even down to late years retained its +cognomen of the Birmingham Old Brewery. In 1817 another company opened a +similar extensive establishment at St. Peter's Place, in Broad Street, +and since then a number of enterprising individuals have at times +started in the same track, but most have come grief, even in the case of +those whose capital was not classed under the modern term "limited." The +principal local breweries now in existence are those of Messrs. Holder, +Mitchell, and Bates, in addition to the well-known Crosswells Brewery of +Messrs Walter Showell and Sons, noted in next paragraph. The principal +Vinegar Brewery in Birmingham is that of Messrs. Fardon and Co. +(Limited), in Glover Street, which was formed in 1860, and is well +worthy of the stranger's visit. The annual output is about 850,000 +gallons, there being storage for nearly a million gallons, and 36,000 +casks to send the vinegar out in. + +~Brewery at Crosswells.~--Though by far the most extensive brewery +supplying Birmingham, the Crosswells cannot claim to be more than in the +infancy of its establishment at present, as only twelve years ago the +many acres of ground now covered by its buildings formed but part of an +unenclosed piece of waste land. Nevertheless, the spot was well-known +and often visited in ancient times, on account of the wonderful and +miraculous cures said to have been effected by the free use of the water +gushing up from the depths of the springs to be found there, and which +the monks of old had christened "The Wells of the Cross." Be its +medicinal qualities what they might in the days before Harry the Eighth +was king, the Cross Wells water retained its name and fame for centuries +after the monks were banished and the burly king who drove them out had +himself turned to dust. It has always been acknowledged as one of the +purest waters to be found in the kingdom; but its peculiar and special +adaptability to the brewing of "good old English cheer" was left to be +discovered by the founder of the firm of Messrs. Walter Showell and +Sons, who, as stated before, some twelve years back, erected the nucleus +of the present extensive brewery. Starting with the sale of only a few +hundred barrels per week, the call for their ales soon forced the +proprietors to extend their premises in order that supply should meet +demand. At first doubled, then quadrupled, the brewery is now at least +ten times its original size; and a slight notion of the business carried +on may be gathered from the fact that the firm's stock of barrels tots +up to nearly 60,000 and is being continually increased, extensive +cooperages, blacksmiths' shops, &c., being attached to the brewery, as +well as malthouses, offices, and storehouses of all kinds. The head +offices of the firm, which are connected by telephone with the brewery, +as well as with the stores at Kingston Buildings, Crescent Wharf, are +situated in Great Charles Street, and thus the Crosswells Brewery +(though really at Langley Green, some half-dozen miles away as the crow +flies) becomes entitled to rank as a Birmingham establishment, and +certainly not one of the least, inasmuch as the weekly sale of +Crosswells ales for this town alone is more than 80,000 gallons per +week. + +~Brickkiln Lane,~ now called the Horse Fair, gives its own derivation. + +~Bright.~--The Right Hon. John Bright, though not a Birmingham man, nor +connected with the town by any ties of personal interest or business, +has for the last quarter-century been the leading member returned to +Parliament as representing the borough, and must always rank foremost +among our men of note. Mr. Bright is the son of the late Jacob Bright, +of Greenbank, near Rochdale, and was born November 16, 1811. He and his +brother, Mr. Jacob Bright, M.P. for Manchester, began business as +partners in the affiliated firms of John Bright and Brothers, cotton +spinners and manufacturers, Rochdale, and Bright and Co., carpet +manufacturers, Rochdale and Manchester. At an early age Mr. Bright +showed a keen interest in politics, and took part in the Reform +agitation of 1831-32. In those days every householder was compelled by +law to pay the Church-rates levied in his parish, whatever his religious +creed might be, and it is said that Mr. Bright's first flights of +oratory were delivered from a tombstone in Rochdale church-yard in +indignant denunciation of a tax which to him, as a member of the Society +of Friends, appeared especially odious. It was not, however, till 1839, +when he joined the Anti-Corn Law League, that Mr. Bright's reputation +spread beyond his own immediate neighbourhood; and there can be no doubt +but that his fervid addresses, coupled with the calmer and more logical +speeches of Mr. Cobden, contributed in an appreciable degree to the +success of the movement. In July, 1843, he was returned as M.P. for the +city of Durham, which he represented until the general election of 1847, +when he was the chosen of Manchester. For ten years he was Manchester's +man in everything, but the side he took in regard to the Russian war was +so much at variance with the popular opinions of his constituents that +they at last turned on him, burnt his effigy in the streets, and threw +him out at the general election in March, 1857. At the death of Mr. G.F. +Muntz, in July following, Mr. Bright was almost unanimously selected to +fill his place as M.P. for this town, and for 25 years he has continued +to honour Birmingham by permitting us to call him _our_ member. (See +"_Parliamentary Elections_.") Mr. Bright has been twice married, but is +now a widower, and he has twice held office in the Cabinet, first as +President of the Board Of Trade, and more lately as Chancellor of the +Duchy of Lancaster. + +~Bristol Road.~--Trees were first planted in this road in the spring of +1853. + +~Britannia Metal.~--A mixed metal formed of 90 parts of tin, 2 copper, +and 8 antimony, brought into use about 1790, and long a favourite with +manufacturers and public alike. The introduction of electroplating did +much towards its extended make at first, but latterly it has been in +great measure, replaced by German silver and other alloys. + +~British Association~ for the Advancement, of Science first met in this +town Aug. 26, 1839. They were here again Oct. 12, 1857, and Sep. 6, +1865. + +~Brittle Street~ formerly ran from Livery Street to Snow Hill, about the +spot where now the entrance gates to the Station are. + +~Broad Street.~--150 years ago part of what is now known as Dale End was +called Broad Street, the present thoroughfare of that name then being +only a pathway through the fields. + +~Brunswick Buildings.~--Erected in New Street, by Mr. Samuel Haines in +1854. A funny tale has been told about the original lease, which +included a covenant that at the expiration of the term of 100 years for +which it was granted, the land was to be delivered up to the Grammar +School "well cropped with potatoes." In 1760 New Street _was_ a new +street indeed, for there were but a few cottages with gardens there +then, and the potatoe proviso was no doubt thought a capital provision; +but fancy growing that choice edibie there in 1860! + +~Buck.~--Henry Buck, P.G.M., and Sec. of the Birmingham district of the +Manchester Order of Oddfellows for twenty-five years, died Jan. 22, +1876, aged 63. A granite obelisk to his memory in St. Philip's +churchyard was unveiled Sep. 17, 1877. + +~Building Societies~ took early root here, as we find there were several +in 1781.--See "_Friendly Societies_." + +~Buckles~ were worn as shoe fasteners in the reign of Charles II.--See +"_Trades_." + +~Buttons.~--Some interesting notes respecting the manufacture of buttons +will be found under the head of "_Trades_." + +~Bulgarian Atrocities, 1876-7.~--A considerable amount of "political +capital" was made out of these occurrences, but only L1,400 was +subscribed here for the relief of the unfortunates; while merely L540 +could be raised towards helping the thousands of poor Bosnian refugees +driven from their homes by the Russians in 1878, and of this sum L200 +was given by one person. + +~Bullbaiting~ was prohibited in 1773 by Order in Council, and an Act was +passed in 1835, to put a stop to all baiting of bulls, badgers, and +bears. At Chapel Wake, 1798, some law-defying reprobates started a +bullbaiting on Snow Hill, but the Loyal Association of Volunteers turned +out, and with drums beating and colours flying soon put the rebels to +flight, pursuing them as far as Birmingham Heath, where the baiters got +a beating, the Loyals returning home in triumph with the bull as a +trophy. The last time this "sport" was indulged in in this neighbourhood +appears to have been early in October, 1838, at Gib Heath, better known +now as Nineveh Road. + +~Bull Lane~ was the name once given to that part of the present Colmore +Row between Livery Street and Snow Hill, though it has been better known +as Monmouth Street. + +~Bull Street.~--Once called Chapel Street, as leading to the chapel of +the ancient Priory; afterwards named from the old inn known as the Red +Bull (No. 83). + +~Burial Grounds.~--See "_Cemeteries_." + +~Burns.~--Excisemen, when Robert Burns was one of them, were wont to +carry pistols, and those the poet had were given him by one of our +gunmakers, Mr. Blair. They were afterwards bought by Allan Cunningham, +who gave them back to Burns' widow.--Birmingham lent its rill to the +great river of homage to the genius of Burns which flowed through the +length and breadth of the civilised world on the occasion of the Burns' +centenary in January, 1859. The most interesting of the three or four +meetings held here was one of a semi-private nature, which took place at +Aston Hall, and which originated, not with Scotchmen, but with +Englishmen. Some forty-five or fifty gentlemen, only some half-dozen of +whom were Scotch, sat down to an excellent supper in the fine old room +in which the Queen lunched the previous year. The chairman was Mr. +Samuel Timmins, and the vice-chairman was Mr. Ross. + +~Cabs, Cars, and Carriages.~--The hackney carriages, or four-wheelers, +of this town, have the credit of being superior to those used in London, +though the hansoms (notwithstanding their being the inventions of one +who should rank almost as a local worthy--the architect of our Town +Hall) are not up to the mark. Prior to 1820 there were no regular stands +for vehicles plying for hire, those in New Street, Bull Street, and +Colmore Row being laid in that year, the first cabman's license being +dated June 11. The first "Cabman's Rest" was opened in Ratcliffe Place, +June 13, 1872, the cost (L65) being gathered by the cabman's friend, the +Rev. Micarah Hill, who also, in 1875, helped them to start an +association for mutual assistance in cases of sickness or death. There +are sixteen of these "shelters" in the town, the cabmen subscribing +about L200 yearly towards expenses. As a rule, the Birmingham cabmen are +a civil and obliging body of men, though now and then a little sharp +practice may occur, as in the instance of the stranger who, arriving in +New Street Station one evening last summer, desired to be taken to the +Queen's Hotel. His luggage being properly secured, and himself safely +ensconced, Mr. Cabby cooly took the rug from his horse's back, mounted +his seat and walked the animal through the gates back to the building +the stranger had just left, depositing his fare, and as calmly holding +out his hand for the customary shilling as if he had driven the full +distance of a mile and a half. The fares laid down by the bye-laws as +proper to be charged within the Borough, and within five miles from the +statue in Stephenson Place, in the Borough, are as follows:-- + + +_By time_, the driver driving at a rate not less than five miles per +hour, if so required:-- + + s. d. + For every carriage constructed to + carry four persons, for the first + hour, or part of hour .. .. 3 0 + For every additional 15 minutes, or + part of 15 minutes. .. .. 0 2 + For every carriage constructed to + carry two persons, for the first + hour, or part of hour .. .. 2 6 + For every additional 15 minutes, or + part of 15 minutes.. .. .. 0 6 + Any person hiring any carriage + otherwise than by time is entitled + to detain the same five minutes + without extra charge, but for + every 15 minutes, or part thereof, + over the first five minutes, the + hirer must pay .. .. .. 0 6 + _By distance_:-- + Cabs or Cars to carry 2 persons not + exceeding 1-1/2 miles .. .. 1 0 + Per 1/2 mile after .. .. .. 0 4 + One horse vehicles to carry 4 + persons, not exceeding 1 mile .. 1 0 + For any further distance, per 1/2 mile + after .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 6 + Cars or Carriages with 2 horses, to + carry 4 persons, not exceeding 1 + mile .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 9 + Per 1/2 mile after .. .. .. 0 9 + _Double Fares_ shall be allowed and + paid for every fare, or so much of + any fare as may be performed by + any carriage after 12 o'clock at + night, and before 6 in the morning. + + +~Calthorpe Park,~ Pershore road, has an area of 3la. 1r. 13p., and was +given to the town in 1857 by Lord Calthorpe. Though never legally +conveyed to the Corporation, the Park is held under a grant from the +Calthorpe family, the effect of which is equivalent to a conveyance in +fee. The Duke of Cambridge performed the opening ceremony in this our +first public park. + +~Calthorpe Road~ was laid out for building in the year 1818, and the +fact is worthy of note as being the commencement of our local West End. + +~Calico, Cotton, and Cloth.~--In 1702 the printing or wearing of printed +calicoes was prohibited, and more strictly so in 1721, when cloth +buttons and buttonholes were also forbidden. Fifty years after, the +requisites for manufacturing cotton or cotton cloth were now allowed to +be exported, and in 1785 a duty was imposed on all cotton goods brought +into the Kingdom. Strange as it may now appear, there was once a +"cotton-spinning mill" in Birmingham. The first thread of cotton ever +spun by rollers was produced in a small house near Sutton Coldfield as +early as the year 1700, and in 1741 the inventor, John Wyatt, had a mill +in the Upper Priory, where his machine, containing fifty rollers, was +turned by two donkeys walking round an axis, like a horse in a modern +clay mill. The manufacture, however, did not succeed in this town, +though carried on more or less till the close of the century, Paul's +machine being advertised for sale April 29, 1795. The Friends' +schoolroom now covers the site of the cotton mill. + +~Canals.~--The first Act for the construction of the "cut" or canal in +connection with Birmingham was passed in 1761, that to Bilston being +commenced in 1767. The delivery here of the first boat-load of coals +(Nov. 6, 1769) was hailed, and rightly so, as one of the greatest +blessings that could be conferred on the town, the immediate effect +being a reduction in the price to 6d per cwt, which in the following May +came down to 4d. The cutting of the first sod towards making the Grand +Junction Canal took place July 26, 1766, and it was completed in 1790. +In 1768 Briudley, the celebrated engineer, planned out the Birmingham +and Wolverhampton Canal, proposing to make it 22 miles long; but he did +not live to see it finished. The work was taken up by Smeaton and +Telford; the latter of whom calling it "a crooked ditch" struck out a +straight cut, reducing the length to 14 miles, increasing the width to +40 feet, the bridges having each a span of 52 feet. The "Summit" bridge +was finished in 1879. The Fazeley Canal was completed in 1783, and so +successfully was it worked that in nine years the shares were at a +premium of L1170. In 1785 the Birmingham, the Fazeley, and the Grand +Junction Companies took up and completed an extension to Coventry. The +Birmingham and Worcester Canal was commenced in 1,791, the cost being a +little over L600,000, and it was opened for through traffic July 21, +1815. By an agreement of September 18, 1873, this canal was sold to the +Gloucester and Berkeley Canal Co. (otherwise the Sharpness Dock Co.), +and has thus lost its distinctive local name. The Birmingham and Warwick +commenced in 1793; was finished in 1800. Communication with Liverpool by +water was complete in 1826, the carriage of goods thereto which had +previously cost L5 per ton, being reduced to 30s. For a through cut to +London, a company was started in May, 1836, with a nominal capital of +L3,000,000, in L100 shares, and the first cargoes were despatched in +August, 1840. In April, 1840, an Act was passed to unite the Wyrley and +Essington Canal Co. with the Birmingham Canal Co., leading to the +extension, at a cost of over L120,000, of the canal system to the lower +side of the town. There are 2,800 miles of canals in England, and about +300 miles in Ireland. The total length of what may properly be called +Birmingham canals is about 130 miles, but if the branches in the "Black +Country" be added thereto, it will reach to near 250 miles. The first +iron boat made its appearance on canal waters July 24, 1787; the first +propelled by steam arrived here from London, September 29, 1826. The +adaptation of steam power to general canal traffic, however, was not +carried to any great extent, on account of the injury caused to the +banks by the "wash" from the paddles and screws, though, when railways +were first talked about, the possibility of an inland steam navigation +was much canvassed. When the Bill for the London and Birmingham Railway +was before Parliament, in 1833, some enterprising carriers started (on +Midsummer-day) an opposition in the shape of a stage-boat, to run daily +and do the distance, with goods and passengers, in 16 hours. The +Birmingham and Liverpool Canal Company introduced steam tugs in 1843. On +Saturday, November 11, they despatched 16 boats, with an aggregate load +of 380 tons, to Liverpool, drawn by one small vessel of 16-horse power, +other engines taking up the "train" at different parts of the voyage. +Mr. Inshaw, in 1853, built a steamboat for canals with a screw on each +side of the rudder. It was made to draw four boats with 40 tons of coal +in each at two and a half miles per hour, and the twin screws were to +negative the surge, but the iron horses of the rail soon put down, not +only all such weak attempts at competition, but almost the whole canal +traffic itself, so far as general merchandise and carriage of light +goods and parcels was concerned. "Flyboats" for passengers at one time +ran a close race with the coaches and omnibuses between here, +Wolverhampton, and other places, but they are old people now who can +recollect travelling in that manner in their youth. + +~Canal Accidents.~--The banks of the Birmingham and Worcester Canal, +near Wheeley's Road, gave way on May 26, 1872, causing considerable +damage to the properties near at hand. A similar occurrence took place +at Aston, July 20, 1875; and a third happened at Solihull Lodge Valley, +October 27, 1880, when about 80ft. of an embankment 30-ft. high +collapsed. + +~Canal Reservoir,~ better known as "The Reservoir," near Monument Lane, +a popular place of resort, covers an area of 62A. 1R. 5P., and is +three-quarters of a mile long. Visitors and others fond of boating can +be accommodated here to their heart's content. + +~Cannon.~--The first appearance of these instruments of destruction in +connection with the English army was in the time of Edward III. in his +wars with the Scotch and the French, the first great battle of +historical note in which they were used being that of Cressy, in 1346. +The manufacture of "small arms," as they are called, has been anything +but a small feature in the trade history of our past, but +cannon-founding does not appear to have been much carried on, though a +local newspaper of 1836 mentioned that several 250 and 300-pounder guns +were sent from here in that year for the fortifications on the +Dardanelles. + +~Cannon Hill Park~ covers an area of 57a. 1r. 9p., and was presented to +the town by Miss Ryland, the deed of conveyance bearing date April 18th, +1873. The nearest route to this Park is by way of Pershore Road and +Edgbaston Lane, omnibuses going that way every half-hour. + +~Caps.~--The inventor of percussion caps is not known, but we read of +them as being made here as early as 1816, though they were not +introduced into "the service" until 1839. The manufacture of these +articles has several times led to great loss of life among the workers, +notes of which will be found under the head of "_Explosions_." See also +"_Trades_." + +~Carlyle.~--The celebrated philosopher, Thomas Carlyle, resided here for +a short time in 1824; and his notes about Birmingham cannot but be worth +preserving. Writing to his brother John under date Aug. 10, he says:-- + + + "Birmingham I have now tried for a reasonable time, and I cannot + complain of being tired of it. As a town it is pitiful enough--a mean + congeries of bricks, including one or two large capitalists, some + hundreds of minor ones, and, perhaps, a hundred and twenty thousand + sooty artisans in metals and chemical produce. The streets are + ill-built, ill-paved, always flimsy in their aspect--often poor, + sometimes miserable. Not above one or two of them are paved with + flagstones at the sides; and to walk upon the little egg-shaped, + slippery flints that supply their places is something like a penance. + Yet withal it is interesting for some of the commons or lanes that + spot and intersect the green, woody, undulating environs to view this + city of Tubal Cain. Torrents of thick smoke, with ever and anon a + burst of dingy flame, are issuing from a thousand funnels. 'A thousand + hammers fall by turns.' You hear the clank of innumerable steam + engines, the rumbling of cars and vans, and the hum of men interrupted + by the sharper rattle of some canal boat loading or disloading, or, + perhaps, some fierce explosion when the cannon founders [qy: the + proof-house] are proving their new-made ware. I have seen their + rolling-mills, their polishing of teapots, and buttons and + gun-barrels, and lire-shovels, and swords, and all manner of toys and + tackle. I have looked into their ironworks where 150,000 men are + smelting the metal in a district a few miles to the north: their coal + mines, fit image, of Arvenus; their tubes and vats, as large as + country churches, full of copperas and aqua fortis and oil of vitroil; + and the whole is not without its attractions, as well as repulsions, + of which, when we meet, I will preach to you at large." + + +~Carr's Lane.~--Originally this is believed to have been known as +"Goddes Cart Lane," and was sufficiently steep to be dangerous, as +evidenced by accidents noted in past history. + +~Carr's Lane Chapel,~ the meeting house of the old Independents, or as +they are now called, the Congregationalists, will be noticed under +"_Places of Worship_." + +~Cartoons.~--If some of our fore-fathers could but glance at the +illustrations or the portait caricatures of local public men and their +doings, now given us almost daily, we fear they would not credit us +moderns with much advancement in the way of political politeness, +however forward we may be in other respects. Many really good cartoons +_have_ appeared, and neither side can be said to hold a monopoly of such +sketchy skilfulness, but one of the best (because most truthful) was the +cartoon issued in October 1868, giving the portrait of a +"Vote-as-you're-told" electer, led by the nose by his _Daily Post_. + +~Castle.~--Birmingham Castle is named in an ancient document as being +situated a "bowshot southwestward of the church," but the exact site +thereof has never been traced. It is supposed to have been erected about +the year 1140, and to have been demolished by order of King Stephen, in +1176. + +~Castle Street~ takes its name from the hostlery once so famous among +our coach officers. + +~Catacombs.~--There is a large number of massively-built stone vaults +underneath Christ Church, each divided into tiers of catacombs, or +receptacles for the dead. It is in one of these that the remains of +Baskerville at last found a resting place.--The catacombs at the General +Cemetery are many, being cut out of the sandstone rock known as Key +Hill, and a large number have been and can be excavated underneath the +church in the Warstone Lane Cemetery. + +~Cathedral.~--See "_Places of Warship--Catholic_." + +~Cat Shows.~--The first Cat Show held here was opened November 29th, +1873, and was a very successful speculation; but the exhibitions of the +two following years did not pay and since then the grimalkins have been +left at home. + +~Cattle Show.~--As first started (in 1849, when it was held near Kent +Street), and at Bingley Hall in the following year, this was an annual +show of cattle, sheep, and pigs only, but after years has made it a +gathering place for specimens, of nearly everything required on a farm, +and the "Show" has become an "_Exhibition_," under which heading full +notice will be found. + +~Cemeteries.~--The burial grounds attached to the Churches were formerly +the only places of interment save for suicides and murderers--the former +of whom were buried at some cross-road, with a stake driven through the +body, while the latter were frequently hung in chains and got no burial +at all. In 1807 the first addendum to our churchyards was made by the +purchase of 13,192 square yards of land in Park Street, which cost +L1,600. Having been laid out and enclosed with substantial railed walls +at a further outlay of L764, the ground was duly consecrated July 16, +1813, and for some years was the chief receptacle for decaying humanity +of all classes, many thousands of whom were there deposited. By degrees +the ground came to be looked upon as only fit for the poorest of the +poor, until, after being divided by the railway, this "God's Acre" was +cared fir by none, and was well called the "black spot" of the town. +Since the passing of the Closed Burial Grounds Bill (March 18, 1878) the +Corporations have taken possession, and at considerable expense have +re-walled the enclosure and laid it out as a place of health resort for +the children of the neighbourhood. The burial grounds of St. +Bartholomew's, St. Martin's, St. Mary's, and St. George's have also been +carefully and tastefully improved in appearance, and we can now venture +to look at most of our churchyards without shame. + +The General Cemetery at Key Hill was originated at a meeting held Oct. +18, 1832, when a proprietary Company was formed, and a capital fixed at +L12,000, in shares of L10 each. The total area of the property is about +twelve acres, eight of which are laid out for general burials, in a +edition to the catacombs cut into the sandstone rock. + +The Church of England Cemetery in Warstone Lane is also the property of +a private Company, having a capital of L20,000 in L10 shares. The area +is nearly fifteen acres, the whole of which was consecrated as a burial +ground for the Church on August 20, 1848. + +The Catholic Cemetery of St. Joseph, at Nechell's Green, received its +first consignment in 1850. + +The introduction and extension of railways have played sad havoc with a +number of the old burial grounds belonging to our forefathers. As +mentioned above the London and North Western took a slice out of Park +Street Cemetery. The Great Western cleared the Quakers' burial ground in +Monmouth Street (where the Arcade now stands) the remains of the +departed Friends being removed to their chapel yard in Bull Street, and +a curious tale has been told in connection therewith. It is said that +the representative of the Society of Friends was a proper man of +business, as, indeed, most of them are, and that he drove rather a hard +bargain with the railway directors, who at last were obliged to give in +to what they considered to be an exorbitant demand for such a small bit +of freehold. The agreement was made and the contract signed, and Friend +Broadbrim went on his way rejoicing; but not for long. In selling the +land he apparently forgot that the land contained bones, for when the +question of removing the dead was mooted, the Quaker found he had to pay +back a goodly portion of the purchase money before he obtained +permission to do so. In clearing the old streets away to make room for +New Street Station, in 1846, the London and North Western found a small +Jewish Cemetery in what was then known as the "Froggery," but which had +long been disused. The descendants of Israel carefully gathered the +bones and reinterred them in their later-dated cemetery in Granville +Street, but even here they did not find their last resting-place, for +when, a few years back, the Midland made the West Suburban line, it +became necessary to clear out this ground also, and the much-disturbed +remains of the poor Hebrews were removed to Witton. The third and last +of the Jewish Cemeteries, that in Betholom Row, which was first used in +or about 1825, and has long been full, is also doomed to make way for +the extension of the same line.--During the year 1883 the time-honoured +old Meeting-house yard, where Poet Freeth, and many another local +worthy, were laid to rest, has been carted off--dust and ashes, tombs +and tombstones--to the great graveyard at Witton, where Christian and +Infidel, Jew and Gentile, it is to be hoped, will be left at peace till +the end of the world. + +In 1860, the Corporation purchased 105 acres of land at Witton for the +Borough Cemetery. The foundation stones of two chapels were laid August +12, 1861, and the Cemetery was opened May 27, 1863, the total cost being +nearly L40,000. Of the 105 acres, 53 are consecrated to the use of the +Church of England, 35 laid out for Dissenters, and 14 set aside for +Catholics and Jews. + +~Census.~--The numbering of the people by a regular and systematic plan +once in every ten years, only came into operation in 1801, and the most +interesting returns, as connected with this town and its immediate +neighbourhood, will be found under the heading of "_Population_." + +~Centre of Birmingham.~--As defined by the authorities for the +settlement of any question of distance, Attwood's statue at the top of +Stephenson Place, in New Street, is reckoned as the central spot of the +borough. In olden days, Nelson's monument, and prior to that, the Old +Cross, in the Bull Ring, was taken as the centre. As an absolute matter +of fact, so far as the irregular shape of the borough area will allow of +such a measurement being made, the central spot is covered by Messrs. +Harris and Norton's warehouse in Corporation Street. + +~Centenarians.~--John Harman, better known as Bishop Vesey, died in +1555, in his 103rd year. James Sands, who died at Harborne in 1625, was +said to have been 140 years old, and his wife lived to be 120. Joseph +Stanley, of Aston, died in May, 1761, in his 106th year. Wesley, under +date of March 19, 1768, wrote of having seen George Bridgens, then in +his 107th year; Hutton, in noticing the long life of Bridgens, also +mentions one John Pitt who lived to be 100, a Mrs. Moore who reached +104, and an old market man who completed his 107th year. A Mr. Clarkson +died here, in February, 1733, aged 112. William Jennens, _the_ Jennens +of untold, but much coveted, wealth, died in June, 1798, aged 103. John +Roberts, of Digbeth, had a family of twenty-eight children, six by his +third wife, whom he married when nearly eighty, and lived to see his +103rd year, in 1792, dying July 6. Thomas Taylor, a cobbler, stuck to +his last until a week of his death, July 8, 1796, at 103. T. Blakemore +died November 12, 1837, aged 105. Mrs. E. Bailey, founder of the Female +Charity School, was also 105 at her death, December 2, 1854. Another old +lady was Elizabeth Taylor, who died at Sparkbrook, March 5, 1864, aged +104 years. Mary Hemming, of Moseley Wake Green, died December 5, 1881, +in her 104th year. + +~Centenary Celebrations~, more or less worthy of note, are continuously +recurring, and the date of some few are here preserved. Our loyal +grandfathers honoured the hundredth, anniversary of the Revolution of +1688, by a public dinner, November 4, 1788. Old Bluecoat boys in like +manner kept the centenary of their school, August 24, 1824. Admirers of +the Philosopher Priestley chose All Fools' Day, 1831, as the fitting day +to celebrate the anniversary of his birth. The Centenary of the +Protestant Dissenting Charity Schools was worthily celebrated by the +raising of a special sum amounting to L1,305, as an addition to the +funds. In January, 1859, Robert Burns' anniversary was remembered by the +holding a supper in Aston Hall, at which only half-a-dozen Scotchmen +were present out of half-a-hundred guests. The Dissenting Ministers of +this and the neighbouring counties, who, for a hundred years, have met +together once a month, celebrated the event by a quiet luncheon-dinner, +December 13, 1882. The Tercentenary of the Free Grammar School was +celebrated with learned speeches April 16, 1852; that of Good Queen +Bess, by a public prayer meeting, November 16, 1858; and that of +Shakespeare, April 23, 1864, by the founding of a Shakespeare Memorial +Library. The thousandth anniversary of Alfred the Great, October 29, +1849, was made much of by the Political Knowledge Association, which had +not been in existence it thousand days. The fact of John Bright being +M.P. for Birmingham for a quarter of a century, was celebrated in June, +1883, by the Liberal Association, who got up a "monster" procession in +imitation of the celebrated Attwood procession of the old days of +Reform. The holiday was most thoroughly enjoyed by the public generally, +and immense numbers of people thronged the streets to hear the bands and +see what was to be seen. + +~Chamberlain Memorial.~--See "_Statues_," &c. + +~Chamber of Commerce.~--In 1783 there was a "Standing General Commercial +Committee," composed of the leading merchants and Manufacturers, who +undertook the duty of looking after the public interests of the town +(not forgetting their own peculiarly private ditto). That they were not +so Liberal as their compeers of to-day may be gathered from the fact of +their strongly opposing the exportation of brass, and on no account +permitting a workman to go abroad. + +~Chamber of Manufacturers.~--When Pitt, in 1784, proposed to tax coal, +iron, copper, and other raw materials, he encountered a strong +opposition from the manufacturers, prominent among whom were Boulton +(Soho), Wilkinson (Bradley), and Wedgwood (Potteries), who formed a +"Chamber," the first meeting of which was held here in February, 1785. +The Minister was induced to alter his mind. + +~Chandeliers.~--Many beautiful works of art have been manufactured in +this town, which, though the wonder and admiration of strangers, receive +but faint notice here, and find no record except in the newspaper of the +day or a work like the present. Among such may be ranked the superb +brass chandelier which Mr. R.W. Winfield sent to Osborne in 1853 for Her +Majesty, the Queen. Designed in the Italian style, this fine specimen of +the brassworkers' skill, relieved by burnishing and light matted work, +ornamented with figures of Peace, Plenty, and Love in purest Parian, +masks of female faces typical of night, and otherwise decorated in the +richest manner, was declared by the late Prince Consort as the finest +work he had ever seen made in this country and worthy to rank with that +of the masters of old. Not so fortunate was Mr. Collis with the +"Clarence chandelier" and sideboard he exhibited at the Exhibition of +1862. Originally made of the richest ruby cut and gilded glass for +William IV., it was not finished before that monarch's death, and was +left on the maker's hand. Its cost was nearly L1,000, but at the final +sale of Mr. Collis's effects in Dec. 1881 it was sold for L5. + +~Chapels and Churches.~--See "_Places of Worship_." + +~Charity.~--Charitable collections were made in this neighbourhood in +1655, for the Redmontese Protestants, Birmingham giving L15 11s. 2d., +Sutton Coldfield L14, and Aston L4 14s. 2d. On the 6th of June, 1690, +L13 18s. 1-1/2d. were collected at St. Martin's "for ye Irish +Protestants." In 1764 some Christmas performances were given for the +relief of aged and distressed housekeepers, and the charitable custom +thus inaugurated was kept up for over seventy years. In the days of +monks and monasteries, the poor and needy, the halt and lame, received +charitable doles at the hands of the former and at the gates of the +latter, but it would be questionable how far the liberality of the +parsons, priests, and preachers of the present day would go were the +same system now in vogue. It has been estimated that nearly L5,000 is +given every year in what may be called the indiscriminate charity of +giving alms to those who ask it in the streets or from door to door. By +far the largest portion of this amount goes into the hands of the +undeserving and the worthless, and the formation of a central relief +office, into which the charitably-disposed may hand in their +contributions, and from whence the really poor and deserving may receive +help in times of distress, has been a long felt want. In 1869 a "Charity +Organisation Society" was established here, and it is still in +existence, but it does not appear to meet with that recognised support +which such an institution as suggested requires. In 1882 a special fund +was started for the purpose of giving aid to women left with children, +and about L380 was subscribed thereto, while the ordinary income was +only L680. The special fund can hardly be said as yet to have got into +working order, but when the cost of proving the property of the +recipients, with the necessary expenses of office rent, salaries, &c., +have been deducted from the ordinary income, the amount left to be +distributed among the persons deemed by the officials deserving of +assistance is small indeed, the expenses reaching about L330 per year. +In 1880 it cost L329 18s. 4d. to give away food, cash, and clothing, +&c., valued at L386 16s. 6d., an apparent anomally which would not be so +glaring if the kind-hearted and charitable would only increase the +income of the Society, or re-organise it upon a wider basis.--For +statistics of poverty and the poor see "_Pauperism_" and "_Poor Rates_." + +~Charitable Trusts.~--See "_Philanthropical Institutions_," &c. + +~Chartism.~--Following the great Reform movement of 1832, in which +Birmingham led the van, came years of bad harvests, bad trade, and +bitter distress. The great Chartist movement, though not supported by +the leaders of the local Liberal party, was taken up with a warmth +almost unequalled in any other town in the Kingdom, meetings being held +daily and nightly for months in succession, Feargus O'Connor, Henry +Vincent, and many other "orators of the fiery tongue," taking part. On +the 13th of August, 1838, a monstre demonstration took place on Holloway +Head, at which it was reckoned there were over 100,000 persons present, +and a petition in favour of "The Charter" was adopted that received the +signatures of 95,000 people in a few days. The Chartist "National +Convention" met here May 13, 1839, and noisy assemblages almost daily +affrighted the respectable townsmen out of their propriety. It was +advised that the people should abstain from all exciseable articles, and +"run for gold" upon the savings banks--very good advice when given by +Attwood in 1832, but shockingly wicked in 1839 when given to people who +could have had but little in the savings or any other banks. This, and +the meetings which ensued, so alarmed the magistrates for the safety of +property that, in addition to swearing in hundreds of special +constables, they sent to London for a body of police. These arrived on +July 4, and unfortunately at the time a stormy meeting was being held in +the Bull Ring, which they were at once set to disperse, a work soon +accomplished by the free use they made of their staves. The indignant +Brums, however, soon rallied and drove the police into the Station, +several being wounded on either side. The latent fury thus engendered +burst out in full force on the 15th when the notorious Chartist Riots +commenced, but the scenes then enacted, disgraceful as they were, may +well be left in oblivion, especially as the best of "the points" of the +Charter are now part of the laws of the land. Besides many others who +were punished more or less, two of the leaders, Wm. Lovett and John +Collins, were sentenced to one year's imprisonment for a seditious libel +in saying that "the people of Birmingham were the best judges of their +own rights to meet in the Bull Ring, and the best judges of their own +power and resources to obtain justice." On the 27th July, 1849, Lovett +and Collins were accorded a public welcome on their release from prison, +being met at the Angel by a crowd of vehicles, bands of music, &c., and +a procession (said to have numbered nearly 30,000), accompanied them to +Gosta Green where speeches were delivered; a dinner, at which 800 +persons sat down, following on the site of "The People's Hall of +Science," in Loveday Street. In 1841, Joseph Sturge gave in his adhesion +to some movement for the extension of the franchise to the working +classes, and at his suggestion a meeting was held at the Waterloo Rooms +(Feb. 25th, 1842), and a memorial to the Queen drawn up, which in less +than a month received 16,000 signatures. On the 5th of April, 87 +delegates from various parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland, +assembled here, and after four days' sitting formed themselves into "The +National Complete Suffrage Union," whose "points" were similar to those +of the Charter, viz., manhood suffrage, abolition of the property +qualification, vote by ballot, equal electoral districts, payment of +election expenses and of members, and annual Parliaments. On the 27th of +December, another Conference was held (at the Mechanics' Institute), at +which nearly 400 delegates were present, but the apple of discord had +been introduced, and the "Complete Suffrage Union" was pooh-poohed by +the advocates of "the Charter, the whole Charter, and nothing but the +Charter," and our peace-loving townsman, whom _The Times_ had dubbed +"the Birmingham Quaker Chartist," retired from the scene. From that time +until the final collapse of the Chartist movement, notwithstanding many +meetings were held, and strong language often used, Birmingham cannot be +said to have taken much part in it, though, in 1848 (August 15th), +George J. Mantle, George White, and Edward King, three local worthies in +the cause, found themselves in custody for using seditious language. + +~Chauntries.~--In 1330 Walter of Clodeshale, and in 1347 Richard of +Clodeshale, the "Lords of Saltley," founded and endowed each a Chauntry +in old St. Martin's Church, wherein daily services should be performed +for themselves, their wives, and ancestors, in their passage through +purgatory. In like manner, in 1357, Philip de Lutteley gave to the +Lutteley chantry in Enville Church, a parcel of land called Morfe Woode, +"for the health of his soul, and the souls of all the maintained of the +said chantry;" and in 1370 he gave other lands to the chantry, "for the +priest to pray at the altar of St. Mary for the health of his soul, and +Maud his wife, and of Sir Fulke de Birmingham," and of other benefactors +recited in the deed. It is to be devoutly hoped that the souls of the +devisees and their friends had arrived safely at their journeys' end +before Harry the Eighth's time, for he stopped the prayers by stopping +the supplies. + +~Cherry Street~ took its name from the large and fruitful cherry orchard +which we read of as being a favourite spot about the year 1794. + +~Chess.~--See "_Sports and Sporting_." + +~Chicago Fire.~--The sum of L4,300 was subscribed and sent from here +towards relieving the sufferers by this calamity. + +~Children.~--A society known as "The Neglected Children's Aid Society," +was founded in 1862, by Mr. Arthur Ryland, for the purpose of looking +after and taking care of children under fourteen found wandering or +begging, homeless or without proper guardianship. It was the means of +rescuing hundreds from the paths of dishonesty and wretchedness, but as +its work was in a great measure taken up by the School Board, the +society was dissolved Dec. 17, 1877. Mr. Thos. Middlemore, in 1872, +pitying the condition of the unfortunate waifs and strays known as +"Street Arabs," took a house in St. Luke's Road for boys, and one in +Spring Road for girls, and here he has trained nearly a thousand poor +children in ways of cleanliness and good behaviour prior to taking the +larger part of them to Canada. A somewhat similar work, though on a +smaller scale, is being carried on by Mr. D. Smith, in connection with +the mission attached to the Bloomsbury Institution. In both instances +the children are found good homes, and placed with worthy people on +their arrival in Canada, and, with scarcely an exception all are doing +well. The total cost per head while at the Homes and including the +passage money is about L16, and subscriptions will be welcomed, so that +the work of the Institutions may be extended as much as possible. + +~Chimes.~--The earliest note we can find respecting the chimes in the +tower of St. Martin's is in a record dated 1552, which states there were +"iiij belles, with a clocke, and a chyme." + +~Chimnies.~--Like all manufacturing towns Birmingham is pretty well +ornamented with tall chimnies, whose foul mouths belch forth clouds of +sooty blackness, but the loftiest and most substantial belongs to the +town itself. At the Corporation Wharf in Montague Street the "stack" is +258 feet in height, with a base 54 feet in circumference, and an inside +diameter of 12 feet. About 250,000 bricks were used in its construction, +which was completed in September, 1879.--Householders of an economical +turn must remember it is not always the cheapest plan to clean their +chimnies by "burning them out," for in addition to the danger and risk +of damage by so doing, the authorities of Moor Street have the peculiar +custom of imposing a penalty (generally 10s.) when such cases are +brought before them. Should such an event occur by mischance keep all +doors and windows shut, and do not admit the sweeps who may come +knocking at your door, unless fully prepared with the half-crowns they +require as bribes not to tell the police. As a rule it is cheaper to +trust to "Robert" not seeing it. + +~China Temple Field~ was a noted place for amusements about the year +1820, and was situate where Cattell Road is now. Originally it formed +part of the grounds of Bordesley Hall, which was wrecked in the riots of +1791. + +~Choral Society.~--This Society held its first Choral Concert, August 2, +1836. The Festival Choral Society was established in 1845. + +~Cholera.~--This dreadful epidemic has never yet been felt in severity +in this town, though several fatal cases were reported in August, 1832. +In July, 1865, great alarm was caused by the fact of 243 inmates of the +Workhouse being attacked with choleraic symptoms, but they all +recovered. + +~Church Pastoral Aid Society.~--There is a local branch of this Society +here, and about L1,300 per annum is gathered in and forwarded to the +parent society, who in return grant sums in aid of the stipends of +thirty Curates and as many Scripture readers, amounting to nearly L4,700 +per year. + +~Churchrates.~--Prior to 1831, Churchrates had been regularly levied, +and, to a great extent, cheerfully paid, but with the other reforms of +that Reforming age came the desire to re-form this impost, by doing away +with it altogether, and at a meeting held on August 7, 1832, the +ratepayers assembled not only denounced it, but petitioned Parliament +for its entire abolition. Between that year and 1837, Churchrates of 6d. +to 9d. in the L were not at all infrequent, but in the latter year there +was a sweet little row, which led to an alteration. At a vestry meeting +held March 28, the redoubtable George Frederick Muntz, with George +Edmonds, and other "advanced" men of the times, demanded a personal +examination of the books, &c., &c., with the result doubtless +anticipated and wished for--a general shindy, free fight, and tumult. +For his share in the riot, G.F.M. was put on his trial in the following +year (March 30 to April 1) and had to pay over L2,000 in the shape of +costs, but he may be said to have won something after all, for a better +feeling gradually took the place of rancour, and a system of "voluntary" +rates--notably one for the rebuilding of St. Martin's--was happily +brought to work. The Bill for the abolition of Churchrates was passed +July 13, 1868. + +~Church Street.~--In 1764 at Warwick a legal battle was fought as to a +right of way through the New Hall Park, the path in dispute being the +site of the present Church Street. + +~Circuses.~--The first notice we have of any circus visiting Birmingham +is that of Astley's which came here October 7, 1787. In 1815 Messrs. +Adams gave performances in a "new equestrian circus on the Moat," and it +has interest in the fact that this was the first appearance locally of +Mr. Ryan, a young Irishman, then described as "indisputably the first +tight-rope dancer in the world of his age." Mr. Ryan, a few years later, +started a circus on his own account, and after a few years of tent +performances, which put money in his pocket, ventured on the speculation +of building a permanent structure in Bradford-street, opening his "New +Grand Arena" there in 1827. Unfortunately, this proved a failure, and +poor Ryan went to the wall. The circus (known now as the Circus Chapel), +long lay empty, but was again re-opened May 19, 1838, as an +amphitheatre, but not successfully. In 1839 the celebrated Van Amburgh, +whose establishment combined the attractions of a circus and a +menagerie, visited this town, and his performances were held, rather +strangely, at the Theatre Royal. On the night of the Bull Ring Riots, +July 15th, when there was "a full house," the startling news that a +number of buildings were on fire, &c., was shouted out just at the +moment that Van Amburgh was on the stage with a number of his +well-trained animals. He himself was reclining on the boards, his head +resting on the sides of a tawny lion, while in his arms was a beautiful +child, four or five years old, playing with the ears of the animal. The +intelligence naturally caused great excitement, but the performer went +quietly on, hoisting the little darling to his shoulder, and putting his +animals through their tricks as calmly as if nothing whatever was the +matter. In 1842, Ducrow's famous troupe came, and once again opened +Ryan's Circus in the Easter week, and that was the last time the +building was used for the purpose it was originally erected for. +Cooke's, Hengler's, Newsome's, and Sanger's periodical visits are +matters of modern date. The new building erected by Mr. W.R. Inshaw, at +foot of Snow Hill, for the purposes of a Concert Hall, will be adaptable +as a Circus. + +~Climate.~--From the central position in which Birmingham is situated, +and its comparative elevation, the town has always been characterised as +one of the healthiest in the kingdom. Dr. Priestley said the air +breathed here was as pure as any he had analysed. Were he alive now and +in the habit of visiting the neighbourhood of some of our rolling mills, +&c., it is possible he might return a different verdict, but +nevertheless the fact remains that the rates of mortality still contrast +most favourably as against other large manufacturing towns. + +~Clocks.~--One of Boulton's specialties was the manufacture of clocks, +but it was one of the few branches that did not pay him. Two of his +finest astronomical clocks were bought by the Empress of Russia, after +being offered for sale in this country in vain. His friend, Dr. Small, +is said to have invented a timepiece containing but a single wheel. The +"town clocks" of the present day are only worth notice on account of +their regular irregularity, and those who wish to be always "up to the +time o' day," had best set their watches by the instrument placed in the +wall of the Midland Institute. The dome of the Council House would be a +grand position in which to place a really good clock, and if the dials +were fitted with electric lights it would be useful at all hours, from +near and far. + +~Clubs.~--No place in the kingdom can record the establishment of more +clubs than Birmingham, be they Friendly Clubs, Money Clubs (so-called), +or the more taking Political Clubs, and it would be a hard task to name +them all, or say how they flourished, or dropped and withered. In the +years 1850-60 it was estimated that at publichouses and coffeehouses +there were not less than 180 Money Clubs, the members paying in weekly +or fortnightly subscriptions of varying amount for shares L5 to L100, +and though there cannot be the slightest doubt that many of our present +mastermen owe their success in life to this kind of mutual help, the +spirit of gambling in money shares proved, on the whole, to be +disastrous to the members who went in for good interest on their +deposits. Of Friendly Clubs we shall have something to say under another +beading. Respecting the Political Clubs and those of a general nature we +may say that the earliest we have note of is the "Church and King Club," +whose first meeting was held at the Royal Hotel, Nov. 27, 1792. Of a +slightly different nature was the "Hampden Club," established in 1815, +but which was closed by the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in 1817. +During the troublous times of 1830-40, many clubs, or "smoke-room +palavers," existed, but, perhaps the only one that really showed results +was the Branch Club (or local agency), connected with the Land Scheme of +Feargus O'Connor [see "_Land Societies_"], and that ultimately dwindled +to naught. On July 5, 1847, a club on the plan of the London +"Whittington" was started here, but when or why it ended deponent +knoweth not.--The Union Clubhouse, corner of Newhall Street and Colmore +Row, which cost L16,000, was built in 1868-9, being opened May 3rd of +the latter year. This must be considered as the chief neutral ground in +local club matters, gentlemen of all shades of politics, &c., being +members. The number of members is limited to 400, with 50 "temporary" +members, the entrance fee being L15 15s., and the annual subscription L7 +7s.--The Town and District Club, opened at the Shakespeare Rooms, in +August, 1876, also started on the non-political theory: the town members +paying L3 3s per annum, and country members a guinea or guinea and half, +according to their residence being within 25 or 100 miles.--A Liberal +Club was founded October 16, 1873, under the auspices of Mr. Joseph +Chamberlain and took possession of its present rooms in Corporation +Street, January 20, 1880, pending the completion of the palatial edifice +now in course of erection in Edmund Street, at the corner of Congreve +Street. The "Forward Liberal Club," opened in Great Hampton Street, +October 30, 1880. A "Junior Liberal Club" celebrated their establishment +by a meeting in the Town Hall, November 16, 1880. The Conservatives, of +course, have not been at all backward in Club matters, for there has +been some institution or other of the kind connected with the party for +the last hundred years. The Midland Conservative Club was started July +4, 1872, and has its head-quarters now in Waterloo-street, the old +County Court buildings being remodelled for the purpose. A Junior +Conservative Club opened in Castle Street, June 25, 1874; a Young Men's +Conservative Club commenced July 26, 1876; the Belmont Conservative +Club, July 30, 1877; and the Hampton Conservative Club, August 21st of +same year. In fact, every ward in the borough, and every parish and +hamlet in the suburbs now has its Conservative and Liberal Club; the +workingmen having also had _their_ turn at Club-making, the Birmingham +Heath working men opening up shop, August 25, 1864; the Saltley boys in +October, 1868; the St. Albanites following suit December 1, 1873; and +the Ladywood men, November 30, 1878. A Club of more pretentious +character, and called _par excellence "The_ Working-man's Club," was +begun July 20, 1863, but the industriously-inclined members thereof did +not work together well, and allowed the affair to drop through. Backed +by several would-be-thought friends of the working class, another +"Working Men's Club" sprung into existence April 29, 1875, with a +nominal capital of L2,500 in 10s. shares. Rooms were opened in Corn +Exchange Passage on the 31st of May, and for a time all promised well. +Unfortunately the half-sovereigns did not come in very fast, and the +landlord, though he knew "Nap" to be a very favourite game, did not +choose, to be caught napping, and therefore "took his rest" at the end +of the fifth half-year, and in so doing rent the whole fabric of the +club.--The Edgbaston Art Club was organised in 1878; the Chess Club in +1841; the Germania Club in 1856; the Gymnastic Club in 1866; the +Dramatic Club in May, 1865; the Farmer's Club in May, 1864, the Pigeon +flying Club at Quilter's in 1875, &c., &c. Club law has great +attractions for the Brums--every profession and every trade hath its +club, and all the "fanciers" of every sort and kind club by themselves, +till their name is "Legion." + +~Coaches.~--From its being situated as it were in the very heart of the +kingdom, Birmingham, in the olden days, and it is but fifty years ago, +was an important converging central-point of the great mailcoach system, +and a few notes in connection therewith cannot be uninteresting. Time +was when even coaching was not known, for have we not read how long it +took ere the tidings of Prince Rupert's attack on our town reached +London. A great fear seems to have possessed the minds of the powers +that were in regard to any kind of quick transmission whatever, for in +the year 1673 it was actually proposed "to suppress the public coaches +that ran within fifty or sixty miles of London," and to limit all the +other vehicles to a speed of "thirty miles per day in summer, and +twenty-five in winter"--for what might not be dreaded from such an +announcement as that "that remarkable swift travelling coach, 'The Fly,' +would leave Birmingham on Mondays and reach London on the Thursdays +following." Prior to and about 1738, an occasional coach was put on the +road, but not as a regular and periodical conveyance, the fare to London +being 25 shillings, "children on lap, and footmen behind, being charged +half-price." A "Flying Coach" commenced running direct to the Metropolis +on May 28th, 1745, and was evidently thought to be an event of some +importance, as it was advertised to do the distance in two days "if the +roads permitted." In July, 1782, the same journey was accomplished in 14 +hours, showing a great improvement in the arrangements of the road. The +first mail coaches for the conveyance of letters was started by Mr. +Palmer, of Bath, in 1784, the earliest noticed as passing through here +being on August 23, 1785, but the first direct mail from this town dates +only from May 25, 1812. In February, 1795, the Western mailcoaches were +delayed nearly a week together in consequence of a rapid thaw rendering +the roads impassable. In 1777 fifty-two coaches passed through here to +London and sixteen to Bristol every week. In 1829 at least 100 departed +from or passed through the town daily, 550 persons travelling between +here and London. In 1832 Mr. Lecount estimated the general results of +the road and canal traffic between here and London as follows: +Pessengers, 233,155; goods, 62,389 tons; parcels, 46,799; beasts, +50,839; sheep, 365,000; pigs, 15,364; the amount expended in cost of +transit being L1,338,217. In 1837 it was estimated that L6,789 was +received per week from coach passengers on the road from here to London, +L1,571 for parcels per coach, and L729 from persons posting along the +same roads; and that L8,120 was received for goods by canals and +waggons, not including iron, timber, cattle, minerals, or other goods at +low tonnage--L17,209 _per week_. There was, notwithstanding the large +number of coaches leaving here every day, no direct conveyance from +Birmingham to Edinburgh. The best and usual route was by Walsall, +Manchester, Preston, and Carlisle; distances and times being, +Manchester, 78-1/2 miles, 8 hours, fare, 14s.; Manchester to Carlisle, +118 miles, 12 hours 55 minutes by the mail, including stoppage of fifty +minutes at Preston for post office purposes, fare, L1 2s. 6d.; Carlisle +to Edinburgh, 95 miles, 9 hours 35 minutes, fare, 18s.; coachmen and +guards' fees about 15s.; all hotel charges, &c., were paid by the +passenger. Total distance, 291-1/2 miles; travelling time, 30-1/2 hours; +cost, L3 9s. 6d., in all. The mail coach which left the Albion reached +London in 10-1/2 hours, which would be reckoned as very good travelling, +even in these days. For some time after the introduction of railways, +the coaching interest was still of some account, for as late as 1840 +there were 54 coaches and omnibuses running from here every 24 hours.-- +There has been a kind of modern revival of the good old coaching days, +but it has not become popular in this part of the country, though quite +a summer feature on the Brighton Road. A four-in-hand, driven by the +Earl of Aylesford, was put on the road from here to Coventry, at latter +end of April, 1878; and another ran for part of the summer, in 1880, to +Leamington. The introduction of railways set many persons to work on the +making of "steam coaches" to travel on the highways. Captain Ogle coming +here on one of his own inventing September 8th, 1832, direct from +Oxford, having travelled at from ten to fourteen miles per hour. Our +local geniuses were not behindhand, and Messrs. Heaton Bros., and the +well-known Dr. Church brought out machines for the purpose. Both parties +started joint-stock companies to carry out their inventions, and in that +respect both parties succeeded, for such was the run for shares, that in +June, 1833, when Heatons' prospectus came out, offering to the public +2,000 L10 shares, no less than 3,000 were asked for in one day. There +was also a third company in the field, the "London, Birmingham, and +Liverpool," with a nominal capital of L300,000; but none of them +prospered; for though they could construct the engines and the coaches, +they could not make receipts cover expenses. Heatons' ran theirs for +some little time to Wolverhampton and back, and even to the Lickey; the +Doctor came out every month with something new; and even the big Co. +managed to bring one carriage all the way from London (August 28th, +1835). Others besides Captain Ogle also came here on their iron horses, +and there was plenty of fun and interest for the lookers-on generally-- +but no trade and no interest for the speculators. For steam coaches of +the present day, see "_Tramways_." + +~Coal~ was not in common use much before 1625, and for a long time was +rather shunned by householders, more especially in the rural parts where +the black diamonds were looked upon as something altogether uncanny. +Prior to the opening of the first canal, the roads leading from the +Black Country daily presented the curious feature of an almost unending +procession of carts and waggons bringing the supplies needed by our +manufacturers, and high prices were the rule of the day. The first +boatload was brought in on November 6th, 1769, and soon after the price +of coal at the wharf was as low as 4d. per cwt.--See "_Trades_." + +~Cobbett~ delivered a lecture on the Corn Laws, &c., at Beardsworth's +Repository, May 10 1830. + +~Cobden.~--There was a general closing of places of business here on +April 6, 1865, the day on which Richard Cobden was buried. + +~Cockfighting.~--_Aris's Gazette_ of December 26, 1780, announced in one +of its advertisements that "the Annual Subscription Match of Cocks" +would be fought at Duddeston Hall, commonly called "Vauxhall," on the +New Year's day and day after.--The same paper printed an account of +another Cockfight, at Sutton, as late as April 17, 1875. + +~Coffeehouses.~--Coffee, which takes its name from the Abyssinian +province of Kaffa, was introduced into this country in the early part of +the 17th century, the first coffeehouse being opened in London in 1652. +Until very late years coffeehouses in provincial towns were more noted +for their stuffy untidiness than aught else, those of Birmingham not +excepted, but quite a change has come o'er the scene now, and with all +the brave glitter of paint and glaring gas they attempt to rival the +public-houses. The Birmingham Coffeehouse Company, Limited (originally +miscalled The Artizan's Clubhouse Company), which came into existence +March 27, 1877, with a capital of L20,000 in 10s. shares, has now near +upon a score of houses open, and their business is so successful that +very fair dividends are realised. + +~Coffins.~--Excluding textile fabrics and agricultural produce, +Birmingham supplies almost every article necessary for the comfort of +man's life, and it is therefore not surprising that some little +attention has been given to the construction of the "casket" which is to +enclose his remains when dead. Coffins of wood, stone, lead, &c., have +been known for centuries, but coffins of glass and coffins of brass must +be ranked amongst the curiosities of our later trades. Two of the latter +kind polished, lacquered, and decorated in a variety of ways, with +massive handles and emblazoned shields, were made here some few years +back for King Egbo Jack and another dark-skinned potentate of South +Africa. "By particular request" each of these coffins were provided with +four padlocks, two outside and two inside, though how to use the latter +must have been a puzzle even for a dead king. The Patent Metallic +Air-tight Coffin Co., whose name pretty accurately describes their +productions, in 1861 introduced hermetically-sealed coffins with plate +glass panels in the lid, exceedingly useful articles in case of +contagious diseases, &c., &c. The trade in coffin "furniture" seems to +have originated about 1760, when one ingenious "Mole" pushed it forward; +and among the list of patents taken out in 1796 by a local worthy there +is one for "a patent coffin," though its particular speciality could not +have met with much approval, as although some thousands of bodies have +been removed from our various sepultures nothing curious or rarer than +rotten boards and old lead has been brought to light. + +~Coinage.~--So far had our patriotic forefathers proceeded in the art of +making money that about the middle of the last century it was estimated +over one half the copper coin in circulation was counterfeit, and that +nine-tenths thereof was manufactured in Birmingham, where 1,000 +halfpennies could be had of the makers for 25s. Boulton's big pennies +were counterfeited by lead pennies faced with copper. One of these would +be a curiosity now. The bronze coinage was first issued December 1, +1860, and soon after Messrs. Ralph Heaton & Sons made 100 tons of bronze +coins for the Mint. They are distinguished by the letter "H" under the +date. The number, weight, and value of this issue were as follows:-- + + + Tons Nominal Value. + 62 or 9,595,245 pennies .. L25,396 17 1 + 28 or 5,504,382 halfpennies .. 11,469 10 11 + 10 or 3,884,446 farthings .. 4,096 5 4 + ---------------- -------------- + 100 or 15,484,043 pieces .. L40,962 13 4 + + +The same firm has had several similar contracts, the last being in hand +at the present time. The bronze is composed of 95 parts copper, 4 tin, +and 1 zinc. + +~Colleges.~--See "_Schools_," &c. + +~Colmore Row,~ which now extends from the Council House to the Great +Western Hotel (including Ann Street and Monmouth Street) is named after +the Colmore family, the owners of the freehold. Great Colmore Street, +Caroline and Charlotte Streets, Great and Little Charles Streets, +Cregoe, Lionel, and Edmund Streets, all take their names from the same +source. + +~Colonnade.~--This very handsome and (for Birmingham) rather +novel-looking building, was opened Jan. 10, 1883, being erected by Mr. +A. Humpage, at a cost of about L70,000, from the designs of Mr. W.H. +Ward. The Colonnade proper runs round the entire building, giving +frontage to a number of shops, the upper portion of the block being +partly occupied by the Midland Conservative Club, and the rest of the +building, with the basement, fitted up as a Temperance Hotel and +"Restaurant." + +~Comets.~--The inhabitants were very much terrified by the appearance of +a comet in December, 1680. At Michaelmas, 1811, an exceedingly brilliant +comet appeared, supposed to have been the same which was seen at the +birth of Jesus Christ. Donati's comet was first observed June 2, 1858, +but was most brilliant in September and October. The comets of 1861 and +1883 were also visible here. + +~Commissioners.~--The first local governing body of the town, though +with but the merest shadow of power as compared with the Corporation of +to-day, were the Street Commissioners appointed under an Act of Geo. +III. in 1769, their duties being confined almost solely to repairing, +cleansing, and "enlightening" the streets of the town, appointing +watchmen, &c., their power of raising funds being limited to 1s. in the +L. By succeeding Acts of 1773, 1801, 1812, and 1828, the powers of the +Commissioners were considerably enlarged, and they must be credited with +the introduction of the first set of local improvement schemes, +including the widening of streets, clearing the Bull Ring of the houses +round St. Martin's Church, making owners lay out proper streets for +building, purchasing the market tolls, building of Town Hall and Market +Hall, regulating carriages, and "suppressing the smoke nuisance arising +from engines commonly called steam engines," &c., and, though they came +in for their full share of obloquy and political rancour, it cannot be +denied they did good and faithful service to the town. The Commissioners +had the power of electing themselves, every vacancy being filled as it +occurred by those who remained, and, as the Act of 1828 increased their +number to no less than 89, perhaps some little excuse may be made for +the would-be leading men of the day who were left out in the cold. Be +that as it may, the Charter of Incorporation put them aside, and gave +their power and authority into the hands of a popularly-elected +representative body. The Commissioners, however, remained as a body in +name until the last day of December, 1851, when, as a token of +remembrance, they presented the town with the ornamental fountain +formerly standing in the centre of the Market Hall, but which has been +removed to Highgate Park. On the transfer of their powers to the +Corporation, the Commissioners handed over a schedule of indebtedness, +showing that there was then due on mortgage of the "lamp rate," of 4 per +cent, L87,350; on the "Town Hall rate," at 4 per cent., L25,000; +annuities, L947 3s. 4d.; besides L7,800, at 5 percent., borrowed by the +Duddeston and Nechells Commissioners, making a total of L121,097 3s. 4d. + +~Commons.~--Handsworth Common was enclosed in 1793. An Act was passed in +1798 for enclosing and allotting the commons and waste land in +Birmingham. The commons and open fields of Erdington and Witton were +enclosed and divided in 1801. + +~Concert Halls, &c.~--The Birmingham Concert Hall, better known as +"Holder's," was built in 1846, though for years previous the house was +noted for its harmonic meetings; the present Hall has seats for 2,200 +persons. Day's Concert Hall was erected in 1862 the opening night, +September 17, being for the benefit of the Queen's Hospital, when L70 +was realised therefor; the Hall will accommodate 1,500.--The Museum +Concert Hall was opened Dec. 20, 1863, and will hold about 1,000 +people.--A very large building intended for use as a Concert Hall, &c., +will soon be opened in Snow Hill, to be conducted on temperance +principles.--A series of popular Monday evening concerts was commenced +in the Town Hall, Nov. 12, 1844, and was continued for nearly two +years.--Twopenny weekly "Concerts for the People" were started at the +Music Hall, Broad Street (now Prince of Wales' Theatre), March 25, 1847, +but they did not take well.--Threepenny Saturday evening concerts in +Town Hall, were begun in November, 1879. + +~Conferences and Congresses~ of all sorts of people have been held here +from time to time, and a few dates are here annexed:--A Conference of +Wesleyan ministers took place in 1836, in 1844, 1854, 1865, and 1879, +being the 136th meeting of that body. Four hundred Congregational +ministers met in Congress Oct. 5, 1862. A Social Science Congress was +held Sept. 30, 1868. A Trades Union Conference Aug. 23, 1869. National +Education League Conference, Oct. 12, 1869. National Republican +Conference, May 12, 1873. Conference on Sanitary Reform, Jan. 14, 1875. +A Co-operative Societies Conference, July 3, 1875. A Conference of +Christians in Needless Alley, Oct. 27, 1875. The Midland Counties' +Church Defence Associations met in the Exchange, Jan. 18, 1876, and on +the 9th of Feb. the advocates for disestablishing and disendowing the +Church said their say in the Masonic Hall, resolutions in favour of +sharing the loaves and fishes being enthusiastically carried by the good +people who covet not their neighbours' goods. A Domestic Economy +Congress was held July 17, 1877. A Church Conference held sittings Nov. +7, 1877. The friends of International Arbitration met in the Town Hall, +May 2, 1878, when 800 delegates were present, but the swords are not yet +beaten into ploughshares. How to lessen the output of coal was discussed +March 5, 1878, by a Conference of Miners, who not being then able to +settle the question, met again June 17, 1879, to calmly consider the +advisableness of laying idle all the coalpits in the country for a time, +as the best remedy they could find for the continued reduction of wages. +The 18th Annual Conference of the British Association of Gas Managers +was held here June 14, 1881, when about 500 of those gentlemen attended. +A considerable amount of gassy talk anent the wonderful future naturally +arose, and an endowment fund of L323 was banked to provide a medal for +"any originality in connection with the manufacture and application of +gas," but the Gas Committee of Birmingham, without any vast improvement +in the manufacture, still keep to _their_ original idea of sharing +profits with ratepayers, handing over L25,000 each year to the Borough +rates. On Bank Holiday, August 6, 1883, a Conference of Bakers took +place here, and at the same date the 49th "High Court" of Foresters +assembled at the Town Hall, their last visit having been in 1849. + +~Conservative Associations~ have been in existence for at least fifty +years, as the formation of one in December, 1834, is mentioned in the +papers of the period. The present one, which is formed on a somewhat +similar plan to that of the Liberal Association, and consists of 300 +representatives chosen from the wards, held its first meeting May 18, +1877. Associations of a like nature have been formed in most of the +wards, and in Balsall Heath, Moseley, Aston, Handsworth, and all the +suburbs and places around. + +~Constables.~--In 1776 it was necessary to have as many as 25 constables +sworn in to protect the farmers coming to the weekly market.--See also +"_Police_." + +~Consuls.~--There are Consulates here for the following countries (for +addresses see _Directory_):--Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chili, France, +Germany, Greece, Liberia, Portugal, Spain and Italy, Turkey, United +States, United States of Columbia, and Uruguay. + +~Convents.~--See "_Religious Institutions_." + +~Co-operative Societies~ at one time were put in the same category as +Chartist, Socialist, and Communistic Associations, all banned alike. +Nevertheless, in the old "Reform days" the theory of co-operation was +most enthusiastically taken up by the workers of this town, even more so +than in any other place in the kingdom. As early as 1828 several +attempts had been made to form such societies, but the one which +appeared the most likely to succeed was the so-called "Labour Exchange," +situated in the old Coach Yard, in Bull Street, formed on the basis so +eloquently and perseveringly advocated by Robert Owen. The principle of +this Exchange was to value all goods brought in at the cost of the raw +material, plus the labour and work bestowed thereon, the said labour +being calculated at the uniform rate of 6d. per hour. On the reception +of the goods "notes" to the value were given which could be handed over +as equivalent for any other articles there on sale, and for a time this +rather crude plan was successful. Sharp customers, however found that by +giving in an advanced valuation of their own goods they could by using +their "notes" procure others on which a handsome profit was to be made +outside the Labour Mart, and this ultimately brought the Exchange to +grief. Mr. William Pare and Mr. George Jacob Holyoake, were foremost +among the advocates of Co-operation at the period, and a most +interesting history of "Co-operation in England" has been written by the +latter gentleman. Other societies were also in operation from time to +time, the longest-lived being the "Economic Provision Company," which +was commenced at Handsworth in 1830 by some of the workers at Soho and +Soho Foundry, 139 of whom clubbed 20s. each as a starting fund. After a +few months' trial, the profits were allowed to accumulate until they +made up L5 per share, on which capital no less than L6,000 were paid in +dividends during the first thirty years. The Supply Associations of the +present day are somewhat differently constituted, such establishments as +the one in Corporation Street (formerly in Cannon Street) and that in +High Street being on the most extensive scale, offering to the general +public all the advantages derivable from the use of large capital, +combined with a fair division of profits to the customer, as well as to +the shareholders. The Birmingham Household Supply Association in +Corporation Street supplies all the necessaries required in the +household, in addition to eatables and drinkables of the very best +quality, including Messrs. Walter Showell and Sons' ales, which are sent +out at the same prices as from the firm's own offices, either in cask or +bottle. + +~Cornavii.~--The ancient inhabitants of this part of England, but who +were subdued by the Romans. Whether the said inhabitants had any name +for the particular spot now called Birmingham must for ever remain +doubtful. + +~Corn Exchange,~ in High-street, was opened October 28, 1847. The +original capital of the Company was L5,000, in shares of L25 each; but +the total cost of erection was a little over L6,000. The length of the +interior is 172 feet and the breadth 40 feet. + +~Corn Laws.~--Long before the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League in +1838, a movement for the repeal of the obnoxious imposts had been +started in this town, a petition being sent from here to Parliament in +March, 1815, with 48,600 signatures attached. The doings of the League +and their ultimate success is an off-told tale, the men of Birmingham of +course taking their part in the struggle, which culminated on the 26th +of June, 1846, in the passing of Sir Robert Peel's Bill for the total +repeal of all duties levied on corn and breadstuffs. + +~Coroners.~--The first borough coroner, the late Dr. Birt Davies, was +appointed May 15, 1839, and he held the office till July, 1875, when Mr. +Henry Hawkes was chosen as his successor, only one member of the Town +Council voting against him. The preent coroner has introduced several +improvements on the old system, especially in the matters of holding +inquests at public-houses, and the summoning of jurors. Formerly the +latter were chosen from the residents nearest to the scene of death, +some gentlemen being continually called upon, while the occasional +exhibition of a dead body in the back lumberroom of an inn yard, among +broken bottles and gaping stablemen, was not conductive to the dignity +of a coroner's court or particularly agreeable to the unfortunate +surgeon who might have to perform a _post mortem_. Thanks to the +persevering tenacity of Mr. Hawkes we have a proper court in +Moor-street, and a mortuary at every police station to which bodies can +at once be taken. The jurors are now chosen by rotation, so that having +been once called upon to act as a good citizen in such a capacity no +gentleman need fear a fresh summons for some years to come. Mr. Hooper, +the coroner for South Staffordshire, received his appointment in 1860. + +~Corporation.~--The Charter of Incorporation of the Borough of +Birmingham, authorising the formation of a Governing body, consisting of +Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors, duly elected by the Burgesses, dates +from October 31, 1838. The elections took place in December, the first +meeting being held on the 27. The borough was originally divided into 13 +wards, but has since been, by Order in Council, made into 16, though the +number of Aldermen (16) and Councillors (48) has not been increased. The +Mayor is elected for one year, the Councillors for three, and the +Aldermen for six. The first Mayor chosen was William Schofield, Esq., +who was succeeded by P.H. Muntz, Esq., in 1839 and 1840, the election +taking place at the November sitting in each year. Since 1840, the +Mayoral chair has been successively filled by:-- + +1841, S. Beale; 1842, J. James; 1843, T. Weston; 1844, T. Phillips; +1845, H. Smith; 1846, R. Martineau; 1847, C. Geach; 1848, S. Thornton; +1849, W. Lucy; 1850, W. Lucy; 1851, H. Smith; 1852, H. Hawkes; 1853, J. +Baldwin; 1854, J. Palmer; 1855, T. R, T. Hodgson; 1856, J. Ratcliff; +1857, J. Ratcliff; 1858, Sir J. Ratcliff, Kt.; 1859, T. Lloyd; 1860, A. +Ryland; 1861, H. Manton; 1862, C. Sturge; 1863, W. Holliday; 1864, H. +Wiggin; 1865, E. Yates; 1866, G. Dixon; 1867, T. Avery; 1868, H. +Holland; 1869, T. Prime; 1870, G. B. Lloyd; 1871, J. Sadler; 1872, A. +Biggs; 1873, J. Chamberlain; 1874, J. Chamberlain; 1875, J. Chamberlain; +1876, G. Baker; 1877, W. Kenrick; 1878, J. Collings; 1879, R. +Chamberlain; 1880, R. Chamberlain; 1881, T. Avery; 1882, W. White; 1883, +W. Cook; 1884, W. Martineau. + +The members of the Council in 1862 subscribed L200 for the purchase of a +"Mayor's Chain," the first to wear "the glittering gaud," strange to +say, being a Quaker, Charles Sturge to wit. To this chain a valuable +addition has since been made in the shape of a stone, worth L150, +presented to the Town Council by Mr. W. Spencer, June 27, 1873, as being +the first diamond cut in Birmingham, and which was appropriately +mounted. For the names and addresses of the Aldermen and Councillors of +the various wards (changes taking place yearly) reference should be made +to "The Birmingham Red Book" published annually, in which will also be +found a list of all the borough officials, &c. + +~Corporation Stock.~--The balance against the Borough in the shape of +loans, or mortgages on the then rates, when the Town Council took over +from the Street Commissioners was L121,100. By the end of 1864 the +Borough debts stood at L638,300, at varying rates of interest. After the +purchase of the Gas and Water Works, and the commencement of the +Improvement Scheme, this amount was vastly increased, the town's +indebtedness standing in 1880 at no less than L6,226,145. The old system +of obtaining loans at the market price of the day, and the requirement +of the Local Government Board that every separate loan should be repaid +in a certain limited number of years, when so large an amount as 6-1/4 +millions came to be handled necessitated a consolidation scheme, which +has since been carried out, to the relief of present ratepayers and a +saving to those who will follow. The whole of the liabilities in the +Borough on loans were converted into Corporation three and a half per +cent. stock at the commencement of 1881, the operation being performed +by the Bank of England. The tenders for same were opened Jan. 18th, when +it was found that L1,200,000 had been applied for at and slightly over +the minimum rate of L98 per L100. The remaining L800,000 was allotted to +a syndicate, who afterwards applied for it at the minimum price. Persons +having money to invest cannot do better than visit the Borough +Treasurer, Mr. Hughes, who will give every information as to the mode of +investing even a L10 note in the Birmingham Corporation Stock. + +~Council House.~--See "_Public Buildings_." + +~County Areas.~--The total areas of this and adjoining counties are:-- +Warwickshire 566,458 acres, Worcestershire 472,453, Staffordshire +732,434, and Shropshire 841,167. + +~County Court.~--First opened in Birmingham at the Waterloo Rooms, +Waterloo Street, April 28th, 1847. R. G. Welford, Esq., Q.C., acting as +judge until September, 1872. He was followed by H. W. Cole, Esq., Q.C., +who died in June, 1876; James Motteram, Esq., Q.C., who died Sept. 19, +1884: the present judge being W. Chambers, Esq., Q.C. The Circuit (No. +21) includes the towns and places of Aston, Atherstone, Balsall Heath, +Curdworth, Castle Bromwich, Erdington, Gravelly Hill, Handsworth, +Harborne, King's Heath, King's Norton, Lea Marston, Little Bromwich, +Maxstoke, Minworth, Moseley, Nether Whitacre, Perry Barr, Saltley, Selly +Oak, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Water Orton and Wishaw. + +~County Officials.~--For names and addresses of the Lord Lieutenant, +Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, County Magistrates, and other official +gentlemen connected with the county of Warwick, see "Red Book." + +~Court of Bankruptcy~ holden at Birmingham (at the County Court, in +Corporation Street) comprises all the places within the district of the +County Court of Warwickshire holden at Birmingham, Tamworth and +Solihull, and all the places in the district of the County Court of +Worcestershire holden at Redditch. + +~Court Of Judicature.~--Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, and +Worcester, are District Registries of the Supreme Court of Judicature. + +~Court Leet.~--The origin of that peculiar kind of Local Government +Board, known in the olden days as the Court Leet of the Manor of +Birmingham, is lost in the misty shadows of our past history. Doubtless +there were many onerous duties connected therewith, and very possibly +the officials considered themselves as "men of high degree," but what +those duties actually were, and what the remuneration for their due +fulfilment, appears to have been matter of doubt, even so late as a +hundred and a few odd years ago. The rights, powers, and privileges of +the officers of this Court had evidently been questioned by some of our +Radical-minded great-grandfathers, as we find it was deemed necessary to +assemble a jury on the 20th day of October, 1779, to "ascertain and +present" the same, and from a little pamphlet at that time published, we +extract the following:-- + +_The Office of Low Bailiff_.--"The Jury find and present that this +officer is annually elected by the Jury, and that his office is in the +nature of Sheriff of the Manor; that to him all the process of the Court +is to be directed, and that it is his right and duty to summon all +Juries to this court. And the Low Bailiff, at each fair, is entitled to +one penny for each stall or standing pitched in the said fairs." + +_The Office of High Bailiff_.--"The Jury find and present that this +Officer is annually elected by the Jury; and that it is his duty to see +that the fairs be duly proclaimed, and that due order be preserved in +the fairs and markets; and if he sees any person in such fairs or +markets using unlawful games, to the injury of ignorant persons and +thoughtless youths, he may seize them and commit them to custody, to be +taken before a proper magistrate. That it is his duty to see that all +persons exposing any wares for sale in the fairs or markets, or as +shopkeepers within the manor, have legal weights and measures." + +The other officers of the Court Leet, whose duties are also defined in +the aforesaid pamphlet, are the "Constables," the "Headborough," two +"Affeirers" (who looked after the rents and dues belonging to the Lord +of the Manor), two "Leather Sealers" (once important officers, when +there was a Leather Market, but whose duties in and about the year named +seemed to be confined to attending at the yearly dinners given by the +High Bailiff), two "Ale-conners, otherwise high tasters," and two +"Flesh-conners, otherwise low tasters." From their name it might be +thought the duties of the last named officers were limited to the +inspection of meat or flesh, but it will be seen that they were of a +more comprehensive character:-- + + + "Their duty is to see that all butchers, fishmongers, poulterers, + bakers, and other sellers of victuals, do not sell or expose to sale + within this Manor any unwholesome, corrupt, or contagious flesh, fish, + or other victuals; and in case any such be exposed to sale, we find + that the said Officers, by the ancient custom of the Manor may seize, + burn, or destroy the same, or otherwise present the offenders at the + next Court Leet to be holden for this Manor." + + + +As we are now officered, inspectored and policed, and generally looked +after as to our eating and drinking, &c., in the most improved modern +style possible, it is not necessary to further fill space by saying what +the "Headborough" had to do, or how many "Constables" assisted him. The +last meeting of the Court Leet, long shorn of all its honours and +privileges, was held October 28, 1851. + +~Court Of Record.~--This was also called the "Mayor's Court," and was +authorised in the Charter of Incorporation for the recovery of small +debts under L20, the officers consisting of a Judge, Registrar, and two +Sergeants-at-Mace. In 1852 (Oct. 26) the Town Council petitioned the +Queen to transfer its powers to the County Court, which was acceded to +in the following spring. + +~Court of Requests.~--Constituted by Act of Parliament in 1752 this +Court for "the more easy and speedy recovery of small debts within the +town of Birmingham and the adjoining hamlet of Deritend" continued in +operation until the present County Court system became the law of the +land. Its powers were originally limited to debts not exceeding 40s. in +amount (which was increased to L5 by an Act passed in 1807), the periods +of imprisonment to which defaulting debtors were liable being +apportioned out at the rate of one day in durance for each shilling due, +except in special cases, wherein an addition (not to exceed three +months) might be the reward for fraudulent concealment of property from +creditors. The "Court" consisted of no less than six dozen judges, or, +as the Act styled them, "Commissioners," from whose decisions there was +no appeal whatever. These Commissioners were at first chosen from the +ratepayers in a haphazard style, no mental or property qualification +whatever being required, though afterwards it was made incumbent that +they should be possessed of an income from real estate to value of L50 +per year, or be worth L1,000 personalty. From the writings of William +Hutton, himself one of the Commissioners, and other sources, we gather +that justice, or what was supposed to be equivalent thereto, was +administered in a rough-and-ready fashion of the rudest kind, the cases +being frequently disposed of at the rate of thirty to forty per hour, +and when we consider that imprisonment resulted at an average of one +case in ten the troubles attendant upon impecuniosity in those days may +be better imagined then described. The Court House, which is now +occupied by sundry tradesmen, lay a little back from High-street, nearly +opposite New-street, and in itself was no mean structure, having been +(it is said), erected about the year 1650, as the town house of John +Jennens, or Jennings, one of the wealthy family, the claims to whose +estates have been unending, as well as unprofitable, barring, of course, +to the long-robed and bewigged fraternity. A narrow passage from the +right of the entrance hall leads by a dark winding staircase to the +cellars, now filled with merchandise, but which formerly constituted the +debtors' prison, or, as it was vulgarly called, "The Louse Hole," and +doubtless from its frequently-crowded and horribly-dirty condition, with +half-starved, though often debauched and dissipated, occupants, the +nasty name was not inappropriately given. Shocking tales have been told +of the scenes and practices here carried on, and many are still living +who can recollect the miserable cry of "Remember the poor debtors," +which resounded morning, noon, and night from the heavily-barred windows +of these underground dungeons. The last batch of unfortunates here +confined were liberated August 16, 1844. + +~Creche.~--An institution which has been open in Bath Row for several +years, and a great blessing to many poor mothers in its neighbourhood, +but it is so little known that it has not met with the support it +deserves, and is therefore crippled in its usefulness for want of more +subscribers. The object of the institution is to afford, during the +daytime, shelter, warmth, food, and good nursing to the infants and +young children of poor mothers who are compelled to be from home at +work. This is done at the small charge of 2d. per day--a sum quite +inadequate to defray the expenses of the charity. The average number of +children so sheltered is about 100 per week, and the number might be +greatly increased if there were more funds. Gifts of coal, blankets, +linen, perambulators, toys, pictures, &c., are greatly valued, and +subscriptions and donations will be gladly received by the hon. +treasurer. + +~Crescent,~ Cambridge Street.--When built it was thought that the +inhabitants of the handsome edifices here erected would always have an +extensive view over gardens and green fields, and certainly if chimney +pots and slated roofs constitute a country landscape the present +denizens cannot complain. The ground belongs to the Grammar School, the +governors of which leased it in 1789 to Mr. Charles Norton, for a term +of 120 years, at a ground rent of L155 10s. per year, the lessee to +build 34 houses and spend L12,000 thereon; the yearly value now is about +L1,800. On the Crescent Wharf is situated the extensive stores of +Messrs. Walter Showell & Sons, from whence the daily deliveries of +Crosswells Ales are issued to their many Birmingham patrons. Here may be +seen, stacked tier upon tier, in long cool vistas, close upon 6,000 +casks of varying sizes containing these celebrated ales, beers, and +stouts. This stock is kept up by daily supplies from the brewery at +Langley Green, many boats being employed in the traffic. + +~Cricket.~--See "_Sports_." + +~Crime.~--A few local writers like to acknowledge that Birmingham is any +worse than other large towns in the matter of crime and criminals, and +the old adage respecting the bird that fouls its own nest has been more +than once applied to the individuals who have ventured to demur from the +boast that ours is _par excellence_, a highly moral, fair-dealing, +sober, and superlatively honest community. Notwithstanding the character +given it of old, and the everlasting sneer that is connected with the +term "Brummagem," the fast still remains that our cases of drunkenness +are far less than in Liverpool, our petty larcenies fewer than in Leeds, +our highway robberies about half compared with Manchester, malicious +damage a long way under Sheffield, and robberies from the person not +more than a third of those reported in Glasgow; while as to smashing and +coining, though it has been flung at us from the time of William of +Orange to the present day; that all the bad money ever made _must_ be +manufactured here, the truth is that five-sixths of the villainous crew +who deal in that commodity obtain their supplies from London, and _not_ +from our little "hardware village." But alas! there _is_ a dark side to +the picture, indeed, for, according to the Registrar-General's return of +June, 1879 (and the proportionate ratio, we are sorry to say, still +remains the same), Birmingham holds the unenviable position of being the +town where most deaths from violence occur, the annual rate per 1,000 +being 1.08 in Birmingham, 0.99 in Liverpool, 0.38in Sheffield, 0.37 in +Portsmouth, the average for the kingdom being even less than that--"the +proportional fatality from violence being almost invariably more than +twice as large in Birmingham as in Sheffield." + +~Cross.~--In the Bull Ring, when Hutton first came here, a poor wayfarer +seeking employ, there was a square building standing on arches called +"The Cross," or "Market Cross," the lower part giving a small shelter to +the few countrywomen who brought their butter and eggs to market, while +the chamber above provided accommodation for meetings of a public +character. When the Corn Cheaping, the Shambles, and all the other +heterogeneous collection of tumbledown shanties and domiciles which in +the course of centuries had been allowed to gather round St. Martin's +were cleared away, the Market Cross was demolished, and its exact site +is hardly ascertainable. At Dale End there was a somewhat similar +erection known as the "Welsh Cross," taking its peculiar name, says +Hutton, from the locality then called "Welsh End," on account of the +number of Welsh people living on that side of the town; though why the +"Taffies" were honoured with a distinct little market house of their own +is not made clear. This building was taken down in 1803, the 3-dial +clock, weathercock, &c., being advertised for sale, October 12, 1802. + +~Crown.~--The old Crown Inn, Deritend, is one of the very few specimens +we have of the style of architecture adopted in the days of old, when +timber was largely used in place of our modern bricks. Leland mentions +the Crown Inn as existing in 1538, and a much longer history than that +is claimed for it. In 1817 there was another Old Crown Inn in New +Street, on the spot where Hyam's now stands, access to the Cherry +Orchard being had through its yard, the right of way thus obtained being +the origin of the present Union Passage. + +~Crystal Palaces.~--It was proposed in August, 1853, that the +Corporation should join with the Midland Railway Co. and the Corporation +of Sutton in the erection of a "Sydenham Palace" in Sutton Park: +Birmingham to lease 250 acres for 999 years, at 1s. per acre, find from +L20,000 to L30,000 for the building and divide profits, the Midland +Railway Co. being willing to make branch from Bromford and run cheap +trains. The scheme was highly approved, but the Suttonites killed the +goose that was to lay them such golden eggs by refusing to lease the +land for more than ninety-nine years and wanting 20s. per acre rent. In +July, 1877, a "Sutton Park Crystal Palace Co. (Lim.)" was registered, +with a capital of L25,000 in L5 shares, for buying Mr. Cole's Promenade +Gardens, erecting Hotel, Aquarium, Skating Rink, Concert Hall, Winter +Gardens, &c., and the shares were readily taken up. Additional grounds +were purchased, and though the original plans have not yet been all +carried out, a very pleasant resort is to be found there. Day's, in +Smallbrook Street, is also called a "Crystal Palace," on account of the +style of decoration, and the immense mirror the proprietor purchased +from the Hyde Park Exhibition of 1851. + +~Curzon Hall~, built originally for the purposes of the Dog Shows, was +opened in 1865. It is the property of a company, and cost about L7,500. +The building is well suited and has been often used for exhibitions, +panoramas, circus entertainments, &c., the hall being 103 ft. long by 91 +ft. wide; the stage is of the fullest width, with a depth of 45 ft. +There is room for 3,000 seats. + +~Danielites.~--A tribe who eschew fish, flesh, and fowl, and drink no +alcohol; neither do they snuff, smoke, or chew tobacco. At a fruit +banquet, held on August, 1877, it was decided to organise a "Garden of +Danielites" in Birmingham. + +~Dates.~--The most complete work giving the dates of all the leading +events in the world's history is "Haydn's Book of Dates," the latest +edition bringing them down to 1882. For local events, the only "Local +Book of Dates" published is that of 1874, but "Showell's Dictionary of +Birmingham" (by the same author), will be found to contain more reliable +data than any book hitherto issued. For information of a general +character, respecting the immediate neighbourhood and adjoining +counties, our readers cannot do better than refer to the files of +Birmingham newspapers, preserved in the Reference Library, or write to +the present editors of the said papers, gentlemen noted for their +urbanity, and readiness to tell anybody anything. + +~Dawson,~ George, _See "Parsons, Preachers, and Priests_," and +"_Statues_." + +~Deaf and Dumb Asylum.~--_See "Philanthropic Institutions_." + +~Debating Societies.~--From time immemorial the Brums have had their +little Parliaments, mostly in public-house parlours and clubrooms, and +certain Sunday nights gathering at "Bob Edmonds" and other well-known +houses have acquired quite an historical interest; but the +regularly-constituted "Spouting Clubs" of the present day cannot claim a +very long existence, the Birmingham Debating Society having held their +first palaver on the 3rd of Dec., 1846. In 1855 they joined the +Edgbastonians. The latest of the kind started in 1884, is known as the +Birmingham Parliamentary Debating Society, and has its premier, parties, +and political fights, in proper Parliamentary style. + +~Deer Stealers.~--There was a taste for venison in more classes than one +in 1765, for it was found necessary to offer rewards for the detection +of those persons who stole the deer from Aston Park. + +~Dental Hospital.~--_See "Hospitals_." + +~Deodands.~--Prior to the passing of 9 and 10 Vict., 1846, Coroner's +Juries had the power of imposing a "deodand" or penalty on any article +or animal which had been instrumental in causing the death of a human +being, the said animal or article being forfeited if the owner did not +pay. + +~Deritend.~--In some antique records the name has been spelt +"Duratehend." For this and other reasons it has been thought to have had +its origin rather from the ancient British, as "dur" is still the Welsh +word for water, and its situation on the Rea (a Gaelic word signifying a +running stream) seems to give a little foundation therefor. Mr. Tonlmin +Smith, in whose family the "Old Crown House" has descended from the time +it was built, and who, therefore, is no mean authority, was of opinion +that the name was formerly "Der-yat-end," or "Deer-Gate-End," from the +belief that in ancient days there was here an ancient deer forest. +Leland said he entered the town by "Dirtey," so perhaps after all +Deritend only means "the dirty end." Like the name of the town itself, +as well as several other parts of it, we can only guess at the origin. + +~Deritend Bridge.~--Old records show that some centuries back there was +a bridge here of some sort, and occasionally we find notes of payments +made for repairs to the roads leading to the gates of the bridge, or to +the watchmen who had charge thereof, who appear to have been in the +habit of locking the gates at night, a procedure which we fear our +"Dirtyent" neighbours of to-day would be inclined to resent. The Act for +building the present bridge was obtained in 1784; the work was commenced +in 1789, but not completed till 1814. + +~Dickens,~ Charles, made his first appearance amongst us at a +Polytechnic Conversazione held February 28, 1844, his last visit being +to distribute prizes to students of the Midland Institute, January 6, +1870. In December, 1854, he gave the proceeds of three "Readings," +amounting to L227, to the funds of the Institute, in which he always +took great interest.--_See also "Theatrical Notes," &c._ + +~Digbeth,~ or Dyke Path, or Ducks' Bath, another puzzle to the +antiquarians. It was evidently a watery place, and the pathway lay low, +as may be seen at "Ye Olde Leather Bottel." + +~Dining Halls.~--Our grandfathers were content to take their bread and +cheese by the cosy fireside of a public-house kitchen; this was followed +by sundry publicans reserving a better room, in which a joint was served +up for their "topping customers." One who got into trouble and lost his +license, conceived the idea of opposing his successor, and started +dining-rooms, sending out for beer as it was required, but _not_ to his +old shop. This innovation took, and when the railways began bringing in +their streams of strangers, these dining-rooms paid well (as several of +the old ones do still). The next step was the opening of a large room in +Slaney Street (June 8, 1863), and another in Cambridge Street, with the +imposing title of "Dining Halls," wherein all who were hungry could be +fed at wholesale prices--provided they had the necessary cash. Our +people, however, are not sufficiently gregarious to relish this kind of +feeding in flocks, barrackroom fashion, and though the provisions were +good and cheap, the herding together of all sorts spoilt the +speculation, and Dining Halls closed when "Restaurants" opened.--See +"_Luncheon Bars_." + +~Diocese.~--Birmingham is in the diocese of Worcester, and in the +Archdeaconry of Coventry. + +~Directories.~--The oldest Birmingham Directory known was printed in +1770, but there had been one advertised a few years earlier, and every +now and then, after this date one or other of our few printers ventured +to issue what they called a directory, but the procuring a complete list +of all and every occupation carried on in Birmingham appears to have +been a feat beyond their powers, even sixty years back. As far as they +did go, however, the old directories are not uninteresting, as they give +us glimpses of trade mutations and changes compared with the present +time that appear strange now even to our oldest inhabitants. Place for +instance the directory of 1824 by the side of White's directory for 1874 +(one of the most valuable and carefully compiled works of the kind yet +issued). In the former we find the names of 4,980 tradesmen, the +different businesses under which they are allotted numbering only 141; +in 1874 the trades and professions named tot up to 745, under which +appears no less than 33,462 names. In 1824, if we are to believe the +directory, there were no factors here, no fancy repositories, no +gardeners or florists, no pearl button makers, no furniture brokers or +pawnbrokers (!), no newsagents, and, strange to say, no printer. +Photographers and electro-platers were unknown, though fifty years after +showed 68 of the one, and 77 of the latter. On the other hand, in 1824, +there were 78 auger, awlblade and gimlet makers, against 19 in 1874; 14 +bellows makers, against 5; 36 buckle and 810 button makers, against 10 +and 265; 52 edge tool makers and 176 locksmiths, against 18 of each in +1874; hinge-makers were reduced from 53 to 23; gilt toy makers, from 265 +to 15. (Considering the immense quantity of gilt trifles now sent out +yearly, we can only account for these figures by supposing the producers +to have been entered under various other headings). Among the trades +that have vanished altogether, are steelyard makers, of whom there were +19 in 1824; saw-makers, of whom there were 26; tool-makers, of whom +there were 79, and similorers, whatever they might have been. Makers of +the time-honoured snuffers numbered 46 in 1824, and there were even +half-a-dozen manufacturers left at work in 1874. The introduction of +gas-lighting only found employ, in the first-named year, for three +gasfitters; in 1874, there were close upon 100. Pewterers and +manufacturers of articles in Britannia metal numbered 75 in 1824, +against 19 in 1874, wire-drawers in the same period coming down from 237 +to 56. The Directories of the past ten years have degenerated into mere +bulky tomes, cataloguing names certainly, but published almost solely +for the benefit (?) of those tradesmen who can be coaxed into +advertising in their pages. To such an extent has this been carried, +that it is well for all advertisers to be careful when giving their +orders, that they are dealing with an established and respectable firm, +more than one bogus Directory having come under the notice of the writer +during the past year or two. The issue of a real Post Office Directory +for 1882, for which the names, trades, and addresses were to be gathered +by the letter-carriers, and no body of men could be more suitable for +the work, or be better trusted, was hailed by local tradesmen as a +decided step in advance (though little fault could be found with the +editions periodically issued by Kelly), but unfortunately the proposed +plan was not successfully carried out, and in future years the volume +will be principally valued as a curiosity, the wonderfully strange +mistakes being made therein of placing the honoured name of Sir Josiah +Mason under the head of "Next-of-Kin Enquiry Agents," and that, too, +just previous to the exposure of the numerous frauds carried out by one +of the so-called agents and its curiousness is considerably enhanced by +the fact that a like error had been perpetrated in a recent edition of +Kelly's Directory. + +~Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society~ in 1882 gave assistance to 642 +persons, at an average cost of 9s. 9-1/2d. each--L315 19s. 4d. L161 16s. +5d. of this amount came from the convicts' gratuities, while the cost of +aiding and helping them took L192 2s. + +~Dispensary.~--Established in 1794; the first stone of the building in +Union Street was laid December 23, 1806, and it was opened for the +reception of patients early in 1808, the cost being about L3,000. It has +been one of the most valuable institutions of the town, thousands +receiving medical assistance every year, and is supported by voluntary +subscriptions. A branch Dispensary was opened in Monument Road, Feb. 27, +1884. Provident Dispensaries, to which members pay a small monthly sum +for medicine and attendance, were organised in 1878, the first branch +being opened at Hockley in October of that year. In the first fifteen +months 3,765 individuals, paid subscriptions, and about L577 was paid +for drugs and doctors fees. There are also branches at Camp Hill and +Small Heath. + +~Dissenters.~--In 1836 there were 45 places of worship belonging to +various denominations of Dissenters here; there are now about 145.--_See +"Places of Worship_." + +~Distances~ from Birmingham to neighbouring places, county towns, trade +centres, watering places, &c. Being taken from the shortest railway +routes, this list may be used as a guide to the third-class fares-- +Reckoned at 1d. per mile:-- + + Miles. + Aberdare........... 111 + Aberdeen........... 437-1/2 + Abergavenny ..... 79 + Abergele .......... 109 + Aberystwith ..... 123-1/2 + Acock's Green ..... 4-1/4 + Albrighton ........ 20 + Alcester ........ 24 + Aldershot.......... 111-1/2 + Alnwick ......... 52-1/2 + Alrewas ......... 26 + Alton Towers ...... 52-1/2 + Alvechurch......... 13-1/2 + Arbroath........... 310 + Ashbourne.......... 56-1/4 + Ashby-de-la-Zouch . 41-1/2 + Ashton-under-Lyne.. 84-1/2 + Aylesbury ....... 84 + Bala............... 94 + Banbury ........... 42 + Bangor............. 135 + Barmouth ........ 116 + Barnsley ......... 95-1/2 + Barnstaple ........ 181 + Barnt Green ...... 12 + Barrow-in-Furness 160 + Basingstoke........ 108-1/2 + Bath............... 98-1/2 + Battersea ......... 115-1/2 + Bedford ........ 82 + Beeston Castle..... 64-1/2 + Belper ............ 50 + Berkswell.......... 13 + Berwick ......... 281 + Bescot Junction ... 7-1/2 + Bettws-y-Coed...... 134 + Bewdley ........... 22-1/2 + Bilston ........... 9-1/2 + Birkenhead ........ 90 + Blackburn ......... 113 + Blackpool ......... 124 + Bletchley ......... 65-1/2 + Blisworth ......... 49-1/2 + Bloxwich .......... 10-1/2 + Bolton ............ 95-1/4 + Borth ............. 113 + Bournemouth ....... 173 + Bradford .......... 120-1/2 + Brecon ............ 95 + Bredon ............ 40-1/2 + Brettle Lane ...... 12 + Bridgnorth ........ 20 + Bridgewater ....... 127 + Brierley Hill ..... 11-1/2 + Brighton .......... 166 + Bristol ........... 94 + Bromsgrove ........ 16 + Bromyard .......... 41 + Buckingham ........ 70-1/2 + Builth Road ....... 88 + Burslem ........... 49 + Burton-on-Trent ... 32 + Bury St. Edmunds .. 133 + Bushbury Jun'tion . 13 + Buxton ............ 79 + Cambridge ......... 111-1/2 + Cannock ........... 15-1/2 + Canterbury ........ 175-1/2 + Cardiff ........... 109 + Carlisle .......... 196 + Carmarthen ........ 187-1/2 + Carnarvon ......... 143-1/2 + Castle Bromwich ... 5-3/4 + Castle Douglas .... 248-1/2 + Chapel-en-le-Frith 89 + Cheadle ........... 77 + Cheddar ........... 115-1/2 + Chelsea ........... 110 + Cheltenham ........ 49-1/2 + Chepstow .......... 84 + Chester ........... 75 + Chesterfield ...... 65-1/2 + Chippenham ........ 117 + Chipping Norton ... 60 + Chirk ............. 62-1/2 + Church Stretton ... 54 + Cinderford ........ 83-1/2 + Cirencester ....... 84-1/2 + Clapham Junction .. 113 + Clay Cross ........ 62 + Cleobury Mortimer . 29 + Clifton Bridge .... 97 + Coalbrookdale ..... 30 + Codsall ........... 16-1/2 + Coleford .......... 80 + Coleshill ......... 11-1/2 + Colwich ........... 25-1/2 + Colwyn Bay ........ 115 + Congleton ......... 58 + Conway ............ 120-1/2 + Coventry .......... 18-1/2 + Cradley ........... 9 + Craven Arms ....... 61-1/2 + Crewe Junction .... 54 + Croydon ........... 123 + Crystal Palace .... 120 + Darlaston ......... 9-1/2 + Darlington ........ 175-1/2 + Deepfields ........ 9-1/2 + Denbigh ........... 97 + Derby ............. 42-1/2 + Devizes ........... 143-1/2 + Didcot ............ 76 + Dolgelly .......... 106 + Doncaster ......... 96-1/2 + Dorchester ........ 184 + Dorking ........... 133 + Droitwich ......... 23 + Dublin ............ 232 + Dudley ............ 8 + Dumfries .......... 229 + Dundee ............ 347 + Dunstable ......... 79 + Durham ............ 198 + Edinburgh ......... 297-1/2 + Elgin ............. 450 + Ely ............... 127 + Erdington ......... 4-1/2 + Etruria ........... 47 + Evercreech Junct'n 121 + Evesham ........... 34 + Exeter ............ 170 + Falmouth .......... 286-1/2 + Farrington ........ 87 + Fearnall Heath .... 25 + Fenny Compton ..... 34-1/2 + Fenny Stratford ... 67 + Festiniog ......... 145 + Filey ............. 178 + Fleetwood ......... 126 + Flint ............. 87-1/2 + Folkestone ........ 202 + Forfar ............ 304 + Forge Mills ....... 9 + Four Ashes ........ 19 + Frome ............. 138 + Furness Abbey ..... 158-1/2 + Garstang .......... 115 + Glasgow ........... 286 + Glastonbury ....... 140 + Gloucester ........ 56-1/2 + Gosport ........... 150 + Gravelly Hill ..... 3 + Great Barr ........ 4-1/2 + Great Bridge ...... 7 + Grimsby ........... 136-1/2 + Guildford ......... 120 + Hagley ............ 13-1/2 + Halesowen ......... 9 + Halifax ........... 122-1/2 + Hanley ............ 47-1/2 + Harborne .......... 4 + Harlech ........... 126 + Harrowgate ........ 133 + Harrow ............ 101 + Hartlebury ........ 22 + Hartlepool ........ 186 + Hastings .......... 192-1/2 + Hatton ............ 17-1/4 + Haverfordwest ..... 218-1/2 + Heath Town ........ 12 + Hednesford ........ 17-1/2 + Henley-on-Thames .. 103 + Hereford .......... 57 + Hertford .......... 108 + Higham Ferrers .... 69-1/2 + High Wycombe ...... 95 + Hitchin ........... 92 + Holyhead .......... 159-1/4 + Holywell .......... 91-1/2 + Huddersfield ...... 105-1/2 + Hull .............. 134 + Ilfracombe ........ 195 + Inverness ......... 490 + Ipswich ........... 167 + Ironbridge ........ 30 + James Bridge ...... 9 + Jedburgh .......... 263 + Keighley .......... 116-1/2 + Kendal ............ 148 + Kenilworth ........ 21 + Kidderminster ..... 18-1/2 + Kilmarnock ........ 278-1/2 + Kings Heath ....... 5 + Kings Norton ...... 6 + Kingstown ......... 226 + Kingswood ......... 13 + Knowle ............ 10-1/2 + Lancaster ......... 127-1/2 + Langley Green ..... 5-1/4 + Leamington ........ 21 + Ledbury ........... 43 + Leeds ............. 115 + Leicester ......... 39-1/2 + Leominster ........ 80 + Lichfield ......... 18 + Lincoln ........... 91-1/2 + Liverpool ......... 97-1/2 + Llanberis ......... 143 + Llandudno ......... 123 + Llanelly .......... 167-1/2 + Llangollen ........ 72-1/2 + Llanrwst .......... 131 + Llanymynech ...... 69 + London ............ 113 + Longton ........... 48 + Loughborough ...... 50 + Lowestoft ......... 201 + Ludlow ............ 69-1/2 + Lydney ............ 79 + Lye Waste ......... 10-1/2 + Lynn .............. 135 + Macclesfield ...... 66 + Machynllyth ....... 101 + Maidenhead ........ 105-1/2 + Maidstone ........ 175-1/2 + Malvern (Great) ... 36-1/2 + Manchester ........ 85 + Margate ........... 187 + Market Bosworth ... 27-1/2 + Market Drayton .... 48 + Market Harboro'.... 46 + Marlborough ....... 133-1/2 + Marston Green ..... 6-1/2 + Maryport .......... 224 + Matlock Bath ...... 59 + Menai Bridge ...... 136 + Merthyr ........... 111-1/2 + Middlesbro' ....... 176 + Milford Haven ..... 228 + Milverton ......... 21 + Mold .............. 87 + Monmouth .......... 96-1/2 + Montrose .......... 401 + Moreton-in-Marsh .. 46 + Moseley ........... 3-3/4 + Much Wenlock ...... 33 + Nantwich .......... 56 + Neath ............. 105-1/2 + Netherton ......... 8 + Newark ............ 71-1/2 + Newcastle-on-Tyne . 215 + Nwcstle-udr-Lyme .. 47-1/2 + Newmarket ......... 126 + Newport (Salop) ... 39 + Newport (Mon.) .... 101 + Newton Road ....... 5 + Newton Stewart .... 278 + Northallerton ..... 160 + Northampton ....... 49 + Northfield ........ 8-3/4 + North Shields ..... 216-1/2 + Norwich ........... 181 + Nottingham ........ 58 + Nuneaton .......... 20 + Oakengates ........ 28-1/2 + Oldbury ........... 5-1/2 + Oldham ............ 85 + Olton ............. 5 + Oswestry .......... 62-1/2 + Oxford ............ 66 + Paisley ........... 286 + Pelsall ........... 11 + Pembroke Dock ..... 175 + Penkridge ......... 22-3/4 + Penmaenmawr ....... 125 + Penrith ........... 178 + Penzance .......... 302 + Perry Barr ........ 4 + Pershore .......... 43-1/2 + Perth ............. 344 + Peterborough ...... 96-1/2 + Plymouth .......... 222-1/2 + Pontypool ......... 90 + Port Dinorwic ..... 139 + Portishead ........ 105-1/2 + Portmadoc ........ 134 + Portsmouth ........ 162-1/2 + Prestatyn ......... 101 + Princes End ....... 9-1/2 + Prollheli ......... 138 + Queen's Ferry ..... 82 + Ramsgate .......... 192-1/2 + Reading ........... 93 + Redcar ............ 189 + Redditch .......... 17 + Reigate ........... 138-1/2 + Rhyl .............. 105 + Rickmansworth .... 98 + Rochdale .......... 104-1/2 + Ross .............. 70 + Rotherham ......... 88 + Round Oak ......... 10-1/2 + Rowsley ........... 63-1/2 + Ruabon ............ 67-1/2 + Rugby ............. 80-1/2 + Rugeley ........... 21-1/2 + Runcorn ........... 75 + Ruthin ............ 116 + Ryde .............. 160 + St. Alban's ....... 101 + St. Asaph ......... 111 + St. Helens ........ 85-1/2 + St. Leonard's ..... 190-1/2 + Salford Priors .... 28 + Salisbury ......... 157-1/2 + Saltburn .......... 191 + Sandbach .......... 58-1/2 + Scarboro' ......... 173 + Selly Oak ......... 2-1/2 + Sharpness ......... 75 + Sheffield ......... 79 + Shepton Mallett ... 152 + Shifnal ........... 25 + Shrewsbury ........ 42 + Shustoke .......... 12 + Smethwick ......... 3-1/2 + Solihull .......... 6-1/2 + Southampton ....... 139 + Southport ......... 107-1/2 + South Shields ..... 209 + Spon Lane ......... 4-1/2 + Stafford .......... 29 + Stamford .......... 72 + Stechford ......... 3-1/2 + Stirchley Street .. 3-1/2 + Stirling .......... 336 + Stockport ......... 79 + Stoke ............. 45-1/2 + Stokes Bay ........ 150 + Stourbridge ....... 13-1/2 + Stourport ......... 22 + Stranraer ......... 301 + Stratford-on-Avon . 26 + Stroud ............ 70 + Sunderland ........ 208 + Sutton Coldfield .. 7 + Swansea ........... 156-1/2 + Swan Village ...... 5-1/2 + Swindon ........... 100 + Tamworth .......... 18 + Taunton ........... 138-1/2 + Teignmouth ........ 184 + Tenbury ........... 38 + Tewkesbury ........ 44-1/2 + Thirsk ............ 151 + Thrapstone ........ 75-1/2 + Tipton ............ 8 + Torquay .......... 195-1/2 + Towcester ......... 54 + Trefnant .......... 113 + Trentham .......... 43 + Trowbridge ........ 128 + Truro ............. 275-1/2 + Tunbridge Wells ... 165 + Tunstall .......... 47 + Tutbury ........... 37 + Ulverstone ........ 152 + Uppingham ......... 61-1/2 + Upton-on-Severn ... 49 + Uttoxeter ......... 45-1/4 + Uxbridge .......... 118 + Wakefield ........ 101-1/2 + Wallingford ....... 84-1/4 + Walsall ........... 8 + Warminster ........ 120 + Warrington ........ 78 + Warwick ........... 21-1/2 + Water Orton ....... 7-1/2 + Wednesbury ....... 8 + Wednesfield ....... 12 + Weedon ............ 42 + Welshpool ......... 61 + Wellington ........ 32 + Wells ............. 123 + Wem ............... 52 + West Bromwich ..... 4 + Weston-supr-Mare .. 114 + Weymouth .......... 191 + Whitacre Junction . 10-1/2 + Whitby ............ 187 + Whitchurch ........ 51 + Whitehaven ........ 193 + Wigan ............. 91 + Willenhall ........ 11 + Willesden Junction 107 + Wilnecote ......... 16-1/2 + Wincanton ......... 130 + Winchester ........ 127 + Windermere ........ 156 + Windsor ........... 113 + Winson Green ...... 2-1/2 + Wirksworth ........ 56 + Witton ............ 3-1/2 + Woburn Sands ...... 70 + Wokingham ......... 100 + Wolverhampton ..... 12 + Wolverton ......... 60 + Worcester ......... 27-1/2 + Worthington ....... 50 + Wrexham ........... 72 + Wylde Green....... 6 + Yarmouth .......... 201 + Yeovil ............ 152 + York .............. 130-1/2 + + +~Dogs.~--A 5s. duty on dogs came into force April 5, 1867; raised to 7s. +6d. in June, 1878; This was not the first tax of the kind, for a local +note of the time says that in 1796 "the fields and waters near the town +were covered with the dead carcases of dogs destroyed by their owners to +avoid payment of the tax." The amount paid per year at present for "dog +licenses" in Birmingham is about L1,800. The using of dogs as beasts of +burden (common enough now abroad) was put a stop to in London at the end +of Oct. 1840, though it was not until 1854 that the prohibition became +general. Prior to the passing of the Act in that year, dogs were +utilised as draught animals to a very great extent in this neighbourhood +by the rag-and-bone gatherers, pedlars, and little merchants, as many as +180 of the poor brutes once being counted in five hours as passing a +certain spot on the Westbromwich Road. There have been one or two +"homes" for stray dogs opened, but it is best in case of a loss of this +kind to give early information at the nearest police station, as the art +of dog stealing has latterly been much cultivated in this town, and it +should be considered a duty to one's neighbour to aid in putting a stop +thereto. + +~Dog Shows.~--The first local Dog Show was held in 1860, but it was not +until the opening in Curzon Hall, December 4, 1865, that the Show took +rank as one of the "yearly institutions" of the town.--See +"_Exhibitions_." + +~Domesday Books.~--The so-called Domesday Book, compiled by order of +William the Norman Conqueror, has always been considered a wonderful +work, and it must have taken some years compiling. Some extracts +touching upon the holders of land in this neighbourhood have already +been given, and in a sense they are very interesting, showing as they do +the then barrenness of the land, and the paucity of inhabitants. Though +in Henry VIII.'s reign an inventory of all properties in the hands of +Churchmen was taken, it did not include the owners of land in general, +and it was not till Mr. John Bright in 1873 moved for the Returns, that +a complete register of the kind was made. It would not be easy, even if +space could be given to it, to give the list of individuals, companies, +and corporation who claim to be possessors of the land we live on in +Birmingham and neighbourhood; but a summary including the owners in this +and adjoining counties may be worth preserving. As will be seen by the +annexed figures, Warwick and Stafford rank high in the list of counties +having large numbers of small owners (small as to extent of ground, +though often very valuable from the erections thereon). There can be no +doubt that the Freehold Land and Building Societies have had much to do +with this, and as Birmingham was for years the headquarters of these +Societies, the fact of there being nearly 47,000 persons in the county +(out of a total population of 634,189) who own small plots under one +acre, speaks well for the steady perseverance of the Warwickshire lads. +That we are not wrong in coming to this conclusion is shown by the fact +that leaving out the Metropolitan Counties, Warwick heads, in this +respect, all the shires in the kingdom. + + + WARWICKSHIRE. + Extent Gross + of estimated + lands. rental. + Owners of Numbr. Acres L +Less than 1 acre ....... 46894 5883 1808897 + 1 acre and under 10 1956 7727 93792 + 10 acres " 50 1328 31485 114243 + 50 " " 100 447 31904 76178 + 100 " " 500 667 137372 398625 + 500 " " 1000 82 55542 134005 + 1000 " " 2000 47 67585 208718 + 2000 " " 5000 34 100185 275701 + 5000 " " 10000 8 53380 90848 +10000 " " 20000 4 49953 74085 +No areas given ......... 49 -- 43205 + ----------------------- + Total .... 51516 541021 3318303 + + + STAFFORDSHIRE. + +Less than 1 acre ....... 33672 4289 974133 + 1 acre and under 10 4062 14164 252714 + 10 acres " 50 1891 44351 224505 + 50 " " 100 544 39015 124731 + 100 " " 500 557 111891 881083 + 500 " " 1000 90 62131 177372 + 1000 " " 2000 79 70637 278562 + 2000 " " 5000 28 90907 219792 + 5000 " " 10000 13 82560 136668 +10000 " " 20000 7 96700 212526 +20000 " " 50000 1 21433 41560 +No areas given ......... 2456 -- 606552 +No rentals returned .... 1 2 -- + ----------------------- + Total .... 43371 638084 3630254 + + + WORCESTERSHIRE. + +Less than 1 acre .......160[**]8 4733 444945 + 1 acre and under 10 2790 10136 151922 + 10 acres " 50 1305 31391 138517 + 50 " " 100 457 32605 92257 + 100 " " 500 589 118187 258049 + 500 " " 1000 66 46420 122817 + 1000 " " 2000 34 46794 89267 + 2000 " " 5000 25 78993 131886 + 5000 " " 10000 5 33353 54611 +10000 " " 20000 3 38343 88703 +No areas given ......... 522 -- 112107 + ----------------------- + Total .... 21804 441061 1685735 + + +~Duddeston Hall,~ and the Holte Family.--The first record of this family +we have is towards the close of the thirteenth century when we find +mention of Sir Henry Holte, whose son, Hugh del Holte, died in 1322. In +1331 Simon del Holte, styled of Birmingham, purchased the manor of +Nechells "in consideration of xl _li_ of silver." In 1365 John atte +Holte purchased for "forty marks" the manor of Duddeston, and two years +later he became possessed by gift of the manor of Aston. For many +generations the family residence was at Duddeston, though their burial +place was at Aston, in which church are many of their monuments, the +oldest being that of Wm. Holte, who died September 28, 1514. That the +Holtes, though untitled, were men of mark, may be seen by the brass in +the North Aisle of Aston Church to the memory of Thomas Holte, "Justice +of North Wales, and Lord of this town of Aston," who died March 23, +1545. His goods and chattels at his death were valued at L270 6s. 2d.--a +very large sum in those days, and from the inventory we find that the +Hall contained thirteen sleeping apartments, viz., "the chambur over the +buttrie, the chappel chambur, the maydes' chambur, the great chambur, +the inner chambur, to the great chambur, the yatehouse chambur, the +inner chambur to the same, the geston chambur, the crosse chambur, the +inner chambur to the same, the clark's chambur the yoemen's chambur, and +the hyne's chambur." The other apartments were "the hawle, the plece, +the storehouse, the galarye, the butterye, the ketchyn, the larderhowse, +the dey-howse, the bakhowse, the bultinge howse, and the yeling howse," +--the "chappell" being also part of the Hall. The principal bedrooms +were hung with splendid hangings, those of the great chamber being "of +gaye colors, blewe and redde," the other articles in accordance +therewith, the contents of this one room being valued at xiij li. xiv. +s. iiijd. (L13 14s. 4d.) The household linen comprised "22 damaske and +two diapur table clothes" worth 4s.; ten dozen table napkins (40s.); a +dozen "fyne towells," 20s.; a dozen "course towells" 6s. 8d.; thirty +pair "fyne shetes" L5; twenty-three pair "course shetes" L3; and +twenty-six "pillow beres" 20/-. The kitchen contained "potts, chafornes, +skymmers, skellets, cressets, gredires, frying pannys, chfying dishes, a +brazon morter with a pestell, stone morters, strykinge knives, broches, +racks, brandards, cobberds, pot-hangings, hocks, a rack of iron, bowles, +and payles." The live stock classed among the "moveable goods, consisted +of 19 oxen, 28 kyne, 17 young beste, 24 young calves, 12 gots, 4 +geldings, 2 mares, 2 naggs and a colte, 229 shepe, 12 swyne, a crane, a +turkey cok, and a henne with 3 chekyns"--the lot being valued at L86 0s. +8d. Sir Thomas's marriage with a daughter of the Winnington's brought +much property into the family, including lands, &c., "within the townes, +villages, and fields of Aston, next Byrmyngham, and Wytton, Mellton +Mowlberye (in Leicestershire), Hanseworthe (which lands did late belonge +to the dissolved chambur of Aston), and also the Priory, or Free +Chappell of Byrmyngham, with the lands and tenements belonging thereto, +within Byrmyngham aforesaid, and the lordship or manor of the same, +within the lordship of Dudeston, together with the lands and tenements, +within the lordship of Nechells, Salteley, sometime belonging to the +late dissolved Guild of Derytenne," as well as lands at "Horborne, +Haleshowen, Norfielde and Smithewicke." His son Edward, who died in +1592, was succeeded by Sir Thomas Holte (born in 1571; died December, +1654), and the most prominent member of the family. Being one of the +deputation to welcome James I. to England, in 1603, he received the +honour of knighthood; in 1612 he purchased an "Ulster baronetcy," at a +cost of L1,095 [this brought the "red hand" into his shield]; and in +1599 he purchased the rectory of Aston for nearly L2,000. In April, +1618, he commenced the erection of Aston Hall, taking up his abode there +in 1631, though it was not finished till April, 1635. In 1642 he was +honoured with the presence of Charles I., who stopped at the Hall Sunday +and Monday, October 16 and 17. [At the battle of Edge Hill Edward Holt, +the eldest son, was wounded--he died from fever on Aug. 28, 1643, during +the siege of Oxford, aged 43] The day after Christmas, 1643, the old +squire was besieged by about 1,200 Parliamentarians from Birmingham +(with a few soldiers), but having procured forty musketeers from Dudley +Castle, he held the Hall till the third day, when, having killed sixty +of his assailants and lost twelve of his own men, he surrendered. The +Hall was plundered and he was imprisoned, and what with fines, +confiscations, and compounding, his loyalty appears to have cost him +nearly L20,000. Sir Thomas had 15 children, but outlived them all save +one. He was succeeded in his title by his grandson, Sir Robert, who +lived in very straightened circumstances, occasioned by the family's +losses during the Civil War, but by whose marriage with the daughter of +Lord Brereton the Cheshire property came to his children. He died Oct. +3, 1679, aged 54, and was followed by Sir Charles, who had twelve +children and lived till June 15, 1722, his son, Sir Clobery, dying in a +few years after (Oct. 24, 1729). Sir Lister Holte, the next baronet, had +no issue, though twice married, and he was succeeded (April 8, 1770), by +his brother, Sir Charles, with whom the title expired (March 12, 1782), +the principal estates going with his daughter and only child, to the +Bracebridge family, as well as a dowry of L20,000. In 1817, an Act of +Parliament was obtained for the settlement and part disposal of the +whole of the property of this time-honoured and wealthy family--the +total acreage being 8,914a. 2r. 23p, and the then annual rental L16,557 +Os. 9d.--the Aston estate alone extending from Prospect Row to beyond +Erdington Hall, and from Nechells and Saltley to the Custard House and +Hay Mill Brook. Several claims have been put forward by collateral +branches, both to the title and estates, but the latter were finally +disposed of in 1849, when counsel's opinion was given in favour of the +settlements made by Sir Lister Holte, which enabled the property to be +disposed of. The claimants to the title have not yet proved their title +thereto, sundry registers and certificates of ancient baptisms and +marriages being still wanting. + +~Duddeston Ward Hall.~--The name tells what it is for. The first stone +was laid Dec. 15, 1877; it was opened June 1, 1878; will seat about 300, +and cost L3,500, which was found by a limited Co. + +~Dungeon.~--This very appropriate name was given to the old gaol +formerly existing in Peck Lane. A writer, in 1802, described it as a +shocking place, the establishment consisting of one day room, two +underground dungeons (in which sometimes half-a-dozen persons had to +sleep), and six or seven night-rooms, some of them constructed out of +the Gaoler's stables. The prisoners were allowed 4d. per day for bread +and cheese, which they had to buy from the keeper, who, having a beer +license, allowed outsiders to drink with his lodgers. This, and the fact +that there was but one day room for males and females alike, leaves but +little to be imagined as to its horrible, filthy condition. Those who +could afford to pay 2s. 6d. a week were allowed a bed in the gaoler's +house, but had to put up with being chained by each wrist to the sides +of the bedsteads all night, and thus forced to lie on their backs. The +poor wretches pigged it in straw on the floors of the night rooms. See +also "_Gaols_" and "_Prisons_." + +~Dwarfs.~--The first note we have of the visit here of one of these +curiosities of mankind is that of Count Borulawski, in 1783: though but +39 inches high it is recorded that he had a sister who could stand under +his arm. The next little one, Manetta Stocker, a native of Austria, came +here in 1819, and remained with us, there being a tombstone in St. +Philip's churchyard bearing this inscription:-- + + In Memory of MANETTA STOCKER, + Who quitted this life the fourth day of May, 1819, + at the age of thirty-nine years. + The smallest woman in this kingdom, + and one of the most accomplished. + She was not more than thirty-three inches high. + She was a native of Austria. + +General Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton) was exhibited at Dee's Royal +Hotel, in September, 1844, when he was about ten years old, and several +times after renewed the acquaintance. He was 31 inches high, and was +married to Miss Warren, a lady of an extra inch. The couple had +offspring, but the early death of the child put an end to Barnum's +attempt to create a race of dwarfs. Tom Thumb died in June 1883. General +Mite who was exhibited here last year, was even smaller than Tom Thumb, +being but 21 inches in height. Birmingham, however, need not send abroad +for specimens of this kind, "Robin Goodfellow" chronicling the death on +Nov. 27, 1878, of a poor unfortunate named Thomas Field, otherwise the +"Man-baby," who, though twenty-four years of age, was but 30 inches high +and weighed little over 20lbs., and who had never walked or talked. The +curious in such matters may, on warm, sunny mornings, occasionally meet, +in the neighbourhood of Bromsgrove Street, a very intelligent little man +not much if any bigger than the celebrated Tom Thumb, but who has never +been made a show of. + +~Dynamite Manufacture.~--See "_Notable Offences_." + +~Ear and Throat Infirmary.~--See "_Hospitals_." + +~Earthquakes~ are not of such frequent occurrence in this country as to +require much notice. The first we find recorded (said to be the greatest +known here) took place in November, 1318; others were felt in this +country in May, 1332; April, 1580; November, 1775; November, 1779; +November, 1852, and October, 1863. + +~Easy Row,~ or Easy Hill, as Baskerville delighted to call the spot he +had chosen for a residence. When Mr. Hanson was planning out the Town +Hall, there were several large elm trees still standing in Easy Row, by +the corner of Edmund Street, part of the trees which constituted +Baskerville's Park, and in the top branches of which the rooks still +built their nests. The entrance to Broad Street had been narrow, and +bounded by a lawn enclosed with posts and chains, reaching to the elm +trees, but the increase of traffic had necessitated the removal (in +1838) of the grassplots and the fencing, though the old trees were left +until 1847, by which time they were little more than skeletons of trees, +the smoky atmosphere having long since stopped all growth. + +~Eccentrics.~--There are just a few now to be found, but in these days +of heaven-sent artists and special-born politicians, it would be an +invidious task to chronicle their doings, or dilate on their peculiar +idiosyncracies, and we will only note a few of the queer characters of +the past, leaving to the future historian the fun of laughing at our men +of to-day. In 1828 the man of mark was "Dandie Parker," a well-to-do +seedsman, who, aping Beau Brummel in gait and attire, sought to be the +leader of fashion. He was rivalled, a little while after, by one Meyers, +to see whom was a sight worth crossing the town, so firm and spruce was +he in his favourite dress of white hat and white trousers, dark green or +blue coat with gilt buttons, buff waistcoat, and stiff broad white +neckcloth or stock, a gold-headed cane always in hand. By way of +contrast to these worthies, at about the same period (1828-30) was one +"Muddlepate Ward," the head of a family who had located themselves in a +gravel pit at the Lozells, and who used to drive about the town with an +old carriage drawn by pairs of donkeys and ponies, the harness being +composed of odd pieces of old rope, and the whip a hedgestake with a bit +of string, the whole turnout being as remarkable for dirt as the +first-named "dandies" were for cleanliness.--"Billy Button" was another +well-known but most inoffensive character, who died here May 3, 1838. +His real name was never published, but he belonged to a good family, and +early in life he had been an officer in the Navy (some of his +biographers say "a commander"), but lost his senses when returning from +a long voyage, on hearing of the sudden death of a young lady to whom he +was to have been married, and he always answered to her name, Jessie. He +went about singing, and the refrain of one of his favourite songs-- + + + "Oysters, sir! Oysters, sir! + Oysters, sir, I cry; + They are the finest oysters, sir, + That ever you could buy." + + +was for years after "Billy Button's" death the nightly "cry" of more +than one peripatetic shellfishmonger. The peculiarity that obtained for +the poor fellow his _soubriquet_ of "Billy Button" arose from the habit +he had of sticking every button he could get on to his coat, which at +his death, was covered so thickly (and many buttons were of rare +patterns), that it is said to have weighed over 30lbs.--"Jemmy the +Rockman," who died here in September, 1866, in his 85th year, was +another well-known figure in our streets for many years. His real name +was James Guidney, and in the course of a soldier's life, he had seen +strange countries, and possibly the climates had not in every case +agreed with him, for, according to his own account, he had been favoured +with a celestial vision, and had received angelic orders no longer to +shave, &c. He obtained his living during the latter portion of his +existence by retailing a medicinal sweet, which he averred was good for +all sorts of coughs and colds.--Robert Sleath, in 1788, was collector at +a turnpike gate near Worcester, and, 'tis said, made George III. and all +his retinue pay toll. He died here in November, 1804, when the following +appeared in print:-- + + + "On Wednesday last, old Robert Sleath + Passed thro' the turnpike gate of Death, + To him Death would no toll abate + Who stopped the King at Wor'ster-gate." + +~Eclipses,~ more or less partial, are of periodical occurrence, though +many are not observed in this country. Malmesbury wrote of one in 1410, +when people were so frightened that they ran out of their houses. Jan. +12, 1679, there was an eclipse so complete that none could read at +noonday when it occurred. May 3, 1715, gave another instance, it being +stated that the stars could be seen, and that the birds went to roost at +mid-day. The last total eclipse of the sun observed by our local +astronomers (if Birmingham had such "plants") occurred on May 22, 1724. +An account of the next one will be found in the _Daily Mail_, of August +12, 1999. On August 17, 1868, there was an eclipse of the sun (though +not noticeable here) so perfect that its light was hidden for six +minutes, almost the maximum possible interval, and it may be centuries +before it occurs again. + +~Economy.~--Our grandfathers, and _their_ fathers, practised economy in +every way possible, even to hiring out the able-bodied poor who had to +earn the cost of their keep by spinning worsted, &c., and they thought +so much of the bright moonlight that they warehoused the oil lamps +intended for lighting the streets for a week at a time when the moon was +at its full, and never left them burning after eleven o'clock at other +times. + +~Edgbaston.~--The name as written in the earliest known deeds, was at +first Celbaldston, altered as time went on to Eggebaldston, Eggebaston, +and Edgbaston. How long the family held the manor before the Conquest is +unknown; but when Domesday Book was written (1086), the occupying tenant +was one Drogo, who had two hides of land and half a mile of wood, worth +20s.; 325 acres were set down as being cultivated, though there were +only ten residents. The Edgbastons held it from the lords of Birmingham, +and they, in turn, from the lords of Dudley. Further than the family +records the place has no history, only 100 years ago Calthorpe Road +being nothing but a fieldpath, and Church Road, Vicarage Road, and +Westbourne Road merely narrow lanes. After the opening up of these and +other roads, building sites were eagerly sought by the more moneyed +class of our local magnates, and the number of inhabitants now are +sufficient to people a fair-sized town. In 1801 the population was under +1,000; in 1811, just over that number; in 1851, it was 9,269; in 1861, +12,900; in 1871, 17,442, and on last census day, 29,951; showing an +increase of more than 1,000 a year at the present time; while what the +rentals may amount to is only known inside "the estate office." Some +writers say that the parish church dates from about the year 775. The +earliest register book is that for 1635, which escaped the notice of +Cromwell's soldiers, who nearly destroyed the church in 1648; and from +an entry in the register of St. Sepulchre's Church, Northampton, for +1659, it would appear that there were collections made towards repairing +the damage done by those worthies. This entry quaintly states that +"seven shillings and sixpence" was received towards the repairs of the +church of Edge Barston, in the county of Warwick, adding also that there +was "never a minister in the said parish." + +~Edgbaston Hall.~--The last of the Edgbastons was a lady by whose +marriage the Middlemores came into possession, and for nearly three +hundred years the old house echoed the footsteps of their descendants. +In the troublous times of the Commonwealth, Edgbaston House and Church +were seized by Colonel John Fox, the latter building being used as a +stable for his horses, and the former garrisoned by the soldiers kept +there to over-awe the gentry and loyal subjects of the country, to whom +"Tinker Fox," as he was dubbed, was a continual terror. This worthy +carried on so roughly that even the "Committee of Safety" (never +particularly noted for kindness or even honesty) were ashamed of him, +and restored the place to its owner, Robert Middlemore, the last of the +name. By the marriages of his two grand-daughters the estate was +divided, but the portion including the manor of Edgbaston was afterwards +purchased by Sir Richard Gough, Knight, who gave L25,000 for it. In the +meantime the old house had been destroyed by those peace-loving Brums, +who, in December, 1688, razed to the ground the newly-built Catholic +Church and Convent in Masshouse Lane, their excuse being that they +feared the hated Papists would find refuge at Edgbaston. Sir Richard +(who died February 9, 1727) rebuilt the Manor House and the Church in +1717-18, and enclosed the Park. His son Henry was created a Baronet, and +had for his second wife the only daughter of Reginald Calthorpe, Esq., +of Elvetham, in Hampshire. Sir Henry Gough died June 8, 1774, and his +widow on the 13th of April, 1782, and on the latter event taking place, +their son, who succeeded to the estates of both his parents, took his +mother's family name of Calthorpe, and in 1796 was created a peer under +the title of Baron Calthorpe, of Calthorpe, county Norfolk. Edgbaston +Hall has not been occupied by any of the owners since the decease of +Lady Gough, 1782. + +~Edgbaston Pool~ covers an area of twenty-two acres, three roods, and +thirty-six poles. + +~Edgbaston Street.~--One of the most ancient streets in the Borough, +having been the original road from the parish church and the Manor-house +of the Lords de Bermingham to their neighbours at Edgbaston. It was the +first paved street of the town, and the chosen residence of the +principal and most wealthy burgesses, a fact proved by its being known +in King John's reign as "Egebaston Strete," the worde "strete" in those +days meaning a paved way in cities or towns. This is further shown by +the small plots into which the land was divided and the number of owners +named from time to time in ancient deeds, the yearly rentals, even in +Henry VIII's time being from 3s. to 5s. per year. At the back of the +lower side of Edgbaston Street, were several tanneries, there being a +stream of water running from the moat round the Parsonage-house to the +Manor-house moat, the watercourse being now known as Dean Street and +Smithfield Passage. + +~Electric Light.~--The light of the future. The first public exhibition +of lighting by electricity, was introduced by Maccabe, a ventriloquial +entertainer of the public, at the entrance of Curzon Hall, September 30, +1878. On the 28th of the following month, the novelty appeared at the +Lower Grounds, on the occasion of a football match at night, the +kick-off and lighting-up taking place at seven o'clock. At the last +Musical Festival, the Town Hall was lit up by Messrs. Whitfield, of +Cambridge-street, and the novelty is no longer a rarity, a company +having been formed to supply the houses, shops, and public buildings in +the centre of the town. + +~Electro Plate.~--As early as 1838, Messrs. Elkington were in the habit +of coating ornaments with gold and silver by dipping them in various +solutions of those metals, and the first patent taken out for the +electro process appears to be that of July 6, 1838, for covering copper +and brass with zinc. Mr. John Wright, a surgeon, of this town, was the +first to use the alkaline cyanides, and the process was included in +Elkington's patent of March 25, 1840. The use of electricity from +magnets instead of the voltaic battery was patented by J.S. Wolrich, in +August, 1842. His father was probably the first person who deposited +metals for any practical purpose by means of the galvanic battery. Mr. +Elkington applied the electro-deposit process to gilding and +silverplating in 1840.--See "_Trades_," &c. + +~Electoral Returns.~--See "_Parliamentary_." + +~Emigration.~--In August, 1794, Mr. Russell, of Moor Green, and a +magistrate for the counties of Warwick and Worcester, with his two +brothers and their families, Mr. Humphries, of Camp Hill Villa, with a +number of his relatives, and over a hundred other Birmingham families +emigrated to America. Previous to this date we have no record of +anything like an emigration movement from this town, though it is a +matter of history how strenuously Matthew Boulton and other +manufacturers exerted themselves to _prevent_ the emigration of artisans +and workpeople, fearing that our colonies would be enriched at the +expense of the mother country. How sadly the times were changed in 1840, +may be imagined from the fact that when free passages to Australia were +first being offered, no less than 10,000 persons applied unsuccessfully +from this town and neighbourhood alone. At the present time it is +calculated that passages to America, Canada, Australia, &c., are being +taken up here at an average of 3,000 a year. + +~Erdington.~--Another of the ancient places (named in the Domesday Book +as Hardingtone) surrounding Birmingham and which ranked as high in those +days of old, though now but like one of our suburbs, four miles on the +road to Sutton Coldfield. Erdington Hall, in the reign of Henry II., was +the moated and fortified abode of the family of that name, and their +intermarriages with the De Berminghams, &c., connected them with our +local history in many ways. Though the family, according to Dugdale and +others, had a chapel of their own, the hamlet appertained to the parish +of Aston, to the mother church of which one Henry de Erdington added an +isle, and the family arms long appeared in the heraldic tracery of its +windows. Erdington Church (St. Barnabas) was built in 1823, as a chapel +of ease to Aston, and it was not until 1858 that the district was formed +into a separate and distinct ecclesiastical parish, the vicar of Aston +being the patron of the living. In addition to the chapel at Oscott, the +Catholics have here one of the most handsome places of worship in the +district, erected in 1850 at a cost of over L20,000, a Monastery, &c., +being connected therewith. Erdington, which has doubled its population +within the last twenty years, has its Public Hall and Literary +Institute, erected in 1864, Police Station, Post Office, and several +chapels, in addition to the almshouses and orphanage, erected by Sir +Josiah Mason, noticed in another part of this work. See also +"_Population Tables_," &c. + +~Estate Agents.~--For the purposes of general business, Kelly's +Directory will be found the best reference. The office for the Calthorpe +estate is at 65 Hagley Road; for the William Dudley Trust estates, at +Imperial Chambers B, Colmore Row; for the Great Western Railway +properties at 103, Great Charles Street; for the Heathfield Estate in +Heathfield Road, Handsworth; for the Horton (Isaac) properties at 41, +Colmore Row; Sir Joseph Mason's estate at the Orphanage, Erdington. + +~Exchange.~--Corner of Stephenson Place and New Street, having a +frontage of 64 feet to the latter, and 186 feet to the former. The +foundation stone was laid January 2, 1863, the architect being Mr. +Edward Holmes, and the building was opened January 2, 1865, the original +cost being a little under L20,000. It has since been enlarged (1876-78) +to nearly twice the original size, under the direction of Mr. J.A. +Chatwin. The property and speculation of a private company, it was +(December 2, 1880) incorporated, under the Joint Stock Companies' Act, +and returns a fair dividend on the capital expended. In addition to the +Exchange and Chamber of Commerce proper, with the usual secretarial and +committee rooms appertaining thereto, refreshment, billiard, and +retiring rooms, &c., there is a large assembly-room, frequently used for +balls, concerts, and entertainments of a public character. The +dimensions of the principal hall are 70 feet length, 40 feet width, with +a height of 23 feet, the assembly-room above being same size, but +loftier. The central tower is 110 feet high, the turret, in which there +was placed a clock made by John Inshaw, to be moved by electro-magnetic +power (but which is now only noted for its incorrectness), rising some +45 feet above the cornice. Other portions of the building are let off in +offices. + +~Excise.~--It is but rarely the Inland Revenue authorities give the +public any information showing the amount of taxes gathered in by the +officials, and the return, therefore, for the year ending March 31, +1879, laid before the House of Commons, is worth preserving, so far as +the Birmingham collection goes. The total sum which passed through the +local office amounted to L89,321, the various headings under which the +payments were entered, being:--Beer dealers, L2,245; beer retailers, +L7,161; spirit dealers, L1,617; spirit retailers, L8,901; wine dealers, +L874; wine retailers, L2,392; brewers, L9,518; maltsters, L408; dealers +in roasted malt, L17; manufacturers of tobacco, L147; dealers in +tobacco, L1,462; rectifiers of spirits, L11; makers of methylated +spirits, L10; retailers of methylated spirits, L33; vinegar makers, L26; +chemists and others using stills, L4; male servants, L1,094; dogs, +L1,786; carriages, L4,613; armorial bearings, L374; guns, L116; to kill +game, L1,523; to deal in game, L136; refreshment houses, L366; makers +and dealers in sweets, L18; retailers of sweets, L42; hawkers and +pedlars, L68; appraisers and house agents, L132; auctioneers, L1,210; +pawnbrokers, L1,958; dealers in plate, L1,749; gold and silver plate +duty, L17,691; medicine vendors, L66; inhabited house duty, L21,533. + +The Excise (or Inland Revenue) Offices are in Waterloo Street, and are +open daily from 10 to 4. + +~Excursions.~--The annual trip to the seaside, or the continent, or some +other attractive spot, which has come to be considered almost an +essential necessary for the due preservation of health and the +sweetening of temper, was a thing altogether unknown to the old folks of +our town, who, if by chance they could get as far as Lichfield, +Worcester, or Coventry once in their lives, never ceased to talk about +it as something wonderful. The "outing" of a lot of factory hands was an +event to be chronicled in _Aris's Gazette_, whose scribes duly noted the +horses and vehicles (not forgetting the master of the band, without whom +the "gipsy party" could not be complete), and the destination was seldom +indeed further than the Lickey, or Marston Green, or at rarer intervals, +Sutton Coldfield or Hagley. Well-to-do tradesmen and employers of labour +were satisfied with a few hours spent at some of the old-style Tea +Gardens, or the Crown and Cushion, at Perry Barr, Aston Cross or Tavern, +Kirby's, or the New Inn, at Handsworth, &c. The Saturday half-holiday +movement, which came soon after the introduction of the railways, may be +reckoned as starting the excursion era proper, and the first Saturday +afternoon trip (in 1854) to the Earl of Bradford's, at Castle Bromwich, +was an eventful episode even in the life of George Dawson, who +accompanied the trippites. The railway trips of the late past and +present seasons are beyond enumeration, and it needs not to be said that +anyone with a little spare cash can now be whisked where'er he wills, +from John-o'-Groats to the Land's End, for a less sum than our fathers +paid to see the Shrewsbury Show, or Lady Godiva's ride at Coventry. As +it was "a new departure," and for future reference, we will note that +the first five-shilling Saturday-night-to-Monday-morning trip to +Llandudno came off on August 14, 1880. The railway companies do not fail +to give ample notice of all long excursions, and for those who prefer +the pleasant places in our own district, there is a most interesting +publication to be had for 6d., entitled "The Birmingham Saturday +Half-holiday Guide," wherein much valuable information is given +respecting the nooks and corners of Warwick and Worcester, and their +hills and dales. + +~Executions.~--In 1729 a man was hung on Gibbett Hill, site of Oscott +College, for murder and highway robbery. Catherine Evans was hung +February 8, 1742, for the murder of her husband in this town. At the +Summer Assizes in 1773, James Duckworth, hopfactor and grocer, of this +town, was sentenced to death for counterfeiting and diminishing the gold +coin. He was supposed to be one of the heaviest men in the county, +weighing over twenty-four stone. He died strongly protesting his +innocence, On the 22nd Nov., 1780, Wilfrid Barwick, a butcher, was +robbed and murdered near the four mile stone on the Coleshill Road. The +culprits were two soldiers, named John Hammond (an American by birth) +and Thomas Pitmore (a native of Cheshire) but well known as "Jack and +Tom," drummer and fifer in the recruiting service here. They were +brought before the magistrates at the old Public Office in Dale End; +committed; and in due course tried and sentenced at Warwick to be hanged +and gibbeted on Washwood Heath, near the scene of the murder. The +sentence was carried out April 2, 1781, the bodies hanging on the gibbet +in chains a short time, until they were surreptitiously removed by some +humanitarian friends who did not approve of the exhibition. What became +of the bodies was not known until the morning of Thursday, Jan. 20, +1842, when the navvies employed on the Birmingham and Derby (now +Midland) railway came upon the two skeletons still environed in chains +when they were removing a quantity of earth for the embankment. The +skeletons were afterwards reinterred under an apple-tree in the garden +of the Adderley Arms, Saltley, and the gibbet-irons were taken as +rarities to the Aston Tavern, where, possibly, inquisitive relic-mongers +may now see them. Four persons were hung for highway robbery near Aston +Park, April 2, 1790. Seven men were hung at Warwick, in 1800, for +forgery, and one for sheep-stealing. They hung people at that time for +crimes which are now punished by imprisonment or short periods of penal +servitude, but there was little mercy combined with the justice then, +and what small portion there happened to be was never doled out in cases +where the heinous offence of forgery had been proved. On Easter Monday +(April 19), 1802, there was another hanging match at Washwood Heath, no +less than eight unfortunate wretches suffering the penalty of the law +for committing forgeries and other crimes in this neighbourhood. There +would seem to have been some little excitement in respect to this +wholesale slaughter, and perhaps fears of a rescue were entertained, for +there were on guard 240 of the King's Dragoon Guards, then stationed at +our Barracks, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Toovey Hawley, besides a +detachment sent from Coventry as escort with the prisoners. The last +public execution here under the old laws was that of Philip Matsell, who +was sentenced to be hanged for shooting a watchman named Twyford, on the +night of July 22, 1806. An _alibi_ was set up in defence, and though it +was unsuccessful, circumstances afterwards came to light tending to +prove that though Matsell was a desperado of the worst kind, who had +long kept clear of the punishments he had deserved, in this instance he +suffered for another. There was a disreputable gang with one of whom, +Kate Pedley, Matsell had formed an intimate connection, who had a grudge +against Twyford on account of his interfering and preventing several +robberies they had planned, and it is said that it was his paramour, Kit +Pedley, who really shot Twyford, having dressed herself in Matsell's +clothes while he was in a state of drunkenness. However, he was +convicted and brought here (Aug. 23), from Warwick, sitting on his +coffin in an open cart, to be executed at the bottom of Great Charles +Street. The scaffold was a rough platform about ten feet high, the +gallows rising from the centre thereof, Matsell having to stand upon +some steps while the rope was adjusted round his neck. During this +operation he managed to kick his shoes off among the crowd, having sworn +that he would never die with his shoes on, as he had been many a time +told would be his fate. The first execution at Winson Green Gaol was +that of Henry Kimberley (March 17, 1885) for the murder of Mrs. Palmer. + +~Exhibitions.~--It has long been matter of wonder to intelligent +foreigners that the "Toyshop of the World" ("Workshop of the World" +would be nearer the mark) has never organised a permanent exhibition of +its myriad manufactures. There is not a city, or town, and hardly a +country in the universe that could better build, fit up, or furnish such +a place than Birmingham; and unless it is from the short-sighted policy +of keeping samples and patterns from the view of rivals in trade--a +fallacious idea in these days of commercial travellers and town +agencies--it must be acknowledged our merchants and manufacturers are +not keeping up with the times in this respect. Why should Birmingham be +without its Crystal Palace of Industry when there is hardly an article +used by man or woman (save food and dress materials) but what is made in +her workshops? We have the men, we have the iron, and we have the money, +too! And it is to be hoped that ere many years are over, some of our +great guns will see their way to construct a local Exhibition that shall +attract people from the very ends of the earth to this "Mecca" of ours. +As it is, from the grand old days of Boulton and his wonderful Soho, +down to to-day, there has been hardly a Prince or potentate, white, +black, copper, or coffee coloured, who has visited England, but that +have come to peep at our workshops, mayor after mayor having the +"honour" to toady to them and trot them round the back streets and slums +to where the men of the bench, the file, and the hammer have been +diligently working generation after generation, for the fame and the +name of our world-known town. As a mere money speculation such a +show-room must pay, and the first cost, though it might be heavy, would +soon be recouped by the influx of visitors, the increase of orders, and +the advancement of trade that would result. There _have_ been a few +exhibitions held here of one sort and another, but nothing on the plan +suggested above. The first on our file is that held at the Shakespeare +rooms early in 1839, when a few good pictures and sundry specimens of +manufactures were shown. This was followed by the comprehensive +Mechanics' Institute Exhibition opened in Newhall Street, December 19th, +same year, which was a success in every way, the collection of +mechanical models, machinery, chemical and scientific productions, +curiosities, &c., being extensive and valuable; it remained open +thirteen weeks. In the following year this exhibition was revived +(August 11, 1840), but so far as the Institute, for whose benefit it was +intended, was concerned, it had been better if never held, for it proved +a loss, and only helped towards the collapse of the Institute, which +closed in 1841. Railway carriages and tramcars propelled by electricity +are the latest wonders of 1883; but just three-and-forty years back, one +of our townsmen, Mr. Henry Shaw, had invented an "electro-galvanic +railway carriage and tender," which formed one of the attractions of +this Exhibition. It went very well until injured by (it is supposed) +some spiteful nincompoop who, not having the brain to invent anything +himself, tried to prevent others doing so. The next Exhibition, or, to +be more strictly correct, "Exposition of Art and Manufactures," was held +in the old residence of the Lloyd's family, known as Bingley House, +standing in its own grounds a little back from Broad Street, and on the +site of the present Bingley Hall. This was in 1849, and from the fact of +its being visited (Nov. 12) by Prince Albert, who is generally credited +with being the originator of International Exhibitions, it is believed +that here he obtained the first ideas which led to the great "World's +Fair" of 1851, in Hyde Park.--Following the opening of Aston Hall by Her +Majesty in 1858, many gentlemen of position placed their treasures of +art and art manufacture at the disposal of the Committee for a time, and +the result was the collecting together of so rich a store that the +London papers pronounced it to be after the "Great Exhibition" and the +Manchester one, the most successful, both as regarded contents and +attendance, of any Exhibition therebefore held out of the Metropolis. +There were specimens of some of the greatest achievements in the arts of +painting, sculpture, porcelain and pottery, carving and enamelling; +ancient and modern metalwork, rich old furniture, armour, &c, that had +ever been gathered together, and there can be little doubt that the +advance which has since taken place in the scientific and artistic trade +circles of the town spring in great measure from this Exhibition.--On +the 28th of August, 1865, an Industrial Exhibition was opened at Bingley +Hall, and so far as attendance went, it must take first rank, 160,645 +visitors having passed the doors. + +_Agricultural Exhibitions_.--The Birmingham Agricultural Exhibition +Society, who own Bingley Hall, is the same body as the old Cattle Show +Society, the modern name being adopted in 1871. As stated elsewhere, the +first Cattle Show was held in Kent Street, Dec. 10, 1849; the second in +Bingley Hall, which was erected almost solely for the purposes of this +Society, and here they have acquired the name of being the best in the +kingdom. To give the statistics of entries, sales, admissions, and +receipts at all the Shows since 1849, would take more space than can be +afforded, and though the totals would give an idea of the immense +influence such Exhibitions must have on the welfare and prosperity of +the agricultural community, the figures themselves would be but dry +reading, and those for the past few years will suffice. + + + 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. +Cattle ................... 113 125 152 108 161 150 101 +Sheep .................... 69 91 64 47 88 85 75 +Pigs ..................... 64 73 52 60 58 67 69 +Corn ..................... 27 58 29 36 55 67 66 +Roots .................... 94 112 175 182 124 131 117 +Potatoes ................. 76 116 138 88 104 96 187 +Poultry .................. 2077 2149 2197 2247 2409 2489 2816 +Pigeons .................. 629 715 702 815 902 838 1332 + ---------------------------- + 3149 3439 3505 3583 3901 3923 4763 + ---------------------------- + + 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. +No. of Visitors .. 53,501 65,830 38,536 47,321 55,361 50,226 +Receipts ......... L1,673 L1,997 L1,206 L1,585 L1,815 L1,665 + + +[Transcriber's note: No figures are given in the original for 1883 in +this table.] + +In addition to the Christmas Cattle Show, the Society commenced in +March, 1869, a separate exhibition and sale of pure-bred shorthorns, +more than 400 beasts of this class being sent every year. Indeed, the +last show is said to have been the largest ever held in any country. The +value of the medals, cups, and prizes awarded at these cattle shows +averages nearly L2,400 per year, many of them being either subscribed +for or given by local firms and gentlemen interested in the breeding or +rearing of live stock. One of the principal of these prizes is the +Elkington Challenge Cup, valued at 100 guineas, which, after being won +by various exhibitors during the past ten years, was secured at the last +show by Mr. John Price, who had fulfilled the requirements of the donors +by winning it three times. Messrs. Elkington & Co. have most liberally +given another cup of the same value. In 1876, for the first time since +its establishment in 1839, the Royal Agricultural Society held its +exhibition here, the ground allotted for its use being seventy acres at +the rear of Aston Hall, twenty-five acres being part of the Park itself. +That it was most successful may be gathered from the fact that over +265,000 persons visited the show, which lasted from July 19th to 24th. + +_Poultry_ forms part of the Bingley Hall Exhibition, and numerically the +largest portion thereof, as per the table of entries, which is well +worth preserving also for showing when new classes of birds have been +first penned: + + + 1876 1'77 1'78 1'79 1'80 1'81 1'82 +Brahma Pootras 407 258 366 376 362 439 429 +Dorkings ...... 167 178 220 209 194 238 277 +Cochin ........ 331 415 412 433 421 431 412 +Langshans ..... -- -- -- 49 66 49 47 +Malay ......... 63 38 49 47 48 36 43 +Creve Coeur ... 93 117 94 38 28 33 24 +Houdans ....... -- -- -- 56 65 54 71 +La Fleche ..... -- -- -- -- -- -- 12 +Spanish ....... 48 33 45 27 32 31 37 +Andalusians ... -- -- -- 16 23 29 43 +Leghorns ...... -- -- -- 25 12 20 17 +Plymouth Rocks -- -- -- -- -- 17 20 +Minorcas ...... -- -- 7 8 6 9 3 +Polish ........ 78 76 98 91 83 98 63 +Sultans ....... -- -- -- 6 7 8 6 +Silkies ....... -- -- -- -- -- 11 7 +Game .......... 351 341 314 241 267 287 353 +Aseels ........ -- -- -- 27 28 20 11 +Hamburghs ..... 148 175 145 159 129 141 153 +Other Breeds .. 35 47 126 20 20 21 7 +Selling Classes -- -- -- 66 90 93 102 +Bantams ....... 95 63 82 70 105 96 105 +Ducks ......... 100 102 115 137 163 144 141 +Geese ......... 21 21 31 22 31 21 23 +Turkeys ....... 95 96 52 82 67 81 60 +Pigeons........ 670 629 715 702 815 903 838 + Total ......--------------------------------- + 2072 2569 2873 2899 3062 3316 3325 + + +Fanciers give wonderfully strange prices sometimes. Cochin China fowls +had but lately been introduced, and were therefore "the rage" in 1851-2. +At the Poultry Show in the latter year a pair of these birds were sold +for L30, and at a sale by auction afterwards two prize birds were +knocked down at L40 each: it was said that the sellers crowed louder +than the roosters. + +_Fine Art_.--The first exhibition of pictures took place in 1814, and +the second in 1827. In addition to the Spring and Autumn Exhibitions at +the New Street Rooms, there is now a yearly show of pictures by the +members of the "Art Circle," a society established in 1877, for +promoting friendship among young local artists; their first opening was +on Nov. 28, at 19, Temple Row. On Nov. 17, 1879, Mr. Thrupp commenced a +yearly exhibition of China paintings, to which the lady artists +contributed 243 specimens of their skill in decorating porcelain and +china. + +_Horses and hounds_.--The first exhibition of these took place at the +Lower Grounds, Aug. 12, 1879. There had been a Horse Show at Bingley +Hall for several years prior to 1876, but it had dropped out for want of +support. + +_Birds_.--An exhibition of canaries and other song birds, was held Aug. +18, 1874. Another was held in 1882, at the time of the Cattle Show. + +_Pigeons_.--The first exhibition of pigeons in connection with the +Birmingham Columbarian Society, took place in Dec., 1864. The annual +Spring pigeon show at the Repository, opened March 20,1878. There have +also been several at St. James' Hall, the first dating Sept. 24, 1874. + +_Dogs_.--Like the Cattle Show, the original Birmingham Dog Show has +extended its sphere, and is now known as the National Exhibition of +Sporting and other Dogs. The show takes place in Curzon Hall, and the +dates are always the same as for the agricultural show in Bingley Hall. +There is yearly accommodation for 1,000 entries, and it is seldom that a +less number is exhibited, the prizes being numerous, as well as +valuable. At the meeting of the subscribers held July 19, 1883, it was +resolved to form a new representative body, to be called the National +Dog Club, having for its object the improvement of dogs, dog shows, and +dog trials, and the formation of a national court of appeal on all +matters in dispute. It was also resolved to publish a revised and +correct stud book, to include all exhibitions where 400 dogs and upwards +were shown, and to continue it annually, the Council having guaranteed +L150, the estimated cost of the publication of the book. This step was +taken in consequence of the action of certain members of the Kennel +Club, who passed what had been called "The Boycotting Rules," calling +upon its members to abstain from either exhibiting or judging at shows +which were not under Kennel Club rules, and excluding winning dogs at +such shows from being entered in the Kennel Club Stud Book, many of the +principal exhibitors being dissatisfied with such arbitrary proceedings, +evidently intended to injure the Birmingham shows. At each show there +are classes for bloodhounds, deerhounds, greyhounds, otterhounds, +beagles, fox terriers, pointers, English setters, black-and-tan setters, +Irish setters, retrievers, Irish spaniels, water spaniels (best Irish), +Clumber spaniels, Sussex spaniels, spaniels (black), ditto (other than +black), dachshunds, bassett hounds, foreign sporting dogs, mastiffs, St. +Bernards, Newfoundlands, sheep dogs, Dalmatians, bulldogs, +bull-terriers, smooth-haired terriers, black-and-tan terriers (large), +small ditto black-and-tan terriers with uncut ears, Skye-terriers, +Dandie Dinmonts, Bedlington terriers, Irish terriers, Airedale or +Waterside terriers, wire-haired terriers, Scotch terriers (hard haired), +Yorkshire terriers, Pomeranians, pugs, Maltese, Italian greyhounds, +Blenheim spaniels, King Charles spaniels, smooth-haired toy spaniels, +broken-haired ditto, large and small sized foreign dogs. + + + 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. + +No. of Visitors. 14981 17948 19500 14399 16796 16849 15901 + +Receipts at doors. L664 L740 L820 L580 L728 L714 L648 + +Sales of Dogs. L556 L367 L485 L554 L586 L474 L465 + + +In 1879, the exhibition of guns and sporting implements was introduced, +an additional attraction which made no difference financially, or in the +number of visitors. + +_Sporting_.--An exhibition of requisites and appliances in connection +with sports and pastimes of all kinds was opened in Bingley Hall, Aug +28, 1882. In addition to guns and ammunition, bicycles and tricycles, +there were exhibited boats, carriages, billiard tables, &c. + +_Dairy Utensils_.--The first of these exhibitions, June, 1880, attracted +considerable attention for its novelty. It is held yearly in Bingley +Hall. + +_Bees_.--An exhibition of bees, beehives, and other apiary appliances +took place at the Botanical Gardens, in Aug., 1879. + +_Food and Drinks_.--A week's exhibition of food, wines, spirits, +temperance beverages, brewing utensils, machinery, fittings, stoves and +appliances, was held in Bingley Hall, December 12-20, 1881. + +_Building_.--A trades exhibition of all kinds of building material, +machinery, &c., was held in 1882. + +_Bicycles, &c._--The Speedwell Club began their annual exhibition of +bicycles, tricycles, and their accessories in February, 1882, when about +300 machines were shown. In the following year the number was nearly +400; in 1884, more than 500; in 1885, 600. + +_Roots_.--Messrs. Webb, of Wordsley, occupied Curzon Hall, November 20, +1878, with an exhibition of prize roots, grown by their customers. + +_Fruit, Flowers, &c._--The first flower show we have note of was on June +19, 1833. The first chrysanthemum show was in 1860. The first Birmingham +rose show in 1874 (at Aston); the second, five years later, at Bingley +Hall. The Harborne gooseberry-growers have shown up every year since +1815, and the cultivators of _pommes de terre_ in the same neighbourhood +first laid their tables in public in Sept., 1879. + +~Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.~--Even as Birmingham may be said to have +given the first idea for the "Great Exhibition" of 1851, so it had most +to do with the building thereof, the great palace in Hyde Park being +commenced by Messrs. Fox, Henderson & Co., July 26, 1850, and it was +finished in nine months at a total cost of L176,031. In its erection +there were used 4,000 tons of iron, 6,000,000 cubic feet of woodwork, +and 31 acres of sheet glass, requiring the work of 1,800 men to put it +together. 287 local exhibitors applied for space amounting to 22,070 +sup. feet, namely, 10,183 feet of flooring, 4,932 feet of table area, +and 6,255 feet of wall space. The "glory" of this exhibition was the +great crystal fountain in the centre, manufactured by Messrs. Osler, of +Broad Street, a work of art till then never surpassed in the world's +history of glass-making and glass cutting, and which now pours forth its +waters in one of the lily tanks in Sydenham Palace. Many rare specimens +of Birmingham manufacture besides were there, and the metropolis of the +Midlands had cause to be proud of the works of her sons thus exhibited. +Fewer manufacturers sent their samples to the exhibition of 1862, but +there was no falling off in their beauty or design. The Birmingham Small +Arms trophy was a great attraction. + +~Explosions.~--That many deplorable accidents should occur during the +course of manufacturing such dangerous articles as gun caps and +cartridges cannot be matter of surprise, and, perhaps, on the whole, +those named in the following list may be considered as not more than the +average number to be expected:--Two lives were lost by explosion of +fulminating powder in St. Mary's Square, Aug. 4. 1823.--Oct. 16, same +year, there was a gunpowder explosion in Lionel Street.--Two were killed +by fireworks at the Rocket Tavern, Little Charles Street, May 2, 1834.-- +An explosion at Saltley Carriage Works, Dec. 20, 1849.--Two injured at +the Proof House, Sept. 23, 1850.--Five by detonating powder in +Cheapside, Feb 14, 1852.--Thirty-one were injured by gas explosion at +Workhouse, Oct. 30, 1855.--Several from same cause at corner of Hope +Street, March 11, 1856.--A cap explosion took place at Ludlow's, Legge +Street, July 28, 1859.--Another at Phillips and Pursall's, Whittall +Street, Sept. 27, 1852, when twenty-one persons lost their lives.-- +Another in Graham Street June 21, 1862, with eight deaths.--Boiler burst +at Spring Hill, Nov. 23, 1859, injuring seven.--An explosion in the +Magazine at the Barracks, March 8, 1864, killed Quartermaster McBean.-- +At Kynoch's, Witton, Nov. 17, 1870, resulting in 8 deaths and 28 +injured.--At Ludlow's ammunition factory, Dec. 9, 1870, when 17 were +killed and 53 injured, of whom 34 more died before Christmas.--At +Witton, July 1, 1872, when Westley Richards' manager was killed.--At +Hobb Lane, May 11, 1874.--Of gas, in great Lister Street, Dec. 9, 1874. +--Of fulminate, in the Green Lane, May 4, 1876, a youth being killed.-- +Of +gas, at St. James's Hall, Snow Hill, Dec. 4, and at Avery's, Moat Row, +Dec. 31, 1878.--At a match manufactory, Phillip Street, Oct. 28, 1879, +when Mr. Bermingham and a workman were injured. + +~Eye Hospital.~--See "_Hospitals_." + +~Fairs.~--The officers of the Court Leet, whose duty it was to walk in +procession and "proclaim" the fairs, went through their last performance +of the kind at Michaelmas, 1851. It was proposed to abolish the fairs in +1860, but the final order was not given until June 8th, 1875. Of late +years there have been fairs held on the open grounds on the Aston +outskirts of the borough, but the "fun of the fair" is altogether +different now to what it used to be. The original charters for the +holding of fairs at Whitsuntide and Michaelmas were granted to William +de Bermingham by Henry III. in 1251. These fairs were doubtless at one +time of great importance, but the introduction of railways did away with +seven-tenths of their utility and the remainder was more nuisance than +profit. As a note of the trade done at one time we may just preserve the +item that in 1782 there were 56 waggon loads of onions brought into the +fair. + +~Family Fortunes.~--Hutton in his "History," with that quaint prolixity +which was his peculiar proclivity gives numerous instances of the rise +and fall of families connected with Birmingham. In addition to the +original family of De Birmingham, now utterly extinct he traced back +many others then and now well-known names. For instance he tells us that +a predecessor of the Colmores in Henry VIII.'s reign kept a mercer's +shop at No. 1, High Street; that the founder of the Bowyer Adderley +family began life in a small way in this his native town in the 14th +century; that the Foxalls sprang from a Digbeth tanner some 480 years +ago; and so of others. Had he lived till now he might have largely +increased his roll of local millionaires with such names as Gillott, +Muntz, Mason, Rylands, &c. On the other hand he relates how some of the +old families, whose names were as household words among the ancient +aristocracy, have come to nought; how that he had himself charitably +relieved the descendants of the Norman Mountfourds, Middemores and +Bracebridges, and how that the sole boast of a descendant of the Saxon +Earls of Warwick was in his day the fact of his grandfather having "kept +several cows and sold milk." It is but a few years back since the +present writer saw the last direct descendant of the Holtes working as a +compositor in one of the newspaper offices of this town, and almost any +day there was to be seen in the streets a truck with the name painted on +of "Charles Holte Bracebridge, Licensed Hawker!" + +~Famines.~--In the year 310, it is said that 40,000 persons died in this +country from famine. It is not known whether any "Brums" existed then. +In 1195 wheat was so scarce that it sold for 20s. the quarter; ten years +after it was only 12d. In 1438, the times were so hard that people ate +bread made from fern roots. In 1565, a famine prevailed throughout the +kingdom. + +~Fashionable Quarter.~--Edgbaston is our "West End," of which Thomas +Ragg (before he was ordained) thus wrote:-- + + + --Glorious suburbs! long + May ye remain to bless the ancient town + Whose crown ye are; rewarder of the cares + Of those who toil amid the din and smoke + Of iron ribbed and hardy Birmingham. + And may ye long be suburbs, keeping still + Business at distance from your green retreats. + + +~Feasts, Feeds, and Tea-fights.~--Like other Englishmen, when we have a +good opinion of people we ask them to dinner, and the number of public +breakfasts, dinners, teas, and suppers on our record is wonderful. We +give a few of the most interesting:--3,800 persons dined with our first +M.P.'s., Attwood and Scholefield, at Beardsworth's Repository, Sept. 15, +1834.--A Reform banquet was the attraction in the Town Hall, Jan. 28, +1836.--Members and friends of the 'Chartist Church' kept their Christmas +festival, by 'taking tea' in Town Hall, Dec.28, 1841.--1,700 +Anti-Cornlawites (John Bright among them) did ditto Jan. 22, 1843.--The +defeat of an obnoxious Police Bill led 900 persons to banquet together +April 9, 1845.--A banquet in honour of Charles Dickens opened the year +1853--The first anniversary of the Loyal and Constitutional Association +was celebrated by the dining of 848 loyal subjects, Dec. 17, 1855.-- +dinner was given to 1,200 poor folks in Bingley Hall, Jan. 25, 1858, to +make them remember the marriage of the Princess Royal. Those who were +not poor kept the game alive at Dee's Hotel.--John Bright was dined in +Town Hall, Oct. 29, 1858.--A party of New Zealand chiefs were stuffed at +same place, March 16, 1864--To celebrate the opening of a Dining Hall in +Cambridge Street, a public dinner was given on All Fools' Day, 1864.--On +the 23rd April following, about 150 gentlemen breakfasted with the +Mayor, in honour of the Shakespeare Library being presented to the +town.--The purchase of Aston Park was celebrated by a banquet, Sept. 22, +1864.--Over a hundred bellringers, at Nock's Hotel, 1868, had their +clappers set wagging by Blews and Sons, in honour of the first peal of +bells cast by them, and now in Bishop Ryder's Church.--The Master +Bakers, who have been baking dinners for the public so long, in +December, 1874, commenced an annual series of dinners among themselves, +at which neither baked meats, nor even baked potatoes, are allowed.--Of +political and quasi-political banquets, there have been many of late +years, but as the parties have, in most cases, simply been gathered for +party purposes, their remembrance is not worth keeping.--To help pay for +improvements at General Hospital, there was a dinner at the Great +Western Hotel, June 4, 1868, and when the plate was sent round, it +received L4,000. That was the best, and there the list must close. + +~Females.~--The fairer portion of our local community number (census +1881) 210,050, as against 197,954 males, a preponderance of 12,096. In +1871 the ladies outnumbered us by 8,515, and it would be an interesting +question how this extra ratio arises, though as one half of the +super-abundant petticoats are to be found in Edgbaston it may possibly +only be taken as a mark of local prosperity, and that more female +servants are employed than formerly.--See "_Population" Tables_. + +~Fenianism.~--It was deemed necessary in Jan., 1881, to place guards of +soldiers at the Tower and Small Arms Factory, but the Fenians did not +trouble us; though later on a very pretty manufactory of dynamite was +discovered in Ledsam Street.--See "_Notable Offences_." + +~Ferrars.~--The De Ferrars were at one time Lords of the Manor, Edmund +de Ferrars dying in 1438. The ancient public-house sign of "The Three +Horseshoes" was taken from their coat of arms. + +~Festivals.~--Notes of the past Triennial Musical Festivals for which +Birmingham is so famous, the performances, and the many great artistes +who have taken part therein, will be found further on. + +~Fetes~ were held in Aston Park July 27, and September 15, 1856, for the +benefit of the Queen's and General Hospitals, realising therefore +L2,330. The first to "Save Aston Hall" took place August 17, 1857, when +a profit of L570 was made. There have been many since then, but more of +the private speculation class, Sangers' so-called fete at Camp Hill, +June 27, 1874, being the first of their outdoor hippodrome performances. + +~Fires.~--When Prince Rupert's soldiers set fire to the town, in 1643, +no less than 155 houses were burned.--Early in 1751 about L500 worth of +wool was burned at Alcock's, in Edgbaston Street.--May 24, 1759, the +stage waggon to Worcester was set on fire by the bursting of a bottle of +aqua-fortis, and the contents of the waggon, valued at L5,000, were +destroyed.--In November, 1772, Mr. Crowne's hop and cheese warehouse, +top of Carr's Lane, was lessened L400 in value.--The Theatre Royal was +burned August 24, 1791, and again January 6, 1820.--Jerusalem Temple, +Newhall Hill, was burned March 10, 1793.--St. Peter's Church suffered +January 24, 1831.--There was a great blaze at Bolton's timber yard, +Broad Street, May 27, 1841.--At the Manor House, Balsall Heath, in +1848.--Among Onion's bellows, in March, 1853.--At the General Hospital, +December 24, 1853.--At the Spread Eagle Concert Hall, May 5, 1855.--At a +builder's in Alcester Street, October 4, 1858.--At Aston Brook Flour +mill, June 1, 1862, with L10,000 damage.--At Lowden & Beeton's, High +Street, January 3, 1863; the firm were prosecuted as incendiaries.--At +Gameson's Tavern, Hill Street, December 25, 1863; six lives lost.--On +the stage at Holder's, July 3, 1865; two ballet dancers died from fright +and injuries.--At Baskerville Sawmills, September 7, 1867.--In Sutton +Park, August 4, 1868.--In a menagerie in Carr's Lane, January 25, 1870. +--At Dowler's Plume Works, March 16.--In Denmark Street, May 23; two +children burned.--At Worcester Wharf, June 2, 1870; two men burnt.--At +Warwick Castle, Dec. 3, 1871.--At Smith's hay and straw yard, Crescent, +through lightning, July 25, 1872.--In Sherbourne Street, June 25, 1874, +and same day in Friston Street; two men burned.--At the hatter's shop in +Temple Street, Nov. 25, 1875.--At Tipper's Mystery Works, May 16, and at +Holford Mill, Perry Barr, August 3, 1876.--At Icke and Co.'s, Lawley +Street, May 17, 1877; L2,500 damage.--At Adam's colour warehouse, +Suffolk Street, October 13, 1877; L10,000 damage.--In Bloomsbury Street, +September 29, 1877; an old man burned.--In Lichfield Road, November 26, +1877; two horses, a cow, and 25 pigs roasted.--January 25, 1878, was a +hot day, there being four fires in 15 hours.--At Hayne's flour mill, +Icknield Port Road, Feb. 2, 1878, with L10,000 damage; first time steam +fire engine was used.--At Baker Bros'., match manufactory, Freeth +Street, February 11.--At Grew's and at Cund's printers, March 16, 1878; +both places being set on fire by a vengeful thief; L2,000 joint damage. +--At corner of Bow Street, July 29, 1878.--At Dennison's shop, opposite +Museum Concert Hall, August 26, 1878, when Mrs. Dennison, her baby, her +sister, and a servant girl lost their lives. The inquest terminated on +September 30 (or rather at one o'clock next morning), when a verdict of +"accidental death" was given in the case of the infant, who had been +dropped during an attempted rescue, and with respect to the others that +they had died from suffocation caused by a five designedly lighted, but +by whom the jury had not sufficient evidence to say. Great fault was +found with the management of the fire brigade, a conflict of authority +between them and the police giving rise to very unpleasant feelings. At +Cadbury's cocoa manufactory, November 23, 1878. In Legge Street, at a +gun implement maker's, December 14, 1878; L600 damage.--And same day at +a gun maker's, Whittall Street; L300 damage.--At Hawkes's looking-glass +manufactory, Bromsgrove Street, January 8, 1879; L20,000 damage.--The +Reference Library, January 11, 1879 (a most rueful day); damage +incalculable and irreparable.--At Hinks and Sons' lamp works, January +30, 1879; L15,000 damage.--At the Small Arms Factory, Adderley Road, +November 11, 1879; a fireman injured.--At Grimsell and Sons', Tower +Street, May 5, 1880; over L5,000 damage.--Ward's cabinet manufactory, +Bissell Street, April 11, 1885. + +~Firearms.~--See "_Trades_." + +~Fire Brigades.~--A volunteer brigade, to help at fires, was organised +here in February 1836, but as the several companies, after introducing +their engines, found it best to pay a regular staff to work them, the +volunteers, for the time, went to the "right about." In 1863 a more +pretentious attempt to constitute a public or volunteer brigade of +firemen, was made, the members assembling for duty on the 21st of +February, the Norwich Union engine house being the headquarters; but the +novelty wore off as the uniforms got shabby, and the work was left to +the old hands, until the Corporation took the matter in hand. A +Volunteer Fire Brigade for Aston was formed at the close of 1878, and +its rules approved by the Local Board on Jan. 7, 1879. They attended and +did good service at the burning of the Reference Library on the +following Saturday. August 23, 1879 the Aston boys, with three and +twenty other brigades from various parts of the country, held a kind of +efficiency competition at the Lower Grounds, and being something new in +it attracted many. The Birmingham brigade were kept at home, possibly on +account of the anniversary of the Digbeth fire. Balsall Heath and +Harborne are also supplied with their own brigades, and an Association +of Midland Brigades has lately been formed which held their first drill +in the Priory, April 28, 1883. + +~Fire Engines.~--In 1839 the Birmingham Fire Office had two engines, +very handsome specimens of the article too, being profusely decorated +with wooden battle axes, iron scroll-work, &c. One of these engines was +painted in many colours; but the other a plain drab, the latter it was +laughingly said, being kept for the Society of Friends, the former for +society at large. The first time a "portable" or hand engine was used +here was on the occurrence of a fire in a tobacconist's shop in +Cheapside Oct. 29, 1850. The steam fire engine was brought here in Oct. +1877.--See "_Fire Engine Stations_" under "_Public Buildings_." + +~Fire Grates.~--The first oven grate used in this district was +introduced in a house at "the City of Nineveh" about the year 1818, and +created quite a sensation. + +~Fire Insurance Companies.~--The Birmingham dates its establishment from +March 1805. All the companies now in existence are more or less +represented here by agents, and no one need be uninsured long, as their +offices are so thick on the ground round Bennet's Hill and Colmore Row, +that it has been seriously suggested the latter thoroughfare should he +rechristened and be called Insurance Street. It was an agent who had the +assurance to propose the change. + +~Fish.~--In April, 1838, a local company was floated for the purpose of +bringing fish from London and Liverpool. It began swimmingly, but fish +didn't swim to Birmingham, and though several other attempts have been +made to form companies of similar character, the trade has been kept +altogether in private hands, and to judge from the sparkling rings to be +seen on the hands of the ladies who condescend to sell us our matutinal +bloaters in the Market Hall, the business is a pretty good one--and who +dare say those _dames de salle_ are not also pretty and good? The supply +of fish to this town, as given by the late Mr. Hanman, averaged from 50 +to 200 tons per day (one day in June, 1879, 238 tons came from Grimsby +alone) or, each in its proper season, nearly as follows:--Mackerel, +2,000 boxes of about 2 cwt. each; herrings, 2,000 barrels of 1-1/2 cwt. +each; salmon, 400 boxes of 2-1/2 cwt. each; lobsters, 15 to 20 barrels +of 1 cwt. each; crabs, 50 to 60 barrels of 1-1/4 cwt. each; plaice, +1,500 packages of 2 cwt. each; codfish, 200 barrels of 2 cwt. each; +conger eels, 20 barrels of 2 cwt. each; skate, 10 to 20 barrels of 2 +cwt. each.--See "_Markets_." + +~Fishing.~--There is very little scope for the practice of Isaac +Walton's craft near to Birmingham, and lovers of the gentle art must go +farther afield to meet with good sport. The only spots within walking +distance are the pools at Aston Park and Lower Grounds, at Aston Tavern, +at Bournbrook Hotel (or, as it is better known, Kirby's), and at Pebble +Mill, in most of which may be found perch, roach, carp, and pike. At +Pebble Mill, March 20, last year, a pike was captured 40 inches long, +and weighing 22 lbs., but that was a finny rarity, and not likely to be +met with there again, as the pool (so long the last resort of suicidally +inclined mortals) is to be filled up. A little farther off are waters at +Sarehole, at Yardley Wood, and the reservoir at King's Norton, but with +these exceptions anglers must travel to their destinations by rail. +There is good fishing at Sutton Coldfield, Barnt Green (for reservoir at +Tardebigge), Alcester, Shustoke, Salford Priors, and other places within +a score of miles, but free fishing nowhere. Anyone desirous of real +sport should join the Birmingham and Midland Piscatorial Association +(established June, 1878), which rents portions of the river Trent and +other waters. This society early in 1880, tried their hands at +artificial salmon-hatching, one of the tanks of the aquarium at Aston +Lower Grounds being placed at their disposal. They were successful in +bringing some thousand or more of their interesting protegees from the +ova into fish shape, but we cannot find the market prices for salmon or +trout at all reduced. + +~Fishmongers' Hall.~--Not being satisfied with the accommodation +provided for them in the Fish Market, the Fish and Game Dealers' +Association, at their first annual meeting (Feb. 13, 1878), proposed to +erect a Fishmongers' Hall, but they did not carry out their intention. + +~Flogging.~--In "the good old days," when George the Third was King, it +was not very uncommon for malefactors to be flogged through the streets, +tied to the tail end of a cart. In 1786 several persons, who had been +sentenced at the Assizes, were brought back here and so whipped through +the town; and in one instance, where a young man had been caught +filching from the Mint, the culprit was taken to Soho works, and in the +factory yard, there stripped and flogged by "Black Jack" of the Dungeon, +as a warning to his fellow-workmen. This style of punishment would +hardly do now, but if some few of the present race of "roughs" could be +treated to a dose of "the cat" now and then, it might add considerably +to the peace and comfort of the borough. Flogging by proxy was not +unknown in some of the old scholastic establishments, but whipping a +scarecrow seems to have been the amusement on February 26th. 1842, when +Sir Robert Peel, at that day a sad delinquent politically, was publicly +flogged in elligy. + +~Floods~--The milldams at Sutton burst their banks, July 24, 1668, and +many houses were swept away.--On the 24th November, 1703, a three days' +storm arose which extended over the whole kingdom; many parts of the +Midlands being flooded and immense damage caused, farmers' live stock +especially suffering. 15,000 sheep were drowned in one pan of +Gloucestershire; several men and hundreds of sheep near to Worcester; +the losses in Leicestershire and Staffordshire being also enormous. +Though there is no local record respecting it here, there can be little +doubt that the inhabitants had their share of the miseries.--July 2, +1759, a man and several horses were drowned in a flood near Meriden.-- +Heavy rains caused great floods here in January, 1764.--On April 13, +1792, a waterspout, at the Lickey Hills, turned the Rea into a torrent. +--The lower parts of the town were flooded through the heavy rain of +June 26, 1830.--There were floods in Deritend and Bordesley, Nov. 11, +1852.--June 23, 1861, parts of Aston, Digbeth, and the Parade were +swamped.--Feb. 8, 1865, Hockley was flooded through the bursting of the +Canal banks; and a simmilar accident to the Worcester Canal, May 25, +1872, laid the roads and gardens about Wheeley's Road under water.-- +There were very heavy rains in July and October, 1875, causing much +damage in the lower parts of the town.--Aug. 2 and 3, 1879, many parts +of the outskirts were flooded, in comparatively the shortest time in +memory. + +~Flour Mills.~--The Union Mill Co. (now known as the Old Union, &c.) was +formed early in 1796, with a capital of L7,000 in L1 shares, each +share-holder being required to take a given amount of bread per week. +Though at starting it was announced that the undertaking was not +intended for profit,--such were the advantages derived from the +operations of the Company that the shareholders it is said, in addition +to a dividend of 10 per cent., received in the course of couple of years +a benefit equal to 600 per cent, in the shape of reduced prices. Large +dividends have at times been received, but a slightly different tale is +now told.--The New Union Mill was started in 1810; the Snow Hill Mill +about 1781; the Britannia Mills in 1862. + +~Fly Vans.~--"Fly Boats" to the various places connected with Birmingham +by the canals were not sufficient for our townspeople seventy years ago, +and an opposition to the coaches started in 1821, in the shape of Fly +Vans or light Post Waggons, was hailed with glee. These Fly Vans left +the Crescent Wharf (where Showell and Sons' Stores are now) three +evenings a week, and reached Sheffield the following day. This was the +first introduction of a regular "parcels' post," though the authorities +would not allow of anything like a letter being sent with a parcel, _if_ +they knew it. + +~Foolish Wager.~--On July 8,1758, for a wager, a man named Moraon got +over the battlements of the tower at St. Martin's, and safely let +himself down to the ground (a distance of 73 feet) without rope or +ladder, his strength of muscle enabling him to reach from cornerstone to +cornerstone, and cling thereto as he descended. + +~Football.~--See "_Sports_." + +~Forgeries.~--The manufacture of bogus bank-notes was carried on here, +at one time, to an alarming extent, and even fifty years ago, though he +was too slippery a fish for the authorities to lay hold of, it was +well-known there was a clever engraver in the Inkleys who would copy +anything put before him for the merest trifle, even though the +punishment was most severe. Under "_Notable Offences_" will be found +several cases of interest in this peculiar line of business. + +~Forks.~--Our ancestors did without them, using their fingers. Queen +Elizabeth had several sent to her from Spain, but she seldom used them, +and we may be quite sure it was long after that ere the taper fingers of +the fair Brums ceased to convey the titbits to their lips. Even that +sapient sovereign, James I., the Scotch Solomon, did not use the foreign +invention, believing possibly with the preacher who denounced them in +the pulpit that it was an insult to the Almighty to touch the meat +prepared for food with anything but one's own fingers. Later on, when +the coaches began to throng the road, gentlemen were in the habit of +carrying with them their own knife and fork for use, so seldom were the +latter articles to be found at the country inns, and the use of forks +cannot be said to have become general more than a hundred years ago. + +~Forward.~--The self-appropriated motto of our borough, chosen at one of +the earliest committee meetings of the Town Council in 1839. Mr. William +Middlemore is said to have proposed the use of the word as being +preferable to any Latin, though "Vox populi, vox Dei," and other like +appropriate mottoes, have been suggested. Like all good things, however, +the honour of originating this motto has been contested, the name of +Robert Crump Mason having been given as its author. + +~Fogs.~--Bad as it may be now and then in the neighbourhood of some of +our works, it there is one thing in nature we can boast of more than +another, it is our comparatively clear atmosphere, and it is seldom that +we are troubled with fogs of any kind. In this respect, at all events, +the Midland metropolis is better off than its Middlesex namesake, with +its "London particular," as Mr. Guppy calls it. But there was one day +(17th) in December, 1879, when we were, by some atmospheric phenomena, +treated to such "a peasouper" that we must note it as being the +curiosity of the day, the street traffic being put a stop to while the +fog lasted. + +~Folk-lore.~--Funny old sayings are to be met with among the quips and +quirks of "folk-lore" that tickled the fancies of our grandfathers. The +following is to [**] with several changes, but it [**] good to be +lost:-- + + "Sutton for mutton, + Tamworth for beeves, + Walsall for knockknees, + And Brummagem for thieves." + +~Fountains.~--Messrs. Messenger and Sons designed, executed, and +erected, to order of the Street Commissioners, in 1851, a very neat, and +for the situation, appropriate, fountain in the centre of the Market +Hall, but which has since been removed to Highgate Park, where it +appears sadly out of place. + + The poor little boys, without any clothes, + Looking in winter as if they were froze. + +A number of small drinking-fountains or taps have been presented to the +town by benevolent persons (one of the neatest being that put up at the +expense of Mr. William White in Bristol Road in 1876), and granite +cattle-troughs are to be found in Constitution Hill, Icknield Street, +Easy Row, Albert Street, Gosta Green, Five Ways, &c. In July, 1876, Miss +Ryland paid for the erection of a very handsome fountain at the bottom +of Bradford Street, in near proximity to the Smith field. It is so +constructed as to be available for quenching the thirst not only of +human travellers, but also of horses, dogs, &c., and on this account it +has been appropriately handed over to the care of the Society for the +Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is composed of granite, and as it +is surmounted by a gas lamp, it is, in more senses than one, both useful +and ornamental.--The fountain in connection with the Chamberlain +Memorial, at back of Town Hall, is computed to throw out five million +gallons of water per annum (ten hours per day), a part of which is +utilised at the fishstalls in the markets. The Water Committee have +lately put up an ornamental fountain in Hagley Road, in connection with +the pipe supply for that neighbourhood. + +~Foxalls.~--For centuries one of the most prosperous of our local +families, having large tanneries in Digbeth as far back as 1570; +afterwards as cutlers and ironmongers down to a hundred years ago. They +were also owners of the Old Swan, the famous coaching house, and which +it is believed was the inn that Prince Rupert and his officers came to +when Thomas, the ostler, was shot, through officiously offering to take +their horses. + +~Fox Hunts.~--With the exception of the annual exhibition of fox-hounds +and other sporting dogs, Birmingham has not much to do with hunting +matters, though formerly a red coat or two might often have been seen in +the outskirts riding to meets not far away. On one occasion, however, as +told the writer by one of these old inhabitants whose memories are our +historical textbooks, the inhabitants of Digbeth and Deritend were +treated to the sight of a hunt in full cry. It was a nice winter's +morning of 1806, when Mr. Reynard sought to save his brush by taking a +straight course down the Coventry Road right into town. The astonishment +of the shop-keepers may be imagined when the rush of dogs and horses +passed rattling by. Round the corner, down Bordesley High Street, past +the Crown and Church, over the bridge and away for the Shambles and Corn +Cheaping went the fox, and close to his heels followed the hounds, who +caught their prey at last near to The Board. "S.D.R.," in one of his +chatty gossips anent the old taverns of Birmingham, tells of a somewhat +similar scene from the Quinton side of the town, the bait, however, +being not a fox, but the trail-scent of a strong red herring, dragged at +his stirrup, in wicked devilry, by one of the well-known haunters of old +Joe Lindon's. Still, we _have_ had fox-hunts of our own, one of the +vulpine crew being killed in St. Mary's Churchyard, Feb. 26, 1873, while +another was captured (Sept. 11, 1883) by some navvies at work on the +extension of New Street Station. The fox, which was a young one, was +found asleep in one of the subways, though how he got to such a strange +dormitory is a puzzle, and he gave a quarter-hour's good sport before +being secured. + +~Freemasons.~--See "_Masonic_." + +~Freeth, the Poet.~--The first time Freeth's name appears in the public +prints is in connection with a dinner given at his coffee-house, April +17, 1770, to celebrate Wilkes' release from prison. He died September +29, 1808, aged 77, and was buried in the Old Meeting House, the +following lines being graved on his tombstone:-- + + + "Free and easy through life 'twas his wish to proceed. + Good men he revered, whatever their creed. + His pride was a sociable evening to spend, + For no man loved better his pipe and his friend." + + +~Friendly Societies~ are not of modern origin, traces of many having +been found in ancient Greek inscriptions. The Romans also had similar +societies, Mr. Tomkins, the chief clerk of the Registrar-General, having +found and deciphered the accounts of one at Lanuvium, the entrance fee +to which was 100 sesterces (about 15s.), and an amphora (or jar) of +wine. The payments were equivalent to 2s. a year, or 2d. per mouth, the +funeral money being 45s., a fixed portion, 7s. 6d. being set apart for +distribution at the burning of the body. Members who did not pay up +promptly were struck off the list, and the secretaries and treasurers, +when funds were short, went to their own pockets.--The first Act for +regulating Friendly Societies was passed in 1795. Few towns in England +have more sick and benefit clubs than Birmingham, there not being many +public-houses without one attached to them, and scarcely a manufactory +minus its special fund for like purposes. The larger societies, of +course, have many branches (lodges, courts, &c), and it would be a +difficult matter to particularise them all, or even arrive at the +aggregate number of their members, which, however, cannot be much less +than 50,000; and, if to these we add the large number of what may be +styled "annual gift clubs" (the money in hand being divided every year), +we may safely put the total at something like 70,000 persons who take +this method of providing for a rainy day. The following notes respecting +local societies have been culled from blue books, annual reports, and +private special information, the latter being difficult to arrive at, in +consequence of that curious reticence observable in the character of +officials of all sorts, club stewards included. + +_Artisans at Large_.--In March, 1868, the Birmingham artisans who +reported on the Paris Exhibition of 1867, formed themselves into a +society "to consider and discuss, from an artisan point of view, all +such subjects as specially affect the artisan class; to promote and seek +to obtain all such measures, legislative or otherwise, as shall appear +beneficial to that class; and to render to each other mutual assistance, +counsel, or encouragement." Very good, indeed! The benefits which have +arisen from the formation of this society are doubtless many, but as the +writer has never yet seen a report, he cannot record the value of the +mutual assistance rendered, or say what capital is left over of the +original, fund of counsel and encouragement. + +_Barbers_.--A few knights of the razor in 1869 met together and formed a +"Philanthropic Society of Hairdressers," but though these gentlemen are +proverbial for their gossiping propensities, they tell no tales out of +school, and of their charity boast not. + +_Butchers_.--A Butchers' Benefit and Benevolent Association was founded +in 1877. + +_Coaldealers_.--The salesmen of black diamonds have a mutual benefit +association, but as the secretary declines to give any information, we +fear the mutual benefit consists solely of helping each other to keep +the prices up. + +_Cannon Street Male Adult Provident Institution_ was established in +1841. At the expiration of 1877 there were 8,994 members, with a balance +in hand of L72,956 15s. 5d. The total received from members to that date +amounted to L184,900, out of which L131,400 had been returned in sick +pay and funeral benefits, the payments out varying from 4s. to 20s. a +week in sickness, with a funeral benefit of L20, L8 being allowed on the +death of a wife. + +_Carr's Lane Provident Institution_ was commenced in 1845, and has 299 +male and 323 female members, with a capital of L5,488, the amount paid +in 1883 on account of sickness being L242, with L54 funeral money. + +_Chemistry_.--A Midland Counties' Chemists' Association was formed in +May, 1869. + +_Christ Church Provident Institution_ was established in 1835, and at +the end of 1883, there were 646 male and 591 female members; during the +year L423 had been paid among 138 members on account of sickness, +besides L25 for funerals. Capital about L5,800. A junior or Sunday +school branch also exists. + +_Church of the Saviour Provident Institution_ was started in 1857. + +_Church School Teachers_.--The Birmingham and District Branch of the +Church Schoolmaster's and Schoolmistresses' Benevolent Institution was +formed in 1866, and the members contribute about L250 per year to the +funds. + +_Druids_.--The order of Druids has five Lodges here, with nearly 400 +members. The United Ancient Order of Druids has twenty-one Lodges, and +about 1,400 members. + +_Ebenezer Chapel Sick Society_ was established in 1828. Has 135 members, +whose yearly payments average 32s. 6d., out of which 17s. dividend at +Christmas comes back, the benefits being 10s. a week in sickness and L10 +at death. + +_Foresters_.--In 1745 a few Yorkshire-men started "The Ancient Order of +Royal Foresters," under which title the associated Courts remained until +1834, when a split took place. The secessionists, who gave the name of +"Honour" to their No. 1 Court (at Ashton-under-Lyne), declined the +honour of calling themselves "Royal," but still adhered to the antique +part of their cognomen. The new "Ancient Order of foresters" throve +well, and, leaving their "Royal" friends far away in the background, now +number 560,000 members, who meet in nearly 7,000 Courts. In the +Birmingham Midland District them are 62 courts, with about 6,200 +members, the Court funds amounting to L29,900, and the District funds to +L2,200. The oldest Court in this town is the "Child of the Forest," +meeting at the Gem Vaults, Steelhouse Lane, which was instituted in +1839. The other Courts meet at the Crown and Anchor, Gem Street; +Roebuck, Lower Hurst Street; Queen's Arms, Easy Row; White Swan, Church +Street; Red Cow, Horse Fair; Crown, Broad Street; White Hart, Warstone +Lane; Rose and Crown, Summer Row; Red Lion, Suffolk Street; Old Crown, +Deritend; Hope and Anchor, Coleshill Street; Black Horse, Ashted Row; +Colemore Arms, Latimer Street South; Anchor, Bradford Street; Army and +Navy Inn, Great Brook Street; Red Lion, Smallbrook Street; Union Mill +Inn, Holt Street; Vine, Lichfield Road; Wellington, Holliday Street; +Ryland Arms, Ryland Street; Star and Garter, Great Hampton Row; Oak +Tree, Selly Oak; Station Inn, Saltley Road; Drovers' Arms, Bradford +Street; Old Nelson, Great Lister Street; Ivy Green, Edward Street; Iron +House, Moor Street; Green Man, Harborne; Fountain, Wrentham Street; +King's Arms, Sherlock Street; Shareholders' Arms, Park Lane; +Shakespeare's Head, Livery Street; Criterion, Hurst Street; Acorn, +Friston Street; Hen and Chickens, Graham Street; Albion, Aston Road; Dog +and Partridge, Tindal Street; White Horse, Great Colmore Street; +Carpenters' Arms, Adelaide Street; Small Arms Inn, Muntz Street; +Weymouth Arms, Gerrard Street; General Hotel, Tonk Street; Railway +Tavern, Hockley; Noah's Ark, Montague Street; Sportsman, Warwick Road; +Roebuck, Monument Road; Bull's Head, Moseley; Swan Inn, Coleshill; Hare +and Hounds, King's Heath; Roebuck, Erdington; Fox and Grapes, Pensnett; +Hazelwell Tavern, Stirchley Street; Round Oak and New Inn, Brierley +Hill; The Stores, Oldbury; and at the Crosswells Inn, Five Ways, +Langley. + +_General Provident and Benevolent Institution_ was at first (1833) an +amalgamation of several Sunday School societies. It has a number of +branches, and appears to be in a flourishing condition, the assets, at +end of 1883, amounting to over L48,000, with a yearly increment of about +L1,400; the number of members in the medical fund being 5,112. + +_Grocers_.--These gentlemen organised a Benevolent Society, in 1872. + +_Independent Order of Rechabites_.--Dwellers in tents, and drinkers of +no wine, were the original Rechabites, and there are about a score of +"tents" in this district, the oldest being pitched in this town in 1839, +and, as friendly societies, they appear to be doing, in their way, good +service, like their friends who meet in "courts" and "lodges," the +original "tent's" cashbox having L675 in hand for cases of sickness, +while the combined camp holds L1,600 wherewith to bury their dead. + +_Jewellers' Benevolent Association_ dates from Oct. 25, 1867. + +_Medical_.--A Midland Medical Benevolent Society has been in existence +since 1821. The annual report to end of 1883 showed invested funds +amounting to L10,937, there being 265 benefit members and 15 honorary. + +_Musical_.--The Birmingham Musical Society consists almost solely of +members of the Choral Society, whose fines, with small subscriptions +from honorary members, furnishes a fund to cover rehearsal, and sundry +choir expenses as well as 10s in cases of sickness. + +_New Meeting Provident Institution_ was founded in 1836, but is now +connected with the Church of the Messiah. A little over a thousand +members, one-third of whom are females. + +_Oddfellows_.--The National Independent Order of Oddfellows, Birmingham +Branch, was started about 1850. At the end of 1879 there were 1,019 +members, with about L4,500 accumulated funds. + +The Birmingham District of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows in +January, 1882, consisted of 43 lodges, comprising 4,297 members, the +combined capital of sick and funeral funds being L42,210. Tho oldest +Lodge in the District is the "Briton's Pride," which was opened in 1827. + +The first Oddfellows' Hall was in King Street, but was removed when New +Street Station was built. The new Oddfellows' Hall in Upper Temple +Street was built in 1849, by Branson and Gwyther, from the designs of +Coe and Goodwin (Lewisham, Kent), at a cost of L3,000. Tim opening was +celebrated by a dinner on December 3rd, same year. The "Hall" will +accommodate 1,000 persons. The Oddfellows' Biennial Moveable Committee +met in this town on May 29th, 1871. + +The M.U. Lodges meet at the following houses:--Fox, Fox Street; White +Horse, Congreve Street; Swan-with-two-Necks, Great Brook Street; Albion, +Cato Street North; Hope and Anchor, Coleshill Street; 13, Temple Street; +Wagon and Horses, Edgbaston Street; Crystal Palace, Six Ways, Smethwick; +The Vine, Harborne; Prince Arthur, Arthur Street, Small Heath; George +Hotel, High Street, Solihull; Bell, Phillip Street; Bull's Head, +Digbeth; Edgbaston Tavern, Lee Bank, Road; The Stork, Fowler Street, +Nechells; Three Tuns, Digbeth; Town Hall, Sutton Coldfield; Coffee +House, Bell Street; Coach and Horses, Snow Hill; Roe Buck, Moor Street; +Drovers' Arms, Bradford Street; Co-operative Meeting Room, Stirchley +Street; Black Lion, Coleshill Street; Queen's Head, Handsworth; No. 1 +Coffee House, Rolfe Street, Smethwick; New Inn, Selly Oak; Wagon and +Horses, Greet; Talbot, Yardley; Saracen's Head, Edgbaston Street; +Dolphin, Unett Street; Grand Turk, Ludgate Hill; Roebuck, Moor Street; +White Swan, Church Street; White Lion, Thorpe Street; Queen's Arms, Easy +Row; Rose and Crown, Wheeler Street, Lozells. + +The National Independent Order was instituted in 1845, and registered +under the Friendly Societies' Act, 1875. The Order numbers over 60,000 +members, but its strongholds appear to be in Yorkshire and Lancashire, +which two counties muster between them nearly 40,000. In Birmingham +district, there are thirteen "lodges," with a total of 956 members, +their locations being at the Criterion, Hurst Street; Bricklayers' Arms, +Cheapside; Ryland Arms, Ryland Street; Sportsman, Moseley Street; Iron +House, Moor Street; Exchange Inn, High Street; Red Lion, Smallbrook +Street; Woodman, Summer Lane; Emily Arms, Emily Street; Boar's Head, +Bradford Street; Turk's Head, Duke Street; Bird-in-Hand, Great King +Street; Tyburn House, Erdington. + +_Old Meeting Friendly Fund_ was commenced in 1819, and registered in +1824. Its capital at the close of the first year, was L5 14s. 10-1/2d.; +at end of the tenth year (1828) it was nearly L264; in 1838, L646; in +1848, L1,609; in 1858, L3,419; 1868, L5,549; in 1878, L8,237; and at the +end of 1883, L9,250 16s. 2d.;--a very fair sum, considering the numbers +only numbered 446, the year's income being L877 and the out-goings L662. + +_Railway Guards' Friendly Fund_ was originated in this town in 1848. It +has nearly 2,200 members; the yearly disbursements being about L6,000, +and the payments L40 at death, with life pensions of 10s. and upwards +per week to members disabled on the line. More than L85,000 has been +thus distributed since the commencement. + +_Roman Catholic_.--A local Friendly Society was founded in 1794, and a +Midland Association in 1824. + +_Shepherds_.--The Order of Shepherds dates from 1834, but we cannot get +at the number of members, &c. August 9, 1883 (according to _Daily +Post_), the High Sanctuary meeting of the Order of Shepherds was held in +our Town Hall, when the auditor's report showed total assets of the +general fund, L921 15s. 4d., and liabilities L12 6s. 9-1/2d. The relief +fund stood at L292 18s. 8d., being an increase of L66 0s. 11d. on the +year; and there was a balance of L6 13s. 9-1/2d. to the credit of the +sick and funeral fund. + +_St. David's Society_.--The members held their first meeting March 1, +1824. + +_St. Patrick's Benefit Society_, dating from 1865 as an offshoot of the +Liverpool Society, had at end of 1882, 3,144 members, the expenditure of +the year was L857 (L531 for funerals), and the total value of the +society L2,030. + +_Unitarian Brotherly Society_, registered in 1825, has about 500 +members, and a capital of L8,500. + +_United Brothers_.--There are nearly 100 lodges and 10,000 members of +societies under this name in Birmingham and neighbourhood, some of the +lodges being well provided for capital, No. 4 having L8,286 to 186 +members. + +_United Family_ Life Assurance and Sick Benefit Society claims to have +some 8,500 members, 750 of whom reside in Birmingham. + +_United Legal_ Burial Society, registered in 1846, like the above, is a +branch only. + +_Union Provident Sick Society_.--Founded 1802, enrolled in 1826 and +certified in 1871, had then 3,519 members and a reserve fund of L8,269. +At end of 1883 the reserve fund stood at L15,310 16s. 9d., there having +been paid during the year L4,768 17s. 2d. for sick pay and funerals, +besides 15s. dividend to each member. + +There are 15,379 Friendly Societies or branches in the kingdom, +numbering 4,593,175 members, and their funds amounted to (by last +return) L12,148,602. + +~Friends (The Society of).~--Quakerism was publicly professed here in +1654, George Fox visiting the town the following year and in 1657. The +triends held their first "meetings" in Monmouth Street in 1659. The +meeting-house in Bull Street was built in 1703, and was enlarged several +times prior to 1856, when it was replaced by the present edifice which +will seat about 800 persons. The re-opening took place January 25, 1857. +The burial-ground in Monmouth Street, where the Arcade is now, was taken +by the Great Western Railway Co. in 1851, the remains of over 300 +departed Friends being removed to the yard of the meeting-house in Bull +Street. + +~Froggery.~--Before the New Street Railway Station was built, a fair +slice of old Birmingham had to be cleared away, and fortunately it +happened to be one of the unsavoury portions, including the spot known +as "The Froggery." As there was a Duck Lane close by, the place most +likely was originally so christened from its lowlying and watery +position, the connection between ducks and frogs being self-apparent. + +~Frosts.~--Writing on Jan. 27, 1881, the late Mr. Plant said that in 88 +years there had been only four instances of great cold approaching +comparison with the intense frost then ended; the first was in January, +1795; the next in December and January, 1813-14; then followed that of +January, 1820. The fourth was in December and January, 1860-61; and, +lastly, January, 1881. In 1795 the mean temperature of the twenty-one +days ending January 31st was 24.27 degrees; in 1813-14, December 29th to +January 18th, exclusively, 24.9 degrees; in 1820, January 1st to 21st, +inclusively, 23.7 degrees; in 1860-61, December 20th to January 9th, +inclusively, 24.5 degrees; and in 1881, January 7th to 27th, +inclusively, 23.2 degrees. Thus the very coldest three weeks on record +in this district, in 88 years, is January, 1881. With the exception of +the long frost of 1813-4, which commenced on the 24th December and +lasted three months, although so intense in their character, none of the +above seasons were remarkable for protracted duration. The longest +frosts recorded in the present century were as follows:--1813-14, +December to March. 13 weeks; 1829-30, December, January, February, 10 +weeks; 1838, January, February, 8 weeks; 1855, January, February, 7 +weeks; 1878-79, December, January, February, 10 weeks. + +~Funny Notions.~--The earliest existing statutes governing our Free +Grammar of King Edward VI. bear the date of 1676. One of these rules +forbids the assistant masters to marry.--In 1663 (_temp_. Charles II.) +Sir Robert Holte, of Aston, received a commission from Lord Northampton, +"Master of His Majesty's leash," to take and seize greyhounds, and +certain other dogs, for the use of His Majesty!--The "Dancing Assembly," +which was to meet on the 30th January, 1783, loyally postponed their +light fantastic toeing, "in consequence of that being the anniversary of +the martyrdom of Charles I."--In 1829, when the Act was passed +appointing Commissioners for Duddeston and Nechells, power was given for +erecting gasworks, provided they did not extend over more than one acre, +and that no gas was sent into the adjoining parish of Birmingham.--A +writer in _Mechanics' Magazine_ for 1829, who signed his name as "A. +Taydhill, Birmingham," suggested that floor carpets should be utilized +as maps where with to teach children geography. The same individual +proposed that the inhabitants of each street should join together to buy +a long pole, or mast, with a rope and pulley, for use as a fireescape, +and recommended them to convey their furniture in or out of the windows +with it, as "good practice."--A patent was taken out by Eliezer Edwards, +in 1853, for a bedstead fitted with a wheel and handle, that it might be +used as a wheelbarrow.--Sergeant Bates, of America, invaded Birmingham, +Nov. 21, 1872, carrying the "stars and stripes," as a test of our love +for our Yankee cousins. + +~Funeral Reform.~--An association for doing away with the expensive +customs so long connected with the burying of the dead, was organised in +1875, and slowly, but surely, are accomplishing the task then entered +upon. At present there are about 700 enrolled members, but very many +more families now limit the trappings of woe to a more reasonable as +well as economical exhibit of tailors' and milliners' black. + +~Furniture.~--Judging from some old records appertaining to the history +of a very ancient family, who, until the town swallowed it up, farmed a +considerable portion of the district known as the Lozells, or Lowcells, +as it was once called, even our well-to-do neighbours would appear to +have been rather short of what we think necessary household furniture. +As to chairs in bedrooms, there were often none; and if they had +chimnies, only movable grates, formed of a few bars resting on "dogs." +Window-curtains, drawers, carpets, and washing-stands, are not, +according to our recollection, anywhere specified; and a warming-pan +does not occur till 1604, and then was kept in the bed-room. Tongs +appear as annexations of grates, without poker or shovel; and the family +plate-chest was part of bed-room furniture. Stools were the substitutes +for chairs in the principal sitting-room, in the proportion of even +twenty of the former to two of the latter, which were evidently +intended, _par distinction_, for the husband and wife. + +~Galton.~--The family name of a once well-known firm of gun, sword, and +bayonet makers, whose town-house was in Steelhouse Lane, opposite the +Upper Priory. Their works were close by in Weaman Street, but the mill +for grinding and polishing the barrels and blades was at Duddeston, near +to Duddeston Hall, the Galton's country-house. It was this firm's +manufactury that Lady Selbourne refers to in her "Diary," wherein she +states that in 1765 she went to a Quaker's "to see the making of guns." +The strange feature of members of the peace-loving Society of Friends +being concerned in the manufacture of such death-dealing implements was +so contrary to their profession, that in 1796, the Friends strongly +remonstrated with the Galtons, leading to the retirement of the senior +partner from the trade, and the expulsion of the junior from the body. +The mansion in Steelhouse Lane was afterwards converted into a +banking-house; then used for the purposes of the Polytechnic +Institution; next, after a period of dreary emptiness, fitted up as the +Children's Hospital, after the removal of which to Broad Street, the old +house has reverted to its original use, as the private abode of Dr. +Clay. + +~Gambetta.~--The eminent French patriot was fined 2,000 francs for +upholding the freedom of speech and the rights of the press, two things +ever dear to Liberal Birmingham, and it was proposed to send him the +money from here as a mark of esteem and sympathy. The _Daily Post_ took +the matter in hand, and, after appealing to its 40,000 readers every day +for some weeks, forwarded (November 10, 1877) a draft for L80 17s. 6d. + +~Gaols.~--The Town Gaol, or Lockup, at the back of the Public Office, in +Moor-street, was first used in September, 1806. It then consisted of a +courtyard, 59 ft. by 30 ft. (enclosed by a 26 ft. wall) two day rooms or +kitchens, 14 ft. square, and sixteen sleeping cells, 8 ft. by 6 ft. The +prisoners' allowance was a pennyworth of bread and a slice of cheese +twice a day, and the use of the pump. Rather short commons, considering +the 4 lb. loaf often sold at 1s. The establishment, which is vastly +improved and much enlarged, is now used only as a place of temporary +detention or lockup, where prisoners are first received, and wait their +introduction to the gentlemen of the bench. The erection of the Borough +Gaol was commenced on October 29, 1845, and it was opened for the +reception of prisoners, October 17, 1849, the first culprit being +received two days afterwards. The estimated cost was put at L51,447, but +altogether it cost the town about L90,000, about L70,000 of which has +been paid off. In the year 1877, three prisoners contrived to escape; +one, John Sutcliffe, who got out on July 25, not being recaptured till +the 22nd of January following. The others were soon taken back home. The +gaol was taken over by the government as from April 1, 1878, Mr. J.W. +Preston, being appointed Governor at a salary of L510, in place of Mr. +Meaden, who had received L450, with certain extras.--See "_Dungeon_" and +"_Prisons_." The new County Goal at Warwick was first occupied in 1860. + +~Gaol Atrocities.~--The first Governor appointed to the Borough Gaol was +Captain Maconochie, formerly superintendent over the convicts at Norfolk +Island in the days of transportation of criminals. He was permitted to +try as an experiment a "system of marks," whereby a prisoner, by his +good conduct and industry, could materially lessen the duration of his +punishment, and, to a certain extent improve his dietary. The +experiment, though only tried with prisoners under sixteen, proved very +successful, and at one time hopes were entertained that the system would +become general in all the gaols of the kingdom. So far as our gaol was +concerned, however, it proved rather unfortunate that Captain +Maconochie, through advancing age and other causes, was obliged to +resign his position (July, 1851), for upon the appointment of his +successor, Lieutenant Austin, a totally opposite course of procedure was +introduced, a perfect reign of terror prevailing in place of kindness +and a humane desire to lead to the reformation of criminals. In lieu of +good marks for industry, the new Governor imposed heavy penal marks if +the tasks set them were not done to time, and what these tasks were may +be gathered from the fact that in sixteen months no less than fifteen +prisoners were driven to make an attempt on their lives, through the +misery and torture to which they were exposed, three unfortunates being +only too successful. Of course such things could not be altogether +hushed up, and after one or two unsatisfactory "inquiries" had been +held, a Royal Commission was sent down to investigate matters. One case +out of many will be sufficient sample of the mercies dealt out by the +governor to the poor creatures placed under his care. Edward Andrews, a +lad of 15, was sent to gaol for three months (March 28, 1853) for +stealing a piece of beef. On the second day he was put to work at "the +crank," every turn of which was equal to lifting a weight of 20lbs., and +he was required to make 2,000 revolutions before he had any breakfast, +4,000 more before dinner, and another 4,000 before supper, the +punishment for not completing either of these tasks being the loss of +the meal following. The lad failed on many occasions, and was fed almost +solely on one daily, or, rather, nightly allowance of bread and water. +For shouting he was braced to a wall for hours at a time, tightly cased +in a horrible jacket and leather collar, his feet being only moveable. +In this position, when exhausted almost to death, he was restored to +sensibility by having buckets of water thrown over him. What wonder that +within a month he hung himself. A number of similar cases of brutality +were proved, and the Governor thought it best to resign, but he was not +allowed to escape altogether scot free, being tried at Warwick on +several charges of cruelty, and being convicted, was sentenced by the +Court of Queen's Bench to a term of three months' imprisonment. + +~Garibaldi.~--At a meeting of the Town Council, April 5, 1865, it was +resolved to ask Garibaldi to pay a visit to this town, but he declined +the honour, as in the year previous he had similarly declined to receive +an offered town subscription. + +~Garrison.~--Though a strong force was kept in the Barracks in the old +days of riot and turbulence, it is many years since we have been +favoured with more than a single company of red coats at a time, our +peaceful inland town not requiring a strong garrison. + +~Gardens.~--A hundred to 150 years ago there was no town in England +better supplied with gardens than Birmingham, almost every house in what +are now the main thoroughfares having its plot of garden ground. In 1731 +there were many acres of allotment gardens (as they came to be called at +a later date) where St. Bartholomew's Church now stands, and in almost +every other direction similar pieces of land were to be seen under +cultivation. Public tea gardens were also to be found in several +quarters of the outskirts; the establishment known as the Spring Gardens +closing its doors July 31, 1801. The Apollo Tea Gardens lingered on till +1846, and Beach's Gardens closed in September, 1854. + +~Gas.~--William Murdoch is generally credited with the introduction of +lighting by gas, but it is evident that the inflammability of the gas +producible from coal was known long before his day, as the Rev. Dr. John +Clayton, Dean of Kildare, mentioned it in a letter he wrote to the Hon. +Robert Boyle, in 1691. The Dr.'s discovery was probably made during his +stay in Virginia, and another letter of his shows the probability of his +being aware that the gas would pass through water without losing its +lighting properties. The discovery has also been claimed as that of a +learned French _savant_ but Murdoch must certainly take the honour of +being the first to bring gas into practical use at his residence, at +Redruth, in 1792, and it is said that he even made a lantern to light +the paths in his evening walks, the gas burned in which was contained in +a bag carried under his arm, his rooms being also lit up from a bag of +gas placed under weights. The exact date of its introduction in this +neighbourhood has not been ascertained though it is believed that part +of the Soho Works were fitted with gas-lights in 1798, and, on the +occurrence of the celebration of the Peace of Amiens, in 1802, a public +exhibition was made of the new light, in the illumination of the works. +The _Gazette_ of April 5, 1802 (according to extract by Dr. Langford, in +his "Century of Birmingham Life") described the various devices in +coloured lamps and transparencies, but strangely enough does not mention +gas at all. Possibly gas was no longer much of a novelty at Soho, or the +reporter might not have known the nature of the lights used, but there +is the evidence of Mr. Wm. Matthews, who, in 1827 published an +"Historical Sketch of Gaslighting," in which he states that he had "the +inexpressible gratification of witnessing, in 1802, Mr. Murdoch's +extraordinary and splendid exhibition of gaslights at Soho." On the +other hand, the present writer was, some years back, told by one of the +few old Soho workmen then left among us, that on the occasion referred +to the only display of gas was in the shape of one large lamp placed at +one end of the factory, and then called a "Bengal light," the gas for +which was brought to the premises in several bags from Mr. Murdoch's own +house. Though it has been always believed that the factory and offices +throughout were lighted by gas in 1803, very soon after the Amiens +illumination, a correspondent to the _Daily Post_ has lately stated that +when certain of his friends went to Soho, in 1834, they found no lights +in use, even for blowpipes, except oil and candles and that they had to +lay on gas from the mains of the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas +Company in the Holyhead Road. If correct, this is a curious bit of the +history of the celebrated Soho, as other manufacturers were not at all +slow in introducing gas for working purposes as well as lighting, a +well-known tradesman, Benjamin Cook, Caroline Street, having fitted up +retorts and a gasometer on his premises in 1808, his first pipes being +composed of old or waste gun-barrels, and he reckoned to clear a profit +of L30 a year, as against his former expenditure for candles and oil. +The glassworks of Jones, Smart, and Co., of Aston Hill, were lit up by +gas as early as 1810, 120 burners being used at a nightly cost of 4s. +6d., the gas being made on the premises from a bushel of coal per day. +The first proposal to use gas in lighting the streets of Birmingham was +made in July 1811, and here and there a lamp soon appeared, but they +were supplied by private firms, one of whom afterwards supplied gas to +light the chapel formerly on the site of the present Assay Office, +taking it from their works in Caroline Street, once those of B. Cook +before-mentioned. The Street Commissioners did not take the matter in +hand till 1815, on November 8 of which year they advertised for tenders +for lighting the streets with gas instead of oil. The first shop in +which gas was used was that of Messrs. Poultney, at the corner of Moor +Street, in 1818, the pipes being laid from the works in Gas Street by a +private individual, whose interest therein was bought up by the +Birmingham Gaslight Company. The principal streets were first officially +lighted by gas-lamps on April 29, 1826, but it was not until March, +1843, that the Town Council resolved that that part of the borough +within the parish of Edgbaston should be similarly favoured. + +~Gas Companies.~--The first, or Birmingham Gaslight Co. was formed in +1817, incorporated in 1819, and commenced business by buying up the +private adventurer who built the works in Gas Street. The Company was +limited to the borough of Birmingham, and its original capital was +L32,000, which, by an Act obtained in 1855, was increased to L300,000, +and borrowing powers to L90,000 more, the whole of which was raised or +paid up. In the year 1874 the company supplied gas through 17,000 +meters, which consumed 798,000,000 cubic feet of gas. The Birmingham and +Staffordshire Gas Co. was established in 1825, and had powers to lay +their mains in and outside the borough. The original Act was repealed in +1845, the company being remodelled and started afresh with a capital of +L320,000, increased by following Acts to L670,000 (all called up by +1874), and borrowing powers to L100,000, of which, by the same year +L23,000 had been raised. The consumption of gas in 1874 was +1,462,000,000 cubic feet, but how much of this was burnt by the +company's 19,910 Birmingham customers, could not be told. The two +companies, though rivals for the public favour, did not undersell one +another, both of them charging 10/-per 1,000 feet in the year 1839, +while in 1873 large consumers were only charged 2/3 per 1,000 feet, the +highest charge being 2/7. The question of buying out both of the Gas +Companies had been frequently mooted, but it was not until 1874 that any +definite step was taken towards the desired end. On April 17th, 1874, +the burgesses recorded 1219 votes in favour of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain's +proposition to purchase the Gas [and the Water] Works, 683 voting +against it. On Jan. 18th, 1875, the necessary Bills were introduced into +the House of Commons, and on July 15th and 19th, the two Acts were +passed, though not without some little opposition from the outlying +parishes and townships heretofore supplied by the Birmingham and +Staffordshire Co., to satisfy whom a clause was inserted, under which +Walsall, West Bromwich, &c., could purchase the several mains and works +in their vicinity, if desirous to do so. The Birmingham Gas Co. received +from the Corporation L450,000, of which L136,890 was to be left on loan +at 4%, as Debenture Stock, though L38,850 thereof has been kept in hand, +as the whole was redeemable within ten years. The balance of L313,000 +was borrowed from the public at 4%, and in some cases a little less. The +Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Co. were paid in Perpetual Annuities, +amounting to L58,290 per year, being the maximum dividends then payable +on the Co.'s shares, L10,906 was returned as capital not bearing +interest, L15,000 for surplus profits, L30,000 the half-year's dividend, +and also L39,944 5s. 4d. the Co's Reserve Fund. The total cost was put +down as L1,900,000. The Annuities are redeemable by a Sinking Fund in 85 +years. For their portion of the mains, service pipes, works, &c. +formerly belonging to the Birmingham and Staffordshire Company, the +Walsall authorities pay the Corporation an amount equivalent to +annuities valued at L1,300 per year; Oldbury paid L22,750, Tipton +L34,700, and West Bromwich L70,750. + +~Gas Fittings.~--Curious notions appear to have been at first +entertained as to the explosive powers of the new illuminator, nothing +less than copper or brass being considered strong enough for the +commonest piping, and it was thought a great innovation when a local +manufacturer, in 1812, took out a patent for lead pipes copper-coated. +Even Murdoch himself seems to have been in dread of the burning element, +for when, in after years, his house at Sycamore Hill changed owners, it +was found that the smaller gas pipes therein were made of silver, +possibly used to withstand the supposed corrosive effects of the gas. +The copper-covered lead pipes were patented in 1819 by Mr. W. Phipson, +of the Dog Pool Mills, the present compo being comparatively a modern +introduction. Messengers, of Broad Street, and Cook, of Caroline Street +(1810-20), were the first manufacturers of gas fittings in this town, +and they appear to have had nearly a monopoly of the trade, as there +were but three others in it in 1833, and only about twenty in 1863; now +their name is legion, gas being used for an infinitude of purposes, not +the least of which is by the gas cooking stove, the idea of which was so +novel at first that the Secretary of the Gas Office in the Minories at +one time introduced it to the notice of the public by having his dinner +daily cooked in a stove placed in one of the office windows. An +exhibition of gas apparatus of all kinds was opened at the Town Hall, +June 5, 1878, and that there is still a wonderful future for development +is shown by its being seriously advocated that a double set of mains +will be desirable, one for lighting gas, and the other for a less pure +kind to be used for heating purposes. + +~Gas Works.~--See "_Public Buildings_." + +~Gavazzi.~--Father Gavazzi first orated here in the Town Hall, October +20, 1851. + +~Geographical.~--According to the Ordnance Survey, Birmingham is +situated in latitude 52 deg. 29', and longitude 1 deg. 54' west. + +~Gillott.~--See "_Noteworthy Men_." + +~Girls' Home.~--Eighteen years ago several kind-hearted ladies opened a +house in Bath Row, for the reception of servant girls of the poorest +class, who, through their poverty and juvenility, could not be sheltered +in the "Servants' Home," and that such an establishment was needed, is +proved by the fact that no less than 334 inmates were sheltered for a +time during 1883, while 232 others received help in clothing &c., +suited to their wants. The Midland Railway having taken Bath House, the +Home has lately been removed to a larger house near the Queen's +Hospital, where the managers will be glad to receive any little aid that +can be rendered towards carrying on their charitable operations. + +~Glass.~--In the reign of Henry VI. the commonest kind of glass was sold +at 2s. the foot, a shilling in those days being of as much value as a +crown of today. The earliest note we can find of glass being made here +is the year 1785, when Isaac Hawker built a small glasshouse behind his +shop at Edgbaston Street. His son built at Birmingham Heath on the site +now occupied by Lloyd and Summerfield. In 1798 Messrs. Shakespeare and +Johnston had a glasshouse in Walmer Lane. Pressed glass seems to have +been the introduction of Rice Harris about 1832, though glass "pinchers" +(eleven of them) are named in the Directory of 1780. In 1827 plate-glass +sold at 12s. per foot and in 1840 at 6s., ordinary sheet-glass being +then 1s. 2d. per foot. There was a duty on plate-glass prior to April 5, +1845, of 2s. 10-1/2d. per foot. The "patent plate" was the invention of +Mr. James Chance, and Chance Brothers (of whose works a notice will be +found in another part of this book) are the only manufacturers in this +country of glass for lighthouse purposes--See also "_Trades_," &c. + +~Godwillings.~--In olden days when our factors started on their tours +for orders, it was customary to send a circular in advance announcing +that "God willing" they would call upon their customers on certain +specified dates. In the language of the counting-house the printed +circulars were called "Godwillings." + +~Goldschmidt.~--Notes of the various visits of Madame Goldschmidt, +better known by her maiden name of Jenny Lind, will be found under the +heading of "_Musical Celebrities_." + +~Good Templars.~--The Independent Order of Good Templars, in this town, +introduced themselves in 1868, and they now claim to have 90,000 adult +members in the "Grand Lodge of England." + +~Gordon.~--Lord George Gordon, whose intemperate actions caused the +London Anti-Papist Riots of 1780, was arrested in this town December 7, +1787, but not for anything connected with those disgraceful proceedings. +He had been found guilty of a libel, and was arrested on a judge's +warrant, and taken from here to London, for contempt of the Court of +King's Bench in not appearing when called upon to do so. It has been +more than once averred that Lord George was circumcised here, before +being admitted to the Jewish community, whose rites and ceremonies, +dress and manners, he strictly observed and followed; but he first +became a Jew while residing in Holland, some time before he took +lodgings in such a classic locality as our old Dudley-street, where he +lay hidden for nearly four months, a long beard and flowing gaberdine +helping to conceal his identity. + +~Gough.~--Gough Road, Gough Street, and a number of other thoroughfares +have been named after the family, from whom the present Lord Calthorpe, +inherits his property.--See "_Edgbaston Hall_." + +~Grammar School.~--See "_Schools_." + +~Great Brooke Street~ takes its name from Mr. Brookes, an attorney of +the olden time. + +~Great Eastern Steamship.~--The engines for working the screw propeller, +4 cylinders and 8,500 horse-power (nominal 1,700) were sent out from the +Soho Foundry. + +~Green's Village.~--Part of the old [**]ookeries in the neighbourhood of +the [**]nkleys. + +~Grub Street.~--The upper part of Old Meeting Street was so called until +late years. + +~Guardians.~--See "_Poor Law_." + +~Guildhall.~--The operative builders commenced to put up an edifice in +1833 which they intended to call "The Guildhall," but it was only half +finished when the ground was cleared for the railway. Some of the local +antiquaries strongly advocated the adoption of the name "Guildhall" for +the block of municipal buildings and Council House, if only in +remembrance of the ancient building on whose site, in New Street, the +Grammar School now stands. + +~Guild of the Holy Cross.~--Founded in the year 1392 by the "Bailiffs +and Commonalty" of the town of Birmingham (answering to our aldermen and +councillors), and licensed by the Crown, for which the town paid L50, +the purpose being to "make and found a gild and perpetual fraternity of +brethren and sustern (sisters), in honour of the Holy Cross," and "to +undertake all works of charity, &c., according to the appointment and +pleasure of the said bailiffs and commonalty." In course of time the +Guild became possessed of all the powers then exercised by the local +corporate authorities, taking upon themselves the building of +almshouses, the relief and maintenance of the poor, the making and +keeping in repair of the highways used by "the King's Majestie's +subjects passing to and from the marches of Wales," looking to the +preservation of sundry bridges and lords, as well as repair of "two +greate stone brydges," &c., &c. The Guild owned considerable portion of +the land on which the present town is built, when Henry VIII., after +confiscating the revenues and possessions of the monastic institutions, +laid hands on the property of such semi-religious establishments as the +Guild of the Holy Cross. It has never appeared that our local Guild had +done anything to offend the King, and possibly it was but the name that +he disliked. Be that as it may, his son, Edward VI., in 1552, at the +petition of the inhabitants, returned somewhat more than half of the +property, then valued at L21 per annum, for the support and maintenance +of a Free Grammar School, and it is this property from which the income +of the present King Edward VI.'s Grammar Schools is now derived, +amounting to nearly twice as many thousands as pounds were first +granted. The Guild Hall or Town's Hall in New Street (then only a bye +street), was not _quite_ so large as either our present Town Hall or the +Council House, but was doubtless considered at the time a very fine +building, with its antique carvings and stained glass windows emblazoned +with figures and armorial bearings of the Lords right Ferrers and +others. As the Guild had an organist in its pay, it may be presumed that +such an instrument was also there, and that alone goes far to prove the +fraternity were tolerably well off, as organs in those times were costly +and scarce. The old building, for more than a century after King +Edward's grant, was used as the school, but even when rebuilt it +retained its name as the Guild Hall. + +~Guns.~--Handguns, as they were once termed, were first introduced into +this country by the Flemings whom Edward IV. brought over in 1471, but +(though doubtless occasional specimens were made by our townsmen before +then) the manufacture of small arms at Birmingham does not date further +back than 1689, when inquiries were made through Sir Richard Newdigate +as to the possibility of getting them made here as good as those coming +from abroad. A trial order given by Government in March, 1692, led to +the first contract (Jan. 5, 1693) made between the "Officers of +Ordnance" and five local manufacturers, for the supply of 200 "snaphance +musquets" every month for one year at 17/-each, an additional 3/-per +cwt. being allowed for carriage to London. The history of the trade +since then would form a volume of itself, but a few facts of special +note and interest will be given in its place among "_Trades_." + +~Gutta Percha~ was not known in Europe prior to 1844, and the first +specimens were brought here in the following year. Speaking tubes made +of gutta percha were introduced early in 1849. + +~Gymnasium.~--At a meeting held Dec. 18, 1865, under the presidency of +the Mayor, it was resolved to establish a public gymnasium on a large +scale, but an present it is non-existent, the only gymnasium open being +that of the Athletic Club at Bingley Hall. + +~Hackney Coaches~ were introduced here in 1775. Hutton says the drivers +of the first few earned 30s. per day; those of the present day say they +do not get half the sum now. Hansom Cabs, the invention, in 1836, of the +architect and designer of our Town Hall, were first put on the stands in +1842. + +~Half-Holiday.~--Ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week, used to be +the stint for workpeople here and elsewhere. A Saturday Half-holiday +movement was begun in 1851, the first employers to adopt the system +being Mr. John Frearson, of Gas Street (late of the Waverley Hotel, +Crescent), and Mr. Richard Tangye. Wingfields, Brown, Marshall & Co., +and many other large firms began with the year 1853, when it maybe said +the plan became general. + +~Handsworth.~--Till within the last thirty or forty years, Handsworth +was little more than a pleasant country village, though now a +well-populated suburb of Birmingham. The name is to be found in the +"Domesday Book," but the ancient history of the parish is meagre indeed, +and confined almost solely to the families of the lords of the manor, +the Wyrleys, Stanfords, &c., their marriages and intermarriages, their +fancies and feuds, and all those petty trifles chroniclers of old were +so fond of recording. After the erection of the once world-known, but +now vanished Soho Works, by Matthew Boulton, a gradual change came o'er +the scene; cultivated enclosures taking the place of the commons, +enclosed in 1793; Boulton's park laid out, good roads made, +water-courses cleared, and houses and mansions springing up on all +sides, and so continuing on until now, when the parish (which includes +Birchfield and Perry Barr, an area of 7,680 acres in all) is nearly half +covered with streets and houses, churches and chapels, alms-houses and +stations, shops, offices, schools, and all the other necessary adjuncts +to a populous and thriving community. The Local Board Offices and Free +Library, situate in Soho Road, were built in 1878 (first stone laid +October 30th, 1877), at a cost of L20,662, and it is a handsome pile of +buildings. The library contains about 7,000 volumes. There is talk of +erecting public swimming and other baths, and a faint whisper that +recreation grounds are not far from view. The 1st Volunteer Battalion of +the South Staffordshire Regiment have their head-quarters here. Old +Handsworth Church, which contained several carved effigies and tombs of +the old lords, monuments of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, with bust of +William Murdoch, &c., has been rebuilt and enlarged, the first stone of +the new building being laid in Aug, 1876. Five of the bells in the tower +were cast in 1701, by Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, and were the first +peal sent out of his foundry; the tenor is much older. The very +appropriate inscription on the fourth bell is, "God preserve the Church +of England as by law established." + +~Harborne~ is another of our near neighbours which a thousand years or +so ago had a name if nothing else, but that name has come down to +present time with less change than is usual, and, possibly through the +Calthorpe estate blocking the way, the parish itself has changed but +very slowly, considering its close proximity to busy, bustling +Birmingham. This apparent stagnation, however, has endeared it to us +Brums not a little, on account of the many pleasant glades and sunny +spots in and around it. Harborne gardeners have long been famous for +growing gooseberries, the annual dinner of the Gooseberry Growers' +Society having been held at the Green Man ever since 1815. But Harborne +has plucked up heart latterly, and will not much longer be "out of the +running." With its little area of 1,412 acres, and only a population of +6,600, it has built itself an Institute (a miniature model of the +Midland), with class rooms and reading rooms, with library and with +lecture halls, to seat a thousand, at a cost of L6,500, and got Henry +Irving to lay the foundation-stone, in 1879. A Masonic Hall followed in +1880, and a Fire Brigade Station soon after. It has also a local railway +as well as a newspaper. In the parish church, which was nearly all +rebuilt in 1867, there are several monuments of olden date, one being in +remembrance of a member of the Hinckley family, from whose name that of +our Inkleys is deducible; there is also a stained window to the memory +of David Cox. The practice of giving a Christmas treat, comprising a +good dinner, some small presents, and an enjoyable entertainment to the +aged poor, was begun in 1865, and is still kept up. + +~Hard Times.~--Food was so dear and trade so bad in 1757 that Lord +Dartmouth for a long time relieved 500 a week out of his own pocket. In +1782 bread was sold to the poor at one-third under its market value. On +the 1st of July, 1795, the lessee of the Theatre Royal, Mr. McCready, +gave the proceeds of the night's performance (L161 8s.) for the benefit +of the poor. The money was expended in wheat, which was sold free of +carriage. Meat was also very scarce on the tables of the poor, and a +public subscription was opened by the High Bailiff to enable meat to be +sold at 1d. per lb. under the market price, which then ruled at 3d. to +6d. per lb. In November, 1799, wheat was 15s. per bushel. In May, 1800, +the distressed poor were supplied with wheat at the "reduced price" of +15s. per bushel, and potatoes at 8s. per peck. Soup kitchens for the +poor were opened November 30, 1816, when 3,000 quarts were sold the +first day. The poor-rates, levied in 1817, amounted to L61,928, and it +was computed that out of a population of 84,000 at least 27,000 were in +receipt of parish relief. In 1819 L5,500 was collected to relieve the +distressed poor. The button makers were numbered at 17,000 in 1813, +two-thirds of them being out of work. 1825 and 1836 were terrible years +of poverty and privation in this town and neighbourhood. In 1838, +380,000 doles were made to poor people from a fund raised by public +subscription. In the summer of 1840, local trade was so bad that we have +been told as many as 10,000 persons applied at one office alone for free +passages to Australia, and all unsuccessfully. Empty houses could be +counted by the hundred. There was great distress in the winter of +1853-4, considerable amounts being subscribed for charitable relief. In +the first three months of 1855, there were distributed among the poor +11,745 loaves of bread, 175,500 pints of soup, and L725 in cash. The sum +of L10,328 was subscribed for and expended in the relief of the +unemployed in the winter of 1878-79--the number of families receiving +the same being calculated at 195,165, with a total of 494,731 persons. + +~Harmonies.~--See "_Musical Societies_." + +~Hats and Hatters.~--In 1820 there was but one hatter in the town, Harry +Evans, and his price for best "beavers" was a guinea and a half, +"silks," which first appeared in 1812, not being popular and "felts" +unknown. Strangers have noted one peculiarity of the native Brums, and +that is their innate dislike to "top hats," few of which are worn here +(in comparison to population) except on Sunday, when respectable +mechanics churchward-bound mount the chimney pot. In the revolutionary +days of 1848, &c., when local political feeling ran high in favour of +Pole and Hungarian, soft broad-brimmed felt hats, with flowing black +feathers were _en regle_, and most of the advanced leaders of the day +thus adorned themselves. Now, the ladies monopolise the feathers and the +glories thereof. According to the scale measure used by hatters, the +average size of hats worn is that called 6-7/8, representing one-half of +the length and breadth of a man's head, but it has been noted by +"S.D.R." that several local worthies have had much larger craniums, +George Dawson requiring a 7-1/2 sized hat, Mr. Charles Geach a 7-3/4, +and Sir Josiah Mason a little over an 8. An old Soho man once told the +writer that Matthew Boulton's head-gear had to be specially made for +him, and, to judge from a bust of M.B., now in his possession, the hat +required must have been extra size indeed. + +~Hearth Duty.~--In 1663, an Act was passed for the better ordering and +collecting the revenue derived from "Hearth Money," and we gather a few +figures from a return then made, as showing the comparative number of +the larger mansions whose owners were liable to the tax. The return for +Birmingham gives a total of 414 hearths and stoves, the account +including as well those which are liable to pay as of those which are +not liable. Of this number 360 were charged with duty, the house of the +celebrated Humphrey Jennens being credited with 25. From Aston the +return was but 47, but of these 40 were counted in the Hall and 7 in the +Parsonage, Edgbaston showed 37, of which 22 were in the Hall. Erdington +was booked for 27, and Sutton Coldfield for 67, of which 23 were in two +houses belonging to the Willoughby family. Coleshill would appear to +have been a rather warmer place of abode, as there are 125 hearths +charged for duty, 30 being in the house of Dame Mary Digby. + +~Heathfield.~--Prior to 1790 the whole of this neighbourhood was open +common-land, the celebrated engineer and inventor, James Watt, after the +passing of the Enclosure Act being the first to erect a residence +thereon, in 1791. By 1794 he had acquired rather more than 40 acres, +which, he then planted and laid out as a park. Heathfield House may be +called the cradle of many scores of inventions, which, though novel when +first introduced, are now but as household words in our everyday life. +Watt's workshop was in the garret of the south-east corner of the +building, and may be said to be even now in exactly the same state as +when his master-hand last touched the tools, but as the estate was +lotted out for building purposes in May, 1874, and houses and streets +have been built and formed all round it, it is most likely that the +"House" itself will soon lose all its historic interest, and the +contents of the workshop be distributed among the curiosity mongers, or +hidden away on the shelves of some museum. To a local chronicler such a +room is as sacred as that in which Shakespeare was born, and in the +words of Mr. Sam Timmins, "to open the door and look upon the strange +relics there is to stand in the very presence of the mighty dead. +Everything in the room remains just as it was left by the fast failing +hands of the octogenarian engineer. His well-worn, humble apron hangs +dusty on the wall, the last work before him is fixed unfinished in the +lathe, the elaborate machines over which his latest thoughts were spent +are still and silent, as if waiting only for their master's hand again +to waken them into life and work. Upon the shelves are crowds of books, +whose pages open no more to those clear, thoughtful eyes, and scattered +in the drawers and boxes are the notes and memoranda, and pocket-books, +and diaries never to be continued now. All these relics of the great +engineer, the skilful mechanic, the student of science, relate to his +intellectual and public life; but there is a sadder relic still. An old +hair-trunk, carefully kept close by the old man's stool, contains the +childish sketches, the early copy-books and grammars, the dictionaries, +the school-books, and some of the toys of his dearly-beloved and +brilliant son Gregory Watt." + +~Heraldry.~--In the days of the mail-clad knights, who bore on their +shields some quaint device, by which friend or foe could tell at sight +whom they slew or met in fight, doubtless the "Kings-At-Arms," the +"Heralds," and the "Pursuivants" of the College of Arms founded by +Richard III. were functionaries of great utility, but their duties +nowadays are but few, and consist almost solely of tracing pedigrees for +that portion of the community whom our American cousins designate as +"shoddy," but who, having "made their pile," would fain be thought of +aristocratic descent. In such a Radical town as Birmingham, the study of +_or_ and _gules, azure_ and _vert_, or any of the other significant +terms used in the antique science of heraldry, was not, of course, to be +expected, unless at the hands of the antiquary or the practical heraldic +engraver, both scarce birds in our smoky town, but the least to be +looked for would be that the borough authorities should carefully see +that the borough coat of arms was rightly blazoned. It has been proved +that the town's-name has, at times, been spelt in over a gross of +different ways, and if any reader will take the trouble to look at the +public buildings, banks, and other places where the blue, red, and gold +of the Birmingham Arms shines forth, he will soon be able to count three +to four dozen different styles; every carver, painter, and printer +apparently pleasing himself how he does it. It has been said that when +the question of adopting a coat of arms was on the _tapis_, the grave +and reverend seniors appointed to make inquiries thereanent, calmly took +copies of the shields of the De Berminghams and the De Edgbastous, and +fitted the "bend lozengy" and the "parti per pale" together, under the +impression that the one noble family's cognisance was a gridiron, and +the other a currycomb, both of which articles they considered to be +exceedingly appropriate for such a manufacturing town as Birmingham. +Wiser in their practicability than the gentlemen who designed the +present shield, they left the currycomb quarters in their proper _sable_ +and _argent_ (black and white), and the gridiron _or_ and _gules_ (a +golden grid on a red-hot fire.) For proper emblazonment, as by +Birmingham law established, see the cover. + +~Heathmill Lane.~--In 1532 there was a "water mill to grynde corne," +called "Heth mill," which in that year was let, with certain lands, +called the "Couyngry," by the Lord of the Manor, on a ninety-nine years' +lease, at a rent of L6 13s. 4d. per year. + +~Here we are again~!--The London _Chronicle_ of August 14, 1788, quoting +from a "gentleman" who had visited this town, says that "the people are +all diminutive in size, sickly in appearance, and spend their Sundays in +low debauchery," the manufacturers being noted for "a great deal of +trick and low cunning as well as profligacy!" + +~Highland Gathering.~--The Birmingham Celtic Society held their first +"gathering" at Lower Grounds, August 2, 1879, when the ancient sports of +putting stones, throwing hammers, etc., was combined with a little +modern bicycling, and steeple-chasing, to the music of the bagpipes. + +~Hill (Sir Rowland).~--See "_Noteworthy Men_." + +~Hills.~--Like unto Rome this town may be said to be built on seven +hills, for are there not Camp Hill and Constitution Hill, Summer Hill +and Snow Hill, Ludgate Hill, Hockley Hill, and Holloway Hill (or head). +Turner's Hill, near Lye Cross, Rawley Regis is over 100ft. higher than +Sedgley Beacon, which is 486ft. above sea level. The Lickey Hills are +about 800ft. above same level, but the highest hill within 50 miles of +Birmingham is the Worcestershire Beacon, 1395ft. above sea level. The +highest mountain in England, Scawfell Pike, has an elevation of 3229ft. + +~Hailstorms.~--In 1760 a fierce hailstorm stripped the leaves and fruit +from nearly every tree in the apple orchards in Worcestershire, the hail +lying on the ground six to eight inches deep, many of the stones and +lumps of ice being three and four inches round. In 1798, many windows at +Aston Hall were broken by the hail. A very heavy hailstorm did damage at +the Botanical gardens and other places, May 9, 1833. There have been a +few storms of later years, but none like unto these. + +~Hector.~--The formation of Corporation Street, and the many handsome +buildings erected and planned in its line, have improved off the face of +the earth, more than one classic spot, noted in our local history, +foremost among which we must place the house of Mr. Hector, the old +friend and schoolfellow of Dr. Samuel Johnson. The great lexicographer +spent many happy hours in the abode of his friend, and as at one time +there was a slight doubt on the matter, it is as well to place on record +here that the house in which Hector, the surgeon, resided, was No. 1, in +the Old Square, at the corner of the Minories, afterwards occupied by +Mr. William Scholefield, Messrs. Jevons and Mellor's handsome pile now +covering the spot. The old rate books prove this beyond a doubt. Hector +died there on the 2nd of September, 1794, after having practised as a +surgeon, in Birmingham, for the long period of sixty-two years. He was +buried in a vault at Saint Philip's Church, Birmingham, where, in the +middle aisle, in the front of the north gallery, an elegant inscription +to his memory was placed. Hector never married, and Mrs. Careless, a +clergyman's widow, Hector's own sister, and Johnson's "first love," +resided with him, and appears by the burial register of St. Philip's to +have died in October, 1788, and to have been buried there, probably in +the vault in which her brother was afterwards interred. In the month of +November, 1784, just a month before his own decease, Johnson passed a +few days with his friend, Hector, at his residence in the Old Square, +who, in a letter to Boswell, thus speaks of the visit:--"He" (Johnson) +"was very solicitous with me, to recollect some of our most early +transactions, and to transmit them to him, for I perceived nothing gave +him greater pleasure than calling to mind those days of our innocence. I +complied with his request, and he only received them a few days before +his death." Johnson arrived in London from Birmingham on the 16th of +November, and on the following day wrote a most affectionate letter to +Mr. Hector, which concludes as follows:-- + + "Let us think seriously on our duty. I send my kindest respects to + dear Mrs. Careless. Let me have the prayers of both. We have all lived + long, and must soon part. God have mercy upon us, for the sake of our + Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!" + +This was probably nearly the last letter Johnson wrote, for on the 13th +of the following month, just twenty-seven days after his arrival in +London from Birmingham, oppressed with disease, he was numbered with the +dead. + +~Hinkleys.~--Otherwise, and for very many years, known as "The Inkleys," +the generally-accepted derivation of the name being taken from the fact +that one Hinks at one time was a tenant or occupier, under the Smalbroke +family, of the fields or "leys" in that locality, the two first narrow +roads across the said farm being respectively named the Upper and the +Nether Inkleys, afterwards changed to the Old and New Inkleys. Possibly, +however, the source may be found in the family name of Hinckley, as seen +in the register of Harborne. A third writer suggests that the character +of its denizens being about as black as could be painted, the place was +naturally called Ink Leys. Be that as it may, from the earliest days of +their existence, these places seem to have been the abode and habitation +of the queerest of the queer people, the most aristocratic resident in +our local records having been "Beau Green," the dandy--[see +"_Eccentrics_"]--who, for some years, occupied the chief building in the +Inkleys, nicknamed "Rag Castle," otherwise Hinkley Hall. The beautiful +and salubrious neighbourhood, known as "Green's Village," an offshoot of +the Inkleys, was called so in honour of the "Beau." + +~Hiring a Husband.~--In 1815, a Birmingham carpenter, after ill-treating +his wife, leased himself to another woman by a document which an +unscrupulous attorney had the hardihood to draw up, and for which he +charged thirty-five shillings. This precious document bound the man and +the woman to live together permanently, and to support and succour each +other to the utmost of their power. The poor wife was, of course, no +consenting party to this. She appealed to the law; the appeal brought +the "lease" before the eyes of the judiciary; the man was brought to his +senses (though probably remaining a bad husband), and the attorney +received a severe rebuke. + +~Historical.~--A local Historical Society was inaugurated with an +address from Dr. Freeman, Nov. 18, 1880, and, doubtless, in a few years +the reports and proceedings will be of very great value and interest. +The fact that down to 1752 the historical year in England commenced on +January 1, while the civil, ecclesiastical, and legal year began on the +25th of March, led to much confusion in dates, as the legislature, the +church, and civilians referred every event which took place between +January 1 and March 25 to a different year from the historians. +Remarkable examples of such confusion are afforded by two well-known +events in English history: Charles I. is said by most authorities to +have been beheaded January 30, 1648, while others, with equal +correctness, say it was January 30, 1649; and so the revolution which +drove James II. from the throne is said by some to have taken place in +February, 1688, and by others in February, 1689. Now, these +discrepancies arise from some using the civil and legal, and others the +historical year, though both would have assigned any event occurring +_after_ the 25th of March to the same years--viz., 1649 and 1689. To +avoid as far as possible mistakes from these two modes of reckoning, it +was usual, as often seen in old books or manuscripts, to add the +historical to the legal date, when speaking of any day between January 1 +and March 25, thus: + + + 8(_i.e._ 1648, the civil and legal year. + Jan.30. 164- ( + 9(_i.e._ 1649 the historical year. + + +or thus, January 30, 1648-9. + +This practice, common as it was for many years, is, nevertheless, often +misunderstood, and even intelligent persons are sometimes perplexed by +dates so written. The explanation, however, is very simple, for the +lower or last figure always indicates the year according to our present +calculation. + +~Hockley Abbey.~--Near to, and overlooking Boulton's Pool, in the year +1799 there was a piece of waste land, which being let to Mr. Richard +Ford, one of the mechanical worthies of that period, was so dealt with +as to make the spot an attraction for every visitor. Mr. Ford employed a +number of hands, and some of them he observed were in the habit of +spending a great part of their wages and time in dissipation. By way of +example to his workmen he laid aside some 12/-to 15/-a week for a +considerable period, and when trade was occasionally slack with him, and +he had no other occupation for them, he sent his horse and cart to Aston +Furnaces for loads of "slag," gathering in this way by degrees a +sufficient quantity of this strange building material for the erection +of a convenient and comfortable residence. The walls being necessarily +constructed thicker than is usual when mere stone or brick is used, the +fancy took him to make the place represent a ruined building, which he +christened "Hockley Abbey," and to carry out his deceptive notion the +date 1473 was placed in front of the house, small pebbles set in cement +being used to form the figures. In a very few years by careful training +nearly the whole of the building was overgrown with ivy, and few but +those in the secret could have guessed at the history of this ruined +"abbey." For the house and some fifteen acres of land L100 rent was paid +by Mr. Hubert Gallon, in 1816 and following years, exclusive of taxes, +and by way of comfort to the heavily-burdened householders of to-day, we +may just add that, in addition to all those other duties loyal citizens +were then called upon to provide for the exigencies of the Government, +the parochial taxes on those premises from Michaelmas, 1816, to +Michaelmas, 1817, included two church rates at 30s. each, three highway +rates at 30s. each, and _thirty-six_ levies for the poor at 30s. each--a +total of L61 10s. in the twelve months. + +~Hollow Tooth Yard.~--At one time commonly called the "Devil's Hollow +Tooth Yard." This was the name given to the Court up the gateway in Bull +Street, nearest to Monmouth Street. + +~Holt Street,~ Heneage Street, Lister Street, &c., are named after the +Holte family. + +~Home Hitting.~--The Rev. John Home, a Scotch divine, who visited +Birmingham in 1802, said, "it seemed here as if God had created man only +for making buttons." + +~Horse Fair.~--Formerly known as Brick-kiln Lane, received its present +name from the fairs first held there in 1777. + +~Horses.~--To find out the number of these useful animals at present in +Birmingham, is an impossible task; but, in 1873, the last year before +its repeal, the amount paid for "horse duty" in the Borough was L3,294 +7s. 6d., being at the rate of 10s. 6d. on 6,275 animals. + +~Hospital Saturday.~--The fact of the contributions on Hospital Sundays +coming almost solely from the middle and more wealthy classes, led to +the suggestion that if the workers of the town could be organised they +would not be found wanting any more than their "betters." The idea was +quickly taken up, committees formed, and cheered by the munificent offer +of L500 from Mr. P.H. Muntz towards the expenses, the first collection +was made on March 15th 1873, the result being a gross receipt of L4,705 +11s. 3d. Of this amount L490 8s. 10d. was collected from their customers +by the licensed victuallers and beerhouse keepers; the gross totals of +each year to the present time being-- + + +1873 . . L4,705 11 3 +1874 . . 4,123 15 2 +1875 . . 3,803 11 8 +1876 . . 3,664 13 8 +1877 . . 3,200 17 0 +1878 . . 3,134 5 0 +1879 . . 3,421 10 2 +1880 . . 3,760 9 0 +1881 . . 3,968 18 7 +1882 . . 4,888 18 9 +1883 . . 5,489 9 0 +1884 . . 6,062 16 6 + + +After deducting for expenses, the yearly amounts are divided, _pro +rata_, according to their expenditures among the several hospitals and +similar charities, the proportions in 1883 being:--General Hospital. +L1,843 4s. 1d.; Queen's Hospital, L931 8s. 3d.; General Dispensary, L561 +1s. 7d.; Children's Hospital, L498 0s. 4d.; Eye Hospital, L345 0s. 4d.; +Birmingham and Midland Counties' Sanatorium, L211 0s. 4d., Women's +Hospital, L193 1s. 9d.; Homoepathic Hospital, L195 5s. 3d.; Orthopaedic +Hospital, L138 13s. 6d.; Lying-in Charity, L67 6s. 5d.; Skin and Lock +Hospital, L44 14s. 8d.; Ear and Throat Infirmary, L26 12s. 8d.; Dental +Hospital, L9 5s. 3d.; and Birmingham Nursing District Society, L34 17s. +7d. The total sum thus distributed in the twelve years is L48,574 18s. +9d. + +~Hospital Sunday.~--There is nothing new under the sun! Birmingham has +the honour of being credited as the birth-place of "Hospital Sundays," +but old newspapers tell us that as far back as 1751, when Bath was in +its pride and glory, one Sunday in each year was set aside in that city +for the collection, at every place of worship, of funds for Bath +Hospital; and a correspondent writing to _Aris's Gazette_ recommended +the adoption of a similar plan in this town. The first suggestion for +the present local yearly Sunday collection for the hospitals appeared in +an article, written by Mr. Thos. Barber Wright, in the _Midland Counties +Herald_ in October, 1859. A collection of this kind took place on +Sunday, the 27th, of that month, and the first public meeting, when +arrangements were made for its annual continuance, was held in the Town +Hall, December 14th same year, under the presidency of Dr. Miller, who, +therefrom, has been generally accredited with being the originator of +the plan. The proceeds of the first year's collection were given to the +General Hospital, the second year to the Queen's, and the third year +divided among the other charitable institutions in the town of a like +character, and this order of rotation has been adhered to since. + +The following is a list of the gross amounts collected since the +establishment of the movement:-- + + +1859 General Hospital..........L5,200 8 10 +1860 Queen's Hospital.......... 3,433 6 1 +1861 Amalgamated Charities..... 2,953 14 0 +1862 General Hospital.......... 8,340 4 7 +1863 Queen's Hospital.......... 3,293 5 0 +1864 Amalgamated Charities..... 3,178 5 0 +1865 General Hospital.......... 4,256 11 11 +1866 Queen's Hospital.......... 4,133 2 10 +1867 Amalgamated Charities..... 3,654 9 7 +1868 General Hospital.......... 4,253 9 11 +1869 Queen's Hospital.......... 4,469 1 8 +1870 Amalgamated Charities..... 4,111 6 7 +1871 General Hospital.......... 4,886 9 2 +1872 Queen's Hospital.......... 5,192 2 3 +1873 Amalgamated Charities..... 5,370 8 3 +1874 General Hospital.......... 5,474 17 11 +1875 Queen's Hospital.......... 5,800 8 8 +1876 Amalgamated Charities..... 5,265 10 10 +1877 General Hospital.......... 5,280 15 3 +1878 Queen's Hospital.......... 6,482 12 10 +1879 Amalgamated Charities..... 5,182 3 10 +1880 General Hospital.......... 4,886 1 8 +1881 Queen's Hospital.......... 4,585 1 3 +1882 Amalgamated Charities..... 4,800 12 6 +1883 General Hospital.......... 5,145 0 5 +1884 Queen's Hospital.......... + + +~Hospitals.~--_The General Hospital_ may be said to have been commenced +in the year 1766, when the first steps were taken towards the erection +of such an institution, but it was not formally opened for the reception +of patients until 1779. The original outlay on the building was L7,140, +but it has received many additions since then, having been enlarged in +1792, 1830, 1842, 1857 (in which year a new wing was erected, nominally +out of the proceeds of a fete at Aston, which brought in L2,527 6s. +2d.), 1865, and during the last few years especially. The last additions +to the edifice consist of a separate "home" for the staff of nurses, +utilising their former rooms for the admittance of more patients; also +two large wards, for cases of personal injury from fire, as well as a +mortuary, with dissecting and jury rooms, &c., the total cost of these +improvements being nearly L20,000. For a long period, this institution +has ranked as one of the first and noblest charities in the provinces, +its doors being opened for the reception of cases from all parts of the +surrounding counties, as well as our own more immediate district. The +long list of names of surgeons and physicians, who have bestowed the +benefits of their learning and skill upon the unfortunate sufferers, +brought within its walls, includes many of the highest eminence in the +profession, locally and otherwise, foremost among whom must be placed +that of Dr. Ash, the first physician to the institution, and to whom +much of the honour of its establishment belongs. The connection of the +General Hospital with the Triennial Musical Festivals, which, for a +hundred years, have been held for its benefit, has, doubtless, gone far +towards the support of the Charity, very nearly L112,000 having been +received from that source altogether, and the periodical collections on +Hospital Sundays and Saturdays, have still further aided thereto, but it +is to the contributions of the public at large that the governors of the +institution are principally indebted for their ways and means. For the +first twenty-five years, the number of in-patients were largely in +excess of the out-door patients, there being, during that period, 16,588 +of the former under treatment, to 13,009 of the latter. Down to 1861, +rather more than half-a-million cases of accident, illness, &c., had +been attended to, and to show the yearly increasing demand made upon the +funds of the Hospital, it is only necessary to give a few later dates. +In 1860 the in-patients numbered 2,850, the out-patients 20,584, and the +expenditure was L4,191. In 1876, the total number of patients were +24,082, and the expenditure L12,207. The next three years showed an +average of 28,007 patients, and a yearly expenditure of L13,900. During +the last four years, the benefits of the Charity have been bestowed upon +an even more rapidly-increasing scale, the number of cases in 1880 +having been 30,785, in 1881 36,803, in 1882 44,623, and in 1883 41,551, +the annual outlay now required being considerably over L20,000 per year. +When the centenary of the Hospital was celebrated in 1879, a suggestion +was made that an event so interesting in the history of the charity +would be most fittingly commemorated by the establishment or a Suburban +Hospital, where patients whose diseases are of a chronic character could +be treated with advantage to themselves, and with relief to the parent +institution, which is always so pressed for room that many patients have +to be sent out earlier than the medical officers like. The proposal was +warmly taken up, but no feasible way of carrying it out occurred until +October, 1883, when the committee of the Hospital had the pleasure of +receiving a letter (dated Sept. 20), from Mr. John Jaffray, in which he +stated that, having long felt the importance of having a Suburban +Hospital, and with a desire to do some amount of good for the community +in which, for many years, he had received so much kindness, and to +which, in great measure, he owed his prosperity, he had secured a +freehold site on which he proposed to erect a building, capable of +accommodating fifty male and female patients, with the requisite offices +for the attendants and servants, and offered the same as a free gift to +the Governors, in trust for the public. This most welcome and munificent +offer, it need hardly be said, was gratefully accepted, and a general +appeal was made for funds to properly endow the "Jaffray Suburban +Hospital," so that its maintenance and administration shall not detract +from the extending usefulness of the parent institution. The site chosen +by Mr. Jaffray is at Gravelly Hill, and it is estimated the new branch +hospital, of which the first stone was laid June 4, 1884, will cost at +least L15,000 in erection. Towards the endowment fund there have been +nine or ten donations of L1,000 each promised, and it is hoped a fully +sufficient amount will be raised before the building is completed, for, +in the words of Mr. Jaffray, we "have great faith in the liberality of +the public towards an institution--the oldest and noblest and ablest of +our medical charities--which for more than a century has done so much +for the relief of human suffering: and cannot help believing that there +are in Birmingham many persons who, having benefited by the prosperity +of the town, feel that they owe a duty to the community, and will gladly +embrace this opportunity of discharging at least some part of their +obligation." Patients are said to be admitted to the General Hospital by +tickets from subscribers; but, in addition to accidents and cases of +sudden illness, to which the doors are open at all hours, a large number +of patients are admitted free on the recommendation of the medical +officers, the proportion of the cases thus admitted being as six to ten +with subscribers' tickets. + +It is estimated that a capital sum of at least L60,000 will be required +to produce a sufficiently large income to maintain the Jaffray Suburban +Hospital, and donations have been, and are solicited for the raising of +that sum. Up to the time of going to press with the "Dictionary," there +has been contributed nearly L24,000 of the amount, of which the largest +donations are:-- + + +G.F. Muntz, Esq...............L2,000 0 0 +The Right Hon. Lord Calthorpe 1,000 0 0 +Trustees of Dudley Trust...... 1,000 0 0 +W.B. Cregoe Colmore, Esq...... 1,000 0 0 +Ralph Heaton, Esq............. 1,000 0 0 +James Hinks, Esq.............. 1,000 0 0 +Lloyds' Old Bank.............. 1,000 0 0 +W. Middlemore, Esq............ 1,000 0 0 +Mrs. Elizabeth Phipson........ 1,000 0 0 +Miss Ryland................... 1,000 0 0 +Mrs. Simcox .................. 1,000 0 0 +Messrs. Tangyes (Limited)..... 1,000 0 0 +Henry Wiggin, Esq., M.P....... 1,000 0 0 +Mr. John Wilkes............... 1,000 0 0 + + +About L5,000 more has been sent in hundreds and fifties, and doubtless +many other large gifts will follow. + +_The Queens Hospital_ was commenced in 1840, the first stone being laid +by Earl Howe on the 18th of June. His Royal Highness the Prince Consort +was chosen as first president, and remained so until his death, the +office not being filled up again until 1875, when Lord Leigh was +appointed. Many special efforts have been made to increase the funds of +this hospital, and with great success; thus, on Dec. 28, 1848, Jenny +Lind sang for it, the receipts amounting to L1,070. On July 27, 1857, a +fete at Aston Park added L2,527 6s. 2d. (a like sum being given to the +General Hospital). In 1859, Mr. Sands Cox (to whom is due the merit of +originating the Queen's Hospital), commenced the arduous task of +collecting a million postage stamps, equivalent to L4,166 13s. 4d., to +clear the then liabilities, to erect a chapel, and for purposes of +extension. Her Majesty the Queen forwarded (Feb. 15, 1859) a cheque for +L100 toward this fund. On January 16, 1869, the workmen of the town +decided to erect a new wing to the Hospital, and subscribed so freely +that Lord Leigh laid the foundation stone Dec. 4, 1871, and the +"Workmen's Extension" was opened for patients Nov. 7, 1873. In 1880 a +bazaar at the Town Hall brought in L3,687 17s., increased by donations +and new subscriptions to L5,969. The system of admission by subscribers' +tickets was done away with Nov. 1, 1875, a registration fee of 1s. being +adopted instead. This fee, however, is not required in urgent cases or +accident, nor when the patient is believed to be too poor to pay it. The +ordinary income for the year 1882 was L5,580, as compared with L4,834 in +the previous year, when the ordinary income was supplemented by the +further sum of L4,356 from the Hospital Sunday collection, which falls +to the Queen's Hospital once in three years. The chief items of ordinary +income were, subscriptions 1881, L2,780; 1882, L2,788; donations, 1881, +L397; 1882, L237; Hospital Saturday, 1881, L711; 1882, L852; legacies, +1881, L208; 1882, L870; dividends, 1881, L178; 1882, L199; registration +fees, 1881, L538; 1882, L597. The expenditure for the year was L7,264, +as compared with L6,997 in 1881. The number of in-patients in 1882 was +1,669, as compared with 1,663 in 1881; the number of out-patients was +16,538, as compared with 14,490 in the preceding year. The cost of each +in-patient was L3 2s. 3-1/4d. Of the in-patients, 811 were admitted by +registration, the remainder being treated as accidents or urgent cases. +Of the out-patients, 8,359 were admitted by registration, the remainder, +namely, 8,179, were admitted free. + +_The Children's Hospital_, founded in 1861, was first opened for the +reception of patients Jan. 1, 1862, in the old mansion in Steelhouse +Lane, fronting the Upper Priory. At the commencement of 1870 the +Hospital was removed to Broad Street, to the building formerly known as +the Lying-in Hospital, an out-patient department, specially erected at a +cost of about L3,250, being opened at the same time (January) in +Steelhouse Lane, nearly opposite the mansion first used. The Broad +Street institution has accommodation for about fifty children in +addition to a separate building containing thirty beds for the reception +of fever cases, the erection of which cost L7,800; and there is a +Convalescent Home at Alvechurch in connection with this Hospital to +which children are sent direct from the wards of the Hospital +(frequently after surgical operations) thus obtaining for them a more +perfect convalescence than is possible when they are returned to their +own homes, where in too many instances those important aids to recovery +--pure air, cleanliness, and good food are sadly wanting. In addition to +the share of the Saturday and Sunday yearly collections, a special +effort was made in 1880 to assist the Children's Hospital by a +simultaneous collection in the Sunday Schools of the town and +neighbourhood, and, like the others, this has become a periodical +institution. In 1880, the sum thus gathered from the juveniles for the +benefit of their little suffering brethren, amounted to L307 9s. 11d.; +in 1881, it was L193 10s. 5d.; in 1882, L218 5s. 2d.; in 1883, L234 3s. +1d. The number of patients during 1883 were: 743 in-patients 12,695 +out-patients, 75 home patients, and 475 casualties--total 13,998. The +expenditure of the year had been L4,399 0s. 3d., and the income but +L4,087 14s. 2d. + +_Dental_.--This Hospital, 9, Broad Street, was instituted for gratuitous +assistance to the poor in all cases of diseases of the teeth, including +extracting, stopping, scaling, as well as the regulation of children's +teeth. Any poor sufferer can have immediate attention without a +recommendatory note, but applicants requiring special operations must be +provided with a note of introduction from a governor. About 6,000 +persons yearly take their achers to the establishment. + +_Ear and Throat Infirmary_, founded in 1844, and formerly in Cherry +Street, has been removed to Newhall Street, where persons suffering from +diseases of the ear (deafness, &c.) and throat, are attended to daily at +noon. During the year ending June, 1883, 6,517 patients had been under +treatment, and 1,833 new cases had been admitted. Of the total, 1,389 +had been cured, 348 relieved and 116 remained under treatment. The +increase of admissions over those of the previous year was 181, and the +average daily attendance of patients was 25. The number of patients +coming from places outside Birmingham was 577. The income of this +institution is hardly up to the mark, considering its great usefulness, +the amount received from yearly subscribers being only L129 13s. 6d., +representing 711 tickets, there being received for 875 supplementary +tickets, L153 2s. 6d., and L15 11s. from the Hospital Saturday +collections. + +_The Eye Hospital_ was originated in 1823, and the first patients were +received in April, 1824, at the hospital in Cannon Street. Some thirty +years afterwards the institution was removed to Steelhouse Lane, and in +1862 to Temple Row, Dee's Royal Hotel being taken and remodelled for the +purpose at a cost of about L8,300. In 1881 the number of patients +treated was 12,523; in 1882, 13,448 of whom 768 were in-patients, making +a total of over a quarter of a million since the commencement of the +charity. Admission by subscriber's ticket. Originally an hotel, the +building is dilapidated and very unsuitable to the requirements of the +hospital, the space for attendants and patients being most inadequate. +This has been more and more evident for years past, and the erection of +a new building became an absolute necessity. The governors, therefore, +have taken a plot of land at the corner of Edmund Street and Church +Street, upon a lease from the Colmore family for 99 years, and hereon is +being built a commodious and handsome new hospital, from carefully +arranged plans suitable to the peculiar necessities of an institution of +this nature. The estimated cost of the new building is put at L20,000, +of which only about L8,000 has yet been subscribed (L5,000 of it being +from a single donor). In such a town as Birmingham, and indeed in such a +district as surrounds us, an institution like the Birmingham and Midland +Eye Hospital is not only useful, but positively indispensable, and as +there are no restrictions as to distance or place of abode in the matter +of patients, the appeal made for the necessary building funds should +meet with a quick and generous response, not only from a few +large-hearted contributors, whose names are household words, but also +from the many thousands who have knowledge directly or indirectly of the +vast benefit this hospital has conferred upon those stricken by disease +or accident--to that which is the most precious of all our senses. It is +intended that the hospital should be a model to the whole kingdom of +what such an institution ought to be; the latest and best of modern +appliances, both sanitary and surgical, will be introduced. There will +be in and out departments, completely isolated one from the other, +though with a door of communication. From sixty to seventy beds will be +provided, special wards for a certain class of cases, adequate +waiting-rooms for out-patients, and the necessary rooms for the officers +and medical attendants, all being on an ample scale. + +_Fever Hospital_.--There was a Fever Hospital opened in March, 1828, but +we have no note when it was closed, and possibly it may have been only a +temporary institution, such as become necessary now and then even in +these days of sanitary science. For some years past fever patients +requiring isolation have been treated in the Borough Hospital, but the +Health Committee have lately purchased a plot of land in Lodge Road of +about 4-1/2 acres, at a cost of L4,500, and have erected there on a +wooden pavilion, divided into male and female wards, with all necessary +bath rooms, nurses' rooms, &c., everything being done which can +contribute to the comfort and care of the inmates, while the greatest +attention has been paid to the ventilation and other necessary items +tending to their recovery. This pavilion is only a portion of the scheme +which the committee propose to carry out, it being intended to build +four, if not five, other wards of brick. A temporary block of +administrative buildings has been erected at some distance from the +pavilion. There accommodation is provided for the matron, the resident +medical superintendent, the nurses when off duty, and the ordinary +kitchen, scullery, and other offices are attached. When the permanent +offices have been erected this building will be devoted to special fever +cases, or, should there be a demand, private cases will be taken in. The +cost of the whole scheme is estimated at L20,000, including the sum +given for the land. It is most devoutly to be wished that this hospital, +which is entirely free, will be generally used by families in case of a +member thereof be taken with any nature of infectious fever, the most +certain remedy against an epidemic of the kind, as well as the most +favourable chance for the patient being such an isolation as is here +provided. The hospital was opened September 11, 1883, and in cases of +scarlet fever and other disorders of an infectious character, an +immediate application should be made to the health officer at the +Council House. + +_Homoeopathic_.--A dispensary for the distribution of homoeopathic +remedies was opened in this town in 1847, and though the new system met +with the usual opposition, it has become fairly popular, and its +practitioners have found friends sufficient to induce them to erect a +very neat and convenient hospital, in Easy Row, at a cost of about +L7,000, which was opened November 23rd, 1875, and may possibly soon be +enlarged. A small payment, weekly, is looked for, if the patient can +afford it, but a fair number are admitted free, and a much larger number +visited, the average number of patients being nearly 5,000 per annum. +Information given on enquiry. + +_Hospital for Women_.--This establishment in the Upper Priory was opened +in October, 1871, for the treatment of diseases special to females. No +note or ticket of recommendation is required, applicants being attended +to daily at two o'clock, except on Saturday and Sunday. If in a position +to pay, a nominal sum of 2s. 6d. a month is expected as a contribution +to the funds, which are not so flourishing as can be wished. The +in-patients' department or home at Sparkhill has accommodation for 25 +inmates, and it is always full, while some thousands are treated at the +town establishment. The number of new cases in the out-patient +department in 1883 was 2,648, showing an annual increase of nearly 250 a +year. Of the 281 in-patients admitted last year, 205 had to undergo +surgical operations of various kinds, 124 being serious cases; +notwithstanding which the mortality showed a rate of only 5.6 per cent. +As a rule many weeks and months of care and attention are needed to +restore the general health of those who may have, while in the hospital, +successfully recovered from an operation, but there has not hitherto +been the needful funds or any organisation for following up such cases +after they have left Sparkhill. Such a work could be carried on by a +District Nursing Society if there were funds to defray the extra +expense, and at their last annual meeting the Managing Committee decided +to appeal to their friends for assistance towards forming an endowment +fund for the treatment of patients at home during their convalescence, +and also for aiding nurses during times of sickness. An anonymous +donation of L1,000 has been sent in, and two other donors have given +L500 each, but the treasurer will be glad to receive additions thereto, +and as early as possible, for sick women nor sick men can wait long. The +total income for 1883 amounted to L1,305 16s. 4d., while the expenditure +was L1,685 4s. 11d., leaving a deficit much to be regretted. + +_Lying-in Hospital_.--Founded in 1842, and for many years was located in +Broad Street, in the mansion since formed into the Children's Hospital. +In 1868 it was deemed advisable to close the establishment in favour of +the present plan of supplying midwives and nurses at the poor patients' +homes. In 1880 the number of patients attended was 1,020; in 1881, 973; +in 1882, 894; in 1883, 870. In each of the two latter years there had +been two deaths in mothers (1 in 441 cases) about the usual average of +charity. The number of children born alive during the last year was 839, +of whom 419 were males, and 420 females. Four infants died; 37 were +still-born. There were 6 cases of twins. The assistance of the honorary +surgeons was called in 24 times, or once in 37 cases. The financial +position of the charity is less satisfactory than could be wished, there +being again a deficiency. The subscriptions were L273, against L269 in +1882 and L275 in 1881. There was a slight increase in the amount of +donations, but an entire absence of legacies, which, considering the +valuable assistance rendered by the charity to so many poor women, is +greatly to be deplored. The medical board have the power to grant to any +woman who passes the examination, the subjects of which are defined, a +certificate as a skilled midwife, competent to attend natural labours. +One midwife and four monthly nurses have already received certificates, +and it is hoped that many more candidates will avail themselves of the +opportunity thus readily afforded to them, and supply a want very +generally felt among the poor of the town. Subscribers have the +privilege of bestowing the tickets, and the offices are at 71, Newhall +Street. + +_Orthopaedic and Spinal Hospital_--Was founded in June, 1817; the present +establishment in Newhall Street being entered upon in December, 1877. +All kinds of bodily deformity, hernia, club feet, spinal diseases, +malformations, and distortions of limbs, &c., are treated daily (at two +o'clock) free of charge, except where instruments or costly supports are +needed, when the patient must be provided with subscribers' tickets in +proportion to the cost thereof. In 1881 and 1882, 4,116 cases received +attention, 2,064 being new cases, and 678 from outside Birmingham. The +variety of diseases was very numerous, and instruments to the value of +L420 were supplied to the patients. + +_Skin and Lock Hospital_, Newhall Street, was founded in 1880, and +opened Jan. 10, 1881. Admission on payment of registration fee, +attendance being given at two o'clock on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and +Thursday in each week. + +_Smallpox Hospital_.--A few years back, when there was a pretty general +epidemic of smallpox, a temporary ward or addition was attached to the +Workhouse, but many persons whose intelligence led them to know the +value of isolation in such cases, could not "cotton" to the idea of +going themselves or sending their friends there. The buildings in Weston +Road, Winson Green, and now known as the Borough Hospital, have no +connection whatever with the Workhouse, and were opened for the +reception of persons suffering from smallpox and scarlet fever in Nov. +1874. The latter cases are now taken to the Hospital in Lodge Road, so +that present accommodation can be found in the Borough Hospital for +nearly 250 patients at a time should it ever be necessary to do so. +Persons knowing of any case of smallpox should at once give notice to +the officers of health at Council House. + +~Hotels.~--This French-derived name for inns, from what Hutton says on +the subject, would appear to have been only introduced in his day, and +even then was confined to the large coaching-houses of the town, many of +which have long since vanished. The first railway hotel was the Queen's, +at the entrance of the old railway station, Duddeston Row, though +originally built and used for officers for the company's secretaries, +directors' boardroom, &c. As part of the New Street Station, a far more +pretentious establishment was erected, and to this was given the title +of the "Queen's Hotel," the Duddeston Row building reverting to its +original use. The Great Western Hotel was the next to be built, and the +success attending these large undertakings have led to the erection of +the handsome Midland Hotel, opposite New Street Station, and the still +grander "Grand Hotel," in Colmore Row, opened Feb. 1, 1879. The removal +of the County Court to Corporation Street, and the possible future +erection of Assize Courts near at hand, have induced some speculators to +embark in the erection of yet another extensive establishment, to be +called the "Inns of Court Hotel," and in due course of time we shall +doubtless have others of a similar character. At any of the above, a +visitor to the town (with money in his purse) can find first-class +accommodation, and (in comparison with the London hotels of a like kind) +at reasonably fair rates. After these come a second grade, more suitable +for commercial gentlemen, or families whose stay is longer, such as the +new Stork Hotel, the Albion, in Livery Street, Bullivant's, in Carr's +Lane, the Acorn, the Temperance at the Colonnade, and the Clarendon, in +Temple Street, Dingley's, in Moor Street, Knapp's, in High Street, +Nock's, in Union Passage, the Plough and Harrow, in Hagley Road, the +Swan, in New Street, the White Horse, in Congreve Street (opposite +Walter Showell and Sons' head offices), the Woolpack, in Moor Street, +and the other Woolpack, now called St. Martin's, at the back of the +church. + +For much entertaining information respecting the old taverns of +Birmingham, the hotels of former days, we recommend the reader to +procure a copy of S.D.R.'s little book on the subject, which is full of +anecdotes respecting the frequenters of the then houses, as well as many +quaint notes of the past. + +_The Acorn_ in Temple Street.--The favourite resort of the "men of the +time" a few score years ago was at one period so little surrounded with +houses that anyone standing at its door could view a landscape +stretching for miles, while listening to the song birds in the +neighbouring gardens. It dates from about 1750, and numbers among its +successive landlords, Mr. John Roderick, the first auctioneer of that +well-known name, Mr. James Clements, and Mr. Coleman, all men of mark. +The last-named host, after making many improvements in the premises and +renewing the lease, disposed of the hotel to a Limited Liability Company +for L15,500. It is at present one of the best-frequented commercial +houses in the town. + +_The Hen and Chickens_.--In _Aris's Gazette_, of December 14, 1741, +there appeared an advertisement, that there was "to be let, in the High +Street, Birmingham, a very good-accustomed Inn, the sign of the Hen and +Chickens, with stables, &c." Inasmuch as this advertisement also said +"there is a very good Bowling Green joining to it," it has been quoted +by almost every writer of local history as an evidence of the popularity +of those places of recreation, or as showing the open aspect of the then +existing town. This establishment is believed to have been on the site +of Messrs. Manton's cabinet warehouse, the adjoining Scotland Passage +leading to the stables, and possibly to "the Bowling Green." In 1798, +the tenant, Mrs. Lloyd, removed to a new house in New Street, and took +the Hen and Chickens' title with her, the place becoming famous as a +posting-house, and afterwards, under Mr. William Waddell, as one of the +most extensive coaching establishments in the Midlands. A mere list +only, of the Serene Highnesses, the Royalties, Nobility, and celebrated +characters of all kinds, who have put up at this hotel, would fill +pages, and those anxious for such old-time gossip, must refer to +S.D.R.'s book, as before-mentioned. At the close of 1878, the premises +were acquired by the "Birmingham Aquarium Co., Limited," who proposed to +erect a handsome concert-room, aquarium, restaurant, &c. The old +building has been considerably altered, and somewhat improved in +appearance, but the aquarium and concert-room are, as yet, _non est_, an +Arcade being built instead. + +_The Midland_, New Street.--One of the modern style of hotels, having +over a hundred good bedrooms, besides the necessary complement of public +and private sitting and dining rooms, coffee, commercial, smoking and +billiard rooms, &c., erected for Mr. W.J. Clements in 1874; it was sold +early in 1876 to a Limited Company, whose capital was fixed at L40,000 +in L10 shares. + +_The Royal_, in Temple Row, was erected on the tontine principle in +1772, but was not called more than "The Hotel" for a long time +afterwards the word Royal being added in 1805, after His Royal Highness +the Duke of Gloucester slept there (May 4) on his way to Liverpool. In +1830 the Duchess of Kent, and Princess Victoria (our present Queen) +honoured it by their presence. In June, 1804, the Assembly Room (for +very many years the most popular place for meetings of a social +character) was enlarged, the proprietors purchasing a small piece of +adjoining land for the purpose at a cost of L250, being at the rate of +L26,000 per acre, a noteworthy fact as showing the then rapidly +increasing value of property in the town. The portico in front of the +hotel was put there in 1837, when the building had to be repaired, in +consequence of the kind attentions of the Birmingham Liberals at the +time of the general election then just passed. The whole of the front +and main portion of the hotel is now used for the purposes of the Eye +Hospital, the Assembly Rooms, &c., being still public.--Portugal House, +in New Street, on the present site of the Colonnade, prior to its being +taken for the Excise and Post Offices, was used for hotel purposes, and +was also called "The Royal." + +_The Stork_.--The Directory of 1800 is the first which contains the name +of the Stork Tavern, No. 3, The Square, the host then being Mr. John +Bingham, the title of Hotel not being assumed until 1808. For a few +years the one house was sufficient for the accommodation required, but +as time progressed it became necessary to enlarge it, and this was +accomplished by taking in the adjoining houses, until, at last, the +hotel occupied one-fourth of The Square, from the corner of the Minories +to the Lower Priory, in which were situated the stables, &c. It was in +one of the houses so annexed to the hotel (No. 1) that Dr. Hector, the +friend of Dr. Johnson, resided; and at the rear of another part of the +premises in the Coach Yard, there was opened (in 1833) the "The +Equitable Labour Exchange." The whole of the hotel buildings were sold +by auction, Sept. 26, 1881, and quickly razed to the ground, which was +required for Corporation Street; but the Stork, like the fabulous +Phoenix, has risen from its ashes, and in close proximity to the old +site, stands boldly forth as one of the magnificences of that-is-to-be +most-magnificent thoroughfare. + +_The Union_, in Cherry Street, was built in 1790, but much enlarged in +1825. It was one of the principal coaching houses, but will be +remembered mostly as furnishing the chief saleroom in the town for the +disposal of landed property. The site being required for Corporation +Street, the building was "knocked down" on the 21st April, 1879. + +_The Woolpack_, in Moor Street, saw many strange events, and had in its +olden days undergone some few changes for there are not many sites in +Birmingham that can compare with this in regard to its recorded history, +but at last it is being cleared to make way for a more modern structure. +It is believed there was a tavern called the Green Tree here close upon +500 years ago, and even now there is still to be traced the course of an +ancient "dyche" running through the premises which was described as the +boundary dividing certain properties in 1340, and forming part of that +belonging to the Guild of the Holy Cross. The house itself was the +residence of William Lench, whose bequests to the town are historical, +but when it was turned into a tavern is a little uncertain, as the +earliest notice of it as such is dated 1709, when John Fusor was the +occupier. It was the house of resort for many Birmingham worthies, +especially those connected with the law, even before the erection of the +Public Offices, and it is said that John Baskerville used to come here +for his tankard of ale and a gossip with his neighbours. In the time of +the Reform agitation it was frequented by the leaders of the Liberal +party, and has always been the favourite shelter of artists visiting the +town. + +_The Woolpack_, in St. Martin's Lane.--Some eighty odd years ago the +tavern standing at the corner of Jamaica Row and St. Martin's Lane was +known as the Black Boy Inn, from the figure of a young negro then placed +over the door. Being purchased in 1817 by the occupier of a neighbouring +tavern called the Woolpack, the two names were united, and for a time +the house was called the "Black Boy and Woolpack," the first part being +gradually allowed to fall into disuse. Prior to its demolition it was +_the_ noted market hostelry for cattle dealers and others, the respected +landlord, Mr. John Gough, who held the premises from 1848 till his death +in 1877, being himself a large wholesale dealer. When the Town Council +decided to enlarge and cover in the Smithfield Market, the old house and +its adjuncts were purchased by them, and a new hotel of almost palatial +character has been erected in its place, the frontage extending nearly +the entire length of St. Martin's Lane, and the Black Boy and the +Woolpack must in future be called St. Martin's Hotel. + +~Hothouses.~--Those at Frogmore, comprising a range of nearly 1,000 feet +of metallic forcing houses, were erected in 1842-3, by Mr. Thomas Clark, +of this town, his manager, Mr. John Jones, being described by the +celebrated Mr. London, as "the best hot-house builder in Britain." + +~House and Window Tax.~--See "_Taxes_." + +~Howard Street Institute.~--Founded in 1869. The first annual meeting, +for the distribution of prizes, was held in December, 1872. The many +sources for acquiring knowledge now provided at such institutions as the +Midland Institute, the Mason College, &c., have no doubt tended much to +the end, but, considering the amount of good derived by the pupils from +the many classes held in the Howard Street rooms, it is a pity the +Institute should be allowed to drop. + +~Humbug.~--The Prince of Humbugs, Phineas Barnum, at the Town Hall, +February 28, 1859, gave _his_ views of what constituted "Humbug." As if +the Brums didn't know. + +~Humiliation Days.~--February 25, 1807, was kept here as a day of +fasting and humiliation, as was also September 25, 1832. + +~Hundred.~--Birmingham is in the Hundred of Hemlingford. + +~Hungary.~--The first meeting in this town to express sympathy with the +Hungarians in their struggle with Austria, was held in the Corn +Exchange, May 23, 1849, and several speakers were in favour of sending +armed help, but no volunteers came forward. + +~Hunter's Lane~ and Nursery Terrace take their names from the fact that +Mr. Hunter's nursery grounds and gardens were here situated. The "Lane" +was the old road to Wolverhampton, but has a much older history than +that, as it is believed to have been part of the Icknield Street. + +~Hurricanes.~--The late Mr. Thos. Plant, in describing the great storm, +which visited England, on the night of Sunday, 6th January, 1839, and +lasted all next day, said it was the most tremendous hurricane that had +occurred here for fifty years. A large quantity of lead was stripped off +the roof of the Town Hall, the driving force of the gale being so +strong, that the lead was carried a distance of more than sixty yards +before it fell into a warehouse, 'at the back of an ironmonger's shop in +Ann Street.--See "_Storms and Tempests_." + +~Hurst Street,~ from Hurst Hill, once a wooded mount (the same being the +derivation of Ravenhurst Street), was originally but a passage way, +leading under an arch at the side of the White Swan in Smallbrook Street +(now Day's establishment). Up the passage was a knacker's yard, a shop +for the dyeing of felt hats, and a few cottages. + +~Icknield Street.~--Britain was formerly traversed by four great roads, +usually called Roman roads, though there are some grounds for believing +that the Ancient Britons themselves were the pioneers in making these +trackways, their conquerors only improving the roads as was their wont, +and erecting military stations along the line. These roads were +severally called "Watling Straete," which ran from the coast of Kent, +through London, to the Welsh coast in county Cardigan; the "Fosse," +leading from Cornwall to Lincoln; "Erminge Straete," running from St. +David's to Southampton; and "Hikenilde Straete," leading through the +centre of England, from St. David's to Tynemouth. Part of the latter +road, known as Icknield Street, is now our Monument Lane, and in 1865 a +portion of ancient road was uncovered near Chad Valley House, which is +believed to have been also part thereof. Proceeding in almost a direct +line to the bottom of Hockley Hill, the Icknield Street ran across +Handsworth Parish, by way of the present Hunter's Lane, but little +further trace can be found now until it touches Sutton Coldfield Park, +through which it passes for nearly a mile-and-a-half at an almost +uniform width of about 60 feet. It is left for our future local +antiquarians to institute a search along the track in the Park, but as +in scores of other spots Roman and British remains have been found, it +seems probable than an effort of the kind suggested would meet its +reward, and perhaps lead to the discovery of some valuable relics of our +long-gone predecessors. + +~Illuminations.~--When the news of Admiral Rodney's victory was received +here, May 20, 1792, it was welcomed by a general illumination, as were +almost all the great victories during the long war. The Peace of Amiens +in 1802 was also celebrated in this way, and the event has become +historical from the fact that for the first time in the world's history +the inflammable gas obtained from coal (now one of the commonest +necessities of our advanced civilisation) was used for the purpose of a +public illumination at Soho Works. (See "_Gas_.") In 1813 the town went +into shining ecstacies four or five times, and ditto in the following +year, the chief events giving rise thereto being the entry of the Allies +into Paris, and the declaration of peace, the latter being celebrated +(in addition to two nights' lighting up of the principal buildings, +&c.), by an extra grand show of thousands of lamps at Soho, with the +accompaniment of fireworks and fire-balloons, the roasting of sheep and +oxen, &c. Waterloo was the next occasion, but local chroniclers of the +news of the day gave but scant note thereof. From time to time there +have been illuminations for several more peaceable matters of rejoicing, +but the grandest display that Birmingham has ever witnessed was that to +celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Wales, March 10th, 1863, when +St. Philip's Church was illuminated on a scale so colossal as to exceed +anything of the kind that had previously been attempted in the +illumination by gas of public buildings upon their architectural lines. +Situated in the centre, and upon the most elevated ground in Birmingham, +St. Philip's measures upwards of 170-ft. from the base to the summit of +the cross. The design for the illumination--furnished by Mr. Peter +Hollins--consisted of gas-tubing, running parallel to the principal +lines of architecture from the base to the summit, pierced at distances +of 3 in. or 5 in., and fitted with batswing burners. About 10,000 of +these burners were used in the illumination. The service-pipes employed +varied in diameter from three inches to three-quarters of an inch, and +measured, in a straight line, about three-quarters of a mile, being +united by more than two thousand sockets. Separate mains conducted the +gas to the western elevation, the tower, the dome, the cupola, and +cross; the latter standing 8 ft. above the ordinary cross of the church, +and being inclosed in a frame of ruby-coloured glass. These mains were +connected with a ten-inch main from a heavily-weighed gasometer at the +Windsor Street works of the Birmingham Gas Company, which was reserved +for the sole use of the illumination. It took forty men three days to +put up the scaffolding, but the whole work was finished and the +scaffolding removed in a week. It was estimated that the consumption of +gas during the period of illumination reached very nearly three-quarters +of a million of cubic feet; and the entire expense of the illumination, +including the gas-fittings, was somewhat over six hundred pounds. The +illumination was seen for miles round in every direction. From the top +of Barr Beacon, about eight miles distant, a singular effect was +produced by means of a fog cloud which hung over the town, and concealed +the dome and tower from view--a blood-red cross appearing to shine in +the heavens and rest upon Birmingham. As the traveller approached the +town on that side the opacity of the fog gradually diminished until, +when about three miles away, the broad lines of light which spanned the +dome appeared in sight, and, magnified by the thin vapour through which +they were refracted, gave the idea of some gigantic monster clawing the +heavens with his fiery paws. All the avenues to the church and the +surrounding streets were crowded with masses of human heads, in the +midst of which stood a glittering fairy palace. The effect was +heightened by coloured fires, which, under the superintendence of Mr. +C.L. Hanmer, were introduced at intervals in burning censers, wreathing +their clouds of incense among the urns upon the parapet in the gallery +of the tower, and shedding upon the windows of the church the rich tints +of a peaceful southern sky at sunset. The several gateways were wreathed +in evergreens, amongst which nestled festoons of variegated lamps. So +great was the sensation produced throughout the town and surrounding +districts, and such the disappointment of those who had not seen it, +that the committee, at a great expense, consented to reillumine for one +night more, which was done on the 13th. The last general illumination +was on the occasion of the visit of Prince and Princess of Wales, Nov. +3, 1874. + +~Improvement Schemes.~--See "_Town Improvements_." + +~Income Tax.~--This impost was first levied in 1798, when those who had +four children were allowed an abatement of 10 per cent.; eight children, +15 per cent.; ten or more 20 per cent. At the close of the Peninsular +campaign this tax was done away with, it being looked upon, even in +those heavily betaxed times, as about the most oppressive duty ever +imposed by an arbitrary Government on loyal and willing citizens. When +the tax was revived, in 1842, there was a considerable outcry, though if +fairly levied it would seem to be about the most just and equitable mode +of raising revenue that can be devised, notwithstanding its somewhat +inquisitorial accompaniments. The Act was only for three years but it +was triennially renewed until 1851, since when it has become "a yearly +tenant," though at varying rates, the tax being as high as 1s. 4d. in +the pound in 1855, and only 2d. in 1874. A Parliamentary return issued +in 1866 gave the assessment of Birmingham to the Income Tax at +L1,394,161; in 1874 it was estimated at L1,792,700. The present +assessment is considerably over the two millions, but the peculiar +reticence generally connected with all Governmental offices prevents us +giving the exact figures. + +~Indian Famine.~--The total amount subscribed here towards the fund for +the relief of sufferers by famine in India in 1877 was L7,922 13s. 2d. + +~India-rubber,~ in 1770, was sold at 3s. per cubic half-inch, and was +only used to remove pencil marks from paper. Its present uses are +manifold, and varied in the extreme, from the toy balloon of the infant +to railway buffers and unsinkable lifeboats. + +~Infirmaries.~--See "_Hospitals_," &c. + +~Inge.~--The family name of one of the large property owners of this +town, after whom Inge Street is so called. The last representative of +the family lived to the ripe old age of 81, dying in August, 1881. +Though very little known in the town from whence a large portion of his +income was drawn, the Rev. George Inge, rector of Thorpe +(Staffordshire), was in his way a man of mark, a mighty Nimrod, who +followed the hounds from the early age of five, when he was carried on a +pony in front of a groom, until a few weeks prior to his death, having +hunted with the Atherstone pack duriug the management of sixteen +successive masters thereof. + +~Insane Asylums.~--See "_Lunacy_." + +~Insurance.~--In 1782 a duty of 1s. 6d. per cent, was levied on all fire +insurances, which was raised to 2s. in 1797, to 2s. 6d. in 1804. and to +3s. in 1815, remaining at that until 1865, when it was lowered to 1s. +6d., being removed altogether in 1869. Farming stock was exempted in +1833, and workmen's tools in 1860. + +~Insurance Companies.~--Their name is legion, their agents are a +multitude, and a list of their officers would fill a book. You can +insure your own life, or your wife's, or your children's or anybody +else's, in whose existence you may have a beneficial interest, and there +are a hundred officers ready to receive the premiums. If you are +journeying, the Railway Passengers' Accident Co. will be glad to +guarantee your family a solatium in case you and your train come to +grief, and though it is not more than one in half-a-million that meets +with an accident on the line, the penny for a ticket, when at the +booking office, will be well expended. Do you employ clerks, there are +several Guarantee Societies who will secure you against loss by +defalcation. Shopkeepers and others will do well to insure their glass +against breakage, and all and everyone should pay into a "General +Accident" Association, for broken limbs, like broken glass, cannot be +foreseen or prevented. It is not likely that any of [**] will be "drawn" +for a militiaman in these piping times of peace, but that the system of +insurance was applied here in the last century against the chances of +being drawn in the ballot, is evidenced by the following +carefully-preserved and curious receipt:-- + + "Received of Matthew Boulton, tagmaker, Snow Hill, three shillings and + sixpence, for which sum I solemnly engage, if he should be chosen by + lot to serve in the militia for this parish, at the first meeting for + that purpose, to procure a substitute that shall be approved of. + + "HENRY BROOKES, Sergt. + + "Birmingham, Jan. 11, 1762." + +The local manufacture of Insurance Societies has not been on a large +scale, almost the only ones being the "Birmingham Workman's Mutual," the +"British Workman," and the "Wesleyan and General." The late Act of +Parliament, by which in certain cases, employers are pecuniarily liable +for accidents to their workpeople, has brought into existence several +new Associations, prominent among which is the comprehensive "Employers' +Liability and Workpeople's Provident and Accident Insurance Society, +Limited," whose offices are at 33, Newhall Street. + + * * * * * + +~Interesting Odds and Ends.~ + +A fair was held here on Good Friday, 1793. + +A fight of lion with dogs took place at Warwick, September 4, 1824. + +The Orsim bombs used in Paris, January 15, 1858, were made here. + +In 1771 meetings of the inhabitants, were called by the tolling of a +bell. + +A large assembly of Radicals visited Christ Church, November 21, 1819, +but _not_ for prayer. + +A "flying railway" (the Centrifugal) was exhibited at the Circus in +Bradford Street, October 31, 1842. + +The doors of Moor Street prison were thrown open, September 3, 1842, +there, not being then one person in confinement. + +March 2, 1877, a bull got loose in New Street Station, and ran through +the tunnel to Banbury Street, where he leaped over the parapet and was +made into beef. + +William Godfrey, who died in Ruston-street, October 27, 1863, was a +native of this town, who, enlisting at eighteen, was sent out to China, +where he accumulated a fortune of more than L1,000,000. So said the +_Birmingham Journal_, November 7, 1863. + +The De Berminghams had no blankets before the fourteenth century, when +they were brought from Bristol. None but the very rich wore stockings +prior to the year 1589, and many of them had their legs covered with +bands of cloth. + +A petition was presented to the Prince of Wales (June 26, 1791) asking +his patronage and support for the starving buckle-makers of Birmingham. +He ordered his suite to wear buckles on their shoes, but the laces soon +whipped them out of market. + +One Friday evening in July, 1750, a woman who had laid informations +against 150 persons she had caught retailing spirituous liquors without +licenses, was seized by a mob, who doused, ducked and daubed her, and +then shoved her in the Dungeon. + +At a parish meeting, May 17, 1726, it was decided to put up an organ in +St. Martin's at a cost of L300 "and upwards." At a general meeting of +the inhabitants, April 3, 1727, it was ordered that, a bell be cast for +St. Philip's, "to be done with all expedition." + +In 1789 it was proposed that the inmates of the workhouse should be +employed at making worsted and thread. Our fathers often tried their +inventive faculties in the way of finding work for the inmates. A few +years later it was proposed (August 26) to lighten the rates by erecting +a steam mill for grinding corn. + +On the retirement of Mr. William Lucy, in 1850, from the Mayoralty, the +usual vote of thanks was passed, but with _one_ dissentient. Mr. Henry +Hawkes was chosen coroner July 6, 1875, by forty votes to _one_. The +great improvement scheme was adopted by the Town Council (November 10, +1875), with but _one_ dissentient. + +A certificate, dated March 23, 1683, and signed by the minister and +church-wardens, was granted to Elizabeth, daughter of John and Ann +Dickens, "in order to obtain his majesty's touch for the Evil." The +"royal touch" was administered to 200 persons from this neighbourhood, +March 17, 1714; Samuel Johnson (the Dr.) being one of those whose +ailments, it was believed, could be thus easily removed. Professor +Holloway did not live in those days. + +Sir Thomas Holte (the first baronet) is traditionally reported to have +slain his cook. He brought an action for libel against one William +Ascrick, for saying "that he did strike his cook with a cleaver, so that +one moiety of the head fell on one shoulder, and the other on the other +shoulder." The defendant was ordered to pay L30 damages, but appealed, +and successfully; the worthy lawyers of that day deciding that though +Sir Thomas might have clove the cook's head, the defendant did not say +he had _killed_ the man, and hence had not libelled the baronet. + + * * * * * + +~Interpreters.~--In commercial circles it sometimes happens that the +foreign corresponding clerk may be out of the way when an important +business letter arrives, and we, therefore, give the addresses of a few +gentlemen linguists, viz.:--Mr. H.R. Forrest, 46, Peel Buildings, Lower +Temple Street; Mr. L. Hewson, 30, Paradise Street; Mr. F. Julien, 189, +Monument Road; Mr. Wm. Krisch, 3, Newhall Street; Mr. L. Notelle, 42, +George Road, Edgbaston; and Mr. A. Vincent, 49, Islington Row. + +~Invasion.~--They said the French were coming in February, 1758, so the +patriotic Brums put their hands into their pockets and contributed to a +fund "to repel invasion." + +~Inventors and Inventions.~--Birmingham, for a hundred years, led the +van in inventions of all kinds, and though to many persons patent +specifications may be the driest of all dry reading, there is an +infinitude of interesting matter to be found in those documents. Much of +the trade history of the town is closely connected with the inventions +of the patentees of last century, including such men as Lewis Paul, who +first introduced spinning by rollers, and a machine for the carding of +wool and cotton; Baskerville, the japanner; Wyatt, partner with Paul; +Boulton, of Soho, and his coadjutors, Watt, Murdoch, Small, Keir, +Alston, and others. Nothing has been too ponderous and naught too +trivial for the exercise of the inventive faculties of our skilled +workmen. All the world knows that hundreds of patents have been taken +out for improvements, and discoveries in connection with steam +machinery, but few would credit that quite an equal number relate to +such trifling articles as buckles and buttons, pins and pens, hooks and +eyes, &c.; and fortunes have been made even more readily by the +manufacture of the small items than the larger ones. The history of +Birmingham inventors has yet to be written; a few notes of some of their +doings will be found under "_Patents_" and "_Trades_." + +~Iron.~--In 1354 it was forbidden to export iron from England. In 1567 +it was brought here from Sweden and Russia. A patent for smelting iron +with pit coal was granted in 1620 to Dud Dudley, who also patented the +tinning of iron in 1661. The total make of iron in England in 1740 was +but 17,000 tons, from 59 furnaces, only two of which were in +Staffordshire, turning out about 1,000 tons per year. In 1788 there were +nine blast furnaces in the same county; in 1796, fourteen; in 1806, +forty-two; in 1827, ninety-five, with an output of 216,000 tons, the +kingdom's make being 690,000 tons from 284 furnaces. This quantity in +1842 was turned out of the 130 Staffordshire furnaces alone, though the +hot-air blast was not used prior to 1835. Some figures have lately been +published showing that the present product of iron in the world is close +upon 19-1/2 million tons per year, and as iron and its working-up has a +little to do with the prosperity of Birmingham, we preserve them. +Statistics for the more important countries are obtainable as late as +1881. For the others it is assumed that the yield has not fallen off +since the latest figures reported. Under "other countries," in the table +below, are included Canada, Switzerland, and Mexico, each producing +about 7,500 tons a year, and Norway, with 4,000 tons a year:-- + + + Year. Gross Tons. +Great Britain........ 1881 8,377,364 +United States........ 1881 4,144,254 +Germany.............. 1881 2,863,400 +France............... 1881 1,866,438 +Belgium.............. 1881 622,288 +Austro-Hungary....... 1880 448,685 +Sweden............... 1880 399,628 +Luxembourg........... 1881 289,212 +Russia............... 1881 231,341 +Italy................ 1876 76,000 +Spain................ 1873 73,000 +Turkey............... -- 40,000 +Japan................ 1877 10,000 +All other countries.. -- 46,000 + ---------- + Total............ 19,487,610 + + +The first four countries produce 88.4 per cent, of the world's iron +supply; the first two, 64.3 per cent.; the first, 43 per cent. The chief +consumer is the United States, 29 per cent.; next Great Britain, 23 '4 +per cent.; these two using more than half of all. Cast iron wares do not +appear to have been made here in any quantity before 1755; malleable +iron castings being introduced about 1811. The first iron canal boat +made its appearance here July 24, 1787. Iron pots were first tinned in +1779 by Jonathan Taylor's patented process, but we have no date when +vessels of iron were first enamelled, though a French method of coating +them with glass was introduced in 1850 by Messrs. T.G. Griffiths and Co. +In 1809, Mr. Benjamin Cook, a well-known local inventor, proposed to use +iron for building purposes, more particularly in the shape of joists, +rafters, and beams, so as to make fire-proof rooms, walls, and flooring, +as well as iron staircases. This suggestion was a long time before it +was adopted, for in many things Cook was far in advance of his age. +Corrugated iron for roofing, &c., came into use in 1832, but it was not +till the period of the Australian gold fever--1852-4--that there was any +great call for iron houses. The first iron church (made at Smethwick) as +well as iron barracks for the mounted police, were sent out there, the +price at Melbourne for iron houses being from L70 each.--See "_Trades_." + +~Iron Bedsteads~ are said to have been invented by Dr. Church. Metallic +bedsteads of many different kinds have been made since then, from the +simple iron stretcher to the elaborately guilded couches made for +princes and potentates, but the latest novelty in this line is a +bedstead of solid silver, lately ordered for one of the Indian Rajahs. + +~Iron Rods.~--Among the immense number of semi-religious tracts +published during the Civil War, one appeared (in 1642) entitled "An Iron +Rod for the Naylours and Tradesmen near Birmingham," by a self-styled +prophet, who exhorted his neighbours to amend their lives and give +better prices "twopence in the shilling at the least to poor workmen." +We fancy the poor nailers of the present time would also be glad of an +extra twopence. + +~Jacks.~--Roasting Jacks of some kind or other were doubtless used by +our great-great-grandmothers, but their kitchen grates were not supplied +with "bottle-jacks" till their fellow-townsman, Mr. Fellowes, of Great +Hampton Street, made them in 1796. + +~Jennens.~--It is almost certain that the "Great Jennens (or Jennings) +Case," has taken up more time in our law courts than any other cause +brought before the judges. Charles Dickens is supposed to have had some +little knowledge of it, and to have modelled his "Jarndyce _v_. +Jarndyce" in "Bleak House" therefrom. It has a local interest, inasmuch +as several members of the family lived, prospered, and died here, and, +in addition, a fair proportion of the property so long disputed, is here +situated. The first of the name we hear of as residing in Birmingham was +William Jennens, who died in 1602. His son John became a well-to-do +ironmonger, dying in 1653. One of John's sons, Humphrey, also waxed +rich, and became possessed of considerable estate, having at one time, +it is said, no less a personage than Lord Conway as "game-keeper" over a +portion of his Warwickshire property. Probably the meaning was that his +lordship rented the shooting. Ultimately, although every branch of the +family were tolerably prolific, the bulk of the garnered wealth was +concentrated in the hands of William Jennings, bachelor, who died at +Acton Place in 1798, at the age of 98, though some have said he was 103. +His landed property was calculated to be worth L650,000; in Stock and +Shares he held L270,000; at his bankers, in cash and dividends due, +there were L247,000; while at his several houses, after his death, they +found close upon L20,000 in bank notes, and more than that in gold. +Dying intestate, his property was administered to by Lady Andover, and +William Lygon, Esq., who claimed to be next of kin descended from +Humphrey Jennings, of this town. Greatest part of the property was +claimed by these branches, and several noble families were enriched who, +it is said, were never entitled to anything. The Curzon family came in +for a share, and hence the connection of Earl Howe and others with this +town. The collaterals and their descendants have, for generations, been +fighting for shares, alleging all kinds of fraud and malfeasance on the +part of the present holders and their predecessors, but the claimants +have increased and multiplied to such an extent, that if it were +possible for them to recover the whole of the twelve million pounds they +say the property is now worth, it would, when divided, give but small +fortunes to any of them. A meeting of the little army of claimants was +held at the Temperance Hall, March 2, 1875, and there have been several +attempts, notwithstanding the many previous adverse decisions, to +re-open the battle for the pelf, no less than a quarter of a million, it +is believed, having already been uselessly spent in that way. + +~Jennen's Row~ is named after the above family. + +~Jewellery.~--See "_Trades_." + +~Jews.~--The descendants of Israel were allowed to reside in this +country in 1079, but if we are to believe history their lot could not +have been a very pleasant one, the poorer classes of our countrymen +looking upon them with aversion, while the knights and squires of high +degree, though willing enough to use them when requiring loans for their +fierce forays, were equally ready to plunder and oppress on the +slightest chance. Still England must have even then been a kind of +sheltering haven, for in 1287, when a sudden anti-Semitic panic occurred +to drive the Jews out of the kingdom, it was estimated that 15,660 had +to cross the silver streak. Nominally, they were not allowed to return +until Cromwell's time, 364 years after. It was in 1723 Jews were +permitted to hold lands in this country, and thirty years after an Act +was passed to naturalise them, but it was repealed in the following +year. Now the Jews are entitled to every right and privilege that a +Christian possesses. It is not possible to say when the Jewish community +of this town originated, but it must have been considerably more than a +hundred and fifty years ago, as when Hutton wrote in 1781, there was a +synagogue in the Froggery, "a very questionable part of the town," and +an infamous locality. He quaintly says:--"We have also among us a +remnant of Israel, a people who, when masters of their own country, were +scarcely ever known to travel, and who are now seldom employed in +anything else. But though they are ever moving they are ever at home; +who once lived the favourites of heaven, and fed upon the cream of the +earth, but now are little regarded by either; whose society is entirely +confined to themselves, except in the commercial line. In the synagogue, +situated in the Froggery, they still preserve the faint resemblance of +the ancient worship, their whole apparatus being no more than the +drooping ensigns of poverty. The place is rather small, but tolerably +filled; where there appears less decorum than in the Christian churches. +The proverbial expression, 'as rich as a Jew,' is not altogether +verified in Birmingham; but, perhaps, time is transferring it to the +Quakers. It is rather singular that the honesty of a Jew is seldom +pleaded but by the Jew himself." No modern historian would think of +using such language now-a-days, respecting the Jews who now abide with +us, whose charitable contributions to our public institutions, &c., may +bear comparison with those of their Christian brethren. An instance of +this was given so far back as December 5th, 1805, the day of general +thanksgiving for the glorious victory of Trafalgar. On that day +collections were made in all places of worship in aid of the patriotic +fund for the relief of those wounded, and of the relatives of those +killed in the war. It is worthy of remark that the parish church, St. +Martin's, then raised the sum of L37 7s., and the "Jews' Synagogue" L3 +3s. At the yearly collections in aid of the medical charities, now +annually held on Hospital Sunday, St. Martin's gives between three and +four hundred pounds; the Jewish congregation contributes about one +hundred and fifty. If, then, the church has thus increased ten-fold in +wealth and benevolence in the last seventy years, the synagogue has +increased fifty-fold. + +~Jews' Board of Guardians.~ A committee of resident Jews was appointed +in 1869, to look after and relieve poor and destitute families among the +Israelites; and though they pay their due quota to the poor rates of +their parish, it is much to the credit of the Jewish community that no +poor member is, permitted to go to the Workhouse or want for food and +clothing. The yearly amount expended in relief by this Hebrew Board of +Guardians is more than L500, mostly given in cash in comparatively large +sums, so as to enable the recipients to become self-supporting, rather +than continue them as paupers receiving a small weekly dole. There is an +increase in the number of poor latterly, owing to the depression of +trade and to the influx of poor families from Poland during the last few +years. Another cause of poverty among the Jews is the paucity of +artisans among them, very few of them even at the present time choosing +to follow any of the staple trades outside those connected with clothing +and jewellery. + +~Jewish Persecutions in Russia.~--On Feb. 6, 1882, a town's meeting was +called with reference to the gross persecution of the Jews in Russia, +and the collection of a fund towards assisting the sufferers was set +afoot, L1,800 being promised at the meeting. + +~John a' Dean's Hole.~--A little brook which took the water from the +moat round the old Manor House (site of Smithfield) was thus called, +from a man named John Dean being drowned there about Henry VIII.'s time. +This brook emptied into the river Rea, near the bottom of Floodgate +Street, where a hundred and odd years back, there were two poolholes, +with a very narrow causeway between them, which was especially dangerous +at flood times to chance wayfarers who chose the path as a near cut to +their dwellings, several cases of drowning being on record as occurring +at this spot.--See "_Manor House_." + +~Johnson, Dr. Samuel.~--Dr. Johnson's connection with Birmingham has +always been a pleasant matter of interest to the local _literati_, but +to the general public we fear it matters naught. His visit to his good +friend Dr. Hector in 1733 is historically famous; his translations and +writings while here have been often noted; his marriage with the widow +Porter duly chronicled; but it is due to the researches of the learned +Dr. Langford that attention has been lately drawn to the interesting +fact that Johnson, who was born in 1709, actually came to Birmingham in +his tenth year, on a visit to his uncle Harrison, who in after years, in +his usual plain-speaking style, Johnson described as "a very mean and +vulgar man, drunk every night, but drunk with little drink, very +peevish, very proud, very ostentatious, but, luckily, not rich." That +our local governors have a due appreciation of the genius of the famed +lexicographer is shown by the fact of a passage-way from Bull Street to +the Upper Priory being named "Dr. Samuel Johnson's Passage!" + +~Jubilees.~--Strange as it may appear to the men of the present day, +there has never been a National holiday yet kept equal to that known as +the Jubilee Day of George the Third. Why it should have been so seems a +great puzzle now. The celebration began in this town at midnight of the +24th October, 1809, by the ringers of St. Philip's giving "five times +fifty claps, an interim with the same number of rounds, to honour the +King, Queen, the Royal Family, the Nation, and the loyal town of +Birmingham." At six o'clock next morning the sluggards were aroused with +a second peal, and with little rest the bells were kept swinging the +whole day long, the finale coming with a performance of "perpetual claps +and clashings" that must have made many a head ache. There was a Sunday +school jubilee celebrated September 14, 1831. The fiftieth year's +pastorate of Rev. John Angell James was kept September 12, 1855, and the +Jubilee Day of the Chapel in Carr's Lane, September 27, 1870; of Cannon +Street Chapel, July 16, 1856; of the Rev. G. Cheatle's pastorate, at +Lombard Street Chapel, January 11, 1860; of the Missionary Society, +September 15, 1864; of Pope Pius the Ninth, in 1877, when the Roman +Catholics of this town sent him L1,230. being the third largest +contribution from England. + +~Jubilee Singers.~--This troupe of coloured minstrels gave their first +entertainment here in the Town Hall April 9, 1874. + +~Jury Lists.~--According to the Jury Act, 6 George IV., the +churchwardens and overseers of every parish in England are required to +make out an alphabetical list before the 1st September in each year of +all men residing in their respective parishes and townships qualified to +serve on juries, setting forth at length their Christian and surname, +&c. Copies of these lists, on the three first Sundays in September, are +to be fixed on the principal door to every church, chapel, and other +public place of religious worship, with a notice subjoined that all +appeals will be heard at the Petty Sessions, to be held within the last +day of September. The jury list for persons resident in the borough, and +for several adjoining parishes, may be seen at the office of Mr. Alfred +Walter, solicitor, Colmore Row, so that persons exempt may see if their +names are included. + +~Justices Of the Peace.~--The earliest named local Justices of the Peace +(March 8, 1327) are "William of Birmingham" and "John Murdak" the only +two then named for the county.--See "_Magistrates_". + +~Kidneys (Petrified).~--In olden days our footpaths, where paved at all, +were, as a rule, laid with round, hard pebbles, and many readers will be +surprised to learn that five years ago there still remained 50,000 +square yards of the said temper-trying paving waiting to be changed into +more modern bricks or stone. Little, however, as we may think of them, +the time has been when the natives were rather proud than otherwise of +their pebbly paths, for, according to Bisset, when one returned from +visiting the metropolis, he said he liked everything in London very much +"except the pavement, for the stones were all so smooth, there was no +foothold!" + +~King Edward's Place.~--Laid out in 1782 on a 99 years' lease, from +Grammar School, at a ground rent of L28, there being built 31 houses, +and two in Broad Street. + +~King's Heath.~--A little over three miles on the Alcester Road, in the +Parish of King's Norton, an outskirt of Moseley, and a suburb of +Birmingham; has added a thousand to its population in the ten years from +census 1871 to 1881, and promises to more than double it in the next +decennial period. The King's Heath and Moseley Institute, built in 1878, +at the cost of Mr. J.H. Nettlefold, provides the residents with a +commodious hall, library, and news-room. There is a station here on the +Midland line, and the alterations now in the course of being made on +that railway must result in a considerable, addition to the traffic and +the usefulness of the station, as a local depot for coal, &c. + +~King's Norton.~--Mentioned in Domesday, and in the olden times was +evidently thought of equal standing (to say the least) with its +five-miles-neighbour, Birmingham, as in James the First's reign there +was a weekly market (Saturdays) and ten fairs in the twelve months. The +market the inhabitants now attend is to be found in this town, and the +half-score of fairs has degenerated to what is known as "King's Norton +Mop" or October statute fair, for the hiring of servants and labourers, +when the Lord of Misrule holds sway, the more's the pity. The King's +Norton Union comprises part of the borough of Birmingham (Edgbaston), as +well as Balsall Heath, Harborne, Moseley, Northfield, Selly Oak, &c., +and part of it bids fair to become a manufacturing district of some +extent, as there are already paper mills, rolling mills, screw works, +&c., and the Smethwick men are rapidly advancing in its direction--the +Midland Junction with the West Suburban line being also in the parish. +The fortified mansion, known as Hawkesley House, in this parish, was the +scene of a contest in May, 1645, between King Charles' forces and the +Parliamentarians, who held it, the result being its capture, pillage, +and destruction by fire. + +~Kirby's Pools.~--A well-known and favourite resort on the outskirt of +the borough, on the Bristol Road, and formerly one of the celebrated +taverns and tea gardens of past days. The publichouse (the "Malt +Shovel") having been extended and partially rebuilt, and the grounds +better laid out, the establishment was re-christened, and opened as the +Bournbrook Hotel, at Whitsuntide, 1877. + +~Kossuth.~--Louis Kossuth, the ex-dictator of Hungary, was honoured with +a public welcome and procession of trades, &c., Nov. 10, 1851, and +entertained at a banquet in Town Hall on the 12th. He afterwards +appeared here May 7 and 8, 1856, in the _role_ of a public lecturer. + +~Kyott's Lake.~--A pool once existing where now is Grafton Road, Camp +Hill. There was another pool near it, known as Foul Lake. + +~Kyrle Society.~--So named after the character alluded to by Pope in his +"Moral Essays": + + + "Who taught that heaven-directed spire to rise? + 'The Man of Ross,' each lisping babe replies." + + +John Kyrle, who died Nov. 11, 1724, though not a native, resided at Ross +nearly the whole of his long and loyal life of close on 90 years, and +Pope, who often visited the neighbourhood, there became acquainted with +him and his good works, and embalmed his memory in undying verse as an +example to future generations. A more benevolent lover of his fellowman +than Kyrle cannot be named, and a society for cultivating purity of +taste, and a delight in aiding the well-being of others, is rightly +called after him. The Birmingham Kyrle Society was established in 1880, +and frequent paragraphs in the local papers tell us of their doings, at +one time cheering the inmates of the institutions where the sick and +unfortunate lie, with music and song, and at another distributing books, +pictures, and flowers, where they are prized by those who are too poor +to purchase. The officers of the society will be pleased to hear from +donors, as let contributions of flowers or pictures be ever so many, the +recipients are far more numerous. Mr. Walliker, our philanthropic +postmaster, is one of the vice-presidents, and the arrangements of the +parcel post are peculiarly suited for forwarding parcels. + +~Lady Well.~--There is mention in a document dated 1347 of a "dwelling +in Egebaston Strete leading towards God well feld," and there can be no +doubt that this was an allusion to the Lady Well, or the well dedicated +to the blessed Virgin, close to the old house that for centuries +sheltered the priests that served St. Martin's, and which afterwards was +called the Parsonage or Rectory. The well spring was most abundant, and +was never known to fail. The stream from it helped to supply the moat +round the Parsonage, and there, joined by the waters from the higher +grounds in the neighbourhood of Holloway Head, and from the hill above +the Pinfold, it passed at the back of Edgbaston Street, by the way of +Smithfield passage and Dean Street (formerly the course of a brook) to +the Manor House moat. The Ladywell Baths were historically famous and, +as stated by Hutton, were the finest in the kingdom. The Holy Well of +the blessed Virgin still exists, though covered over and its waters +allowed to flow into the sewers instead of the Baths, and any visitor +desirous of testing the water once hallowed for its purity must take his +course down the mean alley known as Ladywell Walk, at the bend in which +he will find a dirty passage leading to a rusty iron pump, "presented by +Sir E.S. Gooch, Bart., to the inhabitants of Birmingham," as +commemorated by an inscription on the dirty stone which covers the +spring and its well. God's Well field is covered with workshops, +stables, dirty backyards and grimy-looking houses, and the Baths are a +timber-yard. + +~Lambert.~--Birmingham had something to do with the fattening of the +celebrated Daniel Lambert, the heaviest lump of humanity this country +has yet produced, for he was an apprentice to Mr. John Taylor, button +maker, of Crooked Lane. His indentures were cancelled through his +becoming so fat and unwieldy, and he was sent back to his father, the +then governor of Leicester gaol. Daniel died June 21st, 1809, at +Stamford, where he was buried; his age was 39, and he weighed 52 stone +11 lb. (at 14 lb. the stone), measuring 9 ft. 4 in. round the body, and +3 ft. 1 in. round the thick of each of his legs. + +~Lancashire Distress.~--The accounts of the Local Fund raised for the +relief of the cotton operatives of Lancashire were published Aug. 3, +1863, showing receipts amounting L15,115 4s. 10d. + +~Lamps.~--The number of ordinary lamps in the borough, under the control +of the Public Works Department, on the 31st of December, 1882, was +6,591, of which number 1,950 are regulated to consume 5.20 cubic feet, +and the remainder, or 4,641, 4.30 cubic feet per hour; their cost +respectively inclusive of lighting, cleaning, and extinguishing, was L2 +12s. 4-1/2d., and L2 5s. 2-1/4d. per lamp per annum. In addition there +are 93 special and 53 urinal lamps. + +~Lands.~--In Birmingham it is bought and sold by the square yard, and +very pretty prices are occasionally paid therefor; our agricultural +friends reckon by acres, roods, and perches. The Saxon "hyde" of land, +as mentioned in Domesday Book and other old documents, was equivalent to +100, or, as some read it, 120 acres; the Norman "Carncase" being +similar. + +~Land Agency.~--An International Land and Labour Agency was established +at Birmingham by the Hon. Elihu Burritt in October, 1869; its object +being to facilitate the settlement of English farmers and mechanics in +the United States, and also to supply American orders for English +labourers and domestic servants of all kinds. Large numbers of +servant-girls in England, it was thought, would be glad to go to +America, but unable to pay their passage-money, and unwilling to start +without knowing where they were to go on arriving. This agency advanced +the passage-money, to be deducted from the first wages; but, though the +scheme was good and well meant, very little advantage was taken of the +agency, and, like some other of the learned blacksmith's notions, though +a fair-looking tree, it bore very little fruit. + +~Land and Building Societies.~--Though frequently considered to be quite +a modern invention, the plan of a number uniting to purchase lands and +houses for after distribution, is a system almost as old as the hills. +The earliest record we have of a local Building Society dates from 1781, +though no documents are at hand to show its methods of working. On Jan. +17, 1837, the books were opened for the formation of a Freehold Land and +Building Society here, but its usefulness was very limited, and its +existence short. It was left to the seething and revolutionary days of +1847-8, when the Continental nations were toppling over thrones and +kicking out kings, for sundry of our men of light and leading to bethink +themselves of the immense political power that lay in the holding of the +land, and how, by the exercise of the old English law, which gave the +holder of a 40s. freehold the right of voting for the election of a +"knight of the shire," such power could be brought to bear on +Parliament, by the extension of the franchise in that direction. The +times were out of joint, trade bad, and discontent universal, and the +possession of a little bit of the land we live on was to be a panacea +for every abuse complained of, and the sure harbinger of a return of the +days when every Jack had Jill at his own fireside. The misery and +starvation existing in Ireland where small farms had been divided and +subdivided until the poor families could no longer derive a sustenance +from their several moieties, was altogether overlooked, and "friends of +the people" advocated the wholesale settlement of the unemployed English +on somewhat similar small plots. Feargus O'Connor, the Chartist leader, +started his National Land Society, and thousands paid in their weekly +mites in hopes of becoming "lords of the soil;" estates here and there +were purchased, allotments made, cottages built, and many new homes +created. But as figs do not grow on thistles, neither was it to be +expected that men from the weaving-sheds, or the mines, should be able +to grow their own corn, or even know how to turn it into bread when +grown, and _that_ Utopian scheme was a failure. More wise in their +generation were the men of Birmingham: they went not for country +estates, nor for apple orchards or turnip fields. The wise sagaciousness +of their leaders, and the Brums always play well at "follow my leading," +made them go in for the vote, the full vote, and nothing but the vote. +The possession of a little plot on which to build a house, though really +the most important, was not the first part of the bargain by any means +at the commencement. To get a vote and thus help upset something or +somebody was all that was thought of at the time, though now the case is +rather different, few members of any of the many societies caring at +present so much for the franchise as for the "proputty, proputty, +proputty." Mr. James Taylor, jun., has been generally dubbed the "the +father of the freehold land societies," and few men have done more than +him in their establishment, but the honour of dividing the first estate +in this neighbourhood, we believe, must be given to Mr. William Benjamin +Smith, whilome secretary of the Manchester Order of Odd Fellows, and +afterwards publisher of the _Birmingham Mercury_ newspaper. Being +possessed of a small estate of about eight acres, near to the Railway +Station at Perry Barr, he had it laid out in 100 lots, which were sold +by auction at Hawley's Temperance Hotel, Jan. 10, 1848, each lot being +of sufficient value to carry a vote for the shire. The purchasers were +principally members of an Investment and Permanent Benefit Building +Society, started January 4, 1847, in connection with the local branch of +Oddfellows, of which Mr. Smith was a chief official. Franchise Street, +which is supposed to be the only street of its name in England, was the +result of this division of land, and as every purchaser pleased himself +in the matter of architecture, the style of building may be called that +of "the free and easy." Many estates have been divided since then, +thousands of acres in the outskirts being covered with houses where erst +were green fields, and in a certain measure Birmingham owes much of its +extension to the admirable working of the several Societies. As this +town led the van in the formation of the present style of Land and +Building Societies, it is well to note here their present general +status. In 1850 there were 75 Societies in the kingdom, with about +25,000 members, holding among them 35,000 shares, with paid-up +subscriptions amounting to L164,000. In 1880, the number of societies in +England was 946, in Scotland, 53, and in Ireland 27. The number of +members in the English societies was 320,076, in the scotch 11,902, and +in the Irish 6,533. A return relating to these societies in England has +just been issued, which shows that there are now 1,687 societies in +existence, with a membership of 493,271. The total receipts during the +last financial year amounted to L20,919,473. There were 1,528 societies +making a return of liabilities, which were to the holders of shares +L29,351,611, and to the depositors L16,351,611. There was a balance of +unappropriated profit to the extent of L1,567,942. The assets came to +L44,587,718. In Scotland there were 15,386 members of building +societies; the receipts were L413,609, the liabilities to holders of +shares amounted to L679,990, to depositors and other creditors L268,511; +the assets consisted of balance due on mortgage securities L987,987, and +amount invested in other securities and cash L67,618. In Ireland there +were 9,714 members of building societies; the receipts were L778,889, +liabilities to the holders of shares L684,396, to depositors and others +L432,356; the assets included balance due on mortgage securities +L1,051,423, and amount invested in other securities L79,812. There were +150 of the English societies whose accounts showed deficiencies +amounting to L27,850; two Scotch societies minus L862, but no Irish +short. It is a pity to have to record that there have been failures in +Birmingham, foremost among them being that of the Victoria Land and +Building Society, which came to grief in 1870, with liabilities +amounting to L31,550. The assets, including L5,627 given by the +directors and trustees, and L886 contributed by other persons, realised +L27,972. Creditors paid in full took L9,271, the rest receiving 8s. 9d. +in the pound, and L4,897 being swallowed up in costs. The break-up of +the Midland Land and Investment Corporation (Limited) is the latest. +This Company was established in 1864, and by no means confined itself to +procuring sites for workmen's dwellings, or troubled about getting them +votes. According to its last advertisement, the authorised capital was +L500,000, of which L248,900 had been subscribed, but only L62,225 called +up, though the reserve fund was stated to be L80,000. What the dividend +will be is a matter for the future, and may not even be guessed at at +present. The chief local societies, and their present status, areas +follows:-- + +_The Birmingham Freehold Land Society_ was started in 1848, and the +aggregate receipts up to the end of 1882 amounted to L680,132 12s. 7d. +The year's receipts were L20,978 16s. 5d., of which L11,479 represented +payments made by members who had been alloted land on the estates +divided by the Society, there being, after payment of all expenses, a +balance of L11,779 12s. 9d. The number of members was then 772, and it +was calculated that the whole of the allotments made would be paid off +in four years. + +_The Friendly Benefit Building Society_ was organised in 1859, and up to +Midsummer, 1883, the sums paid in amounted to L340,000. The year's +receipts were L21,834 19s. 6d., of which L10,037 came from borrowers, +whose whole indebtedness would be cleared in about 5-1/2 years. The +members on the books numbered 827, of whom 684 were investors and 143 +borrowers. The reserve fund stood at L5,704 5s. 9d There is a branch of +this Society connected with Severn Street Schools, and in a flourishing +condition, 32 members having joined during the year, and L2,800 having +been received as contributions. The total amount paid in since the +commencement of the branch in June, 1876, was L18,181 13s. 11d. The +Severn Street scholars connected with it had secured property during the +past year valued at L2,400. + +_The Incorporated Building Society_ comprises the United, the Queen's, +the Freeholders', and the Second Freeholders' Societies, the earliest of +them established in 1849, the incorporation taking place in 1878. The +aggregate receipts of these several Societies would reach nearly 3-1/2 +millions. The amounts paid in since the amalgamation (to the end of +1882) being L1,049,667. As might be expected the present Society has a +large constituency, numbering 6,220 members, 693 of whom joined in 1882. +The advances during the year reached L78,275, to 150 borrowers, being an +average of L500 to each. The amount due from borrowers was L482,000, an +average of L540 each. The amount due to investors was LL449,000, an +average of L84 each. The borrowers repaid last year L104,000, and as +there was L482,000 now due on mortgage accounts the whole capital of the +society would be turned over in five years, instead of thirteen and a +half, the period for which the money was lent. The withdrawals had been +L85,409, which was considerably under the average, as the society had +paid away since the amalgamation L520,000, or L104,000 per annum. The +amount of interest credited to investors was L19,779. A total of +L100,000 had been credited in the last five years. The reserve fund now +amounted to L34,119, which was nearly 7-1/2 per cent. on the whole +capital employed. + +_The Birmingham Building Society, No. 1_, was established in May, 1842, +and re-established in 1853. It has now 1,580 members, subscribing for +shares amounting to L634,920. The last report states that during the +existence of the society over L500,000 has been advanced to members, and +that the amount of "receipts and payments" have reached the sum of +L1,883,444. Reserve fund is put at L5,000. + +_The Birmingham Building Society, No. 4_, was established in June, 1846, +and claims to be the oldest society in the town. The report, to end of +June, 1883, gave the number of shares as 801-3/4, of which 563-1/4 +belong to investors, and the remainder to borrowers. The year's receipts +were L10,432, and L6,420 was advanced. The balance-sheet showed the +unallotted share fund to be L18,042, on deposit L3,915, due to bank +L2,108, and balance in favour of society L976. The assets amounted to +L25,042, of which L21,163 was on mortgages, and L3,818 on properties in +possession. + +_St. Philip's Building Society_ was began in January, 1850, since when +(up to January, 1883) L116,674 had been advanced on mortgages, and +L28,921 repaid to depositing members. The society had then 326 members, +holding among them 1,094-1/4 shares. The year's receipts were L13,136, +and L7,815 had been advanced in same period. The reserve fund was +L3,642; the assets L65,940, of which L54,531 was on mortgages, L7,987 +deferred premiums, and L2,757 properties in hand. + +Several societies have not favoured us with their reports. + +~Law.~--There are 306 solicitors and law firms in Birmingham, 19 +barristers, and a host of students and law clerks, each and every one of +whom doubtless dreams of becoming Lord Chancellor. The Birmingham Law +Society was formed in 1818, and there is a Society of Law Students +besides, and a Law Library. At present, our Law Courts comprise the +Bankruptcy and County Courts, Assize Courts (held _pro tem_ in the +Council House), the Quarter Sessions' and Petty Sessions' Courts. + +~League of Universal Brotherhood.~--Originated by Elihu Burritt, in +1846, while sitting in the "Angel," at Pershore, on his walk through +England. He came back to Joseph Sturge and here was printed his little +periodical called "The Bond of Brotherhood," leading to many +International Addresses, Peace Congresses, and Olive-Leaf Missions, but +alas! alas! how very far off still seems the "universal peace" thus +sought to be brought about. Twenty thousand signatures were attached to +"The Bond" in one year. Far more than that number have been slain in +warfare every year since. + +~Lease Lane.~--Apparently a corruption of Lea or Leay Lane, an ancient +bye-road running at the back of the Dog or Talbot Inn, the owners of +which, some 300 years ago, were named Leays. When the Market Hall was +built and sewers were laid round it, the workmen came upon what was at +the time imagined to be an underground passage, leading from the +Guildhall in New Street to the old Church of St. Martin's. Local +antiquarians at the time would appear to have been conspicuous by their +absence, as the workmen were allowed to close the passage with rubbish +without a proper examination being made of it. Quite lately, however, in +digging out the soil for the extension of the Fish Market at a point on +the line of Lease Lane, about 60ft. from Bell Street, the workmen, on +reaching a depth of 8ft. or 9ft., struck upon the same underground +passage, but of which the original purpose was not very apparent. Cut in +the soft, sandstone, and devoid of any lining, it ran almost at right +angles to Lease Lane, and proved to extend half way under that +thoroughfare, and some four or five yards into the excavated ground. +Under Lease Lane it was blocked by rubbish, through which a sewer is +believed to run, and therefore the exact ending of the passage in one +direction cannot be traced; in the excavated ground it ended, on the +site of a dismantled public-house, in a circular shaft, which may have +been that of a well, or that of a cesspool. The passage, so far as it +was traceable, was 24ft. long, 7ft. high, and 4-1/2ft. wide. As to its +use before it was severed by the sewerage of Lease Lane, the conjecture +is that it afforded a secret means of communication between two houses +separated above ground by that thoroughfare, but for what purpose must +remain one of the perplexing puzzles of the past. That it had no +connection with the Church or the Grammar School (the site of the old +Guild House) is quite certain, as the course of the passage was in a +different direction. + +~Leasing Wives.~--In the histories of sundry strange lands we read of +curious customs appertaining to marriage and the giving in marriage. +Taking a wife on trial is the rule of more than one happy clime, but +taking a wife upon lease is quite a Brummagem way of marrying (using the +term in the manner of many detractors of our town's fair fame). In one +of the numbers of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, for the year 1788, Mr. +Sylvanus Urban, as the editor has always been called, is addressed as +follows by a Birmingham correspondent:--"Since my residing in this town +I have often heard there is a method of obtaining a wife's sister upon +lease. I never could learn the method to be taken to get a wife upon +lease, or whether such connections are sanctioned by law; but there is +an eminent manufacturer in the vicinity of this town who had his +deceased wife's sister upon lease for twenty years and upwards; and I +know she went by his name, enjoyed all the privileges, and received all +the honours due to the respectable name of wife." A rarer case of +marital leasing has often been noted against us by the aforesaid +smirchers of character as occurring in 1853, but in reality it was +rather an instance of hiring a husband. + +~Leather Hall.~--As early as the Norman Conquest this town was famed for +its tanneries, and there was a considerable market, for leather for +centuries after. Two of the Court Leet officers were "Leather Sealers," +and part of the proclamation made by the Crier of the Court when it held +its meetings was in those words, "All whyte tawers that sell not good +chaffer as they ought to do reasonably, and bye the skynnes in any other +place than in towne or market, ye shall do us to weet," meaning that +anyone knowing of such offences on the part of the "whyte tawers" or +tanners should give information at the Court then assembled. New Street +originally was entered from High Street, under an arched gateway, and +here was the Leather Hall (which was still in existence in Hutton's +time), where the "Sealers" performed their functions. It was taken down +when New Street was opened out, and though we have an extensive hide and +skin market now, we can hardly be said to possess a market for leather +other than the boot and shoe shops, the saddlers, &c. + +~Lench's Trust.~--See "_Philanthropic Institutions_." + +~Liberal Association.~--On Feb. 17, 1865, a meeting was held in the +committee room of the Town Hall for the purpose of forming an +organisation which should "unite all the Liberals of the town, and +provide them with a regular and efficient method of exercising a +_legitimate_ influence in favour of their political principles." The +outcome of this meeting was the birth of the now famous Liberal +"Caucus," and though the names of ten gentlemen were appended to the +advertisement calling the meeting, the honour of the paternity of the +Liberal bantling is generally given to Mr. William Harris. The governing +body of the association was fixed at two dozen, inclusive of the +president, vice, and secretary; all persons subscribing a shilling or +more per annum being eligible to become members. The "General +Committee," for some time known as the "Four Hundred," was enlarged in +1876 to Six Hundred, and in June, 1880, to Eight Hundred, the Executive +Committee, at the same time, being considerably increased. The recent +alteration in the franchise, and the division of the borough and +outskirts into seven electoral districts, has led to a reorganisation of +the Association, or Associations, for each of the seven divisions now +works by itself, though guided by a central Council.--A "Women's Liberal +Association" was founded in October, 1873, and a "Junior Liberal +Association" in October, 1878. + +~Libraries.~--The first public or semi-public library founded in +Birmingham, was the Theological. In 1733 the Rev. William Higgs, first +Rector of St. Philip's, left his collection of 550 volumes, and a sum of +money, to found a library for the use of clergymen and students. The +books, many of which are rare, are kept in a building erected in 1792, +adjacent to the Rectory, and are accessible to all for whom the library +was designed.--A Circulating Library was opened in Colmore Row, in 1763, +and at one time there was a second-class institution of the kind at a +house up one of the courts in Dale End.--A "New Library" was opened in +Cannon Street, April 26, 1796, which was removed to Temple Row, in 1821, +and afterwards united to the Old Library. The latter was commenced in +1779, the first room for the convenience of members being opened in +1782, and the present building in Union Street, erected in 1798. The +report of the committee for the year 1882 showed that there were 772 +proprietors, at 21s. per annum; 35 annual subscribers, at 31s. 6d. per +annum; 528 at 2ls.; 6 quarterly, at 9s. per quarter; 53 at 6s. per +quarter; 17 resident members of subscribers' families, at 10s. per +annum; and 118 resident members of subscribers' families (readers) at +5s. The total number of members was 1,479; the year's subscriptions +being L1,594. The price of shares has been raised from two to three +guineas during the past year. Receipts from shares, fines, &c., amounted +to about L480, making the amount actually received in 1882, L2,012 6s. +The expenditure had been L1,818 19s. 9d., inclusive of L60 carried to +the reserve fund, and L108 paid on account of the new catalogue; and +there remained a balance of L198 6s. 1d. in hand. L782 0s. 9d. had been +expended on the purchase of 1,560 additional books, re-binding others, +&c., making a total of about 50,000 volumes. The library needs +extension, but the shortness of the lease (thirty years only) and the +high value of the adjoining land prevents any step being taken in that +direction at present. The Birmingham Law Society's Library was founded +in February, 1831, by Mr. Arthur Ryland, and has now nearly 6,000 +volumes of law works, law reports (English, Scotch, and Irish), local +and personal Acts, &c., &c. The present home in Wellington Passage was +opened August 2, 1876, being far more commodious than the old abode in +Waterloo-street, the "library" itself being a room 35ft. long, 22ft. +wide, and 20ft. high, with a gallery round it. There are several +extensive libraries connected with places of worship, such as the Church +of the Saviour, Edward Street, Severn Street Schools, the Friends' +Meeting House, &c. and a number of valuable collections in the hands of +some well-known connoisseurs, literati, and antiquarians, access to most +of which may be obtained on proper introduction. + +~Libraries (The Free).~--The first attempt to found a Free Library in +this town was the holding of a public meeting in April, 1852, under the +provisions of the Museums and Libraries Act of 1850, which allowed of a +1/2d. rate being levied for the support of such institutions. Whether +the townsfolk were careless on the subject, or extra careful, and +therefore, doubtful of the sufficiency of the 1/2d. rate to provide +them, is not certain; but so little interest was shown in the matter +that only 534 persons voted for the adoption of the Act, while 363 voted +against it, and the question for the time was shelved, as the Act +required the assents to be two-thirds of the total votes given. In 1855 +the Commissioner of patents presented to the town some 200 volumes, +conditionally that they should be kept in a _Free_ Library, and about +the same time another proposal was made to establish such a Library, but +to no effect. The Act was altered so that a penny rate could be made, +and in October, 1859, it was again suggested to try the burgesses. On +February 21, 1860, the meeting was held and the adoption of the Act +carried by a large majority. A committee of sixteen, eight members of +the Council, and eight out if it, was chosen, and in a short time their +work was shown by the transfer of 10,000 square feet of land belonging +to the Midland Institute, on which to erect a central library, the +preparations of plans therefor, the purchase of books, and (April 3, +1861) the opening of the first branch library and reading room in +Constitution Hill. Mr. E.M. Barry, the architect of the Midland +Institute, put in designs, including Art Gallery, but his figures were +too high, being L14,250 10s., the Town Council having only voted +L10,500. The plans of Mr. W. Martin, whose estimate was L12,000 were +adopted, the Council added L1,500, a loan for the cash was negotiated, +and building commenced by Messrs. Branson and Murray, whose tender to do +the work for L8,600 was accepted. Thirty-two applications for the chief +librarianship at L200 per annum were sent in, the chosen man being Mr. +J.D. Mullins, though he was not the one recommended by the Committee. +The Central Lending Library (with 10,000 volumes) and Reading-room, with +Art Gallery, was formally opened September 6, 1865, and the Reference +Library (then containing 18,200 volumes) October 26, 1866. In 1869, the +latter was much enlarged by the purchase of 604 square yards of land in +Edmund Street, and the total cost of the building came to L14,896. The +Branch Library at Adderley Park was opened January 11, 1864; that at +Deritend Oct. 2, 1866, and at Gosta Green Feb. 1, 1868. At the end of +1870, the total number of volumes in the whole of the Libraries was +56,764, of which 26,590 were in the Reference, and 12,595 in the Central +Lending Library. By 1877, the total number of volumes had reached +86,087, of which 46,520 were in the Reference, and 17,543 in the Central +Lending, the total number of borrowers being 8,947 at the Central, 4,188 +at Constitution Hill, 3,002 at Deritend, 2,668 at Gosta Green, and 271 +at Adderley Park. Meantime several new features in connection with the +Reference Library had appeared. A room had been fitted up and dedicated +to the reception of the "Shakespeare Memorial Library," presented April +23, 1864; the "Cervantes Library," presented by Mr. Bragge, was opened +on a similar date in 1873; the "Staunton Collection" purchased for +L2,400, (not half its value) was added Sept. 1, 1875, and very many +important additions had been made to the Art Gallery and incipient +Museum. For a long time, the Free Libraries' Committee had under +consideration the necessity of extending the building, by adding a wing, +which should be used not only as an Art Gallery, but also as an +Industrial Museum; the Art Gallery and its treasures being located in +that portion of the premises devoted to the Midland Institute, which was +found to be a very inconvenient arrangement. The subject came under the +notice of the Council on February 19th, 1878, when the committee +submitted plans of the proposed alterations. These included the erection +of a new block of buildings fronting Edmund Street, to consist of three +storeys. The Town Council approved the plans, and granted L11,000 to +defray the cost of the enlargement. About Midsummer the committee +proceeded to carry out the plans, and in order to do this it was +necessary to remove the old entrance hall and the flight of stairs which +led up to the Shakespeare Memorial Library and to the Reference Library, +and to make sundry other alterations of the buildings. The Library was +closed for several days, and in the meantime the walls, where the +entrances were, were pulled down and wooden partitions were run up +across the room, making each department of much smaller area than +before. In addition to this a boarded-in staircase was erected in Edmund +Street, by which persons were able to gain access to the Lending +Library, which is on the ground floor, and to the Reference Library, +which was immediately above. A similar staircase was made in +Ratcliff-place, near the cab stand, for the accommodation of the members +of the Midland Institute, who occupy the Paradise-street side of the +building. The space between the two staircases was boarded up, in order +to keep the public off the works during the alterations, and the +necessary gas supply pipes, &c., were located outside these wooden +partitions. The alterations were well advanced by Christmas, and +everything bade fair for an early and satisfactory completion of the +undertaking. The weather, however, was most severe, and now and then the +moisture in the gas-pipes exposed to the air became frozen. This +occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, January 11, 1879, and an employe +of the gas office lit a gas jet to thaw one of the pipes, A shaving was +blown by the wind across this light, it blazed; the flame caught other +shavings, which had been packed round the pipe to keep the frost out, +and in less than a minute the fire was inside, and in one hour the +Birmingham Reference Library was doomed to destruction. It was the +greatest loss the town had ever suffered, but a new building has arisen +on the site, and (with certain exceptions) it is hoped that a more +perfect and valuable Library will be gathered to fill it. In a few days +after the fire it was decided to ask the public at large for at least +L10,000 towards a new collection, and within a week L7,000 had been sent +in, the principal donors named in the list being-- + + L s. +The Mayor (Mr. Jesse Collins). .. .. .. 100 0 +Alderman Chamberlain, M.P. (as + Trustee of the late Mrs. + Chamberlain, Moor Green) .. .. .. .. 1000 0 +Alderman Chamberlain, M.P. .. .. .. .. 500 0 +Alderman Avery .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 500 0 +Mr. John Jaffray.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 500 0 +Mr. A. Follett Osler, F.R.S... .. .. .. 500 0 +Mr. John Feeney .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 +Mrs. Harrold .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 +Mr. Timothy Kenrick .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 +Mr. William Middlemore .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 +A Friend .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 +Mr. James Atkins.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 105 0 +Lord Calthorpe .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 +Lord Teynham.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 +Mr. Thomas Gladstone.. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 +Messrs. William Tonks and Sons .. .. .. 100 0 +Mr. W.A. Watkins.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 +Mr. and Mrs. T. Scruton .. .. .. .. .. 75 0 +Dr. Anthony .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 52 10 +Mr. Oliver Pemberton.. .. .. .. .. .. 52 10 +Alderman Baker .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Alderman Barrow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Messrs. Cadbury Brothers.. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. J.H. Chamberlain.. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Alderman Deykin .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. T.S. Fallows.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. J.D. Goodman.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Councillor Johnson .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. William Martin .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Councillor Thomas Martineau .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Councillor R.F. Martineau .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. Lawley Parker .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mrs. E. Phipson .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Messrs. Player Brothers .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. Walter Showell .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. Sam Timmins .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +The Rev. A.R. Vardy .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +Mr. J.S. Wright and Sons.. .. .. .. .. 50 0 +In sums of L20, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 480 5 +In sums of L10, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 247 2 +In sums of L5, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 169 5 +Smaller amounts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 88 8 + +This fund has received many noble additions since the above, the total, +with interest, amounting, up to the end of 1883, to no less than +L15,500, of which there is still in hand, L10,000 for the purchase of +books. The precaution of insuring such an institution and its contents +had of course been taken, and most fortunately the requisite +endorsements on the policies had been made to cover the extra risk +accruing from the alteration in progress. The insurances were made in +the "Lancashire" and "Yorkshire" offices, the buildings for L10,000, the +Reference Library for L12,000, the Lending Library for L1,000, the +Shakespeare Library for L1,500, the Prince Consort statue for L1,000, +the models of Burke and Goldsmith for L100, and the bust of Mr. Timmins +for L100, making L25,700 in all. The two companies hardly waited for the +claim to be made, but met it in a most generous manner, paying over at +once L20,000, of which L10,528 has been devoted to the buildings and +fittings, nearly L500 paid for expenses and injury to statues, and the +remaining L9,000 put to the book purchase fund. In the Reference Library +there were quite 48,000 volumes, in addition to about 4,000 of patent +specifications. Every great department of human knowledge was +represented by the best known works. In history, biography, voyages, and +travels, natural history, fine arts, all the greatest works, not only in +English, but often in the principal European languages, had been +gathered. Volumes of maps and plans, engravings of all sorts of +antiquities, costumes, weapons, transactions of all the chief learned +societies, and especially bibliography, or "books about books" had been +collected with unceasing care, the shelves being loaded with costly and +valuable works rarely found out of the great libraries of London, or +Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, or Glasgow. Among the collections lost +were many volumes relating to the early history of railways in England, +originally collected by Mr. Charles Brewin, and supplemented by all the +pamphlets and tracts procurable. Many of those volumes were full of +cuttings from contemporary newspapers, and early reports of early +railway companies, and of the condition of canals and roads. Still more +valuable were many bundles of papers, letters, invoices, calculations, +etc., concerning the early attempt to establish the cotton manufacture +in Birmingham at the beginning of the last century, including the papers +of Warren, the printer, and some letters of Dr. Johnson, and others +relating the story of the invention of spinning by rollers--the work of +John Wyatt and Lewis Paul--long before Arkwright's time. Among the +immense collection of Birmingham books and papers were hundreds of Acts +of Parliament, Birmingham Almanacs, Directories (from 1770) most +curious, valuable, and rare; a heap of pamphlets on the Grammar School, +Birmingham History, Topography, and Guides; the political pamphlets of +Job Nott and John Nott, some of which were the only copies known, the +more ancient pamphlets describing Prince Rupert's Burning Love (date +1613) and others of that time; reports from the year 1726 of the several +local learned institutions; an invaluable collection of maps; programmes +of the Festivals; and copies of all the known Birmingham newspapers and +periodicals (some being perfect sets) etc., etc. Of all the host not +more than 1,000 volumes were saved. The fame of the Shakespeare Memorial +Library at Birmingham was world-wide and to us it had extra value as +emanating from the love which George Dawson bore for the memory of +Shakespeare. It was his wish that the library should be possessed of +every known edition of the bard's works in every language, and that it +should contain every book ever printed about him or his writings. In the +words of Mr. Timmins, "The devotion of George Dawson to Shakespeare was +not based upon literary reasons alone, nor did it only rest upon his +admiration and his marvel at the wondrous gifts bestowed upon this +greatest of men, but it was founded upon his love for one who loved so +much. His heart, which knew no inhumanity, rejoiced in one who was so +greatly human, and the basis of his reverence for Shakespeare was his +own reverence for man. It was thus, to him, a constant pleasure to mark +the increasing number of the students of Shakespeare, and to see how, +first in one language and then in another, attempts were made to bring +some knowledge of his work to other nations than the English-speaking +ones; and the acquisition of some of these books by the library was +received by him with delight, not merely or not much for acquisition +sake, but as another evidence of the ever-widening influence of +Shakespeare's work. The contents of this library were to Mr. Dawson a +great and convincing proof that the greatest of all English authors had +not lived fruitlessly, and that the widest human heart the world has +known had not poured out its treasure in vain." So successful had the +attempts of the collectors been that nearly 7,000 volumes had been +brought together, many of them coming from the most distant parts of the +globe. The collection included 336 editions of Shakspeare's complete +works in English, 17 in French, 58 in German, 3 in Danish, 1 in Dutch, 1 +in Bohemian, 3 in Italian, 4 in Polish, 2 in Russian, 1 in Spanish, 1 in +Swedish; while in Frisian, Icelandic, Hebrew, Greek, Servian, +Wallachian, Welsh, and Tamil there were copies of many separate plays. +The English volumes numbered 4,500, the German 1,500, the French 400. +The great and costly editions of Boydell and Halliwell, the original +folios of 1632, 1664, and 1685, the very rare quarto contemporary issues +of various plays, the valuable German editions, the matchless collection +of "ana," in contemporary criticism, reviews, &c., and the interesting +garnering of all the details of the Tercentenary Celebration-- +wall-posters, tickets, pamphlets, caricatures, &c., were all to be found +here, forming the largest and most varied collection of Shakspeare's +works, and the English and foreign literature illustrating them, which +has ever been made, and the greatest literary memorial which any author +has ever yet received. So highly was the library valued that its +contents were consulted from Berlin and Paris, and even from the United +States, and similar libraries have been founded in other places. Only +500 of the books were preserved, and many of them were much damaged. The +loss of the famed Staunton or Warwickshire collection was even worse +than that of the Shakespearean, rich and rare as that was, for it +included the results of more than two centuries' patient work, from the +days of Sir William Dugdale down to the beginning of the present +century. The manuscript collections of Sir Simon Archer, fellow-labourer +of Dugdale, the records of the Berkeley, Digby, and Ferrers families, +the valued and patient gatherings of Thomas Sharpe, the Coventry +antiquarian, of William Hamper, the Birmingham collector, and of William +Staunton himself, were all here, forming the most wonderful county +collection ever yet formed, and which a hundred years' work will never +replace. The books, many rare or unique, and of extraordinary value, +comprised over 2000 volumes; there were hundreds of sketches and +water-colour drawings of buildings long since destroyed, and more than +1,500 engravings of various places in the county, among them being some +300 relating to Birmingham, 200 to Coventry, 200 to Warwick Castle, 200 +to Kenilworth Castle, and more than 100 to Stratford-on-Avon. The +thousand portraits of Warwickshire Worthies, more rare and valuable +still, included no less than 267 distinct portraits of Shakespeare, +every one from a different block or plate. There was, in fact, +everything about Warwickshire which successive generations of learned +and generous collectors could secure. Among other treasures were +hundreds of Acts of Parliament, all pedigrees, pamphlets, &c., about the +Earls of Warwick and the town of Warwick; the original vellum volume +with the installation of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, to the Order +of St. Michael, with his own autograph; volumes of rare, curious +autographs of county interest; county poll books, newspapers and +magazines; all the rare Civil War pamphlets relating to the Warwickshire +incidents; ancient deeds, indulgences, charters, seals, rubbings of +brasses long lost or worn away, medals, coins, hundreds in number; and +rare and invaluable volumes, like the Duc de Nortombria's "Arcano de +Mare," and two fine copies of Dugdale's Warwickshire; besides hundreds +of books, engravings, caricatures, pamphlets and tracts. The catalogue +of this precious collection had only recently been completed, but even +that was burnt, so that there is nothing left to show the full extent of +the loss sustained. The only salvage consisted of three books, though +most providentially one of the three was the splendid Cartulary of the +Priory of St. Anne, at Knowle, a noble vellum folio, richly illuminated +by some patient scribe four centuries ago, and preserving not only the +names of the benefactors of the Priory, and details of its possessions, +but also the service books of the Church, with the ancient music and +illuminated initials, as fresh and perfect as when first written. Of +almost inestimable value, it has now an acquired interest in the fact of +its being, so to speak, all that remains of all the great Staunton +collection. The Cervantes Library, which had taken him a quarter of a +century to gather together, was presented by Mr. William Bragge. For +many years, even in a busy life, Mr. Bragge, in his visits to Spain and +his travels all over Europe, had been able to collect nearly all the +known editions, not only of "Don Quixote," but of all the other works of +Cervantes. Not only editions, but translations into any and every +language were eagerly sought; and, after cherishing his treasures for +many years, Mr. Bragge was so impressed with the Shakespeare Library +that he generously offered his unrivalled collection of the great +contemporary author to the town of which he is a native, and in which he +afterwards came to live. The collection extended from editions published +in 1605 down to our own days, and included many very rare and very +costly illustrated volumes, which can never be replaced. All the known +translations were among the thousand volumes, and all the works were in +the choicest condition, but only ten survived the fire.--From the +Lending Library about 10,000 volumes were rescued, and as there were +nearly 4,000 in the hands of readers, the loss here was comparatively +small. The present number of books in the Reference Library bids fair to +surpass the collection lost, except, of course, as regards the +Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Staunton gatherings, the latter of which it +is simply impossible to replace, while it will take many years to make +up the other two. There are now (March, 1884) over 54,000 volumes on the +shelves, including 4,300 saved from the fire, about 33,000 purchased, +and nearly 17,000 presented. Among the latter are many rare and costly +works given to Birmingham soon after the catastrophe by a number of +societies and gentlemen connected with the town, as well as others at +home and abroad. To catalogue the names of all donors is impossible, but +a few of those who first contributed may be given. Foremost, many of the +books being of local character, was the gift of Mr. David Malins, which +included Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, 1492, one vol.; Camden's +Britannia, ed. Gibson, 1695, one vol.; Ackermann's London, Westminster +Abbey, Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, &c., ten vols.; Works of +Samuel Parr, 1828, eight vols.; Illustrated Record of European Events, +1812-1815, one vol.; Thompson's Seasons, illustrated by Bartolozzi, and +other works, seventy vols.; Notes and Queries (complete set of five +series), 1850-78, fifty-seven vols.; Dugdale's "Warwickshire, 1656, and +other books relating to Birmingham, Warwickshire and neighbourhood, +seventy-four vols.; books printed by Baskerville, ten vols.; +Birmingham-printed books, 203 vols.; books on or by Birmingham authors, +fifty-six vols.; total, 491 vols.; in addition to a collection of about +600 portraits, maps and views relating to Birmingham, Warwickshire and +the neighbourhood, including sixty portraits of Shakespeare. The +Manchester Town Council sent us from their Public Library about 300 +volumes, among which may be named the edition of Barclay's Apology +printed by Baskerville (1765); a fine copy of the folio edition of Ben +Johnson (1640); the Duke of Newcastle's New Method to Dress Horses +(1667); several volumes of the Maitland Club books, the catalogue of the +Harleian MSS (1759); two tracts of Socinus (1618); the Foundations of +Manchester (4 vols.); Daulby's Rembrandt Catalogue; Weever's Funeral +Monuments (1631); Visconti's Egyptian Antiquities (1837); Heylyn's +History of St. George (1633), and Nicholl's History of English Poor Law. +There are also a considerable number of works of science and general +literature of a more modern date. The trustees of the British Museum +gave about 150 works, relating to Greek, Egyptian, Syrian, Phoenician, +and other antiquities, to various departments of natural science, and +other interesting matters, the whole constituting a valuable +contribution towards the restored library. The Science and Art +Department of South Kensington sent a selection of catalogues, +chromo-lithographs, books of etchings, photographs, &c. Dr. F.A. Leo, of +Berlin, sent a splendid copy of his valuable _fac-simile_ of "Four +Chapters of North's Plutarch," illustrating Shakespeare's Roman plays, +to replace his former gift-volume lost in the calamitous fire. The +volume is one of twenty-four copies, and the learned Professor added a +printed dedication as a record of the fire and the loss. Dr. Delius, of +Bonn, Herr Wilhelm Oechelhaueser, of Dessau, and other German Shakespeare +authors sent copies of their works. Mr. J. Payne Collier offered copies +of his rare quarto reprints of Elizabethan books, to replace those which +had been lost. Mr. Gerald Massey offered a copy of his rare volume on +Shakespeare's Sonnets, "because it is a Free Library." Mr. H. Reader +Lack offered a set of the Patent Office volumes from the limited number +at his disposal as Chief of the Patent Office. Dr. Kaines, of Trinder +Road, London, selected 100 volumes from his library for acceptance; Mrs. +and Miss L. Toulmin Smith sent all they could make up of the works of +Mr. J. Toulmin Smith, and of his father, Mr. W. Hawkes Smith, both +natives of our town; Messrs. Low, Son, and Co., gave 120 excellent +volumes; Messrs. W. and R. Chambers, Messrs. Crosby, Lockwood, and Co., +and other publishers, valuable books; Mr. James Coleman his "Index to +Pedigrees," "Somerset House Registers," and "William Penn Pedigrees;" +Miss N. Bradley (Bath) the new reissue of Professor Ruskin's works; Mr. +H.W. Adnitt (Shrewsbury) his reprint of Gough's curious "History of +Myddie," and of Churchyard's "Miserie of Flaunders," and "The Four +Ministers of Salop:" Mr. H.F. Osle presented a, fine collection of Art +books, including Gruener's great work, and Mr. J.H. Stone made a valuable +donation of the same kind. The above are mere items in the list of +generous donors, and gives but small idea of the many thousands of +volumes which have streamed in from all parts. Many indeed have been the +valuable gifts and additions by purchase since the fire, one of the +latest being nearly the whole of the almost priceless collection of +Birmingham books, papers, &c., belonging to Mr. Sam. Timmins. The sum of +L1,100 was paid him for a certain portion of backs, but the number he +has given at various times is almost past count. Immediate steps were +taken after the fire to get the lending department of the Library into +work again, and on the 9th of June, 1879, a commodious (though rather +dark) reading room was opened in Eden Place, the Town Council allowing a +number of rooms in the Municipal Buildings to be used by the Libraries +Committee. In a little time the nucleus of the new Reference gathering +was also in hand, and for three years the institution sojourned with the +Council. The new buildings were opened June 1st, 1882, and the date +should be recorded as a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving. The Reference +department was opened to readers on the 26th of the same month. In place +of the hired rooms so long used as a library in Constitution Hill, there +has been erected in the near neighbourhood a neat two-storey building +which will accommodate some 2,000 readers per day, and the shelves are +supplied with about 7,000 volumes. This new library was opened July 18, +1883. To summarise this brief history of the Birmingham Free Libraries +it is well to state that L78,000 has been spent on them, of which +L36,392 has been for buildings. The cost of the Central Library so far +has been L55,000, the remaining L23,000 being the expenditure on the +branch libraries. The present annual cost is L9,372, of which L3,372 +goes for interest and sinking fund, so that an addition must soon be +made to the 1d. rate, which produces L6,454. The power to increase the +rate is given in the last Act of Parliament obtained by the Corporation. +At the end of 1882 the Reference Library contained 50,000 volumes. The +number of books in the Central Lending Library was 21,394, while the +branch lending libraries contained--Constitution Hill, 7,815; Deritend, +8,295; Gosta Green, 8,274; and Adderley Park, 3,122. The aggregate of +all the libraries was 98,900 volumes. The issues of books during 1882 +were as follows:--Reference Library, 202,179; Central Lending Library, +186,988; Constitution Hill, 73,705; Deriteud, 70,218; Gosta Green, +56,160; Adderley Park, 8,497; total, 597,747; giving a daily average of +2,127 issues. These figures are exclusive of the Sunday issues at the +Reference Library, which numbered 25,095. The average number of readers +in the Reference Library on Sundays has been 545; and the average +attendance at all the libraries shows something like 55,000 readers per +week, 133 different weekly and monthly periodicals being put on the +tables for their use, besides the books. At a meeting of the School +Board, June 4, 1875, permission was given to use the several infants' +schoolrooms connected with the Board Schools, as evening reading rooms +in connection with the libraries. + +_The Shakespeare Memorial Library_, though to all intents and purposes +part and parcel of the Reference Library, has a separate and distinct +history. Mr. Sam. Timmins, who is generally credited with having (in +1858) first suggested the formation of a library, which should consist +solely of Shakespeare's works, and Shakespeareana of all possible kinds, +said, at the tercentenary meeting, that the idea originated with George +Dawson, but perhaps the honour should be divided, as their mutual +appreciation of the greatest poet whose genius has found utterance in +our language is well known. The first practical step taken was the +meeting, held (July 10, 1863) of gentlemen interested in the +tercentenary, for the purpose of considering a proposal to celebrate +that event by the formation of a Shakespearean library. The Rev. Charles +Evans, head master of King Edward's School, presided. The following +resolution, moved by Mr. G. Dawson, and seconded by the Rev. S. Bache, +was adopted:--"That it is desirable to celebrate the tercentenary of the +birth of Shakespeare by the formation of a Shakespearean library, +comprising the various editions of the poet's works, and the literature +and works of art connected therewith, and to associate such library with +the Borough Central Reference Library, in order that it may be +permanently preserved." A hundred pounds were subscribed at this +meeting, and a committee formed to proceed with the project. In a very +few months funds rolled in, and Shakespeareans from all parts of the +world sent willing contributions to this the first Shakespearean library +ever thought of. It was determined to call it a "Memorial" library, in +honour of the tercentenary of 1864, and on the poet's day of that year, +the library was formally presented to the town at a breakfast given at +Nock's Hotel by the Mayor (Mr. W. Holliday). Dr. Miller, George Dawson, +M.D. Hill (Recorder), T.C.S. Kynnersley, R.W. Dale, Sam. Timmins, and +others took part in the proceedings, and the Mayor, on behalf of the +Free Libraries Committee, accepted the gift on the terms agreed to by +the Town Council, viz., that the Library should be called "The +Shakespearean Memorial Library," that a room should be specially and +exclusively appropriated for the purposes thereof; that the library +should be under the same regulations as the Reference Library; and that +the Free Libraries' Committee should maintain and augment it, and accept +all works appertaining to Shakespeare that might be presented, &c. As +George Dawson prophesied on that occasion, the library in a few years +become the finest collection of Shakespearean literature in Europe +therein being gathered from every land which the poet's fame had +reached, not only the multitudinous editions of his works, but also +every available scrap of literature bearing thereon, from the massive +folios and quaint quartoes of the old times to the veriest trifle of +current gossip culled from the columns of the newspapers. Nothing was +considered too rare or too unimportant, so long as it had connection +even remote to Shakespeare; and the very room (opened April 23, 1888), +in which the books were stored itself acquired a Shakespearean value in +its carved and elaborately-appropriate fittings. When started, it was +hoped that at least 5,000 volumes would be got together, but that number +was passed in 1874, and at the end of 1878 there were more than 8,700, +in addition to the books, pictures, documents, and relics connected with +Stratford-on-Avon and her gifted son contained in the Staunton +collection. How all the treasures vanished has already been told. Much +has been done to replace the library, and many valuable works have been +secured; but, as the figures last published show, the new library is a +long way behind as yet. It now contains 4,558 volumes, valued at L1,352 +9s. 3d., classified as follows:--English, 2,205 volumes; French, 322; +German, 1,639; Bohemian, 14; Danish, 25; Dutch, 68; Finnish, 4; Frisian, +2; Greek, 9; Hebrew, 2; Hungarian, 44; Icelandic, 3; Italian, 94; +Polish, 15; Portuguese, 3; Roumanian, 1; Roumelian, 1; Russian, 56; +Spanish, 18; Swedish, 30; Ukraine, 1; Wallachian, 1; and Welsh, 1. + +~Libraries Suburban.~--The ratepayers of the Manor of Aston adopted the +Free Libraries Act, May 15, 1877, and their Library forms part of the +Local Board buildings in Witton Road. At the end of March, 1883, the +number of volumes in the reference library was 3,216, and the issues +during the year numbered 8,096. In the lending department the library +consists of 5,582 volumes, and the total issues during the year were +74,483; giving a daily average of 245. The number of borrowers was +3,669.--Aston and Handsworth being almost part of Birmingham, it would +be an act of kindness if local gentlemen having duplicates on their +library shelves, would share them between the two. + +_Handsworth_ Free Library was opened at the Local Board Offices, of +which building it forms a part, on May 1, 1880, with a collection of +about 5,000 volumes, which has since been increased to nearly 7,500. +That the library is appreciated is shown by the fact that during last +year the issues numbered 42,234 volumes, the borrowers being 514 males +and 561 females. + +_Smethwick_ Free Library and Reading Room was opened Aug. 14, 1880. + +_King's Norton_.--In or about 1680, the Rev. Thomas Hall, B.D., founded +a curious old Library for the use of the parishioners, and the books are +preserved in the Grammar School, near the Church. This is the earliest +_free_ library known in the Midlands. + +~Licensed Victuallers' Society.~--See "_Trade Protection Societies_." + +~Licensed Victuallers' Asylum.~--See "_Philanthropical Institutions_." + +~Licensed Victuallers.~--The following table shows the number of +licensed victuallers, dealers in wine, beer, &c., in the borough as well +as the holders of what are known as outdoor licenses:-- + + +Year. Licensed Beer and Total. Population. Beer, &c., Grocers. + Victuallers. Wine On. Off. +1870 687 1166 1853 337,982 .. .. +1871 683 1165 1848 343,690 .. .. +1872 684 1117 1801 349,398 .. 23 +1873 684 1083 1767 355,106 4 53 +1874 680 1081 1761 360,814 4 53 +1875 676 1057 1733 366,522 7 73 +1876 675 1059 1734 372,230 171 73 +1877 673 1054 1727 377,938 223 74 +1878 672 1046 1718 383,646 334 77 +1879 671 1061 1732 389,354 433 61 +1880 670 1060 1730 395,063 454 63 +1881 669 1054 1723 400,774 454 55 +1882 670 1054 1724 406,482 459 57 + + +~Lifeboats.~--In 1864-65 a small committee, composed of Messrs. H. +Fulford, G. Groves, J. Pearce, D. Moran, G. Williams, R. Foreshaw, and +G. Lempiere, aided by the Mayor and Dr. Miller, raised about L500 as a +contribution from Birmingham to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. +Two boats were credited to us in the Society's books, one called +"Birmingham" (launched at Soho Pool, November 26, 1864), and the other +the "James Pearce." These boats, placed on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk +coasts, were instrumental in the saving of some hundreds of lives, but +both have, long since, been worn out, and it is about time that +Birmingham replaced them. Messrs. C. and W. Barwell, Pickford Street, +act as local hon. secs. The "Charles Ingleby" lifeboat, at Hartlepool, +was paid for, and the establishment for its maintenance endowed, out of +the sum of L1,700, contributed by C.P. Wragge, Esq., in memory of the +late Rev. Charles Ingleby. + +~Lifford,~ in the parish of King's Norton, once boasted of a Monastic +establishment, which was squelched by Bluff King Harry, the only remains +now to be found consisting of a few more than half-buried foundations +and watercourses. + +~Lighting.~--Oil lamps for giving light in the streets were in limited +use here in 1733, even before an Act was obtained to enforce payment of +a rate therefor. Deritend and Bordesley obtained light by the Act passed +in 1791. The Street Commissioners, Nov. 8, 1816, advertised for tenders +for lighting the streets with gas, but it was nearly ten years (April +29, 1826) before the lamps were thus supplied. The Lighting Act was +adopted at Saltley April 1, 1875. Lighting the streets by electricity +_may_ come some day, though, as the Gas Works belong to the town, it +will, doubtless, be in the days of our grandchildren. + +~Lighting by Electricity.~--After the very successful application of the +electric light in the Town Hall on the occasion of the Festival in 1882, +it is not surprising that an attempt should be made to give it a more +extended trial. A scheme has been drawn out by the Crompton-Winfield +Company for this purpose, and it has received the sanction of the Town +Council, and been confirmed by the Board of Trade, shopkeepers in the +centre of the town may soon have a choice of lights for the display of +their wares. The area fixed by the scheme is described by the following +boundaries:--Great Charles Street to Congreve Street; Congreve Street to +Edmund Street; Edmund Street to Newhall Street; Newhall Street to +Colmore Row; Colmore Row to Bull Street; Bull Street, High Street, New +Street, Stephenson Place, Paradise Street, and Easy Row. The streets to +be supplied with electric mains within two years are as follows:--Great +Charles Street (to Congreve Street), Congreve Street, New Street, +Stephenson Place, Easy Row, and Paradise Street. The Corporation are to +have powers of purchasing the undertaking at the end of sixteen years-- +that is, fourteen years after the expiration of the two-years' term +allowed for the experimental lighting of the limited area. The order, +while fully protecting the rights of the public and of the Corporation, +justly recognises the experimental character of the project of +electric-lighting from a common centre, and is much more favourable, in +many ways, to the promoters than the legislation under which gas +undertakings are conducted. Whether this will tend towards reducing the +price of gas remains to be seen. + +~Lightning Conductors~ were introduced here in 1765. + +~Lindon.~--The Minerva, in Peck Lane, was, circa 1835, kept by "Joe +Lindon," a host as popular then as our modern "Joe Hillman," up at "The +Stores," in Paradise Street. + +~Literary Associations.~--The Central Literary Association first met +Nov. 28, 1856. The Moseley and Balsall Heath, Oct. 11, 1877. + +~Livery Street.~--So called from the Livery stables once there, opposite +Brittle street, which is now covered by the Great Western Railway +Station. + +~Livingstone.~--Dr. Livingstone, the African traveller, delivered an +address in the Town Hall, October 23, 1857. + +~Loans.~--According to the Registrar-General's late report, there were +380 loan societies in the kingdom, who had among them a capital of +L122,160, the members of the said societies numbering 33,520, giving an +average lending capital of L3 12s. 10-1/2d. each. That is certainly not +a very large sum to invest in the money market, and it is to be hoped +that the score or two of local societies can show better funds. What the +profits of this business are frequently appear in the reports taken at +Police Courts and County Courts, where Mr. Cent.-per-Cent. now and then +bashfully acknowledges that he is sometimes satisfied with a profit of +200 per cent. There _are_ respectable offices in Birmingham where loans +can be obtained at a fair and reasonable rate, but _Punch's_ advice to +those about to marry may well be given in the generality of cases, to +anyone thinking of visiting a loan office. Young men starting in +business may, under certain conditions, obtain help for that purpose +from the "Dudley Trust."--See "_Philanthropical Trusts_." + +~Loans, Public.~--England, with its National Debt of L776,000,000, is +about the richest country in the world, and if the amount of +indebtedness is the sign of prosperity, Birmingham must be tolerably +well off. Up to the end of 1882 our little loan account stood thus:-- + + + Borrowd Repaid Owing. +Baths .. .. .. .. L62,425 L27,743 L34,682 +Cemetery .. .. .. 46,500 19,316 27,184 +Closed Burial Gr'nds 10,000 41 9,959 +Council House .. .. 135,762 10,208 125,554 +Fire Brigade Station 6,000 53 5,947 +Free Libraries.. .. 56,050 7,534 48,516 +Gaol .. .. .. .. 92,350 79,425 12,925 +Industrial School .. 13,710 2,310 11,400 +Asylum, Winson Gn... 100,000 97,020 2,980 + " Rubery Hill.. 100,012 5,887 94,125 +Markt Hall & Markts 186,942 73,463 113,479 +Mortuaries.. .. .. 700 103 597 +Parks .. .. .. .. 63,210 12,347 50,863 +Paving roads .. .. 158,100 30,088 128,012 +Paving footways .. 79,950 8,113 71,837 +Police Stations .. 25,231 9,839 15,392 +Public Office .. .. 23,400 14,285 9,115 +Sewers & Sewerage .. 366,235 81,338 284,897 +Tramways .. .. .. 65,450 17,125 48,325 +Town Hall .. .. .. 69,521 37,885 31,636 +Town Improvements .. 348,680 134,156 214,524 + ------------------------------ + 2,010,227 668,278 1,341,949 +Improvem't scheme .. 1,534,731 31,987 1,502,744 +Gasworks .. .. .. 2,184,186 142,359 2,041,827 +Waterworks.. .. .. 1,814,792 5,086 1,809,706 + ----------------------------- +Totals.. .. .. .. 7,543,936 847,710 6,696,226 + + +The above large total, however, does not show all that was owing. The +United Drainage Board have borrowed L386,806, and as Birmingham pays +L24,722 out of the year's expenditure of L33,277 of that Board, rather +more than seven-tenths of that debt must be added to the Borough +account, say L270,000. The Board of Guardians have, between June, 1869, +and January, 1883, borrowed on loan L130,093, and during same period +have repaid L14,808, leaving L115,285 due by them, which must also be +added to the list of the town's debts. + +~Local Acts.~--There have been a sufficient number of specially-local +Acts of Parliament passed in connection with this town to fill a law +library of considerable size. Statutes, clauses, sections, and orders +have followed in rapid succession for the last generation or two. Our +forefathers were satisfied and gratified if they got a regal of +parliamentary notice of this kind once in a century, but no sooner did +the inhabitants find themselves under a "properly-constituted" body of +"head men," than the lawyers' game began. First a law must be got to +make a street, another to light it, a third to pave it, and then one to +keep it clean. It is a narrow street, and an Act must be obtained to +widen it; when widened some wiseacre thinks a market should be held in +it, and a law is got for that, and for gathering tolls; after a bit, +another is required to remove the market, and then the street must be +"improved," and somebody receives more pounds per yard than he gave +pence for the bit of ground wanted to round off the corners; and so the +Birmingham world wagged on until the town became a big town, and could +afford to have a big Town Hall when other big towns couldn't, and a +covered Market Hall and a Smithfield of good size, while other places +dwelt under bare skies. The Act by which the authority of the Street +Commissioners and Highway Surveyors was transferred to the Corporation +was passed in 1851; the expenses of obtaining it reaching nearly L9,000. +It took effect on New Year's Day following, and the Commissioners were +no longer "one of the powers that be," but some of the Commissioners' +bonds are effective still. Since that date there have been twenty local +statutes and orders relating to the borough of Birmingham, from the +Birmingham Improvement Act, 1851, to the Provisional Order Confirmation +Act, passed in 1882, the twenty containing a thousand or more sections. +All this, however, has recently been altered, the powers that are now +having (through the Town Clerk, Mr. Orford Smith) rolled all the old +Acts into one, eliminating useless and obsolete clauses, and inserting +others necessitated by our high state of advanced civilisation. The new +Act, which is known as the Birmingham Corporation Consolidation Act, +came into force January 1, 1884, and all who desire to master our local +governing laws easily and completely had better procure a copy of the +book containing it, with notes of all the included statutes, compiled by +the Town Clerk, and published by Messrs. Cornish, New Street. + +~Local Epitaphs.~--Baskerville, when young, was a stone cutter, and it +was known that there was a gravestone in Handsworth churchyard and +another in Edgbaston churchyard which were cut by him. The latter was +accidentally broken many years back, but was moved and kept as a +curiosity until it mysteriously vanished while some repairs were being +done at the church. It is believed that Baskerville wrote as well as +carved the inscription which commemorated the death of Edward Richards +who was an idiot, and died Sept. 21st, 1728, and that it ran thus:-- + + + "If innocents are the fav'rites of heaven, + And God but little asks where little's given, + My great Creator has for me in store + Eternal joys--What wise man can ask more?" + + +The gravestone at Handsworth was "under the chancel window," sixty years +ago, overgrown with moss and weeds, but inscription and stone have long +since gone. Baskerville's own epitaph, on the Mausoleum in his grounds +at Easy Hill, has often been quoted:-- + + + 'Stranger, + Beneath this cone, in unconsecrated ground, + A friend to the liberties of mankind directed his body to be inurned. + May the example contribute to emancipate thy mind + From the idle fears of Superstition, + And the wicked Act of Priesthood! + + +Almost as historical as the above, is the inscription on the tombstone +erected over Mary Ashford, at Sutton Coldfield:-- + + + As a Warning to Female Virtue, + And a humble Monument of Female Chastity, + This Stone marks the Grave + of + MARY ASHFORD, + Who, in the 20th year of her age, + Having incautiously repaired + To a scene of amusement + Without proper protection, + Was brutally violated and murdered, + On the 27th May, 1817. + + Lovely and chaste as is the primrose pale, + Rifled of virgin sweetness by the gale, + Mary! The wretch who thee remorseless slew, + Will surely God's avenging wrath pursue. + + For, though the deed of blood be veiled in night, + "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" + Fair, blighted flower! The muse, that weeps thy doom, + Rears o'er thy sleeping dust this warning tomb! + + +The following quaint inscription appears on the tombstone erected in +memory of John Dowler, the blacksmith, in Aston churchyard:-- + + + Sacred to the Memory of + JOHN DOWLER, + Late of Castle Bromwich, who + Departed this life December 6th, 1787, + Aged 42, + Also two of his Sons, JAMES and CHARLES, + Who died infants. + + + My sledge and hammer lie reclined, + My bellows, too, have lost their wind + My fire's extinct, my forge decayed, + And in the dust my vice is laid; + My coal is spent, my iron gone, + My nails are drove, my work is done. + + +The latter part of the above, like the next four, has appeared in many +parts of the country, as well as in the local burial grounds, from which +they have been copied:-- + +From St. Bartholomew's: + + + "The bitter cup that death gave me + Is passing round to come to thee." + + +From General Cemetery: + + + "Life is a city full of crooked streets, + Death is the market-place where all men meets; + If life were merchandise which men could buy, + The rich would only live, the poor would die." + + +From Witton Cemetery: + + + "O earth, O earth! observe this well-- + That earth to earth shall come to dwell; + Then earth in earth shall close remain, + Till earth from earth shall rise again." + + +From St. Philip's: + + + "Oh, cruel death, how could you be so unkind + To take him before, and leave me behind? + You should have taken both of us, if either, + Which would have been more pleasing to the survivor." + + +The next, upon an infant, is superior to the general run of this class +of inscription. It was copied from a slab intended to be placed in Old +Edgbaston Churchyard: + + + "Beneath this stone, in sweet repose, + Is laid a mother's dearest pride; + A flower that scarce had waked to life, + And light and beauty, ere it died. + God and His wisdom has recalled + The precious boon His love has given; + And though the casket moulders here, + The gem is sparkling now in heaven." + + +Ramblers may find many quaint epitaphs in neighbouring village +churchyards. In Shustoke churchyard, or rather on a tablet placed +against the wall of the church over the tomb of a person named Hautbach, +the date on which is 1712, there is an inscription, remarkable not only +for lines almost identical with those over Shakespeare's grave, but for +combining several other favourite specimens of graveological literature, +as here bracketed: + + + "When Death shall cut the thread of life, + Both of Mee and my living Wife, + When please God our change shall bee, + There is a Tomb for Mee and Shee, + Wee freely shall resign up all + To Him who gave, and us doth call. + + {Sleep here wee must, both in the Dust, + {Till the Resurrection of the Just. + + {Good friend, within these Railes forbear + {To dig the dust enclosed here. + {Blest bee the man who spares these stones + {And Curst be he that moves our bones. + + {Whilst living here, learn how to die; + {This benefit thoul't reap thereby: + {Neither the life or death will bee + {Grievous or sad, but joy to thee. + + {Watch thoue, and pray; thy time well spend; + {Unknown is the hour of thy end. + + {As thou art, so once were wee, + {As wee are, so must thou bee, + Dumspiramus Speramus." + + +It is a collection of epitaphs in itself, even to the last line, which +is to be found in Durham Cathedral on a "brass" before the altar. + +~Local Landowners.~--It is somewhat a difficult matter to tell how much +of the ground on which the town is built belongs to any one particular +person, even with the assistance of the "Returns" obtained by John +Bright of "the owner" of land so called, possessing estimated yearly +rentals of L1,000 and upwards. That these "Returns" may be useful to +biassed politicians is likely enough, as Lord Calthorpe is put down as +owner of 2,073 acres at an estimated rental of L113,707, while Mr. Muntz +appears as owning 2,486 acres at an estimated rental of L3,948. His +lordship's L113,707 "estimated" rental must be considerably reduced when +the leaseholders have taken their share and left him only the ground +rents. The other large ground landlords are the Trustees of the Grammar +School, the Trustees of the Colmore, Gooch, Vyse, Inge, Digby, Gillot, +Robins, and Mason estates, &c., Earl Howe, Lench's Trust, the Blue Coat +School, &c. The Corporation of Birmingham is returned as owning 257 +acres, in addition to 134 had from the Waterworks Co., but that does not +include the additions made under the Improvement Scheme, &c. The manner +in which the estates of the old Lords of the Manor, of the Guild of Holy +Cross, and the possessions of the ancient Priory, have been divided and +portioned out by descent, marriage, forfeiture, plunder, and purchase is +interesting matter of history, but rather of a private than public +nature. + +~Local Notes and Queries.~--The gathering of odd scraps of past local +history, notes of men and manners of a bygone time, and the stray (and +sometimes strange) bits of folklore garnered alone in the recollections +of greybeards, has been an interesting occupation for more than one +during the past score or two of years. The first series of "Local Notes +and Queries" in our newspapers appeared in the _Gazette_, commencing in +Feb., 1856, and was continued till Sept., 1860. There was a somewhat +similar but short series running in the columns of the _Journal_ from +August, 1861, to May, 1862. The _Daily Post_ took it up in Jan., 1863, +and devoted a column per week to "Notes" up to March, 1865, resuming at +intervals from 1867 to 1872. The series now (1884) appearing in the +_Weekly Post_ was commenced on the first Saturday (Jan. 6) in 1877. + +~Local Taxation.~--See "_Municipal Expenditure_." + +~Locks.~--The making of locks must have been one of the earliest of our +local trades, as we read of one at Throckmorton of very quaint design, +but rare workmanship, with the name thereon of "Johannes Wilkes, +Birmingham," towards the end of the 17th century. In 1824 there were 186 +locksmiths named in the Directory. + +~Lodger Franchise.~--Considering the vast amount of interest taken in +all matters connected with local Parliamentary representation, and the +periodical battles of bile and banter earned on in the Revision Courts +over the lists of voters, it is somewhat curious to note how little +advantage has been taken of the clause in the last Reform Bill which +gives the right of voting to lodgers. The qualification required is +simply the exclusive occupation of lodgings which, if let unfurnished, +are of the clear yearly value of L10; and there must be many hundreds of +gentlemen in the borough residing in apartments who would come under +this head. Out of a total of 63,221 electors in 1883 there were only 72 +who had claimed their right to vote. In many other boroughs the same +discrepancy exists, though here and there the political wire-pullers +have evidently seen how to use the lodger franchise to much better +effect, as in the case of Worcester for instance, where there are 59 +lodger voters out of a total of 6,362.--See "_Parliamentary Elections_." + +~London 'Prentice Street,~ was called Western Street or Westley's Row on +the old maps, its continuation, the Coach Yard, being then Pemberton's +Yard. How the name of London 'Prentice Street came to be given to the +delectable thoroughfare is one of "those things no fellow can +understand." At one time there was a schoolroom there, the boys being +taught good manners upstairs, while they could learn lessons of +depravity below. With the anxious desire of putting the best face on +everything that characterises the present local "fathers of the people," +the London 'Prentice has been sent to the right-about, and the nasty +dirty stinking thoroughfare is now called "Dalton Street." + +~Loveday Street,~ from Loveday Croft, a field given in Good Queen Bess's +reign, by John Cooper, as a trysting-place for the Brummagem lads and +lasses when on wooing bent. + +~Low Rents.~--A return of unassessed houses in the parish of Birmingham, +taken October 19, 1790, showed 2,000 at a rental under L5, 2,000 others +under L6, 3,000 under L7, 2,000 under L8, 500 under L9, and 500 under +L10. + +~Lozells.~--In the lease of a farm of 138 acres, sold by auction, June +24, 1793, it was written "Lowcells." Possibly the name is derived from +the Saxon "lowe" (hill) and "cele" (cold or chill) making it "the cold +hill." + +~Lunacy.~--Whether it arises from political heat, religious ecstacies, +intemperance, or the cares and worry of the universal hunt for wealth, +it is certainly a painful fact to chronicle that in proportion to +population insanity is far more prevalent now than it was fifty years +ago, and Birmingham has no more share in such excess than other parts of +the kingdom. Possibly, the figures show more prominently from the action +of the wise rules that enforce the gathering of the insane into public +institutions, instead of leaving the unfortunates to the care (or +carelessness) of their relatives as in past days, when the wards of the +poor-houses were the only receptacles for those who had no relatives to +shelter them. The erection of the Borough Asylum, at Winson Green, was +commenced in 1846, and it was finished in 1851. The house and grounds +covered an area of about twenty acres, the building being arranged to +accommodate 330 patients. Great as this number appeared to be, not many +years passed before the necessity of enlargement was perceived, and, +ultimately, it became evident the Winson Green establishment must either +be doubled in size or that a second Asylum must be erected on another +site. An estate of 150 acres on the south-eastern slopes of Rubery Hill, +on the right-hand side of the turnpike road from here to Bromsgrove, was +purchased by the Corporation, and a new Asylum, which will accommodate +616 patients, has there been erected. For the house and its immediate +grounds, 70 acres have been apportioned, the remainder being kept for +the purposes of a farm, where those of the inmates fit for work can be +employed, and where the sewage from the asylum will be utilised. The +cost of the land was L6,576 8s. 5d., and that of the buildings, the +furnishing, and the laying out of the grounds, L133,495 5s. 8d. The +report of the Lunatic Asylums Committee for 1882 stated that the number +of patients, including those boarded under contract at other asylums, on +the first of Jan., 1882, was 839. There were admitted to Winson Green +and Rubery Hill during the year 349. There were discharged during the +year 94, and there died 124, leaving, on the 31st Dec., 970. The whole +of the 970 were then at the borough asylums, and were chargeable as +follows:--To Birmingham parish, 644; to Birmingham borough, 8; to Aston +Union, in the borough, 168; to King's Norton, 16; to other unions under +contract, 98; the remaining 36 patients not being paupers. The income of +the asylums for the year was--from Birmingham patients L20,748 1s. 9.; +from pauper patients under contract, and from patients not paupers, +L2,989 9s. 5d.; from goods sold, L680 1s. 5d.; total, L24,417 12s. 7d. +The expenditure on maintenance account was L21,964 4s., and on building +capital account L2,966 7s. 7d.--total, L24,915 11s. 7d.; showing a +balance against the asylums of L497 19s. The nett average weekly cost +for the year was 9s. 6-1/2d. per head. Mr. E.B. Whitcombe, medical +superintendent at Winson Green, says that among the causes of insanity +in those admitted it is satisfactory to note a large decrease in the +number from intemperance, the percentage for the year being 7.7, as +compared with 18 and 21 per cent. in 1881 and 1880 respectively. The +proportion of recoveries to admissions was in the males 27.7, in the +females 36, and in the total 32.3 percent. This is below the average, +and is due to a large number of chronic and unfavourable cases admitted. +At Rubery Hill Asylum, Dr. Lyle reports that out of the first 450 +admissions there were six patients discharged as recovered.--The Midland +Counties' Idiot Asylum, at Knowle, opened in 1867, also finds shelter +for some of Birmingham's unfortunate children. The Asylum provides a +home for about 50, but it is in contemplation to considerably enlarge +it. At the end of 1882 there were 28 males and 21 females, 47 being the +average number of inmates during the year, the cost per head being L41 +13s. 6d. Of the limited number of inmates in the institution no fewer +than thirteen came from Birmingham, and altogether as many as +thirty-five candidates had been elected from Birmingham. The income from +all sources, exclusive of contributions to the building fund, amounted +to L2,033 3s. 8d., and the total expenditure (including L193 3s. 4d. +written off for depreciation of buildings) to L1,763 15s. 7d., leaving a +balance in hand of L269 8s. 1d. The fund which is being raised for the +enlargement of the institution then amounted to L605 15s., the sum +required being L5,000. The society's capital was then L10,850 12s. 8d. +of which L7,358 12s. 5d. had been laid out in lands and buildings. Mr. +Tait, the medical officer, was of opinion that one-fourth of the +children were capable of becoming productive workers under kindly +direction and supervision, the progress made by some of the boys in +basket-making being very marked. + +~Lunar Society.~--So called from the meetings being held at the full of +the moon that the members might have light nights to drive home, but +from which they were nicknamed "the lunatics." Originally commenced +about 1765, it included among its members Baskerville, Boulton, Watt, +Priestley, Thomas Day, Samuel Galton, R.L. Edgeworth, Dr. Withering, Dr. +Small, Dr. Darwin, Wedgwood, Keir, and indeed almost every man of +intellectual note of the time. It died down as death took the leaders, +but it may be said to have left traces in many learned societies of +later date. + +~Luncheon Bars.~--The honour of introducing the modern style of luncheon +bar must be awarded to the landlord of the Acorn, in Temple Street, who, +having seen something of the kind in one of the Channel Islands, +imported the notion to Birmingham. The lumber rooms and stables at back +of his house were cleared and fitted up as smoke rooms, and bread and +cheese, and beer, &c., dealt out over the counter. Here it was that Mr. +Hillman took his degree as popular waiter, and from the Acorn also he +took a wife to help him start "The Stores," in Paradise Street. Mr. +Thomas Hanson was not long behind Hillman before he opened up "The +Corner Stores," in Union Passage, following that with the "St. James" in +New Street, and several others in various parts of the town. The "Bars" +are now an "institution" that has become absolutely indispensable, even +for the class who prefer the semi-privacy of the "Restaurants," as the +proprietors of the more select Bars like to call their establishments. + +~Magistrates.~--By direction of the Queen's Council, in 1569, all +magistrates had to send up "bonds" that they would subscribe to the then +recently passed Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayers and Services in +the Church, and the Administration of the Sacraments. The local name of +Middlemore appears among the few in this county who objected to do so, +and most likely his descendants would do the same. The first twenty-five +of our borough magistrates were appointed about nine weeks after the +date of the Charter of Incorporation, 1839. In 1841, 1849, 1856, and +1859, other gentlemen were placed on the roll, and in April, 1880, ten +more names were added to the list, having been sent up to the Lord +Chancellor a few days before he vacated office, by some knowing +gentlemen who had conceived a notion that the Conservative element was +hardly strong enough among the occupants of the Bench. There are now 52, +in addition to the Stipendiary Magistrate and the Recorder, and as +politics _must_ enter into every matter connected with public life in +Birmingham, we record the interesting fact that 31 of these gentlemen +are Liberals and 21 Conservatives. Mr. T.C.S. Kynnersley first acted as +Stipendiary, April 19, 1856. + +~Magazines.~--See "_Newspapers and Periodicals_." + +~Manor House.~--How few of the thousands who pass Smithfield every day +know that they are treading upon ground where once the Barons of +Birmingham kept house in feudal grandeur. Whether the ancient Castle, +destroyed in the time of Stephen, pre-occupied the site of the Manor +House (or, as it was of late years called--the Moat House), is more than +antiquarians have yet found out, any more than they can tell us when the +latter building was erected, or when it was demolished. Hutton says: +"The first certain account we meet of the moat (which surrounded the +island on which the erections were built) is in the reign of Henry the +Second, 1154, when Peter de Bermingham, then lord of the fee, had a +castle here, and lived in splendour. All the succeeding lords resided +upon the same island till their cruel expulsion by John, Duke of +Northumberland, in 1537. The old castle followed its lords, and is +buried in the ruins of time. Upon the spot, about fifty years ago +[1730], rose a house in the modern style, occupied by a manufacturer +(Thomas Francis); in one of the outbuildings is shown the apartment +where the ancient lords kept their court leet. The trench being filled +with water has nearly the same appearance now as perhaps a thousand +years ago; but not altogether the same use. It then served to protect +its master, but now to turn a thread mill." Moat Lane and Mill Lane are +the only names by which the memory of the old house is now retained. The +thread mill spoken of by Hutton gave place to a brass or iron foundry, +and the property being purchased by the Commissioners, the whole was +cleared off the ground in 1815 or 1816, the sale of the building +materials, &c., taking place July 5, 1815. Among the "lots" sold, the +Moat House and offices adjoining realised L290; the large gates at the +entrance with the brick pillars, L16; the bridge, L11; the timber trees, +L25; a fire engine with carriage, &c., L6 15s. (possibly some sort of +steam engine, then called fire engines); the total produce, including +counting-house, warehouse, casting, tinning, burnishing, blacking, and +blacksmiths' shops, a horse mill, scouring mill, and a quantity of wood +sheds and palisading, amounted to nearly L1,150. The prosaic minds of +the Commissioners evidently did not lead them to value "the apartments +where the ancient lords kept their court," or it had been turned into a +scouring or tinning shop, for no mention was made of it in the catalogue +of sale, and as the old Castle disappeared, so did the Manor House, +leaving not a stone behind. Mr. William Hamper took a sketch of the old +house, in May, 1814, and he then wrote of the oldest part of the +building, that it was "half-timbered," and seemingly of about Henry +VIII.'s time, or perhaps a little later, but some of the timbers had +evidently been used in a former building (probably the old Manorial +residence) as the old mortices were to be seen in several of the beams +and uprights. The house itself was cleared away in May, 1816, and the +last of the outbuildings in the following month. So perfect was the +clearance, that not even any of the foundations have been turned up +during the alterations lately effected in Smithfield Market. In 1746, +the "manorial rights" were purchased by Thomas Archer, of Umberslade, +from whose descendants they were acquired by the Commissioners, in 1812, +under an Act of Parliament obtained for the purpose, the price given for +the Manor House, meat, and ground, being L5,672, in addition to L12,500, +for "market tolls," &c. + +~Manufactures.~--For a few notes respecting the manufactures carried on +in Birmingham, see "_Trades_." + +~Maps of Birmingham.~--Westley's "Plan of Birmingham, surveyed in the +year 1731," is the earliest published map yet met with; Bradford's in +1750, is the next. Hanson's of 1778, was reduced for Hutton's work, in +1781. For the third edition, 1792, Pye's map was used, and it was added +to in 1795. 1800 saw Bissett's "Magnificent Directory" published, with a +map; and in 1815 Kempson's survey was taken, and, as well as Pye's, was +several times issued with slight alterations, as required. In 1825, +Pigott Smith's valuable map, with names of landowners (and a miniature +copy of Westley's in upper left-hand corner), was issued, and for many +years it was the most reliable authority that could be referred to. 1834 +was prolific in maps; Arrowsmith's, Wrightson and Webb's, Guest's, and +Hunt's, appearing, the best of them being the first-named. The Useful +Knowledge Society's map, with views of public buildings, was issued in +1844, and again in 1849. In 1848, Fowler and Son published a +finely-engraved map, 68-1/4in. by 50-1/2in., of the parish of Aston, +with the Duddeston-cum-Nechells, Deritend, and Bordesley wards, and the +hamlets of Erdington, Castle Bromwich, Little Bromwich, Saltley, and +Washwood Heath, Water Orton, and Witton. The Board of Health map was +issued in 1849; Guest's reissued in 1850; Blood's "ten-mile map" in +1853; and the Post-office Directory map in 1854. In the next year, the +Town Council street map (by Pigott Smith) was published, followed by +Moody's in 1858, Cornish's and Granger's in 1860, and also a corrected +and enlarged edition of the Post-office Directory map. A variety, though +mostly of the nature of street maps, have appeared since then, the +latest, most useful, and correct (being brought down to the latest date) +being that issued to their friends, mounted for use, by Messrs. Walter +Showell and Sons, at whose head offices in Great Charles Street copies +can be obtained.--In 1882 the Corporation reproduced and issued a series +of ancient and hitherto private maps of the town and neighbourhood, +which are of great value to the historian and everyone interested in the +land on which Birmingham and its suburbs are built. The first of these +maps in point of date is that of the Manor of Edgbaston 1718, followed +by that of the Manor of Aston 1758, Little Bromwich Manor 1759, +Bordesley Manor 1760, Saltley Manor 1760, Duddeston and Nechells Manors +1778, and of Birmingham parish 1779. The last-named was the work of a +local surveyor, John Snape, and it is said that he used a camera obscura +of his own construction to enable him to make his work so perfect that +it served as correct guide to the map makers for fifty years after. + +~Markets.~--Some writers have dated the existence of Birmingham as a +market town as being prior to the Norman Conquest, charters (they say) +for the holding of markets having been granted by both Saxon and Danish +Kings. That market was held here at an early period is evident from the +fact of the charter therefore being renewed by Richard I., who visited +the De Berminghams in 1189. The market day has never been changed from +Thursday, though Tuesday and Saturday besides are now not enough; in +fact, every day may be called market day, though Thursday attracts more +of our friends from the country. The opening of Smithfield (May 29, +1817) was the means of concentrating the markets for horses, pigs, +cattle, sheep, and farm produce, which for years previously had been +offered for sale in New Street, Ann Street, High Street, and Dale End. +The Market tolls, for which L12,500 was paid in 1812, produced L5,706 +10s. 5d. in the year 1840. + +_Cattle Market_.--Prior to 1769 cattle were sold in High Street; in that +year their standings were removed to Dale End, and in 1776 (Oct. 28.) to +Deritend. Pigs and sheep were sold in New Street up to the opening of +Smithfield. Some five-and-twenty years back a movement was set on foot +for the removal of the Cattle Market to the Old Vauxhall neighbourhood, +but the cost frightened the people, and the project was shelved. The +"town improvers" of to-day, who play with thousands of pounds as +children used to do at chuck-farthing, are not so easily baulked, and +the taxpayers will doubtless soon have to find the cash for a very much +larger Cattle Market in some other part of the borough. A site has been +fixed upon in Rupert Street by the "lords in Convention," but up to now +(March, 1885), the question is not _quite_ settled. + +_Corn Market_.--The ancient market for corn, or "Corn Cheaping," formed, +part of "le Bul ryng" which at one time was almost the sole place of +traffic of our forefathers. At first an open space, as the market +granted by the early Norman Kings grew in extent, the custom arose of +setting up stalls, the right to do which was doubtless bought of the +Lords of the Manor. These grew into permanent tenements, and stallages, +"freeboards," shambles, and even houses (some with small gardens +abutting on the unfenced churchyard), gradually covered the whole +ground, and it ultimately cost the town a large sum to clear it, the +Commissioners, in 1806-7, paying nearly L25,000 for the purpose. The +farmers of a hundred years ago used to assemble with their samples of +grain round the Old Cross, or High Cross, standing nearly opposite the +present Market Hall steps, and in times of scarcity, when bread was +dear, they needed the protection of special constables. + +_Fish Market_.--In April, 1851, the fishmongers' stalls were removed +from Dale End, and the sale was confined to the Market Hall, but +consequent on the increase of population, and therefore of consumption, +a separate market, at corner of Bell Street, was opened in 1870, and +that is now being enlarged. + +_Hide and Skin Market_.--The sale of these not particularly +sweet-smelling animal products was formerly carried on in the open at +Smithfield, but a special market for them and for tallow was opened May +25, 1850; the same building being utilised as a wool market July 29, +1851. + +_Vegetable Market_, so long held in the Bull Ring, is now principally +held in the covered portion of Smithfield, which promises to be soon a +huge wholesale market. + +~Marriages.~--This is the style in which these interesting events used +to chronicled:-- + +"Sept. 30, 1751. On Monday last, the Rev. Mr. Willes, a relation of the +Lord Chief Justice Willes, was married to Miss Wilkins, daughter of an +eminent grocer of this town, a young lady of great merit, and handsome +fortune." + +"Nov. 23, 1751. On Tuesday last, was married at St. Mary-le-Bow, in +Cheapside, Mr. W. Welch, an eminent hardware man of Birmingham, to Miss +Nancy Morton, of Sheffield, an agreeable young lady, with a handsome +fortune." + +"June 4, 1772 (and not before as mentioned by mistake) at St. Philip's +Church in this town, Mr. Thomas Smallwood, an eminent wine merchant, to +Miss Harris, a young lady of distinguished accomplishments, with a +fortune of L1,500." + +~Masshouse Lane.~--Takes its name from the Roman Catholic Church (or +Mass House, as such edifices were then called) erected in 1687, and +dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen and St. Francis. The foundation stone was +laid March 23, in the above year, and on 16th August, 1688, the first +stone of a Franciscan Convent was laid adjoining to the Church, which +latter was consecrated Sept. 4. The Church was 95ft long by 33ft. wide, +and towards the building of it and the Convent, James II. gave 125 "tuns +of timber," which were sold for L180; Sir John Gage gave timber valued +at L140; the Dowager Queen Catherine gave L10 15s.; and a Mrs. Anne +Gregg, L250. This would appear to have been the first place of worship +put up here by the Romish Church since the time of Henry VIII., and it +was not allowed to stand long, for the Church and what part of the +Convent was built (in the words of the Franciscan priest who laid the +first stone) "was first defaced, and most of it burrent within to near +ye vallue of 400lb., by ye Lord Dellamer's order upon ye 26 of November, +1688, and ye day sevennight following ye rabble of Birmingham begon to +pul ye Church and Convent down, and saesed not until they had pulled up +ye fundations. They sold ye materials, of which many houses and parts of +houses are built in ye town of Birmingham, ye townsmen of ye better sort +not resisting ye rabble, but quietly permitting, if not prompting them +to doe itt." The poor priests found shelter at Harborne, where there is +another Masshouse Lane, their "Masshouse" being a little further on in +Pritchett's Lane, where for nearly a century the double work of +conducting a school and ministering to their scattered Catholic flock +was carried on, the next local place of worship built here being "St. +Peters's Chapel," off Broad Street, erected about 1786. It is believed +that St. Bartholomew's Church covers the site of the short-lived "Mass +House." + +~Masonic.~--That the Freemasons are many among us is proved by the +number of their Lodges, but the writer has no record throwing light on +their past local history, though mention is found now and then in old +newspapers of their taking part in the ceremonies attending the erection +of more than one of our public buildings. Of their local acts of +benevolence they sayeth naught, though, as is well-known, their charity +is never found wanting. The three Masonic charitable institutions which +are supported by the voluntary contributions of the craft during 1883 +realised a total income of L55,994 14s. 3d. Of this sum the boys' school +received L24,895 7s. 1d.; the Benevolent Institution, L18,449 6s.; and +the girls' school, L12,650 1s. 2d. The largest total attained previous +to 1883 was in 1880, when the sum amounted to L49,763. The boys' school, +which is now at the head of the list, is boarding, housing clothing, and +educating 221 boys; the Benevolent Institution, the second on the list, +is granting annuities of L40 each to 172 men and L32 each to 167 widows; +and the girls' school houses, boards, clothes, and educates 239 girls, +between the ages of seven and sixteen. The boys leave school at fifteen. +During the year L8,675 has been granted to 334 cases of distress from +the Fund of Benevolence, which is composed of 4s. a year taken from +every London Mason's subscription to his lodge and 2s. a year from every +country Mason's subscription. The local lodges meet as follows:--_At the +Masonic Hall, New Street_: St. Paul's Lodge, No. 43; the Faithful Lodge, +No. 473; the Howe Lodge, No. 587; the Howe R.A. Chapter; the Howe Mark +Master's Lodge; the Howe Preceptory of Knight Templars; the Temperance +Lodge, No. 739; the Leigh Lodge, No. 887; the Bedford Lodge, No. 925; +the Bedford R.A. Chapter; the Grosvenor Lodge, No. 938; the Grosvenor +R.A. Chapter; the Elkington Lodge, No 1,016; the Elkington R.A. Chapter; +the Fletcher Lodge, No. 1,031; the Fletcher R.A. Chapter; the Lodge of +Emulation, No. 1,163; the Forward Lodge, No. 1,180; the Lodge of +Charity, No. 1,551; and the Alma Mater Lodge, No. 1,644. _At the Masonic +Hall, Severn Street_: The Athol Lodge, No. 74; the Athol R.A. Chapter; +the Athol Mark Master's Lodge; and the Lodge of Israel, No. 1,474. _At +the Great Western Hotel_: The Lodge of Light, No. 468; the R.A. Chapter +of Fortitude; and the Vernon Chapter of S.P.R.C. of H.R.D.M., No. 5. _At +the Holte Hotel, Aston_: The Holte Lodge, No. 1,246. + +~Matches.~--Baker's are best, the maker says. Lucifer matches were the +invention of a young German patriot, named Kammerer, who beguiled his +time in prison (in 1832) with chemical experiments, though a North of +England apothecary, Walker, lays claim to the invention. They were first +made in Birmingham in 1852, but they have not, as yet, completely driven +the old-fashioned, and now-despised tinder-box out of the world, as many +of the latter are still manufactured in this town for sundry foreign +parts. + +~Mecca.~--The late Mr. J.H. Chamberlain, shortly before his death, said +that he looked upon Birmingham, "perhaps with a foolish pride," as the +Holy City, the Mecca of England; where life was fuller of possibilities +of utility--happier, broader, wiser, and a thousand times better than it +was in any other town in the United Kingdom. + +~Mechanical Engineers.~--The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was +organised in this town, in October 1847, but its headquarters were +removed to London, in 1877. + +~Mechanics' Institute.~--The proposal to form a local institution of a +popular nature, for the encouragement of learning among our workers, +like unto others which had been established in several large places +elsewhere, was published in June, 1825, and several meetings were held +before December 27, when officers were chosen, and entry made of nearly +200 members, to start with, the subscription being 5/-per quarter. The +formal opening took place March 21, 1826, the members assembling in +Mount Zion Chapel, to hear an address from Mr. B. Cook, the +vice-president. The class-rooms, library, and reading-rooms, were at the +school attached to the Old Meeting House, and here the Institution, so +far as the conduct of classes, and the imparting of knowledge went, +thrived and prospered. Financially, however, though at one time there +were nearly 500 members, it was never successful, possibly through lack +of assistance that might have been expected from the manufacturers and +large employers, for, hide it as we may, with a few honourable +exceptions, that class, fifty years ago, preferred strong men to wise +ones, and rather set their banks against opening the doors of knowledge +to their workpeople, or their children. It was a dozen years before the +Institution was able to remove to a home of its own in Newhall Street, +but it rapidly got into a hopeless state of debt. To lessen this +incubus, and provide funds for some needed alterations, the committee +decided to hold an exhibition of "manufactures, the fine arts, and +objects illustrative of experimental philosophy, &c." The exhibition was +opened Dec. 19, 1839, and in all ways was a splendid success, a +fairly-large sum of money being realised. Unfortunately, a second +exhibition was held in the following years, when all the profits of the +former were not only lost, but so heavy an addition made to the debt, +that it may be said to have ruined the institution completely. Creditors +took possession of the premises in January, 1842, and in June operations +were suspended, and, notwithstanding several attempts to revive the +institution, it died out altogether. As the only popular educational +establishment open to the young men of the time, it did good work, many +of its pupils having made their mark in the paths of literature, art, +and science. + +~Medical Associations.~--According to the "Medical Register" there are +35 physicians and 210 surgeons resident in the borough, and there are +rather more than 300 chemists and druggists. According to a summary of +the census tables, the medical profession "and their subordinates" +number in Birmingham and Aston 940, of whom 376 are males and 564 +females. In 1834, at Worcester, under the presidency of Dr. Johnson, of +this town, the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association was formed +for encouraging scientific research, improving the practice of medicine, +and generally looking after the interests of the profession. In 1856 the +name was changed to The British Medical Association, with head offices +in London, but prior to that branches had been established in various +large towns, the Birmingham and Midland Counties' branch being foremost, +holding its first meeting at Dee's Hotel, in December, 1854. The society +has now about 9,000 members, with a reserve fund of L10,000; in the +local branch there are 359 members, who subscribe about L150 per annum. +--The Birmingham Medical Institute was launched Feb. 5, 1876, but the +question of admitting homeopathists as members was nearly the upsetting +of the craft at the first meeting; thanks to the sails being trimmed +with a little common sense, however, the difficulty was tided over. The +opening of the Institute in Edmund Street took place December 17, 1880. +The cost of the building was about L6,000, and the purposes to which it +is applied are the providing accommodation for meetings of the +profession and the housing of the valuable medical library of over 6,000 +books. As something worthy of note, it may be mentioned that the +Institute was opened free from debt, the whole cost being previously +subscribed. + +~Memorials and Monuments.~--See "_Statues," &c._ + +~Men of Worth.~--The "Toy-shop of the World," the home of workers, free +from the blue blood of titled families, and having but few reapers of +"unearned increment," is hardly the place to look for "men of worth or +value" in a monetary point of view, but we have not been without them. A +writer in _Gazette_, September 1, 1828, reckoned up 120 inhabitants who +were each worth over L10,000 each; 50 worth over L20,000; 16 worth over +L50,000; 9 worth over L100,000; 3 worth over L200,000; 2 worth over +L300,000 each, and 1 worth over L400,000. Taking certain Income Tax +Returns and other information for his basis another man of figures in +1878 made calculations showing that there were then among us some 800 +persons worth more than L5,000 each, 200 worth over L10,000, 50 worth +over L20,000, 35 worth over L50,000, 26 worth over L100,000, 12 worth +over L250,000, 5 worth over L500,000, and 2 worth over or near +L1,000,000 each. + +~Mercia.~--In 585, this neighbourhood formed part of the Heptarchic +kingdom of Mercia, under Cridda; in 697, Mercia was divided into four +dioceses; this district being included in that of Lichfield; in 878, +Mercia was merged in the kingdom of England. According to Bede and the +Saxon Chronicles, Beorned was, in 757, king of Mercia, of which +Birmingham formed part, and in Canute's reign there was an Earl Beorn, +the king's nephew, and it has been fancifully suggested that in this +name Beorn may lie the much-sought root for the etymology of the town's +name. Beorn, or Bern, being derived from _ber_, a bear or boar, it might +be arranged thusly:-- + + + _Ber_, bear or boar; _moeng_, many; _ham_, dwelling--the whole making + _Bermoengham_, the dwelling of many bears, or the home of many pigs! + + +~Metchley Camp.~--At Metchley Park, about three miles from town, near to +Harborne, there are the remains of an old camp or station which Hutton +attributes to "those pilfering vermin, the Danes," other writers +thinking it was constructed by the Romans, but it is hardly possible +that an undertaking requiring such immense labour as this must have +done, could have been overlooked in any history of the Roman occupation. +More likely it was a stronghold of the native Britons who opposed their +advance, a superstition borne out by its being adjacent to their line of +Icknield Street, and near the heart of England. From a measurement made +in 1822, the camp appears to have covered an area of about 15-1/2 acres. +Hutton gives it as 30 acres, and describes a third embankment. The +present outer vallum was 330 yards long by 228 wide, and the interior +camp 187 yards long by 165 wide. The ancient vallum and fosse have +suffered much by the lapse of time, by the occupiers partially levelling +the ground, and by the passing through it of the Worcester and +Birmingham canal, to make the banks of which the southern extremity of +the camp was completely destroyed. Some few pieces of ancient weapons, +swords and battle-axes, and portions of bucklers, have been found here, +but nothing of a distinctively Roman or Danish character. As the +fortification was of such great size and strength, and evidently formed +for no mere temporary occupation, had either of those passers-by been +the constructors we should naturally have expected that more positive +traces of their nationality would have been found. + +~Methodism.~--The introduction here must date from Wesley's first visit +in March, 1738. In 1764, Moor Street Theatre was taken as a meeting +place, and John Wesley opened it March 21. The new sect afterwards +occupied the King Street Theatre. Hutton says:--"The Methodists +occupied for many years a place in Steelhouse Lane, where the wags of +the age observed, 'they were eaten out by the bugs.' They therefore +procured the cast-off Theatre in Moor Street, where they continued to +exhibit till 1782, when, quitting the stage, they erected a superb +meeting house in Cherry Street, at the expense of L1,200. This was +opened, July 7, by John Wesley, the chief priest, whose extensive +knowledge and unblemished manners give us a tolerable picture of +apostolic purity, who believed as if he were to be saved by faith, and +who laboured as if he were to be saved by works." The note made by +Wesley, who was in his 80th year, respecting the opening of Cherry +Street Chapel, has been preserved. He says:--"July 6th, 1782. I came to +Birmingham, and preached once more in the old dreary preaching-house. +The next day I opened the new house at eight, and it contained the +people well, but not in the evening, many more then constrained to go +away. In the middle of the sermon a huge noise was heard, caused by the +breaking of a bench on which some people stood. None of them were hurt; +yet it occasioned a general panic at first, but in a few minutes all was +quiet." Four years after the opening, Wesley preached in the chapel +again, and found great prosperity. "At first," he wrote, "the +preaching-house would not near contain the congregation. Afterwards I +administered the Lord's Supper to about 500 communicants." Old as he +then was, the apostle of Methodism came here a time or two after that, +his last visit being in 1790. Many talented men have since served the +Wesleyan body in this town, and the society holds a strong position +among our Dissenting brethren. The minutes of the Wesleyan Conference +last issued give the following statistics of the Birmingham and +Shrewsbury District:--Church members, 18,875; on trial for membership, +l,537; members of junior classes, 2,143; number of ministerial class +leaders, 72; lay class leaders, 1,269; local or lay preachers, 769 (the +largest number in any district except Nottingham and Derby, which has +798). There are 40 circuits in the district, of which 27 report an +increase of membership, and 13 a decrease.--See "_Places of Worship_." + +~Methodism, Primitive.~--The origin of the Primitive Methodist Connexion +dates from 1808, and it sprung solely from the custom (introduced by +Lorenzo Dow, from America, in the previous year) of holding "camp +meetings," which the Wesleyan Conference decided to be "highly improper +in England, even if allowable in America, and likely to be productive of +considerable mischief," expelling the preachers who conducted them. A +new society was the result, and the first service in this town was held +in Moor Sreet, in the open air, near to the Public Office, in the summer +of 1824. The first "lovefeast" took place, March 6, 1825, and the first +"camp meeting," a few months later. A circuit was formed, the first +minister being the Rev. T. Nelson, and in 1826, a chapel was opened in +Bordesley Street, others following in due course of time, as the +Primitives increased in number. The Birmingham circuit contains about +800 members, with over 2,000 Sunday School scholars, and 250 teachers.-- +See "_Places of Worship_." + +~Metric System.~--This, the simplest decimal system of computation yet +legalised is in use in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain, and other +parts of Europe, as well as in Chili, Peru, Mexico, &c., and by 27 and +28 Vic., cap. 117, its use has been rendered legal in this country. As +our local trade with the above and other countries is increasing +(unfortunately in some respects), rules for working out the metric +measures into English and _vice versa_ may be useful. The unit of length +is the _metre_ (equal to 39.37 inches); it is divided into tenths +(decimetres), hundredths (centimetres), and thousandths (millimetres), +and it is multiplied by decimals in like way into hectometres, +kilometres, and myriometres. The unit of weight is the _gramme_, divided +as the metre into decigrammes, centigrammes, and milligrammes; +multiplied into decagrammes, hectogrammes, and kilogrammes. The unit of +capacity is the _litre_, divided and multiplied like the others. + + +1 inch equals 2-1/2 centimetres. +1 foot equals 3 decimetres. +1 mile equals 1-3/5 kilometres. +1 cwt. equals 50.8 kilogrammes. +1 ounce (troy) equals 31 grammes. +1 pound (troy) equals 3.72 decagrammes. +1 gallon equals 4-1/2 litres. +1 quart equals 1-1/16 litres. +1 metre equals 39.37 inches. +1 hectometre equals 109-1/3 yards. +1 cubic metre equals 61,027 cubic inches. +1 kilometre equals 1,093 yards. +1 decigramme equals 1-1/2 grains. +1 gramme equals 15 grains. +1 kilogramme equals 2-1/5 pounds (avoirdupois). +1 litre equals 1-3/4 pints. + + +To turn inches into millimetres add the figures 00 to the number of +inches, divide by 4, and add the result two-fifths of the original +number of inches. + +To turn millimetres to inches add the figure 0 and divide by 254. + +To make cubic inches into cubic centimetres multiply by 721 and divide +by 44; cubic centimetres into cubic inches multiply by 44 and divide by +721. + +To turn grains into grammes, multiply the number by 648 and divide the +product by 10,000. + +To turn grammes into grains, multiply by 10,000, dividing the result by +648. + +The metric system is especially useful in our local jewellery and other +trades, but it is very slowly making its way against the old English +foot and yaid, even such a learned man as Professor Rankine poking fun +at the foreign measures in a comic song of which two verses run:-- + + + Some talk of millimetres, and some of kilogrammes, + And some of decillitres to measure beer and drams; + But I'm an English workman, too old to go to school, + So by pounds I'll eat, by quarts I'll drink, and work by my two-foot + rule. + + A party of astronomers went measuring of the earth, + And forty million metres they took to be its girth; + Five hundred million inches now go through from pole to pole, + So we'll stick to inches, feet, and yards, and our own old two-foot + rule. + + +~Mid-England.~--Meriden, near Coventry, is believed to be about the +centre spot of England. + +~Midland Institute.~--Suggestions of some such an institution, to take +the place of the defunct Mechanics', had several time appeared in print, +but nothing definite was done in the matter until the subject was +discussed (June 4, 1852) over the dinner table of Mr. Arthur Ryland. +Practical shape being given to the ideas then advanced, a town's meeting +on Dec. 3, 1853, sanctioned the grant by the Council of the land +necessary for the erection of a proper building, and an Act of +Incorporation was obtained in the following Parliamentiry session. In +December 1854, Charles Dickens gave three readings in the Town Hall, in +behalf of the building fund, whereby L227 13s. 9d. was realised, the +donations then amounting to L8,467. The foundation stone was laid by +Prince Albert, on Nov. 22, 1855, and the contract for the first part of +the building given to Messrs. Branston and Gwyther for L12,000. The +lecture theatre was opened Oct. 13, 1857, when addresses were delivered +by Lord Brougham, Lord Russell, and Lord Stanley, the latter delivering +the prizes to the students who had attended the classes, which were +first started in October, 1854, at the Philosophical Institute. In 1859, +the portrait of David Cox was presented to the Institute, forming the +first contribution to the Fine Art Gallery, which was built on portion +of the land originally given to the Institute, the whole of the +buildings being designed by Mr. E.M. Barry. The amount subscribed to the +building fund was about L18,000, and the coat, including furniture and +apparatus more than L16,000. Great extension has been made since then, +on the Paradise Street side, and many thousands spent on the +enlargement, branch classes bring also held at several of the Board +Schools to relieve the pressure on the Institute. In 1864, the members +of the Institute numbered 660, and the students 880, with an income of +L998; in January, 1874, there were 1,591 members, 733 family ticket +holders. 2,172 students, and an income of L2,580. At the end of 1833, +the number of annual subscribers was 1,900, and lecture ticket-holders +838. In the Industrial Department there were 4,334 students; the +Archaeological Section numbered 226 members, and the musical Section 183. +108 students attended the Laws of Health classes, 220 the Ladies +classes, and 36 the classes for preparation for matriculation. The +benefits derived from the establishment of the Midland Institute, and +the amount of useful, practical, and scientific knowledge disseminated +by means of its classes among the intelligent working men of the town +and the rising generation, is incalculable. These classes, many of which +are open at the low fee of 1d., and some others specially for females, +now include the whole of the following subjects:--English language and +literature, English history, French, German, Latin, Greek, and Spanish, +algebra, geometry, mensuration, trignometry, and arithmetic, music, +drawing, writing, English grammar, and composition, botany, chemistry, +experimental physics, practical mechanics, and metallurgy, elementary +singing, physical geography, animal physiology, geology, practical plane +and solid geometry, &c. The general position of the Institute with +regard to finance was as follows:--Gross receipts in General Department, +L3,281 5s. 6d.; expenditure in this department (including L998 1s. 6d. +deficiency at the close of the year 1882), L3,088 17s. 2d.; balance in +favour of the General Department, L192 8s. 4d. Gross receipts in +Industrial Department, L1,747 13s.; expenditure in this department, +L3,173 7s. 10d.; deficiency, Ll,425 14s. 10d., met by a transfer from +the funds of the General Department. The total result of the year's +operations in both departments left a deficiency of L1,233 6s. 6d. The +amount due to bankers on the General Fund was L863 13s. 6d; and the +amount standing to the credit of the Institute on the Repairs Account is +L440 12s. 2d. It is much to be regretted that there is a total debt on +the Institute, amounting to L19,000, the paying of interest on which +sadly retards its usefulness. Many munificent donations have been made +to the funds of the Institute from time to time, one being the sum of +L3,000, given by an anonymous donor in 186[**], "in memory of Arthur +Ryland." In August, same year, it was announced that the late Mr. Alfred +Wilkes had bequeathed the bulk of his estate, estimated at about +L100,000, in trust for his two sisters during their lives, with +reversion in equal shares to the General Hospital and the Midland +Institute, being a deferred benefaction of L50,000 to each. + +~Midland Metropolis.~--Birmingham was so entitled because it was the +largest town, and has more inhabitants than any town in the centre of +England. To use a Yankeeism, it is "the hub" of the Kingdom; here is the +throbbing heart of all that is Liberal in the political life of Europe; +this is the workshop of the world, the birth-spot of the steam-engine, +and the home of mock jewellery. In all matters political, social, and +national, it takes the lead, and if London is the Metropolis of all that +is effete and aristocratic, Birmingham has the moving-power of all that +is progressive, recuperative and advancing. When Macaulay's New +Zealander sits sadly viewing the silent ruins of the once gigantic city +on the Thames, he will have the consolation of knowing that the +pulse-beats of his progenitors will still be found in the Mid-England +Metropolis, once known as the town of Burningsham or Birmingham. + +~Mild Winters.~--The winter of 1658-9 was very mild, there being neither +snow or frost. In 1748 honeysuckles, in full bloom, were gathered near +Worcester, in February. In the first four months of 1779 there was not a +day's rain or snow, and on the 25th of March the cherry, plum, and pear +trees were in full bloom. An extraordinary mild winter was that of +1782-3. A rose was plucked in an open garden, in New Street, on 30th +December, 1820. In December, 1857, a wren's nest, with two eggs in it +was found near Selly Oak, and ripe raspberries were gathered in the +Christmas week at Astwood Bank. The winter of 1883-4 is worthy of note, +for rose trees were budding in December, lambs frisking about in +January, and blackbirds sitting in February. + +~Milk.~--The reports of the Borough Analyst for several successive +years, 1879 to 1882, showed that nearly one-half the samples of milk +examined were adulterated, the average adulteration of each being as +much as 20 per cent.; and a calculation has been made that the Brums pay +L20,000 a year for the water added to their milk! Next to the bread we +eat, there is no article that should be kept freer from adulteration +than milk, and the formation of a Dairy Company, in April, 1882, was +hailed as a boon by many. The Company started with a nominal capital of +L50,000 in L5 shares, and it rigidly prosecutes any farmer who puts the +milk of the "wooden cow" into their cans. + +~Minories.~--Once known as Upper and Lower Minories, the latter name +being given to what, at other times, has been called "Pemberton's Yard" +or the "Coach Yard." The names give their own meaning, the roads leading +to the Priory. + +~Mints.~--See "_Trades_." + +~Missionary Work.~--About a million and a quarter sterling is yearly +contributed in England to Foreign, Colonial, and Home Missionary +Societies, and Birmingham sends its share very fairly. The local +Auxiliary, to the Church Missionary Society, in 1882, gathered L2,133 +8s. 6d.; in 1883 (to June both years) it reached L2,774 17s. 8d., of +which L2,336 6s 11d. was from collections in the local churches. The +Auxiliary to the London Missionary Society gathered L1,050, of which +L991 was collected in churches and chapels. The Baptist Missionary +Society was founded in October, 1792, and branch was started here a few +months afterwards, the first fruits totting up to the very respectable +amount of L70. A branch of the Wesleyan Missionary Society was formed +here in 1814 for the Birmingham and Shrewsbury district, and the amounts +gathered in 1882 totalled L4,829 10s. 3d. To the Society for promoting +Christianity among the Jews, the Birmingham Auxiliaries in 1883 sent +L323. There are also Auxiliaries of the Church of England Zenana, of the +South American, and of one or two other Missionary Societies. The Rev. +J.B. Barradale, who died in China, early in 1879, while relieving +sufferers from famine, was educated at Spring Hill College. He was sent +out by the London Missionary Society, and his death was preceded by that +of his wife and only child, who died a few weeks before him, all from +fever caught while helping poor Chinamen. + +~Moated Houses.~--The Parsonage, as well as the Manor House (as noted +elsewhere), were each surrounded by its moat, and, possibly, no portion +of the United Kingdom could show more family mansions, and country +residences, protected in this manner, than the immediate district +surrounding Birmingham. Many more or-less-preserved specimens of these +old-fashioned houses, with their water guards round them, are to be met +with by the rambler, as at Astwood Bank. Erdington, Inkberrow, Yardley, +Wyrley, &c. Perhaps, the two best are Maxtoke Castle, near Coleshill, +and the New Hall, Sutton Coldfield. + +~Modern Monasteries.~--The foundation-stone of St. Thomas's Priory, at +Erdington, for the accommodation of the Monks of the Order of St. +Benedict, was laid on Aug. 5, 1879, by the Prior, the Rev. Hildebrand de +Hemptinne. Alter the date, and the reader might fancy himself living in +Mediaeval times. + +~Monument.~--The high tower erected near the Reservoir has long borne +the name of "The Monument," though it has been said it was built more as +a strange kind of pleasure-house, where the owner, a Mr. Perrott, could +pass his leisure hours witnessing coursing in the day-time, or making +astronomical observations at night. Hence it was often called "Perrott's +Folly." It dates from 1758--See also "_Statues_," &c. + +~Moody and Sankey.~--These American Evangelists, or Revivalists, visited +here in Jan. 1875, their first meeting being held in the Town Hall, on +the 17th, the remainder of their services (to February 7) being given in +Bingley Hall. They came also in February, 1883. when the last-named +place again accommodated them. + +~Moor Street.~--Rivaling Edgbaston Street in its antiquity, its name has +long given rise to debate as to origin, but the most likely solution of +the puzzle is this: On the sloping land near here, in the 14th century, +and perhaps earlier, there was a mill, probably the Town Mill, and by +the contraction of the Latin, _Molendinaria_, the miller would be called +John le Molendin, or John le Moul. The phonetic style of writing by +sound was in great measured practised by the scriveners, and thus we +find, as time went on, the street of the mill became Moul, Moule, Mowle, +Molle, Moll, More, and Moor Street. A stream crossed the street near the +Woolpack, over which was a wooden bridge, and farther on was another +bridge of more substantial character, called "Carter's Bridge." In flood +times, Cars Lane also brought from the higher lands copious streams of +water, and the keeping of Moor Street tidy often gave cause to mention +these spots in old records, thus:-- + + L s. d. + 1637--Paid Walter Taylor for ridding + the gutters in Moor Street 0 0 11 + 1665--Zachary Gisborne 42 loads of + mudd out of Moore Street .. 0 0 7 + 1676--J. Bridgens keepinge open + passage and tourneing water + from Cars Lane that it did + not runne into More Street + for a yeare .. .. .. .. 0 4 0 + 1688--Paid mending Carter's Bridge + timber and worke .. .. .. 0 5 0 + 1690--John, for mending Moore Street + Bridg .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 0 10 + + +Moor Street, from the earliest date, was the chosen place of residence +for many of the old families, the Carless, Smalbroke, Ward, Sheldon, +Flavell, Stidman, and other names, continually cropping up in deeds; +some of the rents paid to the Lord of the Manor, contrasting curiously +with the rentals of to-day. For three properties adjoining in More +Street, and which were so paid until a comparatively modern date, the +rents were:-- + + + "One pound of pepper by Goldsmythe and Lench, + Two pounds of pepper by the master of the Gild, + One pound of cumin seed, one bow, and six barbed bolts, or arrow heads + by John Sheldon." + + +~Moseley.~--One of the popular, and soon will be populous suburbs, +connected as it is so closely to us by Balsall Heath. It is one of the +old Domesday-mentioned spots, but has little history other than +connected with the one or two families who chose it for their residence +ages ago. It is supposed the old church was erected prior to the year +1500, a tower being added to it in Henry VIII.'s reign, but the parish +register dates only from the middle of last century, possibly older +entries being made at King's Norton (from which Moseley was +ecclesiastically divided in 1852). Moseley does not appear to have been +named from, or to have given name to, any particular family, the +earliest we have any note about being Greves, or Grevis, whose tombs are +in King's Norton Church, one of the epitaphs being this:-- + + + "Ascension day on ninth of May, + Third year of King James' reine, + To end my time and steal my coin, + I William Greves was slain. 1605." + + +Hutton says that the old custom of "heriot" was practised here; which is +not improbable, as instances have occurred in neighbourhood of +Bromsgrove and other parts of the county within the past few years. This +relic of feudalism, or barbarism, consists of the demanding for the lord +of the manor the best movable article, live or dead, that any tenant +happens to be possessed of at the time of his death. + +~Moseley Hall.~--Hutton relates that on July 21, 1786, one Henshaw +Grevis came before him in the court of Requests, as a poor debtor, who, +thirty years before, he had seen "completely mounted and dressed in +green velvet, with a hunter's cap and girdle, at the head of the pack." +This poor fellow was the last member of a family who had held the +Moseley Hall estate from the time of the Conquest. In the riots of 1791 +the Hall was burnt down, being rebuilt ten years after. + +~Mothering Sunday~, or Mid-Lent Sunday, has its peculiarities according +to districts. In Birmingham the good people who like to keep up old +customs sit down to veal and custard. At Draycot-le-Moors they eat pies +made of figs. The practice of visiting the parents' home on this day was +one of those old-time customs so popular in the days of our grandfathers +and great-grandfathers (but which, with many others have fallen into +disuse), and this is supposed to have given rise to the "Mothering +Sunday" name. Prior to the Reformation, the Catholics kept the day as a +holy day, in honour of the Mother of Jesus, it being a Protestant +invention to turn the fast-day into one of feasting. + +~Mount Misery.~--At the close of the great war, which culminated at +Waterloo, it was long before the blessings of peace brought comfort to +the homes of the poor. The first effects of the sheathing of the sword +was a collapse in prices of all kinds, and a general stagnation of +trade, of which Birmingham, made prosperous through the demand for its +guns, &c., felt the full force. Bad trade was followed by bad harvests, +and the commercial history of the next dozen years is but one huge +chronicle of disaster, shops and mills closing fast, and poverty +following faster. How to employ the hundreds of able-bodied men +dependent on the rates was a continual puzzle to the Overseers, until +someone, wise in his generation, hit upon the plan of paying the +unfortunates to wheel sand from the bank then in front of Key Hill House +up to the canal side, a distance of 1-1/2 miles, the payment being at +the rate of one penny per barrow load. This fearful "labour test" was +continued for a long time, and when we reckon that each man would have +to wheel his barrow backwards and forwards for nearly 20 miles to earn a +shilling, moving more than a ton of sand in the process we cannot wonder +at the place receiving such a woeful name as Mount Misery. + +~M.P.'s for Borough.~--See "_Parliamentary_." + +~Mules.~-These animals are not often seen about town now, but in the +politically-exciting days of 1815 they apparently were not strangers in +our streets, as Mr. Richard Spooner (who, like our genial Alderman +Avery, was fond of "tooling" his own cattle), was in the habit of +driving his own mail-drag into town, to which four mules were harnessed. +With Mr. Thomas Potts, a well-to-do merchant, a "bigoted Baptist," and +ultra-Radical, Mr. Spooner and Mr. T. Attwood took part in a deputation +to London, giving occasion to one of the street-songs of the day:-- + + + "Tommy Potts has gone to town + To join the deputation; + He is a man of great renown, + And fit to save the nation. + Yankee doodle do, + Yankee doodle dandy. + + Dicky Spooner's also there, + And Tom the Banker, too; + If in glory they should share, + We'll sing them 'Cock-a-doodle-doo.' + Yankee doodle do, + Yankee doodle dandy. + + Dicky Spooner is Dicky Mule, + Tom Attwood is Tom Fool; + And Potts an empty kettle, + With lots of bosh and rattle. + Yankee doodle do, + Yankee doodle dandy." + + +Another of the doggerel verses, alluding to Mr. Spooner's mules, ran-- + + + "Tommy Potts went up to town, + Bright Tom, who all surpasses, + Was drawn by horses out of town, + And in again by asses. + With their Yankee doodle do, + Yankee doodle dandy." + + +~Municipal Expenditure.~--Fortunately the population of Birmingham is +going ahead rapidly, and the more the children multiply the more "heads +of families" we may naturally hope there will be noted down as +ratepayers by the heads of the gather-the-tin office. The cost of +governing our little town is not at all heavy, and when divided out at +per head of the inhabitants it seems but a mere bagatelle. Mr. J. Powell +Williams, who takes credit for being a financier and man of figures, +said in 1884 that the totals of our municipal expenditure for the past +few years were as follows:-- + + + In 1879 it was L354,000 or 18/3 per head + " 1880 " 343,900 " 17/5 " + " 1881 " 361,500 " 18/0 " + " 1882 " 374,000 " 18/4 " + " 1883 " 385,000 " 18/7 " + " 1884 " 385,000 " 18/3 " + + +The bachelors who live in apartments will surely be tempted to begin +housekeeping when they see how low a sum it takes to pay for all the +blessings conferred upon us by a Liberal Corporation; but what the Pater +of half-a-dozen olive branches may think about the matter, is altogether +a different thing, especially when he finds that to the above 18/2 per +head must be added 2/7-1/2 per head for the School Board, and 1s. 2d. +per head for the Drainage Board, besides poor-rates, Government taxes, +gas, water, and all these other little nothings that empty the purse. + +~Murder and Manslaughter.~--It would be _too_ black a catalogue to give +all the horrible cases of this nature which the local journals have +chronicled in past years, those here noted being only such as have a +certain historical interest. + +"Tom and Jack."--"See _Executions_." + +Sergeant William Cartwright, of the Coldstream Guards, was killed in +Townsend's Yard by a deserter, September 13, 1796. + +A desperate attempt was made to murder a young woman in Bull Street in +the evening of a fair day, June 9, 1797. + +Philip Matsell was hanged August 22, 1806, at the bottom of Snow Hill, +for attempting to murder a watchman.--See "_Executions_." + +A Mr. Pennington, of London, was murdered at Vauxhall, Feb. 6. 1817. + +Ashford, Mary, May 27, 1817, murdered at Sutton Coldfield. + +F. Adams was murdered by T. Johnson, in London 'Prentice Street, Aug. 5, +1821. + +Mr. R. Perry was killed in Mary Ann Street, by Michael Ford, December 6, +1825. Execution, March 7, 1826. + +J. Fitter was tried and acquitted August 11, 1834, on a charge of having +murdered Margaret Webb, in Lawley Street, on 7th April preceding. + +Mr. W. Painter, a tax collector, was robbed and murdered in the old +Parsonage grounds (near what is now the bottom of Worcester Street), +February 17, 1835. + +William Devey murdered Mr. Davenport in a shop in Snow Hill, April 5, +1838. + +Mrs. Steapenhill shot by her husband in Heneage Street, January 7, 1842. + +Mrs. Davis killed by her husband in Moor Street, March, 1848. + +Mrs. Wilkes murdered her four children in Cheapside, October 23, 1847; +also committing suicide. + +Francis Price was executed at Warwick, August 20, 1860, for murdering +Sarah Pratt, April 18. + +Elizabeth Brooks was shot by Farquhar, at Small Heath, August 29, 1861. +He was sentenced to imprisonment for a long term, but was liberated in +April, 1866. + +Thompson, Tanter Street, killed his wife, September 23, 1861; hung +December 30. + +Henry Carter, aged 17, who had killed his sweetheart, was hung April 11, +1863. + +George Hall shot his unfaithful wife on Dartmouth Street Bridge, +February 16, 1864, and was sentenced to death, but reprieved. He was +released March 5, 1884. + +Murder and suicide in Nursery Terrace, November 28, 1866. + +Mr. Pryse was murdered by James Scott in Aston Street, April 6, 1867. + +Mary Milbourn was murdered in Heneage Street, January 21, 1868. + +Murder and suicide in Garrison Street, November 25, 1871. + +Richard Smith was killed by his fellow-lodger, in Adam Street, January +7, 1872. + +Thomas Picken, of St. Luke Street, killed his wife, January 22, 1872. He +was found next morning hanging to a lamp-post, at Camp Hill Station. + +Jeremiah Corkery stabbed Policeman Lines, March 7; was condemned to +death July 9, and hung July 27, 1875. + +Patrick O'Donoghue was kicked and killed at the Flying Horse, Little +Hampton Street, August 7. 1875. Moran and Caulfield, the kickers, were +sent to penal servitude for ten years. + +A woman, resisting indecent assault, was thrown into the canal, October +8, 1875, and died from effects. + +Emma Luke, Hope street, killed her infant and herself, October 23, 1875. + +Samuel Todd, a deaf-mute, killed William Brislin, in a fit of passion, +December 31, 1875.--Fifteen years' penal servitude. + +Gaorge Underhill shot Alfred Price, in Stephenson place, January 12, +1876, being in drink at the time, and thinking he was going to be +robbed. Price died, and Underhill was imprisoned for twelve months. + +Frederick Lipscombe killed his wife because she did not get his meals +ready to the time he wished, July 18, 1876. + +Mary Saunders, Aston, had her throat cut by F.E. Baker, her lodger, +January 16, 1877. He was hung April 17. + +John Nicholson killed Mary (or Minnie) Fantham, in Navigation Street, +February 23rd, 1877, committing suicide himself. He was buried as a +_felo de se_. + +Francis Mason, Litimer Street, stabbed his wife, June 25, 1867, but the +jury called it manslaughter, and he was allowed to retire for five +years. + +William Toy, a glasscutter, was killed in the Plasterers' Arms, Lupin +Street, July 20, 1878, in a drunken row. + +Edward Johnson, a retired butcher, of this town, killed his wife and +drowned himself at Erdington, July 27, 1878. + +Sarah Alice Vernon, married woman, aged 26, was first stabbed and then +flung into the canal, at Spring Hill, by her paramour, John Ralph, a +hawker of fancy baskets, early in the morning of May 31, 1879. He was +hung August 26. + +Caroline Brooks, a young woman of 20, was fatally stabbed on the night +of June 28, 1879, while walking with her sweetheart, but the man who +killed her escaped. + +Alfred Wagstaffe, of Nechell's Green, kicked his wile for pawning his +shirt, on October 25, 1879. She died a week after, and he was sent to +penal servitude for ten years. + +An Irishman, named John Gateley, was shot on Saturday, December 5, 1880, +in a beerhouse at Solihull, by a country man who got away; the murdered +man had been connected with the Irish Land League. + +Mrs. Ellen Jackson, a widow, 34 years of age, through poverty and +despondency, poisoned herself and two children, aged seven and nine, on +Sunday, November 27, 1881. One child recovered. + +Frederick Serman, at the Four Dwellings, near Saltley, Nov. 22, 1883, +shot Angelina Yanwood, and poisoned himself, because the woman would not +live longer with him "to be clemmed." + +James Lloyd, Jan. 6, 1884, stabbed his wife Martha, because she had not +met him the previous afternoon. She died four days after, and he was +sentenced to death, but reprieved. + +Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Stewart were shot by Henry Kimberley at the White +Hart, Paradise Street, Dec. 28, 1884. Mrs. Palmer died, and Kimberley +was hung at Winson Green, March 17, 1885. + +James Davis, policeman, while on his beat at Alvechurch, was murdered +Feb. 28, 1885, by Moses Shrimpton, a Birmingham poacher and thief. + +Elizabeth Bunting, a girl of 16, was murdered at Handsworth, April 20, +1885, by her uncle, Thomas Boulton. + +~Museums.~--No place in England ought to have a better collection of +coins and medals, but there is no Numismatic Museum in Birmingham. Few +towns can show such a list of patentees and inventors, but we have no +Patent Museum wherein to preserve the outcome of their ideas. Though the +town's very name cannot be traced through the mists of dim antiquity, +the most ancient thing we can show is the Old Crown public-house. Romans +and Normans, Britons and Saxons, have all trod the same ground as +ourselves, but we preserve no relics of them. Though we have supplied +the whole earth with firearms, it was left to Mr. Marshall, of Leeds, to +gather together a Gun Museum. Fortunately the Guardians of the Proof +House were liberal and, buying the collection for L1,550, made many +valuable additions to it, and after exhibiting it for a time at 5, +Newhall Street, presented it to the town in August, 1876. There is a +curious miscellany of articles on exhibition at Aston Hall, which some +may call a "Museum," and a few cases of birds, sundry stuffed animals, +&c., but we must wait until the Art Gallery now in course of erection, +is finished before the Midland Metropolis can boast of owning a real +Museum. At various times, some rich examples of industrial art have been +exhibited in the temporary Art Gallery adjoining the Midland Institute, +and now, in one of the rooms of the Free Library, there are sufficient +to form the nucleus of a good Museum. We may, therefore, hope that, in +time, we _shall_ have a collection that we may be proud of. Mr. Joseph +Chamberlain (April 26, 1875) gave L1,000 to purchase objects of +industrial art, and it has been expended in the purchase of a collection +of gems and precious stones, than which nothing could be more suitable +in this centre of the jewellery trade. Possibly, on the opening of the +new Art Gallery, we shall hear of other "thousands" as forthcoming. + +~Musical Associations.~--There were, of course, the choirs attached to +the churches previous, but the earliest Musical Society is believed to +be that established by James Kempson, in 1762, at Cooke's, in the Cherry +Orchard, and the founding of which led to the Musical Festivals. The +members met for practice, and evidently enjoyed their pipes and glasses, +their nightly song being:-- + + + "To our Musical Club here's long life and prosperity; + May it flourish with us, and so on to posterity, + May concord and harmony always abound, + And division here only in music be found. + May the catch and the glass go about and about, + And another succeed to the bottle that's out." + + +This society was appropriately known as the Musical and Amicable Society +from which sprung the Choral Society in 1776, though the present +Festival Choral Society only claims to be in its thirty eighth year. The +Birmingham Musical Society dates from 1840; the Amateur Harmonic +Association from January, 1856; the Edgbaston Musical Union from 1874; +and the Philharmonic Union from 1870. The Church Schools Choral Union, +the Sunday Schools Union Festival Choir, and the Birmingham Musical +Association, with one or two others, are the progeny of later years; the +last on the list of musical institutions being the Clef Club (in +Exchange Buildings), established March 21st, 1832, for the promotion of +musical culture by "providing a central resort for the study and +practice of vocal and instrumental music, with the social advantages of +a club." + +~Musical Festivals.~--The credit of suggesting the first Musical +Festival in aid of the funds of the General Hospital, has been assigned +to Mr. Kempson a local musician, who, with his friends, formed a Glee +and Catch Club at Cooke's, in the Cherry Orchard. The minutes-book of +the Hospital under date of May 3, 1768, records that a resolution was +passed that "a musical entertainment" should be arranged, and it was +held accordingly on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of September in that year, +part of the performances taking place at St. Philip's Church, and part +at the Theatre, then in King Street, the Festival being wound up with a +ball "at Mrs. Sawyer's, in the Square." Church, Theatre, and Ball was +the order of the day for many succeeding Festivals, the Town Hall, which +may be said to have been built almost purposely for these performances, +not being ready until 1834. The Theatre was only utilised for one +evening each Festival after until 1843, when three concerts were held +therein, but since that date the Town Hall has been found sufficient. +The Festival Balls were long a great attraction (no less than 1,700 +attending in 1834), but, possibly from a too free admixture of the +general public, the aristocratic patronage thereof gradually declined +until 1858, when only 300 tickets having been taken, the Ball night was +struck out of the future programmes. The first Festival performances +were by purely local artistes, and on several occasions afterwards they +formed the bulk of the performers, but as the fame of our Festivals +increased so did the inflow of the foreign element, until at one period +not more than half-a-dozen local names could be found in any programme. +This has been altered to a considerable extent of late years, so much so +that at the last Festival nearly the whole of the chorus of voices was +composed of members of our local Musical Societies, and a fair +sprinkling of the instrumentalists also. A big book would be required +for a full history of the Birmingham Triennial Festivals, descriptive of +their rise and progress, the hundreds of musical novelties introduced, +the many scores of talented artistes who have taken parts, the lords and +ladies who have attended, and the thousand odd notes appertaining to +them all. In the following notes are briefly chronicled the "first +appearances," &c., with the results and other items for reference. + +1768, Sept. 7 to 9. The oratorios of "Il Penseroso;" and "Alexander's +Feast" were performed at the Theatre in King Street; Handel's "Te Deum" +and "Jubilate" with the "Messiah," at St. Philip's Church. The principal +singers were Mrs. Pinto, first soprano, and Mr. Charles Norris, tenor; +the orchestra numbered about 70, the conductor being Mr. Capel Bond of +Coventry, with Mr. Pinto as leader of the band. The tickets of admission +were 5s. each, the receipts (with donations) amounting to about L800, +and the profits to L299. + +1778, Sept. 2 to 4. The performances this time (and for fifteen +festivals after), were at St. Philip's Church, and at the newly-built +theatre in New Street, the oratorios, &c., including "Judas Maccabaeus," +the "Messiah," Handel's "Te Deum," "Jubilate," "Acis and Galatea," &c. +Principal performers: Miss Mahon, Miss Salmon, Mr. C. Norris, and +Cervetto, a celebrated violoncellist, the leader of the band being Mr. +William Cramer, a popular violinist. The choir had the assistance of +"the celebrated women chorus singers from Lancashire." The receipts were +again about L800, and the profits L340, which sum was divided between +the Hospital and the building fund for St. Paul's. + +1784, Sept. 22 to 24. President: Lord Dudley and Ward. Following after +the celebrated Handel Commemoration the programme was filled almost +solely with selections from Handel's works, the only novelty being the +oratorio of "Goliath," composed by Mr. Atterbury, which according to one +modern musical critic, has never been heard of since. Master Bartleman, +who afterwards became the leading bass singer of the day, was the +novelty among the performers. Receipts, L1,325; profits, L703. + +1787, Aug. 22 to 24. President, the Earl of Aylesford. In addition to +the miscellaneous (mostly Handelian) pieces, the oratories performed +were "Israel in Egypt" and the "Messiah," the latter being so remarkably +successful that an extra performance of it was given on the Saturday +following. Among the perfumers were Mrs. Billington (first soprano), Mr. +Samuel Harrison (one of the finest tenor singers ever heard in England), +and Mr. John Sale (a rich-toned bass), and the "women chorus." Receipts +about L2,000; profits, L964. + +1790, Aug. 25 to 27. President, Lord Dudley and Ward. The "Messiah," +with miscellaneous selections, the principal performers being Madame +Mara, Mr. Reinhold, and Mr. Charles Knyvett, with Jean Mara +(violoncellist) and John Christian Fischer (oboeist) The prices of +admission were raised at this Festival to 10s. 6d. and 7s.; Theatre +boxes 7s. 6d., pit 5s., gallery 3s. 6d. Receipts L1,965 15s.; profits +L958 14s. + +1796, Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, President, the Earl of Aylesford. The +performances were like those of 1790, of a general character, besides +the "Messiah;" while the two principal sopranos were the Misses +Fletcher, daughters of a local musician. The trombone was introduced at +this Festival for the first time. Receipts L2,043 18s.; profits L897. + +1792, September 18 to 20. President, the Earl of Warwick. The "Messiah," +with vocal and instrumental selections of the usual character. Miss +Poole and Master Elliott among the vocalists, with Mr. Holmes +(bassoonist) and Signor Mariotti (trombone player), were chief of the +newly-introduced performers. Receipts, L2,550; profits, L1,470. + +1802, September 22 to 24. President, the Earl of Dartmonth. For the +first time in this town Haydn's "Creation" was performed, in addition to +the "Messiah," &c. Among the vocalists were Madame Dussek, Mrs. +Mountain, John Braham (_the_ Braham of undying fame), and Mr. William +Knyvett; Mr. Francois Cramer, leader of the band (and at every festival +until 1843), had with him Andrew Ashe (flautist), Aufossi (double bass), +&c., with over 100 in the orchestra. Receipts, L3,820 17s. O-1/4d.; +profits, L2,380. + +1805, Oct. 2 to 4. President, the Earl of Aylesford. The "Messiah" was +given for the first time here with Mozart's accompaniments; part of the +"Creation" &c. Mr. Thomas Vaughan was among the singers (and he took +part in every Festival until 1840), and Signor Domenico Dragonetti +(double bass) and the Brothers Petrules (horn players) with the +instruments. Receipts, L4,222; profits, L2,202. + +1808, Oct. 5 to 7. President, the Right Hon. Lord Guernsey. Nearly 200 +performers, including Master Buggins (a Birmingham boy alto) Mr. J.J. +Goss (counter tenor), Signor Joseph Naldi (buffo), and Dr. Crotch, the +conductor, organist and pianist. The last-named was a good player when +only 3-1/2 years old. Receipts, L5,511 12s.; profits, L3,257. + +1811, Oct. 2 to 4. President, Lord Bradford. Madame Catilni, Mrs. +Bianchi, and Mr. T.L. Bellamy first appeared here, as well as Mr. Samuel +Wesley (John Wesley's nephew), as conductor and organist. Prices again +raised, morning tickets being 20s. and 10s., with 10s. 6d. pit and 6s. +gallery at Theatre. Receipts, L6,680; profits, L3,629. + +1814, Oct. 5 to 7. President, the Earl of Plymouth. Miss Stephens +(afterwards Countess of Essex), Miss Travis, Vincent Novello (the +publisher of after years), and Griesbach (oboeist), were among the +"first appearances." Receipts, L7,171 12s.; profits, L3,629. + +1817, Oct. 1 to 3. President, the Hon. Sir Charles Greville, K.C.B. Mrs. +Salmon, Madame Camporese, Mr. Hobbs (tenor), Monsieur Drouet (flautist), +Mr. T. Harper (trumpet), and Mr. Probin (horn), took part in the +performances. Receipts, L8,476; profits, L4,296 10s. + +1820, Oct. 3 to 6. President, the Hon. Heneage Legge. The principal +performers included Madame Vestris, Signora Corn, Miss Symends (a native +of this town, and who continued to sing here occasionally for twenty +years), Signor Begrez (tenor), Signor Ambrogetti (buffo bass), Mr. +R.N.C. Bocusa (harpist), Mr. Sha gool (violinist), Mr. Stanier +(flautist), and Mr. Munde (viola player). The last two gentlemen were +connected with this town until very late years. The chief novelty was +the English version of Haydn's "Seasons," written by the Rev. John Webb, +a local clergyman. Receipts, L9,483; profits, L5,001 11s. + +1823, Oct. 7 to 10. President, Sir Francis Lawley, Bart. Among the fresh +faces were those of Miss Heaton (afterwards Mrs. T.C. Salt), Signor +Placci (baritone), Mr. Thome (bass), Mr. Nicholson (flute), and Signor +Puzzi (horn). The Rev. John Webb wrote for this occasion, "The Triumph +of Gideon," an English adaptation of Winter's "Timotos." Receipts, +L11,115 10s.; profits, L5,806 12s. + +1826, Oct. 4 to 7. President, Earl Howe. The programmes this year were +more varied than at any previous festival, the performances, in addition +to the "Messiah," including the oratorio "Joseph," by Mehul, selections +from Graun's "Der Tod Jesu," Handel's "Judas Maccabeus," Haydn's +"Seasons," &c. A number of the performers appeared here for their first +time, including Madame Caradori, Miss Paton, Miss Bacon, Henry Phillips +(the veteran and popular singer of later days, but who was then only in +his 25th year), Signor Curioni (said to have borne a wonderful +resemblance to Shakespeare in his figurehead and features), Signor de +Begius, Mr. John Baptiste Cramer, C.G. Kiesewetter (who died the +following year), Charles Augustus de Beriot (who married Madame +Malibran-Garcia), and quite a host of local instrumentalists who were +long chief among our Birmingham musicians. Receipts L10,104; profits +L4,592. + +1829, Oct. 6 to 9. President, the Earl of Bradford. This was the Jubilee +Year of the General Hospital, and conspicuous in the programme was the +"Jubilee Anthem" in commemoration of the fiftieth year of its +establishment, the words being adapted to the music composed by +Cherubini for Charles X.s coronation. This was also the last year in +which the Festival performances took place in St. Philip's Church or +(except several single nights of operatic selections) at the Theatre. +Besides the "Jubilee Anthem," there were novelties in the shape of +Zingarelli's "Cantata Sacra" (described in a musical publication as a +"tame, insipid, heap of commonplace trash"), and the introduction of +"operatic selections" at the evening concerts. Amongst the performers +who made their _debut_ in Birmingham were Madame Malibran-Garcia, Mdlle. +Blasis, Miss Fanny Ayton, Signor Costa, Signor Guibelei, Mrs. Anderson +(who gave pianoforte lessons to Princess Victoria), and Mr. Charles +Lucas (violoncello). Receipts, L9,771; profits, L3,806 17s. + +1834, Oct. 7 to 10. President, the Earl of Aylesford. This being the +first Festival held in the Town Hall it may be noted that the prices of +admission were for the morning performances, 21/-for reserved and 10/6 +unreserved seats; in the evening, 15/- and 8/-; at the Theatre, boxes +and pit, 15/-, gallery, 7/-; ball on Friday, 10/6. There were 14 +principal vocalists, 33 in the semi-chorus, 187 in the full chorus, 147 +instrumental performers, 2 conductors, 2 organists, and 1 pianist. +Besides the "Messiah," there was the new oratorio, "David," by Nerkomm +(the first that was originally composed for our Festivals), selections +from the same author's "Mount Sinai," from Spohr's "Last Judgment," from +Handel's "Israel in Egypt," and an arrangement of Hummel's "Motet," &c. +This was the first introduction to the Festivals of Miss Clara Novello +(afterwards Countess Gigliucci), Madame Stockhausen and her husband +(harpist), Ignaz Moscheles, Mr. William Machin (a townsman), Miss Aston +and Miss Bate (both Birmingham ladies), Mr. George Hollins (the first +appointed Town Hall organist), and others. Receipts, L13,527; profits, +L4,035. + +1837, Sept. 19 to 22. President, Lord Willoughby de Broke. Mendelssohn's +new oratorio, "St. Paul" (oft mistakenly supposed to have been specially +written for the occasion), was the most important production, but +Neukomm's "Ascension," Haeser's "Triumph of Faith," and several other new +compositions were performed on this occasion. In addition to +Mendelssohn's first appearance here as conductor, there were other new +faces, among them being Madame Giula Grisi, Madame Emma Albertazzi, Mrs. +Albert Shaw, Signor Antonio Tamburini, Mr. Alfred Mellon (in his 17th +year, but even then leader of the band at the Theatre), Signor Regondi +(concertina player), &c. Receipts, L11,900, but, as besides more than +usually heavy expenses, L1,200 was paid for building the recess in which +the organ was placed, the profits were only L2,776. + +1840, Sept. 22 to 25. President, Lord Leigh. The oratorio, "Israel in +Egypt," by Handel, selections from his "Jephtha," and "Joshua," and +Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise," were the great features of this +Festival, at which appeared for the first time Madame Dorus-Gras, Miss +M.B. Hawes, Signor Louis Lablache, with Mr. T. Cooke, and Mr. H.G. +Blagrove (two clever violinists). Receipts, L11,613; profits, L4,503. + +1843, Sept. 19 to 22. President, Earl Craven. The performances at the +Town Hall included Handel's oratorio, "Deborah," Dr. Crotch's +"Palestine," and Rossini's "Stabat Mater," the introduction of the +latter causing a considerable flutter among some of the local clergy, +one of whom described it as the most idolatrous and anti-Christian +composition that could be met with. The Theatre this year was used for +three evening concerts, &c. Among the new vocalists were Miss Rainforth, +Signor Mario, Signer Fornasari, and Mr. Manvers. The organists were Dr. +Samuel Sebastian Wesley and our Mr. James Stimpson, who had succeeded +Mr. George Hollins as Town Hall organist in the previous year. Receipts, +L8,822; profits, L2,916. + +1846, Aug. 25 to 28. President, Lord Wrottesley. This is known as "The +Elijah Festival," from the production of Mendelssohn's _chef d'oeuvre_ +the "Elijah" oratorio. The performers were mostly those who had been +here before, save Miss Bassano, the Misses Williams, Mr. Lockey, and +Herr Joseph Staudigl. Receipts, L11,638; profits, L5,508. + +1849, Sept. 4 to 7. President, Lord Guernsey. This Festival is +especially noteworthy as being the first conducted by Sir Michael Costa, +also for the number of "principals" who had not previously taken part in +the Festivals, for the extreme length of the evening programmes, each +lasting till after midnight; and, lastly, from the fact, that out of a +body of 130 instrumentalists, only eight or nine Birmingham musicians +could be found to please the _maestro's_ taste. The oratorios of the +"Messiah," "Elijah," and "Israel in Egypt," were the principal pieces, +with Mendelssohn's "First Walpurgis Night," and Prince Albert's +"L'Invocazione dell' Armonia;" the remainder being of the most varied +character. The first appearances included Madame Sontag, Madame +Castellan, Miss Catherine Hayes, Mdlle. Alboni, Miss Stevens (afterwards +Mrs. Hale), Mdlle. Jetty de Treffz, Sims Reeves, Herr Pischek (baritone +basso), Signor Bottesini (double bass), M. Sigismund Thalberg (pianist), +M. Prospere Sainton (violinist), &c. Receipts L10,334; profits, L2,448. + +1852, Sept. 7 to 10. President, Lord Leigh. Handel's oratorio, "Samson," +and Mendelssohn's unfinished "Christus," were the chief new works; and +the principal stangers were Madame Viardot-Garda, Miss Dolby, Signor +Tamberlik, Herr Formes, Signor Belletti, Mr. Weiss, Signor Piatti +(violoncello), Signer Bottisini (double bass), and Herr Kuhe +(pianoforte) Receipts L11,925; profits L4,704. + +1855, Aug. 28 to 31. President, Lord Willoughby de Broke, The programme +included Costa's "Eli" (composed for the occasion), Beethoven's "Mount +of Olives," Glover's "Tam O'Shanter," Macfarren's cantata "Lenora," and +Mozart's "Requiem;" the fresh artistes being Madame Rudersdorf, Signor +Gardoni, and Herr Reichardt. Receipts L12,745; profits, L3,108, in +addition to L1,000 spent on decorating, &c., the Hall and organ. + +1858, Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. President, the Earl of Dartmouth. The +novelties included Mendelssohn's Hymn "Praise Jehovah," Beethoven's +"Mass in C." Leslie's Cantata "Judith," Mendelssohn's Cantata "To the +Sons of Art," Costa's serenata "The Dream," &c. First appearances were +made by Mdlle. Victorie Balfe, Signor Ronconi, Mr. Montem Smith, about a +dozen instrumentalists belonging to the Festival Choral Society, and +nearly seventy members of the Amateur Harmonic Association, Mr. W.C. +Stockley filling the post of general chorus-master. This was the last +year of the "Festival Balls." Receipts, L11,141; profits, L2,731. + +1861, Aug. 27 to 30. President, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. The +new introductions comprised Mdlle. Titiens, Mdlle. Adelina Patti, Mdlle. +Lemmens-Sherrington, Miss Palmer, Signor Giuglini, Mr. Santley, and Miss +Arabella Goddard. Beethoven's "Mass in D," and Hummel's Motett "Alma +Virgo" were part of the programme, which included not only the "Messiah" +and "Elijah," but also "Samson" and "The Creation," &c. Receipts, +L11,453; profits, L3,043. + +1864, Sept. 6 to 9. President, the Earl of Lichfield. Costa's "Naaman," +Sullivan's "Kenilworth," Guglieml's "Offertorium," and Mozart's "Twelfth +Mass" were produced. Mr. W.H. Cummings made his first appearance. +Receipts, L13,777; profits, L5,256. + +1867, Aug. 27 to 29. President, Earl Beauchamp. The novelties were +Bennett's "Woman of Samaria," Gounod's "Messe Solonnelle," Benedict's +"Legend of St. Cecilia," and Barnett's "Ancient Mariner." The new +singers were Mdlle. Christine Nilsson and Madume Patey-Whylock. +Receipts, L14,397; profits, L5,541. + +1870, Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. President, the Earl of Bradford. The new works +were Barnett's "Paradise and the Peri," Benedict's "St. Peter," and +Hiller's "Nala and Damayanti," Mdlle. Ilma de Murska, Mdlle. Drasdil, +Miss Edith Wynne (Eos Cymru), Signor Foli, and Mr. Vernon Rigby making +their _debut_ as Festival singers. Receipts, L14,635; profits, L6,195. + +1873, Aug. 25 to 28. President, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot. The +most important of the novelties were Sullivan's "Light of the World," +and Schira's "Lord of Burleigh," but the greatest attraction of all was +the patronising presence of royalty in the person of the Duke of +Edinburgh. Receipts, L16,097; profits, L6,391. + +1876, Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. President, the Marquis of Hertford. Herr +Wagner's "Holy Supper," Mr. Macfarren's "Resurrection," Mr. F.H. Cowen's +"Corsair," and Herr Gade's "Zion" and "Crusaders" were the pieces now +first introduced, the artistes being all old friends, with the exception +of Mr. E. Lloyd. Receipts, L15,160; profits. L5,823. + +1879, Aug. 26 to 20. President, Lord Norton. The fresh compositions +consisted of Herr Max Bruch's "Lay of the Bell," Rossini's "Moses in +Egypt," Saint-Saens' "The Lyre and Harp," and Dr. C.S. Heap's "Overture +in F." First appearances included Madame Gerster, Miss Anna Williams, +Mr. Joseph Maas, and Herr Henschel, Receipts, L11,729; profits, L4,500. + +1882, Aug. 29 to Sep. 1. President, Lord Windsor. On this occasion +Madame Roze-Mapleson, Miss Eleanor Farnel, Mr. Horrex, Mr. Campion, and +Mr. Woodhall, first came before a Festival audience. The list of new +works comprised Gounod's "Redemption," Gaul's "Holy City," Gade's +"Psyche," Benedict's "Graziella," Mr. C.H. Parry's "Symphony in G +Major." Brahm's "Triumphed," with a new song and a new march by Gounod. +Receipts, L15,011; profits, L4,704. + +1885. Aug.25 to 28.--President: Lord Brooke. The principal performers +were Madame Albani, Mrs. Hutchinson, Miss Anna Williams, Madame Patey, +Madame Trebelli; Messrs. Edward Lloyd, Joseph Maas, Santley, Signor +Foli. Herr Richter was the conductor. Works performed were:--Oratorio, +"Elijah"; new Cantata, "Sleeping Beauty"; new Oratorio, "Mors et Vita"; +new cantata, "Yule Tide"; Oratorio, "Messiah"; new Cantata, "The +Spectre's Bride"; new Oratorio, "The Three Holy Children." + +~Music Halls.~--Mr. Henry Holder is often said to have been the first +who opened a public room of this kind, but there had been one some years +before at the George and Dragon, corner of Weaman Street, Steelhouse +Lane, which was both popular and respectably conducted.--See "_Concert +Halls_." + +~Musical Instruments.~--Our grandfathers and grandmothers were content +with their harps and harpsichords, their big and little fiddles, with +trumpets and drums, horns, oboes, bassoons, and pipes. Clarionets were +not introduced into the Festival bands until 1778; the double-bass +kettle-drums came in 1784; trombones in 1790; flutes, with six or more +keys, were not known until 1802; serpents appeared in 1820; flageolets +in 1823; the ophicleide was brought in 1829, and the monster specimens +in 1834, which year also saw the introduction of the piccolo; the +bombardon not coming until 1843. Pianofortes were first known in England +in 1767, but when first played in Birmingham is uncertain; the first +time the instrument is named in a Festival programme was 1808, but the +loan of a grand by Mr. Tomkinson, a London maker, in 1817, was an event +thought deserving of a special vote of thanks. + +~Musical Notabilities~ of the highest calibre have been frequent +visitors here, at the Festivals and at the Theatres, though the +native-born sons of song who have attained high rank in the profession +number but few. Under "_Musical Festivals_" appear the names of all the +leading artistes who have taken part in those world-known performances, +the dates of their first appearances being only given, and in like +manner in the notice of our "_Theatres_" and "_Theatrical Celebrities_" +will be chronicled the advents of many celebrated "stars" who have trod +our local boards. Considering the position he long held in the musical +world, the introduction of Sir Michael Costa to Birmingham has +sufficient interest to be here noted. Signor Costa had been sent by his +friend Zingarelli to conduct his "Cantata Sacra" at the Festival of +1829. The managers, however, thought so very little of the young +gentleman's appearance (he was but nineteen) that they absolutely +refused him permission to do so, only allowing his expenses on condition +that he went among the singers. It was of no use his telling them that +he was a conductor and not a singer, and he had nervously to take the +part assigned him. On returning to London, he quickly "made his mark," +and fell into his right place of honour and credit. + +~Musical Services.~--The first of a series of week-night musical +services for the people took place at St. Luke's Church, September 10, +1877, the instruments used being the organ, two kettle-drums, two +trumpets, and two trombones. This was by no means an original idea, for +the followers of Swedenborg had similar services as well in their Chapel +in Paradise Street (on site of Queen's College), as in Newhall Street +and Summer Lane. + +~Mysteries of Past History.~--It was believed that a quantity of arms +were provided here by certain gentlemen favourable to the Pretender's +cause in 1745, and that on the rebels failing to reach Birmingham, the +said arms were buried on the premises of a certain manufacturer, who for +the good of his health fled to Portugal. The fact of the weapons being +hidden came to the knowledge of the Government some sixty years after, +and a search for them was intended, but though the name of the +manufacturer was found in the rare books of the period, and down to +1750, the site of his premises could not be ascertained, the street +addresses not being inserted, only the quarter of the town, thus: "T. +S.---- Digbath quarter." The swords, &c., have remained undiscovered to +the present day.--M 10, 1864, while excavations were being made in the +old "Castle Yard," in High Street the skeletons of three human beings +were found in a huddled position about 2-1/2 ft. from the surface.--The +Old Inkleys were noted for the peculiar character (or want thereof) of +its inhabitants, though why they buried their dead beneath their cellar +floors must remain a mystery. On October 29, 1879, the skeleton of a +full-grown man was found underneath what had once been the site of a +house in Court No. 25 of the Old Inkleys, where it must have lain at +least 20 years. + +~Nail Making.~--See "_Trades_." + +~Natural History~ and Microscopical Society was formed in January, 1858. +The first meeting of the Midland Union of Natural History, +Philosophical, and Archaeological Societies and Field Clubs was held at +the Midland Institute, May 27, 1878. + +~Nechells.~--There is, or was, a year or two back, a very old house, +"Nechells Hall," still in existence, where at one period of their +history, some of the Holte family resided. + +~Needless Alley~ is said to have been originally called Needles Alley +from a pin and needle makers' shop there. + +~Nelson.~--Boulton struck a line medal in commemoration of the Battle of +Trafalgar, and by permission of the Government gave one to every person +who took part in the action; flag-officers and commanders receiving +copies in gold, lieutenants, &c., in silver, and the men, bronze. Being +struck for this purpose only, and not for sale, the medal is very +scarce.--See "_Statues_." + +~New Hall.~--One of the residences of the Colmore family, demolished in +1787, the advertisement announcing the sale of its materials appearing +July 2 that year. It is generally believed that the house stood in exact +line with Newhall Street, and at its juncture with Great Charles Street; +the houses with the steps to them showing that the site between, whereon +the Hall stood, was lowered after its clearance. + +~Newhall Hill.~--Famous for ever in our history for the gatherings which +have at times taken place thereon, the most important of which are those +of 1819, July 12, to elect a "representative" who should _demand_ +admittance to, and a seat in, the House of Commons, whether the Commons +would let him or no. For taking part in this meeting, George Edmonds, +Major Cartwright, and some others, were put on their trial. A "true +bill" was found on August 9th, but the indictment being removed to +King's Bench, the trial did not take place till August 7, 1820, the +sentence of 12 months' imprisonment being passed May 28, 1821.--In 1832, +May 14, nearly 200,000 persons present, Mr. Thomas Attwood presiding. +This is the meeting described as "one of the most solemn spectacles ever +seen in the world." when the whole mighty assemblage took the vow of the +Political Union, to "devote themselves and their children to their +country's cause."--In 1833, May 20, at which the Government was censured +for passing a Coercian Bill for Ireland, for keeping on the window and +house taxes, for not abolishing the Coin Laws, and for not allowing vote +by ballot. + +~Newhall Lane~ was the original name for that part of Colmore Row +situate between Newhall Street and Livery Street. + +~New John Street~, for a long time, was considered the longest street in +the borough, being 1 mile and 200 yards long. + +~New Market Street.~--Some ground was set out here, years ago, for a +market; hence the name. + +~Newspapers and Magazines.~--In 1719 there were many small "sheets of +news" published in London, but the imposition of a halfpenny stamp +finished the career of the majority. In 1797 a 3-1/2 d. stamp, and in +1815 a 4d. stamp was required. In 1836 it was reduced to 1d., and in +1855, after a long agitation, the newspaper duty was abolished +altogether. About 1830 the trick of printing a calico sheet of news was +tried, the letter of the law being that duty must be paid on +news_papers_, but the Somerset House people soon stopped it. In Oct., +1834, among many others, James Guest, Thomas Watts, and William +Plastans, news-vendors of this town, were committed to Warwick Gaol fur +the offence of selling unstamped papers. In 1840, the total circulation +of all the local papers did not reach 14,000 copies per week, a great +contrast to the present day, when one office alone sends out more than +150,000 in the like time. During the Chartist agitation there were +frequently as many as 5,000 to 6,000 copies of Feargus O'Connor's +_Northern Star_ sold here, and many hundreds a week of the _Weekly +Dispatch_, a great favourite with "the people" then. _Cacoethes +scribendi_, or the scribbling itch, is a complaint many local people +have suffered from, but to give a list of all the magazines, newspapers, +journals, and periodicals that have been published here is impossible. +Many like garden flowers have bloomed, fruited, and lived their little +day, others have proved sturdy plants and stood their ground for years, +but the majority only just budded into life before the cold frosts of +public neglect struck at their roots and withered them up, not a leaf +being left to tell even the date of their death. Notes of a few are here +given:-- + +_Advertiser_.--First number appeared Oct. 10, 1833. + +_Argus_.--Started as a monthly Aug. 1, 1828.--See "_Allday_" under +"_Noteworthy Men_." + +_Aris's Gazette_.--The oldest of our present local papers was first +published Nov. 10, 1741. Like all other papers of that period, it was +but a dwarf in comparison with the present broad-sheet, and the whole of +the local news given in its first number was comprised in five lines, +announcing the celebration of Admiral Vernon's birthday. Its Founder, +Thos. Aris, died July 4, 1761. Since that date it had seen but few +changes in its proprietorship until 1872, when it was taken by a Limited +Liability Company, its politics remaining staunchly Conservative. On May +12th, 1862, it was issued as a daily, the Saturday's publication still +bearing the old familiar name. + +_Athlete_.--First issued as the "_Midland Athlete_," January, 1879. + +_Bazaar_.--A quarto serial of 1823-25. + +_Birmingham Magazine_.--A literary and scientific publication edited by +Rev. Hugh Hutton. First appeared in Nov. 1827, running only nine +numbers. + +_Brum_.--A so-called satirical, but slightly scurrilous, sheet issued in +1869, for a brief period. + +_Central Literary Magazine_.--First No. in Jan. 1873. + +_Chronicle_.--First published in 1765 by Myles Swinney. who continued to +edit the paper until his death in 1812. It was sold March 15, 1819, as +well as the type foundry which had been carried on by Mr. Swinney, a +business then noteworthy, as there was but one other of the kind in +England out of London. + +_Daily Globe_.--A Conservative 1/2d. evening paper, commencing Nov. 17, +1879, and dying Oct. 30, 1880. + +_Daily Mail_.--Evening 1/2d. paper; an offshoot from the _Daily Post_, +and now printed on adjoining premises. First published Sept. 7, 1870. + +_Daily Post_.--First published Dec. 4, 1857, by the proprietors of the +_Journal_. From the first it "took" well, and it is the leading daily +paper of the Midland Counties. + +_Daily Press_.--The first daily paper issued in Birmingham appeared on +May 7, 1855. Like many other "new inventions," however, it did not +succeed in making a firm footing and succumbed in November, 1858. + +_Dart_.--A well-conducted comic weekly paper. Commenced Oct. 28, 1876. + +_Edgbaston Advertiser_.--Published monthly by Mr. Thos. Britton, +Ladywood. As its name implies, this publication is more of the character +of an advertising sheet than a newspaper, but it often contains choice +literary pieces which make it a favourite. + +_Edgbastonia_.--A monthly, full of quaint and curious notes, local +biographies, &c., issued by Mr. Eliezer Edwards, the well-known "S.D.R." +First sent out May, 1881. + +_Edmonds' Weekly Recorder_.--First published by George Edmonds, June 18, +1819. It was alive in 1823, but date of last issue is uncertain. + +_German_.--A newspaper printed in the German language made its +appearance here Aug. 7, 1866, but did not live long. + +_Graphic_.--A penny illustrated commenced Feb. 21, 1883, but its +growth was not sufficiently _hardy_ to keep it alive more than two +_summers_. + +_Gridiron_.--"A grill for saints and sinners," according to No. 1 (June +14, 1879), and if bitter biting personalities can be called fun, the +publication was certainty an amusing one, so long as it lasted. + +_Hardware Lion_.--Rather a curious name for the monthly advertising +sheet first published Dec., 1880, but it did not long survive. + +_Illustrated Midland News_.--The publication of this paper, Sept. 4, +1869, was a spirited attempt by Mr. Joseph Hatton to rival the +_Illustrated London News_; but the fates were against him, and the last +number was that of March 11, 1871. + +_Inspector_.--A political sheet, which only appeared a few times in +1815. + +_Iris_.--A few numbers of a literary magazine thus named were issued in +1830. + +_Jabet's Herald_.--A weekly paper, published 1808, but not of long +existence. + +_Journal_.--A paper with this name was published in 1733, but there are +no files extant to show how long it catered for the public. A copy of +its 18th number, Monday, May 21, 1733, a small 4to of 4 pages, with the +1/2d. red stamp, is in the possession of the proprietors of the _Daily +Post_, The _Journal_ of later days first appeared June 4 1825, and +continued to be published as a Saturday weekly until 1873, when it was +incorporated with the _Daily Post_. + +_Liberal Review_.--First number March 20, 1880, and a few numbers ended +it. + +_Looker-On_.--A quizzical critical sheet of theatrical items of the year +1823. + +_Literary Phoenix_.--A miscellany of literary litter swept together by +Mr. Henry Hawkes in 1820, but soon dropped. + +_Lion_.--Another of the modern "satirical" shortlived sheets, started +Jan. 4, 1877. + +_Mercury.--The Birmingham Mercury and Warwickshire and Staffordshire +Advertiser_ was the title of newspaper of which the first copy was dated +November 24, 1820. The title of _Mercury_ was revived in 1848. on the +10th December of which year Mr. Wm. B. Smith brought out his paper of +that name. It commenced with _eclat_, but soon lost its good name, and +ultimately, after a lingering existence (as a daily at last), it died +out August 24, 1857. + +_Middle School Mirror_.--A monthly, edited, written, and published by +the boys of the Middle School of King Edward the Sixth, shone forth in +December, 1880. + +_Midland Antiquary_.--First numbtr for Oct., 1882. A well-edited +chronicle of matters interesting to our "Old Mortality" boys. + +_Midland Counties Herald_.--First published July 26, 1836, by Messrs. +Wright and Dain. Its circulation, though almost gratuitous is extensive +and from its high character as a medium for certain classes of +advertisements it occasionally has appeared in the novel shape of a +newspaper without any news, the advertisers taking up all the space. + +_Midland Echo_--Halfpenny evening paper, commenced Feb. 26, 1883, as an +extra-superfine Liberal organ. Ceased to appear as a local paper early +in 1885. + +_Midland Metropolitan Magazine_. This heavily-named monthly lasted just +one year, from Dec., 1852. + +_Midland Naturalist_.--Commenced Jan. 1, 1878. + +_Morning News_.--Daily paper, in politics a Nonconformist Liberal; first +published Jan. 2, 1871, under the editorship of George Dawson until the +expiration of 1873. On Aug. 16, 1875, it was issued as a morning and +evening paper at 1/2d.; but the copy for May 27, 1876, contained its own +death notice. + +_Mouse Trap_.--The title of a little paper of playful badinage, issued +for a month or two in the autumn of 1824. + +_Naturalists' Gazette_.--In Sept. 1882, the Birmingham naturalists began +a gazette of their own. + +_Old and New Birmingham_ was published in monthly parts, the first being +issued June 1, 1878. + +_Owl_.--A weekly pennyworth of self-announced "wit and wisdom" first +issued Jan. 30, 1879. + +_Penny Magazine_.--This popular periodical, the fore-runner of all the +cheap literature of the day, may be said to have had a Birmingham +origin, as it was first suggested to Charles Knight by Mr. M.D. Hill in +1832. + +_Philanthropist_.--First published (as _The Reformer_) April 16, 1835, +by Benjamin Hudson, 18, Bull Street; weekly, four pages, price 7d., but +in the following September lowered to 4-1/2d., the stamp duty of 4d. +being at that time reduced to 1d. In politics it was Liberal, and a +staunch supporter of the Dissenters, who only supported it for about two +years. + +_Radical Times_.--Came into existence Sept. 30, 1876, but being too +rabidly Radical, even for "the 600," whose leading-strings it shirked, +it did not thrive for long. + +_Register or Entertaining Museum_.--With the prefix of the town's name, +this monthly periodical lived one year from May 10, 1764. This was one +of the earliest London-printed country papers, the only local portion +being the outside pages, so that it suited for a number of places. + +_Reporter and Review_.--Principally devoted to the doings on the local +stage, and published for a brief period during June, &c., 1823. + +_Saturday Evening Post_.--A weekly "make-up" from the _Daily Post_ (with +a few distinctive features) and came into being with that paper; price +1-1/2d. Originally issued at noon on Saturday, but latterly it has +appeared simultaneous with the _Daily_, and is known as the _Weekly +Post_, its price lately having been reduced to 1d. + +_Saturday Night_.--First published, Sept. 30, 1882. + +_Saturday's Register_.--Another of George Edmunds' political papers, +which appeared for a few months in 1820. + +_Spectator_.--A literary and dramatic monthly, of which seven parts were +published in 1824. + +_Sunday Echo_.--First number came out May 21, 1882. + +_Sunday Express_.--Started August, 1884, and died August, 1885. + +_Sunday Telegram_.--Started May, 1883. + +_Sunrise_.--Rose Nov. 18, 1882, at the price of one-halfpenny, and +lasted a few weeks only. + +_Tattler_.--April 1817 saw the first appearance of this +tittle-tattle-tale-telling monthly tease to all lovers of theatrical +order, and August saw the last. + +_Theatrical Argus_.--Of May and following months of 1830. A +two-penny-worth of hotch-potch, principally scandal. + +_Theatrical John Bull_.--Published in May, 1824, lasting for the season +only. + +_Theatrical Note Book_.--Rival to above in June, 1824, and going off the +stage same time. + +_Town Crier_.--This respectable specimen of a local comic appeared first +in September, 1861, and it deserves a long life, if only for keeping +clear of scandal and scurrility. + +_Warwick and Staffordshire Journal_.--Though printed here, the town was +not thought capable of filling its columns; a little experience showed +the two counties to be as bad, and subscribers were tempted to buy by +the issue of an Illustrated Bible and Prayer Book sent out in parts with +the paper. The first No. was that of Aug. 20, 1737, and it continued +till the end of Revelations, a large number of copperplate engravings +being given with the Bible, though the price of the paper was but 2d. + +_Weekly Mercury_.--Commenced November, 1884. + +_Weekly News_.--A weak attempt at a weekly paper, lasted from May to +September, 1882. + +~Newsrooms.~--The first to open a newsroom were Messrs. Thomson and +Wrightson, booksellers, who on Aug. 22, 1807, admitted the public to its +tables. In 1825 a handsome newsroom was erected in Bennett's Hill, the +site of which was sold in 1858 for the County Court, previous to its +removal to Waterloo Street. + +~New Street~ once called "Beast Market." was in Hutton's time approached +from High Street through an archway, the rooms over being in his +occupation. In 1817 there were several walled-in gardens on the +Bennett's Hill side of the street, and it is on record that one house at +least was let at the low rent of 5s. 6d. per week. The old "Grapes" +public-house was pulled down just after the Queen's visit, being the +last of the houses removed on account of the railway station. Though it +has long been the principal business street of the town, New street was +at one time devoted to the ignoble purposes of a beast market, and where +the fair ladies of to-day lightly tread the flags when on shopping bent, +the swine did wait the butcher's knife. New Street is 561 yards in +length; between Temple Street and Bennett's Hill it is 46-1/2 feet wide, +and near Worcester Street 65 ft. 4 in. wide. + +~Nonconformists.~--The so-called Act of Uniformity of 1602 deprived +nearly 2,000 of the clergy of their livings, and a few of them came to +Birmingham as a place of refuge, ministering among the Dissenters, who +then had no buildings for regular worship. There were many documents in +the lost Staunton Collection relating to some of these clergymen, who, +however, did not find altogether comfortable quarters even here, one +George Long, M.D., who had fled from his persecutors in Staffordshire, +finding no peace in Birmingham, removed to Ireland; others, though they +came here by stealth to minister, had to reside in country parts. A +Central Nonconformist Committee was formed here March 3, 1870. + +~Nonjurors.~--Among the name of the Roman Catholics, or "Non-jurors," +who refused to take the oath of allegiance to George I., appeared that +of John Stych, of Birmingham, whose forfeited estate was, in 1715, +valued at L12. + +~Northfield.~--Four and a-half miles from Birmingham. There was a Church +here at the time of the Norman survey, and some traces of its Saxon +origin, students of architecture said, could once be found in the +ancient doorway on the north side of the building. Some forty years ago +the psalmody of the congregation and choir received assistance from the +mellifluous strains ground out of a barrel organ, which instrument is +still preserved as a curiosity by a gentleman of the neighbourhood. They +had an indelible way at one time of recording local proceedings in +matters connected with the Church here. The inscriptions on the six +bells cast in 1730 being:-- + + + Treble.--We are now six, though once but five, + 2nd.--Though against our casting some did strive, + 3rd.--But when a day for meeting they did fix, + 4th.--There appeared but nine against twenty-six. + 5th.--Samuel Palmer and Thomas Silk Churchwardens. + Tenor.--Thomas Kettle and William Jervoise did contrive + To make us six that were but five. + + +~Notable Offences.~--In olden days very heavy punishments were dealt out +for what we now think but secondary offences, three men being sentenced +to death at the Assizes, held March 31, 1742, one Anstey for burglary, +Townsend for sheep-stealing, and Wilmot for highway robbery. The laws +also took cognisance of what to us are strange crimes, a woman in 1790 +being imprisoned here for selling almanacks without the Government stamp +on them; sundry tradesmen also being heavily fined for dealing in +covered buttons. The following are a few other notable olfences that +have been chronicled for reference:-- + +_Bigamy_.--The Rev. Thomas Morris Hughes was, Nov. 15, 1883, sentenced +to seven years' penal servitude for this offence. He had been previously +punished for making a false registration of the birth of a child, the +mother of which was his own stepdaughter. + +_Burglary_.--On Christmas eve, 1800, five men broke into the +counting-house at Soho, stealing therefrom 150 guineas and a lot of +silver, but Matthew Boulton captured four of them, who were +transported.--The National School at Handsworth, was broken into and +robbed for the fifth time Sept. 5, 1827.--A warehouse in Bradford Street +was robbed Jan. 9, 1856, of an iron safe, weighing nearly 4cwt., and +containing L140 in cash.--A burglary was committed in the Ball Ring, +July 5, 1862, for which seven persons were convicted. + +_Coining_.--Booth, the noted coiner and forger, was captured at Perry +Barr, March 28, 1812, his house being surrounded by constables and +soldiers. In addition to a number of forged notes and L600 in +counterfeit silver, the captors found 200 guineas in gold and nearly +L3,000 in good notes, but they did not save Booth Irom being hanged. +Booth had many hidingplaces for his peculiar productions, parcels of +spurious coins having several times been found in hedgerow banks and +elsewhere; the latest find (in April, 1884) consisted of engraved +copper-plates for Bank of England L1 and L2 notes.--There have been +hundreds of coiners punished since his day. The latest trick is getting +really good dies for sovereigns, for which Ingram Belborough, an old man +of three score and six, got seven years' penal servitude, Nov, 15 1883. + +_Deserters_.--On 24 July, 1742, a soldier deserted from his regiment in +this town. Followed, and resisting, he was shot at Tettenhall Wood.--A +sergeant of the Coldstream Guards was shot here while trying to capture +a deserter, September 13, 1796. + +_Dynamite making_.--One of the most serious offences committed in +Birmingham was discovered when Alfred Whitehead was arrested April 5, +1883, on the charge of manufacturing nitroglycerine, or dynamite, at +128, Ledsam Street. Whitehead was one of the Irish-American or +American-Irish party of the Land Leaguers or Home Rulers, who entertain +the idea that by committing horrible outrages in England. they will +succeed in making Ireland "free from the galling yoke of Saxon tyranny" +and every Irishman independent of everybody and everything everywhere. +Well supplied with funds from New York, Whitehead quietly arranged his +little manufactory, buying glycerine from one firm and nitric and +sulphuric acids from others, certain members of the conspiracy coming +from London to take away the stuff when it was completely mixed. The +deliveries of the peculiar ingredients attracted the attention of Mr. +Gilbert Pritchard, whose chemical knowledge led him to guess what they +were required for; he informed his friend, Sergeant Price, of his +suspicions; Price and his superior officers made nightly visits to +Ledsam Street, getting into the premises, and taking samples for +examination; and on the morning named Whitehead's game was over, though +not before he had been watched in sending off two lots of the +dangerously explosive stuff to London. There was, however, no less than +200lbs weight found still on the premises. The men who carried it to +London were quickly caught with the dynamite in their possession, and +with Whitehead were brought to trial and each of them sentenced to penal +servitude for life. The distribution of rewards in connection with the +"dynamite outrages," so far as Birmingham people were concerned, was +somewhat on a similar scale to that described by the old sailor, when he +said "prize-money" was distributed through a ladder, all passing through +going to the officers, while any sticking to the wood was divided among +the men. Mr. Farndale, the Chief of Police, was granted an addition to +his salary of L100 per year; Inspector Black was promoted to the rank of +Superintendent, adding L50 a year to his salary, and was presented with +L100 from Government; Sergeant Price, became Inspector, with a rise of +L41 12s. a year, and received a bonus of L200; Inspector Rees' salary +was raised to two guineas a week, with a gift, of L50: while Mr. +Pritchard, to whom belonged the conspicuous service of having given the +information which led the police to act, was rewarded (!) with L50, +having lost his situation through his services to the public. + +_Embezzlements_.--In 1871, W. Harrison, the Secretary of the Birmingham +Gas Company, skedaddled, his books showing defalcations to the amount of +L18,000. When the company was dissolved, L100 was left in a bank for Mr. +Secretary's prosecution, should he return to this country.--July 12, +1877, the secretary of the Moseley Skating Rink Company was awarded +twelve months, and the secretary of the Butcher's Hide and Skin Company +six months, for similar offences, but for small amounts. + +_Forgeries_.--In the year 1800, seven men were hung at Warwick for +forgery, and with them one for sheep-stealing. The manufacture of forged +bank-notes was formerly quite a business here, and many cases are on +record of the detection and punishment of the offenders.--June 28, 1879. +the Joint Stock Bank were losers of L2,130 through cashing three forged +cheques bearing the signature of W.C.B. Cave, the clever artist getting +ten years--Nov. 15, 1883. John Alfred Burgan, manager of the Union Bank, +for forging and uttering a certain order, and falsifying his books, the +amounts embezzled reaching L9,000, was sentenced to fifteen years' penal +servitude.--On the previous day Benjamin Robert Danks was similarly +punished for forgeries on his employer, Mr. Jesse Herbert, barrister, +who had been exceedingly kind to him--Zwingli Sargent, solicitor, was +sentenced to five years' penal servitude, April 28, 1885, for forgery +and misappropriating money belonging to clients. + +_Fortunetelling_ is still far from being an uncommon offence, but +"Methratton," the "Great Seer of England," _alias_ John Harewell, who, +on March 28, 1883, was sentenced to nine months hard labour, must rank +as being at the top of the peculiar profession. Though a "Great Seer" he +could not foresee his own fate. + +_Highwaymen_.--The "gentlemen of the road" took their tolls in a very +free manner in the earlier coaching days, notwithstanding that the +punishment dealt out was frequently that of death or, in mild cases, +transportation for life. The Birmingham stage coach was stopped and +robbed near Banbury, May 18, 1743, by two highwaymen, who, however, were +captured same day, and were afterwards hung.--Mr. Wheeley, of Edgbaston, +was stopped in a lane near his own house, and robhed of 20 guineas by a +footpad, May 30, 1785.--An attempt to rob and murder Mr. Evans was made +near Aston Park, July 25, 1789.--Henry Wolseley, Esq. (third son of Sir +W. Wolseley, Bart.), was robbed by high-waymen near Erdington, Nov. 5, +1793.--Some highwaymen robbed a Mr. Benton of L90 near Aston Brook, +April 6, 1797.--The coach from Sheffield was stopped by footpads near +Aston Park, March 1, 1798, and the passengers robbed.--The "Balloon" +coach was robbed of L8,000, Dec. 11, 1822, and the Warwick mail was +robbed of no less than L20,000 in bank notes, Nov. 28. 1827. + +_Horrible_.--The bodies of eleven children were found buried at back of +68, Long Acre, Nechells, where lived Ann Pinson, a midwife, who _said_ +they were all still-born, July, 1878. + +_Long Firms_.--A term applied to rogues, who, by pretending to be in +business, procure goods by wholesale, and dispose of them fraudulently. +W.H. Stephenson, of this town, a great patron of these gentry, was +sentenced to seven years' penal servitude, Nov. 22, 1877, for the part +he had taken in one of these swindling transactions, according to +account by far from being the first of the kind he had had a hand in. + +_Next-of-Kin Frauds_.--Many good people imagine they are entitled to +property now in other hands, or laid up in Chancery, and to accommodate +their very natural desire to obtain information that would lead to their +getting possession of same, a "Next-of-Kin Agency" was opened in +Burlington Passage at the beginning of 1882. The _modus operandi_ was of +the simplest: the firm advertised that Brown, Jones, and Robinson were +wanted; Brown, Jones, and Robinson turned up, and a good many of them; +they paid the enquiry fees, and called again. They were assured (every +man Jack of them) they were right owners, and all they had to do was to +instruct the firm to recover. More fees, and heavy ones; the Court must +be petitioned--more fees; counsel engaged--more fees; case entered for +hearing--more fees, and so on, as long as the poor patients would stand +bleeding. Several instances were known of people selling their goods to +meet the harpies' demands; clergymen and widows, colliers and +washer-women, all alike were in the net. It became too hot at last, and +Rogers, Beeton and Co., were provided with berths in the gaol. At +Manchester Assizes July 18, 1882, J.S. Rogers got two years' hard +labour, A. Mackenzie and J.H. Shakespear (a solicitor) each 21 months; +and E.A. Beeton, after being in gaol six months, was ordered to stop a +further twelve, the latter's conviction being from this town. + +_Novel Thefts_.--A youth of nineteen helped himself to L128 from a safe +at General Hospital, and spent L13 of it before the magistrates (Jan. +15, 1875) could give him six months' lodgings at the gaol.--Three +policemen were sent to penal servitude for five years for thieving July +8, 1876.--Sept. 19, 1882, some labourers engaged in laying sewage pipes +near Newton Street, Corporation Street, came across some telegraph +cables, and under the impression that they were "dead" wires, hitched a +horse thereto and succeeded in dragging out about a dozen yards of no +less than 33 different cables connecting this town with Ireland, the +Continent, and America. Their prize was sold for 4s. 6d., but the +inconvenience caused was very serious. Henry Jones, who was tried for +the trick, pleaded ignorance, and was let off.--At Quarter Sessions, +Ernest Lotze, got six months for stealing, Dec. 12, 1892, from his +employer 87lb. weight of human hair, valued at L300. + +_Personal Outrages_.--Maria Ward was sentenced to penal servitude +December 18, 1873, for mutilating her husband in a shocking manner.--At +Warwick Assizes, December 19, 1874, one man was sentenced to 15 years, +and four others to 7 years' penal servitude for outraging a woman in +Shadwell Street.--George Moriarty, plasterer, pushed his wife through +the chamber window, and on her clinging to the ledge beat her hands with +a hammer till she fell and broke her leg, May 31, 1875. It was three +months before she could appear against him, and he had then to wait +three months for his trial, which resulted in a twenty years' sentence. + +_Sacrilege_.--In 1583 St. Martin's Church was robbed of velvet "paul +cloathes," and also some money belonging to the Grammar School.-- +Handsworth Church was robbed of its sacramental plate, February 10, +1784; and Aston Church was similarly despoiled, April 21, 1788.--A gross +sacrilege was commuted in Edgbaston Church, December 15, 1816.--Four +Churches were broken into on the night of January 3, 1873. + +_Sedition and Treason_.--George Ragg, printer, was imprisoned for +sedition, February 12, 1821.--George Thompson, gun maker, 31, Whittall +Street, was imprisoned, August 7, 1839, for selling guns to the +Chartists. + +_Shop Robberies_.--Diamonds worth L400 were stolen from Mr. Wray's shop, +November 27, 1872.--A jeweller's window in New Street was smashed +January 23, 1875, the damage and loss amounting to L300.--A bowl +containing 400 "lion sixpences" was stolen from Mr. Thomas's window, in +New Street, April 5, 1878.--Mr. Mole's jeweller's shop, High Street, was +plundered of L500 worth, April 13th, 1881. Some of the works of the +watches taken were afterwards fished up from the bottom of the Mersey, +at Liverpool. + +_Short Weight_.--Jan. 2, 1792, there was a general "raid" made on the +dealers in the market, when many short-weight people came to grief. + +_Street Shouting_.--The Watch Committee passed a bye-law, May 14, 1878, +to stop the lads shouting "_Mail, Mail_," but they go on doing it. +_Swindles_.--Maitland Boon Hamilton, a gentleman with a cork leg, was +given six months on July 25, 1877, for fleecing Mr. Marsh, the jeweller, +out of some diamonds.--James Bentley, for the "Christmas hamper +swindle," was sentenced to seven years at the Quarter Sessions, May 1, +1878. + +The following tables show the number of offences dealt with by the +authorities during the five years ending with 1882 (the charges, of +which only a small number have been reported, being omitted):-- + +The total number of crimes reported under the head of "indictable +offences"--namely, Sessions and Assizes cases--the number apprehended, +and how dealt with, will be gathered from the following summary:-- + + +Year. Crimes. Apprehended. Com. for trial. +1878 ......... 1746 ......... 495 ......... 349 +1879 ......... 1358 ......... 474 ......... 399 +1880 ......... 1187 ......... 451 ......... 340 +1881 ......... 1343 ......... 435 ......... 351 +1882 ......... 1467 ......... 515 ......... 401 + + + +NATURE OF CRIME. Number of Offences Reported. + 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. +Murder ... ... ... 11 ... 11 ... 5 ... 5 ... 4 +Shooting, wounding, + stabbing, &c.... ... 30 ... 23 ... 8 ... 21 ... 28 +Manslaughter ... ... 4 ... 3 ... 13 ... 6 ... 8 +Rape, assaults with + intent, &c. ... ... 6 ... 1 ... 1 ... 9 ... 4 +Bigamy ... ... ... 8 ... 0 ... 1 ... 4 ... 7 +Assaults on peace + officers ... ... 0 ... 4 ... 0 ... 1 ... 2 +Burglary, + housebreaking, &c. ... 6 ... 112 ... 80 ... 83 ... 131 +Breaking into + shops, &c. ... ... 4 ... 94 ... 56 ... 109 ... 120 +Robbery ... ... ... -- ... 9 ... 6 ... 10 ... 9 +Larcenies (various) ... 1146 ... 959 ... 845 ... 935 ... 931 +Receiving stolen + goods ... ... ... 22 ... 3 ... 16 ... 8 ... 6 +Frauds and obtaining by false + pretences ... ... 63 ... 45 ... 53 ... 37 ... 69 +Forgery and uttering forged + instruments ... ... 5 ... 9 ... 5 ... 4 ... 9 +Uttering, &c., counterfeit + coin ... ... ... 48 ... 32 ... 43 ... 37 ... 63 +Suicide (attempting) ... 20 ... 17 ... 19 ... 16 ... 23 + + +The following are the details of the more important offences dealt with +summarily by the magistrates during the last five years:-- + + +OFFENCES PUNISHABLE Number of persons proceeded against. + BY JUSTICES. 1878. 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. +Assaults (aggravated) on + women and children ... 78 ... 57 ... 68 ... 37 ... 67 +Assaults on peace-officers, + resisting, &c. ... 479 ... 390 ... 340 ... 340 ... 385 +Assaults, common ... 1554 ... 1242 ... 1293 ... 1207 ... 1269 +Breaches of peace, want of + sureties, &c.... ... 426 ... 381 ... 287 ... 219 ... 244 +Cruelty to animals ... 154 ... 77 ... 129 ... 128 ... 94 +Elementary Education Act, + offences against ... 1928 ... 2114 ... 1589 ... 1501 ... 1755 +Employers and Workshops Act, + 1875 ... ... ... 224 ... 198 ... 185 ... 155 ... 154 +Factory Acts ... ... 12 ... 2 ... 17 ... 11 ... 62 +Licensing Acts offences 267 ... 263 ... 132 ... 254 ... 297 +Drunkenness, drunk and + disorderly ... ... 2851 ... 2428 ... 2218 ... 2345 ... 2443 +Lord's Day offences ... 46 ... 4 ... 1 ... 0 ... 0 +Local Acts and Bye-laws, + offences against ... 4327 ... 4327 ... 4127 ... 3702 ... 3603 +Malicious and wilful + damage... ... ... 187 ... 163 ... 163 ... 214 ... 225 +Public Health Act, smoke, + etc. ... ... ... 317 ... 172 ... 104 ... 104 ... 161 +Poor Law Acts, offences + against ... ... 203 ... 220 ... 251 ... 243 ... 325 +Stealing or attempts + (larcenies) ... ... 1094 ... 1222 ... 1434 ... 1253 ... 1235 +Vagrant Act, offences + under ... ... ... 614 ... 622 ... 624 ... 611 ... 783 +Other offences ... ... 214 ... 174 ... 172 ... 211 ... 386 + + +The following are the totals of the summary offences for the same +period, and the manner in which they were disposed of:-- + + +Year. Cases. Convicted. Fined. +1878 16,610 12,767 8,940 +1879 14,475 10,904 7,473 +1880 13,589 9,917 6,730 +1881 13,007 9,468 6,412 +1882 13,788 10,171 6,372 + + +Similar statistics for 1883 have not yet been made up, but a return up +to December 31 of that year shows that the number of persons committed +during the year to the Borough Gaol, or as it is now termed, her +Majesty's Prison at Winson Green, were 3,044 males and 1,045 females +from the borough, and 1,772 males and 521 females from districts, making +a total of 6,382 as against 6,565 in 1882. In the borough 734 males and +198 females had been committed for felony, 1,040 males and 290 females +for misdemeanour, 707 males and 329 females for drunkenness, and 243 +males and 121 females for vagrancy. Of prisoners sixteen years old and +under there were 193 males and 21 females. + +~Noteworthy Men of the Past.~--Though in the annals of Birmingham +history the names of very many men of note in art, science, and +literature, commerce and politics, are to be found, comparatively +speaking there are few of real native origin. Most of our best men have +come from other parts, as will be seen on looking over the notices which +follow this. Under the heading of "_Parsons, Preachers, and Priests_," +will be found others of different calibre. + +_Allday_.--The "Stormy Petrel" of modern Birmingham was Joseph, or, as +he was better known, Joey Allday, whose hand at one time, was against +every man, and every man's hand against Joe. Born in 1798, Mr. Allday, +on arriving at years of maturity, joined his brothers in the +wire-drawing business, but though it _is_ a painful sight to see (as Dr. +Watts says) children of one family do very often disagree, even if they +do not fall out and chide and fight; but Joseph was fond of fighting +(though not with his fists), and after quarelling and dissolving +partnership, as one of his brothers published a little paper so must he. +This was in 1824, and Joey styled his periodical _The Mousetrap_, +footing his own articles with the name of "Argus." How many _Mousetraps_ +Allday sent to market is uncertain, as but one or two copies only are +known to be in existence, and equally uncertain is it whether the +speculation was a paying one. His next literary notion, however, if not +pecuniarily successful, was most assuredly popular, as well as +notorious, it being the much-talked-of _Argus_. The dozen or fifteen +years following 1820 were rather prolific in embryo publications and +periodicals of one kind and another, and it is a matter of difficulty to +ascertain now the exact particulars respecting many of them. Allday's +venture, which was originally called _The Monthly Argus_, first saw the +light in August, 1828. and, considering the times, it was a tolerably +well-conducted sheet of literary miscellany, prominence being given to +local theatrical matters and similar subjects, which were fairly +criticised. Ten numbers followed, in due monthly order, but the volume +for the year was not completed, as in July, 1830, a new series of _The +Argus_ was commenced in Magazine shape and published at a shilling. The +editor of this new series had evidently turned over a new leaf, but he +must have done so with a dungfork, for the publication became nothing +better than the receptacle of rancour, spite, and calumny, public men +and private individuals alike being attacked, and often in the most +scurrilous manner. The printer (who was still alive a few years back) +was William Chidlow and on his head, of course, fell all the wrath of +the people libelled and defamed. George Frederick Mantz horse whipped +him, others sued him for damages, and even George Edmonds (none too +tender-tongued himself) could not stand the jibes and jeers of _The +Argus_. The poor printer was arrested on a warrant for libel; his types +and presses were confiscated under a particular section of the Act for +regulating newspapers, and Allday himself at the March Assizes in 1831 +was found guilty on several indictments for libel, and sentenced to ten +months' imprisonment. A third series of _The Argus_ was started June +1st, 1832, soon after Allday's release from Warwick, and as the vile +scurrility of the earlier paper was abandoned to a great extent, it was +permitted to appear as long as customers could be found to support it, +ultimately dying out with the last month of 1834. To Mr. Joseph Allday +must credit be given for the exposure of numerous abuses existing in his +day. He had but to get proper insight into anything going on wrong than +he at once attacked it, tooth and nail, no matter who stood in the road, +or who suffered from his blows. His efforts to put a stop to the +cruelties connected with the old system of imprisonment and distraint +for debt led to the abolition of the local Courts of Requests; and his +wrathful indignation on learning the shocking manner in which prisoners +at the goal were treated by the Governor, Lieutenant Austin, in 1852-53, +led to the well-remembered "Gaol Atrocity Enquiry," and earned for him +the thanks of the Commissioners appointed by Government to make the +enquiry. As a Town Councillor and Alderman, as a Poor Law Guardian and +Chairman of the Board, as Parish Warden for St. Martin's and an opponent +of churchrates (while being a good son of Mother Church), as founder of +the Ratepayers' Protection Society and a popular leader of the +Conservative party, it needs not saying that Mr. Allday had many enemies +at all periods of his life, but there were very few to speak ill of him +at the time of his death, which resulted from injuries received in a +fall on Oct. 2nd, 1861. + +_Allen_, J.--Local portrait painter of some repute from 1802 to 1820. + +_Aston_, John, who died Sept. 12, 1882, in his 82nd year, at one time +took a leading share in local affairs. He was High Bailiff in 1841, a +J.P. for the county, for 40 years a Governor of the Grammar School, and +on the boards of management of a number of religious and charitable +institutions. A consistent Churchman, he was one of the original +trustees of the "Ten Churches Fund," one of the earliest works of church +extension in Birmingham; he was also the chief promoter of the Church of +England Cemetery, and the handsome church of St. Michael, which stands +in the Cemetery grounds, was largely due to his efforts. In polities Mr. +Aston was a staunch Conservative, and was one of the trustees of the +once notable Constitutional Association. + +_Attwood_.--The foremost name of the days of Reform, when the voice of +Liberal Birmingham made itself heard through its leaders was that of +Thomas Attwood. A native of Salop, born Oct. 6, 1783, he became a +resident here soon after coming of age, having joined Messrs. Spooner's +Bank, thence and afterwards known as Spooner and Attwood's. At the early +age of 28 he was chosen High Bailiff, and soon made his mark by opposing +the renewal of the East India Co.'s charter, and by his exertions to +obtain the withdrawal of the "Orders in Council," which in 1812, had +paralysed the trade of the country with America. The part he took in the +great Reform meetings, his triumphant reception after the passing of the +Bill, and his being sent to Parliament as one of the first +representatives for the borough, are matters which have been too many +times dilated upon to need recapitulation. Mr. Attwood had peculiar +views on the currency question, and pertinaciously pressing them on his +fellow members in the House of Commons he was not liked, and only held +his seat until the end of Dec., 1839, the last prominent act of his +political life being the presentation of a monster Chartist petition in +the previous June. He afterwards retired into private life, ultimately +dying at Malvern, March 6 1856, being then 73 years of age. Charles +Attwood, a brother, but who took less part in politics, retiring from +the Political Union when he thought Thomas and his friends were verging +on the precipice of revolution, was well known in the north of England +iron and steel trade. He died Feb. 24, 1875, in his 84th year. Another +brother Benjamin, who left politics alone, died Nov. 22, 1874, aged 80. +No greater contrast could possibly be drawn than that shown in the +career of these three gentlemen. The youngest brother who industriously +attended to his business till he had acquired a competent fortune, also +inherited enormous wealth from a nephew, and after his death he was +proved to have been the long un-known but much sought after anonymous +donor of the L1,000 notes so continuously acknowledged in the _Times_ as +having been sent to London hospitals and charities. It was said that +Benjamin Attwood distributed nearly L350,000 in this unostentatious +manner, and his name will be ever blessed. Charles Attwood was described +as a great and good man, and a benefactor to his race. His discoveries +in the manufacture of glass and steel, and his opening up of the +Cleveland iron district, has given employment to thousands, and as one +who knew him well said, "If he had cared more about money, and less +about science, he could have been one of the richest commoners in +England;" but he was unselfish, and let other reap the benefit of his +best patents. What the elder brother was, most Brums know; he worked +hard in the cause of Liberalism, he was almost idolised here, and his +statue stands not far from the site of the Bank with which his name was +unfortunately connected, and the failure of which is still a stain on +local commercial history. + +_Baldwin_, James.--Born in the first month of the present century, came +here early in his teens, worked at a printer's, saved his money, an +employer at 25, made a speciality of "grocer's printing," fought hard in +the battle against the "taxes on knowledge," became Alderman and Mayor, +and ultimately settled down on a farm near his own paper mills at King's +Norton, where, Dec. 10, 1871, he finished a practically useful life, +regretted by many. + +_Bayley_, C.H.--A Worcestershire man and a Staffordshire resident; a +persevering collector of past local and county records, and an active +member of the Archaeological section of the Midland Institute. Mr. Bayley +was also a member of the Staffordshire Archaeological Society, and took +special interest in the William Salt Library at Stafford, whose +treasures were familiar to him, and whose contents he was ever ready to +search and report on for any of his friends. In 1869 he issued the first +of some proposed reprints of some of his own rarities, in "A True +Relation of the Terrible Earthquake at West Brummidge, in +Staffordshire," &c., printed in 1676; and early in 1882 (the year of his +death) "The Rent Rolls of Lord Dudley and Ward in 1701"--a very curious +contribution to local history, and full of general interest also. + +_Beale_, Samuel.--At one period a most prominent man among our local +worthies, one of the first Town Councillors, and Mayor in 1841. He was +Chairman of the Midland Railway, a director of the Birmingham and +Midland Bank, and sat as M.P. for Derby from 1857 to 1865. He died Sept +11 1876, aged 71. + +_Beale_, W.J.--A member of the legal firm of Beale, Marigold, and Beale. +Mr. Beale's chief public service was rendered in connection with the +General Hospital and the Musical Festivals. He was for many years a +member of the Orchestral Committee of the Festivals, and in 1870 he +succeeded Mr. J.0. Mason as chairman; retaining this position until +after the Festival of 1876. His death took place in July, 1880, he then +being in his 76th year. + +_Billing_, Martin.--Founder of the firm of Martin Billing, Sons, & Co., +Livery Street, died July 17, 1883, at the age of 71. He commenced life +under his uncle, Alderman Baldwin, and was the first to introduce steam +printing machines into Birmingham. The colossal structure which faces +the Great Western Railway Station was erected about twenty-nine years +ago. + +_Bisset_, James, was the publisher of the "Magnificent Directory" and +"Poetic Survey" of Birmingham, presented to the public, January 1, 1800. + +_Bowly_ E.0.--A native, self-taught artist, whose pictures now fetch +rapidly-increasing sums, though for the best part of his long life +dealers and the general run of art patrons, while acknowledging the +excellence of the works, would not buy them. Mr. Bowly, however, lived +sufficiently long to know that the few gentlemen who honoured him in his +younger years, were well recompensed for their kind recognition of his +talent, though it came too late to be of service to himself. His death +occurred Feb. 1, 1876, in his 70th year. + +_Briggs_.--Major W.B. Briggs, who was struck off the world's roster Jan. +25, 1877, was one of the earliest and most ardent supporters of the +Volunteer movement in Birmingham, being gazetted ensign of the 2nd +Company in November, 1859. He was a hearty kindly man, and much esteemed +in and out of the ranks. + +_Burritt_ Elihu, the American "learned blacksmith," having made himself +proficient in fifteen different languages. He first addressed the +"Friends of Peace" in this town, Dec. 15, 1846, when on a tour through +the country. He afterwards returned, and resided in England for nearly +twenty-five years, being for a considerable time United States Consul at +Birmingham, which he left in 1868. During his residence here he took an +active share in the work of diffusing the principles of temperance and +peace, both by lecturing and by his writings. + +_Bynner_, Henry.--A native of the town; forty-five years British Consul +at Trieste; returned here in 1842, and died in 1867. He learned +shorthand writing of Dr. Priestley, and was the first to use it in a law +court in this county. + +_Cadbury_, Richard Tapper.--A draper and haberdasher, who started +business here in 1794. One of the Board of Guardians, and afterwards +Chairman (for 15 years) of the Commissioners of the Streets, until that +body was done away with. Mr. Cadbury was one of the most respected and +best known men of the town. He died March 13, 1860, in his 92nd year, +being buried in Bull Street, among his departed friends. + +_Capers_, Edward.--Sometimes called the "poet-postman," is a Devonshire +man, but resided for a considerable time at Harborne. He deserves a +place among our noteworthy men, if only for his sweet lines on the old +Love lane at Edgbaston, now known as Richmond Hill. + + "But no vestige of the bankside lingers now + or gate to show + The track of the old vanished lane of love's + sweet long ago." + +_Carey_, Rev. Henry Francis, a native of this town (born in 1772), +vicar of Bromley Abbots, Staffordshire, himself a poet of no mean order, +translated in blank verse Dante's "Inferno," the "Divina Commedia," &c., +his works running rapidly through several editions. For some time he was +assistant librarian at the British Museum, and afterwards received a +pension of L200 a year. Died in 1844, and lies in "Poet's Corner," +Westminster Abbey. + +_Chamberlain_, John Henry.--Came to Birmingham in 1856, and died +suddenly on the evening of Oct. 22, 1883, after delivering a lecture in +the Midland Institutes on "Exotic Art." An architect of most brilliant +talent, it is almost impossible to record the buildings with which (in +conjunction with his partner, Mr. Wm. Martin) he has adorned our town. +Among them are the new Free Libraries, the extension of the Midland +Institute, the Hospitals for Women and Children, the many Board Schools, +the Church of St. David, and that at Selly Hill the Rubery Asylum, the +Fire Brigade Station, the Constitution Hill Library, Monument Lane +Baths, the Chamberlain Memorial, the Canopy over Dawson's Statue, +several Police Stations, with shops and private houses innumerable. He +was a true artist in every sense of the word, an eloquent speaker, and +one of the most sincere, thoughtful, and lovingly-earnest men that +Birmingham has ever been blessed with. + +_Clegg_.--Samuel Clegg was born at Manchester, March 2, 1781, but his +early years were passed at the Soho Works, where he was assistant to Mr. +Murdoch in the gradual introduction of lighting with gas. In 1807 Mr. +Clegg first used lime as a purifier and in 1815 he patented the water +meter. In addition to his many inventions connected with the manufacture +and supply of gas, Mr. Clegg must be credited with the introduction of +the atmospheric railways, which attracted so much attention some +five-and-forty years ago, and also with many improvements in steam +engines. + +_Collins_.--Mr. John Collins, an exceedingly popular man in his day, and +quite a local author, made his first appearance here Jan. 16, 1793, at +"The Gentlemen's Private Theatre," in Livery Street, with an +entertainment called "Collins' New Embellished Evening Brush, for +Rubbing off the Rust of care." This became a great favourite, and we +find Collins for years after, giving similar performances, many of them +being for the purpose of paying for "soup for the poor" in the +distressful winters of 1799, 1800, and 1801. Not so much, however, on +account of his charity, or his unique entertainment, must Mr. Collins be +ranked among local worthies, as for "A Poetical History of Birmingham" +written (or rather partly written) by him, which was published in +_Swinney's Chronicle_. Six chapters in verse appeared (Feb. 25 to April +7, 17[**]6), when unfortunately the poet's muse seems to have failed +him. As a sample of the fun contained in the seven or eight dozen +verses, we quote the first-- + + "Of Birmingham's name, tho' a deal has been said, + Yet a little, we doubt, to the purpose, + As when "hocus pocus" was jargon'd instead + Of the Catholic text "_hoc est corpus_." + + For it, doubtless, for ages was Bromwicham called, + But historians, their readers to bam, + Have Brom, Wich, and Ham so corrupted and maul'd, + That their strictures have all proved a sham. + + That Brom implies Broom none will dare to deny, + And that Wich means a Village or Farm; + Or a Slope, or a Saltwork, the last may imply, + And to read Ham for Town is no harm. + + But when jumbled together, like stones in a bag, + To make it a Broom-sloping town, + Credulity's pace at such juggling must flag, + And the critic indignant will frown. + + Tis so much like the Gazetteer's riddle-my-ree, + Who, untwisting Antiquity's cable, + Makes Barnstaple's town with its name to agree, + Take its rise from a Barn and a Stable." + +Collins' own comical notion gives the name as "Brimmingham," from the +brimming goblets so freely quaffed by our local sons of Vulcan. Digbeth +he makes out to be a "dug bath," or horsepond for the farriers; +Deritend, from _der_ (water). + + "Took its name from the swamp where the hamlet was seated, + And imply'd 'twas the water-wet-end of the town." + +_Cox_, David--On the 29th of April, 1783, this great painter--the man +whose works have made Birmingham famous in art--was born in a humble +dwelling in Heath Mill Lane, Deritend, where his father carried on the +trade of a smith. Some memorials of him we have--in the noble gift of a +number of his pictures in oil, presented to the town by the late Mr. +Joseph Nettlefold; in the portrait by Mr. J. Watson Gordon, and the bust +by Mr. Peter Hollins; in the two biographies of him--both of them +Birmingham works--the earlier by Mr. Neal Solly, and the more recent one +by the late Mr. William Hall; besides the memorial window put up by +loving friends in the Parish Church of Harborne, where the latter part +of the artist's life was passed, and in the churchyard of which his +remains were laid. He bade his pictures and the world good-bye on the +9th of June, 1859. A sale of some of "dear old David's" works, in +London, May, 1873, realised for the owners over L25,000, but what the +artist himself originally had for them may be gathered from the instance +of his "Lancaster Castle," otherwise known as "Peace and War," a +harvest-field scene, with troops marching by, only 24in. by 18in. in +size. This picture he gave to a friend at first, but bought it back for +L20, at a time when his friend wanted cash; he sold it for the same +amount, and it afterwards got into the possession of Joseph Gillot, the +pen maker, at the sale of whose collection "Lancaster Castle" was +knocked down for L3,601 10s. The highest price Cox ever received for a +picture, and that on one single occasion only, was L100; in another case +he had L95; his average prices for large pictures were rather under than +over L50 a piece in his best days. "The Sea Shore at Rhyl," for which he +received L100, has been since sold for L2,300; "The Vale of Clwyd," for +which he accepted L95, brought L2,500. Two pictures for which he +received L40 each in 1847, were sold in 1872 for L1,575 and L1,550 +respectively. Two others at L40 each have sold since for L2,300 and +L2,315 5s. respectively. His church at "Bettws-y-Coed" one of the finest +of his paintings, fetched L2,500 at a sale in London, in March, 1884. In +the hall of the Royal Oak Inn, Bettws-y-Coed (David's favourite place), +there is fixed a famous signboard which Cox painted for the house in +1847, and which gave rise to considerable litigation as to its ownership +being vested in the tenant or the owner, the decision being in the +latter's favour. + +_Cox_, William Sands, F.R.S. and F.R.C.S., the son of a local surgeon, +was born in 1801. After "walking the hospitals" in London and Paris, he +settled here in 1825, being appointed surgeon to the Dispensary, and in +1828, with the co-operation of the late Doctors Johnstone and Booth, and +other influential friends, succeeded in organising the Birmingham Royal +School of Medicine and Surgery, which proved eminently successful until, +by the munificent aid of the Rev. Dr. Warneford, it was converted into +Queen's College by a charter of incorporation, which was granted in +1843. The Queen's Hospital was also founded mainly through the exertions +of Mr. Sands Cox, for the education of the medical students of the +College. In 1863 Mr. Cox retired from practice, and went to reside near +Tamworth, afterwards removing to Leamington and Kenilworth, at which +latter place he died, December 23rd, 1875. He was buried in the family +vault at Aston, the coffin being carried to the grave by six old +students at the College, funeral scarfs, hatbands, and "other such +pieces of mummery" being dispensed with, according to the deceased's +wish. He left many charitable legacies, among them being L15,000, to be +dealt with in the following manner:--L3,000 to be applied in building +and endowing a church then in course of erection at Balsall Heath, and +to be known as St. Thomas-in-the-Moors, and the remaining L12,000 to be +devoted to the erection and endowment of three dispensaries--one at +Balsall Heath, one at Aston, and the other at Hockley. Two sums of +L3,000 were left to found dispensaries at Tamworth and Kenilworth, and a +cottage hospital at Moreton-in-the-Marsh; his medical library and a +number of other articles being also left for the last-named institution. + +_Davies_, Dr. Birt.--By birth a Hampshire man, by descent a Welshman, +coming to Birmingham in 1823, Dr. Davies soon became a man of local +note. As a politician in the pre-Reform days, as a physician of +eminence, and as Borough Coroner for three dozen years, he occupied a +prominent position, well justified by his capacity and force of +character. He took an active part in the founding of the Birmingham +School of Medicine, the forerunner of the Queen's College, and was +elected one of the three first physicians to the Queen's Hospital, being +its senior physician for sixteen years. When the Charter of +Incorporation was granted, Dr. Davies was chosen by the Town Council as +the first Coroner, which office he held until June 8th, 1875, when he +resigned, having, as he wrote to the Council, on the 29th of May +terminated his 36th year of office, and 76th year of his age. Though an +ardent politician, it is from his Coronership that he will be remembered +most, having held about 30,000 inquests in his long term of office, +during the whole of which time, it has been said, he never took a +holiday, appointed a deputy, or slept out of the borough. His official +dignity sat heavily upon him, his temper of late years often led him +into conflict with jurors and medical witnesses, but he was well +respected by all who knew the quiet unpretending benevolence of his +character, never better exhibited than at the time of the cholera panic +in 1832. The doctor had established a Fever Hospital in Bath Row, and +here he received and treated, by himself, the only cases of Asiatic +cholera imported into the town. He died December 11th, 1878. + +_De Lys_, Dr.--One of the physicians to the General Hospital, and the +proposer of the Deaf and Dumb Institution. A native of Brittany, and one +of several French refugees who settled here when driven from their own +country, at the time of the Revolution, Dr. De Lys remained with us till +his death, August 24th, 1831, being then in his 48th year. + +_Digby_, John, made Lord Digby in 1618, and Earl of Bristol in 1622, was +born at Coleshill in 1580. He was sent Ambassador to Spain by James I. +to negotiate a marriage between Prince Charles and the Infanta. He went +abroad when the Civil War broke out, and died at Paris in 1653. + +_Edmonds_.--George Edmonds, was a son of the Baptist minister of Bond +Street Chapel, and was born in 1788. For many years after he grew up +George kept a school, but afterwards devoted himself to the Law, and was +appointed Clerk of the Peace on the incorporation of the borough. For +taking part in what Government chose to consider an illegal meeting Mr. +Edmonds had to suffer 12 months' imprisonment, but it only increased his +popularity and made him recognised as leader of the Radical party. +During the great Reform movements he was always to the fore, and there +can be little doubt that it was to his untiring energy that the +Political Union owed much of its success. In his later years he printed +(partly with his own hands) one of the strangest works ever issued from +the press, being nothing less than an alphabet, grammar, and dictionary +of a new and universal language. On this he must have spent an immense +amount of philosophical and philological research during the busiest +years of his active life, but like other schemes of a similar character +it came into the world some scores of generations too soon. His death +took place (hastened by his own hand) July 1, 1868. + +_Everitt_, Allen Edward.--Artist, antiquarian, and archaeologist. It is +reported that his portfolio contained more than a thousand sketches of +his own taking, of old churches, mansions, cottages, or barns in the +Midland Counties. Born here in 1824 Mr. Everitt had reached his 55th +year before taking to himself a wife, whom he left a widow June 11, +1882, through catching a cold while on a sketching tour. He was much +loved in all artistic circles, having been (for twenty-four years) hon. +sec. to the Society of Artists, a most zealous coadjutor of the Free +Libraries Committee, and honorary curator of tha Art Gallery; in private +or public life he spoke ill of no man, nor could any speak of him with +aught but affection and respect. + +_Fletcher_, George.--Author of the "Provincialist" and other poems, a +journeyman printer, and much respected for his genial character and +honest kind-heartedness. Died Feb. 20, 1874, aged 64. + +_Fothergill_, John.--Taken into partnership by Matthew Boulton in 1762, +devoting himself principally to the foreign agencies. Many of the +branches of trade in which he was connected proved failures, and he died +insolvent in 1782, while Boulton breasted the storm, and secured fortune +by means of his steam engines. He did not, however, forget his first +partner's widow and children. + +_Fox_, Charles Fox, of the firm of Fox, Henderson and Co., was born at +Derby, March 11, 1810. His first connection with this town arose from +his being engaged with Stephenson on the construction of the Birmingham +and Liverpool line. He was knighted in 1851, in recognition of his +wonderful skill as shown in the erection of the International Exhibition +of that year, and we have a local monument to his fame in the roof which +spans the New Street Station. He died in 1874, and was buried at Nunhead +Cemetery, London. The firm of Fox, Henderson and Co., was originally +Bramah and Fox, Mr. Henderson not coming in till the death of Mr. +Bramah, a well-known ironmaster of this neighbourhood, and whose name is +world-famous for his celebrated locks. + +_Geach_.--Charles Geach was a Cornishman, born in 1808, and came to +Birmingham in 1826 as one of the clerks in the Branch Bank of England, +then opened. In 1836 he was instrumental in the formation of two of our +local banks, and became the manager of one of them, the Birmingham and +Midland. In 1842 he made a fortunate speculation in the purchase of some +extensive ironworks at Rotherham just previous to the days of "the +railway mania." The profits on iron at that time were something +wonderful; as a proof of which it has been stated that on one occasion +Mr. Geach took orders for 30,000 tons at L12, the cost to him not being +more than half that sum! The Patent Shaft Works may be said to have owed +its origin also to this gentleman. Mr. Geach was chosen mayor for 1847, +and in 1851 was returned to Parliament for Coventry. His death occurred +Nov. 1, 1854. A full-length portrait hangs in the board-room of the +bank, of which he retained the managing-directorship for many years. + +_Gem_, Major Thomas Henry.--The well-known Clerk to the Magistrates, +born May 21, 1819, was the pioneer of the Volunteer movement in this +town, as well as the originator of the fashionable game of lawn tennis. +A splendid horseman, and an adept at all manly games, he also ranked +high as a dramatic author, and no amateur theatricals could be got +through without his aid and presence. His death, November 4, 1881, +resulted from an accident which occurred on June 25 previous, at the +camp in Sutton Park. + +_Gillott_.--Joseph Gillott was born at Sheffield in 1799, but through +want of work found his way here in 1822, spending his last penny in +refreshments at the old publichouse then standing at corner of Park +Street, where the Museum Concert Hall exists. His first employment was +buckle making, and being steady he soon took a garret in Bread Street +and became his own master in the manufacture of buckles and other "steel +toys." The merchant who used to buy of him said "Gillott made very +excellent goods, and came for his money every week." It was that making +of excellent goods and his untiring perseverance that secured him +success. His sweetheart was sister to William and John Mitchell, and it +is questionable whether Gillott's first efforts at making steel pens did +not spring from the knowledge he gained from her as to what the +Mitchells were doing in that line. The Sheffield blade, however, was the +first to bring the "press" into the proeess of making the pens, and that +secret he must have kept pretty closely from all but his lass, as Mr. J. +Gillott often told, in after life, how, on the morning of his marriage, +he began and finished a gross of pens, and sold them for L7 4s. before +they went to church. The accumulation of his fortune began from that +day, the name of Gillott in a very few years being known the wide world +over. The penmaker was a great patron of the artists, gathering a famous +collection which at his death realised L170,000. His first interview +with Turner was described in an American journal a few years back. +Gillott having rudely pushed his way into the studio and turning the +pictures about without the artist deigning to notice the intruder, tried +to attract attention by asking the prices of three paintings. Turner +carelessly answered "4,000 guineas," "L3,000," and "1,500 guineas." +"I'll take the three," said Gillott. Then Turner rose, with "Who the +devil are you to intrude here against my orders? You must be a queer +sort of a beggar, I fancy." "You're another queer beggar" was the reply. +"I am Gillott, the penmaker. My banker tells me you are clever, and I +have come to buy some pictures." "By George!" quoth Turner, "you are a +droll fellow, I must say." "You're another," said Gillott. "But do you +really want to purchase those pictures," asked Turner. "Yes, in course I +do, or I would not have climbed those blessed stairs this morning," was +the answer. Turner marvelled at the man, and explained that he had fixed +the prices named under the idea that he had only got an impertinent +intruder to deal with, that two of the pictures were already sold, but +that his visitor could have the first for L1,000. "I'll take it," said +the prince of penmakers, "and you must make me three or four more at +your own price." If other artists did as well with Mr. Gillott they +could have had but little cause of complaint. Another hobby of Mr. +Gillott's was collecting fiddles, his specimens, of which he once said +he had a "boat load," realising L4,000; while his cabinet of precious +stones was of immense value. The millionaire died Jan. 5, 1872, leaving +L3,000 to local charities. + +_Guest_, James.--Originally a brass-founder, but imbued with the +principles of Robert Owen, he became an active member of the Political +Union and other "freedom-seeking" societies, and opened in Steelhouse +Lane a shop for the sale of that kind of literature suited to ardent +workers in the Radical cause. Mr. Guest believed that "all bad laws must +be broken before they could be mended," and for years he followed out +that idea so far as the taxes on knowledge were concerned. He was the +first to sell unstamped papers here and in the Black Country, and, +notwithstanding heavy fines, and even imprisonment, he kept to his +principles as long as the law stood as it was. In 1830 he published +Hutton "History of Birmingham" in cheap numbers, unfortunately mixing +with it many chapters about the Political Union, the right of a Free +Press, &c., in a confusing manner. The book, however, was very popular, +and has been reprinted from the original stereoplates several times. Mr. +Guest died Jan. 17, 1881, in his 78th year. + +_Hill_, Rowland.--The originator of the present postal system, born at +Kidderminster, December 3, 1795, coming to Birmingham with his parents +when about seven years old. His father opened a school at the corner of +Gough Street and Blucher Street, which was afterwards (in 1819) removed +to the Hagley Road, where, as "Hazlewood School" it became more than +locally famous. In 1825 it was again removed, and further off, this time +being taken to Bruce Castle, Tottenham, where the family yet resides. +Rowland and his brother, Matthew Davenport Hill, afterwards Recorder of +Birmingham, who took part in the management of the school, went with it, +and personally Rowland Hill's connection with our town may be said to +have ceased. Early in 1837 Mr. Hill published his proposed plans of Post +Office reform, but which for a long time met with no favour from either +of the great political parties, or in official quarters, where, it has +been said, he was snubbed as a would-be interloper, and cursed as "a +fellow from Birmingham coming to teach people their business"-- + + + "All office doors were closed against him--hard + All office heads were closed against him too, + 'He had but worked, like others, for reward,' + 'The thing was all a dream.' 'It would not do.'" + + +In 1839, more than 2,000 petitions were presented to Parliament in +favour of Mr. Hill's plans, and eventually they were adopted and became +law by the 3rd and 4th Vict., cap. 96. The new postage law by which the +uniform rate of fourpence per letter was tried as an experiment, came +into operation on the 5th of December, 1839, and on the 10th January, +1840, the reduced uniform rate of 1d. per letter of half-an-ounce weight +was commenced. Under the new system the privilege of franking letters +enjoyed by members of Parliament was abolished, facilities of prepayment +were afforded by the introduction of postage stamps, double postage was +levied on letters not prepaid, and arrangements were made for the +registration of letters. Mr. Hill received an appointment in the +Treasury, but in 1841, he was told his services were no longer required. +This flagrant injustice caused great indignation, and a national +testimonial of L15,000 was presented to him June 17, 1846. On a change +of Government Mr. Hill was appointed Secretary to the Postmaster +General, and, in 1854, Secretary to the Post Office, a position which he +retained until failing health caused him to resign in March, 1864, the +Treasury awarding him for life his salary of L2,000 per year. In the +same year he received a Parliamentary grant of L20,000, and in 1860, he +was made a K.C.B., other honours from Oxford, &c., following. Sir +Rowland was presented with the freedom of the City by the London Court +of Common Council, June 6, 1879, the document being contained in a +suitable gold casket. It was incidentally mentioned in the course of the +proceedings, that at the time Sir Rowland Hill's system was inaugurated +the annual amount of correspondence was 79 millions, or three letters +per head of the population; while then it exceeded 1,000 millions of +letters, 100 millions of post-cards, and 320 millions of newspapers, and +the gross receipt in respect of it was L6,000,000 sterling. Sir Rowland +Hill died Aug. 27, 1879, leaving but one son, "Pearson Hill," late of +the Post Office. + +_Hollins_, George--The first appointed organist of the Town Hall (in +1834), having been previously organist at St. Paul's, in the graveyard +of which church he was buried in 1841, the funeral being attended by +hundreds of friends, musicians, and singers of the town and +neighbourhood. + +_Holt_, Thomas Littleton.--A Press man, whose death (Sept. 14, 1879) at +the age of 85, severed one of the very few remaining links connecting +the journalism of the past with the present. It was to him that the late +Mr. Dickens owed his introduction to Dr. Black, then the editor of the +_Morning Chronicle_. Mr. Holt was proprietor of the _Iron Times_, which +started during the railway mania. When his friend Leigh Hunt was +imprisoned for libelling the Prince Regent, he was the first to visit +him. He took an active part in popularising cheap literature, and it was +greatly owing to him that the advertisement duty was repealed. He also +took an active part in the abolition of the paper duty. Besides starting +many papers in London in the latter period of his life, he returned to +his native town, Birmingham, where he started _Ryland's Iron Trade +Circular_, to the success of which his writings largely contributed. + +_Humphreys_, Henry Noel.--This eminent naturalist and archaeologist's +career closed in June, 1879. A son of the late Mr. James Humphreys, he +was born in Birmingham in 1809, and was educated at the Grammar School +here. He was the author of many interesting works connected with his +zoological and antiquarian researches. Among the most important of the +latter class may be specified:--"Illustrations of Froissart's +Chronicles," "The Parables of our Lord Illustrated," "The Coins of +England," "Ancient Coins and Medals," "The Illuminated Books of the +Mediaeval Period," the "Coin Collector's Manual," the "Coinage of the +British Empire," "Stories by an Archaeologist," and especially his _magna +opera_, so to speak, "The Art of Illumination," and "The History of the +Art of Writing from the Hieroglyphic Period down to the introduction of +Alphabets." + +_James_, William.--A Warwickshire engineer, born at Henley-in-Arden, +June, 13, 1771. Mr. James has been called the first projector of +railways, as there was none started previous to his laying out a line +from here to Wolverhampton, which was given up in favour of the Canal +Companies. The wharves in Newhall Street were constructed on the site of +his proposed railway station. He afterwards projected and surveyed many +other lines including Birmingham to Manchester through Derbyshire, the +Birmingham and London, etc. West Bromwich owes no little of its +prosperity to this gentleman, who opened many collieries in its +neighbourhood. At one time Mr. James was said to have been worth +L150,000, besides L10,000 a year coming in from his profession, but he +lost nearly all before his death. + +_Jeffery_.--George Edward Jeffery, who died Dec. 29th, 1877, aged 33, +was a local writer who promised to make a name had he lived longer. + +_Johnstone_, Dr. John, a distinguished local physician, was born at +Worcester in 1768. Though he acquired a high reputation for his +treatment of diseases, it was noticeable that he made a very sparing use +of medicines. Died in 1836. + +_Johnstone_, John, whose death was the result of being knocked down by a +cab in Broad Street in Oct. 1875, was one of those all-round inventive +characters who have done so much for the trades of this town. He was +born in Dumfriesshire in 1801, and was apprenticed to a builder, coming +to this town in 1823. He was soon noticed as the first architectural +draughtsman of his day, but his genius was not confined to any one line. +He was the first to introduce photographic vignettes, he invented the +peculiar lamp used in railway carriages, he improved several +agricultural implements, he could lay out plans for public buildings or +a machine for making hooks and eyes, and many well-to-do families owe +their rise in the world to acting on the ideas put before them by Mr. +Johnstone. In the latter portion of his life he was engaged at the +Cambridge Street Works as consulter in general. + +_Kempson_, James--In one of those gossiping accounts of the "Old +Taverns" of Birmingham which "S.D.R." has written, mention is made of a +little old man, dear to the musicians under the name of "Daddy Kempson," +who appears to have been the originator of our Triennial Musical +Festivals in 1768, and who conducted a performance at St. Paul's as late +as the year 1821, he being then 80 years of age. + +_Kuechler_, C.H.--A medalist, for many years in the employ of Boulton, +for whom he sunk the dies for part of the copper coinage of 1797, &c. +The 2d. piece is by him. He was buried in Handsworth Churchyard. + +_Lightfoot_.--Lieut.-General Thomas Lightfoot, C.B., Colonel of the 62nd +Regiment, who died at his residence, Barbourne House, Worcester, Nov. +15, 1858, in his 84th year, and who entered the British army very early +in life, was the last surviving officer of the famous 45th, the +"Fire-eaters" as they were called, that went to the Peninsula with Moore +and left it with Wellington. Lightfoot was in Holland in 1799. He was +present in almost every engagement of the Peninsular War. He received +seven wounds; a ball which caused one of these remained in his body till +his death. He obtained three gold and eleven silver medals, being one +more than even those of his illustrious commander, the Duke of +Wellington. One silver medal was given him by the Duke himself, who said +on the occasion he was glad to so decorate one of the brave 45th. +Lightfoot was made a C.B. in 1815. Before he became Major-General he was +Aide-de-Camp to William IV. and Queen Victoria, and as such rode +immediately before her Majesty in her coronation procession. +Lieutenant-General Lightfoot was a native of this town, and was buried +in the family vault in St. Bartholomew's Church, his remains being +escorted to the tomb by the 4th (Queen's Own) Light Dragoons, commanded +by Colonel Low. + +_Lloyd_.--The founder of the well-known banking firm of Lloyds appears +to have been Charles Lloyd, for some time a minister of the Society of +Friends, who died in 1698. + +_Machin_, William.--Born here in 1798, began his musical career (while +apprenticed to papier-mache making), as a member at the choir at Cannon +Street Chapel. As a favourite bass singer he was engaged at many of the +festivals from 1834 to that of 1849. His death occurred in September, +1870. + +_Malins_, David.--Brassfounder, who in course of his life filled several +of the chief offices of our local governing bodies. Born June 5, 1803; +died December, 1881. Antiquarian and persevering collector of all works +throwing light upon or having connection with Birmingham or Warwickshire +history. Mr. Malins, after the burning of the Free Library, generously +gave the whole of his collection to the formation of the New Reference +Library, many of the books being most rare and valuable, and of some of +which no other copies are known to exist. + +_Mellon_, Alfred.--Though actually born in London, Mr. Mellon's parents +(his father was a Frenchman) were residents in Birmingham, and we must +claim this popular conductor as a local musician of note. He was only +twelve when he joined the Theatre Royal band, but at sixteen he was the +leader and remained so for eight years, removing to London in 1844. In +1856 Mr. Mellon conducted the opening performances at the Music Hall in +Broad Street (now Prince of Wales's Theatre): and will be long +remembered for the "Promenade Concerts" he gave at Covent Garden and in +the provinces. He died from the breaking of a blood-vessel, March 27, +1867. + +_Mogridge_, George, born at Ashted Feb. 17th, 1787, and brought up as a +japanner, was the original "Old Humphrey" of our childhood's days, the +author of "Grandfather Grey," "Old Humphrey's Walks in London," "Old +Humphrey's Country Strolls," and other juvenile works, of which many +millions of copies have been sold in England, America, and the Colonies. +"Peter Parley's Tales" have been also ascribed to our townsman, who died +Nov. 2, 1854. + +_Munden_, T.--In the year 1818, Mr. Munden (born in London in 1798) came +to this town as organist of Christ Church, and was also chosen as +teacher of the Oratorio Choral Society, and to this day it may be said +that the reputation of our Festival Choir is mostly based on the +instruction given by him during his long residence among us. From 1823 +till 1849 Mr. Munden acted as Assistant-conductor at the Festivals, +retiring from public life in 1853. + +_Muntz_.--The Revolution in 1792 drove the Muntz family to emigrate from +their aristocratic abode in France, and a younger son came to this town, +where he married a Miss Purden, and established himself in business. +From this alliance sprung _our_ race of the Muntzes. George Frederic, +the eldest, was born in November, 1794, and losing his father in early +life, was head of the family in his 18th year. He devoted himself for +many years, and with great success, to mercantile affairs, but his most +fortunate undertaking, and which has made his name known all over the +world, was the manufacture of sheathing metal for ships bottoms. It has +been doubted whether he did any more than revive another man's lapsed +patent, but it has never been questioned that he made a vast sum of +money out of the "yellow metal." In politics, G.F.M. took a very active +part, even before the formation of the Political Union in 1830, and for +many years he was the idol of his fellow-townsmen. He was elected M.P. +for Birmingham, in January, 1840, and held the seat till the day of his +death, which took place July 30, 1857. His name will be found on many a +page of our local history, even though a statue of him is not yet posed +on a pedestal. + +_Murdoch_, William.--Born at Bellow Mill, near Old Cumnock, Ayrshire, in +1750, and brought up as a millwright, came here in search of work in +1777. He was employed by Boulton at 15s. per week for the first two +years, but he soon became the most trusted of all the many engaged at +Soho, and never left there though offered L1,000 a year to do so. The +first steam engine applied to drawing carriages was constructed by him +in the shape of a model which ran round a room in his house at Redruth +in 1784, and which is still in existence. As an inventor, he was second +only to Watt, his introduction of gas lighting being almost equal to +that of the steam engine. He lived to be 85, dying November 15, 1839, at +his residence, Sycamore Hill, Handsworth. His remains lie near those of +his loved employers, Boulton and Watt, in the parish church. + +_Pettitt_.--Mr. Joseph Pettitt, who died Sept. 9, 1882, in his 70th +year, was a local artist of note, a member of the Society of Artists, +and for many years a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, our local, +and other exhibitions. In his younger years Mr. Pettitt was employed in +the papier-mache trade, a business peculiarly suited to persons gifted +with artistic faculties. His earliest specimens of landscape attracted +attention, and Mr. Joseph Gillott commissioned the painter to furnish a +number of Swiss views for the collection of pictures he had began to +gather. Mr. Pettitt pleased the penmaker, and soon made a name for +himself, his works being characterised by fine colour and broad vigorous +handling. + +_Phillips_, Alderman, died Feb. 25, 1876. A member of the first Town +Council, and Mayor in 1844. Mr. Phillips long took active part in +municipal matters, and was the founder of the Licensed Victuallers' +Asylum. + +_Pickard_, James.--A Birmingham button maker, who patented, Aug. 23, +1780, the use of the crank in the steam engine to procure rotary motion. +He is supposed to have got the idea from overhearing the conversation of +some Soho workmen while at their cups. The first engine in which it was +used (and the fly-wheel) was for a manufacturer in Snow Hill, and was +put up by Matthew Washborough, of Bristol. + +_Plant_.--Mr. T.L. Plant, who died very suddenly in a railway carriage +in which he was coming into town on the morning of August 31, 1883, came +to Birmingham in 1840. As a meteorologist, who for more than forty years +had kept close record of wind and weather, he was well known; his +letters to the newspapers on this and kindred subjects were always +interesting, and the part he took in advanced sanitary questions gained +him the friendship of all. Mr. Plant was a native of Yorkshire, and was +in his 64th year at the time of his death. + +_Playfair_, William (brother of the eminent Scotch mathematician) was +engaged as a draughtsman at the Soho Works, after serving apprenticeship +as a millwright. He patented various inventions, and was well known as a +political writer, &c. Born, 1759; died, 1823. + +_Postgate_, John.--This name should be honoured in every household for a +life's exertion in the obtainment of purity in what we eat and drink. +Beginning life as a grocer's boy, he saw the most gross adulteration +carried on in all the varieties of articles sold by his employers, and +afterwards being with a medical firm, he studied chemistry, and devoted +his life to analysing food and drugs. Coming to this town in 1854, he +obtained the assistance of Mr. Wm. Scholefield, by whose means the first +Parliamentary Committee of Enquiry was appointed; the revelations were +astounding, but it was not till 1875 that anything like a stringent Act +was passed whereby the adulterators could be properly punished. The +author of this great national benefit was allowed to die almost in +poverty, uncared for by his countrymen at large, or by his adopted +townsmen of Birmingham. Born October 21, 1820, Mr. Postgate died in +July, 1881. + +_Ragg_, Rev. Thomas.--Once a bookseller and printer, editor and +publisher of the _Birmingham Advertiser_, and author of several works, +one of which secured for him the goodwill of the Bishop of Rochester, +who ordained him a minister of the Established Church in 1858. He died +December 3rd, 1881, in his 74th year, at Lawley, Salop, having been +perpetual curate thereof from 1865. His parishioners and friends +subscribed for a memorial window, and a fund of a little over L200 was +raised for the benefit of the widow, but a very small part thereof went +from Birmingham. + +_Ratcliffe_.--Mr. John Ratcliffe, who had in past years been a Town +Commissioner, a Low Bailiff, a Town Councillor, and Alderman, was chosen +as Mayor in 1856, and, being popular as well as wealthy, got reappointed +yearly until 1859. In the first-named year, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge +was the Mayor's guest when he came to open Calthorpe Park. When the +Princess Royal was married, in 1858, the Mayor celebrated the auspicious +event by giving a dinner to more than a thousand poor people, and he +headed the deputation which was sent from here to present England's +royal daughter with some articles of Birmingham manufacture. On the +occasion of the Queen's visit to open Aston Park, Mr. Mayor received the +honour of Knighthood, and became Sir John, dying in 1864, in his 67th +year. + +_Rennie_, John.--The celebrated engineer and architect, who built +Waterloo and Southwark Bridges, Plymouth Breakwater, &c., was for a +short time in the employ of Boulton and Watt. + +_Roebuck_, Dr. John, grandfather of the late John Arthur Roebuck, M.D. +was born at Sheffield in 1718; came to Birmingham in 1745. He introduced +better methods of refining gold and silver, originated more economical +styles of manufacturing the chemicals used in trade (especially oil of +vitriol), and revived the use of pit coal in smelting iron. After +leaving this town he started the Carron Ironworks on the Clyde, and in +1768 joined James Watt in bringing out the latter's steam engine. Some +mining investments failed before the engine was perfected, and his +interest thereon was transferred to Mr. Boulton, the doctor dying in +1794 a poor man. + +_Rogers_.--John Rogers, one of "the glorious army of martyrs," was burnt +at Smithfield (London) on February 4, 1555. He was born in Deritend +about the year 1500, and assisted in the translation and printing of the +Bible into English. He was one of the Prebendaries of St. Paul's, +London, but after Queen Mary came to the throne he gave offence by +preaching against idolatry and superstition, and was kept imprisoned for +eighteen months prior to condemnation and execution, being the first +martyr of the Reformation. He left a wife and eleven children. See +"_Statues and Memorials_." + +_Russell_.--William Congreve Russell, Esq., J.P., and in 1832 elected +M.P. for East Worcestershire, who died Nov. 30, 1850, aged 72, was the +last of a family whose seat was at Moor Green for many generations. + +_Ryall_, Dr. John.--The first headmaster of the Edgbaston Proprietary +School, which opened under his superintendence in January, 1838, his +connection therewith continuing till Christmas, 1846. He was a man of +great learning, with a remarkable command of language, and a singularly +accurate writer. Born March 11, 1806, his intellectual acquirements +expanded so rapidly that at sixteen he was able to support himself, and, +passing with the highest honours, he had taken his degree and accepted +the head mastership of Truro Grammar School before his 21st birthday. +For the last 30 years of his life he filled the post of Vice-President +of Queen's College, Cork, departing to a better sphere June 21, 1875. + +_Ryland_, Arthur.--Descendant of a locally long-honoured family this +gentleman, a lawyer, added considerably to the prestige of the name by +the prominent position he took in every work leading to the advancement +of his townsmen, social, moral, and political. Connected with almost +every institution in the borough, many of which he aided to establish or +develop. Mr. Ryland's name is placed foremost among the founders of the +Birmingham and Midland Institute, the Art Gallery, the public Libraries, +the Hospitals for Women and Children, the Sanatorium, &c., while he was +one of the greatest friends to the Volunteer movement and the adoption +of the School Board's system of education. During life he was appointed +to all the leading offices of citizenship, in addition to being chosen +President of the Law Society and other bodies. He died at Cannes, March +23, 1877, in his 70th year. + +_Scholefield_, William.--Son of Joshua Scholefield, was chosen as the +first Mayor after the incorporation, having previously been the High +Bailiff of the Court Leet. In 1847 he was elected M.P., holding that +office through five Parliaments and until his death July 9, 1867 (in his +58th year). In the House, as well as in his private life and business +circles, he was much esteemed for the honest fixity of purpose which +characterised all his life. + +_Shaw_, Charles, commonly known as "Charley" Shaw, was a large +manufacturing merchant, and held high position as a moneyed man for many +years down to his death. He was as hard as a nail, rough as a bear, and +many funny tales have been told about him, but he is worth a place in +local history, if only for the fact that it was principally through his +exertions that the great monetary panic of 1837 was prevented from +becoming almost a national collapse. + +_Sherlock_.--Though not to be counted exactly as one of our Birmingham +men, Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London, who purchased the manor estates +in or about 1730, must have a place among the "noteworthies." Hutton +states that when the Bishop made his bargain the estate brought in about +L400 per annum, but that in another thirty years or so it had increased +to twice the value. The historian goes on to say that "the pious old +Bishop was frequently solicited to grant building leases, but answered, +'his land was valuable, and if built upon, his successor, at the +expiration of the term, would have the rubbish to carry off:' he +therefore not only refused, but prohibited his successor from granting +such leases. But Sir Thomas Gooch, who succeeded him, seeing the great +improvement of the neighbouring estates, and wisely judging fifty pounds +per acre preferable to five, procured an Act in about 1766, to set aside +the prohibiting clause in the Bishop's will. Since which, a considerable +town may be said to have been erected upon his property, now (1787) +about L2,400 per annum." Bishop and historian alike, would be a little +astonished at the present value of the property, could they see it. + +_Small_, Dr. William.--A friend of Boulton, Watt, and Priestley, and one +of the famous Lunar Society, born in county Angus, Scotland, in 1734, +dying here in 1778. A physician of most extensive knowledge, during a +residence in America he filled the chair of Professor of Natural +Philosophy at the University of Williamsburg, Virginia. In the beautiful +pleasure grounds of Soho House, when Matthew Boulton lived, there was an +urn inscribed to the memory of Dr. Small, on which appeared some +impressive lines written by Dr. Darwin, of Derby:-- + + + "Here, while no titled dust, no sainted bone, + No lover weeping over beauty's bier, + No warrior frowning in historic stone, + Extorts your praises, or requests your tear; + Cold Contemplation leans her aching head, + On human woe her steady eye she turns, + Waves her meek hand, and sighs for Science dead, + For Science, Virtue, and for SMALL she mourns." + + +_Smith_.--Mr. Brooke Smith (of the well-known firm of Martineau and +Smith), a valued supporter of Penn Street and Dale Street Industrial +Schools, the Graham Street Charity, and other institutions connected +with the welfare of the young, died in April, 1876, in his 78th year. A +Liberal in every way, the sound common sense of Mr. Brooke Smith, who +was noted for an unvarying courtesy to all parties and creeds, kept him +from taking any active share in local politics where urbanity and +kindliness is heavily discounted. + +_Sturge_, Joseph.--Born August 2, 1793, at Alberton, a village on the +Severn, was intended for a farmer, but commenced trading as a cornfactor +at Bewdley, in 1814, his brother Charles joining him in 1822, in which +year they also came to Birmingham. Mr. Sturge was chosen a Town +Commissioner, but resigned in 1830, being opposed to the use of the Town +Hall being granted for oratorios. He was one of the directors of the +London and Birmingham Railway when it was opened in 1836, but objecting +to the running of Sunday trains, withdrew from the board. In 1838 he was +elected Alderman for St. Thomas's Ward, but would not subscribe to the +required declaration respecting the Established religion. At a very +early date he took an active part in the Anti-slavery movement, and his +visit to the West Indies and subsequent reports thereon had much to do +with hastening the abolition of slavery. When the working-classes were +struggling for electoral freedom and "the Charter," Mr. Sturge was one +of the few found willing to help them, though his peace-loving +disposition failed to induce them to give up the idea of "forcing" their +rights. Having a wish to take part in the making of the laws, he issued +an address to the electors of Birmingham in 1840, but was induced to +retire; in August, 1842, he contested Nottingham, receiving 1,801 votes +against his opponent's 1885; in 1844 he put up for Birmingham, but only +364 votes were given him; and he again failed at Leeds in 1847, though +he polled 1,976 voters. In 1850 he visited Schleswig-Holstein and +Denmark, and in February, 1854, St. Petersburgh, each time in hopes of +doing something to prevent the wars then commencing, but failure did not +keep him from Finland in 1856 with relief for the sufferers. In 1851 he +took a house in Ryland Road and fitted it up as a reformatory, which +afterwards led to the establishment at Stoke Prior. Mr. Sturge died on +May 14, 1859, and was buried on the 20th in Bull Street. His character +needs no comment, for he was a Christian in his walk as well as in his +talk. + +_Taylor_, John.--Died in 1775, aged 64, leaving a fortune of over +L200,000, acquired in the manufacture of metal buttons, japanned ware, +snuff boxes, &c. It is stated that he sent out L800 worth of buttons +weekly, and that one of his workmen earned 70s. per week by painting +snuff boxes at 1/4d. each. Mr. Taylor must have had a monopoly in the +latter, for this one hand at the rate named must have decorated some +170,000 boxes per annum. + +_Tomlins_.--Samuel Boulton Tomlins, the son of a local iron merchant +(who was one of the founders of the Birmingham Exchange) and Mary Harvey +Boulton (a near relative to Matthew) was born September 28, 1797, at +Park House, in Park Street, then a vine-covered residence surrounded by +gardens. His mother was so great a favourite with Baskerville that the +celebrated printer gave her one of two specially-printed Bibles, +retaining the other for himself. After serving an apprenticeship to a +bookseller, Mr. Tomlins was taken into Lloyd's Bank as a clerk, but was +soon promoted to be manager of the branch then at Stockport, but which +was taken over afterwards by a Manchester Banking Company, with whom Mr. +Tomlins stayed until 1873, dying September 8, 1879. + +_Ulwin_.--Though nearly last in our list, Ulwin, or Alwyne, the son of +Wigod, and the grandson of Woolgeat, the Danish Earl of Warwick, must +rank first among our noteworthy men, if only from the fact that his name +is absolutely the first found in historical records as having anything +to do with Birmingham. This was in King Edward the Confessor's time, +when Alwyne was Sheriff _(vice-comes)_ and through his son Turchill, who +came to be Earl of Warwick, the Ardens and the Bracebridges trace their +descent from the old Saxon kings, Alwyne's mother being sister to +Leofric, III., Earl of Mercia. Whether Alwyne thrived on his unearned +increment or not, the politicians of the time have not told us, but the +possessions that came to him by the Dano-Saxon marriage of his parents +seems to have been rather extensive, as it is written that he owned not +only the manor of Birmingham, but also Halesowen, Escelie, Hagley, and +Swinford in Wirecescire (Worcestershire), Great Barr, Handsworth, Penn, +Rushall and Walsall, in Staffordshire, as well as Aston, Witton, +Erdington, and Edgbaston. The modern name of Allen is deducible from +Alwyne, and the bearers thereof, if so inclined, may thus be enabled to +also claim a kingly descent, and much good may it do them. + +_Underwood_, Thomas.--The first printer to introduce the art of +lithography into Birmingham, and he is also credited with being the +discoverer of chromo-litho, and the first to publish coloured almanacks +and calendars. He did much to foster the taste for art, but will +probably be most generally recollected by the number of views of old +Birmingham and reproductions of pictures and maps of local interest that +he published. Mr. Underwood died March 14, 1882, in his 73rd year. + +_Van Wart_.--Henry Van Wart, was born near New York, Sept. 25, 1783, and +took up his abode with us in 1808. By birth an American, by descent a +Dutchman, he became a Brum through being naturalised by special Act of +Parliament, and for nearly seventy years was one of our principal +merchants. He was also one of the first Aldermen chosen for the borough. +Died Feb. 15, 1873, in his 90th year. + +_Ward_.--Humble Ward, son of Charles I.'s jeweller, who married the +daughter of the Earl of Dudley, was created Baron Ward of Birmingham. +Their son Edward thus came to the title of Lord Dudley and Ward in 1697. + +_Warren_.--Thomas Warren was a well-known local bookseller of the last +century. He joined Wyatt and Paul in their endeavours to establish the +Cotton Spinning Mill, putting L1,000 into the speculation, which +unfortunately landed him in bankruptcy. He afterwards became an +auctioneer, and in 1788 had the pleasure of selling the machinery of the +mill in which forty years previous his money had been lost. + +_Watt_, James, was born at Greenock, Jan. 19, 1736, and (if we are to +credit the somewhat apocryphal anecdote of his testing the power of +steam as it issued from his aunt's teakettle when a little lad barely +breeched) at an early age he gave evidence of what sort of a man he +would be. In such a condensed work as the present book, it is impossible +to give much of the life of this celebrated genius; but fortunately +there are many biographies of him to which the student can refer, as +well as scientific and other tomes, in which his manifold inventions +have been recorded, and in no corner of the earth where the steam-engine +has been introduced can his name be unknown. After many years' labour to +bring the new motive power into practical use, Watt, helped by his +friend Dr. Roebuck, took out his first patent in 1769. Roebuck's share +was transferred to Matthew Boulton in 1773, and in the following year +James Watt came to Birmingham. An Act of Parliament prolonging the +patent for a term of twenty-four years was obtained in May, 1775, and on +the first of June was commenced the world-famous partnership of Boulton +and Watt. Up to this date the only engine made to work was the one +brought by Watt from Scotland, though more than nine years had been +spent on it, and thousands of pounds expended in experiments, +improvements, and alterations. Watt's first residence here was in +Regent's Place, Harper's Hill, to which (Aug. 17, 1775) he brought his +second wife. He afterwards removed to Heathfield, where the workshop in +which he occupied his latest years still remains, as on the day of his +death. In 1785, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; in 1806, +the University of Glasgow conferred the degree of LL.D. upon him, and in +1808 he was elected a member of the National Institute of France. One of +the latest inventions of James Watt was a machine for the mechanical +copying of sculpture and statuary, its production being the amusement of +his octogenarian years, for, like his partner Boulton, Watt was +permitted to stay on the earth for longer than the so-called allotted +term, his death taking place on the 19th of August, 1819, when he was in +his 83rd year. He was buried in Handsworth Church, where there is a +monument, the features of which are said to be very like him. A statue +was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey in 1824, and others have +been set up in Birmingham, Manchester, Greenock, and Glasgow. The +following is the inscription (written by Lord Brougham) on the tomb of +Watt in Westminster Abbey, towards the cost of which George IV. +contributed L500:-- + + + "Not to perpetuate a name which must endure while the peaceful arts + flourish, but to show that mankind have learned to honour those who + best deserve their gratitude, the King, his ministers, and many of the + nobles and commoners of the realm, raised this monument to JAMES WATT, + who, directing the force of an original genius, early exercised in + philosophical research, to the improvement of the steam-engine, + enlarged the resources of his country, increased the power of man, and + rose to an eminent place among the most illustrious followers of + science and the real benefactors of the world. Born at Greenock, 1736; + died at Heathfield, in Staffordshire, 1819." + + +One of James Watt's sons, Gregory, who devoted himself to science and +literature, died in 1804, at the early age of 27. James, born Feb. 5, +1769, resided for a number of years at Aston Hall, where he died in +1848. In 1817 he voyaged to Holland in the first steam vessel that left +an English port, the engines having been manufactured at Soho. He was of +a very retiring disposition, and not particularly popular with the +public, though valued and appreciated by those admitted to closer +intimacy. + +_West_.--Though he did not come to Birmingham until close upon sixty +years of age, being born in 1770, William West, in his "History of +Warwickshire," published one of the best descriptions of this town ever +yet prepared. He had establishments in London and Cork, and was the +author of several amusing and interesting works, such as "Tavern +Anecdotes," "Fifty Years' Recollections of an Old Bookseller." &c., now +scarce, though "West's Warwickshire" may often be met with at the +"Chaucer's Head," and other old bookshops. + +_Williams_, Fleetwood, who died in 1836, at the early age of 29, was the +author of sundry locally interesting prose works and poetical "skits." +He was connected with several debating clubs, and showed talent that +promised future distinction. + +_Willmore_.--James Tibbets Willmore, a native of Handsworth, was an +eminent landscape engraver, famed for his reproductions of Turner's +works. His death occurred in March, 1863, in his 63rd year. + +_Winfield_.--Mr. Robert Walter Winfield, though he took comparatively +little part in the public life of our town, deserves a prominent place +among our men of note as a manufacturer who did much towards securing +Birmingham a somewhat better name than has occasionally been given it, +in respect to the quality of the work sent out. Starting early in life, +in the military ornament line, Mr. Winfield began in a somewhat small +way on the site of the present extensive block of buildings known as +Cambridge Street Works, which has now developed into an establishment +covering several acres of land. Here have been manufactured some of the +choicest specimens of brass foundry work that could be desired, no +expense being spared at any time in the procuring of the best patterns, +and (which is of almost equal importance) the employment of the best +workmen. The goods sent from Cambridge Street to the first Great +Exhibition, 1851, obtained the highest award, the Council's Gold Medal, +for excellence of workmanship, beauty of design, and general treatment, +and the house retains its position. Mr. Winfield was a true man, +Conservative in politics, but most, truly liberal in all matters +connected with his work-people and their families. In the education and +advancement of the younger hands he took the deepest interest, spending +thousands in the erection of schools and the appointment of teachers for +them, and not a few of our present leading men have to thank him for +their first step in life. The death of his only son, Mr. J.F. Winfield, +in 1861, was a great blow to the father, and caused him to retire from +active business through failing health. His death (Dec. 16, 1869), was +generally felt as a loss to the town. + +_Wyatt_.--John Wyatt, one of Birmingham's most ingenious sons, invented +(in 1738) the spinning of cotton by means of rollers, but unlike Richard +Arkwright, who afterwards introduced a more perfect machine and made a +fortune, the process was never other than a source of loss to the +original inventor and his partners, who vainly tried to make it a staple +manufacture of the town. The weighing machine was also the work of +Wyatt's brain, though he did not live to see the machine in use, dying +Nov. 29, 1766, broken down by misfortune, but honoured by such men as +Baskerville and Boulton who, then rising themselves, knew the worth of +the man whose loss they deplored. Wyatt's grave is on the Blue Coat +School side of St. Philip's churchyard. + +_Wyon_.--A celebrated local family of die-sinkers and medalists. William +Wyon (born in 1795) receiving the gold medal of the Society of Arts, for +his medal of Ceres, obtained in 1816 the post of second engraver at the +Mint, his cousin, Thomas Wyon, being then the chief. One of the finest +medals engraved by him was that of Boulton, struck by Thomason, in high +relief, and 4in. in diameter. He died in 1851, having produced all the +coins and medals for Queen Victoria and William IV., part of George +IV.'s, and prize medals for many societies. His son, Leonard Wyon, +produced the Exhibition medals in 1851. + +The preceding are really but a few of the men of note whose connection +with Birmingham has been of historical interest, and the catalogue might +be extended to great length with the names of the De Birminghams, the +Smalbrokes, Middlemores, Colmores, and others of the old families alone. +Scores of pages would not suffice to give even the shortest biographies +of the many who, by their inventive genius and persistent labour, placed +our town at the head of the world's workshops, the assistants and +followers of the great men of Soho, the Thomasons, Taylors, and others +living in the early part of the century, or the Elkingtons, Chances, +&c., of later days. A volume might easily be filled with lives of +scientific and literary men of the past, Hutton the historian, Morfitt, +poet and barrister; Beilby, Hodgetts, Hudson, and other bookmen, to say +naught of the many Press writers (who in their day added not a little to +the advancement of their fellow-townsmen), or the venerable doctors, the +school teachers and scholars, the pastors and masters of the old School +and the old Hospital. Mention is made of a few here and there in this +book; of others there have been special histories published, and, +perchance _some_ day "Birmingham men" will form the title of a more +comprehensive work. + +~Novel Sight.~--The appearance in the streets of Birmingham of a real +war vessel would be a wonderful thing even in these days of railways and +steam. Sir Rowland Hill, speaking of his childhood's days, said he could +recollect once during the war with Napoleon that a French gunboat was +dragged across the country, and shown in Birmingham at a small charge. +He had never then seen any vessel bigger than a coal barge, but this was +a real ship, with real anchor and real ship guns. + +~Numbering of Houses.~--We are rapidly improving in many ways, and the +gradual introduction of the system of alternate numbering, the odd +numbers on one side of the street, and the evens on the other, is an +advance in the right direction. Still, the fixing of the diminutive +figure plate on the sideposts of a door, or, as is frequently found to +be the case, in the shadow of a porch, is very tantalising, especially +to the stranger. Householders should see that the No. is placed in a +conspicuous spot, and have the figures painted so that they can be well +seen even on a dusky evening. + +~Nunneries.~--See "_Religious Associations_." + +~Nurseries.~--The outskirts, and indeed many parts of the town, less +than a century back were studded with gardens, but the flowers have had +to give place to the more prosaic bricks and mortar, and householders +desirous of floral ornaments have now in a great measure to resort to +the nursery grounds of the professed horticulturists. Foremost among the +nurseries of the neighbourhood are those of Mr. R.H. Vertegans, Chad +Valley, Edgbaston which were laid out some thirty-five years ago. The +same gentleman has another establishment of even older date at Malvern, +and a third at Metchley. The grounds of Messrs. Pope and Sons, at King's +Norton, are also extensive and worthy of a visit. There are other +nurseries at Solihull (Mr. Hewitt's), at Spark hill (Mr. Tomkins'), at +Handsworth (Mr. Southhall's), and in several other parts of the suburbs. +The _Gardeners' Chronicle_, the editor of which is supposed to be a good +judge, said that the floral arrangement at the opening of the Mason +Science College surpassed anything of the kind ever seen in Birmingham, +Mr. Vertegans having supplied not less than thirty van loads, comprising +over 5,000 of the choicest exotic flowers and evergreens. + +~Oak Leaf Day.~--In the adjoining counties, and to a certain extent in +Birmingham itself, it has been the custom for carters and coachmen to +decorate their horses' heads and their own hats with sprays of oak +leaves on the 29th of May, and 99 out of the 100 would tell you they did +so to commemorate Charles II. hiding in the oak tree near to Boscobel +House. It is curious to note how long an erroneous idea will last. The +hunted King would not have found much shelter in his historical oak in +the month of May, as the trees would hardly have been sufficiently in +leaf to have screened him, and, as it happened, it was the 4th of +September and not the 29th of May when the event occurred. The popular +mistake is supposed to have arisen from the fact that Charles made his +public entry into London on May 29, which was also his birthday, when +the Royalists decked themselves with oak in remembrance of that tree +having been instrumental in the King's restoration. + +~Obsolete Street Names.~--Town improvements of one sort and another have +necessitated the entire clearance of many streets whose names may be +found inscribed on the old maps, and their very sites will in time be +forgotten. Changes in name have also occurred more frequently perhaps +than may be imagined, and it will be well to note a few. As will be +seen, several streets have been christened and re-christened more than +once. + +Baskerville-street is now Easy-row. + +Bath-road is Bristol-street. + +Beast Market was that part of High-street contiguous to New-street; also +called English Market. + +Bewdley-street, afterwards Ann-street, now Colmore-row. + +Birch Hole-street has been improved to Birchall street. + +Black Boy Yard is now Jamaica-row. + +Brick Kiln lane is the Horse Fair. + +Broad-street--Dale End was so called in the 15th century. + +Buckle-row. Between Silver-street and Thomas-street. + +Button Alley--Bishop-street, Masshouse-lane. + +Butts-lane--Tanter-street; The Butts being Stafford-street. + +Catherine-street--Whittal-street. + +Cawsey (The Causeway)--Lower part of Digbeth. + +Chapel-street--Bull-street was so called in the 14th century. + +Chappel-row--Jennens'-row and Buck-street. + +Charles or Little Charles-street--Now part of New Edmund-street. + +Cock-street--Upper part of Digbeth; also called Well-street. + +Colmore-street--From Worcester-street to Peck-lane. + +Cony Greve street is now Congreve-street. + +Cooper's Mill-lane is Heathmill-lane. + +Corbett's Alley--Union-street. + +Corn Cheaping or Corn Market was part of the Bull Ring. + +Court-lane--Moat-lane. + +Cottage-lane--Sheepcote-lane. + +Crescent-street--Part of King Edward's Road. + +Cross-street--Vauxhall-street. + +Crown-street, afterwards Nelson-street is now Sheepcote-street. + +Deadman's Lane--Warstone-lane. + +Ditch--The Gullet was The Ditch. + +Dock Alley--New Inkleys. + +Dudwall-lane--Dudley-street + +Farmer-street--Sand-street. + +Ferney Fields--Great Hampton-street + +Feck-lane or Peck-lane--Covered by New-street Station. + +God's Cart-lane--Carrs-lane. + +Grindstone-lane--Westfield-road. + +Hangman's-lane, or Hay Barns-lane--Great Hampton-row. + +Harlow-street--Edmund-street. + +Haymarket--one of the names given to Ann-street. + +High Town--Upper part of Bull Ring. + +Hill-street--Little Charles-street. + +Jennings-street--Fox-street. + +King-street and Queen-street, as well as Great Queen-street, have made +way for New-street Station. + +Lake Meadow-hill--Bordesley-street and Fazeley-street. + +Lamb-yard--Crooked-lane. + +Long-lane--Harborne-road. + +Ludgate-hill was part of Church-street. + +Martin-street--Victoria-street. + +Mercer-street, or Spicer-street--Spiceal-street. + +Mount Pleasant--Ann-street. + +New road--Summer-row. + +Old Meeting-street has at various periods been known as Grub-street, +Littleworth street, New-row, and Phillips-street. + +Pemberton's-yard, Lower Minories, or Coach-yard--Dalton-street. + +Pitt-street and Porter-street were portions of Old Cross-street. + +Priors Conigree-lane, or Whitealls-lane is now Steelhouse-lane. + +Priory-lane--Monmouth-street. + +Rother Market--New-street next to High-street and High-street next to +New-street was once so called. + +Sandy-lane--Snow Hill in the 16th century. Lee Bank-road has also been +called Sandy-lane. + +Shambles--Part of Bull Ring. + +Swan Alley--Worcester-street. + +Swinford-street--Upper end of New-street. + +Temple Alley, also called Tory-row--Temple-row. + +Walmer-lane (in the 15th century Wold Moors)--Lancaster-street. + +Water-street--Floodgate-street. + +Welch End or Welch Market--Junction of Bull-street, High-street, and +Dale End. + +Westley's-row, Westley-street, or London 'Prentice-street forms part of +Dalton-street. + +Withering-street--Union-street. + +Wyllattes Green--Prospect Row. + +~Old Cock Pump.~--This was the old pump formerly under St. Martin's +Churchyard wall, from which the water-carriers and others obtained their +supply of drinking water. The rule of the pump was "last come last +served," and frequently a long string of men, women, and children might +be seen waiting their turn. Many of us can recollect the old Digbeth +men, with their shoulder-yoke and two buckets, plodding along to find +customers for their "Warta;" and certain elderly ladies are still in +existence who would fear the shortening of their lives were their +tea-kettles filled with aught but the pure Digbeth water, though it does +not come from the pump at St. Martin's, for that was removed in 1873. It +has been written that on one occasion (in the days before waterworks +were practicable, and the old pump was a real blessing), when the poor +folks came to fill their cans early in the morning, they found the +handle gone, and great was the outcry thereat. It soon afterwards +transpired that a blacksmith, short of iron, had taken the handle to +make into horseshoes. + +~Old Meeting House Yard.~--The name gives its own origin. One of the +earliest built of our Dissenting places of worship was here situated. + +~Old Square.~--There are grounds for believing that this was the site of +the Hospital or Priory of St. Thomas the Apostle; the reason of no +foundations or relics of that building having been come across arising +from its having been erected on a knoll or mount there, and which would +be the highest bit of land in Birmingham. This opinion is borne out by +the fact that the Square was originally called The Priory, and doubtless +the Upper and Lower Priories and the Minories of later years were at +first but the entrance roads to the old Hospital, as it was most +frequently styled in deeds and documents. Mr. John Pemberton, who +purchased this portion of the Priory lands in 1697, and laid it out for +building, would naturally have it levelled, and, not unlikely from a +reverent feeling, so planned that the old site of the religious houses +should remain clear and undesecrated. From old conveyances we find that +20s. per yard frontage was paid for the site of some of the houses in +the square, and up to 40s. in Bull Street; the back plots, including the +Friends' burial ground (once gardens to the front houses) being valued +at 1s. to 2s. per yard. Some of the covenants between the vendor and the +purchasers are very curious, such as that the latter "shall and will for +ever hereafter putt and keep good bars of iron or wood, or otherwise +secure all the lights and windows that are or shall be, that soe any +children or others may not or cannot creep through, gett, or come +through such lights or windows into or upon the same piece of land." +Here appears the motive for the erection of the iron railings so closely +placed in front of the old houses. Another covenant was against "putting +there any muckhill or dunghill places, pigstyes or workhouses, shopps or +places that shall he noysome or stink, or be nautionse or troublesome," +and also to have there "no butcher's or smith's slaughter house or +smithey harth." One of the corner houses, originally called "the Angle +House," was sold in 1791 for L420; in 1805 it realised L970; in 1843, +L1,330? and in 1853, L2,515. The centre of the Square was enclosed and +neatly kept as a garden with walks across, for the use of the +inhabitants there, but (possibly it was "nobody's business") in course +of time it became neglected, and we have at least one instance, in 1832, +of its being the scene of a public demonstration. About the time of the +Parliamentary election in that year, the carriageway round the Square +had been newly macadamised, and on the polling day, when Dempster Heming +opposed William Stratford Dugdale, the stones were found very handy, and +were made liberal use of, as per the usual order of the day at that time +on such occasions. The trees and railings were removed in 1836 or 1837 +in consequence of many accidents occurring there, the roadways being +narrow and very dangerous from the numerous angles, the Street +Commissioners undertaking to give the inhabitants a wide and handsome +flagging as a footpath on all sides of the square, conditionally with +the freeholders of the property giving up their rights to and share in +the enclosure. + +~Omnibuses.~--The first omnibus was started in 1828, by Mr. Doughty, a +fishmonger, and its route lay between the White Swan, Snow Hill, to the +Sun, in Bristol Road. In 1836 an "Omnibus Conveyance Co," was proposed, +with a magnificent capital of L5,000. The projectors would have been a +little startled if they could have seen the prospectuses of some of our +modern conveyance companies.--See "_Tramways_." + +~Open Spaces.~--March 8, 1883, saw the formation of the Birmingham +Association for the Prevention of Open Spaces and Public Footpaths, the +object of which is to be the securing of the rights of the public to the +open spots, footpaths, and green places, which, for generations, have +belonged to them. There are few such left in the borough now, but the +Association may find plenty to do in the near neighbourhood, and if its +members can but save us one or two of the old country walks they will do +good service to the community. + +~Orange Tree.~--This public-house was built in 1780, the neighbourhood +being then known as "Boswell Heath." A walk to the Orange Tree over the +"hilly fields," where Conybere and other streets now are, was a pleasant +Sunday morning ramble even forty years back. + +~Oratory.~--See "_Places of Worship_." + +~Organs.~--According to the oft-quoted extract from the Halesowen +Churchwardens' books--"1497. Paid for repeyling the organs to the organ +maker at Bromycham 10s,"--organ-building must have been one of the few +recognised trades of this town at a very early date. It is a pity the +same accounts do not give the maker's name of the instruments for which +in 1539 they "paid my lord Abbot 4 marks," or name the parties who were +then employed and paid for "mending and setting the organs up, 40s." +Whether any of the most celebrated organs in the country have, or have +not, been made here, is quite uncertain, though the Directories and +papers of all dates tell us that makers thereof have never been wanting. +In 1730, one Thomas Swarbrick made the organ for St. Mary's Church, +Warwick, and the Directory for 1836 gives the name of Isaac Craddock +(the original maker of the taper penholder), who repaired and in several +cases enlarged the instruments at many of our places of worship, as well +as supplying the beautiful organ for St. Mary's, at Coventry.--The tale +has often been told of the consternation caused by the introduction of a +barrel organ into a church, when from some catch or other it would not +stop at the finish of the first tune, and had to be carried outside, +while the remainder of its repertoire pealed forth, but such instruments +were not unknown in sacred edifices in this neighbourhood but a short +time back [see "_Northfield_"].--A splendid organ was erected in Broad +Street Music Hall when it was opened, and it was said to be the second +largest in England, costing L2,000; it was afterwards purchased for St. +Pancras' Church, London.--The organ in the Town Hall, constructed by Mr. +Hill, of London, cost nearly L4,000 and, when put up, was considered to +be one of the finest and most powerful in the world, and it cannot have +lost much of its prestige, as many improvements have since been made in +it. The outer case is 45ft. high, 40ft. wide, and 17ft. deep, and the +timber used in the construction of the organ weighed nearly 30 tons. +There are 4 keyboards, 71 draw stops, and over 4,000 pipes of various +forms and sizes, some long, some short, some trumpet-like in shape, and +others cylindrical, while in size they range from two or three inches in +length to the great pedal pipe, 32ft. high and a yard in width, with an +interior capacity of 224 cubic feet. In the "great organ" there are 18 +stops, viz.: Clarion (2ft.), ditto (4ft.), posanne, trumpet, principal +(1 and 2), gamba, stopped diapason, four open diapasons, doublette, +harmonic flute, mixture sesquialtra, fifteenth, and twelfth, containing +altogether 1,338 pipes. In the "choir organ" there are nine stops, viz.: +Wald flute, fifteenth stopped flute, oboe flute, principal, stopped +diapason, hohl flute, cornopean, and open diapason, making together 486 +pipes. The "swell organ" contains 10 stops, viz.: Hautbois, trumpet, +horn, fifteenth, sesquialtra, principal, stopped diapason, open +diapason, clarion, and boureon and dulciana, the whole requiring 702 +pipes. In the "solo organ" the principal stops are the harmonica, krum, +horn, and flageolet, but many of the stops in the swell and choir organs +work in connection with the solo. In the "pedal organ" are 12 stops, +viz.: Open diapason 16ft. (bottom octave) wood, ditto, 16ft., metal, +ditto, 16ft. (bottom octave) metal, bourdon principal, twelfth, +fifteenth, sesquialtra, mixture, posanne, 8ft. trumpet, and 4ft. +trumpet. There are besides, three 32ft. stops, one wood, one metal, and +one trombone. There are four bellows attached to the organ, and they are +of great size, one being for the 32ft. pipes alone. The Town Hall organ +had its first public trial August 29, 1834, when the Birmingham Choral +Society went through a selection of choruses, as a kind of advance note +of the then coming Festival. + +Orphanages.--The first local establishment of the nature of an orphanage +was the so called Orphan Asylum in Summer Lane, built in 1797 for the +rearing of poor children from the Workhouse. It was a very useful +institution up to the time of its close in 1852, but like the Homes at +Marston Green, where the young unfortunates from the present Workhouse +are reared and trained to industrial habits, it was almost a misnomer to +dub it an "orphan asylum."--An Orphanage at Erdington was begun by the +late Sir Josiah Mason, in 1858, in connection with his Almshouses there, +it being his then intention to find shelter for some three score of the +aged and infantile "waifs and strays" of humanity. In 1860 he extended +his design so far as to commence the present Orphanage, the foundation +stone of which was laid by himself Sept. 19 in that year, the building +being finished and first occupied in 1863. In addition to the +expenditure of L60,000 on the buildings, the founder endowed the +institution with land and property to the value of L250,000. No +publicity was given to this munificent benevolence until the twelve +months prescribed by the statute had elapsed after the date of the deed, +when, on the 29th of July, 1869, the Orphanage and estates were handed +over to seven trustees, who, together with Sir Josiah himself, formed +the first Board of Management. At his death, as provided by the trust +deed, seven other trustees chosen by the Birmingham Town Council were +added to the Board. The inmates of the Orphanage are lodged, clothed, +fed, maintained, educated, and brought up at the exclusive cost of the +institution, there being no restriction whatever as to locality, +nationality, or religious persuasion of parents or friends. In 1874 the +building was enlarged, so as to accommodate 300 girls, 150 boys, and 50 +infants, the original part being reserved for the girls and infants and +a new wing built for the boys. The two are connected by the lofty dining +hall, 200ft. long, with tables and seats for 500 children. Every part of +the establishment is on a liberal scale and fitted with the best +appliances; each child has its separate bed, and the playgrounds are +most extensive.--The Princess Alice Orphanage, of which the +foundation-stone was laid Sept. 19, 1882, has rather more than a +Birmingham interest, as it is intended in the first instance for the +reception of children from all parts of the country whose parents have +been Wesleyans. In connection with the Wesleyan Thanksgiving Fund, Mr. +Solomon Jevons, of this town, made an offer to the committee that if +from the fund they would make a grant of L10,000 towards establishing an +orphanage in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, he would supplement it by +a donation of L10,000. After due consideration the offer was accepted. +Plans were prepared by Mr. J.L. Ball for as much of the building as it +was proposed immediately to erect, and the contract was let to Messrs. +J. Wilson and Sons, of Handsworth. The sanction of her Majesty the Queen +was obtained to call the building the "Princess Alice" Orphanage, in +memory of her lamented daughter, the late Princess of Hesse. The site +chosen is about halfway between Erdington and Sutton Coldfield on the +Chester Road, and very near to the "Beggar's Bush." Facing the road, +though forty yards from it, is the central block of buildings, 250 feet +in length, including the master's house, board room and offices, store +rooms, &c., with a large hall, 90 feet by 33 feet, for use as a dining +hall, general gatherings, morning prayers, &c., the children's homes +being in cottages at varying distances, so that when the whole +twenty-four homes (twelve each for boys and girls) are erected it will +be like a miniature village, sundry farm buildings and workshops being +interspersed here and there. Each cottage is intended to be the home of +about twenty children, but at first, and until the funds for the +maintenance of the orphanage have been increased, the inmates will be +limited to the accommodation that can be provided at the central block +and the nearest two or three homes, the rest being built as occasion +offers. + +~Oscott College.~--See "_Schools_," &c. + +~Oxford, (Edward).~--The boy Oxford who shot at the Queen, on June 10, +1840, was born here and had worked at several shops in the town. + +~Oxygen.~--It was on the first of August, 1774, that Dr. Priestley +discovered the nature of oxygen or "dephlogisticated air." If he could +visit Oxygen Street in this town in August of any year, he would +probably say that the air there to be breathed required +dephlogisticating over and over again. + +~Packhorses.~--In and about the year 1750 the only method of conveying +parcels of goods from here to London was by means of packhorses, the +charge being at the rate of L7 to L9 per ton; to Liverpool and Bristol, +L5. + +~Panorama.~--A circular erection in New Street, and now partly +incorporated in the Society of Artists building, where early in the +century panoramas of various kinds were exhibited. + +~Panoramic View.~--A peculiar view of this town was published in 1847 by +Ackermann of London, and was thus called, as it purported to give the +thoroughfares pictorially, showing the houses as they would appear from +a balloon over Moseley Street. The size was 27-1/2 in. by 14-3/4 in. As +a curiosity it is prizable, but its correctness of delineation is marred +very much by the plan adopted. + +~Pantechnetheca.~--A large place of general business, opened in 1824, at +the New-street end of Union-passage. In 1817, there stood on this spot a +publichouse, known as the "Old Crown," the entrance to which was in a +large, open gateway at its side, through which a path led to the cherry +orchard. The Pantechnetheca was one of "the sights" of the town, the +exterior being ornamented with pillars and statues; while the name was +not only a puzzle to the "Black Country" visitors, but quite a subject +of dispute as to its etymology among the Greek scholars of the Grammar +School opposite. + +~Paradise Street.~--The footpath on the Town Hall side used to be +several feet higher than the causeway, and was supplied with iron +railings. If the name had been given in late years, it might be supposed +to have been chosen because the doors of the Parish Offices are in the +street. + +~Parish Offices.~--See "_Public Buildings_." + +~Parkesine.~--A material used for knife handles and other purposes, so +named after its maker, Alexander Parkes, a well-known local +manufacturer, who said it was made from refuse vegetable fibre, +pyroxyline, oil, naphtha, and chloride of sulphur. + +~Park Lane.~--From Aston Cross Tavern to the Birchfield Road, originally +being the road outside the wall of Aston Park. The first lots of land +for building that were sold were those fronting Church Lane, and they +fetched an average price of 2s. 2d. per yard, each lot being 12 yards by +60 yards. The next were the lots marked out by the side of Park Lane, +and it was at about the middle of Park Lane that the first house was +built in Aston Park in 1854 or 1855. + +~Park Road.~--Leading over the hill from Aston Cross to Aston Church, +was the first laid out, and the first opened to the public (Easter +Monday, 1855) through the old grounds belonging to the Holts. + +~Parks.~--Thanks to the munificence of Miss Ryland, Lord Calthorpe, Sir +Charles Adderley, and Mr. W. Middlemore, with the concurrent generosity +of the Church authorities, in whom the freehold of our churchyards was +invested, Birmingham cannot be said to be short of parks and public +grounds, though with all put together the area is nothing like that +taken from the inhabitants under the Enclosures Acts of last century. +The first movement for the acquisition of public parks took the shape of +a town's meeting, Dec. 22, 1853, when the burgesses approved the +purchase, and in 1854 an Act was obtained for the formation thereof. The +first to be opened was Adderley Park, Aug. 30, 1856, the gift of Sir +Charles Adderley. Its area is 10A. Or. 22P., and it is held nominally on +a 999 years' lease, at a rental of 5s. per year. Calthorpe Park was +opened June 1, 1857; its area being 31A. 1R. 13P., and it is held under +a grant by the Calthorpe family that is equivalent to a conveyance in +fee. Aston Park was opened Sept. 22, 1864; its area is 49A. 2R. 8P., and +it belongs to the town by purchase. Cannon Hill Park, the gift of Miss +Ryland, was opened Sept. 1, 1873; its area being 57A. 1R. 9P. In 1874, +the Town Council gave the Trustees of Holliers' Charity the sum of +L8,300 for the 8A. 8R. 28P. of land situated between the Moseley Road +and Alcester Street, and after expending over L5,400 in laying out, +fencing, and planting, opened it as Highgate Park June 2, 1876. In 1876 +Summerfield House and grounds covering 12A. 0R. 20P. were purchased from +Mr. Henry Weiss for L9,000, and after fencing, &c., was thrown open as +Summerfield Park, July 29, 1876. In the following year, Mr. William +Middlemore presented to the town a plot of ground, 4A. 1R. 3p. in +extent, in Burbury Street, having spent about L3,500 in fencing and +laying it out, principally as a recreation ground for children (the +total value being over L12,000), and it was opened as Hockley Park, +December 1, 1877.--Small Heath Park, comprising 41A. 3R. 34p., is +another of the gifts of Miss Ryland, who presented it to the town June +2, 1876, and in addition provided L4,000 of the L10,000 the Town Council +expended in laying it out. The formal opening ceremony took place April +5, 1879. There are still several points of the compass directing to +suburbs which would be benefited by the appropriation of a little +breathing place or two, and possibly in due time they will be acquired. +The Nechells people have had laid out for their delectation the waste +ground near the gas works which may be called Nechells Park for the time +being. The Earl of Dartmouth in June, 1878, gave 56 acres out of +Sandwell Park to the inhabitants of West Bromwich, and they call it +Dartmouth Park. + +~Park Street~ takes its name from the small park or wood surrounding +Park House, once existing somewhere near to the burial ground. + +~Park Street Gardens~--As they are now called, comprise the Park Street +Burial Ground and St. Bartholomew's Churchyard, the possession of which +(under a nominal lease for 999 years) was given by the Rectors of St. +Martin's and St. Bartholomew's to the Corporation according to the +provisions of the Closed Burial Grounds Act. The whole area included a +little over five acres, and the size thus given was valued at L50,000. +About half an acre was devoted to the widening of the surrounding +streets, the remainder being properly fenced in and laid out as +recreating grounds and gardens. The opening ceremony took place, June +25, 1880. + +~Parliamentary Elections.~--Notwithstanding the safeguards provided by +the Ballot Act, and all the deterrent measures enacted against bribery +and intimidation, and those peculiar tactics known as "getting up +steam," the period of an election for Parliamentary representatives is a +time of great excitement even in these days. But it is comparatively +naught to what it used to be, when the art of kidnapping Tory voters, or +"bottling" Whigs, was considered as only a small part of the education +required by aspiring political agents. Leading burly prizefighters to +clear the hustings on nomination day, upsetting carriages containing +voters going to poll, and such like practical jokes were all _en regle_, +and as such "goings-on" were to be found as much on the one side as the +other, neither party's pot had a right to call the opponent's kettle +black. Prior to the enfranchisement of the borough, one of the most +exciting elections in which the Brums had been engaged was that for the +county of Warwick in 1774, when Sir Charles Holte, of Aston Hall, was +returned. The nomination took place Oct. 13, the candidates being Mr. +Shipworth (a previous member), Mr. (afterwards Lord) Mordaunt, and Sir +Charles, who for once pleased the Birmingham folks by calling himself an +"Independent." The polling, which commenced on the 20th, was continued +for ten days, closing on the 31st, and as Mr. Mordaunt had the lead for +many days the excitement was intense, and the rejoicings proportionate +at the end when the local candidate came in with flying colours. The +voting ran:--Shipwith, 2,954; Holte, 1,845; Mordaunt, 1,787.--A +Birmingham man was a candidate at the next great county contest, +forty-six years after. This was Mr. Richard Spooner, then (1820) a young +man and of rather Radical tendencies. His opponent, Mr. Francis Lawley, +was of the old-fashioned Whig party, and the treatment his supporters +received at the hands of the Birmingham and Coventry people was +disgraceful. Hundreds of special constables had to be sworn in at +Warwick during the fourteen days' polling, business being suspended for +days together, but Radical Richard's roughs failed to influence the +election, as Mr. Lawley obtained 2,153 votes against Mr. Spooner's 970. +As Mr. Spooner grew older he became more prominent in commercial +circles, and was peculiarly _au fait_ in all currency matters, but he +lost his hold on local electors by turning to the Conservative side of +politics. Of this he was more than once reminded in after years, when +speaking in the Town Hall, by individuals taking off their coats, +turning them inside out, and having put them on again, standing +prominently in front of "Yellow Dick" as they then called him. + +That the inhabitants of Birmingham, so rapidly increasing in numbers and +wealth, should be desirous of direct representation in the House of +Commons, could be no wonder even to the most bigoted politicians of the +last and early part of the present century. Possibly, had there been '91 +Riots, nor quite so much "tall talk," the Legislature might have +vouchsafed us a share in the manufacture of our country's laws a little +earlier than they did, and the attempt to _force_ a member through the +doors of the House could not have added to any desire that may have +existed in the minds of the gentlemen inside to admit the representative +of Birmingham. The Newhall Hill meeting of July 12th, 1819, may be +reckoned as the first pitched battle between the invaders and defenders +of the then existing Parliamentary Constitution. The appointment of Sir +Charles Wolesey as "Legislatorial Attorney and Representative," with +instructions to take his seat as M.P. for the town (and many so styled +him), even though made at a meeting of 20,000 would-be electors, does +not appear to have been the wisest way to have gone to work, +notwithstanding the fact that Sir Charles himself said _he_ had no doubt +of their right to send him up as their Member. Prosecution of the +leaders followed, as a matter of course, and if the +twenty-and-odd-thousands of the local Conservative electors of to-day +were thus to try to obtain _their_ due share of representation in the +House, most likely the leaders of such a movement would be as liberally +dealt with. The "battle of freedom," as the great Reform movement came +to be called, has often been described, and honour been given to all who +took part in it. The old soldiers of the campaign should be allowed, if +they choose, to "fight their battles o'er again," as long as they live, +but it is about time that the hatchet of party spite, (hitherto so +freely used in local political warfare) was buried out of sight, and all +sides be as willing to give equal rights as their fathers were to fight +for theirs. Birmingham, however, was not without _some_ friends in +Parliament, and on the occasion of the disfranchisement of the borough +of East Retford in 1827, it was proposed by Mr. Charles Tennyson that +the two seats thus voided should be given to Birmingham. Mr. George +Attwood was High Bailiff at the time, and he at once called a public +meeting to support Mr. Tennyson's proposition by petition. The Public +Office was not large enough for those who attended the meeting (June 22, +1827) and they adjourned to Beardsworth's Repository, where speeches +were delivered by the leading men of all parties. Petitions to both +Houses were drawn up and signed, the county members, Dugdale Stratford +Dugdale and Francis Lawley, Esqrs., being asked to introduce the one to +the House of Commons, and Lord Dudley and Ward (Baron of Birmingham) and +Lord Calthorpe to support the petitioners' prayer in the Upper House. +Mr. Tennyson (who afterwards took the name of D'Eyncourt) brought in his +Bill, but notwithstanding all that could be said or done by the friends +of the town they were outvoted (March 21, 1828), and the Bill was thrown +out. The next four years were full of trouble, and the news of the +passing of the Reform Bill (June 7, 1832), which at last gave Birmingham +its long-sought political rights was most welcome indeed. The first +election day was fixed for December 12, and for some time it was +rumoured that Mr. Richard Spooner would stand in opposition to Messrs. +Thomas Attwood and Joshua Scholefield, the chosen representatives of the +Liberals; but the Conservative party, deeming it but right that those +who had borne the brunt of the constitutional fight should be allowed +the first honours of the local victory, declined to oppose those +gentlemen, and they were accordingly returned without opposition. The +hustings had been erected on a plot of land opposite the Public Offices +and here the nominations took place at the early hour of 8 a.m. The +proceedings were over by nine o'clock, but the "victory," as the popular +party chose to consider it, did not satisfy them, and as there was an +election on at Walsall the same day it was determined that the +Birmingham Liberals should go there to help Mr. Bosco Attwood in his +contest with Mr. Foster. A procession of some thousands, with bands and +banners, according marched the whole of the distance so Walsall, and if +their behaviour there represented what they were prepared to do at home +had they not been allowed to have their own way, it was well for +Birmingham they were not opposed. Long before evening this town was in +the most fearful excitement, the passengers and guards of the various +coaches which had passed through Walsall bringing the direst news of +fire and riot, mixed with reports of the military being called out and +firing on the people, numbers being killed, &c. Fortunately there was +much exaggeration in these tales, and by degrees most of the Birmingham +men found their way home, though many were in sad plight through the +outrageous behaviour of themselves and the "victorious" crew who went +off so gaily with them in the morning. The elections in after years may +be briefly chronicled. + +1835.--At the general election, which occurred this year, the Town Hall +was first used as the place of nomination (Jan. 7th). During the +proceedings the front of the great gallery gave way and precipitated +those sitting there on to the heads of the people below, but +providentially, the injuries received were not of a serious character. +Mr. R. Spooner was most impatiently heard, and the show of hands was +decidedly against him. The state of the poll showed:-- + + +Thomas Attwood 1,718 votes } +Joshua Scholefidd 1,660 " } Returned. +Richard Spooner 915 " + + +1837, August.--At this election the +late sitting members were opposed +by Mr. A. G. Stapleton, but unsuccessfully, +the voting being + + +Thomas Attwood .. 2,145 } +Joshua Scholefield .. 2,114 }Returned. +A.G. Stapleton .. 1,046 + + +1840, January.--Mr. Attwood having resigned, Sir Charles Wetherell +appeared in the Conservative interest against Mr. G.F. Muntz. Mr. Joseph +Sturge, who also issued an address to the electors, retiring on the +solicitation of his friends, on the understanding that the whole Liberal +party would support him at the next vacancy. The result was in favour of +Mr. Muntz, thus-- + + +Geo. Fred. Muntz .. 1,454--Returned. +Sir C. Wetherell .. 915 + + +1841, July.--Mr. Richard Spooner, who opposed Messrs. Muntz and +Scholefield, was again defeated, through receiving the suffrages of +double the number of electors who voted for him in 1835. The returns +were-- + + +Geo. Fred. Muntz .. 2,176 } +Joshua Scholefield .. 1,963 }Returned. +Richard Spooner .. 1,825 + + +1857, March.--The same gentlemen were again returned without opposition. + +1857, August.--On the death of Mr. Muntz, though the names of George +Dawson and others were whispered, the unanimous choice fell upon Mr. +John Bright, "the rejected of Manchester," and it may be truly said he +was at that time the chosen of the people. Birmingham men of all shades +of politics appreciating his eloquence and admiring his sterling +honesty, though many differed with his opinions. Addresses were early +issued by Baron Dickenson Webster and Mr. M'Geachy, but both were at +once withdrawn when Mr. Bright consented to stand and _his_ address +appeared. + +1859, April.--At the election of this year, though defeat must have been +a foregone conclusion, Mr. Thomas D. Acland waged battle with Messrs. +Scholefield and Bright, and the result was:-- + + +William Scholefield .. ..4,425 } +John Bright .. .. ..4,282 }Returned. +T.D. Acland .. .. ..1,544 + + +1864, December.--On the death of Mr. Spooner, Mr. Davenport-Bromley, +(afterwards Bromley-Davenport) was elected un-opposed, and retained his +seat until his death, June 15, 1884. + +1864.--Householders, whose rates were compounded for by their landlords, +had hitherto not been allowed to exercise their right of voting, but the +decision given in their favour, Feb. 17, 1864, was the means of raising +the number of voters' names on the register to over 40,000. + +1865, July.--Whether from fear of the newly-formed Liberal Association +(which was inaugurated in February for the avowed purpose of controlling +the Parliamentary elections in the borough and adjoining county +divisions), or the lack of a sufficiently popular local man, there was +no opposition offered to the return of Messrs. Scholefield and Bright at +the election of this year. + +1867, July.--On the death of Mr. Scholefield, Mr. George Dixon was +nominated by the Liberals and opposed by Mr. Sampson S. Lloyd The result +was:-- + + +Geo. Dixon .. .. .. ..5,819 Returned. +S.S. Lloyd .. .. .. ..4,214 + + +1868, November.--This was the first election after the passing of the +Reform Bill of 1867, by which Birmingham became entitled to send three +members to the House of Commons; and as the Bill contained a proviso +(generally known as the "minority clause") that each voter should be +limited to giving his support to two only of the candidates, an immense +amount of interest was taken in the interest that ensued. The +Conservatives brought forward Mr. Sampson S. Lloyd and Mr. Sebastian +Evans, the Liberal Association nominating Messrs. John Bright, George +Dixon, and Philip Henry Muntz (brother to the old member G.F. Muntz). +The election has become historical from the cleverly-manipulated scheme +devised by the Liberal Association, and the strict enforcement of their +"vote-as-you're-told" policy, by which, abnegating all personal freedom +or choice in the matter the electors under the influence of the +Association were moved at the will of the chiefs of their party. That +the new tactics were successful is shown by the returns:-- + + +George Dixon .. .. .. 15,188 } +P.H. Muntz .. .. .. 14,614 }Returned. +John Bright .. .. .. 14,601 } +S.S. Lloyd .. .. .. 8,700 +S. Evans .. .. .. 7,061 + + +1868, Dec. 21.--Mr. Bright having been appointed President of the Board +of Trade, was re-elected without opposition. He held office till the +close of 1870, but for a long time was absent from Parliament through +illness. + +1873, Aug. 6.--Mr. John Jaffray, one of the proprietors of the _Daily +Post_, contested East Staffordshire against Mr. Allsopp, but he only +obtained 2,893 votes, as against Mr. Allsopp's 3,630. + +1873, Oct. 18.--Soon after recovery of health Mr. Bright returned to his +seat, and being appointed to the office of the Chancellor of the Duchy +of Lancaster, was re-elected in due course. + +1874, Jan. 30.--No opposition was made to the re-election of Messrs. +Bright, Dixon, and Muntz. + +1876, June 27.--Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was elected without opposition on +the resignation of Mr. Dixon. + +1880, March 31.--Though free from all the rioting and possible bloodshed +that would have attended such an occasion a hundred years ago, the +election of 1880 was the most exciting and hardest-fought battle between +the two great political parties of the town yet recorded in local +history. The candidates were Messrs. John Bright, Joseph Chamberlain and +Philip Henry Muntz, the previous members and nominees of the Liberal +Association, and Major Burnaby and the Hon. A.C.G. Calthorpe, +Conservatives. There were 139 polling stations, and no less than 47,776 +out of the 63,398 persons whose names were on the register, recorded +their votes under the protection of the Ballot Act of 1870, now first +brought into use at a Parliamentary election. The usual courtesies (!) +appertaining to political contests were indulged in to considerable +extent, and personalities of all sorts much too freely bandied about, +but the election altogether passed off in the most creditable manner. +The returns of the polling stood thus-- + + +Philip Henry Muntz..... 22,803} +John Bright............ 21,986} Returned. +Joseph Chamberlain..... 19,476} +Major Burnaby.......... 15,716 +Hon. A.C.G. Calthorpe 14,270 + + +An analysis of the polling issued by the Mayor about a week after the +election showed that 16,098 voters supported the Conservative candidates +and 33,302 the Liberals. Deducting the 2,004 who "split" their votes +between the parties, and 380 whose papers were either rejected or not +counted as being doubtful, the total gives 47,396 as the actual number +whose votes decided the election. As a curiosity and a puzzle for future +politicians, the Mayor's analysis is worth preserving, as here +re-analysed:-- + + +PLUMPERS. + + Calthorpe only .. .. 42 + Burnaby only .. .. 164 206 + Chamberlain only .. .. 50 + Muntz only .. .. 199 + Bright only .. .. 86 335 + +SPLIT VOTES. + + Calthorpe and Muntz .. 153 + Calthorpe and Chamberlain .. 83 + Burnaby and Muntz .. 1,239 + Burnaby and Chamberlain .. 182 + Bright and Calthorpe .. 104 + Bright and Burnaby .. 243 2,004 + +CON. PARTY VOTES. + + Burnaby and Calthorpe .. 13,888 13,888 + +LIBERAL PARTY VOTES. + + Chamberlain and Muntz .. 9,410 + Bright and Muntz .. 11,802 + Bright and Chamberlain .. 9,751 30,963 + +Voting papers rejected and doubtful 380 + ________ + +Total number of voters polled.. .. 47,776 + +Mr. Bright having been again appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of +Lancaster, and Mr. Chamberlain chosen as President of the Board of +Trade, they were re-elected, without opposition, early in May following +the election. Three other local Liberal gentlemen were returned to +Parliament during this general election, viz.:--Mr. Jesse Collings for +Ipswich (receiving 3,074 votes), Mr. H. Wiggin for East Staffordshire +(4,617 votes), and Mr. J.S. Wright for Nottingham (8,085 votes). The +last-named, however, did not live to take his seat, dying very suddenly +while attending a committee-meeting at the Council House, Birmingham, on +the 15th April.--See "_Statues_," &c According to the published returns +of January, 1884, Birmingham was then the largest borough constituency +in England, the number of electors on the register then in force being +63,221: Liverpool coming next with 61,336; and Lambeth third, with +55,588; but Glasgow was the largest in the United Kingdom, with 68,025. +The largest county constituency in England and Wales was Middlesex, with +41,299 electors; the next being South-West Lancashire, with 30,624; the +third, South-East Lancashire, with 28,728; and the fourth, the southern +division of the West Riding, with 27,625. The total electorate for +England and Wales, was 2,660,444; Scotland, 331,264; and Ireland, +230,156. + +The following statistics have been taken from the returns named, showing +in respect of each constituency in this neighbourhood, the area of each +borough, city, or county division, the population, the number of +inhabited houses, the number of voters and their qualifications, and the +Members sent to Parliament prior to the passing of the Franchise and +Redistribution Bills of 1885, and are worth preserving for future local +reference:-- + +[Transcriber's note: this table has been split in order to fit the page +width.] + +-------------------------------------------------------------------- +| Borough, City | Area in | Population |Inhabited Houses | +| or County | Square | in | in | in | in | +| Division | Miles. | 1871 | 1881 | 1871 | 1881 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------- +| Birmingham | 13 | 343,787 | 400,774 | 68,532 | 78,301 | +| Bewdley | 11-1/4 | 7,614 | 8,678 | 1,717 | 1,839 | +| Bridgnorth | 17 | 7,317 | 7,212 | 1,565 | 1,52[**] +| Coventry | 10 | 41,348 | 46,563 | 9,334 | 10,185 | +| Droitwich | 43 | 9,510 | 9,858 | 1,931 | 2,006 | +| Dudley | 12 | 82,249 | 87,527 | 15,985 | 16,889 | +| E. Staffordshire | 218 | 101,564 | 138,439 | 19,960 | 26,003 | +| E. Worcestershr. | 324 | 147,685 | 117,257 | 30,551 | 35,781 | +| Evesham | 3-1/2 | 4,888 | 5,112 | 1,001 | 1,050 | +| Kidderminster | 3-3/4 | 20,814 | 25,633 | 4,292 | 5,062 | +| Lichfield | 5 | 7,347 | 8,349 | 1,543 | 1,678 | +| Newcastle (Stff.) | 1 | 15,948 | 17,493 | 3,180 | 3,393 | +| N. Staffordshire | 396 | 120,217 | 132,684 | 24,194 | 26,403 | +| N. Warwickshire | 383 | 134,723 | 170,086 | 29,032 | 35,151 | +| S. Warwickshire | 462 | 96,905 | 99,592 | 20,803 | 21,485 | +| Stafford | 1 | 15,946 | 18,904 | 2,939 | 3,385 | +| Stoke-on-Trent | 14 | 130,575 | 152,394 | 24,582 | 28,350 | +| Tamworth | 18 | 11,493 | 14,101 | 2,357 | 2,772 | +| Walsall | 11-3/4 | 49,018 | 59,402 | 9,566 | 11,140 | +| Warwick | 8-1/2 | 10,986 | 11,800 | 2,418 | 2,518 | +| Wednesbury | 17-3/4 | 116,809 | 124,437 | 22,621 | 23,443 | +| W. Staffordshire | 434 | 100,413 | 117,737 | 20,134 | 23,261 | +| W. Worcestershr | 341 | 66,419 | 67,139 | 13,895 | 13,928 | +| Wolverhampton | 29-1/2 | 156,978 | 164,332 | 30,424 | 31,475 | +| Worcester | 5 | 38,116 | 40,354 | 8,043 | 8,539 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- +| | City or Borough Electors. | +| ------------------------------------------------- +| | L10 | | Freehold | Freemen | +| Borough, City | Occupiers and | Lodgers | and | or Voters | +| or County | Inhabitant | | Burgage | by Ancient | +| Division | Householders. | | Tenants. | Rights | +---------------------------------------------------------------------- +| Birmingham | 63,149 | 72 | .. | .. | +| Bewdley | 273 | 2 | .. | 1 | +| Bridgnorth | 055 | .. | .. | 163 | +| Coventry | 4,733 | 12 | .. | 3,995 | +| Droitwich | 1,409 | .. | .. | 1 | +| Dudley | 14,833 | 1 | .. | .. | +| E. Staffordshire | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| E. Worcestershr. | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| Evesham | 794 | 11 | .. | 20 | +| Kidderminster | 3,898 | 5 | .. | .. | +| Lichfield | 1,095 | 7 | 101 | 39 | +| Newcastle (Stff.) | 2,431 | 5 | .. | 679 | +| N. Staffordshire | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| N. Warwickshire | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| S. Warwickshire | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| Stafford | 2,764 | 22 | .. | 798 | +| Stoke-on-Trent | 21,131 | 13 | .. | .. | +| Tamworth | 2,220 | 6 | .. | 3 | +| Walsall | 9,821 | 3 | .. | .. | +| Warwick | 1,742 | 4 | .. | 15 | +| Wednesbury | 19,807 | 3 | .. | .. | +| W. Staffordshire | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| W. Worcestershr | .. | .. | .. | .. | +| Wolverhampton | 23,559 | 31 | .. | .. | +| Worcester | 5,948 | 59 | .. | 355 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +----------------------------------------------------------------------- +| | County Electors. | | +| --------------------------------------------------- +| Borough, City | |Total No. | | +| or County | L12 | L50 |Owners. | of | M.P.'s | +| Division |Occupiers. |Tenants. | |Electors. |Returned| +------------------------------------------------------------------------ +| Birmingham | .. | .. | .. | 63,221 | 3 | +| Bewdley | .. | .. | .. | 1,276 | 1 | +| Bridgnorth | .. | .. | .. | 1,218 | 1 | +| Coventry | .. | .. | .. | 8,740 | 2 | +| Droitwich | .. | .. | .. | 1,410 | 1 | +| Dudley | .. | .. | .. | 14,834 | 1 | +| E. Staffordshire | 5,106 | 141 | 6,481 | 11,728 | 2 | +| E. Worcestershr. | 4,745 | 567 | 6,931 | 12,243 | 2 | +| Evesham | .. | .. | .. | 825 | 1 | +| Kidderminster | .. | .. | .. | 3,903 | 1 | +| Lichfield | .. | .. | .. | 1,242 | 1 | +| Newcastle (Stff.) | .. | .. | .. | 3,115 | 2 | +| N. Staffordshire | 3,008 | 1,071 | 7,141 | 11,220 | 2 | +| N. Warwickshire | 5,878 | 516 | 5,603 | 11,997 | 2 | +| S. Warwickshire | 2,561 | 688 | 3,253 | 6,502 | 2 | +| Stafford | .. | .. | .. | 3,584 | 2 | +| Stoke-on-Trent | .. | .. | .. | 21,144 | 2 | +| Tamworth | .. | .. | .. | 2,229 | 2 | +| Walsall | .. | .. | .. | 9,824 | 1 | +| Warwick | .. | .. | .. | 1,761 | 2 | +| Wednesbury | .. | .. | .. | 19,810 | 1 | +| W. Staffordshire | 2,715 | 661 | 8,570 | 11,946 | 2 | +| W. Worcestershr | 1,142 | 1,033 | 4,426 | 6,601 | 2 | +| Wolverhampton | .. | .. | .. | 23,590 | 2 | +| Worcester | .. | .. | .. | 6,362 | 1 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + +~Parsonage.~--The Old Parsonage, at the corner of Smallbrook Street and +Pershore Street, an old-fashioned two-storey gabled house, was moated +round and almost hidden by trees, and has been preserved for future +historians in one of David Cox's sketches, which remains as a curious +memento of the once rural appearance of what are now some of the busiest +spots in town. The house was pulled down in 1826. + +~Parson and Clerk.~--A noted publichouse on the old Chester Road is the +Royal Oak, better known as "The Parson and Clerk." An old pamphlet thus +gives the why and wherefore: + + + "There had used to be on the top of the house two figures--one of a + parson leaning his head in prayer, while the clerk was behind him with + uplifted axe, going to chop off his head. These two figures were + placed there by John Gough, Esq., of Perry Hall, to commemorate a law + suit between him and the Rev. T. Lane, each having annoyed the other. + Mr. Lane had kept the Squire out of possession of this house, and had + withheld the licenses, while the latter had compelled the clergyman to + officiate daily in the church, by sending his servants to form a + congregation. Squire Gough won the day, re-built the house in 1788, + and put up the figures to annoy Parson Lane, parsons of all sorts + being out of his good books." + + +~Parsons, Preachers, and Priests of the Past.~--It would be a lengthy +list or make note of all the worthy and reverend gentlemen who have, +from pulpit or platform, lectured and preached to the people in our +town, or who have aided in the intellectual advancement and education of +the rising generation of their time. Church and Chapel alike have had +their good men and true, and neither can claim a monopoly of talent, or +boast much of their superiority in Christian fellowship or love of their +kind. Many shepherds have been taken from their so-called flocks whose +places at the time it was thought could never be filled, but whose very +names are now only to be found on their tombs, or mentioned in old +magazines or newspapers. Some few are here recalled as of interest from +their position, peculiarities, &c. + +_John Angell James_.--A Wiltshire man was John Angell James, who, after +a short course of itinerary preaching came to Birmingham, and for more +than fifty years was the idolised minister of Carr's Lane congregation. +He was a good man and eloquent, having a certain attractive way which +endeared him to many. He lived, and was loved by those who liked him, +till he had reached the age of 74, dying Oct. 1, 1859, his remains being +buried like those of a saint, under the pulpit from which he had so long +preached. + +_Samuel Bache_.--Coming as a Christmas-box to his parents in 1804, and +early trained for the pulpit, the Rev. Samuel Bache joined the Rev. John +Kentish in his ministrations to the Unitarian flock in 1832, and +remained with us until 1868. Loved in his own community for faithfully +preaching their peculiar doctrines, Mr. Bache proved himself a man of +broad and enlightened sympathies; one who could appreciate and support +anything and everything that tended to elevate the people in their +amusements as well as in matters connected with education. + +_George Croft_.--The Lectureship of St. Martin's in the first year of +the present century was vested in Dr. George Croft, one of the good old +sort of Church and King parsons, orthodox to the backbone, but from +sundry peculiarities not particularly popular with the major portion of +his parishioners. He died in 1809. + +_George Dawson_.--Born in London, February 24, 1821, George Dawson +studied at Glasgow for the Baptist ministry, and came to this town in +1844 to take the charge of Mount Zion chapel. The cribbed and crabbed +restraints of denominational church government failed, however, to +satisfy his independent heart, and in little more than two years his +connection with the Mount Zion congregation ceased (June 24, 1846). The +Church of the Saviour was soon after erected for him, and here he drew +together worshippers of many shades of religious belief, and ministered +unto them till his death. As a lecturer he was known everywhere, and +there are but few towns in the kingdom that he did not visit, while his +tour in America, in the Autumn of 1874, was a great success. His +connection with the public institutions of this town is part of our +modern history, and no man yet ever exercised such influence or did more +to advance the intelligence and culture of the people, and, as John +Bright once said of Cobden "it was not until we had lost him that we +knew how much we loved him." The sincerity and honesty of purpose right +through his life, and exhibited in all his actions, won the highest +esteem of even those who differed from him, and the announcement of his +sudden death (Nov. 30, 1876) was felt as a blow by men of all creeds or +politics who had ever known him or heard him. To him the world owes the +formation of the first Shakesperian Library--to have witnessed its +destruction would indeed have been bitter agony to the man who (in +October, 1866) had been chosen to deliver the inaugural address at the +opening of the Free Reference Library, to which he, with friends, made +such an addition. As a preacher, he was gifted with remarkable powers; +as a lecturer, he was unsurpassed; in social matters, he was the friend +of all, with ever-open hand to those in need; as a politician, though +keen at repartee and a hard hitter, he was straightforward, and no +time-server; and in the word of his favourite author, "Take him all in +all, we ne'er shall look on his like again."--See "_Statues_," &c. + +_W. D. Long_.--The Rev. Wm Duncan Long (who died at Godalming, April 12, +1878), according to the _Record_, was "a good man, and full of the Holy +Ghost and of faith." In our local records he is noted as being +distinguished for hard work among the poor of St. Bartholomew's, of +which parish he was minister for many years prior to 1851. + +_Thomas Swann_.--The Rev. Thomas Swann, who came here in January 1829, +after a few years' sojourn in India, served the Cannon Street body for +28 years, during which time he baptised 966 persons, admitting into +membership a total of 1,233. Mr. Swann had an attack of apoplexy, while +in Glasgow, on Sunday, March 7, 1857, and died two days afterwards. His +remains were brought to Birmingham, and were followed to the grave +(March 16) by a large concourse of persons, a number of ministers taking +part in the funeral service. + +_W. L. Giles_.--The Rev. W. Leese Giles, who filled the pulpit in Cannon +Street from Oct., 1863, to July, 1872, was peculiarly successful in his +ministrations, especially among the young. + +_Lewis Chapman_.--The Rev. Lewis Chapman (taken to his fathers Oct. 2, +1877, at the age of 81), after performing the duties and functions of +Rabbi to the local Jewish community for more than forty-five years, was, +from his amiability and benevolence, characterised by many Gentile +friends as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." + +_Hon. G. M. Yorke_.--Brother to the late Earl of Hardwicke, and born in +1809, Mr. Yorke, on finishing his University education, entered the +army, obtaining a commission in the Fourth Dragoons; and, considering +his subsequent connection with Birmingham in a widely different +character, it is curious that his first visit here should have been paid +as an officer of dragoons in the Chartist riots of 1839. Mr. Yorke's +personal tastes, however, led him to prefer the Church to the army, and +he entered into holy orders, the Bishop of Worcester, in 1814, +presenting him to the rectory of St. Philip's: and at a later period he +was nominated Rural Dean. Mr. Yorke held the living of St. Philip's for +the long period of thirty years--until 1874--when the Prime Minister +appointed him Dean of Worcester. During his residence in Birmingham Mr. +Yorke did much public service in connection with various educational +institutions. He promoted good schools in St. Philip's parish, and was +an active member of the committee of the Educational Prize Scheme, and +then of the Education Aid Society, both of them institutions which were +of great value in their day. He also took a strong interest in the +affairs of Queen's College, of which he was for many years the +Vice-president. In the Diocesan Training College, at Saldey, he likewise +took part as a member of the managing body and he was interested in the +School of Art and the Midland Institute. Wherever, indeed, there was +educational work to be done, the Rector of St. Philip's was sure to be +found helping in it; and though there have been many Rectors at the +church it can be truly said that none left more regretted by the poor, +notwithstanding the aristocratic handle to his name, than did Mr. Yorke. +The Hon. and Rev. gentleman died at Worcester, Oct. 2, 1879. + +_J.C. Miller_.--The Rev. John Cale Miller (born at Margate, in 1814), +though only thirty-two, hail already attracted the notice of the +Evangelical Party in the Church, and his appointment to St. Martin's +(Sept. 1846), gave general satisfaction. His reputation as a preacher +had preceded him, and he soon diffused a knowledge of his vigour as a +worker, and his capacity as an administrator. Few men have entered so +quickly into popular favour as Dr. Miller did, which may, perhaps, be +accounted for by the fact that he not only showed a sincere desire to +live in harmony with the Dissenters of all shades, but that he was +prepared to take his full share in the public work of the town, and +determined to be the minister--not of any section of the people, but of +the parish altogether. Under his direction St. Martin's became a model +parish. New facilities were afforded for public worship, schools were +established, parochial institutions multiplied under his hand, an ample +staff of curates and scripture-readers took their share of labour, and +the energies of the lay members of the congregation were called into +active exercise. To the Grammar School, the Midland Institute, the Free +Libraries, the Hospitals and Charities of the town, the Volunteer +movement, &c., he gave most assiduous attention, and as long as he +remained with us, his interest in all public matters never failed. In +the early part of 1866, Dr. Miller was presented to the living at +Greenwich, taking his farewell of the townspeople of Birmingham at a +meeting in the Town Hall, April 21, when substantial proof of the public +goodwill towards him was given by a crowded audience of all creeds and +all classes. A handsome service of plate and a purse of 600 guineas, +were presented to him, along with addresses from the congregation of St. +Martin's, the Charity Collections Committee, the Rifle Volunteers (to +whom he had been Chaplain), the Committees of the Hospitals, and from +the town at large. The farewell sermon to St. Martin's congregation was +preached April 29. In 1871 Dr. Miller was appointed residential Canon of +Worcester, which preferment he soon afterwards exchanged for a Canonry +at Rochester as being nearer to his home, other honours also falling to +him before his death, which took place on the night of Sunday, July 11, +1880. + +_George Peake_.--The Rev. G. Peake, Vicar of Aston, from 1852 to his +death, July 9, 1876, was a ripe scholar and archaeologist, a kind-hearted +pastor, and an effective preacher. + +_Isaiah Birt_.--Mr. Isaiah Birt, a native of Coleford, undertook the +pastorship of Cannon Street in 1800, holding it until Christmas, 1825, +when from ill-health he resigned. The congregation allowed Mr. Birt an +annuity of L100 until his death, in 1837, when he had reached 80 years +of age. + +_Thomas Potts_.--The Rev. Thomas Potts, who died in the early part of +December, 1819, at the age of sixty-and-six, was, according to the +printed funeral oration pronounced at the time, "an accurate, profound, +and cautious theologian," who had conducted the classical studies at +Oscott College for five-and-twenty years with vigour and enthusiasm, and +"a grandeur of ability peculiarly his own." + +_Sacheveral_.--Dr. Sacheveral, the noted and noisy worthy who kicked up +such a rumpus in the days of Queen Anne, was a native of Sutton +Coldfield, and his passing through Birmingham in 1709 was considered +such an event of consequence that the names of the fellows who cheered +him in the streets were reported to Government. + +_Pearce_.--Ordained pastor of Cannon Street, Aug. 18, 1790. Mr. Pearce, +in the course of a short life, made himself one of the most prominent +Baptist divines of the day, the church under his charge increasing so +rapidly that it became the source of great uneasiness to the deacons. +Mr. Pearce took great interest in the missionary cause, preaching here +the first sermon on behalf of the Baptist Missionary Society (Oct., +1792), on which occasion L70 was handed in; he also volunteered to go to +India himself. Suffering from consumption he preached his last sermon +Dec. 2, 1798, lingering on till the 10th of October following, and dying +at the early age of 33. He was buried at the foot of the pulpit stairs. + +_Slater_.--Hutton says that an apothecary named Slater made himself +Rector of St. Martin's during the days of the Commonwealth, and that +when the authorities came to turn him out he hid himself in a dark +corner. This is the individual named in Houghton's "History of Religion +in England" as being brought before the Court of Arches charged with +having forged his letters of orders, with preaching among the Quakers, +railing in the pulpit at the parishioners, swearing, gambling, and other +more scandalous offences. + +_Scholefield_.--The pastor of the Old Meeting Congregation in 1787 was +named Scholefield, and he was the first to properly organise Sunday +Schools in connection with Dissenting places of worship. + +_Robert Taylor_.--The horrible title of "The Devil's Chaplain" was given +the Rev. Robert Taylor, B.A., who in 1819-20 was for short periods +curate at Yardley and at St. Paul's in this town. He had been educated +for the Church, and matriculated well, but adopted such Deistical +opinions that he was ultimately expelled the Church, and more than once +after leaving here was imprisoned for blasphemy. + +_Charles Vince_.--Charles Vince was the son of a carpenter, and was a +native of Surrey, being born at Farnham in 1823. For some years after +reaching manhood Mr. Vince was a Chartist lecturer, but was chosen +minister of Mount Zion Chapel in 1851, and remained with us till Oct. +22, 1874, when he was removed to the world above. His death was a loss +to the whole community, among whom he had none but friends. + +_John Webb_.--The Rev. John Webb, who about 1802 was appointed Lecturer +at St. Martin's and Minister of St. Bartholomew's was an antiquarian +scholar of some celebrity; but was specially valued here (though his +stay was not long) on account of his friendship with Mendelssohn and +Neukomm, and for the valued services he rendered at several Festivals. +He wrote the English adaptation of Winter's "Timoteo," or "Triumph of +Gideon," performed at the Festival of 1823, and other effective pieces +before and after that date, interesting himself in the success of the +Triennials for many years. He died February 18, 1869, in Herefordshire. + +_William Wollaston_.--That eminent English divine, the Rev. William +Wollaston, who was born in the neighbouring county of Stafford, in 1659, +was for several years assistant, and afterwards head master at our Free +Grammar School, but, coming into a rich inheritance, retired. He died in +1724. + +And so the list might go on, with such names as the Rev. Charles Curtis, +of St. Martin's (1784) the Rev. E. Burn, of St. Mary's (1818), the Rev. +John Cook, of St. Bartholomew's (1820), the Rev. W.F. Hook, of Moseley +(1822), afterwards Dean of Christchurch; Dr. Outram, of St. Philip's +(who died in 1821); Rann Kennedy, of St. Paul's; G.S. Bull, of St. +Thomas's; with I. C. Barratt, of St Mary's, and many other clergymen and +ministers, who have departed in these later years. + +~Patents.~--The first patent granted to a Birmingham inventor is dated +May 22, 1722, it being granted to Richard Baddeley for having "with much +pains, labour, and expense, invented and brought to perfection 'An Art +for making streaks for binding Cart and Wagon Wheels and Box Smoothing +Irons' (never yet practised in this our kingdom) which will be more +durable and do three times the service of those made of bar iron," &c., +&c. It is not particularly wonderful that the toyshop of England should +stand first on the list as regards the number of patent grants applied +for and taken out. As Bisset said-- + + + Inventions curious, various kinds of toys, + Engage the time of women, men, and boys; + And Royal patents here are found in scores, + For articles Minute--or pond'rous ores. + + +By the end of 1799 the list shows that 92 patents had been granted to +Birmingham men after Richard Baddeley had brought out his "patent +streaks," and during the present century there have been many hundreds +of designs patented or registered, scores of fortunes being made and +thousands of hands employed, but often the inventors themselves have +sold their rights for trifling amounts or succumbed to the difficulties +that stood in the way of bringing their brainwork into practical use. +Could the records of our County Asylums be thoroughly inspected, it is +to be feared that disappointed inventors would be found more numerous +than any other class of inmates. The costs of taking out, renewing, and +protecting patents were formerly so enormous as practically to prevent +any great improvements where capital was short, and scores of our local +workers emigrated to America and elsewhere for a clearer field wherein +to exercise their inventive faculties without being so weighted down by +patent laws. The Patent Law Amendment Act of 1852 was hailed with +rejoicing, but even the requirements of that Act were found much too +heavy. The Act which came into force Jan. 1, 1884, promises to remedy +many of the evils hitherto existing. By this Act, the fees payable on +patents are as follows:--On application for provisional specification, +L1; on filing complete specification, L3; _or_, on filing complete +specification with the first application, L4. These are all the fees up +to the date of granting a patent. After granting, the following fees are +payable: Before four years from date of patent, L50; and before the end +of eight years from the date of patent, L100. In lieu of the L50 and the +L100 payments, the following annual fees may be paid: Before the end of +the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years. L10 each year; before the +end of the eighth and ninth years, L15 each year; and before the end of +the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth years, L20 each year.--If +the number of words contained in the specifications constitutes the +value of a patent, that taken out by our townsman, James Hardy (March +28, 1844), for an improvement in tube-rolling must have been one of the +most valuable ever known. The specifications filled 176 folios, in +addition to a large sheet of drawings, the cost of an "office copy" +being no less than L12 18s! The _Mechanics' Magazine_ said it could +have all been described in 176 words. + +~Patriotic Fund.~--The local collection for this fund was commenced +October, 25, 1854, and closed February 22, 1858, with a total of L12,936 +17s. 3d. + +~Paving.~--A "patent" was obtained in 1319, 12th Edw. II., to "take toll +on all vendible commodities for three years, to pave the town of +Birmingham;" and as the funds thus raised were not sufficient for such a +"town improvement," another "patent" for the purpose was procured in +1333, 7th Edw. III., the toll being fixed at one farthing on every eight +bushels of corn. What the paving was in the early part of the present +century is best told in the following extract from Bissett's +"Magnificent Directory," published in 1800:-- + + The streets are pav'd, 'tis true, but all the stones + Are set the wrong end up, in shape of cones; + And strangers limp along the best pav'd street, + As if parch'd peas were strew'd beneath their feet, + Whilst custom makes the Natives scarcely feel + Sharp-pointed pebbles press the toe or heel. + +About 1819-20 the roadways were stoned with the aid of a steam +paving-engine, supplied with a row of six heavy rammers, which dropped +on the uneven stones and drove them into the roads, the engine moving +about a foot after each series of blows. A wood roadway was laid in Moor +Street in April, 1873; and in June, 1874, the Council decided also so to +pave New Street, High Street, and Bull Street. At their meeting, June +1876, it was resolved to spend L30,000 a year for six years in paving +streets, and they have done all _that_. + +~Pawnbrokers.~--In December, 1789, a Bill was prepared for presentation +to Parliament "to suppress all pawnbrokers within the town." and to +establish in lieu a general office for pledges. Wonder what our uncles +thought of it. + +~Peace.~--A branch of the Workmen's Peace Association was formed +December 18, 1871. + +~Pebble Mill Pool.~--The last few years a favourite spot for suicides, +no less than thirty-nine persons having drowned themselves there since +1875. Strangely enough there was not a single similar case in the four +years preceding, and only three cases of accidental drownings in the +last 27 years. + +~Peck Lane.~--Originally called Feck Lane, leading out of New Street, +next to the Grammar School, was closed and cleared for the Railway +Station. Steep and narrow as the old thoroughfare was, it was at one +time thought quite as much of as Bull Street. + +~Pearls and Pearl Fisheries.~--A few small pearls are occasionally found +enclosed in the nacre (or mother-of-pearl) of shells cut up for buttons, +&c., but seldom of much value, though it is related that a few years +back a pearl thus discovered by a workman, and handed over to his +employer, was sold for L40, realising L150 afterwards. In March, 1884, +Mr. James Webb, Porchester Street, had the good fortune to find a pearl +weighing 31 grains in an Australian shell he was cutting up, and it has +been valued at L100. As there is a good market here for pearls, no doubt +many others have been found that "have not come to light." A few years +back, "pearl fisheries" of rather an extraordinary kind were here and +there to be found in the outskirts, the prices of good workable shell +having risen to to such an extent that it paid to hunt for and dig up +the scrap flung away in former years, as much as 15s. to 20s. per bag +being obtained for some of these finds. One smart little master who +recollected where his scrap was deposited some years before, in the +neighbourhood of St. Luke's, paid the spot a visit, and finding it still +unbuilt upon, set to work, and carted most of it back, and having +improved tools, made a handsome profit by this resurrection movement.-- +See "_Trades_." + +~Pens.~--The question as to who made the first steel pen has often been +debated; but though Perry and Mason, Mitchell and Gillott, and others +besides, have been named as the real original, it is evident that +someone had come before them; for, in a letter written at least 200 +years back (lately published by the Camden Society), the writer, Mary +Hatton, offered to procure some pens made of steel for her brother, as +"neither the glass pens nor any other sort was near so good." Silver +pens were advertised for sale in the _Morning Chronicle_, in June, 1788, +as well as "fountain pens;" and it has been claimed that an American +supplied his friends with metallic pens a dozen years prior to that +date. There was a Sheffield artisan, too, before our local men came to +the front, who made some pens on the principle of the quill, a long +hollow barrel, pointed and split; but they were considered more in the +light of curiosities than for use, and fetched prices accordingly. Mr. +James Perry is said to have given his workmen 5s. each for making pens, +as late as 1824; and Mr. Gillott got 1s. each for a gross he made on the +morning of his marriage. In 1835, the lowest wholesale price was 5s. per +gross; now they can be had at a trifle over 1d. per gross. Even after +the introduction of presses for the manufacture of steel pens (in 1829), +there was considerable quantities of little machines made here for +cutting quill pens, the "grey goose quill" being in the market for +school use as late as 1855, and many bankers and others have not yet +discarded them. In May, 1853, a quantity of machinery was sent out to +America, where many skilled workmen had gone previously; and now our +Yankee cousins not only make their own pens, and run us close in all +foreign markets, but actually send their productions to Birmingham +itself.--See "_Trades_." + +~People's Hall.~--The foundation stone of the People's Hall, corner of +Loveday and Princip Streets, was laid on Easter Monday, 1841, by General +(then Colonel) Perronet Thompson. The cost of the building was L2,400, +and, as its name implies, it was intended, and for a short time used, as +a place for assemblies, balls, and other public purposes. Like a number +of other "institutions for the people," it came to grief, and has long +been nothing more than a warehouse. + +~Pershore Road~ was laid out in 1825. + +~Perry Barr.~--Three miles from Birmingham, on the road to Lichfield, is +one of the ancient places that can claim a note in Domesday. Prior to +the eighteenth century there had been a wooden bridge over the Tame, the +present curiously-built stone erection, with its recesses to protect the +wayfarers from contact with crossing vehicles, being put up in 1711-12 +by Sir Henry Gough, who received L200 from the county, and contributions +from the neighbouring parishes, towards the cost. The date of the early +church is unknown, the present one being built and endowed by Squire +Gough in 1832. Like other suburbs Perry Barr bids fair to become little +more than an offshoot to Birmingham, the road thereto fast filling up +with villa and other residences, while churches, chapels, and schools +may be seen on all hands. The Literary Institute, built in 1874, at a +cost of L2,000, contains reading and class rooms, lecture hall, &c., +while not far off is a station on the L. and N.W. line. Ferry Hall, the +seat of the Hon. A.C.G. Calthorpe, has been the home of the Lords of the +Manor for many generations. + +~Pest and Plague.~--The year 1665 is generally given as the date of "the +great plague" being here; but the register of St. Martin's Church does +not record any extraordinary mortality in that year. In some of the +"news sheets" of the 17th century a note has been met with (dated Sept. +28, 1631), in which the Justices of the Peace inform the Sheriff that +"the plague had broken out in Deritend, in the parish of Aston, and +spread far more dangerously into Birmingham, a great market town." St. +Martin's registers of burials are missing from 1631 to 1655, and those +of Aston are not get-at-able, and as the latter would record the deaths +in Deritend, there does not appear any certain data to go upon, except +that the plague was not a casual visitor, having visited Coventry in +1603 and 1625, Tamworth in 1606 and 1625, and Worcester in 1825 and +1645, the date generally given (1665) being that of the year when the +most deaths 68,596, occurred in London. The tradition is that the plague +contagion was brought here in a box of clothes conveyed by a carrier +from London. It is said that so many persons died in this town that the +churchyard would not hold the bodies, and the dead were taken to a +one-acre piece of waste land at Ladywood Green, hence known for many +generations as the "Pest Ground." The site has long been built over, but +no traces of any kind of sepulture were found when house foundations +were being laid. + +~Pewter.~--To have bright pewter plates and dishes ranged on their +kitchen shelves was once the delight and the pride of all well-to-do +housewives, and even the tables of royalty did not disdain the pewter. +At the grand dinner on George IV.'s Coronation-day, though gold and +silver plate was there in abundance for the most noble of the noble +guests, the majority were served on brightly-burnished pewter, supplied +from Thomason's of Birmingham. The metal is seldom seen now except in +the shape of cups and measures used by publicans. + +~Philanthropic Collections.~--The following are a few not mentioned in +previous pages:--A local fund for the relief of sufferers by famine in +Asia Minor was opened May 6, 1875, the amount collected being L682.--In +1875, a little over L1,700 was gathered to aid the sufferers from the +inundations in France that year.--November 25, 1878, at a meeting held +to sympathise with the losers through the failure of the Glasgow Bank +more than L1,000 was subscribed; L750 being gathered afterwards.--The +Mayor's Relief Fund, in the winter-time of 1878-79, totalled up to +L10,242, of which L9,500 was expended in relief, L537 in expenses, and +the balance divided between the Hospitals. The number of separate gifts +or donations to the poor was 500,187, equivalent to relieving once +108,630 families. + +~Philanthropic Societies.~--Are as numerous as they are various, and the +amount of money, and money's worth, distributed each year is something +surprising. The following are the principal ones:-- + +_Aged Women_.--A society was commenced here in 1824 for the relief of +poor women over 60 years of age, and there are now on the books the +names of nearly 200 who receive, during the year, in small amounts, an +average of 17s to 18s. each. Miss Southall, 73, Wellington Road, is one +of the Hon. Sees., who will be pleased to receive additional +subscriptions. Fifty other aged women are yearly benefitted through +Fentham's Trust.--See "_Blue Coat School_." + +_Architects_.--There is a Benevolent Society in connection with the +Royal Institute of British Architects, for relieving poor members of the +profession, their widows, or orphans. The local representative is Mr. F. +Cross, 14A, Temple Row. + +_Aunt Judy's Work Society_.--On the plan of one started in London a few +years back; the object being to provide clothes for poor children in the +Hospitals. The secretary is Mrs. W. Lord, Brakendale, Farquhar Road, +Edgbaston. + +_Bibles, etc_.--The Birmingham Depository of the British and Foreign +Bible Society is at 40, Paradise Street; and that of the Christian +Knowledge Society is at 92, New Street. + +_Boarding-out Poor Children_.--A Ladies' Society for Befriending Pauper +Children by taking them from the Workhouse and boarding them out among +cottagers and others in the country, had been quietly at work for some +dozen years before the Marston Green Homes were built, but whether the +latter rule-of-thumb experiment will prove more successful than that of +the ladies, though far more costly, the coming generation must decide. + +_Boatmen's Friend Society_.--A branch of the British Seamen's and +Boatmen's Friend Society, principally for the supply of religious +education to the boatmen and their families on the canals, the +distribution among them of healthy literature, and the support of the +work carried on at the Boatmen's Hall, Worcester Wharf, where the +Superintendent (Rev. R.W. Cusworth) may be found. The subscriptions in +1882 amounted to L416. + +_Church Pastoral Aid Society_.--The name tells what subscriptions are +required for, and the Rev. J.G. Dixon, Rector of St. George's, will be +glad to receive them. The grants of the Parent Society to Birmingham in +1882 amounted to L3,560, while the local subscriptions were only L1,520. + +_Clergymen's Widows_.--The Society for Necessitous Clergy within the +Archdeaconry of Coventry, whose office is at 10, Cherry Street, has an +income from subscriptions, &c., of about L320 per year, which is mainly +devoted to grants to widows and orphans of clergymen, with occasional +donations to disabled wearers of the cloth. + +_Deritend Visiting and Parochial Society_, established in 1856. Meeting +at the Mission Hall, Heathmill Lane, where Sunday Schools, Bible +classes, Mothers' Meetings, &c., are conducted. The income for 1883 was +L185 7s. 4d., and the expenditure L216 16s. 7d., leaving a balance to be +raised. + +_District Nursing Society_, 56, Newhall Street, has for its object the +nursing of sick poor at their own homes in cases of necessity. In 1883 +the number of cases attended by the Society's nurses was 312, requiring +8,344 visits. + +_Domestic Missions_, of one kind and another, are connected with all the +principal places of worship, and it would be a difficult task to +enumerate them. One of the earliest is the Hurst Street Unitarian, +dating from 1839. + +_Flower Mission_.--At No. 3, Great Charles Street, ladies attend every +Friday to receive donation of flowers, &c., for distribution in the +wards of the Hospitals, suitable texts and passages of Scripture +accompanying the gifts to the patients. + +_Girls' Friendly Society_.--The local Branch, of which there are several +sub (or parochial) branches, has on its books near upon 1,400 names of +young women in service, &c., whose welfare and interests are looked +after by a number of clergymen and ladies in connection with the Church +of England. + +_Humane Society_.--A Branch on the plan of the London Society was +established here in 1790, but it was found best to incorporate it with +the General Hospital in 1803. + +_India_.--A Branch of the Christian Vernacular Education Society for +India was formed here in 1874. There are several branches in this town +and neighbourhood of the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction +Society for making known the Gospel to the women of India, and about +L600 per year is gathered here. + +_Iron, Hardware, and Metal Trades' Pension Society_ was commenced in +this town in 1842. Its head offices are now in London; the local +collector being Mr. A. Forrest, 32, Union Street. + +_Jews and Gentiles_.--There are local Auxiliary Branches here of the +Anglo-Jewish Association, the Society for Promoting Christianity among +the Jews, and the British Society for Propagating the Gospel among Jews, +the amounts subscribed to each in 1882 being L72, L223, and L29 +respectively. + +_Kindness to Animals_.--Mainly by the influence and efforts of Miss +Julia Goddard, in 1875, a plan was started of giving prizes among the +scholars and pupil teachers of the Board Schools for the best written +papers tending to promote kindness to animals. As many as 3,000 pupils +and 60 teachers send papers in every year, and the distribution of 500 +prizes is annually looked forward to with interest. Among the prizes are +several silver medals--one (the champion) being given in memory of Mr. +Charles Darwin, another in memory of Mr. E.F. Flower, a third (given by +Mr. J.H. Chamberlain) in memory of Mr. George Dawson, and a fourth given +by the Mayor. + +_Ladies' Useful Work Association_.--Established in 1877 for the +inculcating habits of thrift and the improvement of domestic life among +mothers of families and young people commencing married life. A start +was made (Oct. 4) in the shape of a series of "Cookery Lessons," which +were exceedingly well attended. Series of useful lectures and lessons +have followed since, all bearing on home life, and as it has been shown +that nearly one-half of the annual number of deaths in Birmingham are +those of children under 5 years of age, it is to be hoped that the +"useful work" the ladies of the Association have undertaken may be +resultive in at least decreasing such infantile mortality. Office, No. +1, Broad Street Corner. In March, 1883, the ladies had a balance in hand +of L88. + +_Needlework Guild_,--Another Ladies' Association of a similar character +to the above was established April 30, 1883. + +_Negroes' Friends_.--When slavery was as much a British as American +institution it was not surprising that a number of lady residents should +form themselves, in 1825, into a Negroes' Friend Society. The funds now +collected, nearly L170 a year, are given in grants to schools on the +West Coast of Africa and the West Indies, and in donations to the +Freedmen's Aid Society, the Anti-Slavery Society, &c. + +_Old Folks' Tea Party_.--In 1857, a few old people were given a treat +just prior to Christmas, and the good folks who got it up determined to +repeat it. The next gatherings were assembled at the Priory Rooms, but +in a few years it became needful to engage the Town Hall, and there +these treats, which are given biennially, are periodically held. At the +last gathering there attended over 700, not one of whom was under sixty +years of age, while some were long past their three-score and ten, and a +few bordered on ninety. The funds are raised by the sale of tickets (to +be given by the purchasers to such old people they think deserve it), +and by subscriptions, the recipients of the treat not only having that +enjoyment, but also take home with them warm clothing and other usefuls +suited to their time of life. + +_Prevention of Cruelty to Animals_.--Birmingham Society for this purpose +was established in 1852, and its officers have frequently been the means +of punishing inhuman brutes who cruelly treated the animals entrusted to +their care. Cases of this kind should be reported to Mr. B. Scott, the +Society's Secretary, 31, Bennett's Hill. In 1882, 125 persons were +summoned, and 107 of them convicted, the year's expenditure being L344. + +_Religious Tract Society_.--A local auxiliary was established here in +1853 in which year L409 were realised, by the sale of books, tracts, and +religious periodicals; in 1863 that amount was quadrupled; in 1873 the +receipts were nearly L2,000. Last year (1883) the value of the sales +reached L2,597, and, in addition, there had been free grants made of +more than 13,000 tracts and magazines--the Hospitals, Lunatic Asylums, +Workhouses, Police Stations, Cabmen's Rests, &c., being supplied +gratuitously. + +_St. John Ambulance Association_.--The Birmingham Branch of this +Association was organised in 1881, and some hundreds of both sexes have +since then passed the examination, and obtained certificates of their +proficiency in ambulance work, and in the treatment of ordinary cases of +accident or sudden illness. It would be a good thing if every man and +woman in the town had similar knowledge, and would make use of it when +occasions require quick thought and ready hand. The secretary is Mr. +J.K. Patten, 105, Colmore Row. + +_St. Thomas's Day Charity_.--A very old custom in Edgbaston has been the +collection of donations for a Christmas distribution to the poor and old +of the parish. Regular accounts have been booked for over fifty years, +but how much longer the custom has existed is uncertain. At first, money +only was given, afterwards part was given in bread and packets of tea, +while of later years a stock of about 500 blankets has been provided for +lending out. The receipts per year are about L200. + +_True Blues_.--In 1805 a number of young men who had been brought up at +the Blue Coat School and who called themselves the "Grateful Society," +united their contributions and presented that charity with L52 10s. 3d. +in gratitude for the benefits they had received, a worthy plan which was +followed for several years. These same young men originated the "United +Society of True Blues" (composed of members who had been reared in the +School) for the purpose of forming a fund for the relief of such of +their number as might be in distress, and further to raise periodical +subscriptions for their old school, part of which is yearly expended in +prizes among the children. + +~Philanthropic and Benevolent Institutions~--Birmingham cannot be said +ever to have wanted for charitable citizens, as the following list of +philanthropic institutions, societies, and trusts will show:-- + +_Blind Institution_, Carpenter Road, Edgbaston.--The first establishment +in this town for teaching the blind was opened at 113, Broad Street, in +March, 1847, with five boarders and twelve day pupils. At Midsummer, in +the following year, Islington House was taken, with accommodation for +thirteen resident and twelve day scholars, but so well did the public +meet the wishes of the patrons and committee of the Institution, that +the latter were soon in a position to take upon lease a site for a +permanent building (two acres, at L40 a year for 99 years), and on the +23rd of April, 1851, the corner-stone was laid of the present handsome +establishment near to Church Road, the total cost of completion being +about L7,000. Nearly another L7,000 has since been expended in the +erection of workrooms, master's residence, in furniture, musical +instruments, tools, &c., and the Institution may be considered in as +flourishing a condition as any in the town. The 37th annual report (to +Lady-day, 1884), stated that the number of in-door pupils during the +past year had been 86--viz., 51 males and 35 females. In the same period +4 paid teachers, 15 out-door blind teachers and workmen, and 4 females +had been employed. The number of adult blind residing at their own +homes, and visited by the blind teachers engaged in this department of +the work was 253. The total number of persons benefited by the +institution was therefore 362. The financial statement showed that the +expenditure had been L6,067 2s. 7d., of which L1,800 had been invested +in Birmingham Corporation Stock. The receipts amounted to L6,403 7s. +9d., leaving a balance of L336 5s. 2d. in the treasurer's hands. The +statement of receipts and payments on behalf of the adult blind +home-teaching branch, which are kept separately, showed a balance due to +the treasurer of L71 5s. 9d. + +_Bloomsbury Institution_.--Commencing in 1860 with a small school, Mr. +David Smith has gradually founded at Bloomsbury an institution which +combines educational, evangelistic, and missionary agencies of great +value to the locality. The premises include a mission hall, lecture +room, class rooms, &c., in addition to Cottage Homes for orphan and +destitute children, who are taught and trained in a manner suited to the +future intended for them in Canada. The expenditure of the Institution +is now about L1,500 a year, but an amount equal to that is wanted for +enlargement of buildings, and other philanthropists will do well to call +upon their brother Smith. + +_Children's Day Nursery_, The Terrace, Bishopgate Street, was first +opened in 1870, to take care of the children in cases where the mothers, +or other guardians, have to go to work. + +About 6,000 of the little ones are yearly looked after, at a cost of +somewhat under L200. Parties wishing to thus shelter their children must +prove the latter's legitimacy, and bring a recommendation from employer +or some one known to the manager. + +_Children's Emigration Homes_, St. Luke's Road.--Though ranking among +our public institutions, the philanthropic movement of picking up the +human waifs and strays of our dirty back streets may be said to have +hitherto been almost solely the private work of our benevolent townsman, +Mr. Middlemore. The first inmate received at the Homes (in 1872) was a +boy who had already been in prison three times, and the fact that that +boy is now a prosperous man and the owner of a large farm in Canada, +should be the best of all claims to the sympathy and co operation of the +public in the beneficent work of placing out "Street Arabs" in new homes +where they will have equal chances of getting on in the world. The batch +of children leaving this town (June 11, 1884), comprised 110 boys and 50 +girls, making the total number of 912 sent out by Mr. Middlemore in the +twelve years.--In connection with the Bloomsbury Institution there is +also a Children's Home, from which 23 children have been sent to Canada, +and at which some 30 others are at present being trained ready to go. + +_Deaf and Dumb Institution_, Church Road, Edgbaston.--This is the only +institution of its kind within a radius of a hundred miles, and was the +second established in England. Its founder was Dr. De Lys, an eminent +physician, resident here in 1810, in which year a society was +established for its formation. The first house occupied was in Calthorpe +Road (1812), Lord Calthorpe giving the use of the premises until the +erection of the institution in Church Road, in 1814. The school, at +first, would accommodate only a score of pupils, but from time to time +additions were made, and in 1858 the whole establishment was remodelled +and enlarged, at a cost of L3,000, so that now there is room for 120. +The number on the books at Midsummer, 1883, was 109--64 boys and 45 +girls. The year's receipt's amounted to L3,152 12s. 4d., and the +expenditure to L2,932 12s. 8d. The children, who are elected at the +annual meeting of subscribers in September, are received from all parts +of the kingdom, but must not be under eight or over thirteen years of +age. Subscribers of a guinea have the right of voting at the elections, +and the committee have also power to admit children, on an annual +payment of L25. The parents or guardians of the elected candidates, must +pay L6 per year towards clothing, &c. The office of the Secretary is at +City Chambers, 82 New Street. + +_Friendless Girls_.--The Ladies' Association (established 1878) for the +recovery of girls who have given way to temptation for a short time, or +who have been convicted of a first offence, has been the means of +rescuing many from the streets and from a life of crime. The Home is in +Spring Road, and Mrs. Pike, Sir Harry's Road, is the treasurer, to whom +contributions can be sent; and that they will be welcome is shown by the +fact that there is a balance at present against the Institution's funds. + +_Girls' Home_, Bath Row, established in 1851, to provide shelter for +young women of good character, when out of situations. A free registry +is kept, and over 300 girls avail themselves of the Home every year. + +_Girls' Training Institution_, George Road, Edgbaston, was opened in +1862, to prepare young girls from twelve to fifteen, for domestic +service. + +_Industrial and Reformatory Schools_.--Gem Street Industrial School, for +the recovery of boys who had began a life of crime, was opened in 1850, +and at the close of 1883 it contained 149 boys, under the charge of nine +officers. + +According to the report of Her Majesty's Inspector, the boys cost 7s. +8d. per head per week, but there was an industrial profit of L601 11s. +4d., L309 0s. 11d. having been received for hire of boys' labour. The +Treasury paid L1,350 14s., the rates no less than L1,007 18s. 11d., and +subscriptions brought in L83 13s. Of 125 discharges, only 40 per cent, +were reported to be doing well, 4 per cent, convicted, 16 per cent, +doubtful, and as many as 40 per cent, unknown.--_Penn Street_ School, +an establishment of a similar character, was certified in Jan., 1863. +There were 60 boys and 5 officers. The boys cost only 5s. 6d. per head +per week. The school received L67 16s. 11d. from the Treasury, L275 0s. +10d. from the rates, L93 2s. from subscriptions, and L100 9s. 3d. from +the hire of boy labour. There is an industrial profit of L136 19s, 11d. +Of 37 discharges 70 per cent, are said to be doing well, 6 per cent, to +be re-convicted, 3 per cent, dead, and 21 per cent, unknown.--At +_Shustoke_ School, certified in February, 1868, there were 130 boys, +under 11 officers. The boys cost 6s. 8d. per head per week. L1,580 17s. +11d. had been received from the Treasury; L1,741 16s. from the rates, of +which, however, L1,100 had been spent in building, &c.; industrial +profit, L109 3s. 7d. Of 27 discharges 74 per cent, were reported to be +doing well, 18 per cent, to be convicted, 4 per cent, to be doubtful, +and 4 per cent, to be unknown.--_Saltley_ Reformatory was established in +1852. There were 91 boys under detention and 16 on license at the time +of the inspector's visit; 9 officers. This school received L1,371 14s. +3d. from the Treasury, L254 19s. 1d. from the rates, and L99 16s. 6d. +from subscriptions. The boys cost 6s 8d. per head per week, and there +was L117 9s. 10d. industrial profit, representing the produce of their +labour. Of 74 boys discharged in 1879-81, 69 per cent are reported to be +doing well, 19 per cent. to be reconvicted, and 12 per cent. unknown.-- +At _Stoke Farm_ Reformatory, established in 1853, there were 78 boys +under detention, in charge of 10 officers; and 19 on license. Stoke +received L1,182 19s. 8d. from the Treasury, L102 17s. 6d. from the +rates, and L100 from subscriptions. The boys cost 6s. 11d. per head per +week, and there was an industrial profit of L18 14s. 11d. Of 62 boys +discharged in 1879-81, 76 per cent, were reported to be doing well, 16 +per cent. to be convicted of crime, 5 per cent. doubtful, 11/2 per cent. +dead, 11/2 per cent. unknown. + +_Licensed Victuallers' Asylum_, Bristol Road, founded in 1848, to +receive and maintain for life distressed members of the trade and their +wives or widows.--The Secretary is Mr. H.C. Edwards, The Quadrant, New +Street.--See. "_Trade Societies_." + +_Little Sisters' Home_.--Founded in 1864, by three French and two +English members of the Catholic "Order of Little Sisters of the Poor," +the first home being at one of the large houses in the Crescent, where +they sheltered, fed, and clothed about 80 aged or broken-down men and +women. In 1874 the Sisters removed to their present establishment, at +Harborne, where they minister to nearly double the number. The whole of +this large family are provided for out of the scraps and odds-and-ends +gathered by the Sisters from private houses, shops, hotels, restaurants, +and bars of the town, the smallest scraps of material crusts of bread, +remains of meat, even to cigar ends, all being acceptable to the black +robed ladies of charity daily seen in the town on their errand of mercy. +Though essentially a Catholic institution, the "Little Sisters" bestow +their charity irrespective of creed, Protestants being admitted and +allowed freely to follow their own religious notions, the only +preference made being in favour of the most aged and destitute. + +_Magdalen Asylum and Refuge_.--First established in 1828, the chapel in +Broad Street being opened in 1839. Removed to Clarendon Road, Edgbaston, +in 1860. There are usually from 35 to 40 inmates, whose labour provides +for great part of the yearly expenditure; and it is well that it is so, +for the subscriptions and donations from the public are not sent in so +freely as could be wished. The treasurer is Mr. S.S. Lloyd. + +_Medical Mission_.--Opened in Floodgate Street, Deritend, in 1875. While +resembling other medical charities for the relief of bodily sickness, +this mission has for its chief aim the teaching of the Gospel to the +sick poor, and in every house that may be visited. That the more worldly +part of the mission is not neglected is shown by the fact that the +expenditure for the year ending Michaelmas, 1883, reached L643. + +_Night Refuges_.--Mr. A.V. Fordyce, in July, 1880, opened a night asylum +in Princess Road, for the shelter of homeless and destitute boys, who +were supplied with bed and breakfast. The necessity for such an +institution was soon made apparent by larger premises being required, +and the old police station, corner of Bradford Street and Alcester +Street, was taken. This has been turned into a "Home," and it is never +short of occupants, other premises being opened in 1883, close to +Deritend Bridge, for the casual night-birds, the most promising of whom +are transferred to the Home after a few days' testing. A somewhat +similar Refuge for Girls has also been established, and if properly +supported by the public, these institutions must result in much good. + +_Nurses_.--Tim Birmingham and Midland Counties' Training Institution for +Nurses, organised in 1868, has its "Home" in the Crescent. It was +founded for the purpose of bringing skilled nursing to the homes of +those who would otherwise be unable to obtain intelligent aid in +carrying out the instructions of their medical attendants. The +subscription list for 1882 amounted to L282 1s., and the sum to the +credit of the nurses pension fund to L525 1s. The committee earnestly +appeal for increased support, to enable them to extend the work of the +institution, from which at present the services of four nurses are +granted to the District Nursing Society, Newhall Street, for attendance +on the sick poor. The staff included 66 trained nurses, with 18 +probationers, the latter passing for their training through the General, +Children's, and Homoeopathic Hospitals. The nurses from the "Home" +attend on an average over 500 families in the year, those from the +District Society conferring their services on nearly 200 other families. + +_Protestant Dissenting Charity School_, Graham Street.--This is one of +the oldest of our philanthropical institutions, having been established +in 1760--the first general meeting of subscribers being held June 22, +1761. The first house taken for the purposes of the charity was in New +Meeting Street, and both boys and girls were admitted, but since 1813 +only girls have received its benefits. These are taken from any +locality, and of any Protestant denomination, being housed, fed, +clothed, educated and trained for domestic servants. There are usually +about 45 to 48 inmates, the cost per child averaging in 1883 (for 56 +girls) nearly L20 per head. At the centenary in 1861 a fund of nearly +L1,500 was raised by public subscription in aid of the institution, +which has but a small income from investments. Subscribers of a guinea +per year have the right of nominating and voting for the admission of +one child every year. The present home in Graham Street was erected in +1839, and application should be made to the matron for information or +for servant girls. + +_Sanatorium_, situated at Blackwell, near Bromsgrove.--This +establishment, which cost L15,750, of which L2,000 was given by Miss +Ryland, was built to provide a temporary home, with pure air, rest, and +nourishing diet for convalescent patients, who otherwise might have had +to pine away in the close-built quarters of this and neighbouring towns. +The buildings, which will accommodate sixty persons, were opened April +16, 1873, and take the place of a smaller establishment to which Miss +Ryland had devoted for some years a house at Sparkbrook. The average +number of inmates is put at fifty, and the number who passed through the +house in 1883 was 1,052, the expenditure for the year being L1,780 8s. +The income was derived from annual subscriptions, L901 10s.; special +subscriptions, L347 11s. 6d.; paid by hospitals for maintenance of +patients, L192 6s.; grant from the General Hospital, L26 5s.; share of +Hospital Saturday collection, L211 Os. 4d. The Secretary, from whom all +information can be received as to terms of special and other tickets, is +Mr. E.J. Bigwood, 3, Temple Row West. + +_Servants' Home and Training Institution_, established in 1860, finds +shelter for a time to as many as 240 young women in the course of a +year, many looking upon it as the only home they have when out of a +situation. In connection with it is a "training school" and laundry, +where a score or more girls are taught. Both parts of the institution +pay their way, receipts and expenditure (L180 and L350 respectively) +generally balancing. The Servants' Home is at 30, Bath Row, where there +is a Registry for servants, and also for sick and monthly nurses. + +_Town Mission_--Established in 1837, and re-modelled in 1850. This +institution seeks work in a variety of ways, its agents visiting the +homes of the poor, the wards of the Hospitals, the lodging-houses, and +even the bedsides of the patients in the smallpox and fever hospitals. +In addition to the providing and looking after the "Cabmen's Rests," of +which there are sixteen in the town, the Mission employs a Scripture +reader specially to deal with the deaf and dumb members of the +community, about 200 in number. At the Noel Road Refuge (opened in 1859) +about 40 inmates are received yearly, and at Tindal House (opened in +1864) about half that number, the two institutions having (to end of +1883) sheltered 1,331 females, of whom nearly a thousand have been +brought back to moral and industrious habits. The income of the Society +for 1883 was L1,690 17s. 3d., the expenditure being a little over that +amount, though the laundries connected with the Refuges more than pay +their way. The office is at the Educational Chambers; 90, New Street. + +_Young Men's Christian Association_.--Instituted in 1849; incorporated +in 1873. For many years its meetings were held at the Clarendon +Chambers, but when the notorious "Sultan Divan" was closed in Needless +Alley, it was taken for the purposes of this institution, the most +appropriate change of tenancy that could possibly be desired, the +attractions of the glaring dancing-rooms and low-lived racket giving +place to comfortable reading-rooms, a cosy library, and healthy +amusements. Young men of all creeds may here find a welcome, and +strangers to the town will meet friends to guide them in choice of +companions, or in securing comfortable homes.--A similar Association is +that of the Church of England Y.M.C.A., at 30, Paradise Street, which +was commenced in 1849, and numbers several hundred members.--At a +Conference held Nov. 24, 1880, it was decided to form a Midland District +Union of Y.M.C.A.s in this and the surrounding counties. + +_Young Women's Christian Association_, 3, Great Charles Street.--The +idea of forming an institute for young women was first mooted in 1874, a +house being taken for the purpose in Colmore Row in 1876, but it was +removed to Great Charles Street in 1882, where lodgings may be obtained +for 2s. 6d. a week. From returns sent in from various branches in +connection with the Association, it would appear that the number of +members in Birmingham was 1,500, which says much or its popularity among +the class it was intended to benefit. + +~Philanthropic Trust Funds.~--That our predecessors forgot not charity +is well proved, though some of the "Trusts" read strangely in these +days. + +_Apprenticing Poor Boys_.--A favourite bequest in past days was the +leaving of funds for apprenticing poor lads to useful trades, and when +workmen were so scarce and valuable that the strong arm of the law was +brought in to prevent their emigrating or removing, doubtless it was a +useful charity enough. Now-a-days the majority of masters do not care +about the small premiums usually paid out of these trusts, and several +such charities have been lost sight of or become amalgamated with +others. The funds, however, left by George Jackson, 1696, and by Richard +Scott, 1634, are still in the hands of trustees, and to those whom it +may concern, Messrs. Horton and Lee, Newhall street, solicitors to both +trusts, will give all needful information. + +_Banner's Charity_.--Richard and Samuel Banner, in 1716, left some land +at Erdington, towards providing clothing for two old widows and +half-a-dozen old men, the balance, if any, to be used in apprenticing +poor boys in Birmingham, + +_Dudley Trust_.--Mr. William Dudley, at his decease in 1876 left +L100,000 on trust for the purpose of assisting young tradesmen +commencing business on their own account, to relieve aged tradesmen of +the town who had not succeeded in life, and lastly to benefit the +charities of the town. The rules require that applicants must be under +fifty years of age; that they must reside within the limits of the +borough; that they must not have been set up in business more than three +years; that they must give satisfactory proof of their honesty, +sobriety, and industry; and that they must give satisfactory security to +the Trustees, either personal, viz., by bond with two or more sureties +[each surety must give two or three references], or upon freehold, +copyhold, or leasehold properties. All these conditions being +satisfactorily met, the loans, which will be made free of cost, will +bear interest at 2-1/2 per cent. per annum, payable half-yearly, and +must be repaid within five years, and if the money is wanted for more +than two years, repayments by instalments must then commence. The +benefactions to aged persons take the shape of grants, annual or +otherwise, not exceeding L20 in any one year, in favour of persons who +fulfil the following requirements: They must be of the age of sixty +years at least, they must have been tradesmen within the limits of the +borough; and they must be able to show to the satisfaction of the +Trustees that they are of good character and need assistance, and that +they have not received any parochial relief. The Trustees have made +several large grants to charitable institutions. Offices: 20, Temple +Row. + +_Fentham's Charity_.--In 1712 George Fentham left about one hundred +acres of land in Handsworth and Erdington Parishes, in trust, to teach +poor children to read, and to clothe poor widows. The property, when +devised, was worth L20 per year. At the end of the century it was valued +at L100 per year; and it now brings in nearly L460. The twenty children +receiving the benefits of this charity are admitted to the Blue Coat +School, and are distinguished by their dress of dark green. Some fifty +widows yearly share in the clothing gifts. + +_Food and Clothing_.--John Crowley, in 1709, bequeathed an annuity o +20s. chargeable on property in the Lower Priory, to be expended in +"sixpenny bread" for the poor at Christmas.--Some land at Sutton +Coldfield was left, in 1681, by John Hopkins, to provide clothing and +food for the poor of St. Martin's.--Palmer's Charity, 1867, finds about +L40 per annum, which is distributed among eighty recipients selected by +the Town Council, the majority being poor old women, who go for their +doles Dec. 12th.--In addition to the above there have been a number of +minor charities left to the churchwardens for providing food and +clothing which have either been lost sight of, or mixed up with others, +some dating as far back as 1629-30. + +_George Hill's Charity_ is now of the value of nearly L5,000, bringing +in about L120 yearly. Of this 52s. goes to the churchwardens of the +parish church to provide bread for the most necessitous and aged poor; +20s. to the incumbent of Deritend, and the residue in pensions of not +more than L20 to decayed schoolmasters and schoolmistresses. + +_Hollier's Charity_ was devised in 1789, the land now known as Highgate +Park (originally 10 acres) being left to clothe, annually, twenty poor +persons, twelve from Birmingham and eight from Aston. The purchase money +paid by the Corporation has been invested, and, under the direction of +the Charity Commissioners, the income of this charity is appropriated +thus:--L50 for clothing for twelve poor men or women of Birmingham, and +eight ditto of Aston; L25 for relieving deserving and necessitous +persons discharged from Borough Lunatic Asylum; L150 to the Dispensaries +of Birmingham and Aston; L25 each to the Children's Hospital and the +Sanatorium; and the remainder to the General Hospital. + +_James's Trust_, of 1869, which realises about L1,000 per year, was left +to provide homes and pensions for deserving widows and others; five +annuities for poor and decayed gentlewomen; and a scholarship at the +Grammar School. The Secretary is the Vicar of St. Clement's, Nechells. + +_Kylcuppe's Charity_.--Sept. 19, 1611. Richard Kylcuppe devised certain +land at Sparkbrook for charitable purposes, the income of which is now +handed to the General Hospital and General Dispensary, as nearly as +possible following the testator's wishes. + +_Lench's Trust_, which dates from 1539, is one of the most important +charities of the town, and has an income of over L3,000 a year at +present. The original objects of the trust were repairing the streets of +the town and relief to poor. From time to time other charities have been +incorporated, and the funds administered with those of Lench's Trust. +Among these are the "Bell Rope" fund for purchasing ropes for St. +Martin's Belfry, the donor of which is not known; Colmore's Charity, +dating from 1585, for relieving the poor and repairing streets; +Redhill's and Shilton's (about 1520), for like purposes; Kylcuppe's +1610, for the poor, and a small sum towards repairing the church; +Vesey's 1583, known as the "Loveday Croft" gift; Ward's 1573, and +Wrexam's, 1568, both for gifts to the poor on Good Friday; Ann Scott's, +1808, providing small amounts to be given to the inmates of the +Almshouses, &c. The Trust now maintains four sets of almshouses +(Conybere Street, Hospital Street, Ravenhurst Street, and Ladywood), +accommodating 184 inmates, all women, who receive 5s. a week each, with +firing, medical advice and medicines when necessary, and sundry other +small comforts beloved by old grannies. The solicitors to the Trust are +Messrs. Horton and Lee, Newhall Street. The income of Lench's Trust for +the year 1883 amounted to L3,321 10s., of which L1,825 14s. went to the +almswomen, L749 1s. 8d. for matrons, doctors, and expenses at the +almshouses, L437 9s. 4d. for repairs, insurance, rates, and taxes, and +L309 5s. for clerks, collectors, auditors, law and surveyor's charges, +printing, &c. + +_Milward's Charity_.--John Milward in 1654 left property then worth L26 +per annum and the Red Lion public-house (worth another L26, but which +could never be traced out), to be devided between the governors of the +Free Grammar Schools of Birmingham and Haverfordwest and Brazennose +College, for the support at the said college of one student from the +above schools in rotation. The Red Lion having been swallowed up at a +gulp; the other property would appear to have been kept as a +nibbling-cake, for till the Charity Commissioners visited here in 1827 +no scholar had ever been sent to college by its means. The railways and +canals have taken most of the property of this trust, the invested +capital arising from the sales bringing in now about L650 per year, +which is divided between the two schools and the college above named, +the Birmingham portion being sufficient to pay for two scholarships +yearly. + +The _Nichol Charity_ provides for the distribution of bread and coals to +about 100 people on New Year's Day, by the vicar and churchwardens of +St. David's. + +_Old Maids and Widows_.--About L40 per year are divided by the Rector +and Churchwardens of St. Philip's amongst ten old maids "or single women +of virtuous character," and twelve poor widows attending divine service +there, the invested money arising from Shelton's Charity, 1826, and +Wilkinson's Charity, 1830.--Thomas Pargeter (of Foxcote) in 1867, left +money in trust, to provide annuities of L20 each, to unmarried ladies of +fifty-five or more, professing Unitarianism, and about 100 are now +reaping the fruit of his charity. Messrs. Harding and Son, Waterloo +Street, are the solicitors. + +_Ridduck's Trust_, for putting poor boys out apprentice, was devised in +1728, the property consisting of a farm at Winson Green. By direction of +the Court of Chancery, the income is now divided, L70 to Gem Street Free +Industrial School, and L20 to the British School, Severn Street. The +Trustees include the Mayor, the Rectors of St. Martin's, St. Philip's, +St. Thomas's, St. George's, several Nonconformist ministers, and the +Registrar of the Society of Friends. + +_Preaching Sermons_.--By Salusbury's Charity, 1726, the Rectors of St. +Martin's and St. Philip's are entitled to the sum of 15s to preach +sermons once a year for the benefit of the Blue Coat School--Ingram's +Charity, 1818, consisting of the yearly interest of L500 4 per cent. +India Stock, was intended to insure the preaching of an annual sermon on +the subject of kindness to animals (especially to the horse) by a local +clergyman of the Established Church, but the Governors of King Edward's +School, who are the trustees, have obtained the sanction of the Charity +Commissioner to a scheme under which sermons on kindness to animals may +take the form of one or more free lectures on the kind treatment of +animals, and especially of the horse, to be delivered in any place of +public worship, or other building or room approved by the trustees, and +not necessarily, as heretofore, by a clergyman of the Established +Church, and in a church. + +_Scripture Reading_.--In 1858 Admiral Duff left a sum of money, which +brings in about L45 per year, for the maintenance of a Scripture Reader +for the town of Birmingham. The trustee of this land is the Mayor for +the time being, and the Scripture Reader may be heard of at the Town +Clerk's office. + +_The Whittingham Charity_, distributed at St. James's, Ashted, in March, +furnishes gifts to about eighty poor people (principally widows), who +receive blankets, sheets, quilts, flannel, &c., in addition to bread and +coal. + +~Philosophical Society.~--A society with this name was formed in 1794 +for the promulgation of scientific principles among mechanics. Its +meetings were held in an old warehouse in the Coach Yard, and from the +fact that many workmen from the Eagle Foundry attended the lectures, +delivered mainly by Mr. Thomas Clarke, the members acquired the name of +"the cast-iron philosophers." Another society was formed in 1800, for +the diffusion of scientific knowledge amongst the middle and higher +classes, and by the year 1814 it was possessed of a handsome Lecture +Theatre, a large Museum, with good collections of fossils and minerals, +a Library, Reading Room, &c., in Cannon Street. Like many other useful +institutions of former days, the philosophical has had to give way to +the realistic, its library of dead men's writings, and its fossils of +the ancient world, vanishing in face of the reporters of to-day's +doings, the ubiquitous throbs of the "Walter" and "Hoe" steam presses +resounding where erst the voice of Science in chronicling the past +foreshadowed the future. + +~Pillory.~--This ancient machine for the punishment of prigs formerly +stood in High Street. The last time it was used was in 1813. We pillory +people in print now, and pelt them with pen and ink. The Act for +abolishing this method of punishment was not passed until June 30, 1837. +What became of the pillory here is not known, but there is, or was +lately, a renovated specimen of the article at Coleshill. + +~Pinfold Street~ takes its name from the "pound" or "pinfold" that +existed there prior to 1752. There used to be another of these +receptacles for straying animals near to the Plough and Harrow in Hagley +Road, and a small corner of Smithfield was railed off for the like +purpose when the Cattle market was there established. The "Jacob +Wilsons" of a previous date held a field under the Lords of the Manor +wherein to graze their captured cattle, but one of the Town Criers +mortgaged it, and his successors lost their right to the land which was +somewhere about Caroline Street. + +~Places of Worship.~--_Established Church_.--In 1620 there were 358 +churches in Warwickshire, 130 in Staffordshire, and 150 in +Worcestershire; but St. Martin's, Edgbaston, Aston, Deritend, and +Handsworth, churches were all that Birmingham could boast of at the +beginning of last century, and the number had not been increased to a +very large extent even by the year 1800. As will be seen from the dates +given in following pages, however, there was a goodly number of churches +erected in the first half of this century, about the end of which period +a "Church extension" movement was set on foot. The success was so +apparent that a society was formed (Jan., 1865), and in March, 1867, it +was resolved to raise a fund of L50,000, for the purpose of at once +erecting eight other new churches in the borough, Miss Ryland heading +the list of donations with the munificent gift of L10,000. It is +difficult to arrive at the amount expended on churches previous to 1840, +but the annexed list of churches, built, enlarged, or repaired in this +neighbourhood from 1840 to 1875, will give an approximate idea of the +large sums thus invested, the whole of which was raised solely by +voluntary contributions. + + + Acock's Green ... ... L6,405 + Aston Brook ... ... 5,000 + Balsall Heath ... ... 8,500 + Bishop Ryder's ... ... 886 + Christ Church ... ... 1,000 + Christ Church, Sparkbrook 9,163 + Edgbaston ... ... ... 2,200 + Hay Mills ... ... ... 6,500 + Immanuel ... ... ... 4,600 + King's Heath ... ... 3,900 + King's Norton ... ... 5,092 + Moseley ... ... ... 2,491 + Saltley ... ... ... 7,139 + St. Alban's ... ... 2,800 + St. Andrew's ... ... 4,500 + St. Anne's ... ... ... 2,700 + St. Anne's, Moseley ... 7,500 + St. Asaph's... ... ... 7,700 + St. Augustine's ... ... 7,800 + St. Barnabas' ... ... 3,500 + St. Bartholomew's... ... 1,260 + St. Clement's ... ... 3,925 + St. Cuthbert's ... ... 5,000 + St. David's... ... ... 6,185 + St. Gabriel's ... ... 4,307 + St. George's Edgbaston ... 1,583 + St. James's Edgbaston ... 6,000 + St. John's, Ladywood ... 7,200 + St. Lawrence's ... ... 4,380 + St. Luke's ... ... ... 6,286 + St. Martin's ... ... 30,134 + St. Matthew's ... ... 4,850 + St. Matthias's ... ... 5,361 + St. Mary's ... ... ... 4,503 + St. Mary's, Selly Oak ... 5,400 + St. Nicholas' ... ... 4,288 + St. Paul's ... ... ... 1,400 + St. Philip's ... ... 9,987 + St. Saviour's ... ... 5,273 + St. Silas's... ... ... 4,677 + St. Stephen's ... ... 3,200 + St. Stephen's, Selly Oak 3,771 + + + + + +To the above total of L228,336 expended on churches in or close to the +borough, there should be added L57,640 expended in the erection, &c., of +churches close at hand in the adjoining diocese of Lichfield; L25,000 +laid out at Coleshill, Northfield, and Solihull (the principal residents +being from Birmingham); and a still further sum of L150,000 spent on +Church-school buildings. These figures even do not include the vast +amounts invested for the endowments of the several churches and schools, +nor is aught reckoned for the value of the land or building materials +where given, nor for the ornamental decorations, fonts, pulpits, +windows, and furnishings so munificently lavished on our local churches. +Since the year 1875 it has been calculated that more than L100,000 has +been devoted to similar local church-building purposes, so that in less +than fifty years much more than half-a-million sterling has been +voluntarily subscribed by the Churchmen of the neighbourhood for the +religious welfare and benefit of their fellow men. Still there is room +for more churches and for more preachers, and the Church Extension +Society are hoping that others will follow the example of the +"Landowner," who, in the early part of the year (1884) placed L10,000 in +the hands of the Bishop towards meeting the urgent need of additional +provision for the spiritual wants of the inhabitants.--Short notes of +the several churches can alone be given. + +_All Saints'_, in the street of that name, leading out of Lodge Road, is +a brick erection of fifty years' date, being consecrated September 28, +1833. It was built to accommodate about 700 and cost L3,850, but in 1881 +it was enlarged and otherwise improved at an outlay of over L1,500, and +now finds sittings for 1,760, a thousand of the seats being free. The +Rev. P.E. Wilson, M.A., is the Rector and Surrogate, and the living +(value L400) is in the gift of the Birmingham Trust. The Nineveh +schoolroom is used for services on Sunday and Thursday evenings in +connection with All Saints. + +_All Saints'_, King's Heath, is built of stone in the perpendicular +Gothic style, and cost L3,200, the consecration taking place on April +27th, 1860. There are sittings for 620, one half being free. The Rev. J. +Webster, M.A., is the Vicar; the living (value L220) being in the gift +of the Vicar of Moseley, King's Heath ecclesiastical parish being formed +out of Moseley parish in 1863. + +_All Saints'_, Small Heath.--Rev. G.F.B. Cross, M.A., Vicar. Soon after +the death of the Rev. J. Oldknow, D.D., of Holy Trinity, in 1874, it was +resolved to carry out his dying wishes by erecting a church in the +fast-filling district of Small Heath. At first the iron building +formerly used as a place of worship in Cannon Hill Park was put up, and +the Vicar was instituted in October, 1875. The foundation-stone of a +permanent building was laid Sept. 8, 1882, which accommodates over 1,000 +worshippers. That part of the future "Oldknow Memorial Church" at +present finished, comprising the nave, north aisle, and north transept, +with seating for nearly 700 (all free), was consecrated July 28, 1883. +The patronage is vested in trustees, the incumbent's stipend being L150. + +_All Saints'_, Stechford.--A temporary church of iron and wood, erected +at a cost of L620, to accommodate 320 persons, all seats being free, was +dedicated Dec. 18, 1877. + +_Aston Church_.--It is impossible to fix the date of erection of the +first church for the parish of Aston, but that it must have been at a +very early period is shown by the entry in the Domesday Book relative to +the manor. The parish itself formerly included Bordesley and Deritend, +Nechells and Saltley, Erdington and Witton, Castle Bromwich, Ward End, +and Water Orton, an area so extensive that the ecclesiastical income was +very considerable. In Henry III.'s reign the Dean and Chapter of +Lichfield received twenty marks yearly out of the fruits of the rectory, +the annual value of which was sufficient to furnish L26 13s. 4d. over +and above the twenty marks. Records are in existence showing that the +church (which was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul) was considerably +enlarged about 300 years after the Conquest, and a renovation was +carried out nearly a century back, but the alterations made during the +last few years (1878-84) have been so extensive that practically it may +be said the edifice has been rebuilt. The seating capacity of the old +church was limited to about 500, but three times that number of persons +will, in future, find accommodation, the cost of the extensions and +alterations having been nearly L10,000. The ancient monuments, windows, +and tablets have all been carefully replaced in positions corresponding +to those they filled formerly, with many additions in the shape of +coloured glass, heraldic emblazonments, and chaste carvings in wood and +stone. The old church, for generations past, has been the centre-point +of interest with local antiquarians, as it was, in the days far gone, +the chosen last resting-place of so many connected with our ancient +history--the Holtes, the Erdingtons, the Devereux, the Ardens, the +Harcourts, the Bracebridgss, Clodshalls, Bagots, &c. Here still may be +seen the stone and alabaster effigies of lords and ladies who lived in +the time of the Wars of the Roses, two showing by their dress that while +one was Lancasterian, the other followed the fortunes of York. The +tablets of the Holte' family, _temp_. Elizabeth and Charles, and the +Devereux monument of the Jacobean era, are well preserved, while all +around the shields and arms of the ancient families, with their many +quarterings, form the best heraldic collection anywhere near Birmingham. +The parish registers date from the 16th century, and the churchwardens +accounts are preserved from the year 1652. Among the facts recorded in +the former we may note the burial of the dozen or so Royalist soldiers +who lost their lives while defending Aston Hall from the attacks made on +it by the Birmingham men in December, 1643; while in both there are +quaint entries innumerable, and full of curious interest to the student +and historian. The Rev. W. Eliot, M.A., the present vicar, was +instituted in 1876 (commencing duty Feb. 25, 1877), the living (L1,600 +value) being in the presentation of trustees. In connection with the +Church, there are Mission Rooms in Tower Road and in Alfred Street, with +Sunday Schools, Bible classes, Dorcas, and other societies. The first +portion of the late additions to the Church was consecrated July 5, +1880; the new chancel on Sept. 8, 1883 + +_Bishop Rider's_, a square-towered brick edifice in Gem Street, was +built in 1837-38, the laying of the foundation stone (August 23, 1837) +being characterised by the almost unheard-of conduct of the low denizens +of the neighbourhood, who pelted the Bishop of Lichfield with mud on the +occasion. The consecration took place Dec. 18, 1838, and the building +cost L4,600. The living, valued at L300, is in the hands of trustees, +the present vicar being the Rev. J.P. Gardiner. The vicarage, which was +completed in 1862 at a cost of L2,240, is in Sutton Street, Aston Road-- +too near a residence to the church not being deemed advisable even +five-and-twenty years after the opening ceremony of 1837. In 1879 the +galleries were removed, and the church re-pewed and otherwise renovated, +the re-opening taking place July 28, there being now 860 free sittings. + +_Christ Church_, New Street.--At first known as "The Free Church," this +edifice was for no less than ten years in the hands of the builders. The +cornerstone was laid July 22, 1805, by Lord Dartmouth, in the absence of +George III., who had promised, but was too ill, to be present. His +Majesty, however, sent L1,000 towards the building fund. It was +consecrated July 13, 1813; finished in 1816; clock put in 1817. The +patron is the Bishop of Worcester, and to the living (valued at L350), +is attached a Prebendary in Lichfield Cathedral. The present Vicar, +since 1881, is the Rev. E.R. Mason, M.A. There is accommodation for +1,500, all the seats being free, but at one time the worshippers were +limited in their freedom of sitting by the males having to take their +places on one side and the females on the other, a custom which gave +rise to the following epigram: + + + "Our churches and chapels we generally find + Are the places where men to the women are joined; + But at Christ Church, it seems, they are more cruelhearted, + For men and their wives go there and get parted." + + +Mission services in connection with Christ Church are held in the +Pinfold Street and Fleet Street Schoolrooms. + +_Christ Church_, Gillott Road, Summerfield. The foundation stone of a +church to be erected to the memory of the late Rev. George Lea (for 43 +years connected with Christ Church and St. George's, Edgbaston) was laid +Nov. 27, 1883. It is intended to accommodate 850 persons, and will cost +about L8,000, exclusive of a tower 110ft. high which will be added +afterwards at a further cost of L1,200. + +_Christ Church_, Quinton, was erected in 1841, at a cost of L2,500, and +will seat 600, two-thirds being free. The living is valued at L200, is +in the gift of the Rector of Halesowen (in whose parish Quinton was +formerly included), and is held by the Rev. C.H. Oldfield, B.A. + +_Christ Church_, Sparkbrook, is a handsome Gothic erection, built on +land given by Mr. S.S. Lloyd, the first stone being laid April 5, 1866, +and the opening ceremony on October 1, 1867. The living, a perpetual +curacy, is in the gift of trustees, and is valued at L350 per annum, and +has been held hitherto by the Rev. G. Tonge, M.A. The building of the +church cost nearly L10,000, the accommodation being sufficient for 900 +persons, one-half the seats being free. The stained window in chancel to +the memory of Mrs. S.S. Lloyd, is said by some to be the most beautiful +in Birmingham, the subject being the Resurrection. There are Mission +Rooms and Sunday Schools in Dolobran Road, Montpellier Street, Long +Street, and Stratford Road, several thousands having been spent in their +erection. + +_Christ Church_, Yardley Wood, was built and endowed by the late John +Taylor, Esq., in 1848, the consecration taking place April 4, 1849. +Vicarage, value L185; patrons, trustees; Vicar, Rev. C.E. Beeby, B.A. +Seats 260, the 60 being free. + +_Edgbaston Old Church_.--It is not known when the first church was built +on this site, some writers having gone so far back as to fix the year +777 as the probable date. The present edifice, though it incorporates +some few remains of former erections, and will always be known as the +"old" church, really dates but from 1809-10, when it was re-built +(opened Sept 10, 1810) but, as the Edgbastonians began to increase and +multiply rapidly after that time, it was found necessary to add a nave +and aisle in 1857. There is now only accommodation for 670, and but a +hundred or so of the seats are free, so that possibly in a few more +years the renovators and restorers will be busy providing another new +old church for us. The patron is Lord Calthorpe, and the living is +valued at L542, but the power of presenting has only been exercised +three times during the last 124 years, the Rev. John Prynne Parkes +Pixell, who was appointed vicar in 1760, being succeeded by his son in +1794, who held the living fifty-four years. At his death, in 1848, the +Rev. Isaac Spooner, who had for the eleven previous years been the first +incumbent of St. George's, Edgbaston, was inducted, and remained vicar +till his death, July, 1884. In the Church there are several monuments to +members of the Calthorpe family, and one in memory of Mr. Joshua +Scholefield, the first M.P. for Birmingham, and also some +richly-coloured windows and ancient-dated tablets connected with the +oldest families of the Middlemores and others. + +_Hall Green Church_ was built in Queen Anne's reign, and has seats for +475, half free. It is a vicarage (value L175), in the gift of trustees, +and now held by the Rev. R. Jones, B.A. + +_Handsworth Church_.--St. Mary's, the mother church of the parish, was +probably erected in the twelfth century, but has undergone time's +inevitable changes of enlargements, alterations, and rebuildings, until +little, if any, of the original structure could possibly be shown. Great +alterations were made during the 15th and 17th centuries, and again +about 1759, and in 1820; the last of all being those of our own days. +During the course of the "restoration," now completed, an oval tablet +was taken down from the pediment over the south porch, bearing the +inscription of "John Hall and John Hopkins, churchwardens, 1759," whose +economising notions had led them to cut the said tablet out of an old +gravestone, the side built into the wall having inscribed on its face, +"The bodye of Thomas Lindon, who departed this life the 10 of April, +1675, and was yeares of age 88." The cost of the rebuilding has been +nearly L11,000, the whole of which has been subscribed, the reopening +taking place Sept. 28, 1878. There are several ancient monuments in fair +preservation, and also Chantrey's celebrated statue of Watts. The living +is valued at L1,500, the Rector, the Rev. W. Randall, M.A., being his +own patron. The sittings in the church are (with a few exceptions only) +all free and number over 1,000, Sunday and other services being also +held in a Mission Room at Hamstead. + +_Holy Trinity_.--The first stone of the Church of the Holy Trinity in +Camp Hill, was placed in position Sept. 29, 1820. The building was +consecrated Jan. 23, 1823, and opened for services March 16 following. +The cost was L14,325, and the number of sittings provided 1,500, half to +be free. The services have from the first been markedly of a Ritualistic +character, and the ornate decorations of the church have been therefore +most appropriate. The living (value L230) is a vicarage in the gift of +trustees, and is at present held by the Rev. A.H. Watts, who succeeded +the Rev. R.W. Enraght after the latter's suspension and imprisonment.-- +See "_Ritualism_." + +_Holy Trinity_, Birchfields.--First stone placed May 26, 1863; +consecrated May 17, 1864. Cost about L5,000. The living (value L320) is +a vicarage in the gift of the Rector of Handsworth, and is now held by +the Rev. P.T. Maitland, who "read himself in" May 16, 1875. + +_Holy Trinity_, North Harborne, was built in 1838-39 at a cost of +L3,750, and will seat 700, one half being free. The living (value L300) +is in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield. + +_Immanuel Church_, Broad Street.--The foundation stone was laid July 12, +1864; the consecration took place May 7, 1865; the cost of erection was +a little over L4,000; there are seats for 800, of which 600 are free; +and the living (valued at L300), has been held until now by the Rev. +C.H. Coleman, the presentation being in the hands of trustees. The +"Magdalen" Chapel was formerly on the site. + +_Iron Churches_.--May 22, 1874, an edifice built of iron was opened for +religious purposes in Canon Hill Park, but the congregation that +assembled were so scanty that in July, 1875, it was deemed expedient to +remove it to Small Heath where it was used as a temporary "Oldknow +Memorial" Church. Other iron churches have been utilised in the suburbs +since then, and there is now no novelty in such erections, a score of +which may be found within half the number of miles. + +_St. Agnes'_, Moseley, off Wake Green Road.--The foundation stone was +laid October 3, 1883, and its estimated cost is put at about L8,000. At +present only a part sufficient to accommodate 400 persons is being +proceeded with, but when completed the edifice will hold double that +number, and will be 127 ft. long by 48 ft. wide, a tower and spire +rising from the centre of the west end to a height of 137 ft. + +_St. Alban's_.--A Mission chapel, dedicated to St. Alban, was opened in +Leopold Street in September, 1865. This now forms a school belonging to +the adjoining church, which was opened March 7, 1872. The curacy is held +by the Revds. J.S. and T.B. Pollock, but the friends of those gentlemen +have since ejected a far handsomer edifice, the Church of St. Alban the +Martyr, at the corner of Conybere Street and Ryland Street, at a cost +estimated at L20,000--L1,500 being paid for the site. The first stone of +this magnificent building was laid January 31, 1880, the opening service +taking place at 6.30 a.m., May 3, 1881. There is free seating for 1,000 +in the new church, for 460 in St. Alban's, Leopold Street, and for a +further 400 in the Mission Room--the services being entirely dependent +on the gifts to the offertory, &c. On the Saint's day the special +collections have for years been most remarkable, seldom less than L1,000 +being given, while occasionally the amount has been more than four times +that sum, The services are "High Church," with three daily celebrations +and seven on Sunday. + +_St. Andrew's_, Bordesley.--The foundation-stone was laid July 23, 1844, +and consecration took place, Sept. 30, 1846. The cost of the building +was about L5,000, the site being given. The value of the living is L320, +the Bishop and trustees having the right of preferment alternately. +There is accommodation for 800, one-fourth of the seats being free. The +present Vicar is the Rev. J. Williamson, M.A. The iron-built church of +S. Oswald, opposite Small Heath Park, Coventry-road, is attached to S. +Andrew's. + +_St. Anne's_, Duddeston, consecrated Oct. 22, 1869, is a brick building, +giving accommodation for 810, half the seats being free. The Bishop +presents the living, being of the nett value of L260. Rev. T.J. Haworth +is the Vicar. Services also at the Mission Room, Great Francis Street. + +_St. Anne's_, Park Hill, Moseley.--This Chapel-of-Ease to Moseley was +built at the expense of Miss Anderton, of Moseley Wake Green, the +consecration taking place Sept. 22, 1874. The living is valued at L150, +and is in the gift of the Vicar of Moseley, the present incumbent being +the Rev. J. Leverett, M.A. Half the 400 seats are free. + +_St. Asaph's_, Great Colmore Street,--the freehold of the site was given +by Mr. Cregoe Colmore, and the erection of the church, which yet wants +the tower and spire, cost L5,450. The cornerstone was laid Aug. 22, +1867, and the building was consecrated Dec. 8, 1868. There are 950 +sittings, of which 500 are free. Trustees present. The living, value +L300, being now held by the Rev. R. Fletcher, M.A. + +_St. Augustine's_, Hagley Road, the foundation stone of which was laid +Oct. 14, 1867, was consecrated September 12, 1868, the first cost being +a little over L9,000, but a tower and spire (185 ft. high) was added in +1876 at a further cost of L4,000. It is a Chapel-of-ease to Edgbaston, +in the gift of the Bishop. Value L500. Held by Rev. J.C. Blissard, M.A. +Seats, 650. + +_St. Barnabas_, Erdington.--This church, originally built in 1823, at a +cost of about L6,000, with accommodation for 700 only, has lately been +enlarged so as to provide 1,100 sittings (600 free)--L2,700 being +expended on the improvements. The Vicar of Aston is patron, and the +living is valued at L300. The re-opening took place June 11, 1883. Rev. +H.H. Rose, M.A., has been Vicar since 1850. + +_St. Barnabas'_, Ryland Street.--First stone laid Aug. 1, 1859; +consecrated Oct. 24, 1860; renovated in 1882. Has sittings for 1,050, of +which 650 are free. Value L300, in the gift of trustees. Present Vicar, +Rev. P. Waller. Services also at Mission Room, Sheepcote Street. + +_St. Bartholomew's_.--The building of this church was commenced in 1749, +the site being given by William Jennens, Esq., and L1,000 towards the +building by his mother, Mrs. Anne Jennens. Lord Fielding also gave L120 +to pay for an altar-piece, which is greatly admired. Surrounded for very +many years by a barren-looking graveyard, the huge brick-built edifice +was very unsightly, and being close to the Park Street burial ground it +was nicknamed "the paupers' church." Since the laying out of the +grounds, however, it has much improved in appearance. The Rector of St. +Martin's presents, and the living is valued at L280. There are 1,800 +sittings, 1,000 being free. Week-night services are also held in Mission +Room, Fox Street. + +_St. Catherine's_, Nechells.--Foundation stone laid July 27, 1877; +consecrated November 8, 1878; cost nearly L7,000; seats 750, more than +half being free. Yearly value L230; in the gift of trustees. Present +vicar, Rev. T.H. Nock, M.A. + +_St. Catherine's_ Rotton Park.--The Mission Room in Coplow St., in +connection with St. John's, Ladywood, is the precursor of this church +yet to be built. + +_St. Clement's_, Nechells.--First stone laid, October 27, 1857; +consecrated August 30, 1859. Seats 850 (475 free). Vicarage, value L300, +in the gift of Vicar of St. Matthew's. Present incumbent, Rev. J.T. +Butlin, B.A. Services also at Mission Room, High Park Street. + +_St. Cuthbert's_, Birmingham Heath, was commenced April 19, 1871; opened +March 19, 1872, and has seats for 800, half being free. Yearly value +L250; in the hands of trustees. Present incumbent, Rev. W. H. Tarleton, +M.A. + +_St. Cyprian's_, Hay Mill.--The foundation-stone of this church (built +and endowed by J. Horsfall, Esq.), was laid April 14, 1873, and the +opening services were held in the following January. The ceremony of +consecration did not take place until April 23, 1878, when a district +was assigned to the church. Rev. G.H. Simms is the present Vicar, and +the living (value L150) is in the gift of the Bishop. + +_St. David's_, Bissell Street--First stone was laid July 6, 1864, and +the building was consecrated in the same month of the following year. +The cost of erection was L6,200, and there is accommodation for 955, 785 +seats being free. The living (value L300) is in the gift of trustees, +and is at present held by Rev. H. Boydon, B.A. Week night services also +at Mission Room, Macdonald Street. + +_St. Edburgh's_,--The parish church of Yardley, dating from Henry VII.'s +reign, contains monuments relating to several of our ancient families of +local note. The living is a vicarage (value L525) in the gift of the +Rev. J. Dodd, the present vicar being the Rev. F.S. Dodd, M.A. There is +accommodation for 600, a third of the seats being free. + +_St. Gabriel's_, Pickford Street.--The first stone was laid in +September, 1867, and the consecration took place Jan. 5, 1869. The +sittings number 600, most being free. The living (value L300) is in the +gift of the Bishop, and is held by the Rev. J.T. Tanse, vicar. A mission +room at the west end of the church was opened Dec. 14, 1878. It is +105ft. long by 25ft. wide, and will seat 800. The cost was about L3,500, +and it is said the Vicar and his friends saved L2,500 by building the +rooms themselves. + +_St. George's_.--When first built, there were so few houses near Great +Hampton Row and Tower Street, that this church was known as "St. +George's in the Fields," and the site for church and churchyard (3,965 +square yards) was purchased for L200. The foundation stone was laid +April 19, 1820, and the consecration took place July 30, 1822. The tower +is 114ft. high, and the first cost of the building was L12,735. +Renovated in 1870, the church has latterly been enlarged, the first +stone of a new chancel being placed in position (June, 1882) by the +Bishop of Ballarat, formerly rector of the parish. This and other +additions has added L2,350 to the original cost of the church, which +provides accommodation for 2,150, all but 700 being free seats. The +living (value L500) is in the gift of trustees, and the present Rector +is the Rev. J.G. Dixon, M.A. The church was re-opened March 13, 1883, +and services are also conducted in New Summer Street and in Smith Street +Schoolrooms. + +_St. George's_, Edgbaston.--First stone laid Aug. 17, 1836; consecrated +Nov. 28, 1838. Cost L6,000. Perpetual curacy (value L300), in the gift +of Lord Calthorpe. 1,000 sittings, of which one-third are free, but it +is proposed to considerably enlarge the building, and possibly as much +as L8,000 will be spent thereon, with proportionate accommodation. + +_St. James's_, Ashted.--Originally the residence of Dr. Ash, this +building was remodelled and opened as a place of worship, Oct. 9, 1791. +As Ashted Chapel it was sold by auction, May 3, 1796. Afterwards, being +dedicated to St. James, it was consecrated, the ceremony taking place +Aug. 7, 1807. The living (value L300) is in the gift of trustees, the +present vicar being the Rev. H.C. Phelps, M.A. Of the 1,350 sittings, +450 are free, there being also a mission room in Vauxhall Road. + +_St. James's_, Aston.--The mission room, in Tower Road, in connection +with Aston Church, is known as St. James's Church Room, it being +intended to erect a church on an adjoining site. + +_St. James's_, Edgbaston, which cost about L6,000, was consecrated June +1, 1852, and has 900 sittings, one-fourth being free. Perpetual curacy +(value L230) in the gift of Lord Calthorpe. The 25th anniversary of the +incumbency of the Rev. P. Browne, M.A., was celebrated June 7, 1877, by +the inauguration of a new organ, subscribed for by the congregation. + +_St. James's_, Handsworth, was built in 1849, and has 800 sittings, of +which one half are free. The living (value L300) is in the gift of the +Rector of Handsworth, and the present vicar is the Rev. H.L. Randall, +B.A. + +_St. John's_, Deritend.--The "Chapel of St. John's," was commenced in +1375; it was licensed in 1381 by the monks of Tickford Priory, who +appointed the Vicars of Aston, in which parish Deritend then was; it was +repaired in 1677, and rebuilt in 1735. The tower was added in 1762, and +clock and bells put in in 1776. This is believed to have been the first +church in which the teachings of Wycliffe and the Reformers were +allowed, the grant given to the inhabitants leaving in their hands the +sole choice of the minister. This rite was last exercised June 15, 1870, +when the present chaplain, the Rev. W.C. Badger, was elected by 3,800 +votes, against 2,299 given for a rival candidate. There is accommodation +for 850, of which 250 seats are free. It is related that when the +present edifice was erected (1735) a part of the small burial ground was +taken into the site, and that pew-rents are only charged for the +sittings covering the ground so occupied. The living is valued at L400. +For a most interesting account of this church reference should be made +to "Memorials of Old Birmingham" by the late Mr. Toulmin Smith. Services +also take place at the School Room, and at the Mission Room, Darwin +Street. + +_St. John's_, Ladywood, built at a cost of L6,000, the site being given +by the Governors of the Free Grammar School, and the stone for building +by Lord Calthorpe, was consecrated March 15, 1854. In 1881, a further +sum of L2,350 was expended in the erection of a new chancel and other +additions. The Rector of St. Martin's is the patron of the living +(valued at L330), and the present Vicar is the Rev. J.L. Porter, M.A. +The sittings number 1,250, of which 550 are free. Services are also +conducted at the Mission Room, Coplow Street, and on Sunday evenings in +Osler Street Board School. + +_St. John's_, Perry Barr, was built, endowed, and a fund left for future +repairs, by "Squire Gough," of Perry Hall, the cost being about L10,000. +The consecration took place Aug. 6, 1833, and was a day of great +rejoicing in the neighbourhood. In 1868 the church was supplied with a +peal of eight bells in memory of the late Lord Calthorpe. The living +(valued at L500) is in the gift of the Hon. A.C.G. Calthorpe. + +_St. John the Baptist_, East Harborne, which cost rather more than +L4,000, was consecrated November 12, 1858. It has sittings for 900, of +which number one half are free. Living valued at L115; patron Rev. T. +Smith, M.A.; vicar, Rev. P. Smith, B.A. + +_St. John the Evangelist_, Stratford Road.--A temporary iron church +which was opened April 2, 1878, at a cost of L680. A Mission Room, in +Warwick Road, Greet, is in connection with above. + +_St. Jude's_, Tonk Street, which was consecrated July 26, 1851, has +1,300 sittings, of which 1,000 are free. In the summer of 1879, the +building underwent a much-needed course of renovation, and has been +still further improved by the destruction of the many "rookeries" +formerly surrounding it. The patronage is vested in the Crown and Bishop +alternately, but the living is one of the poorest in the town, only +L150. + +_St. Lawrence's_, Dartmouth Street.--First stone laid June 18, 1867; +consecrated June 25, 1868; has sittings for 745, 400 being free. The +Bishop is the patron, and the living (value L320) is now held by the +Rev. J.F.M. Whish, B.A. + +_St. Luke's_, Bristol Road.--The foundation stone of this old +Norman-looking church was laid July 29, 1841, but it might have been in +1481 to judge by its present appearance, the unfortunate choice of the +stone used in the building giving quite an ancient look. It cost L3,700, +and was consecrated Sept. 28, 1842. There are 300 free seats out of 800. +The trustees are patrons, and the living (value L430) is held by the +Rev. W.B. Wilkinson, M.A., vicar. + +_St. Margaret's_, Ledsam Street.--The cost of this church was about +L5,000; the first stone was laid May 16, 1874; the consecration took +place Oct. 2, 1875, and it finds seating for 800, all free. The Bishop +is the patron of the living (a perpetual curacy value L300), and it is +now held by the Rev. H.A. Nash. The schoolroom in Rann Street is +licensed in connection with St. Margaret's. + +_St. Margaret's_, Olton, was consecrated Dec. 14, 1880, the first stone +having been laid Oct. 30, 1879. + +_St. Margaret's_, Ward End, built on the site, and partly with the ruins +of an ancient church, was opened in 1836, and gives accommodation for +320 persons, 175 seats being free. The living, value L150, is in the +gift of trustees, and is held by the Rev. C. Heath, M.A., Vicar. + +_St. Mark's_, King Edward's Road.--First stone laid March 31, 1840; +consecrated July 30, 1841. Cost about L4,000, and accommodates 1,000, +about a third of the seats being free. A vicarage, value L300; patrons, +trustees; vicar, Rev. R.L.G. Pidcock, M.A. + +_St. Martins_.--There is no authentic date by which we can arrive at the +probable period of the first building of a Church for the parish of +Birmingham. Hutton "supposed" there was a church here about A.D. 750, +but no other writer has ventured to go past 1280, and as there is no +mention in the Domesday Book of any such building, the last supposition +is probably nearest the mark. The founder of the church was most likely +Sir William de Bermingham, of whom there is still a monumental effigy +existing, and the first endowment would naturally come from the same +family, who, before the erection of such church, would have their own +chapel at the Manor House. Other endowments there were from the +Clodshales, notably that of Walter de Clodshale, in 1330, who left +twenty acres of land, four messuages, and 18d. annual rent, for one +priest to say mass daily for the souls of the said Walter, his wife, +Agnes, and their ancestors; in 1347, Richard de Clodshale gave ten acres +of land, five messuages, and 10s. yearly for another priest to say mass +for him and his wife, and his father and mother, "and all the faithful +departed"; in 1428, Richard, grandson of the last-named, left 20s. by +his will, and bequeathed his body "to be buried in his own chapel," +"within the Parish Church of Bermyngeham." Besides the Clodshale +Chantry, there was that of the Guild of the Holy Cross, but when Henry +VIII. laid violent hands on all ecclesiastical property (1535) that +belonged to the Church of St. Martin was valued at no move than L10 1s. +From the few fragments that were found when the present building was +erected, and from Dugdale's descriptions that has come down to us, there +can be little doubt that the church was richly ornamented with monuments +and paintings, coloured windows and encaustic tiles, though its income +from property would appear to have been meagre enough. Students of +history will readily understand how the fine old place came gradually to +be but little better than a huge barn, the inside walls whitewashed as +was the wont, the monuments mutilated and pushed into corners, the font +shoved out of sight, and the stained glass windows demolished. Outside, +the walls and even the tower were "cased in brick" by the churchwardens +(1690), who nevertheless thought they were doing the right thing, as +among the records of the lost Staunton Collection there was one, dated +1711, of "Monys expended in public charitys by ye inhabitants of +Birmingham, wth in 19 years last past," viz.:-- + + + In casing, repairing, &c., ye Old Church L1919 01 9-1/2 + + Adding to ye Communion Plate of ye said Church + 275 ounces of new silver 80 16 06 + + Repairing ye high ways leading to ye town + wth in these 9 years 898 00 01 + + Subscribed by ye inhabitants towards erecting + a New Church, now consecrated, and Parsonage house 2234 13 11 + ------------ + In all L5132 12 3-12 + + +In the matter of architectural taste the ideas of the church wardens +seem curiously mixed, for while disfiguring the old church they +evidently did their best to secure the erection of the splendid new +church of St. Philip's, as among other entries there were several like +these:-- + + + "28pds. 2s. wch Mr. Jno. Holte has collected in Oxford towards + building ye New Church." + + "Revd. L30 from Sir Charles Holte, Baronet, for the use of the Com.e + of the New Church." + + +From time to time other alterations were made, such as new roofing, +shutting up the clerestory windows, piercing the walls of the chancel +and the body of the church for fresh windows attaching a vestry, &c. The +churchyard was partly surrounded by houses, and in 1781 "iron +pallisadoes" were affixed to the wall. In this year also 33ft. of the +spire was taken down and rebuilt. In 1807 the churchyard was enlarged by +the purchase of five tenements fronting Spiceal Street, belonging to the +Governors of the Free Grammar School, for L423, and the Commissioners +having cleared the Bull Ring of the many erections formerly existing +there the old church in its hideous brick dress was fully exposed to +view. Noble and handsome places of worship were erected in other parts +of the town, but the old mother church was left in all its shabbiness +until it became almost unsafe to hold services therein at all. The +bitter feelings engendered by the old church-rate wars had doubtless +much to do with this neglect of the "parish" church, but it was not +exactly creditable to the Birmingham men of '49, when attention was +drawn to the dangerous condition of the spire, and a general restoration +was proposed, that what one gentleman has been pleased to call "the lack +of public interest" should be made so manifest that not even enough +could be got to rebuild the tower. Another attempt was made in 1853, and +on April 25th, 1854, the work of restoring the tower and rebuilding the +spire, at a cost of L6,000, was commenced. The old brick casing was +replaced by stone, and, on completion of the tower, the first stone of +the new spire was laid June 20, 1855, the "topping" being successfully +accomplished November 22nd following. The height of the present spire +from the ground to the top of the stone-work is 185ft. 10 1/2in., the +tower being 69ft. 6in., and the spire itself 116ft. 4 1/2in., the vane +being an additional 18ft. 6in. The old spire was about 3in. lower than +the present new one, though it looked higher on account of its more +beautiful form and its thinner top only surmounted by the weathercock, +now to be seen at Aston Hall, The clock and chimes were renewed at a +cost of L200 in 1858; the tunes played being "God save the Queen" [Her +Majesty visited Birmingham that year], "Rule Britannia," "Blue Bells of +Scotland," "Life let us cherish," the "Easter Hymn," and two other +hymns. Twenty years after (in 1878) after a very long period (nine +years) of inaction, the charming apparatus was again put in order, the +chimes being the same as before, with the exception of "Auld lang syne," +which is substituted for "God save the Queen," in consequence of the +latter not giving satisfaction since the bells have been repaired [vide +"_Mail_"]. The clock dial is 9ft. 6in. in diameter. The original bells +in the steeple were doubtless melted in the troublesome days of the +Commonwealth, or perhaps, removed when Bluff Hal sequestered the +Church's property, as a new set of six (total weight 53cwt. 1qr. 15lbs.) +were hung in 1682. During the last century these were recast, and +addition made to the peal, which now consists of twelve. + + + Treble, cast in 1772, weight not noted. + Second, " 1771, ditto. + Third, " 1758, weighing 6 2 16 + Fourth, " 1758, " 6 3 27 + Fifth, " 1758, " 8 0 20 + Sixth, " 1769, " 8 2 12 + Seventh " 1768, " 9 3 12 + Eighth, " 1758, " 11 3 6 + Ninth, " 1758, " 15 1 17 + Tenth, " 1758, " 17 3 2 + Eleventh " 1769, " 27 3 16 + Tenor, " 1768, " 35 0 8 + + +The ninth bell was recast in 1790; fourth and fifth have also been +recast, by Blews and Son, in 1870. In the metal of the tenor several +coins are visible, one being a Spanish dollar of 1742. The following +lines appear on some of the bells;-- + + + On Seventh:--"You singers all that prize your health and happiness, be + sober, merry and wise and you will the same possess." + + On Eighth.--"To honour both of God and King, our voices shall in + concert ring." + + On Tenth.--"Our voices shall with joyful sound make, hills and valleys + echo round." + + On Tenor.--"Let your ceaseless changes raise to our Great Maker still + new praise." + +The handsome appearance of the tower and spire, after restoration, +contrasted so strongly with the "dowdy" appearance of the remainder of +the church, that it was little wonder a more determined effort should be +made for a general building, and this time (1872) the appeal was no +longer in vain. Large donations were given by friends as well as by many +outside the pale of the Church, and Dr. Wilkinson, the Rector, soon +found himself in a position to proceed with the work. The last sermon in +the old church was preached by Canon Miller, the former Rector, Oct. 27, +1872, and the old brick barn gave place to an ecclesiastical structure +of which the town may be proud, noble in proportions, and more than +equal in its Gothic beauty to the original edifice of the Lords de +Bermingham, whose sculptured monuments have at length found a secure +resting-place in the chancel of the new St. Martin's. From east to west +the length of the church is a little over 155ft., including the chancel, +the arch of which rises to 60ft.; the width, including nave (25ft.) and +north and south aisles, is 67ft.; at the transepts the measure from +north to south gives 104ft. width. The consecration and re-opening took +place July 20, 1875, when the church, which will accommodate 2,200 (400 +seats are free) was thronged. Several stained windows have been put in, +the organ has been enlarged, and much done in the way of decoration +since the re-building, the total cost being nearly L25,000. The living +(L1,048 nett value) is in the gift of trustees, and has been held since +1866 by the Rev. W. Wilkinson, D.D., Hon. Canon of Worcester, Rural +Dean, and Surrogate. The burial ground was closed Dec. 9, 1848. + +_St. Mary's_, Acock's Green, was opened Oct. 17, 1866. The cost of +erection was L4,750, but it was enlarged in 1882, at a further cost of +L3,000. There are 720 sittings, 420 being free. The nett value of the +living, in the gift of trustees, is L147, and the present vicar is the +Rev. F.T. Swinburn, D.D. + +_St. Mary's_, Aston Brook, was opened Dec. 10, 1863. It seats 750 (half +free), and cost L4,000; was the gift of Josiah Robins, Esq., and family. +Perpetual curacy, value L300. The site of the parsonage (built in 1877, +at a cost of L2,300), was the gift of Miss Robins. Present incumbent, +Rev. F. Smith, M.A. + +_St. Mary's_, Moseley.--The original date of erection is uncertain, but +there are records to the effect that the tower was an addition made in +Henry VIII.'s reign, and there was doubtless a church here long prior to +1500. The chancel is a modern addition of 1873; the bells were re-cast +about same time, the commemorative peal being rung June 9, 1874; and on +June 8, 1878, the churchyard was enlarged by the taking in of 4,500 +square yards of adjoining land. The living, of which the Vicar of +Bromsgrove is the patron, is worth L280, and is now held by the Rev. W. +H. Colmore, M.A. Of the 500 sittings 150 are free. + +_St. Mary's_, Selly Oak, was consecrated September 12, 1861, having been +erected chiefly at the expense of G.R. Elkington and J.F. Ledsam, Esqrs. +There are 620 sittings, of which 420 are free. The living is in the gift +of the Bishop and trustee; is valued at L200, and the present vicar is +the Rev. T. Price, M.A. + +_St. Mary's_, Whittall Street, was erected in 1774, and in 1857 +underwent a thorough renovation, the reopening services being held +August 16. There are 1,700 sittings of which 400 are free. The living is +a vicarage, with an endowment of L172 with parsonage, in the gift of +trustees, and is now held by the Rev. J.S. Owen. + +_St. Matthew's_, Great Lister Street, was consecrated October 20, 1840, +and has sittings for 1,400, 580 seats being free. The original cost of +the building was only L3,200, but nearly L1,000 was expended upon it in +1883. Five trustees have the gift of the living, value L300, which is +now held by the Rev. J. Byrchmore, vicar. The Mission Room, in Lupin +Street, is served from St. Matthew's. + +_St. Matthias's_, Wheeler Street, commenced May 30th, 1855, was +consecrated June 4, 1856. Over L1,000 was spent on renovations in 1879. +The seats (1,150) are all free. The yearly value of the living is L300, +and it is in the gift of trustees. The vicar is the Rev. J.H. Haslam, +M.A. + +_St. Michael's_, in the Cemetery, Warstone Lane, was opened Jan. 15, +1854, the living (nominal value, L50) being in the gift of the +directors. Will accommodate 400--180 seats being free. + +_St. Michael's_, Northfield.--Of the original date of erection there is +no trace, but it cannot be later than the eleventh century, and Mr. +Allen Everett thought the chancel was built about 1189. The five old +bells were recast in 1730, by Joseph Smith of Edgbaston, and made into +six. The present building was erected in 1856-7, and has seating for +800, all free. The living, valued at L740, is held by the Rev. R. Wylde, +M.A., and connected with it is the chapel-of-ease at Bartley Green. + +_St. Michael's_, Soho, Handsworth, was opened in 1861. It has 1,000 +sittings, one-half of which are free. The living is valued at L370, is +in the gift of the Rector of Handsworth, and is now held by the Rev. +F.A. Macdona. + +_St. Nicolas_, Lower Tower Street--The foundation stone was laid Sept. +15, 1867; the church was consecrated July 12, 1868, and it has seats for +576 persons, the whole being free. The Bishop is the patron of the +living, value L300, and the Vicar is the Rev. W.H. Connor, M.A. + +_St. Nicholas_, King's Norton.--This church is another of the ancient +ones, the register dating from 1547. It was partially re-erected in +1857, and more completely so in 1872, morn than L5,000 being expended +upon it. The Dean and Chapter of Worcester are the patrons of the living +(nett value L250), and the Vicar is the Rev. D.H.C. Preedy. There are +700 sittings, 300 of which are free. + +_St. Oswald's_, situated opposite Small Heath Park, is an iron +structure, lined with wood. It will seat about 400, cost L600, and was +opened Aug. 10, 1882, being for the present in charge of the clergyman +attached to St. Andrew's. + +_St. Patrick's_, Highgate Street.--Erected in 1873, at a cost of +L2,300, as a "School-chapel" attached to St. Alban's, and ministered +unto by the Revds. J.S. and T.B. Pollock. 800 seats, all free. + +_St. Paul's_, in St. Paul's Square.--The first stone was laid May 22, +1777, and the church was consecrated June 2, 1779, but remained without +its spire until 1823, and was minus a clock for a long time after that. +The east window in this church has been classed as the A1 of modern +painted windows. The subject, the "Conversion of St. Paul," was designed +by Benjamin West, and executed by Francis Eggington, in 1789-90. In May, +1876, the old discoloured varnish was removed, and the protecting +transparent window re-glazed, so that the full beauty and finish of this +exquisite work can be seen now as in its original state. Of the 1,400 +sittings 900 are free. The living is worth L300, in the gift of +trustees, and is held by the Rev. R.B. Burges, M.A., Vicar. + +_St. Paul's_, Lozells.--The first stone was laid July 10, 1879, and the +building consecrated September 11, 1880. The total cost was L8,700, the +number of sittings being 800, of which one half are free. Patrons, +Trustees. Vicar, Rev. E.D. Roberts, M.A. + +_St. Paul's_, Moseley Road, Balsall Heath.--Foundation stone laid May +17, 1852, the building being opened that day twelvemonth. Cost L5,500 +and has sittings for 1,300, of which number 465 are free. The Vicar of +King's Norton is the patron of the living (value L300), and it is held +by the Rev. W.B. Benison, M.A. + +_St. Peter's_, Dale End, was begun in 1825, and consecrated Aug. 10, +1827, having cost L19,000. Considerable damage to the church was caused +by fire, Jan. 24,1831. There are 1,500 sittings, all free. The living is +valued at L260, is in the gift of the Bishop, and is held by the Rev. R. +Dell, M.A., Vicar. + +_St. Philip's_.--The parish of St. Philip's was created by special Act, +7 Anne, c. 34 (1708), and it being the first division of St. Martin's +the new parish was bound to pay the Rector of St. Martin's L15 per year +and L7 to the Clerk thereof, besides other liabilities. The site for the +church (long called the "New Church") and churchyard, as near as +possible four acres, was given by Mrs. Phillips, which accounts for the +Saint's name chosen. George I. gave L600 towards the building fund, on +the application of Sir Richard Gough, whose crest of a boar's head was +put over the church, and there is now, in the form of a vane, as an +acknowledgment of his kindness. Other subscriptions came in freely, and +the L5,000, first estimated cost, was soon raised. [See "_St. +Martins_"]. The building was commenced in 1711, and consecrated on +October 4th, 1715. but the church was not completed until 1719. The +church was re-pewed in 1850, great part restored in 1859-60, and +considerably enlarged in 1883-84. The height of the tower is 140ft., and +there are ten bells, six of them dating from the year 1719 and the +others from 1761. There is accommodation for 2,000 persons, 600 of the +seats being free. The nett value of the living is L868, the Bishop being +patron. The present Rector, the Rev. H.B. Bowlby, M.A., Hon. Canon of +Worcester, and Surrogate, has been with us since 1875, + +_St. Saviour's_, Saltley, was consecrated July 23, 1850. The cost of +building was L6,000; there are 810 seats, 560 being free; the living is +vnlued at L240, and is in the gift of Lord Norton; the present Vicar is +the Rev. F. Williams, B.A. + +_St. Saviour's_, Villa Strest, Hockley.--Corner-stone laid April 9, +1872; consecrated May 1, 1874. Cost L5,500, and has seats for 600, all +free. The living (value L250) is in the gift of trustees, and is now +held by the Rev. M. Parker, Vicar. + +_St. Silaes's_ Church Street, Lozells, was consecrated January 10, 1854, +the first stone having been laid June 2, 1852. It has since been +enlarged, and has now 1,100 sittings, 430 being free. The living (value +L450) is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of trustees, and is held by the +Rev. G. C. Baskerville, M.A. The Mission Room in Burbury Street is +served from St. Silas's. + +_St. Stephen's_, Newtown Row, was consecrated July 23, 1844. The +building cost L3,200; there are 1,150 sittings, of which 750 are free; +the living is valued at L250, is in the gift of the Bishop and the Crown +alternately, and is now held by the Rev. P. Reynolds, Vicar, who also +provides for the Mission Room in Theodore Street. + +_St. Stephen's_, Selly Hill, was consecrated August 18, 1871, the first +stone having been laid March 30, 1870. The patrons are the Bishop and +trustees; the living is valued at L200; it is a perpetual curacy, and +the incumbent is the Rev. R. Stokes M.A. Of the 300 sittings 100 are +free. + +_St. Thomas's_, Holloway Head.--First stone laid Oct. 2, 1826; +consecrated Oct. 22, 1829, having cost L14,220. This is the largest +church in Birmingham, there being 2,600 sittings, of which 1,500 are +free. In the Chartist riots of 1839, the people tore up the railings +round the churchyard to use as pikes. The living (value L550) is in the +gift of trustees, and is held by the Rev. T. Halstead, Rector and +Surrogate. + +_St. Thomas-in-the-Moors_, Cox Street, Balsall Heath.--The church was +commenced to be built, at the expense of the late William Sands Cox, +Esq., in the year 1868, but on account of some quibble, legal or +ecclesiastical, the building was stopped when three parts finished. By +his will Mr. Cox directed it to be completed, and left a small +endowment. This was added to by friends, and the consecration ceremony +took place Aug. 14, 1883. The church will accommodate about 600 persons. + +_St. Thomas the Martyr_.--Of this church, otherwise called the "Free +Chapel," which was richly endowed in 1350 (See "Memorials of Old +Birmingham" by Toulmin Smith), and to which the Commissioners of Henry +VIII., in 1545, said the inhabitants did "muche resorte," there is not +one stone left, and its very site is not known. + +_Stirchley Street_ School-Church was erected in 1863, at a cost of +L1,200, and is used on Sunday and occasional weekday evenings. + +~Places Of Worship.~--_Dissenters'_.--A hundred years ago the places of +worship in Birmingham and its neighbourhood, other than the parish +churches, could have been counted on one's fingers, and even so late as +1841 not more than four dozen were found by the census enumerators in a +radius of some miles from the Bull Ring. At the present time +conventicles and tabernacles, Bethels and Bethesdas, Mission Halls and +Meeting Rooms, are so numerous that there is hardly a street away from +the centre of the town but has one or more such buildings. To give the +history of half the meeting-places of the hundred-and-one different +denominational bodies among us would fill a book, but notes of the +principal Dissenting places of worship are annexed. + +_Antinomians_.--In 1810 the members of this sect had a chapel in +Bartholomew Street, which was swept away by the L. and N.W. Railway Co., +when extending their line to New Street. + +_Baptists_.--Prior to 1737, the "Particular Baptists" do not appear to +have had any place of worship of their own in this town, what few of +them there were travelling backwards and forwards every Sunday to +Bromsgrove. The first home they acquired here was a little room in a +small yard at the back of 38, High Street (now covered by the Market +Hall), which was opened Aug. 24, 1737. In March of the following year a +friend left the Particulars a sum of money towards erecting a +meeting-house of their own, and this being added to a few subscriptions +from the Coventry Particulars, led to the purchase of a little bit of +the Cherry Orchard, for which L13 was paid. Hereon a small chapel was +put up, with some cottages in front, the rent of which helped to pay +chapel expenses, and these cottages formed part of Cannon Street; the +land at the back being reserved for a graveyard. The opening of the new +chapel gave occasion for attack; and the minister of the New Meeting, +Mr. Bowen, an advocate of religious freedom, charged the Baptists +(particular though they were) with reviving old Calvinistic doctrines +and spreading Antinomianism and other errors in Birmingham; with the +guileless innocence peculiar to polemical scribes, past and present. Mr. +Dissenting minister Bowen tried to do his friends in the Bull Ring a +good turn by issuing his papers as from "A Consistent Churchman." In +1763 the chapel was enlarged, and at the same time a little more land +was added to the graveyard. In 1780 a further enlargement became +necessary, which sufficed until 1805, when the original buildings, +including the cottages next the street, were taken down to make way for +the chapel so long known by the present inhabitants. During the period +of demolition and re-erection the Cannon Street congregation were +accommodated at Carr's Lane, Mr. T. Morgan and Mr. John Angell James +each occupying the pulpit alternately. The new chapel was opened July +16, 1806, and provided seats for 900, a large pew in the gallery above +the clock being allotted to the "string band," which was not replaced by +an organ until 1859. In August, 1876, the Corporation purchased the site +of the chapel, the graveyard, and the adjoining houses, in all about +1,000 square yards in extent, for the sum of L26,500, the last Sunday +service being held on October 5, 1879. The remains of departed ministers +and past members of the congregation interred in the burial-yard and +under the chapel were carefully removed, mostly to Witton Cemetery. The +exact number of interments that had taken place in Cannon Street has +never been stated, but they were considerably over 200; in one vault +alone more than forty lead coffins being found. The site is now covered +by the Central Arcade. Almost as old as Cannon Street Chapel was the one +in Freeman Street, taken down in 1856, and the next in date was "Old +Salem," built in 1791, but demolished when the Great Western Railway was +made. In 1785 a few members left Cannon Street to form a church in +Needless Alley, but soon removed to Bond Street, under Mr. E. Edmonds, +father of the well-known George Edmonds.--In the year 1870 fifty-two +members were "dismissed" to constitute a congregation at Newhall Street +Chapel, under the Rev. A. O'Neill.--In the same way a few began the +church in Graham Street in 1828.--On Emancipation Day (Aug. 1, 1838), +the first stone was laid of Heneage Street Chapel, which was opened June +10, 1841.--In 1845 a chapel was erected at Shirley; and on Oct. 24, +1849, the Circus in Bradford Street was opened as a Baptist Chapel. +Salem Chapel, Frederick Street, was opened Sept. 14, 1851.--Wycliffe +Church, Bristol Road, was commenced Nov. 8, 1859, and opened June 26, +1861.--Lombard Street Chapel was started Nov. 25, 1864.--Christ Church, +Aston, was opened April 19, 1865.--The Chapel in Balsall Heath Road was +opened in March, 1872; that in Victoria Street, Small Heath, June 24, +1873; and in Great Francis Street, May 27, 1877. When the Cannon Street +Chapel was demolished, the trustees purchased Graham Street Chapel and +schools for the sum of L14,200, other portions of the money given by the +Corporation being allotted towards the erection of new chapels +elsewhere. The Graham Street congregation divided, one portion erecting +for themselves the Church of the Redeemer, in Hagley Road, (opened May +24, 1882), while those living on the Handsworth side built a church in +Hamstead Road (opened March 1, 1883), each building costing over +L10,000. The first stone of the Stratford Road Church (the site of +which, valued at L1,200, was given by Mr. W. Middlemore) was laid on the +8th of June, 1878, and the building, which cost L7,600, was opened June +3, 1879. Mr. Middlemore also gave the site (value L2,200) for the Hagley +Road Church, L6,000 of the Cannon Street money going to it, and L3,500 +to the Stratford Road Church.--The Baptists have also chapels in +Guildford Street, Hope Street, Lodge Road, Longmore Street, Great King +Street, Spring Hill, Warwick Street, Yates Street, as well as at +Erdington, Harborne, King's Heath, Selly Oak, Quinton, &c. + +_Catholic Apostolic Church_, Summer Hill Terrace.--This edifice, erected +in 1877, cost about L10,000, and has seats for 400. + +_Christian Brethren_.--Their head meeting-house is at the Central Hall, +Great Charles Street, other meetings being held in Bearwood Road, +Birchfield Road, Green Lanes, King Street, (Balsall Heath), New John +Street, Wenman Street, (opened in June, 1870), and at Aston and +Erdington. + +_Christadelphians_ meet at the Temperance Hall, Temple Street. + +_Church of the Saviour_, Edward Street.--Built for George Dawson on his +leaving the Baptists, the first turf being turned on the site July 14, +1846, and the opening taking place Aug. 8, 1847. + +_Congregational_.--How the Independents sprang from the Presbyterians, +and the Congregationalists from them, is hardly matter of local history, +though Carr's Line Chapel has sheltered them all in rotation. The first +building was put up in 1747-48, and, with occasional repairs lasted full +fifty years, being rebuilt in 1802, when the congregation numbered +nearly 900. Soon after the advent of the Rev. John Angell James, it +became necessary to provide accommodation for at least 2,000, and in +1819 the chapel was again rebuilt in the form so well known to the +present generation. The rapidity with which this was accomplished was so +startling that the record inscribed on the last late affixed to the roof +is worth quoting, as well on account of its being somewhat of a novel +innovation upon the usual custom of foundation-stone memorial stone, and +first-stone laying and fixing:-- + + + "Memoranda. On the 30th day of July, 1819, the first stone of this + building was laid by the Rev. John Angell James, the minister. On the + 30th day of October, in the same year, this the last slate was laid by + Henry Leneve Holland, the builder, in the presence of Stedman Thomas + Whitwell, the Architect.--_Laus Deo_." + + +In 1875-76 the chapel was enlarged, refronted, and in many ways +strengthened and improved, at a cost of nearly L5,000, and it now has +seats for 2,250 persons.--Ebenezer Chapel, Steelhouse Lane, which will +seat 1,200, was opened Dec. 9, 1818. Its first pastor, the Rev. Jehoida +Brewer, was the first to be buried there.--The first stone of Highbury +Chapel, which seats 1,300, was laid May 1, 1844, and it was opened by +Dr. Raffles in the following October.--Palmer Street Chapel was erected +in 1845.--The first stone of the Congregational Church in Francis Road +was laid Sept. 11, 1855, the opening taking place Oct. 8, 1856.--The +first stone of the Moseley Road building was laid July 30, 1861, and of +that in the Lozells, March 17, 1862.--The chapel at Small Heath was +commenced Sept. 19, 1867, and opened June 21, 1868; that at Saltley was +began June 30, 1868, and opened Jan. 26, 1869.--The chapel in Park Road, +Aston, was began Oct. 7, 1873; the church on Soho Hill, which cost +L15,000, was commenced April 9, 1878, and opened July 16, 1879.--The +memorial-stones of the church at Sutton Coldfield, which cost L5,500, +and will seat 640, were laid July 14, 1879, the opening taking place +April 5, 1880; the Westminster Road (Birchfield) Church was commenced +Oct. 21, 1878, was opened Sept. 23, 1879, cost L5,500, and will seat +900; both of these buildings have spires 100ft. high.--The +foundation-stone of a chapel at Solihull, to accommodate 420, was laid +May 23, 1883.--Besides the above, there is the Tabernacle Chapel, +Parade, chapels in Bordesley Street, Gooch Street, and St. Andrew's +Road, and others at Acock's Green, Erdington, Handsworth, Olton, +Yardley, &c. + +_Disciples of Christ_ erected a chapel in Charles Henry Street in 1864; +in Geach Street in 1865; in Great Francis Street in 1873. + +_Free Christian Church_, Fazeley Street--Schoolrooms were opened here in +1865 by the Birmingham Free Christian Society, which were enlarged in +1868 at a cost of about L800. Funds to build a church were gathered in +succeeding years and the present edifice was opened April 1, 1877, the +cost being L1,300. + +_Jews_.--The Hebrew Synagogue in Blucher Street was erected in 1856, at +a cost of L10,000. + +_Methodists_.--The Primitive Methodists for some time after their first +appearance here held, their meetings in the open air or in hired rooms, +the first chapel they used being that in Bordesley Street (opened March +16, 1823, by the Wesleyans) which they entered upon in 1826. Other +chapels they had at various times in Allison Street, Balloon Street, +Inge Street, &c. Gooch Street Chapel was erected by them at a cost of +over L2,000 (the first stone being laid August 23, 1852) and is now +their principal place of worship, their services being also conducted in +Chapels and Mission Rooms in Aston New Town, Garrison Lane, Long Acre, +Lord Street, Morville Street, Wells Street, Whitmore Street, The Cape, +Selly Oak, Perry Barr, Sparkbrook, and Stirchley Street.--_The Methodist +New Connexion_ have chapels in Heath Street, Kyrwick's Lane, Ladywood +Lane, Moseley Street, and Unett Street--The first stone of a chapel for +the _Methodist New Congregational_ body was placed July 13, 1873, in +Icknield Street West.--The _Methodist Reformers_ commenced to build a +chapel in Bishop Street, November 15, 1852.--The _Methodist Free Church_ +has places of worship in Bath Street, Cuckoo Road, Muntz Street, Rocky +Lane, and at Washwood Heath. + +_New Church_.--The denomination of professing Christians, who style +themselves the "New Church," sometimes known as "The New Jerusalem +Church," and more commonly as "Swedenborgians," as early as 1774 had a +meeting room in Great Charles Street, from whence they removed to a +larger one in Temple Row. Here they remained until 1791, when they took +possession of Zion Chapel, Newhall Street, the ceremony of consecration +taking place on the 19 of June. This event was of more than usual +interest, inasmuch as this edifice was the first ever erected in the +world for New Church worship. The rioters of 1791, who professed to +support the National Church by demolishing the Dissenting places of +worship, paid Zion Chapel a visit and threatened to burn it, but the +eloquence of the minister, the Rev. J. Proud, aided by a judicious +distribution of what cash he had in his pocket, prevailed over their +burning desires, and they carried their torches elsewhere. On the 10th +of March, 1793, however, another incendiary attempt was made to suppress +the New Church, but the fire was put out before much damage was done. +What fire and popular enmity could not do, however, was accomplished by +a financial crisis, and the congregation had to leave their Zion, and +put up with a less pretentious place of worship opposite the Wharf in +Newhall Street. Here they remained till 1830, when they removed to +Summer Lane, where a commodious church, large schools, and minister's +house had been erected for them. In 1875 the congregation removed to +their present location in Wretham Road, where a handsome church has been +built, at a cost of nearly L8,000, to accommodate 500 persons, with +schools in the rear for as many children. The old chapel in Summer Lane +has been turned into a Clubhouse, and the schools attached to it made +over to the School Board. The New Church's new church, like many other +modern-built places for Dissenting worship, has tower and spire, the +height being 116ft. + +_Presbyterians_.--It took a long time for all the nice distinctive +differences of dissenting belief to manifest themselves before the +public got used to Unitarianism, Congregationalism, and all the other +isms into which Nonconformity has divided itself. When Birmingham was as +a city of refuge for the many clergymen who would not accept the Act of +Uniformity, it was deemed right to issue unto them licenses for +preaching, and before the first Baptist chapel, or the New Meeting, or +the Old Meeting, or the old Old Meeting (erected in 1689), were built, +we find (1672) that one Samuel Willis, styling himself a minister of the +Presbyterian persuasion, applied for preaching licenses for the +school-house, and for the houses of John Wall, and Joseph Robinson, and +Samuel Taylor, and Samuel Dooley, and John Hunt, all the same being in +Birmingham; and William Fincher, another "minister of the Presbyterian +persuasion," asked for licenses to preach in the house of Richard +Yarnald, in Birmingham, his own house, and in the houses of Thomas +Gisboon, William Wheeley, John Pemberton, and Richard Careless, in +Birmingham, and in the house of Mrs. Yarrington, on Bowdswell Heath. In +Bradford's map (1751) Carr's Lane chapel is put as a "Presbiterian +chapel," the New Meeting Street building close by being called +"Presbiterian Meeting." It was of this "Presbiterian Chapel" in Carr's +Lane that Hutton wrote when he said it _was_ the road to heaven, but +that its surroundings indicated a very different route. Perhaps it was +due to these surroundings that the attendants at Carr's Lane came by +degrees to be called Independents and the New Meeting Street folks +Unitarians, for both after a time ceased to be known as Presbyterians. +The Scotch Church, or, as it is sometimes styled, the Presbyterian +Church of England, is not a large body in Birmingham, having but three +places of worship. The first Presbytery held in this town was on July 6, +1847; the foundation-stone of the Church in Broad Street was laid July +24, 1848; the Church at Camp Hill was opened June 3, 1869; and the one +in New John Street West was began July 4, 1856, and opened June 19, +1857. + +_Salvation Army_.--The invasion of Birmingham by the soldiers of the +Salvation Army was accomplished in the autumn of 1882, the General (Mr. +Booth) putting in an appearance March 18, 1883. They have several +rendezvous in the town, one of the principal being in Farm Street, from +whence the "soldiers" frequently sally out, with drums beating and +colours flying, much to their own glorification and other people's +annoyance. + +_Unitarians_.--The building known for generations as the Old Meeting, is +believed to have been the first Dissenting place of worship erected in +Birmingham; and, as its first register dates from 1689, the chapel most +likely was built in the previous year. It was doubtless but a small +building, as in about ten years (1699) a "Lower Meeting House" was +founded in Meeting House Yard, nearly opposite Rea Street. The premises +occupied here were gutted in the riots of 1715, and the owner promised +the mob that it should no more be used as a chapel, but when calmer he +repented and services were held until the New Meeting House in Moor +Street was opened. The rioters in 1715 partly destroyed the old Meeting +and those of 1791 did so completely, as well as the New Meeting, which +(began in 1730) was opened in 1732. For a time the congregations united +and met at the Amphitheatre in Livery Street, the members of Old Meeting +taking possession of their re-erected chapel, October 4, 1795. New +Meeting being re-opened April 22, 1802. The last-named building remained +in the possession of the Unitarians until 1861, when it was sold to the +Roman Catholics. The last services in Old Meeting took place March 19, +1882, the chapel and graveyard, comprising an area of 2,760 square +yards, being sold to the L. & N. W. R. Co., for the purpose of enlarging +the Central Station. The price paid by the Railway Company was L32,250, +of which L2,000 was for the minister and L250 towards the expense of +removing to private vaults the remains of a few persons whose friends +wished that course. A portion of Witton Cemetery was laid out for the +reception of the remainder, where graves and vaults have been made in +relative positions to those in the old graveyard, the tombstones being +similarly placed. A new church has been erected in Bristol Street for +the congregation, with Sunday Schools, &c., L7,000 being the sum given +for the site.--In 1839, Hurst Street Chapel was built for the Unitarian +Domestic Mission. May 1, same year, the first stone was laid of the +Newhall Hill Chapel, which was opened July 10, 1840.--The Church of the +Messiah, Broad Street, was commenced Aug. 12, 1860, and opened Jan. 1, +1862. This church, which cost L10,000 and will seat nearly 1,000 is +built over a canal, one of the strangest sites ever chosen for a place +of worship. In connection with this church, there is a chapel in +Lawrence Street. + +_Welsh Chapels_.--The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists meet in the little +chapel, bottom of Hockley Hill, and also in Granville Street, near Bath +Row.--The Welsh Congregationalists (Independents) assemble at Wheeler +Street Chapel, opened May 1, 1839. + +_Wesleyans_.--The first Wesleyan Chapel in Birmingham was opened by John +Wesley, March 21, 1764, the building having been previously a theatre. +Cherry Street Chapel, opened July 7, 1782, was rebuilt in 1823.-- +Bradford Street Chapel was opened in 1786, Belmont Row in 1789, and Bath +Street in 1839.--In 1825, a chapel was built in Martin Street, which was +converted into a school on the opening (Nov. 10, 1864) of the present +edifice, which cost L6,200.--Newtown Row Chapel was built in 1837 and +Great Hampton Street and Unett Street Chapels in 1838, the latter being +enlarged in 1844.--Branston Street Chapel was opened April 18, and +Moseley Road, May 1, 1853.--The Bristol Road Chapel was opened January +18, 1854, and that in King Edward's Road, January 18, 1859.--The first +stones were laid for the chapels in Villa Street April 21, 1864, +Handsworth Oct. 21, 1872, Selley Oak Oct. 2, 1876, Peel Street, August +30, 1877, Cuckoo Road, June 10, 1878, Nechells Park Road Oct. 25, 1880, +Mansfield Road Feb. 19, 1883. Besides the above there are chapels in +Coventry Road, Inge Street, Knutsford Street, Lichfield Road, Lord +Street, New John Street, Monument Road, and Warwick Road, as well as +mission rooms in several parts of the town and suburbs. Acock's Green, +Erdington. Harborne, King's Heath, Northfield, Quinton, &c. have also +Wesleyan Chapels.--_The Wesleyan Reformers_ meet in Floodgate Street, +and in Upper Trinity Street. + +_Miscellaneous_.--Lady Huntingdon's followers opened a chapel in King +Street in 1785, and another in Peck Lane in 1842 (both sites being +cleared in 1851), and a third in Gooch Street, Oct. 26th, 1851.--The +believers in Joannah Southcote also had chosen spots wherein to pray for +their leader, while the imposture lasted.--The celebrated Edward Irving +opened Mount Zion Chapel, March 24th, 1824. "God's Free Church," in Hope +Street, was "established" June 4th. 1854.--Zoar Chapel was the name +given to a meeting-room in Cambridge Street, where a few +undenominational Christians met between 1830 and 1840. It was afterwards +used as a schoolroom in connection with Winfield's factory.--Wrottesley +Street Chapel was originally built as a Jewish Synagogue, at a cost of +about 2,000. After they left it was used for a variety of purposes, +until acquired by William Murphy, the Anti-Catholic lecturer. It was +sold by his executors, Aug. 2nd, 1877, and realised L645, less than the +cost of the bricks and mortar, though the lease had 73 years to run. + +~Places of Worship.~--_Roman Catholics_.--From the days of Queen Mary, +down to the last years of James II.'s reign, there does not appear to +have been any regular meeting-place for the Catholic Inhabitants of +Birmingham. In 1687, a church (dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen and St. +Francis) was built somewhere near the site of the present St. +Bartholomew's but it was destroyed in the following year, and the very +foundation-stones torn up and appropriated by Protestant plunderers. +[See "_Masshouse Lane_."] + +It was a hundred years before the next church, St. Peter's, near Broad +Street, was erected, and the Catholic community has increased but slowly +until the last thirty years or so. In 1848 there were only seven priests +in Birmingham, and but seventy in the whole diocese. There are now +twenty-nine in this town, and about 200 in the district, the number of +churches having increased, in the same period, from 70 to 123, with 150 +schools and 17,000 scholars. The following are local places of +worship:-- + +_Cathedral of St. Chad_,--A chapel dedicated to St. Chad (who was about +the only saint the kingdom of Mercia could boast of), was opened in Bath +Street, Dec. 17, 1809. When His Holiness the Pope blessed his Catholic +children hereabouts with a Bishop the insignificant chapel gave place to +a Cathedral, which, built after the designs of Pugin, cost no less than +L60,000. The consecration was performed (July 14, 1838) by the Right +Rev. Doctor (afterwards Cardinal) Wiseman, the district bishop, in the +presence of a large number of English noblemen and foreign +ecclesiastical dignitaries, and with all the imposing ceremonies +customary to Catholic celebrations of this nature. The adjoining houses +detract much from the outside appearance of this reproduction of +medieval architecture, but the magnificence of the interior decorations, +the elaborate carvings, and the costly accessories appertaining to the +services of the Romish Church more than compensate therefor. Pugin's +plans have not even yet been fully carried out, the second spire, that +on the north tower (150ft. high), being added in 1856, the largest he +designed still waiting completion. Five of a peal of eight bells were +hung in 1848, and the remainder in 1877, the peculiar and locally-rare +ceremony of "blessing the bells" being performed by Bishop Ullathorne, +March 22nd, 1877. + +_Oratory_, Hagley Road--Founded by the Fathers of the Order of St. +Philip Neri, otherwise called Oratorians. The Father Superior is the +Rev. Dr.J. H. Newman (born in 1801), once a clergyman of the Church of +England, the author of the celebrated "Tract XC.," now His Eminence +Cardinal Newman. + +_St. Anne's_, Alcester Street.--In 1851, some buildings and premises +originally used as a distillery were here taken on a lease by the +Superior of the Oratory, and opened in the following year as a +Mission-Church in connection with the Congregation of the Fathers in +Hagley Road. In course of time the property was purchased, along with +some adjacent land, for the sum of L4,500, and a new church has been +erected, at a cost of L6,000. The foundation-stone was laid Sept. 10th, +1883, and the opening ceremony took place in July, 1884, the old chapel +and buildings being turned into schools for about 1,500 children. + +_St. Catherine of Sienna_, Horse Fair.--The first stone was laid Aug. +23, 1869, and the church was opened in July following. + +_St. Joseph's_, Nechells, was built in 1850, in connection with the +Roman Catholic Cemetery. + +_St. Mary's_, Hunter's Lane, was opened July 28, 1847. + +_St. Mary's Retreat_, Harborne, was founded by the Passionist Fathers, +and opened Feb. 6, 1877. + +_St. Michael's_, Moor Street, was formerly the Unitarian New Meeting, +being purchased, remodelled, and consecrated in 1861. + +_St. Patrick's,_ Dudley Road, was erected in 1862. + +_St. Peter's_, Broad Street, built in 1786, and enlarged in 1798, was +the first Catholic place of worship erected here after the sack and +demolition of the church and convent in Masshouse Lane. With a lively +recollection of the treatment dealt out to their brethren in 1688, the +founders of St. Peter's trusted as little as possible to the tender +mercies of their fellow-townsmen, but protected themselves by so +arranging their church that nothing but blank walls should face the +streets, and with the exception of a doorway the walls remained +unpierced for nearly seventy years. The church has lately been much +enlarged, and the long-standing rebuke no more exists. + +In addition to the above, there are the Convents of "The Sisters of the +Holy Child," in Hagley Road; "Sisters of Notre Dame," in the Crescent; +"Little Sisters of the Poor," at Harborne; "Our Lady of Mercy," at +Handsworth; and others connected with St. Anne's and St. Chad's, besides +churches at Erdington, &c. + +~Police.~--Though the Court Leet provided for the appointment of +constables, no regular body of police or watchmen appear to have existed +even a hundred years ago. In February, 1786, the magistrates employed +men to nightly patrol the streets, but it could not have been a +permanent arrangement, as we read that the patrol was "resumed" in +_October, 1793_, and later on, in March, 1801, the magistrates +"solicited" the inhabitants' consent to a re-appointment of the +night-watch. After a time the Commissioners of the Streets kept regular +watchmen in their employ--the "Charleys" occasionally read of as finding +sport for the "young bloods" of the time--but when serious work was +required the Justices appear to have depended on their powers of +swearing-in special constables. The introduction of a police force +proper dates from the riotous time of 1839 [See "_Chartism_"], for +immediately after those troublous days Lord John Russell introduced a +Bill to the House of Commons granting special powers for enforcing a +rate to maintain a police force here, under the command of a +Commissioner to be appointed by the Government. The force thus sought to +be raised, though paid for by the people of Birmingham, were to be +available for the whole of the counties of Warwick, Worcester and +Stafford. + +Coercive measures were passed at that period even quicker than +Government can manage to get them through now a-days, and +notwithstanding Mr. Thos. Attwood's telling Little Lord John that he was +"throwing a lighted torch into a magazine of gunpowder" and that if he +passed that Bill he would never be allowed to pass another, the Act was +pushed through on the 13th of August, there being a majority of thirteen +in favour of his Lordship's policy of policeing the Brums into +politeness. The dreaded police force was soon organised under Mr. +Commissioner Burges (who was paid the small salary of L900 a year), and +became not only tolerated but valued. It was not till some years after, +and then in the teeth of much opposition, that the Corporation succeeded +in getting into their own hands the power of providing our local +guardians of the peace. Mr. Inspector Stephens was the first Chief +Superintendent, and in March, 1860, his place was filled by the +promotion of Mr. George Glossop. In April, 1876, the latter retired on +an allowance of L400 a year, and Major Bond was chosen (June 2nd). The +Major's term of office was short as he resigned in Dec. 1881. Mr. +Farndale being appointed in his stead. In May, 1852, the force consisted +of 327, men and officers included. Additions have been made from time to +time, notably 50 in August, 1875, and so early in 1883, the total rank +and file now being 550, equal to one officer for every 700 of +population. February 8, 1876, the unpopular Public-house Inspectors were +appointed, but two years' experience showed they were not wanted, and +they were relegated to their more useful duties of looking after thieves +and pickpockets, instead of poking their noses into private business. In +1868, L200 was expended in the purchase of guns, pistols, and swords for +the police and officers at the Gaol. The Watch Committee, in May, 1877, +improved the uniform by supplying the men with "spiked" helmets, +doubtless to please the Major, who liked to see his men look smart, +though the military appearance of the force has been greatly improved +since by the said spikes being silvered and burnished. + +~Political Union.~--See "_Reform Leagues_." + +~Polling Districts.~--The sixteen wards of the borough are divided into +131 polling districts. + +~Polytechnic.~--This was one of the many local literary, scientific, and +educational institutions which have been replaced by our Midland +Institute, Free Libraries, &c. It was founded in April, and opened in +October, 1843, and at the close of its first year there were the names +of very nearly 500 members on the books, the rates of subscription being +6s. per quarter for participation in all the benefits of the +institution, including the lectures, library, classes, baths, &c. With +the "People's Instruction Society," the "Athenic Institute," the "Carr's +Lane Brotherly Society" (said to have been the first Mechanics' +Institution in Britain), the Polytechnic, in its day, did good work. + +~Poor Law and Poor Rates.~--Local history does not throw much light +upon the system adopted by our early progenitors in their dealings with +the poor, but if the merciless laws were strictly carried out, the +wandering beggars, at all events must have had hard lives of it. By an +act passed in the reign of Henry VIII., it was ordered that vagrants +should be taken to a market town, or other convenient place and there to +be tied to the tail of a cart, naked, and beaten with whips until the +body should be bloody by reason of the punishment. Queen Elizabeth so +far mitigated the punishment that the unfortunates were only to be +stripped from the waist upwards to receive their whipping, men and +women, maids and mothers, suffering alike in the open street or +market-place, the practice being, after so using them, to conduct them +to the boundary of the parish and pass them on to the next place for +another dose, and it was not until 1791 that flogging of women was +forbidden. The resident or native poor were possibly treated a little +better, though they were made to work for their bread in every possible +case. By the new Poor Act of 1783, which authorised the erection of a +Workhouse, it was also provided that the "Guardians of the Poor" should +form a Board consisting of 106 members, and the election of the first +Board (July 15th, 1783), seems to have been almost as exciting as a +modern election. In one sense of the word they were guardians indeed, +for they seem to have tried their inventive faculties in all ways to +find work for the inmates of the House, even to hiring them out, or +setting them to make worsted and thread. The Guardians would also seem +to have long had great freedom allowed them in the spending of the +rates, as we read it was not an uncommon thing for one of them if he met +a poor person badly off for clothes to give an order on the Workhouse +for a fresh "rig out." In 1873 the Board was reduced to sixty in number +(the first election taking place on the 4th of April), with the usual +local result that a proper political balance was struck of 40 Liberals +to 20 Conservatives. The Workhouse, Parish Offices, Children's Homes, +&c., will be noted elsewhere. Poor law management in the borough is +greatly complicated from the fact of its comprising two different +parishes, and part of a third. The Parish of Birmingham works under a +special local Act, while Edgbaston forms part of King's Norton Union, +and the Aston portion of the town belongs to the Aston Union, +necessitating three different rates and three sets of collectors, &c. If +a poor man in Moseley Road needs assistance he must see the relieving +officer at the Parish Offices in the centre of the town if he lives on +one side of Highgite Lane he must find the relieving officer at King's +Heith; but if he happens to be on the other side he will have to go to +Gravelly Hill or Erdington. Not long ago to obtain a visit from the +medical officer for his sick wife, a man had to go backwards and +forwards more than twenty miles. The earliest record we have found of +the cost of relieving the poor of the parish is of the date of 1673 in +which year the sum of L309 was thus expended. In 1773 the amount was +L6,378, but the pressure on the rates varied considerably about then, as +in 1786 it required L11,132, while in 1796 the figures rose to L24,050. +According to Hutton, out of about 8,000 houses only 3,000 were assessed +to the poor rates in 1780, the inhabitants of the remaining number being +too poor to pay them. Another note shows up the peculiar incidence of +taxation of the time, as it is said that in 1790 there were nearly 2000 +houses under L5 rental and 8,000 others under L10, none of them being +assessed, such small tenancies being first rated in 1792. The rates then +appear to have been levied at the uniform figure of 6d. in the L on all +houses above L6 yearly value, the ratepayers being called upon as the +money was required--in and about 1798, the collector making his +appearance sixteen or eighteen times in the course of the year. The +Guardians were not so chary in the matter of out-relief as they are at +present, for in 1795 there were at one period 2,427 families +(representing over 6,000 persons, old and young) receiving out-relief. +What this system (and bad trade) led to at the close of the long war is +shown in the returns for 1816-17, when 36 poor rates were levied in the +twelvemonth. By various Acts of Parliament, the Overseers have now to +collect other rates, but the proportion required for the poor is thus +shown:-- + + + Rate Amount Paid to Cost of In and Other Parochial +Year in L collected Corporation Out Relief Expenditure + s.d. L L L L +1851 4 0 78,796 39,573 17,824 21,399 +1861 3 8 85,986 36,443 34,685 14,878 +1871 3 2 116,268 44,293 37,104 34,871 +1881 4 8 193,458 107,520 42,880 48,058 + + +The amounts paid over to the Corporation include the borough rate and +the sums required by the School Board, the Free Libraries, and the +District Drainage Board. In future years the poor-rate (so-called) will +include, in addition to these, all other rates levyable by the +Corporation. The poor-rates are levied half-yearly, and in 1848,1862, +and 1868 they amounted to 5s. per year, the lowest during the last forty +years being 3s. in 1860; 1870, 1871, and 1872 being the next lowest, 3s. +2d. per year. The number of persons receiving relief may be gathered +from the following figures:-- + + + Highest Lowest + Year. No. daily No. daily + 1876 7,687 7,058 + 1877 8,240 7,377 + 1878 8,877 7,242 + 1879 14,651 8,829 + 1880 13,195 7,598 + 1881 11,064 7,188 + 1882 9,658 7,462 + 1883 8,347 7,630 + + + + + +Not long ago it was said that among the inmates of the Workhouse were +several women of 10 to 45 who had spent all their lives there, not even +knowing their way into the town. + +~Population.~--Hutton "calculated" that about the year 750 there would +be 3,000 inhabitants residing in and close to Birmingham. Unless a very +rapid thinning process was going on after that date he must have been a +long way out of his reckoning, for the Domesday Book gives but 63 +residents in 1085 for Birmingham, Aston, and Edgbaston. In 1555 we find +that 37 baptisms, 15 weddings, and 27 deaths were registered at St. +Martin's, the houses not being more than 700, nor the occupiers over +3,500 in number. In 1650, it is said, there were 15 streets, about 900 +houses, and 5,472 inhabitants. If the writer who made that calculation +was correct, the next 80 years must have been "days of progress" indeed, +for in 1700 the town is said to have included 28 streets, about 100 +courts and alleys, 2,504 houses, one church, one chapel, and two +meeting-houses, with 15,032 inhabitants. In 1731 there were 55 streets, +about 150 courts and alleys, 3,719 houses, two churches, one chapel, +four Dissenting meeting-houses, and 23,286 inhabitants. The remaining +figures, being taken from census returns and other reliable authorities, +are more satisfactory. + + + Year. Inhabitants. Houses. + 1741 24,660 4,114 + 1773 30,804 7,369 + 1778 48,252 8,042 + 1781 50,295 8,382 + 1791 73,653 12,681 + 1801 78,760 16,659 + 1811 85,755 19,096 + 1821 106,721 21,345 + 1831 142,251 29,397 + 1841 182,922 36,238 + 1851 232,841 48,894 + 1861 296,076 62,708 + 1871 343,787 77,409 + 1881 400,774 84,263 + + + + + +The inhabitants are thus divided as to sexes: + + + Year. Males. Females. Totals. + 1861 143,996 152,080 296,076 + 1871 167,636 176,151 343,787 + 1881 194,540 206,234 400,774 + + + + + +The increase during the ten years in the several parts of the borough +shows: + + + Part of + Birmingham Edgbaston Aston in + parish. parish. borough. Totals. + + 1881 246,352 22,778 131,644 400,774 + 1871 231,015 17,442 95,330 343,787 + ------- ------ ------- ------- + Increase 15,337 5,336 36,314 56,987 + + + + + +These figures, however, are not satisfactorily correct, as they simply +give the totals for the borough, leaving out many persons who, though +residing outside the boundaries are to all intents and purposes +Birmingham people; and voluminous as census papers usually are, it is +difficult from those of 1871 to arrive at the proper number, the +districts not being subdivided sufficiently. Thus, in the following +table Handsworth includes Soho and Perry Barr, Harborne parish includes +Smethwick, Balsall Heath is simply the Local included district, while +King's Norton Board is Moseley, Selly Oak, &c. + + + Places. Inhabitants. + Aston Parish 139,998 + Aston Manor 33,948 + Balsall Heath 13,615 + Handsworth 16,042 + Harborne Parish 22,263 + Harborne Township 5,105 + King's Norton Parish 21,845 + Yardley Parish 5,360 + + + + + +For the census of 1881, the papers were somewhat differently arranged, +and we are enabled to get a nearer approximation, as well as a better +notion of the increase that has taken place in the number of inhabitants +in our neighbourhood. + + + Place 1871 1881 + Acock's Green 1,492 2,796 + Aston Manor 33,948 53,844 + Aston Parish 139,998 201,287 + Aston Union 146,808 209,869 + Balsall Heath 13,615 22,734 + Birchfield 2,544 3,792 + Castle Bromwich 689 723 + Erdington 4,883 7,153 + Handsworth 16,042 22,903 + Harborne 5,105 6,433 + King's Heath 1,982 2,984 + King's Norton 21,845 34,178 + King's Norton + Union ------ 96,143 + Knowle 1,371 1,514 + Moseley 2,374 4,224 + Northfield 4,609 7,190 + Olton ----- 906 + Perry Barr 1,683 2,314 + Quinton 2,010 2,145 + Saltley ----- 6,419 + Selly Oak 2,854 5,089 + Smethwick 17,158 25,076 + Solihull 3,739 5,301 + Ward End ----- 866 + Water Orton ----- 396 + Witton 182 265 + Yardley 5,360 9,741 + + + +The most remarkable increase of population in any of these districts is +in the case of Aston Manor, where in fifty years the inhabitants have +increased from less than one thousand to considerably more than fifty +thousand. In 1831, there were 946: in 1841, the number was 2,847; in +1851 it was 6,429; in 1861 it reached 16,337; in 1871 it had doubled to +33,948; in 1881 there were 53,844. Included among the inhabitants of the +borough in 1881 there were + + + Males. Females. Totals. + Foreigners 1,288 859 2,147 + Irish 3,488 3,584 7,072 + Scotch 912 755 1,667 + Welsh 1,575 1,742 3,317 + Colonial 428 477 905 + Born at sea 29 21 50 + + +Of the English-born subjects of Her Majesty here 271,845 were +Warwickshire lads and lasses, 26,625 came out of Staffordshire, 21,504 +from Worcestershire, 10,158 from Gloucestershire, 7,941 from London, +5,622 from Shropshire, and 4,256 from Lancashire, all the other counties +being more or less represented. The following analysis of the +occupations of the inhabitants of the borough is copied from the _Daily +Post_, and is arranged under the groups adopted by the +Registrar-General:-- + + + Occupations of Persons. + + Males. Females. Total. + Persons engaged in general + or local government 1,145 79 1,224 + Army and navy 307 -- 307 + Clerical profession and + their subordinates 287 98 335 + Legal ditto 445 -- 445 + Medical ditto 336 496 832 + Teachers 512 1,395 1,907 + Literary and scientific 70 4 74 + Engineers and surveyors 111 --- 111 + Artists, art-workers + musicians, &c. 729 398 1,127 + Engaged in exhibitions, + shows, games, &c. 102 17 119 + Domestic service 1,444 13,875 15,319 + Other service 176 4,058 4,234 + Commercial occupations 6,172 422 6,594 + Engaged in conveyance + of men, goods, and + messages 2,442 1,839 11,281 + Engaged in agriculture 881 25 906 + Engaged about animals 771 5 776 + Workers and Dealers in + Books, prints and maps 1,888 428 2,316 + Machines and implements 11,189 3,385 14,574 + Houses, furniture, and + decorations 12,781 1,209 13,990 + Carriages and harness 2,748 466 3,214 + Ships and boats 67 --- 67 + Chemicals and their + compounds 507 250 757 + Tobacco and pipes 200 851 551 + Food and lodging 8,126 2,124 10,247 + Textile fabrics 1,229 920 2,149 + Dress 6,894 12,946 19,840 + Various animal substances 1,481 744 2,175 + Ditto vegetable + substances 2,277 2,237 4,514 + Ditto mineral substances 36,933 9,582 46,515 + General or unspecified + commodities 10,542 2,631 18,173 + Refuse matters 246 18 264 + Without specific + occupations 45,691 116,892 162,583 + Children under five + years 28,911 29,133 58,044 + ------ ------- ------- + Total 194,540 206,234 400,774 + + +The comparative population of this and other large towns in England is +thus given:-- + + + Pop. Pop. Inc. Prcent + 1881. 1871. of inc. + London 3,707,130 3,254,260 452,870 13.89 + Liverpool 549,834 493,305 56,429 11.35 + Birmingham 400,774 343,787 56,893 16.52 + Manchester 364,445 351,189 13,256 3.70 + Salford 194,077 124,801 69,276 55.64 + Leeds 326,158 259,212 66,946 25.81 + Sheffield 312,943 239,946 72,997 30.38 + Bristol 217,185 182,552 24,633 13.47 + Bradford 203,544 145,830 57,614 39.50 + Nottingham 177,934 86,621 91,343 105.81 + Hull 152,980 121,892 31,088 25.62 + Newcastle 151,822 128,443 23,379 17.96 + Portsmouth 136,671 113,569 23,102 20.35 + Leicester 134,350 95,220 39,130 41.05 + Oldham 119,658 82,629 37,029 45.11 + Sunderland 118,927 98,242 20,685 90.40 + Brighton 109,062 90,011 19,051 21.11 + Norwich 86,437 80,386 6,051 7.50 + W'lvrhmptn 76,850 68,291 8,569 12.46 + Plymouth 75,700 68,758 4,942 7.10 + + + +~Portugal House.~--See "_The Royal_." + +~Post Offices.~--Charles I. must be credited with founding the present +Post Office system, as in 1635 he commanded that a running post or two +should be settled "to run night and day between London and Edinburgh, to +go thither and come back again in six days, and to take with them all +such letters as shall be directed to any post town in or near that +road." Other "running posts" were arranged to Exeter and Plymouth, and +to Chester and Holyhead, &c., and gradually all the principal places in +the country were linked on to the main routes by direct and cross posts. +It has often been quoted as a token of the insignificance of Birmingham +that letters used to be addressed "Birmingham, near Walsall;" but +possibly the necessity of some writer having to send here by a +cross-country route, _via_ Walsall, will explain the matter. That our +town was not one of the last to be provided with mails is proved by +Robert Girdler, a resident of Edgbaston Street in 1652, being appointed +the Government postmaster. Where the earlier post offices were situated +is uncertain, but one was opened in New Street Oct. 11, 1783, and it is +generally believed to have been the same that existed for so many years +at the corner of Bennett's Hill. As late as 1820 there was no Bennett's +Hill, for at that time the site opposite the Theatre was occupied (on +the side nearest to Temple Street) by a rickyard, with accommodation for +the mailcoaches and stabling for horses. Next to this yard was the +residence of Mr. Gottwaltz, the postmaster, the entrance doorway being +at first the only accommodation allowed to the public, and if more than +four persons attended at one time the others had to stand in the street. +When Bennett's Hill was laid out, the post office was slightly altered, +so as to give a covered approach on that side to the letterbox and +window, the mailcoaches being provided and horsed by the hotelkeepers to +whom the conveyance of the mails was entrusted, the mail guards, or +mail-postmen, remaining Government officials. The next office was opened +Oct. 10, 1842, on premises very nearly opposite, and which at one period +formed part of the new Royal Hotel. The site is now covered by the +Colonnade, the present convenient, but not beautiful, Central Post +Office, in Paradise Street, being opened Sep. 28, 1873. There are 65 +town receiving offices (52 of which are Money Order Offices and Savings' +Banks and 13 Telegraph Stations), and 103 pillar and wall letter-boxes. +Of sub-offices in the surrounding districts there are 64, of which more +than half are Money Order Offices or Telegraph Offices. For the conduct +of the Central Office, Mr. S. Walliker, the postmaster, has a staff +numbering nearly 300, of whom about 250 are letter carriers and sorters. +The Central Postal Telegraph Office, in Cannon Street, is open day and +night, and the Central Post Office, in Paradise Street, from 7 a.m. to +10 p.m. On Sunday the latter office is open only from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., +but letters are dispatched by the night mails as on other days. The Head +Parcels Post Office is in Hill Street, on the basement floor of the +Central Post Office, from which there are four collections and +deliveries daily. + +~Postal Notes.~--In 1748 letters were conveyed from here by post on six +days a week instead of three as previously. To help pay the extra +expense it was enacted that any person sending letters by private hands +should be liable to a fine of L5 for every letter.--In 1772 a letter +sent by "express" post was charged at the rate of 3d. per mile, with a +6d. fee for each stage and 2s. 6d. for the sending off.--Mails for the +Continent were made up fortnightly, and once a month for North America. +--In 1780, when James Watt was at Truro and Boulton at Birmingham, it +took thirteen days for the one to write to and get an answer from the +other, and on one occasion a single letter was eleven days on the road. +--A local "penny post" was commenced September 4, 1793, but there was +only one delivery per day and the distance was confined to one mile from +the office.--The postage on letters for London was reduced to 7d., +December 1, 1796, but (and for many years after) if more than one piece +of paper was used the cost was doubled.--In 1814 the postage of a letter +from here to Warwick was 7d.--The system of "franking" letters was +abolished in 1839. This was a peculiar privilege which noblemen, Members +of Parliament, and high dignitaries possessed of free postage for all +their correspondence, and very strange use they made of the privilege +sometimes, one instance being the case of two maidservants going as +laundresses to an Ambassador who were thus "franked" to their +destination. This privilege cost the Post office about L100,000 a year. +--The penny postage system of Rowland Hill came into operation January +10th, 1840.--In 1841-2 there were only two deliveries per day in the +centre of the town, and but one outside the mile circle, an extra penny +being charged on letters posted in town for delivery in the outer +districts.--The collection of a million postage stamps for the Queen's +Hospital closed Sep. 5, 1859.--Halfpenny stamps for newspapers were +first used in 1870.--The telegraphs were taken to by the Post Office in +1876, the first soiree in celebration thereof being held at Bristol +Street Board School, Jan. 29, 1877.--The Inland Parcels Post came into +operation on August 1, 1883, the number of parcels passing through our +local office being about 4,000 the first day, such trifles as beehives, +umbrellas, shoes, scythes, baskets of strawberries, &c., &c, being among +them. The number of valentines posted in Birmingham on Cupid's Day of +1844 was estimated at 125,000 (the majority for local delivery), being +about 20,000 more than in the previous year. + +~Power.~--That the letting of mill-power would be a great advantage to +hundreds of the small masters whose infinitude of productions added so +enormously to the aggregate of our local trade was soon "twigged" by the +early owners of steam engines. The first engine to have extra shafting +attached for this purpose was that made by Newcomen for a Mr. Twigg in +Water Street (the premises are covered by Muntz's metal works now), who, +in 1760, advertised that he had "power to let." + +~Presentations.~--No local antiquarian has yet given us note of the +first public presentation made by the inhabitants of this town, though +to the men they have delighted to honour they have never been backward +with such flattering and pleasing tokens of goodwill. Some presentations +have been rather curious, such as gold-plated buttons and ornate shoe +buckles to members of the Royal Family in hopes that the patronage of +those individuals would lead to changes in the fashion of dress, and so +influence local trade. The gift of a sword to Lord Nelson, considering +that the said sword had been presented previously to a volunteer +officer, was also of this nature. The Dissenters of the town gave L100 +to the three troops of Light Horse who first arrived to quell the riots +in 1791, and a similar sum was voted at a town's meeting; each officer +being presented with a handsome sword. Trade should have been good at +the time, for it is further recorded that each magistrate received a +piece of plate valued at one hundred guineas.--Since that date there +have been hundreds of presentations, of greater or lesser value, made to +doctors and divines, soldiers and sailors, theatricals and concert-hall +men, lawyers and prizefighters, with not a few to popular politicians +and leading literary men &c. Lord Brougham (then plain Mr.) being the +recipient at one time (July 7, 1812); James Day, of the Concert Hall, at +another (0ct. 1,1878); the "Tipton Slasher" was thus honoured early in +1865, while the Hon. and Very Rev. Grantham Yorke, D.D., was "gifted" at +the latter end of 1875. Among the presentations of later date have been +those to Dr. Bell Fletcher, Mr. Gamgee, Mr. W.P. Goodall, and other +medical gentlemen; to Canon O'Sullivan, the late Rev. J.C. Barratt, and +other clergymen; to Mr. Edwin Smith, secretary of Midland Institute; to +Mr. Schnadhorst of the Liberal Association; to Mr. Jesse Collings, for +having upheld the right of free speech by turning out of the Town Hall +those who differed with the speakers; and to John Bright in honour of +his having represented the town in Parliament for twenty-five year.--On +April 30, 1863, a handsome silver repousse table was presented to the +Princess of Wales on the occasion of her marriage, the cost, L1,500, +being subscribed by inhabitants of the town. + +~Price Of Bread.~--At various times during the present century the +four-pound loaf has been sold here as follows:--At 4-1/2d. in 1852; at +7-1/2d. in 1845; at 9-1/2d. in June, 1857, and June, 1872; at l0d. in +December, 1855, June, 1868, and December, 1872; at l0-1/2d. in February, +1854, December, 1855, December, 1867, and March, 1868, at 11d. in +December, 1854, June, 1855, and June 1856; at ll-1/2d. in November, +1846, May and November, 1847, and May, 1848; at 1s. and onwards to 1s. +5-1/2d. in August, 1812, and again in July, 1816; and may God preserve +the poor from such times again.--See "_Hard Times_." + +~Prices of Provisions, &c.~--In 1174, wheat and barley sold at Warwick +for 2-1/2d. per bushel, hogs at 1s. 6d. each, cows (salted down) at 2s. +each, and salt at 1-4/5d. per bushel. In 1205 wheat was worth 12 pence +per bushel, which was cheap, as there had been some years of famine +previous thereto. In 1390 wheat was sold at 13d. per bushel, so high a +price that historians say there was a "dearth of corn" at that period. +From accounts preserved of the sums expended at sundry public feasts at +Coventry (Anno 1452 to 1464) we find that 2s. 3d. was paid for 18 +gallons of ale, 2s. 6d. for 9 geese, 5d. for 2 lambs, 5d. for a calf, +l0d. for 9 chickens, 3d. for a shoulder of mutton, 1s. 3d. for 46 +pigeons, 8d. for a strike of wheat and grinding it, &c. An Act of +Parliament (24, Henry VIII.) was passed in 1513 that beef and pork +should be sold at a half-penny per pound. In 1603 it was ordered that +one quart of best ale, or two of small, should be sold for one penny. In +1682 the prices of provisions were, a fowl 1s., a chicken 5d., a rabbit +7d.; eggs three for 1d.; best fresh butter, 6d. per lb.; ditto salt +butter, 3-1/2d.; mutton 1s. 4d. per stone of 8lb.; beef, 1s. 6d. per +stone; lump sugar, 1s per lb.; candles, 3-1/2d. per lb.; coals, 6d. per +sack of 4 bushels; ditto charcoal, 1s. 2d. best, 8d. the smallest. Wheat +averaged 50s. per quarter, but the greatest part of the population lived +almost entirely on rye, barley, oats, and peas. Cottages in the country +were let at about 20s. per annum. In 1694 a pair of shoes cost 3s. 6d.; +a pair of stockings, 1s. 4d.; two shirts, 5s. 4d.; leather breeches, +2s.; coat, waistcoat, and breeches, 16s.; a coffin, 5s.; a shroud and a +grave for a poor man, 3s. l0d. In November, 1799, the quartern loaf was +sold in London, at 1s. l0-1/2d. and in this town at 1s. 4d., the farmers +coming here to market having to be protected by constables for months +together. + +~Priory.~--History gives us very little information respecting the +Hospital or Priory of St. Thomas the Apostle [See "_Old Square_"] and +still less as the Church or Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr. The site of +the Priory was most probably where the Old Square was laid out, though +during the many alterations that have latterly been made not a single +stone has been discovered to prove it so. A few bones were found during +the months of Aug. and Sept., 1884, and it is said that many years back +a quantity of similar remains were discovered while cellars were being +made under some of the houses in Ball Street, and one late writer speaks +of cellars or crypts, which were hastily built up again. From these few +traces it is not unlikely that the Chapel existed somewhere between the +Minories and Steelhouse Lane, monkish chants probably resounding where +now the members of the Society of Friends sit in silent prayer. Ancient +records tell us that in 1285 three persons (William of Birmingham, +Thomas of Maidenhacche, and Ranulph of Rugby) gave 23 acres of land at +Aston and Saltley (then spelt Saluteleye) for the "endowment" of the +Hospital of St. Thomas the Apostle, but that rather goes to prove the +previous existence of a religious edifice instead of dating its +foundation. In 1310 the Lord of Birmingham gave an additional 22 acres, +and many others added largely at the time, a full list of these donors +being given in Toulmin Smith's "Memorials of old Birmingham." In 1350, +70 acres in Birmingham parish and 30 acres in Aston were added to the +possessions of the Priory, which by 1547, when all were confiscated, +must have become of great value. The principal portions of the Priory +lands in Aston and Saltley went to enrich the Holte family, one (if not +the chief) recipient being the brother-in-law of Sir Thomas Holte; but +the grounds and land surrounding the Priory and Chapel appear to have +been gradually sold to others, the Smallbroke family acquiring the chief +part. The ruins of the old buildings doubtless formed a public +stonequarry for the builders of the 17th century, as even Hutton can +speak of but few relics being left in his time, and those he carefully +made use of himself! From the mention in an old deed of an ancient well +called the "Scitewell" (probably "Saints' Well"), the Priory grounds +seem to have extended along Dale End to the Butts (Stafford Street), +where the water was sufficiently abundant to require a bridge. It was +originally intended to have a highly-respectable street in the +neighbourhood named St. Thomas Street, after the name of the old Priory, +a like proviso being made when John Street was laid out for building. + +~Prisons.~--Before the incorporation of the borough all offenders in the +Manor of Aston were confined in Bordesley Prison, otherwise "Tarte's +Hole" (from the name of one of the keepers), situate in High Street, +Bordesley. It was classed in 1802 as one of the worst gaols in the +kingdom. The prison was in the backyard of the keeper's house, and it +comprised two dark, damp dungeons, twelve feet by seven feet, to which +access was gained through a trapdoor, level with the yard, and down ten +steps. The only light or air that could reach these cells (which +sometimes were an inch deep in water) was through a single iron-grated +aperture about a foot square. For petty offenders, runaway apprentices, +and disobedient servants, there were two other rooms, opening into the +yard, each about twelve feet square. Prisoners' allowance was 4d. per +day and a rug to cover them at night on their straw. In 1809 the use of +the underground rooms was put a stop to, and the churchwardens allowed +the prisoners a shilling per day for sustenance. Those sentenced to the +stocks or to be whipped received their punishments in the street +opposite the prison, and, if committed for trial, were put in leg-irons +until called for by "the runners." The place was used as a lock-up for +some time after the incorporation, and the old irons were kept on show +for years.--The old Debtors' Prison in 1802 was in Philip Street, in a +little back courtyard, not fourteen feet square, and it consisted of one +damp, dirty dungeon, ten feet by eleven feet, at the bottom of a descent +of seven steps, with a sleeping-room, about same size, over it. In these +rooms male and female alike were confined, at one time to the number of +fifteen; each being allowed 3d. per day by their parishes, and a little +straw on the floor at night for bedding, unless they chose to pay the +keeper 2s. a week for a bed in his house. In 1809 the debtors were +removed to the Old Court House [See "_Court of Requests_"], where the +sleeping arrangements were of a better character. Howard, the "Prison +Philanthropist," visited the Philip Street prison in 1782, when he found +that the prisoners were not allowed to do any work, enforced idleness +(as well as semi-starvation) being part of the punishment. He mentions +the case of a shoemaker who was incarcerated for a debt of 15s., which +the keeper of the prison had to pay through kindly allowing the man to +finish some work he had begun before being locked up. In these +enlightened days no man is imprisoned for owing money, but only because +he does not pay it when told to do so.--See also "_Dungeon_" and +"_Gaols_." + +~Privateering.~--Most likely there was some truth in the statement that +chains and shackles were made here for the slave-ships of former days, +and from the following letter written to Matthew Boulton in October, +1778, there can be little doubt but that he at least had a share in some +of the privateering exploits of the time, though living so far from a +seaport:--"One of the vessels _our_ little brig took last year was +fitted out at New York, and in a cruise of thirteen weeks has taken +thirteen prizes, twelve of which are carried safe in, and we have advice +of 200 hogsheads of tobacco being shipped as part of the prizes, which +if now here would fetch us L10,000," &c. + +~Progress of the Town.~--The Borough Surveyor favours us yearly with +statistics giving the number of new buildings erected, or for which +plans have been approved, and to show how rapidly the town is +progressing in extent, we give a few of the figures. The year 1854 is +memorable in the building trade, as there were 2,219 new houses erected, +the average for years after not being 1,000. In 1861 the number was but +952; in 1862, 1,350; in 1863, 1,694; in 1864, 1,419; in 1865, 1,056; in +1866, 1,411; in 1867, 1,408; in 1868, 1,548; in 1869, 1,709; in 1870, +1,324; in 1871, 1,076; in 1872, 1,265; in 1873, 993. The building report +for the last ten years is thus tabulated:-- + + + 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 + ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- +Houses 1611 3395 2903 2700 1205 1197 1301 1236 666 938 +and Shops +Churches 1 1 1 1 -- -- -- -- 2 2 +Chapels 2 2 5 3 1 -- 1 1 -- 1 +Schools 9 15 6 6 4 -- -- 2 6 1 +Manufactories +and 76 80 107 86 64 102 64 91 64 73 +Warehouses +Miscellaneous 42 48 43 90 96 101 71 84 62 97 +Alterations 47 67 52 167 290 225 222 180 163 158 + ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- + 1788 3608 3117 3053 1660 1625 1659 1594 963 1235 + [1] + +[1] [Transcriber's note: This is an error; the column adds up to 1270] + +Under the heading of "Miscellaneous" are included such erections as +libraries, public halls, clubs, arcades, slaughterhouses, cowsheds, and +all other necessary and useful buildings appertaining to human hives, +but which need not be particularised. + +~Probate.~--The Probate Registry Office is at No. 15, Old Square. + +~Promenades~--When Corporation Street is finished, and its pathways +nicely shaded with green-leaved trees, it will doubtless be not only the +chief business street of the town, but also the most popular promenade. +At present the gay votaries of dress and fashion principally honour New +Street, especially on Saturday mornings. Hagley Road, on Sunday +evenings, is particularly affected by some as their favourite promenade. + +~Proof House.~--The foundation stone of the Proof House, Banbury Street, +was laid October 4th, 1813, the yearly number of gun, rifle, and pistol +barrels proved at the establishment averages over half a million.--See +"_Trades_" + +~Property.~--The Birmingham Property Owners' and Ratepayers' Protection +Association was formed in May, 1872. Out of 70,000 separate assessments +the owners pay the rates in more than 50,000 cases. + +~Provident Dispensaries.~--See "Dispensaries." + +~Provident Societies.~--See "_Friendly, benevolent, and Provident +Institutions_." + +~Provincialisms.~--Like the inhabitants of most other parts of the +country Birmingham people are not without their peculiarities of speech, +not so strongly characterised perhaps as those of the good folks of +Somersetshire, or even some of our neighbours in the Black Country, but +still noticeable. For instance, few workmen will take a holiday; they +prefer a "day's out" or "play." They will not let go or abandon +anything, but they "loose" it. They do not tell you to remove, but "be +off." They prefer to "pay at twice" in lieu of in two instalments. The +use of the word "her" in place of "she" is very common, as well as the +curious term "just now," for an indefinite time to come, as "Her'll do +it just now," instead of "She will do it soon." In vulgar parlance this +book is not your own or our own, but "yourn" or "ourn," or it may be +"hisn" or "hern." In pronunciation as well, though perhaps not so +markedly, our people are sometimes peculiar, as when they ask for a +"stahmp" or put out their "tong," &c., stress being often laid also on +the word "and," as well as upon syllables not requiring it, as +diction_ary_, volun_teers_, &c. + +~Public Buildings.~--The Guild Hall, in New Street, and the Roundabout +House in High Street were at one time the only public buildings in the +town, besides the Parish Church, the Lockups, and the Pinfold. The +Market Cross, Public Office, Workhouse, &c., came after, and it is only +of late years we have been able to boast of Town Hall, Market Hall, +Parish Office, Council House and all the other establishments so +necessary to the dignity of a town ranking as third largest in the +Kingdom. The huge piles that have been erected during the last dozen +years or so are of so varied a character that it becomes somewhat +difficult to draw a line between those which are strictly of a private +nature and the so-called "public" buildings; under which heading perhaps +even Railway Stations, Banks, and Theatres might properly come. The +following are some of the chief edifices not noted elsewhere:-- + +_County Court_.--The new County Court, at the corner of Corporation +Street and Newton Street, was erected from the plans of Mr. J. Williams +at a cost of about L20,000. It is built of Hollington Stone, in Italian +style, though, like that other Government-built edifice, the new Post +Office, it is of too heavy an appearance. The two entrances for the +general public are in Newton Street, the Registrar's and principal +Courts being on the first floor, though neither are near large enough +for the business intended to be practised therein. The entrance to the +Judge's rooms is in Corporation Street, under a portico with Doric +columns. + +_Drill Hall_--In 1880 a company was formed, with a capital of L5,000 in +L20 shares, for the purpose of building a Drill Hall and suitable +head-quarters for the local Volunteers. A site in Thorpe Street, +containing 2,287 square yards, was taken on lease for 99 years at L100 +rental, and very suitable premises have been erected, the frontage to +the street (183 ft.) allowing the formation of a lofty drill hall, 180 +ft. long by 85 ft. wide, at the rear of the usual and useful offices and +rooms required. The latter comprise on the ground floor an orderly room +and strong room, sergeant-major's office, armoury, clothing store, +non-commissioned officers' room, privates' meeting room, +sergeant-major's and staff-sergeant's quarters, and stables. On the +first floor there are an officers' meeting room, a sergeants' meeting +room, long galleries, &c.; the whole building being characteristically +laid out for military purposes. + +_Fire Engine Stations_.--The Central Fire Brigade Station, which is in +telephonic communication with all the police stations, the theatres, +various public buildings, and chief manufactories, is situated in the +Upper Priory, between the Old Square and Steelhouse Lane, and is easily +distinguishable by the large red lamp outside its gate. There are here +kept ready for instant use three manual and one steam engine, the latter +being capable of throwing 450 gallons of water per minute to a height of +120 feet, the other also being good specimens of their class. Each +manual engine has on board its complement of hose, branches (the brass +pipes through which the water leaves the hose), stand-pipes for +connecting the hose with the water mains, &c., while at its side hang +scaling-ladders, in sections which can readily be fitted together to +reach a considerable height. The engine-house also contains a tender to +the steam machine, a horse hose-cart, a hand hose-cart, and a number of +portable hand-pumps. It is with these hand-pumps that the majority of +the fires in Birmingham are extinguished, and one of them forms a +portion of the load of every engine. Several canvas buckets, which +flatten into an inconceivably small space, are also taken by means of +which, either by carrying or by passing from hand to hand, the +reservoirs of the pump can be kept filled, and a jet of water be made +available where, perhaps, it would be difficult or impossible to bring +hose. The hose kept at the station amounts to a total length of +2,487-1/2 yards, of which about 1,700 yards is always kept on the +engines, hose-carts, tender, and fire-escapes ready for instant use. The +remainder forms a reserve to allow for repairs, drying, &c. Between the +engine-house and the street is a commodious house for the +assistant-superintendent, with a very pleasant yard on the roof of the +engine-house. Adjoining the engine-house on the other side, is the +stable, where five splendid horses are kept. In the yard stand three +fire-escapes, each fitted with a box containing hose, stand-pipes and +branches, so that it may be utilised for extinguishing fires independent +of the engines. The total strength of the brigade is twenty-five, +including the superintendent (Mr. A.R. Tozer), the assistant +superintendent (Mr. J. Tiviotdale), two engineers, and an assistant +engineer. Eighteen of the brigade reside at the central station, the +others being quartered at the seven divisional police stations and at +the fire station in Bristol Street (opposite the Bell Inn), at each of +which places are kept an escape, or an hose-cart, and one or two +hand-pumps with the needful hose and appliances. The cost of the +buildings in the Upper Priory, including the site (1,500 square yards at +seven guineas per yard), was about L20,000, there being in addition to +the offices and stables, a waiting-room (in which two men are on duty +night and day), a drill ground 153 ft. long by 40 ft. wide, an +engine-room large enough for six engines, good-sized recreation rooms, +baths, &c. The residences are erected upon the "flat" system, and have a +special interest in the fact that they constitute the first important +introduction of that style of building in Birmingham. The advantages and +the drawbacks, if any, of the system may here be seen and judged of by +all who are interested in the matter. On the ground floor there are +three residences, each having a living room, which may be used as a +kitchen and two bed rooms adjoining. A semicircular open staircase gives +access to the flats, and on the first floor there are four residences, +one being formed over the firemen's waiting room and office. On this +floor additional bed rooms are provided for men with families requiring +them; and the second floor is a reproduction of the first. On the top of +all there is a flat upon which are erected five wash-houses, the +remainder of the space being used as a drying ground or play ground for +children, the whole enclosed with iron palisades. In the basement there +is a lock-up cellar for each of the residences. + +_Fish Market_.--A rather plain-looking erection, of the open-shed style +of architecture was put up at the corner of Bell Street in 1870. the +foundation stone being laid July 14. It has since been enlarged, and is +now much more ornamental as well as being useful. The estimated cost of +the alterations is put at L16,000 including fittings. The original area +was only 715 square yards, but to that has been added 909 square yards, +and Bell Street (to which it will have a frontage of 240 feet), which +will be widened to 16 yards, is to be covered with iron and glass roof, +Lease Lane is also to be widened for access to the market. + +_Lincoln's Inn_.--This is a huge block of offices erected in Corporation +Street, opposite the County Court, in 1883. and which, like its London +namesake, is intended for the accommodation of solicitors, accountants, +and other professional gentlemen. There are a number of suites of +offices surrounding an inner court (66ft. by 60ft.), with from two to +eight rooms each, the street frontages in Corporation Street and Dalton +Street being fitted as shops, while there is a large room under the +court (48ft. by 42ft.) suitable for a sale room or other purpose. The +outside appearance of the block is very striking, having a large +entrance gateway with a circular bay window over it, surmounted by a +lofty lower. The tower has four clock faces, pinnacles at the angles, +and a steep slate roof and is 120 feet high. There are also two flanking +towers, at the extreme ends of the front. These have canted bay windows +below them, and their pediments are surmounted by figures representing +Mercury and Athaene. The space on each side between the central and the +flanking tower is divided into three bays, having ornamental dormers +above them, and being divided by niches, which will serve to hold +allegorical figures of the arts. The windows are ornamented by tracery, +and the facade is enriched by a free use of carving. The architect is +Mr. W.H. Ward, and the cost of the pile about L22,000. + +_Market Hall_.--The foundation stone was laid Feb. 28, 1833, and it was +opened for business Feb. 14, 1835. The building, which is constructed of +freestone, from the designs of Mr. Edge, cost about L30,000, though +considerable sums have since been spent on it. The large vaults +constructed under the Hall in 1875 coat about L4,000. It contains an +area of 39,411 square feet, being 365 feet long, 108 feet broad, and 60 +feet high, and was originally planned to give stall-room for 600 +dealers. The liquor shop, house, and vaults beneath, at corner of Bell +Street, were let on lease by auction (Nov. 1833) for 100 years, for the +sum of L5,400 and a 20s. yearly rental. In 1876 the Corporation gave +L15,000 to resume possession, afterwards reletting the premises at L800 +a year, with a further L100 for the vaults. The Street Commissioners, +when retiring from office, placed in the centre of the Hall a fountain +of very appropriate design (uncovered Dec. 24, 1851), and ornamented +with bronze figures characteristic of Birmingham manufactures, but which +has been removed to Highgate Park. A clock was put above the spot where +the fountain stood, in April, 1852, which cost L60.--A Market Hall was +erected in Prospect Row in 1837, but was very little used as such. A few +years back it was partly turned into a depot for American meat, but is +now simply used for warehouses. + +_Masonic Hall_.--The first stone of this building, situated at the +corner of New Street and Ethel Street, was laid Sept. 30, 1865, the +ceremony of dedication taking place April 26th, 1870. + +_Municipal Buildings_.--The advancement of the town in trade and +prosperity, population, and wealth, made it necessary years ago for our +local governors to look out for a central spot on which could be +gathered the many offices and officers appertaining to the Corporation +of a large town like Birmingham. They were fortunate in being able (in +1854) to secure so eligible a site, in such a central position, and with +such commanding elevation, as the one at the corner of Ann Street and +Congreve Street, though at first glance the acquisition would appear to +have been a costly one. The price of the land and reversion thereto was +L39,525, but during the years that elapsed before the ground was cleared +ready for building (1872) the interest brought that sum up to nearly +L70,000. The total area was 11,540 square yards, of which 4,455 square +yards were thrown into the streets. Thus, though the original price was +but 68s. 6d. per yard, by the time the buildings were erected the actual +site cost over L9 per yard. The plans were approved Feb. 11, 1873, the +contract for building being L84,120, but during the course of erection +many important additions and alterations were made to the original +plans, raising the cost to L144,743. Part of the ground was originally +intended to be covered with Assize Courts, but have been devoted to the +erection of a magnificent Art Gallery, &c., so that more than a quarter +million sterling will ultimately have been spent on the spot. The +foundation stone was laid by the then Mayor, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, +June 17, 1874, and the erection took about five years, the "hoarding" +being removed July 18, 1879. The design of the Municipal Buildings is +essentially classical, but not of any particular style, Mr. Yeoville +Thomasson, the architect, having given free rein to his own conceptions +of what was required in a modern erection of the nature of a local +Parliament House. The south, or principal front (to Ann Street), has a +length of 296 feet, the frontage to Congreve Street is 122 feet, and +that to Eden Place is 153 feet. From the ground to the top of the main +cornice the height is 65 feet; the pediment over the central entrance is +90 feet high; the stone cornice of the dome 114 feet; and the top of the +finial 162 feet, the dome rising behind the central pediment from the +main staircase. Looked at from a distance, the features of the building +that at first strike the spectator are the carved groups of life-sized +figures in the six pediments. The Ann Street and Congreve Street +frontages have a pediment at each end, of semicircular shape, and the +Eden Place frontage has one at the end where it joins the principal +front. The pediment in the centre of the south front is triangular in +shape, and contains a group of sculptured figures representing +"Britannia rewarding the Birmingham manufacturers." In the other +pediments the groups represent Manufacture, Commerce, Literature, Art, +and Science. Under the central pediment, and within a semicircular arch +over the central entrance, is a large and beautiful figure-subject in +mosaic, executed by Messrs. Salviati and Co., of London. Besides the +central entrance, which is reached through a portico supported by square +and round columns, and is reserved for the use of the Town Council and +state occasions, there are four entrances to the building, one at each +end of the principal front, one in Eden Place, and the other within the +gateway which runs through the Congreve Street wing into the courtyard +at the back. By the last-mentioned staircase access is obtained by the +general public to the Council Chamber. The building contains 94 rooms of +various sizes, three of the largest devoted to occasions of ceremony, +and the rest to the uses of the different departments of the Corporation +work. The central of the three reception rooms is 30 feet square, and is +divided from the other two by an open screen of marble columns, both +rooms being 64ft. by 30ft. The Council Chamber is 39ft. wide and, +including the gallery for spectators, is 48ft. long, the fittings and +furniture being of the most substantial character as well as ornamental. +In various parts of the building accommodation has been found for the +Town Clerk, the Borough Treasurer, Surveyor, Analyst, Chief Constable, +and every other department of Corporation work. The furnishing of the +Council Chamber and the other parts of the Municipal Buildings amounted +to L15,603, the laying in of the gas and water services being L2,418 +additional. + +_Odd-Fellows' Hall_.--Before the New Street Railway Station was erected +there was an Odd-Fellows' Hall in King Street. The first stone of the +present building in Upper Temple Street was laid early in 1849, the +opening ceremony taking place Dec. 3 same year. The principal room or +"hall" will accommodate about 1,000 persons, the remaining portion of +the premises being let off in offices. + +_Parish Offices_.--The meeting-place of the Board of Guardians and their +necessary staff of officers has from the earliest days of Poor Law +government been the most frequented of any of our public buildings. +Formerly the headquarters were at the Workhouse in Lichfield Street, but +when that institution was removed to Birmingham Heath, the large +building at the corner of Suffolk Street and Paradise Street was built +for the use of the parish officers, possession being taken thereof Feb. +26, 1853. Thirty years seems but a short period for the occupation of +such a pile of offices, but as it has been necessary several times to +enlarge the Workhouse, as well as to collect very much larger sums from +the ratepayers, it is but in the natural order of things that the +Overseers, Guardians, and all others connected with them should be +allowed more elbow-room. A parish palace, almost rivalling our Municipal +Buildings in magnificence of ornate architecture, has therefore been +erected at the junction of Edmund Street and Newhall Street, where poor +unfortunate people going to the Workhouse, and whose ultimate +destination will possibly be a pauper's grave, may have the +gratification of beholding beautiful groups of statuary sculpture, +Corinthian columns of polished granite, pilasters of marble, gilded +capitals, panelled ceilings, coloured architraves, ornamental cornices, +encaustic tiles, and all the other pretty things appertaining to a +building designed in a "severe form of the style of the French +Renaissance," as an architectural paper critic calls it. Ratepayers will +also have pleasure in taking their money to and delivering it over in +"one of the most convenient suites of poor-law offices in the kingdom," +possibly deriving a little satisfaction from the fact that their +descendants in less than a hundred years' time will have to build +another such suite of offices, or buy this over again, as the Guardians +only hold the site (1,700 square yards) upon a ninety-nine years' lease +at a yearly rental of L600 (7s. per yard). The building contract was for +L25,490, besides extras, the architect being Mr. W.H. Ward, and the +fittings, internal decoration, and furnishing was estimated at about +L5,000 more, though possibly as the chairs in the Boardroom are put down +at L5 each, if other articles be in proportion, both sums will be +materially increased. The work was commenced in June, 1882, the memorial +stone being laid February 15th, the following year. The building, which +has five storeys, stands on three sides of a square courtyard, and faces +into Edmund Street. Newhall Street, and a new thoroughfare made in +continuation of Bread Street. In general character the three faces are +alike, the masonry being rusticated in Coxbench stone to the line of the +second floor, the chiselling finishing with an entablature, and the +remaining two storeys included in one order of Corinthian red granite +pillars, which support the main entablature. The front in Edmund Street, +105 feet in length, is symmetrically divided by a central tower, on +either side of which the Corinthian pillars are discontinued until the +two corners are almost reached, where they support pediments. The tower, +which for a distance above the root is square, contains four clock-faces +and supports an octagonal storey, covered by a panelled stone dome, +surmounted in turn by a lantern and its finial. The height of the tower +from the level of the street is 105 feet, the slated towers over the +lateral pediments being smaller. The Newhall Street facade, 160 feet +long, is broken into three portions of nearly equal length, and the +middle portion is treated differently from the other two. Above the line +of the second floor entablature the windows, instead of being in a +double row in correspondence with the storeys, are in this middle +section of the facade carried almost to the height of the columns, and +the section is surmounted in its centre by an ornamental pedestal, which +bears a group of sculpture, and at its extremes by slated flagstaff +towers, whose sides are concave. The purpose of these larger windows is +the effectual lighting of the Boardroom, which is of the height of two +storeys. The length of the Bread Street front is 90 feet. The Boardroom +is 60 feet long, 36 feet wide and 24 feet high, the room being lighted +by two sunburners suspended from the ceiling panels, and is handsomely +decorated throughout. The offices of the Registrar of births, marriages +and deaths are entered from Newhall Street, and there is a special +waiting room for the use of marriage parties whilst they are preparing +to go before the Registrar, a provision which will no doubt be fully +appreciated by many blushing maidens and bashful bachelors. + +_Public Office_.--The office for the meetings of the Justices was at one +time in Dale End, and it was there that "Jack and Tom" were taken in +November, 1780, charged with murdering a butcher on the road to +Coleshill. The first stone of the Public Office and Prison in Moor +Street was laid September 18, 1805, the cost being estimated at L10,000. +It was considerably enlarged in 1830, and again in 1861, and other +improving alterations have been made during the last three years, so +that the original cost has been more than doubled, but the place is +still inadequate to the requirements of the town. + +_Smithfield Market_.--Laid out by the Street Commissioners in 1817, at a +cost of L6,000, as an open market, has been enlarged by taking in most +of the ground bordered by Jamaica Row, St. Martin's Lane and Moat Lane, +and is nearly all covered in for the purposes of a wholesale market, the +work being commenced in November, 1880. The main entrance is in the +centre of the St. Martin's Lane front, and consists of a central roadway +for carts and wagons, 15ft. wide and 24ft. high, together with a wide +entrance on either side for foot passengers. The main piers supporting +the large archway are of stone, but the arch itself is constructed of +terra-cotta, richly moulded and carved. Over the archway are two +sculptured figures in red terra-cotta, representing "Flora" and +"Pomona." The whole of the carving and sculptured work has been executed +by Mr. John Roddis. The archways are fitted with massive wrought-iron +gates, manufactured by Messrs. Hart, Son, Peard, and Co. The entrances +in Jamaica Row and Moat Lane have arched gateways and gates to match, +though much higher to allow of the passage of laden wains. The market +superintendent's office is on the left of the man entrance. Greatest +part of the St. Martin's Lane front is occupied by the new Woolpack +Hotel, and the remainder by shops. The buildings, which are from the +designs of Messrs. Osborne and Reading, are designed in the style of the +English Renaissance of the Stuart period, and are constructed of red +brick, with red terra-cotta dressings. At each end of the St. Martin's +Lane front are circular turrets, with conical roof, flanked by +ornamental gables, and in the centre is a gable with octagonal turret on +each side. + +_Temperance Hall_.--The foundation stone of this building, which is in +Upper Temple Street, was laid Jan. 12, 1858, and it was opened Oct. 11 +following. + +_The Cobden_.--Though the property of a private company, who have twenty +other establishments in the town, the "Cobden," in Corporation Street, +may rank as a public building if only from its central position and +finished architecture. It was opened by John Bright, Esq., Aug. 29, +1883, and cost about L10,000. In style it may be said to be +French-Gothic of early date, with Venetian features in the shape of +traceried oriel windows, &c., the frontage being of Corsham Down and +Portland stone. + +_Town Hall_.--For many years the pride and the boast of Birmingham has +been its noble Town Hall, which still remains the most conspicuous +building, as well as the finest specimen of architecture, in the town. +It was erected by the Street Commissioners, who obtained a special Act +for the purpose in 1828, to enable them to lay a rate to pay for it. The +architect was Mr. T. Hansom, of the firm of Messrs. Hansom and Welch, +who, by a curious provision, were also bound to be the contractors. +Their original estimate was L17,000, with extras, which would have +raised it to about L19,000, but so far were their figures out that +L30,000 were expended prior to the first meeting being held in the Hall, +and that sum had been increased to L69,520 when the building was finally +completed in 1850 by the addition of the pillars and pediments at the +back. The foundations and solid parts of the structure are built of +brick, the casing or outside of the walls, the pillars, and the +ornamental portions being of Anglesey marble, given to the contractors +by the owner of Penmaen quarries, Sir Richard Bulkeley, Bart. The +building was commenced April 27, 1832, and opened Sept. 19, 1834, being +used for the Festival of that year; the first public meeting held in the +Hall being on Nov. 28th. The outside measurements of the Hall are-- +Length 175ft., breadth 100ft., height 83ft., viz., basement 23ft., +columns 36ft., cornice 9ft., and pediment 15ft,. The forty columns are +each 3-1/2ft. diameter. The hall, or great room, is 145ft. long, 65ft. +broad, and 65ft. high; including the orchestra it will seat a few over +3,000 persons, while it is said that on more than one occasion 10,000 +have found standing room. Considerable sums have been spent in trying to +improve the ventilation and lighting of the Hall, as well as in +redecorating occasionally, the medallions of eminent composers and other +worthies being introduced in 1876. For description of Town Hall organ +see "_Organs_." + +_Windsor Street Gas Works_ with its immense gas-holders, retort-houses, +its own special canal and railway approaches, covers an area of about +twenty-six acres, extending almost from Dartmouth Street to Aston Road. +Though there can be no grand architectural features about such an +establishment certain parts of the works are worthy of note, the two +principal gas-holders and the new retort-house being among the largest +of their kind in the world. The holders, or gasometers as they are +sometimes called, are each 240ft. in diameter, with a depth of 50ft., +the telescope arrangement allowing of a rise of 170ft., giving a +containing capacity equal to the space required for 6,250,000 cubic feet +of gas. The new retort house is 455ft. long by 210ft. wide, and will +produce about nine million cubic feet of gas per day, the furnaces being +supplied with coal and cleared of the coke by special machinery of +American invention, which is run upon rails backwards and forwards from +the line of coal trucks to the furnace mouths. The quantity of coal used +per week is nearly 4,000 tons, most of which is brought from North +Staffordshire, and the reserve coal heap is kept as near as convenient +to a month's supply, or 16,000 tons. The machinery for the purification +of the gas, the extracting of the ammoniacal liquor, tar and residuals, +which make the manufacture of gas so remunerative, are of the most +improved description. + +_Workhouse_.--The first mention of a local institution thus named occurs +in the resolution passed at a public meeting held May 16, 1727, to the +effect that it was "highly necessary and convenient that a Public Work +House should be erected in or near the town to employ or set to work the +poor of Birmingham for their better maintenance as the law directs." +This resolution seems to have been carried out, as the Workhouse in +Lichfield Street (which was then a road leading out of the town) was +built in 1733 the first cost being L1,173, but several additions +afterwards made brought the building account to about L3,000. Originally +it was built to accommodate 600 poor persons, but in progress of time it +was found necessary to house a much larger number, and the Overseers and +Guardians were often hard put to for room; which perhaps accounts for +their occasionally discussing the advisability of letting some of their +poor people out on hire to certain would-be taskmasters as desired such +a class of employees. In the months of January, February, and March, +1783, much discussion took place as to building a new Workhouse, but +nothing definite was done in the matter until 1790, when it was proposed +to obtain an Act for the erection of a Poorhouse at Birmingham Heath, a +scheme which Hutton said was as airy as the spot chosen for the +building. Most likely the expense, which was reckoned at L15,000, +frightened the ratepayers, for the project was abandoned, and for fifty +years little more was heard on the subject. What they would have said to +the L150,000 spent on the present building can be better imagined than +described. The foundation-stone of the latter was laid Sept. 7, 1850, +and the first inmates were received March 29, 1852, in which year the +Lichfield Street establishment was finally closed, though it was not +taken down for several years after. The new Workhouse is one of the +largest in the country, the area within its walls being nearly twenty +acres, and it was built to accommodate 3,000 persons, but several +additions in the shape of new wards, enlarged schools, and extended +provision for the sick, epileptic and insane, have since been made. The +whole establishment is supplied with water from an artesian well, and is +such a distance from other buildings as to ensure the most healthy +conditions. The chapel, which has several stained windows, is capable of +seating 800 persons and in it, on May 9, 1883, the Bishop of Worcester +administered the rite of confirmation to 31 of the inmates, a novelty in +the history of Birmingham Workhouse, at all events. Full provision is +made for Catholics and Nonconformists desiring to attend the services of +their respective bodies. In connection with the Workhouse may be noted +the Cottage Homes and Schools at Marston Green (commenced in October, +1878) for the rearing and teaching of a portion of the poor children +left in the care of the Guardians. These buildings consist of 3 schools, +14 cottage homes, workshops, infirmary, headmaster's residence, &c., +each of the homes being for thirty children, in addition to an artisan +and his wife, who act as heads of the family. About twenty acres of land +are at present thus occupied, the cost being at the rate of L140 per +acre, while on the buildings upwards of L20,000 has been spent. + +~Public houses.~--The early Closing Act came into operation here, +November 11, 1864; and the eleven o'clock closing hour in 1872; the rule +from 1864 having been to close at one and open at four a.m. Prior to +that date the tipplers could be indulged from the earliest hour on +Monday till the latest on Saturday night. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain and his +friends thought so highly of the Gothenburg scheme that they persuaded +the Town Council into passing a resolution (Jan. 2, 1877) that the +Corporation ought to be allowed to buy up all the trade in Birmingham. +There were forty-six who voted for the motion against ten; but, when the +Right Hon. J.C.'s monopolising motion was introduced to the House of +Commons (March 13, 1877), it was negatived by fifty-two votes. + +~Pudding Brook.~--This was the sweetly pretty name given to one of the +little streams that ran in connection with the moat round the old +Manorhouse. Possibly it was originally Puddle Brook, but as it became +little more than an open sewer or stinking mud ditch before it was +ultimately done away with, the last given name may not have been +inappropriate. + +~Quacks.~--Though we cannot boast of a millionaire pill-maker like the +late Professor Holloway, we have not often been without a local +well-to-do "quack." A medical man, named Richard Aston, about 1815-25, +was universally called so, and if the making of money is proof of +quackery, he deserved the title, as he left a fortune of L60,000. He +also left an only daughter, but she and her husband were left to die in +the Workhouse, as the quack did not approve of their union. + +~Quakers.~--Peaceable and quiet as the members of the Society of Friends +are known to be now, they do not appear to have always borne that +character in this neighbourhood, but the punishments inflicted upon them +in the time of the Commonwealth seem to have been brutish in the +extreme. In a history of the diocese of Worcester it is stated that the +Quakers not only refused to pay tithes or take off their hats in courts +of justice, but persisted in carrying on their business on Sundays, and +scarcely suffering a service to be conducted without interruption, +forcing themselves into congregations and proclaiming that the clergymen +were lying witnesses and false prophets, varying their proceedings by +occasionally running naked through the streets of towns and villages, +and otherwise misbehaving themselves, until they were regarded as public +pests and treated accordingly. In the year 1661, fifty-four Quakers were +in Worcester gaol, and about the same time seven or eight others were in +the lockup at Evesham, where they were confined for fourteen weeks in a +cell 22 ft. square and 6 ft. high, being fed on bread and water and not +once let out during the whole time, so that people could not endure to +past the place; female Quakers were thrust with brutal indecency into +the stocks and there left in hard frost for a day and night, being +afterwards driven from the town. And this went on during the whole of +the time this country was blessed with Cromwell and a Republican +Government.--See "_Friends_." + +~Quaint Customs.~--The practice of "heaving" or "lifting" on Easter +Monday and Tuesday was still kept up in some of the back streets of the +town a few years back, and though it may have died out now with us those +who enjoy such amusements will find the old custom observed in villages +not far away.--At Handsworth, "clipping the church" was the curious +"fad" at Easter-time, the children from the National Schools, with +ladies and gentlemen too, joining hands till they had surrounded the old +church with a leaping, laughing, linked, living ring of humanity, great +fun being caused when some of the link loosed hands and let their +companions fall over the graves.--On St. John's Days, when the ancient +feast or "wake" of Deritend Chapel was kept, it, was the custom to carry +bulrushes to the church, and old inhabitants decorated their fireplaces +with them.--In the prosperous days of the Holte family, when Aston Hall +was the abode of fine old English gentlemen, instead of being the +lumber-room of those Birmingham rogues the baronets abominated, +Christmas Eve was celebrated with all the hospitalities usual in +baronial halls, but the opening of the evening's performances was of so +whimsical a character that it attracted attention even a hundred years +ago, when queer and quaint customs were anything but strange. An old +chronicler thus describes it:--"On this day, as soon as supper is over, +a table is set in the hall; on it is set a brown loaf, with twenty +silver threepences stuck on the top of it, a tankard of ale, with pipes +and tobacco; and the two oldest servants have chairs behind it, to sit +in as judges, if they please. The steward brings the servants, both men +and women, by one at a time, covered with a winnow-sheet, and lays their +right hand on the loaf, exposing no other part of the body. The oldest +of the two judges guesses at the person, by naming a name; then the +younger judge, and, lastly, the oldest again. If they hit upon the right +name, the steward leads the person back again; but if they do not he +takes off the winnow-sheet, and the person receives a threepence, makes +low obeisance to the judges, but speaks not a word. When the second +servant was brought the younger judge guessed first and third; and this +they did alternately till all the money was given away. Whatever servant +had not slept in the house the previous night forfeited his right to the +money. No account is given of the origin of this strange custom, but it +has been practised ever since the family lived there. When the money is +gone the servants have full liberty to drink, dance, sing, and go to bed +when they please." + +~Railways:~ _London and North Western_.--The first proposal for +converting Birmingham with the outer world by means of a railway seems +to have originated in 1824, as we read of the share-book for a +Birmingham and London line being opened here on December 14 of that +year. There was a great rush for shares, 2,500 being taken up in two +hours, and a L7 premium offered for more, but as the scheme was soon +abandoned it is probable the scrip was quickly at a discount. Early in +1830 two separate companies were formed for a line to the Metropolis, +but they amalgamated on September 11, and surveys were taken in the +following year. Broad Street being chosen as the site for a station. The +Bill was introduced into the House of Commons February 20, 1832, but the +Lords rejected it in June. Another Bill, with variations in the plans, +was brought in in the session of 1833, and it passed on May 6, the work +being commenced at the London end in July, and at Birmingham in June of +the following year. The line was to be 112-1/2 miles long and estimated +to cost L2,500,000, but the real cost amounted to L4,592,700, of which +L72,868 18s. 10d. was spent in obtaining the Act alone. The line was +opened in sections as completed, the first train running from Euston to +Boxmoor, 24-1/2 miles, on July 20, 1837. The average daily number of +persons using the line during the first month was 1,428, the receipts +being at the rate of L153 per day. On April 9, 1838, the trains reached +Rugby, and on Aug. 14, the line was completed to Daddeston Row, the +directors taking a trial trip on the 20th. There were only seventeen +stations on the whole line, over which the first passenger train ran on +Sept. 17.--The prospectus of the Grand Junction Railway (for Liverpool +and Manchester) was issued May 7, 1830, and the line from Vauxhall +Station to Newton (where it joined the Manchester and Liverpool line) +was opened July 4, 1837. The importance of this line of communication +was shown by the number of passengers using it during the first nine +weeks, 18,666 persons travelling to or from Liverpool, and 7,374 to or +from Manchester, the receipts for that period being L41,943.--The +Birmingham branch of the South Staffordshire Railway was opened Nov. 1, +1847; the Birmingham and Shrewsbury line, Nov. 12, 1849; and between +Dudley and Walsall May 1, 1850. The Stour Valley line was partially +brought into use (from Monument Lane) Aug. 19, 1851, the first train +running clear through to Wolverhampton July 1, 1852. The line to Sutton +Coldfield was opened June 2, 1862, and the Harborne line (for which the +Act was obtained in 1866) was opened Aug. 10, 1874. The Act for the +construction of the Birmingham and Lichfield line, being a continuation +of the Sutton Coldfield Railway, passed June 23, 1874; it was commenced +late in October, 1881, and it will shortly be in use. The Bill for the +Dudley and Oldbury Junction line passed July 15, 1881. A new route from +Leamington to Birmingham was opened in Sept. 1884, shortening the +journey to London. + +_Midland_.--The Derby and Birmingham Junction line was opened through +from Lawley Street Aug. 12th, 1839. The first portion of the Birmingham +and Gloucester line, between Barnt Green and Cheltenham, was opened July +1, 1840, coaches running from here to Barnt Green to meet the trains +until Dec. 15, 1840, when the line was finished to Camp Hill, the +Midland route being completed and opened Feb. 10, 1842. The first sod +was cut for the West Suburban line Jan. 14, 1873, and it was opened from +Granville Street to King's Norton April 3, 1876. This line is now being +doubled and extended from Granville Street to New Street, at an +estimated cost of L280,400, so that the Midland will have a direct run +through the town. + +_Great Western_.--The first portion of the Oxford and Birmingham Railway +(between here and Banbury) was opened Sept. 30, 1852, the tunnel from +Moor Street to Monmouth Street being finished on June 6th previous. The +original estimated cost of this line was but L900,000, which was swelled +to nearly L3,000,000 by the bitter fight known as the "Battle of the +Gauges." The line from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton was opened Nov. 14, +1854. The first train to Stratford-on-Avon was run on Oct. 9, 1860. The +Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line was opened in May, 1852. The +broad gauge was altered in 1874. + +~Railway Jottings.~--The London and Birmingham line cost at the rate of +L23,000 per mile, taking nearly five years to make, about 20,000 men +being employed, who displaced over 400,000,000 cubic feet of earth. The +Grand Junction averaged L16,000 per mile, and at one time there were +11,000 men at work upon it. Slate slabs were originally tried for +sleepers on the Birmingham and London line. + +The first railway carriages were built very like to coaches, with an +outside seat at each end for the guard, though passengers often sat +there for the sake of seeing the country. + +The fares first charged between Birmingham and London were 30s. by first +class, and 20s. second class (open carriages) by day trains; 32s. 6d. +first class and 25s. second class, by night. In 1841 the fares were 30s. +first, 25s. second, and 20s. 3d. third class; they are now 17s. 4d., +13s. 6d., and 9s. 5d. + +"Booking" was a perfectly correct term when the lines were first used, +as when passengers went for their tickets they had to give their names +and addresses, to be written on the tickets and in the book containing +the counterfoils of the tickets. + +The day the Grand Junction line was opened was kept as a general holiday +between here and Wolverhampton, hundreds of tents and picnic parties +being seen along the line. + +The directors of the Birmingham and Gloucester line ordered eleven +locomotives from Philadelphia at a cost of 85,000 dollars, and it was +these engines that brought their trains to Camp Hill at first. In +comparison with the engines now in use, these Americans were very small +ones. The trains were pulled up the incline at the Lickey by powerful +stationary engines. + +On the completion of the London line, the engineers who had been +employed presented George Stephenson at a dinner held here with a silver +tureen and stand worth 130 guineas. This celebrated engineer made his +last public appearance at a meeting in this town of the Institute of +Mechanical Engineers, July 16, 1848, his death taking place on the 12th +of the following month. + +The L. & N.W.R. Co. have 46,000 men in their employ. + +The G.W.R. has the longest mileage of any railway in England, 2,276-1/2 +miles; the L. and N.W.R., 1,774-1/2 miles; the Midland, 1,225 miles. + +The returns of the L. and N.W., Midland and G.W.R. Companies for 1878 +showed local traffic of 936,000 tons of goods, 693,000 tons of coal, +coke and other minerals, 20,200 loads of cattle, and 7,624,000 +passengers. + +The south tunnel in New Street was blocked April 18, 1877, by a +locomotive turning over. In October, 1854, an engine fell over into +Great Charles Street. + +The unused viaduct between Bordesley and Banbury Street belongs to the +G.W.R. Co. and was intended to connect their lines with the other +Companies. It now stands as a huge monument of the "Railway Mania" days. + +The extensive carrying trade of Crowley and Co. was transferred to the +L. & N.W.R. Co. May 17, 1873. + +~Railway Stations.~--As noted on a previous page, the first railway +stations were those in Duddeston Row, Lawley Street, Vauxhall, the Camp +Hill, but the desirability of having a Central Station was too apparent +for the Companies to remain long at the outskirts, and the L. & N.W.R. +Co. undertook the erection in New Street, of what was then (and will +soon be again) the most extensive railway station in the kingdom, making +terms with the Midland for part use thereof. The work of clearance was +commenced in 1846, the estimated cost being put at L400,000, L39,000 +being paid to the Governors of the Grammar School for land belonging to +them. Several streets were done away with, and the introduction of the +station may be called the date-point of the many town improvements that +have since been carried out. The station, and the tunnels leading +thereto, took seven years in completion, the opening ceremony taking +place June 1, 1853. The iron and glass roof was ihe largest roof in the +world, being 1,080 ft. long, with a single span of 212 ft. across at a +height of 75 ft. from the rails. This immense span has since been +surpassed, as the roof of the St. Pancras Station, London, is 243 ft. +from side to side. The roof of Lime Street Station, Liverpool, is also +much larger, being 410ft wide, but it is in two spans. The station has +been since greatly enlarged, extending as far as Hill Street, on which +side are the Midland Booking Offices. The tunnels have been partially +widened or thrown into open cuttings, additional platforms constructed, +and miles of new rails laid down, one whole street (Great Queen Street) +being taken bodily into the station for a carriage drive. The station +now covers nearly 12 acres, the length of platforms exceeding 1-1/2 +miles. The cost of this enlargement was over half-a-million sterling. + +As in the case of New Street Station, the introduction of the Great +Western Railway caused the removal of a very large number of old +buildings, but the monster wooden shed which did duty as the Snow Hill +Station for many years was as great a disgrace to the town as ever the +old tumbledown structures could have been that were removed to make way +for it. This, however, was remedied in 1871, by the erection of the +present building, which is extensive and convenient, the platforms +having a run of 720 feet, the span of the roof being 92 feet. + +~Rateable Values.~--In 1815 the annual rateable value of property in the +borough was totaled at L311,954; in 1824 the amount stood at L389,273, +an increase of L77,319 in the ten years; in 1834 the return was +L483,774, the increase being L94,501; in 1814 it was L569,686, or an +increase of L85,912; in 1854 the returns showed L655,631, the increase, +L85,934, being little more than in the previous decennial period. The +next ten years were those of the highest prosperity the building trade +of this town has ever known, and the rateable values in 1864 went up to +L982,384, an increase of L326,763. In 1870 a new assessment was made, +which added over L112,000 to the rateable values, the returns for 1874 +amounting to L1,254,911, an increase in the ten years of L272,527. In +1877 the returns gave a total of L1,352,554; in 1878 L1,411,060, an +increase in the one year of L58,506; but since 1878 the increase has not +been so rapid, the average for the next three years being L36,379; and, +as will be seen by the following table, the yearly increase of values +during the last three years is still less in each of the several parish +divisions of the borough:-- + + + 1881 1882 1883 + +Birmingham parish L985,081 L991,445 L1,001,541 + Yearly increase 18,483 6,364 10,096 + +Edgbaston parish L179,328 L180,327 L181,552 + Yearly increase 8,474 999 1,225 + +Aston, part of parish L355,788 L362,337 L365,875 + Yearly increase 9,419 6,549 3,538 + +Total rateable value of + the Borough L1,520,179 L1,534,109 L1,548,968 + Yearly increase 36,379 13,912 14,859 + +~Rainfall.~--The mean annual rainfall in the eleven years ending with +1871, in this neighbourhood, was 29.51 inches, in the following eleven +years 36.01 inches, the two heaviest years being 1872 with 47.69 inches, +and 1882 with 43.06 inches. The depth of rain registered in the last +three months of 1882 (14.93 inches), was the largest for any three +consecutive months ever recorded by our painstaking meteorologist, the +late Mr. T.L. Plant, of Moseley. + + +~Ravenhurst.~--The old house at Camp Hill, which gave names to Hurst +Street and Ravenhurst Street, leading in the direction of the mansion, +where in 1810 there were found a number of coins and tokens of the +period of Queen Elizabeth and Charles I., as well as sundry Scotch +"bawbees." + +~Rea.~--This little river takes its rise among the Lickey Hills, and +from certain geological discoveries made in 1883, there is every reason +to believe that, in Saxon days, it was a stream of considerable force. +The name Rea, or Rhea, is of Gaelic derivation, and, with slight +alteration, it is the name of some other watercourses in the kingdom. +From time to time, alterations have been made in the course of the Rea, +and prior to the introduction of steam its waters were used extensively +for mill-power, dams, fleams, and shoots interfering with the free +running in all directions. Long little better than an open sewer, there +is a prospect that, within a few years, it may be cleansed and become +once more a limpid stream, if the sanitary authorities will but find +some more convenient site as burial-place for unfortunate canines and +felines. + +~Rebellion of 1745.~--The first news of the Rebellion and of the landing +of the Young Pretender reached here Aug. 19, 1745. The Scotch did not +come so far as Birmingham, but [though thousands of swords were made +here for "Bonnie Prince Charlie"] some little preparation was made to +receive them. At a meeting held October 5, 1745, it was proposed to form +a regiment of volunteers against them, and Sir Lister Holte found 250 +horses to pursue the unfortunate "Pretender," whose great-grandfather +had been the guest of Sir Lister's ancestor. + +~Rebus.~--Poking fun at our town is no new game, as may be seen by the +following local rebus (by "Dardanus") copied from the _Gentlemen's +Magazine_ of 1752:-- + + + "Take three-fourths of a creature which many admire, + That's often confined in a castle of wire; + Three-fourths of a herb that the garden doth yield, + And a term used by husbandmen ploughing the field; + With that part of a swine which is now much in fashion, + And a town you'll discover in this brave English nation." + + +The answer was _Bir_d, _Min_t, _G_, and _Ham_--Birmingham, the scribe +who poetically replied, [**]inding-up by saying that it was + + + "A town that in trading excels half the nation, + Because, Jove be thanked, there is no Corporation!" + + +~Recorders.~--The first Recorder appointed for the borough was Mr. +Matthew Davenport Hill, whose name is so intimately connected with the +history of Reformatory and Industrial Schools. Mr. Arthur Robarts Adams, +Q.C., who succeeded Mr. M.D. Hill on his resignation in January, 1866, +was a native of the county, and had acted as Deputy-Recorder for some +years. He died in an apoplectic fit, while out shooting (Dec. 19, 1877), +in Bagley Wood, near Oxford, in his 65th year. The present Recorder is +Mr. John Stratford Dugdale, of Blythe Hall, Coleshill. + +~Recreation Grounds.~--Early in 1854 Joseph Sturge set apart a field in +Wheeley's Lane as a public playground for children, and this must rank +as the first recreation ground. The last is the disused burial ground of +St. Mary's Church, which, after an expenditure of about L1,500 was +thrown open to the public as "St. Mary's Garden," October 16, 1882.--see +"_Parks_." + +~Red Book.~--Quite a local institution is the yearly publication known +as "The Birmingham Red Book," which was first issued in 1865. + +~Reformatories.~--See "_Industrial Schools_." + +~Reform Leagues.~--The first local affair of this kind that we have note +of (though likely enough there had been "reform clubs" before that date) +seems to have originated at a meeting of some dozen or so gentlemen at +the Royal Hotel, Dec 14, 1829. On the 25th of Jan., 1830, a public +meeting to organise a kind of local political body was held at +Beardsworth's Repository, and it is chronicled that about 15,000 persons +were present. The result was the formation of the celebrated Birmingham +Political Union, though the full name was "The General Political Union +between the Lower and Middle Classes of the People." The Union's +"Petition of Rights" was issued Dec. 13, and the "Declaration of +Council" Dec. 20, 1830. This is not the place to enter upon a history of +the doings of the Political Union, which was dissolved by mutual consent +of the leaders May 10, 1834, but there can be no doubt that it did have +considerable influence on the political changes of the period. In 1848 +an attempt was made to resuscitate the Old Union, though the promoters +of the new organisation called it the "Political Council," and in 1865 +another League or Union was started, which has a world-wide fame as "The +Caucus." Indeed, it may be safely said the town has never, during the +past sixty years or so, been without some such body, the last appointed +being the "Reform League," started Sept. 2, 1880, by the Rev. Arthur +O'Neill and his friends, to agitate for a change in the Constitution of +the House of Lords. + +~Reform Meetings.~--We have had a few big meetings of the kind one time +and another, and give the dates of the principal. Newhall Hill used to +be the favourite spot, and the first meeting held there was on January +22, 1817.--On July 22, 1819, there were 60,000 there, and a member was +chosen to represent the town in Parliament. (See "_Newhall Hill_.") The +meeting of October 3, 1831, had only 150,000 persons at it, but May 7, +in following year, saw 200,000 on the Hill.--The "great" Reform meetings +at Brookfields were on August 27, 1866, and April 22, 1867.--A +procession to, and demonstration at Soho Pool, Aug. 4, 1884, at which +100,000 persons are said to have been present, is the last big thing of +the kind. + +~Regattas.~--Usually the A1 amusement of places blessed with sea or +river space, but introduced to us (Aug 2, 1879), on the Reservoir, by +the Y.M.C.A., whose members had to compete with some crack rowers from +Evesham, Shrewsbury, Stratford, Stourport, and Worcester. + +~Registers.~--At what date a parish register was first kept here is not +known, but Mr. Hamper, the antiquarian, once found some old parts stowed +away under the pulpit staircase, and he had them bound and preserved. +There are very few perfect registers in this neighbourhood, though Aston +can boast of one dated from 1544, King's Norton 1547, Handsworth 1558, +Northfield 1560, Castle Bromwich 1659, and Moseley 1750--The +Registration Act was passed Aug. 17, 1836. + +~Register Offices.~--The custom of hiring servants at "statute fairs" +and "mops" still exists in theory if not in practice, in several parts +of the adjoining counties but thanks to the low scale for advertising, +such a system is not needed now. The introduction of register offices +was a great improvement, the first opened in Birmingham being at 26, St. +John Street (then a respectable neighbourhood), in January 1777, the fee +being 6d. for registering and 3d. for an enquiry. There are a number of +respectable offices of this kind now, but it cannot be hidden that there +have been establishments so called which have been little better than +dens of thievery, the proprietors caring only to net all the half-crowns +and eighteen-pences they could extract from the poor people who were +foolish enough to go to them. + +~Rejoicing, Days of.~--Great were the rejoicings in Birmingham, October +9, 1746, when the news came of the battle of Culloden. The capture of +Quebec, in 1759, was celebrated here on December 3, by a gneral +illumination; the peace-loving Quakers, however, had to rejoice over +broken windows, for the mob smashed them, one unfortunate Friend having +to provide 115 squares of glass before his lights were perfect again. We +were _loyal_ in those days, and when we heard of our gallant boys +thrashing their opponents, up went our caps, caring not on whose heads +lay "the blood-guiltiness," and so there was shouting and ringing of +bells on May 20, 1792, in honour of Admiral Rodney and his victory. The +next great day of rejoicing, however, was for the Peace of Amiens in +1802, and it was notable the more especially from the fact of Soho Works +being illuminated with gas, for the first time in the world's history +used for such a purpose. In 1809, we put up the first statue in all +England to the hero of Trafalgar, and we made the 6th of June the day to +rejoice over it, because forsooth, it happened to be the jubilee day of +George the Third. What _he_ had done for us to rejoice about would be +hard to tell; even more difficult is the query why we were so gleeful +and joyous on February 1, 1820, when his successor was proclaimed. +George IV.'s Coronation was celebrated here by the public roasting of +oxen, and an immense dinner party in front of Beardsworth's Repository. + +~Religious Queerosities.~--Among all its multifarious manufactures it +would have been strange, indeed, if Birmingham had not produced +something new in religious matters, and accordingly we find that in 1840 +some of our advanced townsmen had formed themselves into a "Universal +Community Society of Rational Religionists." We have not met with a copy +of their rules, though Tidd Pratt registered them as of a Friendly +Society (under cap. 4, Will. IV.), but the county magistrates, at the +November Quarter Sessions would not pass them nor seal them. Of late +years there have been introduced amongst us several other curiosities in +the way of religious bodies, like the Theists, the Polytheists, the +Positivists, the Secularists, the Latter-day Saints, and others. + +~Religious Societies.~--In addition to those noted elsewhere, there have +been many societies formed here which may come under this heading, such +as the Lay Association for the Refutation of Infidelity, founded in +1839; the Protestant Association, commenced in 1847; the Christian +Evidence Society, began in 1869; the Church Defence and Reform +Association, formed in 1871, the Protestant and Church Association, +inaugurated May 23, of same year, &c. + +~Repository.~--Before the building of the Town Hall, there was no place +in which a town's meeting could be held, except the Public Office in +Moor Street, besides Beardsworth's Repository. As its name implies, it +was originally built as a sale-room for horses and carriages, but some +of the most important meetings known in Birmingham history have been +held within its walls, grand banquets were often laid out there, popular +lecturers have discoursed, and popular pugilists exhibited their prowess +in the same arena, and the building has even been used as a barracks. + +~Republicanism.~--In 1873 a small band of Brummagem bouncers +patriotically provided us with a real "Republican Club," and proud of +the feat announced the world-stirring fact to the "Hero of Caprera." The +simple honest-hearted General, who knew not the guile of their hearts, +was deluded into wishing them success. Ten years have passed since "Mio +Caro Cattell" secured Garibaldi's autograph, but still Victoria remains +Queen of Great Britain, Empress of Hindostan, and the best-beloved +sovereign on the earth. + +~Reservoir.~--See "_Canals_" and "_Roach Pool_." + +~Restaurants.~--Our grandfathers knew them not. They took their chop or +steak at their inn or hotel, or visited the tripe houses. Indeed, Joe +Allday's tripe shop in Union Street (opened about 1839-40) may be called +the first "restaurant" established here, as it was the favourite resort +of many Town Councillors and leading men of the town. A vegetarian +restaurant was opened in Paradise Street in July, 1881, and 1883 saw the +commencement of another novelty in the line, a fish restaurant in the +old Warwick Passage.--See "_Luncheon Bars_." + +~Rifle Clubs.~--The Midland Rifle Club was started in 1875, the +Staffordshire Rifle Association dating from 1861. Both clubs use the +range at Sandwell Park, by permission of the Earl of Dartmouth. At the +International Match at Creedmore, New York, in 1881, the representatives +of this neighbourhood scored high numbers, Corporal Bates (of the +M.R.C.) taking the only first prize secured by visitors in the open +competitions of the U.S. Associations. + +~Rights of Man.~--An effigy of Tom Paine, author of "The Rights of Man," +was paraded through the streets, Feb. 12, 1793, and ignominiously burned +in the evening. + +~Ringers.~--The St. Martin's Society of Change Ringers, date from 1755, +and have always held high rank among the bellringers of the country. +Many old newspapers have chronicled their mighty doings with bobs and +treble bobs, caters and cinques, in all their courses and changes. In +Southey's "Doctor" (vol. 1, p. 303) mention is made of "eight Birmingham +youths who ventured upon a peal of 15,120 bob major, but after ringing +for eight hours and a half were so fatigued that the caller brought them +round at the 14,224th change, perhaps the longest peal that had ever +been rung." On February 28, 1881, the ringers achieved a true peal of +Stedman cinques, containing 9,238 change, in 6-3/4 hours, being the +longest peal ever rung in that method, and noteworthy as the composition +of H. Johnson, senr., and rung in honour of his 72nd birthday. In former +days the local ringers were also famed for their skill with handbells, +one celebrated performer being Elijah Roberts, an extraordinary adept, +who died in 1865. One of this worthy's feats was the ringing (at +Liverpool, [**]ch 23, 1837) a peal comprising [**] of Kent treble bob +maxi[**] hours--See "_Bells_." + +~Riots.~--In times past the Brums had a bad name for rioting, and when +the list is looked over many may think it not undeserved.--In July, +1715, the Old Meeting House was destroyed in a riot.--In 1737 the +nail-makers from Worcestershire marched into this town and forced the +ironmongers to sign a paper allowing an advance in prices.--Some bigoted +brutes got up an anti-Methodist movement in 1751, which culminated in a +general riot on Oct. 19, the pulpit and seats being taken out of the +meeting-house and burnt.--The history of "the Birmingham Riots" of 1791 +is world-known, and there is no necessity to repeat the disgraceful +tale. The damage was estimated at L60,000; the sufferers recovered only +L27,000,--On Oct. 24, 1793, caused by the enforced collection of the +rates levied to pay damages done in riots of 1791. Two more lives lost. +--June 22, 1795. on account of scarcity of food and the high prices +thereof. Soldiers called out, and they gave two unfortunates leaden food +enough to kill them.--May 28, 1810, two women fell out over the price of +some potatoes, others joined in and a scrimmage ensued. Constables came +and men mauled them, and the result of the unruly wagging of those two +women's tongues was a riot, which lasted four days. Three men were +sentenced to grow potatoes at Botany Bay the rest of their lives.--March +22, 1813, the chapels in Bond Street, Belmont Row, and Ladywell Walk, +with the Jews' Synagogue in Severn Street, were damaged by a riotous +mob. The Jabet Riots in 1816 were primarily caused by the proprietor of +_Jabet's Herald_ publishing an address showing that "a man, wife, and +six children could live on 6s. a week." Some cheap food was presented to +the printer in the shape of potatoes, with which his windows were +smashed.--Claims for damages arising out of the Chartist riots of 1839 +were made to the amount of L16,283, of which L15,027 were allowed, and +rates were made on the Hundred of Hemlingford for L20,000 to cover the +same and the expenses attendant thereon. It was a curious coincidence +that the rioters of 1839 should have chosen July the 15th for their +fiery pranks, the roughs of 1791 having on the same day of the same +month, burnt Hutton's and other houses. At the Warwick Assizes, Aug. 8, +1839, Jeremiah Howell, Francis Roberts, and John Jones were sentenced to +be hung, Thomas Aston had sentence of death recorded against him, and 13 +other hot-heads were ordered various terms of imprisonment, for taking +part in the mischief.--At Snow Hill Flour Mills, June 29, 1847, arising +out of the seizure of sundry short weights.--The "Murphy Riots" +commenced on Sunday, June 16, 1867, when William Murphy, the Anti-Papal +lecturer, delivered his first oration. The police had to clear Carrs +Lane with their cutlasses, and Park Street was nearly demolished. An +Irishman who threatened Morris Roberts in his public-house was shot by +him on the 17th, and the act was declared to be justifiable.--There was +a disgraceful row (which may well be classed under this heading) at St. +Alban's Church, Oct. 13, 1867, in consequence of some ecclesiastical +excommunicatory proceedings.--The Navigation Street riot of roughs, in +which Police-officers Lines and Fletcher were stabbed, took place March +7, 1875. Lines died on the 24th, and was buried at Aston the 29th. The +sum of L840 14s. was gathered to support his wife and daughter. The +Assizes, held in the following July, may be called "the Roughs' +Reprisals," as one was sentenced to death, four to penal servitude for +life, six to fifteen years each (three of them were flogged as well), +one to ten years, one to seven years, and four to five years each.--A +Conservative "demonstration" held at the Lower Grounds, October 13th, +1884, was broken into and disturbed by Liberals, who held a meeting +outside and then breached the walls, spoilt the fireworks, and added +another to the long list of Birmingham riots. + +~Ritualism.~--Though there has been many instances of local clergymen +adopting practices which usually come under the name of ritualistic, we +have had but one "Martyr to the Cause," in the person of the Rev. R.W. +Enraght, of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Bordesley. Among the +numerous practices of which complaint was made against him were the +following:--The use of lighted candles, the wearing of the alb and +chasuble, the ceremonial mixing of water and wine, the making of the +sign of the cross towards the congregation, the use of wafers instead of +bread, standing with his back to the congregation during the prayer for +consecration, not continuing to stand the whole time during the prayer, +elevation of the cup and paten more than is necessary, causing the +_Agnus Dei_ to be sung immediately after the consecration, standing +instead of kneeling during the Confession, and kissing the Prayer Book. +Remonstrance, monition, and inhibition, not being sufficient to teach +him the error of his ways, Mr. Enraght was committed for contempt Nov. +20, 1880, and taken to Warwick gaol on the 27th. He was released soon +after Christmas, and another Vicar filleth his place. + +~Roach Pool.~--In the years 1825-26 the proprietors of the old +Birmingham Canal purchased about 130 acres of land, partly in Edgbaston +and partly in Birmingham parishes, for the purpose of forming reservoirs +or feeders for their canal. Part of the area included Roach Pool, +through which the boundary line ran, and the pleasant path then by its +side is now 15ft., or 16ft. under water. In Ragg's "Edgbaston" is an +allusion to this:-- + + "In Rotton Park + No more doth Roach Pool smile. Its humble mirror, + Wherein the stars were once content to gaze + On their reflected forms, is buried now + Some fathoms deep. Yea, with the humble path + That led beside its banks." + +~Roads.~--Same of the roads leading into and out of Birmingham in the +olden days were little better than deep ruts, which were more or less +levelled about the middle of last century. The making of the great +Holyhead coachroad also graded some of the steeper spots as well as the +lowest, but the modern town improvements must be credited as the +greatest factor in the levelling of the roads, none of which, however, +were "macadamised," until 1818. The total length of highways "taken to" +and repairable by the Corporation at the commencement of 1884, amounted +to 185-1/2 miles, there being other 12-1/2 miles undeclared. Ten years +ago the figures stood at 143 and 40 respectively; but as during the last +six years, owners of property have been paying at the rate of L17,820 +per annum, for completion of the streets and highways so as to bring +them in charge of the Corporation, the undeclared roads will soon be few +and far between. To keep the roads fit for travelling on, requires about +60,000 tons of stone per year. + +~Rogues, Thieves, and Vagabonds.~--According to some calculations made +by the late Rev. Micaiah Hill, Sec. to the Town Mission, there were, on +a given day, in 1880, 1,272 known thieves and bad characters at large in +the town, of whom 177 were under sixteen years of age. There were 71 +houses kept by receivers of stolen goods, 118 others known to be +frequented by the criminal classes, and 188 houses of ill-fame, in which +262 women were found on the same day. + +~Rolling Mills.~--There was one at Nechells as early as 1690, though the +exact date of the erection of nearly all these places is a matter of the +greatest uncertainty. The first steam rolling mill, with the exception +of the one at Soho, was put up at Bradley ironworks. + +~Rotton Park.~--In the list of the tenants of Edward Birmingham, whose +estate was confiscated (circ. 1536), there appears the name of John +Praty, as "farmer" of the office of "keeper of the Park called Rotton +(or Roten) Park," with all the profits thereof, and the "wyndefal wood +and lopwood," building timber excepted. + +~Rowley Rag.~--The fusibility of basalt having been theoretically +demonstrated, Mr. Henry Adcock, C.E., in 1851 took out letters patent +for the manufacture of a number of articles from the Rowley ragstone. +Furnaces were erected at Messrs. Chance Brothers, and the experiment +thoroughly carried out, a number of columns, window-sills, doorways, +steps, and other architectural pieces being the result. The process, +however, was too expensive, and had to be given up. A number of the +articles were used in the erection of Edgbaston Vestry Hall, where the +curious may inspect them if so inclined. + +~Royal Visitors.~--It is believed that Richard III. was the guest of +Baron de Bermingham in November, 1189, and possibly King John may have +visited the Manor, as he was more than once in the immediate +neighbourhood (1206-08), but with those exceptions Charles I. was the +first Sovereign who honoured us with a visit. He was at Aston Hall, +October 16 and 17, 1642. and on the 18th he went to Packington. He was +also in the neighbourhood on Friday, July 13, 1644. Queen Henrietta +Maria, his Consort, was hereabouts on July 10, 1643, passing from +Walsall to meet Prince Rupert at King's Norton. Charles II. does not +appear to have been nearer than at Erdington. Prince Rupert paid his +memorable visit April, 1643. In 1742, the Duke of Cumberland, with his +forces, on their way to Scotland, encamped on Meriden Heath, near +Packington Park.--October 21, 1765, Edward, Duke of York, was here, and +grumbled at the inconvenient ball-room in which he danced, an event +which probably led to the erection of the Royal Hotel.--The Duke of +Gloucester May 4, 1805, slept at the Royal, and in the following July, +King George III. was expected to lay the foundation stone of Christ +Church, but was too ill to come, and the next Royal visitors were his +grand-daughter (and our Most Gracious Queen) Victoria, and her mother +the Duchess of Kent, who on August 4, and 5, 1830, inspected some of our +principal manufactories. On a similar errand came the late Prince +Consort, November 29, 1843; his next visit being made Nov. 12, 1849 to +see the Exposition of Art and Manufactures at the Old Bingley Hall in +Broad Street, which occasion Birmingham men proudly believe led to the +great Hyde Park Exhibition of 1851. Her Majesty passed through the town +on the 30th of August, 1852, when an address was presented to her. +Prince Albert laid the foundation stone of the Midland Institute, +November 22, 1855. The Duke of Cambridge, June 1, 1857, planted a tree +in Calthorpe Park, as part of the opening ceremony. In the following +year, June 15, 1858, the Queen and Prince Albert inaugurated the +"People's Park," at Aston, and Her Majesty said it was the finest +reception she had ever met with. Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, +opened the Horticultural Exhibition at Lower Grounds, June 24, 1872. The +Duke of Edinburgh was at the Musical Festival, Aug. 26, and following +days, 1873. The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the town Nov. 3, +1874, and received a most enthusiastic welcome. Prince and Princess Teck +were here Dec., 6, 1875; and the Prince and Princess Christian, with the +Marquis of Lorne, visited the Cattle and Dog Shows, Dec., 1883. The +Prince of Wales having accepted the Presidentship of the Agricultural +Exhibition Society, it is believed he will again visit the town shortly. + +_Royal Visitors from Abroad_.--The great workshops of Birmingham, and +especially the Soho Works (in their day), have, for the last hundred +years, attracted many crowned and coronetted heads from other parts of +the world, though, in many respects, it is to be feared our town no +longer holds the pre-eminence in manufacture it once did. The Hereditary +Prince of Brunswick came here, January 2, 1766. The Empress of Russia +inspected Soho in 1776. The Duc de Chartres came on a similar visit, +February 22, 1785, and there were newspaper flunkies then as now, for it +was gravely recorded that the Duke's horses were stabled at the Swan +Inn. His Serene Highness the Statholder and the Prince of Orange called +at Boulton's, August 8, 1796. The Grand Duke Nicholas, afterwards +Emperor of Russia, was here, November 9, 1816. His Serene Highness +Prince Nicolas Esterhazy, visited us in the month of August, 1821. +Prince Louis Napoleon, afterwards Napoleon III., was seen here +occasionally while in exile. The King of Portugal went the round of the +manufactories, June 26, 1854; Prince Oscar of Sweden, May 8, 1862; the +Emperor of Brazil, July 28, 1871; the Sultan of Zanzibar, July 2, 1875; +Archduke Randolph, Crown Prince of Austria, and Prince Esterhazy, +January 31 1878; and the Duke of Braganza, Crown Prince of Portugal, in +December, 1883. + +~Sabbath Breaking.~--In 1776 the churchwardens threatened to punish +everyone caught playing at ball on the Sabbath. In 1779 they frequently +stopped waggons travelling on that day, and fined the owners for so +doing. In December, 1781, thirty-eight publicans were fined for allowing +"tippling" on Sundays. + +~Sailor's Return.~--There are several public-houses in the town with the +sign of "The Sailor's Return," but few of the landlords can tell the +history of the first so-named, which is in Watery Lane, at the bottom of +Lawley Street. It is near a hundred years ago since "Old Dr. Spencer" +was Vicar of Aston Church, and, though he was fond of hunting, and could +be "a jolly good fellow" occasionally, few parsons have gone to the +grave more lamented, for he was a man without cant,--a Christian who +never thought himself better than his neighbours, be they rich or poor. +His only son was mortally wounded in one of Nelson's battles, but he +lived just long enough to give his watch and a few trifles for his +father to the sailor who waited on him. 'Twas some time before the "old +salt" got to land, and he had been in another brush with the French, and +had left a leg behind him. When he delivered his message to the Dr., the +latter asked what he could do for him. "Why, sir," said the sailor, "I +should like to keep a public-house;" and he did, the Dr. christening it +"The Sailor's Return." + +~Saltley.~--So far as our ancient histories can tell us, there was a +mansion here long previous to the Conquest, and the diligent antiquarian +may still find an old Saltley Hall, though it looks wretchedly neglected +and desolate. Saltley is one of the busiest of our suburbs, there being +very extensive Railway Carriage and Wagon Works here, besides other +factories and the Corporation Gas-works, the population being about +7,000. + +~Sandwell Hall and Park.~--Seat of the Earl of Dartmouth, who frequently +permits the Park to be used for public purposes. Of late, however, it +has acquired a far greater interest through the discovery of coal +underneath its surface. The extension of the coal seams in this +direction was long a debateable question, and the originators of the +Sandwell Park Colliery Company were deemed by many to be very foolish +people to risk their money in such a venture, but after a four years' +suspense their most sanguine expectations were more than realised, and +their shares, which at one period were hardly saleable, ranked amongst +the best investments of the country. By their agreement with the owner, +the Company have the right of mining under an area of 185 acres, at a +royalty of 6d. per ton, with the option of taking a further area of +1,515 acres at a like royalty. The first sod was cut April 12, 1870, the +thick coal being struck May 28, 1874, at a depth of 418 yards, the +shaft, which is 10ft. diameter, being carried down to a total depth of +440 yards--a quarter of a mile; the second shaft, which was commenced +June 24, 1874, is 15ft. in diameter. The following are the "winnings"; +brooch coal, 2ft. 6in. thick, at a depth of 380 yards; best coal, 20ft. +6in. thick, at 418 yard; heathen coal 4ft. thick, at 427 yards; white +ironstone, of excellent quality, at 434 yards, and good fire-clay, 6ft. +thick, under that, besides thin seams of gubbin ironstone, and new mine +coal. + +~Saturday Half-holiday.~--The introduction of this boon to workingmen +took place in 1851, Mr. John Frearson, of Gas-street, claiming the +honour of first giving it to his employees.--See "_Excursions_". + +~Scandalous Schoolmasters.~--The Rev. Mr. Wills, of Brumingham, with +several county esquires and gentlemen, were appointed Commissioners +under an Act passed towards the close of "The Long Parliament," to +summon and examine any "publique preachers, inefficient ministers, and +scandalous schoolmasters who shall be proved guilty of drunkenness, +common haunting of taverns or alehouses, dealing with lewd women, +frequent quarrelling or fighting, frequent playing at cards or dice, +profaning the Sabbath Day, or do incourage or countenance by word or +practice any Whitsun ales, wakes, Morris-dances, Maypoles, stage plays, +&c.," and to remove the same where needed. A _little_ quarrelling or +fighting, or playing at cards, was apparently no offence. + +~School Board.~--The first election took place Nov. 28, 1870, there +being the following twenty-eight candidates, the first fifteen named +being the chosen elected by the number of votes attached to their names, +viz., Canon O'Sullivan, 35,120; S.S. Lloyd, 30,799; Dr. Burges, 21,925; +Dr. Wilkinson, 19,829; John Gough, 17,481; Rev. F.S. Dale, 17,365; G. +Dawson. 17,103; G. Dixon, M.P., 16,897; W. Dale, 16,387; C. Vince, +15,943; J.S. Hopkins, 15,696; W.L. Sargant, 15,683; J. Chamberlain, +15,090; J.S. Wright, 15,007; A.J. Elkington, 14,925; G. Baker, J.A. +Cooper, Jesse Collings, Rev. H.W. Crosskey, Dr. Sebastian Evans, Rev. +H.W. Holland, ---- Kirkwood, G.B. Lloyd, Dr. Merson, W. Middlemore, W. +Radford, ---- Raffles, and Archdeacon Sandford. 29,183 voters, out of +52,340, recorded their votes. A considerable amount of party feeling was +shown in the contest, the candidates being divided (with one or two +exceptions) into two distinct classes, the Liberals who wanted the Bible +read in the schools without explanation or comment, and the Churchmen +who went in for Scriptural teaching. The latter party obtained the +majority by electing the whole of the eight they put in nomination, the +Liberals, who thought they could run the whole fifteen, find that by +grasping at too much they had lost all the power they had fondly hoped +to acquire. The first meeting of the Board was held Dec. 15, Mr. Sargant +being elected chairman and Mr. S.S. Lloyd vice-chairman. During the +three years' reign of this Board the religious question was a continual +bone of contention, the payment of school fees for the teaching of the +Bible in denominational schools being denounced in the strongest of +terms in and out of the Board-room by the "Irreconcileables," as the +Nonconforming minority were termed. The practical results of the Board's +proceedings may be summed up thus: The Education Department decided that +school accommodation was required for 15,000 children; the School Board +borrowed L40,000, received L20,500 from the rates, built five schools +(in Lingard-street, Jenkins-street, Farm-street, Garrison-lane, and +Steward-street), which would hold about 6,000 children, boys, girls, and +infants, and engaged fifteen teachers, 52 pupil teachers, and two +assistants. They also allowed the sum of 1s. per week for every child +detained in a certified industrial school, committed by the borough +magistrates, enforced in some measure the compulsory clauses of the +Education Act, entered into negotiations for the building of four other +schools, quarrelled with the Town Council, and dissolved without +thanking their chairman.--The second election of the School Board took +place Nov. 17, 1873, when eighteen persons were nominated, as follow +(the three last being the unsuccessful candidates):--G. Dixon, M.P., +39,447 votes; J. Chamberlain, 38,901; Miss Sturge, 37,260; C. Vince, +36,505; J.S. Wright, 36,417; R.W. Dale, 34,986; G. Dawson, 34,301; Jesse +Collings, 33,877; Canon O'Sullivan, 32,087; S.S. Lloyd, 29,783; Dr. +Burges, 24,582; A.J. Elkington, 24,213; W.L. Sargant, 24,207; Rev. F.S. +Dale, 23,864; Dr. Wilkinson, 23,157; G. Heaton, 23,140; W.H. Greening, +22,881; and W. Warlow, 19,193. This election was fought with all the +rancour of a political contest, Tory and Liberal being pitted against +one another in the name of religion, the Book of Books being dragged +through the mire of party warfare in the most outrageous manner, +discreditable to both sides, and especially so to those teachers of the +Gospel, who delighted in the almost blasphemous alliterations of "Bible +and beer," "gin and Jesus," &c., so freely bandied about. The Liberal +party this time gained the ascendancy, their first "liberal" action +being to take away the allowance granted to the Industrial Schools, and +reversing as much as possible the policy of their predecessors. It would +be waste of space to comment upon the doings of the Board during the +past ten years otherwise than to summarise them. The Liberal party have +maintained their ascendancy, and they have provided the town with a set +of schools that cannot be equalled by any town in the kingdom, either +for number, magnificence of architecture, educational appliance, +high-class teachers, or (which is the most important) means for the +advancement of the scholars, to whom every inducement is held out for +self-improvement, except in the matter of religion, which, as nearly as +possible, is altogether banished from the curriculum. At the end of +1833, the thirty completed schools provided accommodation for 31,861 +children, 10,101 boys, 9,053 girls, and 12,707 infants, but the number +of names on the books reached nearly 40,000. Other schools are being +built, and still more are intended; and, as the town increases, so must +this necessary expenditure, though, at first sight, the tax on the +ratepayers is somewhat appalling. In 1878 the "precept" was for L46,500; +in 1879, L44,000; in 1880, L39,000; in 1881, L42,000; in 1882, L48,000; +in 1883, L54,000; in 1884, L55,000. The receipts and expenditure for the +half-year ended 25th March, 1884, gives the following items:--Balance in +hand 29th September, 1883 L10,522 1s. 7-1/2d.; rates (instalment of +precept), L27,250; maintenance--grants from Committee of Council on +Education, L9,866 18s. 4d.; school fees, L4,806 3s. 8d.; books, &c., +sold, L223 18s. 6d.; rent of Board schools, L655 9s.; needlework sold, +L215 12s. 2d.; grant from Science and Art Department, L306 Os. 3d.; +total, L16,074 1s. 11d.; scholarships, L114 13s.; sundries, L44 Os. 3d.; +total income, L54,004 16s. 9-1/2d. The following was the expenditure: +Repayment of loans, &c., L11,016 13s, 6d.; maintenance, L30,040 16s. 1d. +(including L23,300, salaries of teachers); scholarships, L126 13s. 3d.; +compulsion and management, L3,857 3s. 4d.; sundries, L28 4s.; amount +transferred from capital account, L30 1s. 10d.; balance in hand, L8,905 +4s. 9-1/2d.; total, L54,004 16s. 9-1/2d. + +A Central Seventh Standard Technical School has been originated through +the offer of Sir. George Dixon to give the use of premises in Bridge +Street, rent free for five years, he making all structural alterations +necessary to fit the same for the special teaching of boys from the +Board Schools, who have passed the sixth standard, and whose parents are +willing to keep their sons from the workshops a little longer than +usual. The course of the two years' further instruction proposed, +includes (besides the ordinary code subjects, the three R's) mathematic, +theoretical, and practical mechanics, freehand, geometry, and model +drawing, machine construction and drawing, chemistry and electricity, +and the use of the ordinary workshop tools, workshops being fitted with +benches, lathes, &c., for the lads' use. The fee is 3d. per week, and if +the experiment succeeds, the School Board at the end of the five years +will, no doubt, take it up on a more extended scale. + +_Aston School Board_.--The first election took place July 29, 1875, and, +as in Birmingham, it was fought on the usual political basis, the +Liberals gaining the day. The Board has nine Schools, with an average +attendance of 11,500 children, out of nearly 15,000 on the registers; +187 teachers, and a debt of L110,000 + +_King's Norton Board_.--The first election took place March 19, 1876. +Eight Schools have been built since that date. + +~Schools and Colleges.~--What with thirty board schools, about sixty +church and chapel schools, and nearly 300 private enterprise schools, +Birmingham cannot be said to be short of educational establishments, +even for the 100,000 children we have amongst us. At the end of 1881 +there were 93,776 children in the borough between the ages of three and +thirteen. Next to the Free Grammar School, the oldest public school in +the town must be the Lancasterian School, which was opened September 11, +1809, and was rebuilt in 1851. The National School in Pinford Street was +opened in 1813, the Governors of the Free Grammar School having the +privilege of sending sixty children in lieu of rent for the site. The +Madras school was formerly at the bottom of King Street. The first +Infant Schools we read of were opened in 1825. The first stone of the +Industrial School in Gem Street was laid April 13, 1849. Ragged Schools +were opened in Vale Street, September 11, and in connection with Bishop +Ryder's, September 17, 1862, and in Staniforth Street, January 11, 1868. +The schools in the Upper Priory were erected in 1860; those in Camden +Drive in 1869. The Unitarian Schools, Newhall Hill, were opened in 1833; +the New Meeting Street Schools in 1844. Winfield's in one sense must be +called a public school, though connected with a factory and built (at a +cost of over L2,000) for the education of the young people there +employed. The respected owner of the Cambridge Street Works, like many +other Conservatives, was one of the most liberal-minded men, and +hundreds owe not only their education, but their present position in +life to the care bestowed upon them at this school.--A Roman Catholic +School was opened in Bartholomew Street, October 1, 1872; in Brougham +Street, December 27, 1872; and new Schools in Shadwell Street, (costing +about L4,500), June 25, 1883--The Palmer Street Congregational Schools, +which cost L2,500, were opened February 12, 1877. The old Wesleyan +chapel, in Martin Street, was fitted up for schools in 1865. The same +body opened schools at Summer Hill, in 1874; in Icknield Street West, +January 1, 1875; and laid the first stone of another school in Sterling +Road, September 22, 1884.--the Hebrew National Schools, Hurst Street, +were opened May 21, 1844. + +The Birmingham and Edgbaston Proprietary School, Hagley Road, was the +property of a company constituted by deed of settlement, dated February +28, 1839. The cost of the land chosen to build upon and the handsome +edifice erected was L10,500, the school being opened in 1841. In 1874 +there was originated a Birmingham Higher Education Society, and in 1876 +a scheme was adopted for a High School for Girls in conjunction with the +Proprietary School, a company being formed, with a nominal capital of +L20,000, for the purchase of the property; but the days of the School's +prosperity seem to have passed away, and in August,1881, it was bought +over by the Governors of the Free Grammar School. + +_Blue Coat School_ (facing St. Phillip's Churchyard) founded in 1721, +and was erected in 1724, provision having been made in the Act for +building St. Philip's Church for securing the necessary land required +for the school for a term of 1,000 years at 10s. per year. The first +cost of the building was about L3,000, but many alterations and +extensions have since been made thereto, the quaint little statues in +the front being put up in 1770; they are the work of Mr. Edward Grubb, +and are said to have been portraits of two of the children then actually +in the school. The first bequest recorded is that of Mrs. Elizabeth +White, who in 1722 left nearly 30 acres of land worth about L250 per +year for the support of the school. In 1726 Benjamin Salusbury left 30s. +per year for the preaching of a sermon at St. Martin's and St. Philip's, +and a further 40s. per year as a subscription; as did also Thomas +Dunscombe in 1729. In 1795 the Lord of the Manor presented the school +with a slice of Birmingham Heath, above five acres in extent, which is +now let on a long lease at L96 10s. per year. In 1806 other land was +devised, and from time to time considerable sums have been invested in +like manner and in consols, so that a fair income is derived from these +sources, in addition to the voluntary and annual subscriptions, but +judging from the past and the admirable way in which the funds have been +administered it may be truly said that if the income were doubled or +trebled so would be the benefits in like proportion. At first opening 22 +boys and 10 girls were admitted, and 10 others of each sex were taught +and clothed; the latter system, however, had many inconveniences, and +was soon discontinued. At present the average number is 150 boys and 100 +girls on the original foundation, 20 being paid for out of Fentham's +Trust. + +_Bourne College_ is situated at Quinton, and is an institution for the +education of the sons of friends belonging to the Primitive Methodist +denomination. The memorial stones were laid June 6, 1881, and the +College was opened October 24, 1882, with accommodation for 70 boys. + +_Church Schools_.--St. Alban's Schools were commenced in 1865. Bishop +Ryder's Schools were opened in December 1860, and for girls in March +1866. Christ Church Schools were built in 1837 at a cost of nearly +L4,000 St. George's Schools were built in 1842; St. John's (Sparkhill) +in 1884; St. Mary's, Bath Street, in 1824, the present schools dating +from January, 1847. St. Martin's Church Schools were opened Nov. 1, +1846, but were transferred to the School Board, July 9, 1879; St. +Matthew's, Lupin Street, October 20, 1841; St. Paul's, December 18, +1845; the Legge Lane Schools being erected in 1869. St. Anne's School, +Deritend, was opened May 31, 1870; St. Mary's, Aston Brook, April 16, +1872. + +_King Edward the VIth's Schools_.--For 300 years known as the Free +Grammar School, having been founded in 1551, the fifth year of the reign +of Edward VI., and endowed with part of the property taken by his +reforming father Henry VIII., in 1536, from the religious foundation +known as the "Guild of the Holy Cross." At the time the charter was +granted (Jan. 2, 1552) these lands were valued at about L20 per annum, +and so little was it imagined that Birmingham would ever be more than +the small hamlet it then was, that a funny tale has come down to the +effect that the good people of King's Norton, when offered their choice +of similar lands or a sum equal thereto, wisely as they thought chose +the "bird in hand" and asked for the L20 per year for their school, +leaving the Brums to make what they could out of the bare fields once +belonging to the brotherhood of the Holy Cross. Like the majority of +so-called charity schools, this foundation was for many generations so +managed that the funds went into almost any channel except the purpose +for which it was designed--the free education of the poor--and even now +it would be an interesting question to find out how many boys are +receiving the advantages thereof whose parents are well able to pay for +their learning elsewhere. The property of the charity is widely +scattered over the town, here a piece and there a piece, but it is +rapidly increasing in value from the falling in of leases the rentals, +which in 1827 were about L3,000 per annum, being in 1840 L8,400, in 1860 +L12,600, and now L25,000; by the expiration of this century it will be +at least L50,000. The earliest existing statutes are dated October 20, +1676, one of the most comical being that the assistant masters were not +to marry. The head master's salary in 1676 was fixed at L68 15s., with a +house and land; in 1738 he was allowed L20 in lieu of the house, in 1788 +the salary was increased to L150; in 1726 to L200; in 1816 to L400; and +now it is about L1,200. The second master at first received L34 6s. 8d.; +in 1874 he received L300. The first school was the old Guildhall of the +Holy Cross, which was pulled down at the commencement of the 18th +century, a new school being erected in 1707, and removed in 1833, to +make way for the present edifice, which was erected in 1840, from the +designs of Mr. Barry, at a cost of L67,000. The school has a frontage of +174 feet, with a depth of 125 feet, being 60 feet high. The "schoolroom" +proper is 120 feet, by 30 feet and 45 feet high. In the last century the +governors "set up" branch schools in Shut Lane, Dudley Street, Freeman +Street, London 'Prentice Street, and other localities; and in 1838 +elementary schools were erected in Gem Street, Edward Street, and +Meriden Street, as preparatory adjuncts to the New Street School. +Extensive changes have lately been made in the government and management +of the Grammar School, which can no longer be called a "Free School." +Formerly the governors were self-elected, but by the new scheme, which +was approved by the Queen in Council, March 26, 1878, the number is +limited to twenty-one, eight of them being appointed by the Town +Council, one by the school teachers, one each by the Universities of +Oxford, Cambridge, and London, and the remaining nine to be chosen by +the Governors themselves. The first meeting of the new Board of +Governors was held May 15, 1878. The New Street School is divided into a +High School for boys, a High School for girls, and a Middle School, the +other schools being respectively called Grammar Schools. The fees now +payable at the Five Ways School (formerly the Proprietary School), and +at the new schools at Camp Hill and Albert Road, Aston are 2s. 6d. on +admission, and L3 annually; to the High Schools the entrance fee is +10s., and the tuition fees L9 per annum; to the Middle Schools, 5s., and +L3 per annum. The number of children in all the schools is about 2,000, +and the fees amount to about L4,000 per annum. There are a number of +foundation scholarships, which entitle the successful competitors from +the Grammar Schools to free tuition at the High Schools, and ten +exhibitions arising out of the Milward's, and Joanna Leuch's Trusts, for +the Universities, besides yearly class prizes of considerable value. + +_Mason's Scientific College_.--The foundation of this College, situated +in Edmund Street, opposite the Free Library, was laid on the 23rd +February, 1875, by Sir Josiah Mason, the founder, who in that manner +celebrated his 80th birthday; and it was opened October 1, 1880. The +College, which is estimated to have cost L100,000, was built entirely by +the founder who also endowed it with an income of about L3,700 per +annum, with the intention of providing instruction in mathematics, +abstract and applied; physics, mathematical and experimental; chemistry, +theoretical, practical, and applied; the natural sciences, geology, +metallurgy and mineralogy; botany, zoology and physiology; English, +French and German, to which have since been added Greek, Latin, English +literature, civil and mechanical engineering; the chemistry, geology, +theory and practice of coal mining, &c. The entire management is in the +hands of eleven trustees, five of whom are appointed by the Town +Council, and there is no restriction on their powers, save that they +must be laymen and Protestants. The students may be male or female of +any creed, or of any birthplace, though preference is given to +candidates from Mason's Orphanage, and to persons born in Birmingham or +Kdderminster, other things being equal. The site contains a little over +an acre of land, extending through from Edmund Street, with a frontage +of 149 feet, to Great Charles Street, with a frontage of 127 feet. About +one half of the area is covered by the present buildings, which were +erected from the designs of Mr. J.A. Cossins, who chose the 13th century +style, with elaborations of a French character, its stone balconies, +lofty gables, oriel and dormer windows, picturesque turrets, and +numberless architectural enrichments, forming a contour quite unique in +the Birmingham district, though much of its beauty is lost through the +narrowness of the thoroughfare. The College is built in two blocks +communicating by corridors, and contains several lecture and other large +rooms, laboratories, class-rooms, &c., so arranged that the attendants +on one department in no way interfere with others, there being about 100 +apartments altogether, in addition to library, reading-rooms, private +rooms, &c. The report for the year ending Founder's Day, February 23, +1884, showed the number of students in the day classes during the +session to have been 366--viz., 229 male and 137 female students; while +in the evening classes there were 118 male and 54 female students, 20 +students attending some day as well as evening classes. The number of +individual students registered during the session 1882-3, as attending +day or evening classes, was 518, as against 462 in 1881-82, and 181 in +1880-81. The accounts showed an expenditure for the year of L8,095 12s. +2d., of which L4,258 7s. 9d. was in respect of the teaching staff. The +expenditure exceeded the income by L764 0s. 8d., principally on account +of additional buildings, repairs, &c. The trustees have lately made +provision for nine scholarships, including two entrance scholarships of +L30 each; one of L30, for students of one year's standing; two of L30 +each, for two years' students; two of L20 each for honour students in +the examinations of the University of London; and two technical +scholarships of L30 each, one in the chemical and the other in the +engineering department. The two last are known as the Tangye, +Scholarships, having been given by Messrs. R. and G. Tangye, and funds +are being raised for several others. + +_Queen's College_.--Originally established in 1828 as the School of +Medicine; being patronised afterwards by William IV., it being known as +The Royal School of Medicine and Surgery, under which name it existed +until incorporated by Royal Charter in 1843, when it was rechristened as +The Queen's College. The first building erected for the use of the Royal +School was located in Snow Hill, the ceremony of laying the foundation +stone of the present handsome Gothic edifice in Paradise Street being +performed August 18, 1843, the chapel being consecrated in the following +year. At first there was but a medical department, but, at the +incorporation, a theological department was added, and for many years, +principally through the exertions of Dr. Warneford and Mr. W. Sands Cox, +it was one of the most thriving and popular Colleges in the kingdom, the +courses of study qualifying for degrees at the University of London, and +for diplomas of the Society of Apothecaries, and the Royal College of +Surgeons; while theological students, with the College certificate, +could go up for their B.A. degree, with only a twelve months' residence +at the University. A department in connection with the Arts, +Manufacture, and Commerce was opened in May, 1853, and a High School of +Trade and Commerce, for giving an education specially adapted for youths +intended for mercantile pursuits, was commenced in the autumn of 1877. +An attempt to extend the medical education to female students was made +at one time, but the ladies were refused permission to attend the +College June 27, 1873; they are still debarred from studying surgery +here, and none have as yet entered their names on the list of +theological students. In the other departments greater facilities have +been allowed the fair sex, a Central High School for girls being opened +at the College September 17, 1879, accommodation being provided for +eighty pupils. The Museum of Natural History formed at the College soon +after its opening, long one of the town attractions for visitors, was +presented to the Corporation, and formed the nucleus of the heterogenous +collection at Aston Hall. The medical students have the advantage of an +extensive Anatomical Museum, and there is, besides, a library of about +6,000 volumes of the best works and books of reference that could be +obtained. + +_Oscott College_.--The old Roman Catholic College of St. Mary's, at +Oscott, was first used as such in 1808. The present building was +commenced in 1835, and opened May 31, 1838, and is considered one of the +chief English seminaries for Catholic students in theology. The chapel +is 112 ft. long by 33 ft. wide, and is richly decorated, having side +chapels and several handsome memorial windows. The College library is +very extensive, and includes many very rare, valuable, and ancient +works, some choice MSS., and a number of "old masters," the latter +having been contributed by the late Earl of Shrewsbury. + +_Saltley Training College_, which covers nearly seven acres of land, was +instituted in 1847, and was opened at Easter, 1852, for the education of +future schoolmasters in connection with the Established Church. The +building cost nearly L18,000 and will accommodate 100 students who +undergo a two years' training, the College being under the inspection of +the Committee of Council on Education. Government grants amount to about +two-thirds of the income, the balance being raised by public +subscription and from fees. In addition to over fifty scholarships +tenable by students who pass their examination, there are four +exhibitions arising from a sum of L2,000 given in October, 1874, by the +late Mr. Arthur Ryland (for a donor who desired to be anonymous) to the +governing body of this College "to found a trust for promoting the +teaching of teachers the laws of health, and inducing teachers to make +that subject one of the things statedly taught in their own schools," +and a further L1,000 for four exhibitions to students. + +_Severn Street First Day Adult School_.--The name tells pretty well that +this school was commenced by some members of the Society of Friends, +though there is really nothing sectarian about it. Established in 1815, +in a simple way and with but few classes, there is hardly an institution +in the town that can be compared to it in the matter of practical +usefulness, and certainly none at which there has been exhibited such an +amount of unselfish devotedness on the part of teachers and +superintendents. The report to the end of 1883 stated that during the +year the progress of the school had been of an encouraging character. +The following statistics were given of the total attendance at all the +schools connected with the movement:--Number of teachers, 57 males, 25 +females--total, 82, average attendance, 51 males, 23 females--total 74. +Elementary teachers, 173 males, 21 females--total, 194; average +attendance, 152 males, 19 females--total, 171. Number of scholars, 3,370 +males, 653 females--total, 4,023; average attendance, 2,510 males, 510 +females--total 3,080. The total number admitted since the men's school +commenced in 1845, and the women's in 1848, had been 40,350. In +connection with the school there are a number of organisations of great +utility, such as sick societies, building societies, savings' funds, +libraries, excursions clubs, &c. In the savings' fund the balance in +hand reached L14,000, while over L18,000 had been paid into the building +societies. There are a dozen other "adult schools" in the town which +have sprung from Severn Street. + +_Spring Hill College_.--For the education and training of Independent +ministers, was first opened in 1838, in the mansion of Mr. George Storer +Mansfield, at Spring Hill, that gentleman giving certain landed property +towards its future support. The present edifice, near Moseley, to which +the old name was given, was opened in June, 1857, the cost of the +building, &c., nearly L18,000, being raised by voluntary contributions. +It has room for 36 students. + +_Sunday Schools_.--Sunday classes for the teaching of the Catechism, +&c., date from a very early period of Church history, but Sunday Schools +as they are now known seem to have been locally organised about a +hundred years ago, the Sunday after Michaelmas Day in 1784 being marked +as a red-letter-day on account of there being twenty-four schools then +opened, though the course of instruction went no further than teaching +the children to read. In 1789 some young men formed the "Sunday Society" +as an addition thereto, the object being to teach writing and arithmetic +to boys and youths of the artisan class. In 1796 the society was +extended, other classes being formed, lectures delivered, &c., and it +was then called the "Brotherly Society." Mr. James Luckcock and Mr. +Thos. Carpenter were the leaders, and this is claimed to have been the +origin of Mechanics' Institutes. The Unitarians date their Sunday +Schools from 1787: the Baptists and Methodists from 1795. Deritend +Sunday School was opened by Mr. Palmer in 1808, with but six scholars; +in a month they were so numerous that part had to be taught in the +street. The first prizes given to the children were new Boulton pennies. +On Emancipation Day (August 1, 1838) there was a procession of over +3,000 scholars from the Baptist Sunday Schools. In 1812 the Birmingham +Sunday School Union was organised. The medallists of this town sent out +about 800,000 commemoration medals in 1880, when the Sunday School +Centenary was kept. Nearly 2,000 teachers attend the Church schools and +about 2,500 attend Dissenting and other schools, the number of children +on the books of Sunday Schools in Birmingham being estimated at-- + + + 14 years and Under 14 + over. years. Total. +Church of England + schools 5,500 16,500 22,000 +Sunday School + Union 7,312 13,660 20,972 +Wesleyan and others 2,745 6,627 9,372 +Roman Catholic 1,200 1,950 3,150 +Unitarian 692 1,359 1,961 +Other schools 550 750 1,250 + ------- ------- ------- + 17,859 40,846 58,705 + + +_Wesleyan College_.--The five memorial stones of a College for training +Wesleyan ministers, at the corner of Priory and College Roads, +Handsworth, were laid June 8, 1880. The site includes 17-1/2 acres, and +cost over L7,000, the total cost of the College when completed and +furnished being estimated at L40,000. About fifty students are +accommodated at present, but there is room for thirty more. + +~Scraps of Local History.~--A foreign visitor here in the reign of James +II., wrote that our tradesmen were in the habit of spending their +evenings in public-houses, and were getting into lazy habits, so that +their shops were often not opened before 7 a.m. + +Another intelligent foreigner (_temp_ Charles II.) has left it on record +that not only was smoking common among women here, but that the lads +took a pipe and tobacco with them to school, instead of breakfast, the +schoolmaster teaching them at the proper hour how to hold their pipes +and puff genteelly. + +Hutton believed that the scythe-blades attached to the wheels of Queen +Boadicea's war chariots (A.D. 61), as well as the Britons' swords, were +made in this neighbourhood. + +When escaping from Boscobel, in the guise of Miss Lane's servant, +Charles II. had to appeal to a blacksmith at Erdington to re-shoe his +horse. The knight of the hammer was a republican, and his majesty chimed +in with the man's views so readily, that the latter complimented his +customer on "speaking like an honest man." Miss Lane afterwards married +Sir Clement Fisher, of Packington, and her portrait may be still seen at +the Hall. + +During the battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington saw a little +fellow in plain clothes riding about on a cob, and, beckoning him up, +told him he was in danger. The litlle man, however, said he had come to +see a fight, and meant to stop it out. Shortly after, the Duke wanting a +messenger, employed the rider of the cob to take a message across the +field, directing a certain regiment to charge the enemy. This was done, +and the Duke took his messenger's card and saw no more of him at that +time; but afterwards, finding that the little man was the traveller to a +Birmingham button maker, he appointed him to a situation in the Mint, at +L800 a year. + +In 1766, it was necessary to have 25 constables ready to protect the +farmers coming to market with their corn, the times were so hard with +the poor. In the following year large quantities of rice were purchased +by subscription, and one gentleman, it is said, himself gave away +half-a-ton per day for ten days. + +In 1853, a premium of L30 was offered for the best design of an +illuminated clock, to be erected on the open space in front of Christ +Church. + +A Queen Anne's farthing of rare type was turned up in the Bull Ring, in +July, 1879. + +The body of William Woodward was found (March 21, 1878) in the branches +of a tree in Little Green Lane, he having climbed up there previous to +death. + +The giving of free breakfasts on a Sunday morning to the poor children +of the streets, was commenced July 4, 1875, at Park Street Ragged +Schools. A system of supplying school-children with penny dinners is the +latest philanthropic movement. + +The hottest day recorded in our local history was June 23, 1868. + +The Orsini bombs used in Paris, January 15, 1858, were made in this +town. + +A hundred years back, meetings of the inhabitants were called by the +tolling of one of St. Martin's bells. + +The declaration of war, or cessation thereof, used to be proclaimed in +the market by the High Bailiff. + +The 7th Earl of Stirling officiated in this town as a Nonconformist +minister, simply styling himself the Rev. John Alexander; he died Dec. +29, 1765, and was buried in the Old Meeting grave-yards. His sister, who +became Countess in her own right, was married to a local manufacturer, +William Humphrys. + +~Sessions.~--The first of the Borough Quarter Sessions was held July 5, +1839, M.D. Bill, Esq., Recorder. On the 25th of November following the +magistrates began to sit daily at Petty Sessions. + +~Secular Club and Institute.~--The members having bought the remainder +of lease (32 years) of No. 18, Crescent, for L340, have fitted it up for +the purposes of their club and on June 1, 1877, the foundation-stone was +laid of a lecture hall at the rear, 70ft. long by 19ft. wide. St. +George's Hall, Upper Dean Street, was their former meeting place. + +~Sewerage and Sanitary Works.~--The disposal of the sewage of a large +town away from the sea or tidal rivers has at all times been a source of +difficulty, and Birmingham forms no exception to the rule. When it was +in reality but the little "hardware village" it has so often been +called, the Rea was sufficient to carry off the surface waters taken to +its channel by the many little rills and brooks of the neighbourhood, +but as the town increased, and house drainage defiled that limped +stream, it became necessary to construct culverts, so as to take the +most offensive portion of the sewage to a distance from inhabited +houses. A great improvement was looked for after the introduction of the +Waterworks, allowing the use of water-flushed closets in the better +class of houses, instead of the old style of accommodation usually +provided at the end of the garden, but even this system became a +nuisance, especially to residents near the river Tame, the receptacle of +all liquid filth from our streets, closets, middens, and manufactories, +and legal as well as sanitary reasons forced upon the Corporation the +adoption of other plans. Our present sanitary system comprises the +exclusion, as far as possible, of closet refuse and animal and vegetable +matters from the sewers, and secondly, the purification by filtration, +&c., of the outpourings of the sewers, after the partial separation +therefrom of the more solid constituents. In 1871, when the real +sanitary work of the borough may be said to have practically commenced, +out of about 73,200 houses only 3,884 were provided with water-closets, +the remainder being served by middens, drained and undrained, the +greater part uncovered and polluting the atmosphere, while the soakage +fouled the earth and contaminated the wells. From these places in 1873 +there were removed 160,142 loads of ashes, &c., the number of men +employed being 146, and the cost, allowing for sales, over L20,000, or +L55 10s. per 1,000 of the Population. In the following year the Council +approved of "the Rochdale system," closet-pans and ash-tubs taking the +place of the old style with middens, the contents being removed weekly +instead of being left to accumulate for months. At first the new system +was far from perfect, and met with much opposition, notwithstanding the +certainty of its being a more healthy plan than the old one; but +improvements have been made, and it is now generally confessed that the +pans and tubs are the right things in the right places. The number of +pans in use in 1874 was 3,845; in 1875, 7,674; in 1876, 15,992; in 1877, +22,668; in 1883, 37,287, equal to a collection of 1,900,000 pans per +year. The sanitary force now numbers 622 men, who, in addition to the +above, removed in 1883, from tubs, middens, &c., 128,966 loads of ashes. +The chief depot for this accumulation of refuse and rubbish is at the +Corporation's wharf, in Montague Street, where over L52,000 has been +laid out in buildings and machinery for its due disposal. At first, +nearly two thirds of the mass had to be taken by canal into the country, +where it was "tipped," the expense being so heavy that it entailed a +loss of about 6s. 6d. per ton on the whole after allowing for that part +which could be sold as manure. Now, however, the case is different. +Extensive machinery has been introduced, and the contents of the pans +are dried to a powder, which finds a good market; the ashes, &c., are +used in the furnaces for the drying process, and the residue therefrom, +or clinkers, forms a valuable substance for roadmaking or building +purposes, &c., in the shape of concrete, paving flags, mantelpieces, +tabletops, and even sepulchral monuments being constructed with it, so +that in a short time the receipts will, it is expected, more than +balance the expenditure in this department of local sanitary work. The +pollution of the river Tame in past years led to continuous litigation +until the year 1877, when, as the result of an exhaustive inquiry, it +was determined to form a United Drainage District Board, with powers to +construct and maintain intercepting sewers sufficient for carrying the +drainage of the whole district, comprising Aston, Aston Manor, Balsall +Heath, Birmingham, Handsworth, Harborne, King's Norton, Northfield, +Perry Barr, Saltley, and Smethwick. The first meeting of this Board was +held December 6, 1877, when it took over the sewage farm at Saltley +belonging to the Corporation (about 262 acres), the plant and stock, &c. +Up to the present time (end of 1884), nearly half a million sterling has +been spent by the Board, whose "farm" of 1,500 acres, extends from +Saltley to Tyburn, two and a half miles, and who have now to deal with +the sewage brought there from 188 miles of main sewers, extending as far +as King's Norton and Selly Oak, Harborne, Smethwick, &c. The whole of +the black and turgid stream of liquid filth brought down by the sewers +is utilised upon the farm, some 200 cubic yards of mud being lifted +daily from the settling tanks, to be dug in, while the overflow is taken +by carriers to the most distant parts, and allowed to filtrate through +the soil, until the resulting effluent is as clear as crystal, while +immense crops are gathered yearly from the land so treated. An analysis +made a little time back of a natural deposit from the town sewerage, +formed near the embouchure of several sewers emptying into one of the +great arterial mains, showed the absence of all ammoniacal salts and a +scarcity of phosphates, particularly alkaline phosphates, and at the +same time the presence of a large quantity of protoxide of iron, also of +zinc, copper, and other metals in the state of oxides and sulphurets. +These metallic salts absorb the sulphuretted hydrogen and ammonia +generated by decaying vegetable, and animal matter, and doubtless so +contributes to promote the health of the town, but nevertheless every +precaution should be taken against the possible admission to the house +of "sewer gas," which at all times is injurious to health. The analysed +deposit contained when dried only 1.4 per cent. of nitrogen (not as +ammonia) and 3.5 of earthy phosphates; but about 11.7 of protoxide of +iron, besides zinc, copper, and other metals to the extent of 2 or 3 per +cent. The latter-named proportions may in some measure account for "what +becomes of the pins?" as in the deposit named (which was nearly solid) +those useful little articles were exceedingly conspicuous. + +~Shambles.~--The name given to the meat market in Jamaica Row. In the +map of 1731, "The Shambles" are marked as a long block of buildings, a +little higher than opposite the end of Bell Street, and in 1765 they +still remained there, forming a kind of "middle row," among the +incongruous collection of tenements, stallages, &c., that encumbered our +Bull Ring, down to the gates of the church itself. + +~Ship Inn.~--The old Ship Inn, at Camp Hill, where Prince Rupert had his +headquarters in 1643, was pulled down in 1867; the present Ship Hotel +being opened February 6, 1868. It was sold in July, 1882, for L12,050. + +~Shirley.~--Situated in the parish of Solihull, though but a village +with some half hundred cottages, has of late become a favorite spot for +those fond of a Sunday drive. + +~Shoeblacks.~--An attempt was made in 1875 to form a shoeblack brigade, +but only ten gentlemen attended the meeting (called June 21), and the +business was left to the irregulars. + +~Smallbrook Street.~--A small stream, formerly ran its course along part +of this site, proceeding by way of Smithfield Passage to the moat, and +thence through the mill-pool, back of Bradford Street, to the Rea. The +ancient family of the Smallbrokes held considerable lands in the +neighbourhood, but whether the street's name came from the small brook +or the Smallbrokes is a matter of doubt. + +~Smallpox.~--From the opening of the Smallpox Hospital in May, 1882, to +July 10, 1884, the duration of the late epidemic, there were 1,591 cases +admitted. Among the 1,384 patients who had been vaccinated there +occurred 59 deaths; among the 207 unvaccinated, 90 deaths. No +re-vaccinated person died. + +~Snow Hill.~--There is a difference of 60ft. between the top level next +Bull Street and the Bottom of Snow Hill. + +~Soho.~--Prior to 1756 the country on the Handsworth side of Birmingham +was little better than barren heath, the home of conies and a few +beggarly squatters, until Mr. Edward Ruston leased from the Lord of the +Manor the whole of the piece of common that lay between Nineveh and +Hockley on the left of the West Bromwich Road. He deepened the channel +of Hockley brook, and built a small mill by its side, which being +purchased from him in 1764 by Matthew Boulton (who soon acquired the +freehold also) formed the site of the once world-renowned Soho Works. In +1774, according to "Swinney's Birmingham Directory," these works +consisted of four squares of buildings, with workshops, &e., for more +than a thousand workmen. Many more than that number, however, were +afterwards employed on the grounds, and for long years Soho House, as +Boulton's residence was called, was the resort of lords and ladies, +princes and philosophers, savants and students, to a far greater extent +than many of the European courts. Of this home of the steam engine, and +the birthplace of inventions too numerous to count, there is now no +vestige left, the foundry being removed to Smethwick in 1848, the +celebrated Mint, with the warehouses and shopping, being cleared out +early in 1850, and the walls razed to the ground in 1853. + +~Soho Hill.~--The top is 177ft. higher than at Hockley Bridge, the foot +of the hill. + +~Soho Pool~ was formed by the make of an embankment (1756-60) impounding +the waters of Hockley brook, and for some years after the demolition of +the Soho Works it was a favourite place for boating, &c.. The pool was +drained in 1866, and, having been filled up, its site will ere long be +covered with streets of houses. + +~Solihull.~--This very pleasant village, but a few miles distant, could +boast of a Free School for its children at a very early date, for we +read of the buildings being repaired in 1573. In 1882 the School was +rebuilt, at a cost of about L5,700, and its endowments, some of which +were given in the reign of Richard II., are yearly becoming of greater +value as building progresses. The present population is nearly 6,000, +the rateable value of property being L45,202, from an area of 12,000 +acres. The parishes in the Union comprise Baddesley, Balsall, Barston, +Bushwood, Elmdon, Knowle, Lapworth, Nuthurst, Packwood, Solihull, +Tanworth, and Yardley, including an area of 46,302 acres, a population +of 21,000, with a rateable value amounting to L157,000. + +~Spanish Armada.~--The nobility and gentry of this and adjoining +counties, at the time of the threatened invasion by the Spaniards, +contributed sums of money sufficient to hire and equip no less than 43 +ships of war. Among the names we note the following local subscribers of +L25 each:--William Kinge and William Collmer (Colmore), of Burmingham; +Richard Middlemore, Edgbaston; Mrs. Margarett Knowlys, Nuneton; Gabriell +Powltney, Knowle; Richard Corbett, Meryden, &c. + +~Speaking Stile Walk.~--In a footpath leading from Holloway Head to +Edgbaston Church, there was a stile at a spot from which an exceedingly +clear echo, could be raised, and the footpath being partly thrown into a +lane the latter became "Speaking Stile Lane." The short street or road +at present existing preserves the name, but that is all, the echo, the +stile, and the footpath having vanished long, long ago. + +~Spelling Bee.~--The first "Spelling Bee" held in Birmingham took place +January 17th, 1876. Like many other Yankee notions, it did not thrive +here, and the humming of those bees soon ceased. + +~Springs.~--In Hutton's time there was, "a short distance from +Birmingham, in the manor of Duddeston, and joining the turnpike road to +Coleshill," a chalybeate spring of which he speaks very highly, though +even then it was neglected and thought but little of. In 1849 Mr. Robert +Rawlinson making inquiries, was told by the Town Clerk that "the +chalybeate spring in Duddeston was turned into a culvert by the railway +people when the Birmingham and Liverpool Railway was constructed," to +the great regret of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood who spoke +strongly of the virtues of the water in diseases of the eye. It was +suggested in 1862 that an attempt should be made to reopen the spring +for public use, but as it was nobody's business nobody did it. There was +(sixty years ago) a spring a little below Saturday Bridge opposite +Charlotte Street, which always give forth a constant stream of +beautifully clear soft water. Another in Coventry Road, where 25 years +or so ago an old man stooping to quench his thirst fell head foremost, +and not being able to recover his equilibrium, was drowned, leading to +the spring being covered up. Several mineralised springs existed in +Gooch Street, and thereabouts, and there was one that sprung out close +to where Kent Street Baths are now. The spring which gives name to +Spring Street and Spring Vale, and which has been turned so that its +waters run into the sewers, is estimated to discharge 20,000 gallons of +pure limpid water per hour. The little stream arising from this spring +constituted part of the boundary line between the Birmingham and +Edgbaston parishes and at far less cost than it has taken to waste its +water it could have been utilised for the above-named Baths, less than a +thousand yards off, and with a natural fall of 6ft. or 8ft. Spring Hill +takes its name from a spring now non-existent, but which was once a +favourite with the cottagers who lived near to it. + +~Sporting Notes.~--It is not for a moment to be admitted that the men of +Birmingham in past years were one whit more brutal in their "sports" +than others of their countrymen, but it must be confessed they somehow +managed to acquire a shocking bad name to that effect. This of course +must be laid to the credit of the local supporters of "the noble art of +self-defence," the Brummagem bruisers. Bullbaiting and cockfighting were +no more peculiar to this neighbourhood than parson-pelting or woman +ducking at Coventry, where the pillory and ducking-stool were in use +long after they had been put aside in Birmingham. + +_Archery_ at one period of history was so little of a sporting nature +that laws were passed for the erection of shooting-butts, the provision +of bows and arrows, and the enforcement of constant practice by all +young men and apprentices. The monk's mixture of brimstone, charcoal, +and salt-petre, however, in course of time left the old English +clothyard shaft with its grey goose feather and the accompanying +six-foot bow of yew to be playthings only, or but fit to use in shooting +squirrels or other small deer. The "Woodmen of Arden" is the oldest +society (in this county) of toxopholites as the modern drawers of the +long bow are called, which society was "revived" in 1785, the Earl of +Aylesford giving a silver bugle horn and his lady a silver arrow as +first and second prizes. The members of a local society may in summer +months be sometimes seen pacing their measured rounds on an allotted +portion of the Edgbaston Botanical Gardens. + +_Athletics_--The Birmingham Athletic Club opened the Gymnasium in King +Alfred's Place, in Aug 1866, and hold their annual display and +assault-at-arms in the Town Hall in the month of March. Certain hours +are allotted to the ladies' classes, and special terms are made for +young men and schoolboys. + +_Bowling Greens_ and Quoit Grounds were once favourite places of +amusement, many even of the town taverns having them attached. There was +one at the Salutation, bottom of Snow Hill, in 1778, and at an earlier +date at the Hen and Chickens, in High Street. In 1825 a bowling green +was laid out at the corner of Highfield Road and Harborne Road, for "a +very select party" of Edgbastonians. There was also one at the Plough +and Harrow, and several may stil be found in the neighbourhood. + +_Chess_, aristocratic game as it is, is far from being unknown here, a +Chess Club having been established half-a-century back, which has nearly +a hundred members. Its present headquarters are at the Restaurant, 1, +Lower Temple Street. + +_Cock-fighting_.--Early numbers of _Aris's Gazette_ frequently contained +notices of "mains" fought at Duddeston Hall. + +_Cricket_.--There was a Cricket Club in existence here in 1745, and it +has been chronicled that a match was being played on the same day on +which the battle of Culloden was fought. Of modern clubs, whose name is +Legion, the oldest is the Birmingham C.C., started in 1819, the members +including the young _elite_ of the town, who had their field opposite +the Monument at Ladywood. The Birchfield C.C. was organised in 1840. +Among the noteworthy matches of late years are those of the All England +Eleven against a local twenty-two, at the Lower Grounds, June 5, 1871, +the visitors winning; the Australian Eleven _v_. Pickwick and District +Twenty-two, at Bournbrook, June 24 to 26, 1878, the game not being +finished, the first innings showing 105 runs for the Eleven, against +123; the Australians _v_. Eleven of England, at Lower Grounds, May 26, +1884, when the Colonials put together 76 against 82 in the first +innings, the second innings of 33 against England's 26 being won with +five players left to bat. + +_Croquet_ was introduced in 1867; the first code of laws being published +in October, 1869. + +_Cycling_, though quite the rage at the present time, is by no mems a +modern amusement, as running a race with "dandy-horses" was considered +good sport in the days of the fourth Royal George. These vehicles +consisted of two wheels united tandem fashion, the bar being fitted with +saddle-shaped seat as in the first bicycles, but the motive power was +applied through the contact of the riders' feet with the ground.--The +"track" at the Lower Grounds measures 501 yards. + +_Football_ is a game as old as the hills, and there are hundreds of +clubs in the town and district, the best meadow for the purpose (at the +Lower Grounds) being about 125 yards long by 75 yards broad. The Aston +Villa is the chief club. + +_Hare and Hounds_.--Every suburb and district has its club of Harriers +or Hare and Hounds, an annual cross-country amateur championship contest +being started in 1879. At the last (Feb. 9, 1884) the Birchfield +Harriers scored their fourth victory against the Moseley Harriers twice. + +_Hunting_.--Time was when the sight of scarlet coats and hounds was no +novelty in Birmingham, but those who would now join in the old English +sport of hunting must go farther afield, the nearest kennels being at +Atherstone. The announcements of the meets in this and adjoining +counties appear regularly in the _Midland Counties' Herald_. + +_Jumping_.--At the Lower Grounds in July, 1881, Mr. P. Davine, of +Belfast, jumped 6ft. 3in. the highest previous record having been 6ft. +2-1/2in., the performance of Mr. M.J. Brookes, (Oxford U.A.C.) at Lillie +Bridge, March, 1874. + +_Lacrosse_, a popular Canadian game, was introduced here June 23, 1883, +by a team of Canadian Amateurs and Iroquois Indians, who exhibited their +prowess at the Lower Grounds. + +_Lawn Tennis_, at first known as Lawn Racquet, was the invention of the +late Major Gem, who played the first game in 1865 with his friend Mr. +Perera. of Great Charles Street. + +_Pedestrianism_.--Among the earlist noted achievements of local peds. is +that of George Guest, who having wagered to walk 1,000 miles in 28 days +finished his task Feb. 1, 1758, with five hours to spare, doing six +miles in the last hour he footed it.--Mr. E.P. Weston, the walker _par +excellence_, was at Bingley Hall in April, 1876, and at the Lower +Grounds in Jan., 1884, when on his walk of 5,000 miles in 100 days.--A +six days "go-as-you please" match came off at Bingley Hall in Sept., +1882, and a ridiculous exhibition of a similar nature occurred in the +following year, when women were induced to walk for the sport of gaping +idiots. + +_Pigeon-flying_ has been for several generations the favourite amusement +of numbers of our workers, and the flyers have a club of their own, +which dates from August, 1875. + +_Pigeon-shooting_ is a cruel sport, not much favoured in this locality, +and now that a cheap clay pigeon has been invented for use in this game, +instead of the live birds, it is to be hoped that the disgraceful +practice will be confined to the Hurlingham boys. + +_Prize-fighting_ was long the popular sport of high and low life +blackguards, and Birmingham added many a redoubtable name to the long +list of famous prize-fighters, whose deeds are recorded in "Fistiana" +and other chronicles of the ring. Among the most conspicuous of these +men of might, were Harry Preston, Davy Davis, Phil Sampson, Topper +Brown, Johnny and Harry Broome, Ben Caunt, Sam Simmonds, Bob Brettle, +Tass Parker, Joe Nolan, Peter Morris, Hammer Lane, and his brothers, +with a host of other upholders of fisticuffs, the record of whose +battles will _not_ be handed down to posterity in the pages of +_Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham_, though, as a matter of history, it +may be noted that the earliest account we have of a local prize-fight is +of that which took place in Oct. 1782, for 100 guineas a side, between +Jemmy Sargent, a professional, and Isaac Perrins, one of the Soho +workmen. Jemmy knuckled under after being knocked down thirteen times, +in as many rounds, by the knock-kneed hammerman fiom Soho, whose mates, +it is said, won L1,500 in bets through his prowess. Attempts have lately +been made to revive the old sport, but the sooner the would-be adepts +learn that their occupation is gone the better it will be for them, and +all men. + +_Racing and Steeplechasing_ was not, unknown to the Brums of the 18th +century, as the _Gentleman's Magazine_ makes note of the races at +Birmingham, May 27 to 29, 1740, but where the old racecourse was +situated it is impossible to tell. Indeed it is doubtful whether any +special course has ever long been in existence, as at various dates we +read of races being held at Aston, Bordesley, Deritend, Walmer Lane, and +other places. The Four Oaks Park, adjoining Sutton Park, formerly the +property of a private gentleman, was bought by a company in June, 1879, +for the purpose of laying out a racecourse in this neighbourhood, of a +similar nature to that of Ascot, and other great racing centres. In +addition to the Hall, the buildings comprise a grand stand (the memorial +stone of which was laid June 2, 1880), and a club stand, each 70ft. by +66ft., with two galleries of seats refreshment, private, and other +rooms. Also a second stand for the general public, 62ft. by 31ft. and a +press and jockey stand, 53ft. by 31ft. The "paddock" occupies nearly +three acres, while an area of 115ft. by 72ft. is devoted to "the Ring." +The cost of these various buildings and their necessary adjuncts is +estimated at about L12,000, the structures themselves, which are built +of red brick with stone facings, accommodating 3,000 persons. The course +is about a mile and a half in circumference, and the "straight" about +five furlongs in length. The Park includes an area of 130 acres, and the +first race was run March 1, 1881.--No steeplechases have been run on the +old Wolverhampton course since 1855, and no flat races since Aug. 1877. + +_Running Records_.--Mr. W.G. George, of the Moseley Harriers, won a two +mile handicap at Stamford Bridge, April 24, 1884, in 9 min. 17 2-5 secs. +On May 17, same year, he ran four miles, in 19 min. 39 4-5 secs. On July +28 following, he covered, in the hour, 11 miles, 932 yds., 9 in., being +37 yds. 2 ft. 3 in. less than the hitherto unsurpassed hour record of +the celebrated Deerfoot in 1862. Another of George's feats took place +May 1, 1882, when he ran ten miles in 52 min. 56-1/2 secs. + +_Skating Rinks_ were opened at the Lower Grounds May 1, 1875; at Bingley +Hall, Oct. 2, 1875; at Moseley, Dec. 6, 1876; and at Handsworth, Oct. 8, +1877; and, for a time, the amusement was exceedingly popular, more than +one fortune accruing from the manufacture of patent and other roller +skates. One of the most noteworthy feats on the slippery rinks was the +skating of 200 miles in 24 hours by a Mr. F. Betteridge at Bingley Hall, +Aug. 20, 1878. + +_Swimming_.--The Birmingham Leander Club commenced their aquatic +brotherhood in June, 1877, and the members do themselves honour by +gratuitously attending the public baths in the summer months to teach +the art of swimming to School Board youngsters. [See "_Baths_,"] The +celebrated swimmer, Captain Webb, who was drowned at Niagara, July 24, +1883, visited this town several times, and the Athletic Club presented +him with a gold medal and purse December 4, 1875. + +~Statues, Busts, and Memorials.~--For many years it was sneeringly said +that Birmingham could afford but one statue, that of Nelson, in the Bull +Ring, but, as the following list will show, the reproach can no longer +be flung at us. Rather, perhaps, it may soon be said we are likely to be +over-burdened with these public ornaments, though to strangers who know +not the peculiarities of our fellow-townsmen it may appear curious that +certain local worthies of the past have not been honoured in marble or +bronze. + +_Attwood_.--The figure of Thomas Attwood, in Stephenson Place, New +Street, is the work of Mr. John Thomas, who did much of the carving at +the Grammar School. The cost was about L900, and the statue was unveiled +June 6, 1859. + +_Blue Coat Children_.--The stone figures of a Blue Coat boy and girl +over the entrance to the School in St. Phillip's Churchyard, were +sculptured by Mr. Edward Grubb, in 1770, and Hutton thought they were +executed "with a degree of excellence that a Roman statuary would not +blush to own." In 1881 the appearance of the figures was _improved_ by +their being painted in correct colours. + +_Bright_.--At the time of the Bright Celebration in 1883, the Birmingham +Liberal Association commissioned Mr. A. Bruce Joy to execute for them a +marble statue of Mr. Bright, which the Association intend placing in the +new Art Gallery. The statue itself is expected to be finished in 1885, +but Mr. Bright has expressed his satisfaction with the model, which +represents him standing erect in an attitude of dignified tranquility, +easy and natural with his left hand in the breast of his coat, while the +other hangs down by his side, emblematic of the Christian charity so +characteristic of our distinguished representative. + +_Boulton_.--There is a fine bust of Matthew Bolton in Handsworth, and as +the owner of the great Soho Works certainly did much to advance the +manufactures of this town, foreigners have often expressed surprise that +no statue has been erected to _his_ memory. + +_Buddha_.--The bronze statue of Buddha, now in Aston Hall, is supposed +to be 2,500 years old, and was found buried among the ruins of a temple +at Soottan, on the Ganges, Dec 6, 1862. It was presented to this town in +1864 by Mr. Samuel Thornton. + +_Chamberlain, J_.--The memorial at the rear of the Town Hall bears the +following inscription:-- + + + "This memorial is created in gratitude for public service given to + this town by Joseph Chamberlain, who was elected town councillor in + November, 1869, Mayor in 1873, and resigned that office in June, 1876, + on being returned as one of the representatives of the borough of + Birmingham in Parliament, and during whose mayoralty many great works + were notably advanced, and mainly by whose ability and devotion the + gas and water undertakings were acquired for the town, to the great + and lasting benefit of the inhabitants." + + +The memorial was desisigned by Mr. J.H. Chamberlain, of the firm of +Martin and Chamberlain, and was presented to the town October 26, 1880, +during the mayoralty of Mr. Richard Chamberlain. The medallion of the +right hon. gentleman is the work of Mr. Thomas Woolner, R.A. + +_Chamberlain, J.H._--The sum of L2,744 13s. 6d. raised by subscription +for the founding of a memorial of the late Mr. John Henry Chamberlain, +was given to the Midland Institute, with which the lamented gentleman +was so intimately connected. + +_Dawson_.--A public meeting was held Jan. 3, 1877, to decide on a +memorial of George Dawson, and the sum of L2,287 13s. 9d. was subscribed +for a statue to be erected at the rear of the Town Hall, but it was +esteemed so poor a portrait that after a little while it was removed, in +favour of the present statue. A very pleasing bust, which is a very +striking likeness and really characteristic portrait was unveiled at the +Church of the Saviour, Aug. 8, 1882. It bears the following +inscription:-- + + + IN LOVING MEMORY OF + + GEORGE DAWSON, M.A. + + Coming to this town in the year 1844, he gathered round him a band of + followers, who found in his teaching a fervent religious spirit, and a + fearless trust in God as our Heavenly Father, in union with an earnest + search after truth. To perpetuate such union they built this Church, + which he opened August 8. 1847, and in which he ministered until his + death. Not in this Church only, but throughout the land did he + everywhere teach to nations: that they are exalted by righteousness + alone--to men: "To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God." + + He was born February 24. 1821, and died November 10, 1876. + + "I HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT." + + +Mr. T.J. Williamson, who executed this bust was entrusted with the order +for the new statue. + +_George IV_.--The first bronze statue ever cast in Birmingham was that +of George IV., the work of Sir Edward Thomason, in 1823. Sir Edward +employed the best of talent and spared no pains to turn out a splendid +work of art, but he never found a customer for it. The statue is 6ft. +high, weighing 2-1/2 tons, and costing over L1,500, but was sold in +November, 1880, to a gentleman in the neighborhood for L150, little more +than the value of the metal. _Goldsmith_.--The statue of Goldsmith, in +the hall of the Reference Library, is a plaster cast of the bronze +statue manufactured by Messrs. Elkington for the City of Dublin. +_Hill_.--The sum of L1,500 was raised by public subscription, for the +purpose of erecting a statue of Sir Rowland Hill. The work was executed +in marble by Mr. P. Hollins, and pending the erection of the new Post +Office buildings, the charge of the statue was accepted by the Exchange +Buildings Committee, September 12, 1870 and remained in the Birmingham +Exchange until the year 1874, when it was removed to the position in +which it at present stands, in the corner of the principal room of the +Post Office, Paradise Street. + +_Hill, M.D._--A very fine bust of Matthew Davenport Hill, the first +Recorder for the borough, is placed in the Art Gallery at the Reference +Library. + +_James_.--A bust of the Rev. Angell James may be seen at Aston Hall. + +_King Edward VI._--When the old Grammar School was taken down the statue +of the King, which had stood in its niche in the front of the old +building for generations, was broken to pieces on account of so many +gentlemen (including governors) wanting it; as all could not have it, it +was destroyed! + +_Mason_.--The erection of a statue in his honour as proposed in 1870 not +meeting with the approval of Sir Josiah Mason (then Mr.), the Town +Council paid Mr. E.G. Papworth, the chosen sculptor, a solatium or +honorarium of 150 guineas. The worthy knight not being now alive to veto +the project, a figure of him has been placed opposite the College in +Edmund Street. + +_Murdoch_.--There is a bust of William Murdoch, the introducer of +coal-gas as an illuminant, in Handsworth Church. Another would not be +out of place in the new Gas Office. + +_Nelson_--The bronze statue of Lord Nelson in the Bull Ring was executed +by Westmacott, and uncovered June 6, 1809. The artist received L2,500, +but the total cost (raised by subscription) with the pedestal, lamps, +and palisading, was nearly L3,000. The corner posts are old cannon from +the Admiral's ship the Victory. + +_Peel_.--The statue of Sir Robert Peel, near the Town Hall, cost L2,000, +and was unveiled August 27, 1855. He faced towards Christ Church at +first, and was protected from Tories and Protectionists by iron +railings, until March, 1878, when his bonds were loosed, and he was +allowed to look down New Street. + +_Priestley_.--The statue of the discoverer of oxygen, near the Town +Hall, was uncovered August 1, 1884. The amount subscribed as a Priestley +memorial fund was L1,820, of which L972 went for the philosopher's stone +effigy, about L10 for a tablet on the site of his house at Fair Hill, +and L653 to the Midland Institute to found a scholarship in chemistry. + +_Prince Albert and the Queen_.--In 1862, after the death of the Prince +Consort, a Memorial Committee was formed and a fund raised for a statue, +the execution of which was entrusted to Mr. Foley, and it is said to be +one of his finest productions. It was placed in the old Art Gallery, and +uncovered August 27, 1863. It was in the reading-room at the time of the +fire, but fortunately escaped injury. The balance of the fund was deemed +sufficient for a companion statue of Her Majesty, and Mr. Foley received +the commission for it in 1871. At his death the order was given to Mr. +Woolner, who handed over his work to the town in May, 1884, the ceremony +of unveiling taking place on the 9th of that month. According to the +_Athanaeum_ it is "one of the finest portrait statues of the English +School, combining a severe yet elegant design with execution of the +highest kind, every element being thoroughly artistic." Thousands have +seen it alongside the Prince's statue in the hall of the Reference +Library, but few indeed have been heard to say they like it. Both +statues are ultimately intended to be placed in the Council House. + +_Rogers_.--A memorial bust of John Rogers, a native of Deritend, and one +of the first martyrs of the Reformation, was unveiled in St. John's, +October 29, 1883. + +_Scholefield_.--A bust of William Scholefield, M.P., for the borough, is +at Aston Hall. + +_Sturge_.--The statue, and most appropriate memorial of Edmund Sturge, +at the Five Ways, which cost about L1,000, was undraped June 4, 1862. +Messrs. Bright and Scholefield, M.P.'s, being present. + + + With a true sorrow that rebuked all feigning, + By lone Edgbaston's side + Stood a great city in the sky's sad reigning + Bareheaded and wet-eyed. + + Silent for once the restless hive of labour, + Save the low funeral tread, + Or voice of craftsman whispering to his neighbour + The good deeds of the dead. + + +_Timmins_.--An almost life-speaking marble bust of Mr. Sam. Timmins was +placed in the Reference Library, April 26, 1876. It was destroyed in the +fire, but has been replaced, and few could tell the present bust is not +the original one. + +_Tyndale_.--The Londoners have honoured themselves by erecting on the +Thames Embankment a statue to the memory of the Reformer Tyndale, whom +we have partly to thank for the English version of the Bible. To help +pay for their ornament it was decided that the names of all towns +subscribing L100 or more should be inscribed on the pedestal, and the +Bible-lovers of Birmingham scraped together L86 15s. 3d. for the +purpose, leaving the Mayor (Mr. Wm. White) to dip into his own pocket +for the remaining L13 4s. 9d. + +_Unett_.--The granite obelisk in St. Philip's churchyard, opposite +Temple Street, was erected to the memory of Lieut. Colonel Unett, who +fell at the storming of Sebastopol. It was uncovered June 19, 1857. + +_Watt_.--One of the finest productions of Francis Chantrey, the +sculptor, is generally acknowledged to be the monument in Handsworth +Church to James Watt, which was placed there in September, 1827. The +figure is said to bear a very remarkable resemblance to Mr. Watt, who is +represented seated in a Grecian chair, with compasses and open book, as +though tracing on the open page. On the front of the pedestal is +inscribed:-- + + + JAMES WATT, + BORN + 19 JANVARY, + 1736. + DIED + 23 AVGVST, + 1819, + PATRI OPTIME MERITO. + E.M.P. + + +The statue in Ratcliffe Place was subscribed for in 1867, and the figure +is very like the portrait of Watt. It was unveiled Oct. 2, 1868. + +_Whateley_.--A marble bust (by Peter Rollins) of J.W. Whateley, Esq., +M.D., was placed in the Board Room of the General Hospital, June 1, +1877. + +_Wright_.--Mr. John Bright, June 15, 1883, uncovered the statue erected +in memory of Mr. J.S. Wright, in front of the Council House. The +inscription upon it is as follows:-- + + + "John Skirrow Wright, born February 2, 1822, died April 13, 1880. In + memory of the simplicity, kindliness, and integrity of his life and of + his unselfish, untiring, and patriotic devotion as a public man, this + monument is erected by the united gifts of all classes in the town he + loved and for which he laboured." + + +~Steam Engines.~--The first steam engine (then called a fire engine) +used for the purpose of pumping water from coal mines was put up in 1712 +by Newcomen and Calley, at a colliery near Wolverhampton, owned by Mr. +Back, the ironwork, &c., being made in Birmingham, and taken hence to +the pit-head. The first of Watt's engines made at Soho, was to "blow the +bellows" at John Wilkinson's ironworks at Broseley, in 1776. Watt's +first pumping engine was started at Bloomfield Colliery, March 8, 1776. +Having overcome the rotary motion difficulties, Watt applied steam to +tilt hammers and rolling mills in 1781, and to corn-grinding mills in +1782; taking out patents in 1784 for the "governor," "parallel motion," +&c., including also specifications for a travelling engine, though it +was William Murdoch who first made a practical working model of a +locomotive. The first engine worked by steam in this town that we have +record of was put up at same works in Water Street, in 1760. + +~Steamships.~--If we do not build steamships in Birmingham, it was James +Watt who proposed the use of screw propellers (in 1770); Wm. Murdoch, +who invented the oscillating cylinder (in 1785); Watt and Boulton, who +furnished engines (in 1807) for the first regular steam picket in +America; and James Watt, jun., who made the first steam voyage on the +sea (October 14, 1817), crossing the Channel in the _Caledonia_, and +taking that vessel up the Rhine. + +~Stirchley Street~, about a mile and a quarter north-east of King's +Norton, has a Post Office, a Police Station, a Board School, and a +Railway Station. Notwithstanding these signs of modern civilisation, and +the near proximity of Cadbury's Cocoa Manufactory, Stirchley Street is, +as it has been for many a generation, a favourite country outing place +for weary Brums having a chance hour to spend on change of scene. + +~Stocks.~--Putting people in the stocks appears to have been a very +ancient mode of punishment, for the Bible tells us that Jeremiah, the +prophet, was put in the stocks by Pashur, and the gaoler who had charge +of Paul and Silas at Philippi made fast their feet in a similar way. +Whether Shakespeare feared the stocks when he refused to go back to +"drunken Bidford," after sleeping off the effects of one carouse with +the "Sipper's Club" there, is not chronicled, but that the stocks were +not unknown to him is evident by their being introduced on the stage in +"King Lear." The _Worcester Journal_ of Jan. 19, 1863, informs us that +"this old mode of punishment was revived at Stratford-on-Avon, for +drunkenness, and a passer-by asking a fellow who was doing penance how +he liked it, the reply was--'I beant the first mon as ever were in the +stocks, so I don't care a fardin about it." Stocks used to be kept at +the Welsh Cross, as well as a pillory; and when the Corporation closed +the old prison in High Street, Bordesley, they took over the stocks +which formerly stood alongside the whipping-post, on the bank in front +of the present G.W.R. Station. The last date of this punishment being +inflicted in this town is 1844, when the stocks were in the yard of the +Public Office in Moor Street. + +~Storms and Tempests.~--A great storm arose on Wednesday, November 24, +1703, which lasted three days, increasing in force. The damage, all over +the kingdom, was immense; and at no period of English history has it +been equalled. 15,000 sheep were drowned in one part of Gloucestershire. +We have no record of the immediately local loss.--In a storm on March 9, +1778, the windmill at Holloway Head was struck by lightning, the miller +was hurt, and the sails shattered.--January 1, 1779, there was a violent +gale, which, while it wrecked over 300 vessels on our coasts did great +damage as far inland as Birmingham--Snowstorms were so heavy on January +23 and 24, 1814, that all communication between here and London was +stopped for five days.--There was a strong gale September 26, 1853, +during which some damage was done to St. Mary's Church, to the alarm of +the congregation therein assembled.--A very heavy storm occurred June +15, 1858, the day after the Queen's visit, lasting for nearly three +hours, during which time three inches of rain fell, one half in twenty +minutes.--Some property in Lombard Street was destroyed by lightning, +June 23, 1861; and parts of Aston, Digbeth, and the Parade were flooded +same time.--There was a terrific thunderstorm, August 26, 1867; the +rainfall being estimated at seventy-two tons per acre.--During a heavy +thunderstorm, June 17, 1875, the lightning set fire to a workshop in +Great Charles Street: killed a women in Deritend, and fourteen sheep and +lambs at Small Heath.--In a heavy gale, January 30, 1877, a chimney +stack was blown down in Jennen's Row, killing two men; and a wall was +levelled in Harborne Road, on February 20, another poor fellow losing +his life.--During the night of August 2 and 3, 1879 (when many parts of +the outskirts were flooded in comparatively the shortest time in +memory), the residence of W.E. Chance, Esq., Augustus Road, was struck +by lightning, and considerable damage done; but no personal injuries +were reported.--During the storm of October 14, 1881, much local damage +was done, while round Coventry and Tamworth districts many hundreds of +trees were broken or uprooted. In Windsor Park, 960 trees were blown +down and more than a thousand damaged; 146 shipwrecks occurred on the +coasts.--During a gale December 11, 1883, a large stained glass window +of St. Philip's Church was shattered; part of a house in Charles Henry +Street was blown down, two persons being killed; a child was killed at +Erdington, by chimney falling through roof, several persons had limbs +fractured, and there was generally a great injury to property.--On +Sunday, June 15, 1884, St. Augustine's Church, Hagley Road, and the +Congregational Chapel, Francis Road, were struck by lightning during a +tempest, and the Chapel was somewhat injured. + +~Streets.~--It is not every street that is a street in Birmingham, for, +according to the Post Office Street List, besides a dozen or so to which +distinctive names have been given, like Cheapside, Deritend, Digbeth, +Highgate, Islington, &c., and 726 streets called Streets, there are in +the borough 178 Roads, 86 Lanes, 69 Rows, 19 Squares, 11 Crescents, 2 +Quadrants, 5 Arcades, 1 Colonnade, 5 Parades, 484 Terraces, 1,572 +Places, 26 Passages, 20 Yards, 47 Courts (named, and twenty times that +number numbered), 16 Mounts (twelve of them Pleasant), 24 Hills, 5 +Vales, 2 Valleys, 23 Groves, 4 Retreats, 11 Villas, 14 Cottages, 2 +Five-Dwelling, 179 Buildings, 14 Chambers, 12 Walks, 4 Drives, 3 +Avenues, 5 Gullets, 1 Alley (and that is Needless), 1 Five-Ways, +1 Six-Ways, 6 Greens, 2 Banks, 2 Villages, 3 Heaths, 3 Ends, and 1 No +Thoroughfare. + +~Sultan Divan.~--Formerly a questionable place of amusement in Needless +Alley, but which was bought for L7,500, and opened by the Young Men's +Christian Association, January 7, 1875. + +~Sunday in Birmingham.~--Sunday dogfights _have_ been heard of in this +town, but it was sixty years ago, when brutal sports of all kinds were +more rife than now. Prior to that, however, many attempts were made to +keep the Sabbath holy, for we read that in 1797 the heavy wagons then in +use for transport of goods were not allowed to pass through the town, +the authorities fining all offenders who were so wicked as to use their +vehicles on the Lord's Day. The churchwardens were then supported by the +inhabitants, who held several public meetings to enforce the proper +observance of the day, but there have been many changes since. In +January, 1856, a Sunday League, for opening museums, libraries, &c., on +the Sabbath, was started here. In the last session of Parliament in +1870, there were eighteen separate petitions presented from this town +against opening the British Museum on Sundays. The Reference Library and +Art Gallery commenced to be opened on Sundays, April 28, 1872, and they +are well frequented. Sunday labour in the local Post Offices was stopped +Aug. 10, 1873. In 1879 a society was formed for the purpose of +delivering lectures, readings, and addresses of an interesting nature, +on the Sunday evenings of the winter season, the Town Hall, Board +Schools, and other public buildings being utilised for the purpose (the +first being held in the Bristol Street Schools, Oct. 19, 1879), and very +popular have they been, gentlemen of all sects and parties taking part, +in the belief that + + + A Sabbath well spent + Brings a week of content. + + +In 1883, during an inquiry as to the extent of drunkenness on the +Sabbath, it was shown that the county of Warwick (including Birmingham) +was remarkably clear, as out of a population of 737,188 there had only +been 348 convictions during 1882. For Staffordshire, with a population +of 980,385, the convictions were 581. Northumberland, 687 convictions +out of 434,074. Durham, 1,015 out of 867,586. Liverpool 1,741 out of +552,425. Manchester, 1,429 out of 341,508. + +~Sutton Coldfield~, on the road to Lichfield, is celebrated even more +for its park than its antiquity. The former was left to the town by the +Bishop of Exeter (John Harman), otherwise known as Bishop Vesey, who was +a native of Sutton, and whose monument is still to be seen in the old +Church. He procured a charter of incorporation in 1528, and also founded +the Grammar School, and other endowed charities, such as the Almshouses, +the Poor Maidens' Portions, &c., dying in 1555, in his 103rd year. +Thirty years' back, the park contained an area of 2,300 acres, but a +small part was sold, and the railways have taken portions, the present +extent, park and pools, being estimated at 2,034 acres, the mean level +of which is 410 feet above the sea level. A good length of Icknielde +Street, or the Old Roman Road, is distinctly traceable across a portion +of the park. King John visited Sutton manor-house in April, 1208. On the +18th of October, 1642, Charles I. reviewed his Staffordshire troops +here, prior to the battle of Edgehill, the spot being long known as "The +King's Standing." The mill-dams at Sutton burst their banks July 24, +1668, and many houses were swept away. The population is about 8,000, +and the rateable value is put at L50,000, but as, through the attraction +of the park, the town is a very popular resort, and is rapidly +increasing, it may ultimately become a place of importance, worthy of +municipal honours, which are even now being sought. The number of +visitors to the park in the Whit-week of 1882, was 19,549; same week in +1883, it was 11,378; in 1884, it was 17,486; of whom 14,000 went on the +Monday. + +~Taxes.~--Would life be worth living if we had to pay such taxes as our +fathers had to do? Here are a few:--The hearth or chimney tax of 2s. for +every fire-place or stove in houses rated above 20s. per annum was +imposed in the fifteenth year of Charles II.'s reign, but repealed in +the first year of William and Mary, 1689; the owners of Edgbaston Hall +paid for 22 chimneys before it was destroyed in 1668. In 1642, there was +a duty of L4 a pair on silk stockings. A window tax was enacted in 1695 +"to pay for the re-coinage of the gold coin," and was not entirely +removed till July 24, 1851; from a return made to Parliament by the Tax +Office in 1781, it appeared that the occupiers of 2,291 houses paid the +window tax in Birmingham; there was collected for house and window tax +in 1823, from the inhabitants of this town, the sum of L27,459 12s. +1-3/4d., though in the following year it was L9,000 less. Bachelors and +widowers were rated by 6 and 7 William III., c. 6, "to enable the King +to carry on the war against France with rigour." Births, marriages, and +deaths were also made liable to duties by the same Act. The salt duties +were first levied in 1702, doubled in 1732, and raised again in 1782, +ceasing to be gathered in 1825. The price of salt at one period of the +long Peninsular war rose to L30 per ton, being retailed in Birmingham at +4l. per lb. Carriages were taxed in 1747. Armorial bearings in 1798. +Receipts for money and promisory notes were first taxed in 1782. Hair +powder tax, of 21s. per annum, was first levied in 1795. In 1827, there +was a 1s. 3d. duty on almanacks. The 3s. advertisement duty was reduced +to 1s. 6d. in 1833, and abolished August 4, 1853. The paper duty, first +put on in 1694, was repealed in 1861; that on bricks taken off in 1850; +on soap in 1853; on sugar in May, 1874, and on horses the same year. +Hats, gloves, and linen shirts were taxed in 1785; patent medicines, +compound waters, and codfish, in 1783; in fact every article of food, +drink, and clothing required by man from the moment of his birth until +his burial, the very shroud, the land he trod on, the house he lived in, +the materials for building, have all been taxed. For coming into the +world, for living in it, and for going out of it, have Englishmen had to +pay, even though they grumbled. Now-a-days the country's taxes are few +in number, and per head are but small in amount, yet the grumbling and +the growling is as heavy as of old. _Can_ it arise from the pressure of +our local rates? Where our fathers paid 20s. to the Government, we do +not pay 5s.; but where the old people gave 5s. in rates, we have to part +with 25s. + +~Telegraphs.~--The cable for the first Atlantic telegraph was made here. +Its length was 2,300 nautical miles, and it required 690,000 lbs. of +copper in addition to the iron wire forming the strand, of which latter +there was about 16,000 miles' length. The first time the "Queen's +Speech" was transmitted to this town by the electric telegraph was on +Tuesday, November 30, 1847, the time occupied being an hour and a half. +The charge for sending a message of 20 words from here to London, in +1848, was 6s. 6d. The Sub-Marine Telegraph Co. laid their wires through +Birmingham in June and July, 1853. + +~Temperance.~--There appears to have been a sort of a kind of a +temperance movement here in 1788, for the Magistrates, at their sitting +August 21, strongly protested against the increase of dram-drinking; but +they went on granting licenses, though. Father Matthew's first visit was +September 10, 1843; J.B. Gough's, September 21, 1853; Mr. Booth's, in +May, 1882. The first local society for inculcating principles of +temperance dates from September 1, 1830; U.K. Alliance organised a +branch here in February, 1855; the first Templars' Lodge was opened +September 8, 1868; the Royal Crusaders banded together in the summer of +1881; and the Blue Ribbons were introduced in May, 1882. This novelty in +dress ornamentation was adopted (so they said) by over 40,000 +inhabitants, but at the end of twelve months the count was reduced to +8,000, including Sunday School children, popular parsons, maidens +looking for husbands, old maids who had lost their chances, and the +unco' guid people, who, having lost their own tastes, would fain keep +others from their cakes and ale. + +~Temple Row.~--A "parech meeting" in 1715 ordered the purchase of land +for a passage way out of Bull Street to St. Philip's Church. It was not +until 1842 when part of the Royal Hotel stables were taken down, that it +was made its present width. In 1837 the churchyard had some pleasant +walks along the sides, bounded by a low wooden fence, and skirted with +trees. + +~Temple Street~ takes its name from the old summer arbour, wittily +called "the Temple," which once stood in a garden where now Temple Row +joins the street. An advertisement in _Gazette_ of December 5, 1743, +announced a house for sale, in Temple Street, having a garden twelve +yards wide by fifty yards long, adjoining the fields, and with a +prospect of four miles distance. + +~Theatrical Jottings.~--What accommodation, if any, was provided here +for "their majesties' servants," the playactors, in the times of Queen +Anne and her successor, George I., is not known, but as Hutton tells us +that in 1730 the amusements of the stage _rose_ in elegance so far that +threepenny performances were given "in a stable in Castle Street," we +may be sure the position held by members of the profession was not very +high in the estimation of our townsfolk previous to that period. Indeed, +it would almost seem as if the acting of plays was quite an innovation +at the time named, and one that met with approval, for shortly after we +read of there being theatres in Smallbrook Street, in New Street, and "a +new theatre" in Moor Street. The first-named closed in 1749 or 1750; the +second is _supposed_ to have been on the site of the present Theatre +Royal, but it could not have been a building of much importance as we +find no note of it after 1744; the third, built in 1739, was taken +possession of by the disciples of Wesley, and on March 21, 1764, was +opened as a chapel. Previous to the last event, however, another theatre +had been erected (in 1752) in King Street, leading out of New Street, +near to the Free School, which, being enlarged in 1774, is described by +Hutton as having few equals. In this year also (1774) the Theatre Royal +was erected (at a cost of nearly L5,700) though the latter half of its +title was not assumed until August, 1807, on the occasion of the Royal +assent being given to the house being "licensed." A bill had been +introduced into the House of Commons for this purpose on the 26th of +March, 1777, during the debate on which Burke called Birmingham "the +great toyshop of Europe," but it was thrown out on the second reading. +The King Street Theatre, like its predecessor in Moor Street, after a +time of struggle, was turned into a place of worship in 1786, a fate +which, at a later date, also befell another place of public +entertainment, the Circus, in Bradford Street, and the theatrical +history of the town, for a long term of years centred round the Theatre +Royal, though now and then spasmodic attempts were made to localise +amusements more or less of a similar nature. One of these, and the +earliest, was peculiarly unfortunate; early in 1778 a wooden pavilion, +known as the "Concert Booth," was erected in the Moseley Road, dramatic +performances being _given_ between the first and last parts of a vocal +and instrumental concert, but some mischievous or malicious incendiary +set fire to the building, which was burnt to the ground Aug. 13 of the +same year. Four years later, and nearly at the same date (Aug. 17) the +Theatre in New Street met with a like fate, the only portion of it left +being the stone front (added in 1780) which is still the same, +fortunately coming almost as safely through the next conflagration. The +proprietors cleared away the ruins, and erected a more commodious +structure, which, under the management of Mr. William Macready, was +opened June 22, 1795. In the meantime, the King Street Theatre having +been chapelised, the town appears to have been without any recognised +place for dramatic entertainments other than those provided in the large +rooms of the hotels, or the occasional use of a granary transmogrified +for the nonce into a Thespian arena. On the night of the 6th of January, +1820, after the performance of "Pizarro," the Theatre Royal was again +burnt out, but, possibly from having their property insured up to +L7,000, the proprietors were not so long in having it rebuilt, the doors +of the new house being opened on following Aug. 14. This is, +practically, the same building as the present, which has scats for about +3,500, the gallery holding 1,000. Many of the first artists of the +profession have trod the boards of the Old Theatre since the last-named +date, and Birmingham has cause to be proud of more than one of her +children, who, starting thence, have found name and fame elsewhere. The +scope of the present work will not allow of anything move than a few +brief notes, and those entirely of local bearing, but a history of the +Birmingham stage would not be uninteresting reading. + +A wooden building in Moor Street, formerly a circus, was licensed March, +19, 1861; closed in 1863, and cleared off the ground in 1865. + +Theatrical performances were licensed in Bingley Hall in 1854. + +The Prince of Wales Theatre, previously Broad Street Music Hall, was +opened in 1862. It was reconstructed in 1876, and has accommodation for +an audience of 3,200. + +The Holte Theatre was opened May 12, 1879, the license to the Lower +Grounds Co. being granted November 29, 1878. + +The last new Theatre, the Grand, in Corporation Street, must rank as one +of the handsomest edifices in the town. It faces what was once the Old +Square, and has a frontage of 120ft., the height to the cornice of the +roof being 52ft., the whole being capped with a dome, supporting a +winged figure of Auroro, which, drawn in a car by prancing horses, is +15ft. high. The interior is laid out in the most improved modern style, +ornately decorated throughout, and provides accommodation for over 3,000 +persons. The cost is put at L30,000, of which L17,000 went to the +builders alone, and the theatre is the property of Mr. A. Melville. The +opening day was Nov. 14th, 1883. + +The "Interlude of Deritend Wake, with the representation of a +Bull-baiting" was part of the performance announced at the King street +Theatre, May 31, 1783. + +Mrs. Sarah Siddons, whose _debut_ in London the previous season had been +anything but successful, came to Birmingham for the summer season of +1776. Henderson, one of her colleagues here, notwithstanding the Drury +Lane veto, declared that she was "an actress who never had an equal nor +would ever have a superior"--an opinion quickly verified. + +One of Kean's benefits was a total failure. In the last scene of the +play "A New Way to Pay Old Debts," wherein allusion is made to the +marriage of a lady, "Take her," said Kean, "and the Birmingham audience +into the bargain." + +Garrick was visiting Lord Lytton at Hagley on one occasion when news was +brought that a company of players were going to perform at Birmingham. +His lordship suggested that Garrick should write an address to the +audience for the players. "Suppose, then," said he, "I begin thus: + + + "Ye sons of iron, copper, brass and steel, + Who have not heads to think, nor hearts to feel." + +"Oh," cried his lordship, "if you begin like that, they will hiss the +players off the stage, and pull the house down." "My lord," replied +Garrick, "what is the use of an address if it does not come home to the +business and bosoms of the audience?" + +A "Birmingham Garrick," was the name given to an actor named Henderson +(1782), whose friends did not think him quite so great a tragedian as he +fancied himself. + +Kemble made his last appearance on the Birmingham stage July 9, 1788. + +Robinson Crusoe, or Harlequin Friday, was the pantomime in 1790. + +Madame Catalini first appeared at Royal in 1807. + +Incledon, the famous tenor, sang here first time in same year. + +William Charles Macready made his _debut_ on the stage of the Royal as +_Romeo_, June 7, 1810. He took his farewell benefit Aug. 13, 1871. + +Alfred Bunn had the Theatre in 1823, during which year there appeared +here Mr. and Mrs. C. Kemble, W.C. Macready, Joey Grimaldi, Miss Ellen +Tree (afterwards Mrs. Charles Kean), W. Farrer, Braham, Elliston, +Dowton, Rignold and Power. + +Barry Sullivan was born here in 1824. + +In 1824 the whole town was up in arms taking part in the "Battle of the +Preachers and the Players," which was commenced by the Rev. J. Augell +James delivering a series of sermons bitterly inveighing against the +theatre, as a place of amusement, and pouring forth the most awful +denunciations against the frequenters thereof. Alfred Bunn, the manager, +was not slow to retort. He put "The Hypocrite" on the boards, Shuter, +the clever comedian and mimic, personating Mr. James in the part of +_Mawworm_ so cleverly that the piece had an immense run. The battle +ended in a victory for both sides, chapel and theatre alike being +crammed. If it pleased the godly it was a god-send for Bunn whose +exchequer it filled to repletion. + +Signer Costa was at the Festival in 1829, and he afterwards appeared on +the stage at the Royal. + +Paganini first fiddled at the Royal, January 22, 1832. + +Sheridan Knowles, Macready, Paganini, Matthews, and Miss Ellen Tree were +among the Stars at the Royal in 1833. + +Mercer H. Simpson took the management of the Royal in 1838. His farewell +benefit was on December 16, 1864, and he died March 2, 1877, aged 76. + +Sims Reeves' first visit to this town was in May, 1843; his last +appearance at the Festivals was in 1873; at the Royal in May, 1875, and +at the Town Hall, March 25, 1884. + +Jenny Lind first sang here Aug. 29, 1847; she sang for the Queen's +Hospital at Town Hall, Dec. 28, 1848; her last concerts were Jan. 22-23, +1862. + +Madle. Rachael first played here Aug. 19, 1847. + +Charles Dickens and his amateur friends gave their special performances +in aid of the Shakespeare House Fund, at the Royal, June 6 and 27, 1848, +the receipts amounting to L589. + +Variety was not wanting at our New Street Theatre in 1852. Among the +artistes advertised to appear were: A strong Man who had 5 cwt. of stone +broken (by a sledge hammer) on his chest nightly; performing Dogs and +Horses; Madame Grisi, Signor Mario, Haymarket Company, Benjamin Webster, +and Madame Celeste, etc., etc. + +Miss Menken, the female _Mazeppa_, appeared at Prince of Wales', May 15 +1865, and at the Royal in Nov. 1807. + +Miss Neilson's first appearance here was in Nov. 1868, in an adaptation, +by Mr. C. Williams, a local dramatist, of Miss Braddon's "Captain of the +Vulture." + +Mr. Irving first appeared as _Hamlet_ in this town at Prince of Wales', +Dec., 1877. + +Sarah Bernhardt was at Prince of Wales', July 4-6, 1881. + +Kyrle Beilew last appeared here at Prince of Wales', Sept, 17, 1881. + +Mrs. Langtry was at Prince of Wales', May 29, 1882. + +Edwin Booth's first appearance here was at the Royal, as _Richelieu_, +Dec. 11, 1882. + +Bobby Atkins, whose real name was Edward, was the most popular comedian +of the Royal, with which he had been connected for more than twenty-five +years. He died in 1882, in his 64th year. His bosom friend, John Barton, +made his exit from the world's stage April 16, 1875. + +Sir. George Rignold's mother is stated by Mr. Thomas Swinbourne (himself +a native) to have been a leading actress of the Theatre Royal and very +popular, as indeed she would necessarily be, her _role_ of parts +including _Hamlet_ and _Virginius_. The father was, says Mr. S., "an +admirable terpsichorean artiste, and George inherits the talents of both +parents, with a dash of music besides, for, like _William_, in +'Black-eyed Susan,' he 'plays on the fiddle like on angel.'" + +Two or three of our places of amusement have been turned into chapels +permanently, and therefore it was hardly a novelty to hold "Gospel +services" in the Prince of Wales's Theatre, October 3, 1875, but it was +to their credit that "the gods" behaved themselves. + +~Time.~--When it is exactly twelve at noon here in Birmingham, it is +7min. 33secs. past at Greenwich, 12min. 50secs. past at Dover, and +16min. 54secs. past at Paris; while it wants 1-1/2mins. to the hour at +Manchester, 9-1/2min. at Glasgow, 17min. 50secs. at Dublin, and +26-1/2mins. at Cork. At Calcutta, the corresponding time would be +6.1-1/2 p.m., Canton 7.40 p.m., Japan 9.15 p.m., Mexico 5.34 a.m., New +Orleans 8.5 a.m., New York 7.11 a.m., New Zealand 11.45 p.m., Nova +Scotia 7.55 a.m., San Francisco 4.5 a.m., St., Petersburg 2.10 p.m., +Sydney 10.12 p.m., and at Washington just seven o'clock in the morning. + +~Tithes.~--One hundred and fifty years ago (if not, considerably later) +the Rector of St. Martin's was paid tithes in cash based on the value of +the crops, &c., one acre of good wheat being tithed at 7s. 6d.; an acre +of good barley at 4s. 4-1/2d.; an acre of flax and hemp, if pulled, at +5s.; an acre of good oats, peas, or potatoes, and all kinds of garden +stuff at 3s. 9d.; for meadow land 4d. an acre, and 2d. for leasow (or +leasland); 3d. being claimed for cow and her calf. 1-1/2d. for each +lamb, &c. In course of time these payments were changed into a fixed +tithe rent, but before matters were comfortably settled, the Rector +found it necessary to give notice (April, 1814) that he should enforce +the ancient custom of being paid "in kind." The gun trade was brisk at +that time, but whether the reverend gentleman took his tenths of the +guns, what he did with them, or how the parties came to terms is not +recorded.--The tithes formerly due in kind to the Vicar of Edgbaston +were commuted by Act passed June 8, 1821, into art annual "corn rent," +payable by the occupiers or all kinds in the parish. + +~Tower.~--Originally, all guns made here for Government, had to be put +together in London, but when the French Revolution broke out, it was +seen that a quicker mode of procedure was necessary, and an +establishment in Bagot Street was erected in 1798, where all guns for +Government were viewed and stamped with the "Tower" mark. Hence the +name. + +~Town Criers~ were first appointed in 1526. Jacob Wilson entered into +office May 4, 1853, and was pensioned off with 15s. a week in August, +1879, after a family tenure of the office, according to Jacob, of about +350 years. Surely it was a crying shame to stop the children of that +family from crying in the future. The last of the criers did not last +long after deposition from office, Jacob's last words being uttered in +1881. + +~Town Improvements.~--Some fifty and odd years ago Dobbs, a local +comedian, used to sing, + + "Brumagem has altered so, + There's scarce a place in it I know; + Round the town you now must go + To find old Brumagem." + +Had he lived till these days he might well have sung so, for +improvements are being carried out so rapidly now that in another +generation it is likely _old_ Birmingham will have been improved off the +face of the earth altogether. Prior to the days of steam, our +forefathers went about their work more leisurely, for it was not until +1765 that the Act was obtained for the "enlightening" of the streets, +and four years later when the first Act was passed (April 21, 1769) for +street improvements. The Street Commissioners appointed by this Act, and +who held their first meeting May 22, 1769, for many years did little +more than regulate the traffic of the streets, keep them clean_ish_, and +look after the watchmen. In course of time the operations of the said +Commissioners were extended a little, and it is to them that we owe the +existence of the central open space so long known as the Bull Ring, for +they gave L1,730, in 1801, for the removal of nine tenements there and +then blocking the way. Money must have been of more value then than now, +for if such a purchase was necessary at the present date one or two more +figures would require being added to the amount. This town improvement +was completed in 1806, when the Commissioners purchased the remaining +houses and shops round St. Martin's, but property owners had evidently +learned something during the five years, for whereas the Commissioners +at first estimated the further cost at L10,957, they reluctantly had to +provide no less than L22,266, the additional sum required being +swallowed up by "incidental expenses." The poet already quoted had +apparently been absent during these alterations, for he wailingly +bemoaned-- + + "Poor old Spiceal Street half gone, + The poor old Church stands all alone, + And poor old I can only groan, + That I can't find Brumagem." + +Though an Improvement Act for Duddeston and Nechells was obtained in +1829, the town improvements for the next forty years consisted +principally of road making, street paving, market arranging, &c., the +opening-up ideas not getting well-rooted in the minds of our governors +until some time after the Town Council began to rule the roast. That a +great deal of work _was_ being done, however, is shown by reference to +the Borough accounts for 1840, in which year L17,366 was expended in +lighting, watching, and otherwise improving the thoroughfares, in +addition to L13,794 actually spent on the highways. 1852 saw the removal +of the turnpikes, at a cost of over L3,200; in the same year L5,800 was +expended in widening the entrance to Temple Row from Bull Street, and +L1,800 for rounding off the corner of Steelhouse Lane and Snow Hill. In +October, 1853, it was decided to obtain for L33,000 the 11,540 square +yards of land at the corner of Ann Street and Congreve Street, where the +Municipal Buildings, Art Gallery, and new Gas Office now stand. Almost +every year since has seen the purchase of properties more or less +required for substantial improvements, though some of them may not even +yet have been utilised. A few fancy prices might be named which have had +to be paid for odd bits of property here and there, but about the +dearest of all was L53 10s. per yard, which the Council paid (in 1864) +for the land required to round off the corner of New Street and +Worcester Street, a further L1,300 going, in 1873, to extinguish certain +leasehold rights. This is by no means the highest figure given for land +in the centre of the town, as Mr. John Feeney, in 1882, paid at the rate +of L66 per yard for the site at corner of Cannon Street and New Street, +the portion retained for his own use costing him even more than that, as +he generously allowed the Corporation to take 30-1/2 yards for L1,000. +The introduction of the railways, and consequent obliteration of scores +of old streets, courts, alleys, and passages, has been of vast service +towards the general improvement of the town, as well in the matter of +health and sanitation, as leading to the construction of many new +buildings and the formation of adequate approaches to the several +railway stations, the erection of such establishments as the Queen's +Hotel, the Great Western Hotel, &c. Nor have private property owners and +speculators been at all backward, as evidenced by our magnificent modern +banking establishments, the huge piles of commercial buildings in +Colmore Row, New Street, and Corporation Street, the handsome shops in +New Street, High Street, and Bull Street, with many other edifices that +our grandfathers never dreamed of, such as the Midland, the Grand, and +the Stork Hotels, the palatial Club Houses, the Colonnade and Arcades, +New Theatres, Inns of Court, &c., &c. Many of these improvements have +resulted from the falling-in of long leases on the Colmore, the Grammar +School, and other estates, while others have been the outcome of a +far-seeing policy on the part of such moneyed men as the late Sir Josiah +Mason, Isaac Horton, and others of somewhat similar calibre. Going away +from the immediate centre of the town architectural improvements will be +noted on all hands, Snow Hill, for one place, being evidently in the +regenerative throes of a new birth, with its Gothic Arcade opposite the +railway station, and the new circus at the foot of the hill, where for +so many long years there has been nothing but a wreck and a ruin. In +close neighbourhood, Constitution Hill, Hampton Street, and at the +junction of Summer Lane, a number of handsome houses and shops have +lately been erected by Mr. Cornelius Ede, in the early Gothic style, +from designs by Mr. J.S. Davis, the architect of the Snow Hill Arcade, +the whole unquestionably forming a very great advance on many former +street improvements. The formation in 1880 of John Bright Street as an +extension of the Bristol Road (cost L30,000) has led to the erection of +many fine buildings in that direction; the opening-out of Meetinghouse +Yard and the alterations in Floodgate Street (in 1879, at a cost of +L13,500), has done much for that neighbourhood; the widening of +Worcester Street and the formation of Station Street, &c., thanks to the +enlargement of the Central Station, and the remodelling of all the +thoroughfares in the vicinity of Navition Street and Worcester Wharf, +also arising therefrom, are important schemes now in progress in the +same direction; and in fact there is hardly any district within the +borough boundaries in which improvements of more or less consequence are +not being made, or have been planned, the gloomy old burial grounds +having been turned into pleasant gardens at a cost of over L10,000, and +even the dirty water-courses known as the river Rea and Hockley brook +have had L12,000 worth of cleaning out bestowed upon them. It is not too +much to say that millions have been spent in improving Birmingham during +the past fifty years, not reckoning the cost of the last and greatest +improvement of all--the making of Corporation Street, and the consequent +alterations on our local maps resulting therefrom. The adoption of the +Artizans' Dwelling Act, under the provisions of which the Birmingham +Improvement Scheme has been carried out, was approved by the Town +Council, on the 16th of October, 1875. Then, on the 15th of March, 1876, +followed the Local Government Board enquiry; and on the 17th of June, +1876, the provisional order of the Board, approving the scheme, was +issued. The Confirming Act received the Royal assent on the 15th of +August, 1876. On the 6th of September, 1880, a modifying order was +obtained, with respect to the inclusion of certain properties and the +exclusion of others. The operations under the scheme began in August, +1878, when the houses in New Street were pulled down. In April, 1879, by +the removal of the Union Hotel, the street was continued into Cherry +Street: and further extensions have been made in the following order:-- +Cherry Street to Bull Street, August 1881; the Priory to John Street, +June 1881; Bull Street to the Priory, January, 1882; John Street to +Aston Street, February, 1882. Little Cannon Street was formed in August +1881; and Cowper Street in January, 1881. The first lease of land in the +area of the scheme--to the Women's Hospital--was agreed upon in January, +1876; and the first lease in Corporation Street--to Mr. J.W. Danieli-- +was arranged in May, 1878. In July, 1879, a lease was agreed upon for +the new County Court. The arbitrations in the purchase of properties +under the scheme were begun in June, 1879, and in June, 1880, Sir Henry +Hunt, the arbitrator nominated by the Local Government Board, made his +first award, amounting to L270,405, the remainder of the properties +having been bought by agreement. The loans borrowed on account of the +scheme amount to L1,600,000, the yearly charge on the rates being over +L20,000 per annum, but as the largest proportion of the property is let +upon 75-year leases, this charge will, in time, not only be reduced +yearly by the increase of ground-rents, as the main and branch streets +are filled up, but ultimately be altogether extinguished, the town +coming in for a magnificent income derived from its own property. The +length of Corporation Street from New Street to Lancaster Street is 851 +yards, and if ultimately completed (as at first intended) from Lancaster +Street to Aston Road, the total length will be 1,484 yards or +five-sixths of a mile. The total area of land purchased for the +carrying-out of the scheme is put at 215,317 square yds. (about 44a. 1r. +38p.), of which quantity 39,280 square yards has been laid out in new +streets, or the widening of old ones. Of the branch or connecting +streets intended there is one (from Corporation Street to the corner of +High Street and Bull Street, opposite Dale End), that cannot be made for +several years, some valuable leases not expiring until 1890 and 1893, +but, judging by the present rate of building, Corporation Street itself +will be completed long before then. More than a score of the +unhealthiest streets and lanes in the town have been cleared away, and +from a sanitary point of view the improvement in health and saving of +life in the district by the letting in of light and air, has been of the +most satisfactory character, but though the scheme was originated under +the Artisans' Dwelling Act, intended to provide good and healthy +residences in lieu of the pestiferous slums and back courts, it cannot +in one sense be considered much of a success. The number of artisans' +dwellings required was 1,335, about 550 of which were removed +altogether, the rest being improved and relet, or converted into shops, +warehouses, &c. A piece of land between Newtown Row and Summer Lane, +containing an area of 14,250 square yards was purchased for the purpose +of leasing for the erection of artisans' dwellings, and a 50ft. wide +street was laid out and nicely planted with trees, but, owing either to +the badness of trade, or the over-building of small houses in other +parts previously, less than a sixth of the site has been taken, and but +a score of houses built, a most wonderful contrast to the rapid filling +of Corporation Street with its many magnificent edifices present and +prospective, that promise to make it one of the finest streets in the +provinces. There cannot, however, be such necessity for the erection of +small houses as was imagined when the Act was adopted here, for +according to a return lately obtained, and not reckoning the thousands +of little domiciles on the outskirts, there are in the borough 4,445 +houses usually let at weekly rentals up to 2s. 6d. per week, 24,692 the +rentals of which are between 2s. 6d. and 3s. 6d., and 36,832 others +between 3s. 6d. and 7s. per week, a total of 65,969 working men's +houses, but of which 5,273 (taking one week with another) are always +void. + +~Toyshop of Europe.~--It was during the debate in the House of Commons +(March 26, 1777) on the first reading of a Bill to license the Theatre +in Birmingham, that Mr. Burke, who spoke in its favour, described this +town as "the great toyshop of Europe." At that time, and for long +afterwards, hundreds of articles of utility manufactured here were +roughly classed as "light steel toys," and "heavy steel toys;" though we +should hardly now be likely to consider tinder boxes, steelyards, +pokers, fire-shovels and tongs as playthings. + +~Trade Notes of the Past.~--Foreigners were not allowed to carry on any +retail trade here before 1663. The Brums never liked them. An official +document of 1695, states that, the trade of the town was "chiefly in +steel, iron, and other _ponderous_ commodities." In 1702 it was enacted +that if brass, copper, latten, bell-metal gun-metal, or shruff-metal be +carried beyond sea, clean or mixed, double the value thereof to be +forfeited, tin and lead only excepted. An Act was passed March 20, 1716, +prohibiting trade with Sweden, much to the inconvenience of our local +manufacturers, who imported Swedish iron for conversion into steel in +large quantities. The Act 1 Geo. I., c. 27 (1720), forbidding the +_exportation_ of artizans to foreign countries was not repealed till +1825 (5 Geo. IV., c. 97). In April, 1729, our manufacturers petitioned +that the colonists in America should be encouraged to send pig iron over +here; ten years previously they bitterly opposed the idea; ten years +later they repented, for their American cousins filled our warehouses +with their manufactured goods. In 1752 it was stated that above 20,000 +hands were employed here in "useful manufactures." In 1785 a reward of +fifty guineas was offered here for the conviction of any person +"enticing workmen to go to foreign countries;" the penalty for such +"enticing" being a fine of L100 and three months' imprisonment. + +~Trade Societies and Trades' Unions~ are of modern growth, unless we +count the old-style combinations of the masters to prevent their workmen +emigrating, or the still more ancient Guilds and Fraternities existing +in mediaeval times. There are in all, 177 different Trades' Unions in the +country (coming under the notice of the Registrar-General), and most of +them have branches in this town and neighbourhood. The majority have +sick and benefit funds connected with them, and so far should be classed +among Friendly, Benevolent, or Philanthropic Societies, but some few are +plainly and simply trade associations to keep up prices, to prevent +interference with their presumed rights, to repress attacks by the +avoidance of superabundant labour, and to generally protect members when +wrongfully treated, cheated or choused. Prior to 1834, when some 20,000 +persons assembled on Newhall Hill, March 31 to protest against the +conviction of Dorset labourers for trades' unionism, few of these +societies were locally in existence; but the advent of Free Trade seems +to have shown all classes of workers the necessity of protecting their +individual interests by means of a system of Protection very similar, +though on smaller scale, to that abolished by Sir Robert Peel and his +friends. That there was a necessity for such trade societies was clearly +shown by the harsh manner in which they were denounced by John Bright at +a Town Hall banquet, held April 28, 1875, that gentleman evidently +demurring to the anomally of working men being Protectionists of any +kind. Foremost among the local unions is the National Society of +Amalgamated Brassworkers, originated April 18, 1872 with over 5,000 +members now on its books, having in its first eight years subscribed and +paid to members out of employ no less than L29,000.--The Builders' +Labourers combined in 1861, and pay out yearly over L200 for sick and +funeral benefits.--The National Association of Master Builders was +organised here on Dec, 18, 1877.--The Butcher's Trade and Benevolent +Association, organised in 1877, helps its members in case of need, keeps +a sharp look out when new Cattle Markets, &c., are proposed, and +provides a jury to help the magistrates in any doubtful case of +"scrag-mag," wherein horse-flesh, donkey meat, and other niceties have +been tendered to the public as human food.--The "gentlemen" belonging to +the fraternity of accountants met on April 20, 1882, to form a local +Institute of Chartered Accountants, and their clients know the result by +the extra charges of the chartered ones.--The Clerks' Provident +Association provides a register for good clerks out of employ for the +use of employers who may want them, and, of course, there can be no good +clerks out of employ except those who belong to the Association. It was +commenced in 1883, from a philanthropic feeling, but must rank among +trade societies as much as many others.--The Coal Merchants and +Consumers' Association, for regulating the traffic charges, and +otherwise protecting the trade (especially the sellers) was organised in +1869.--The Dairymen and Milksellers' Protection Society came into +existence April 2, 1884, and is intended to protect the dealers against +the encroachments of the Birmingham Dairy Company, and all customers +from the cows with wooden udders or iron teats.--The dentists in May, +1883, held the first meeting of the Midland Odentological Society, but +it is not expected that the people at large will be entirely protected +from toothache earlier than the first centenary of the Society.--The +Institution of Mechanical Engineers was formed early in 1847.--The +Amalgamated Society of Engineers dates half-a-century back, its 430 +branches having collectively about 50,000 members, with a reserve fund +of L178,000, though the expenditure in 1883 was L124,000 out of an +income of L134,000. Locally, there are three branches, with 765 members, +having balances in hand of L2,075; the expenditure in 1883 being L680 to +men out of work, L585 to sick members, L390 to the superannuated, L171 +for funerals, and L70 in benevolent gifts.--The Birmingham and Midland +Counties Grocers' Protection and Benevolent Association, started in +1871, has a long name and covers a considerable area. It was designed to +make provision for the wives and families of unfortunate members of the +trade when in distress; to defend actions brought against them under the +Adulteration Acts; and most especially to protect themselves from the +encroachments of the merchants, importers, and manufacturers, who do not +always deliver 112 lbs. to the cwt, or keep to sample.--The Licensed +Victuallers first clubbed together for protection in 1824, and the +Retail Brewers and Dealers in Wine followed suit in 1845, both societies +spending considerable sums yearly in relief for decayed members of the +trade, the Licensed Victuallers having also a residential Asylum for a +number of their aged members or their widows in Bristol Road.--The +journeymen printers opened a branch of the Provincial Typographical +Association Oct. 12, 1861, though there was a society here previously.-- +The first local union we find record of was among the knights of the +thimble, the tailors striking for an increase in wages in 1833; a branch +of the Amalgamated Society of Tailors has lately been organised.--In +1866 a general Trades' Council was formed, which utilises by combined +action the powers of the whole in aid of any single society which may +stand in need of help. + +~Trades and Manufactures.~--There are no published returns of any kind +that have ever been issued by which more than a guess can be made at the +real value of the trade of Birmingham, which varies considerably at +times. At the present moment (March, 1885) trade is in a _very_ +depressed state, and it would hardly be correct to give the exact +figures, were it even possible to obtain them, and any statistics that +may appear in the following lines must be taken as showing an average +based upon several years. Speaking at a council meeting, February 19, +1878, Mr. Alderman Joseph Chamberlain said the best way to ascertain the +trade of the town was to take the local bank returns and the railway +traffic "in" and "out," so far as the same could be ascertained. The +deposits in all the banks that published returns were, at the end of +1877, L10,142,936, as against L10,564,255 in the previous year--a +falling off of L421,312, or 4 percent. With regard to bills of exchange +held by the banks, the amount was L3,311,744, against L3,605,067 in the +previous year--a falling off of L293,323, or 8 per cent. The amount of +the advances, however, was L6,041,075, as against L5,570,920 in the +previous year--an increase of L470,155, or 8-1/2 percent. With regard to +the trade of the town, by the courtesy of the managers of the respective +companies, he was able to give the numbers of tons of goods, of coals, +and other minerals, the loads of cattle, and the number of passengers. +The tons of goods were 973,611, as against 950,042 in 1876--an increase +of 23,569 tons, or about 2-1/2 per cent. The tons of coal were 566,535, +against 575,904--a falling off of 9,372 tons, or 1-1/2 percent. The +other minerals were 119,583 tons, against 100,187--an increase of +19,369, or 19 per cent. The loads of cattle were 22,462 last year, +against 19,157 in the previous year--an increase of 3,305 loads, 17 per +cent. These were the returns of the "in" and "out" traffic. The number +of passengers was 5,787,616 in 1877, against 5,606,331--an increase of +181,285, or about 3-1/4 per cent. So far as the traffic went, as they +had been led to expect from the Board of Trade returns, there had been +an increase of business, but a decrease of profits; and as to the +decrease of profits he had some figures which showed that the profits of +trade for the parish of Birmingham fur the year ending April 1, 1877, +were L3,989,000; and of the preceeding year L4,292,000--a falling off of +L323,000, or a trifle over 8 per cent. These figures of Mr. +Chamberlain's may be accepted as representing the present state, the +increase in numbers and consequent addition to the traffic "in" being +balanced by the lesser quantity of goods sent out, though it is +questionable whether the profits of trade now reach L3,000,000 per year. +Notwithstanding the adverse times the failures have rather decreased +than otherwise, there being 13 bankruptcies and 313 arrangements by +composition in 1883 against 14 and 324 respectively in 1882. To get at +the number of tradesmen, &c., is almost as difficult as to find out the +value of their trade, but a comparison at dates fifty years apart will +be interesting as showing the increase that has taken place in that +period. A Directory of 1824 gave a list of 141 different trades and the +names of 4,980 tradesmen; a similar work published in 1874 made 745 +trades, with 33,462 tradesmen. To furnish a list of all the branches of +trade now carried on and the numbers engaged therein would fill many +pages, but a summary will be found under "_Population_," and for fuller +particulars the reader must go to the Census Tables for 1881, which may +be seen at the Reference Library. The variety of articles made in this +town is simply incalculable, for the old saying that anything, from a +needle to a ship's anchor, could be obtained in Edgbaston Street is +really not far from the truth, our manufacturers including the makers of +almost everything that human beings require, be it artificial eyes and +limbs, ammunition, or armour; beads, buttons, bedsteads, or buckles; +cocoa, candlesticks, corkscrews, or coffee-pots; door bolts, dessert +forks, dog collars, or dish covers; edge tools, earrings, engines, or +eyeglasses; fire irons, fiddle-bows, frying pans, or fishhooks; gold +chains, gas fittings, glass toys, or gun barrels; hairpins, harness, +handcuffs, or hurdles; ironwork, isinglass, inkstands, or inculators; +jewellery, javelins, jews' harps, or baby jumpers; kettles, kitchen +ranges, knife boards, or knuckle dusters; lifting-jacks, leg irons, +latches, or lanterns; magnets, mangles, medals, or matches; nails, +needles, nickel, or nutcrackers; organ pipes, optics, oilcans, or +ornaments; pins, pens, pickle forks, pistols, or boarding-pikes; quart +cups, quoits, quadrats, or queerosities; rings, rasps, rifles, or +railway cars; spades, spectacles, saddlery, or sealing wax; +thermometers, thimbles, toothpicks, or treacle taps; umbrellas or +upholstery; ventilators, vices, varnish, or vinegar; watches, +wheelbarrows, weighing machines or water closets. A Londoner who took +stock of our manufactories a little while back, received information +that led him to say, a week's work in Birmingham comprises, among its +various results, the fabrication of 14,000,000 pens, 6,000 bedsteads, +7,000 guns, 300,000,000 cut nails, 100,000,000 buttons, 1,000 saddles, +5,000,000 copper or bronze coins, 20,000 pairs of spectacles, 6 tons of +papier-mache wares, over L20,000 worth of gold and silver jewellery, +nearly an equal value of gilt and cheap ornaments, L12,000 worth of +electro-plated wares, 4,000 miles of iron and steel wire, 10 tons of +pins, 5 tons of hairpins and hooks and eyes, 130,000 gross of wood +screws, 500 tons of nuts and screw-bolts and spikes, 50 tons of wrought +iron hinges, 350 miles' length of wax for vestas, 40 tons of refined +metal, 40 tons of German silver, 1,000 dozen of fenders, 3,500 bellows, +800 tons of brass and copper wares. Several of these items are rather +over the mark, but the aggregate only shows about one half a real week's +work, as turned out when trade is good. + +_Agricultural Implements_, such as draining tools, digging and manure +forks, hay knives, scythes, shovels, spades, &c., as well as mowing +machines, garden and farm rollers, ploughs, harrows, &c., are the +specialities of some half-dozen firms, the oldest-established being +Messrs. Mapplebeck and Lowe, opposite Smithfield Market. + +_American Traders_.--It has been stated that there is not a _bona fide_ +American trader residing amongst us, though at one time they were almost +as numerous as the Germans now are. Be that as it may, the following +statistics, giving the declared value of exports from Birmingham to +America during the ten years ending Sept. 30, 1882, (taken from a report +made by the American Consul-General in London), show that a vast trade +is still being carried on with our friends on the other side of the +Atlantic:--Year ending September 30 1873, 7,463,185 dols.; 1874, +5,778,957 dols.; 1875, 4,791,231 dols.; 1876, 3,135,234 dols.; 1877, +2,842,871 dols.; 1878 2,309,513 dols.; 1879, 2,435,271 dols.; 1880, +4,920,433 dols.; 1881, 4,376,611 dols.; 1882, 5,178,118 dols. Total, +43,231,429 dols. + +_Ammunition_.--To manufacture ammunition for guns and pistols so long +made here by the scores of thousands would seem but the natural +sequence, but though percussion caps were yearly sent from here in +millions of grosses, the manufacture of the complete cartridge is a +business of later growth. For the invention of gunpowder the world had +to thank a monk, and it is no less curious that we owe percussion caps +to the scientific genius of another Churchman, the first patent for +their construction being taken out by the Rev. Mr. Forsyth in 1807. They +were very little thought of for long after Waterloo, and not introduced +into "the service" until 1839, several foreign armies being supplied +with them before the War Office allowed them to be used by "Tommy +Atkins" with his "Brown Bess." A machine for making percussion caps was +patented by John Abraham in 1864. The manufacture of such articles at +all times involves several dangerous processes, and Birmingham has had +to mourn the loss of many of her children through accidents arising +therefrom. (See "_Explosions_.") The ammunition works of Messrs. Kynoch +and Co., at Witton, cover over twenty acres, and gives employment to +several hundred persons, the contrariness of human nature being +exemplified in the fact that the death-dealing articles are mainly +manufactured by females, the future mothers or wives perchance of men to +be laid low by the use of such things. The plant is capable of turning +out 500,000 cartridges per day, as was done during the Turkish war, and +it takes 50 tons of rolled brass, 100 tons of lead, and 20 tons of +gunpowder weekly to keep the factory fully going, all kinds of +ammunition for rifles and machine guns being made on the premises. Other +extensive works are those of the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Co., at +Adderley Park Mills, and the National Arms and Ammunition Co., at Small +Heath, and Perry Barr. + +_Artificial Eyes and Limbs_ are necessary articles to some members of +the genus _homo_, but the demand, fortunately, is not of such an +extensive character as to require many manufacturers; indeed, the only +firm in Birmingham that devotes itself entirely to supplying artificial +limbs is that of Messrs. Best and Son, Summer Lane, whose specialities +in the way of arms and legs are famed in all English and Continental +medical circles as wonderful examples of the peculiar mechanism +requisite to successfully imitate the motions and powers of natural +limbs. There are half-a-dozen makers of "eyes," human and otherwise, the +chief being Messrs. Pache and Son, Bristol Street, and Mr. Edward +Hooper, Suffolk Street, who hold the almost unique position of being the +sole known makers of artificial human eyes anywhere. Few people would +imagine it, but it is said that there are at least 1,500 persons in +Birmingham who carry glass eyes in their head; while the demand from +foreign countries is something enormous, the United States taking the +lead as they fain would do in everything. But there is no part of the +civilised world, from Spitzbergen to Timbuctoo, where Birmingham made +eyes are not to be seen, even the callous "heathen Chinee" buying them +in large quantities. Naturalists and taxidermists find here eyes to +match those of any creature that has lived and breathed, and "doll's +eyes" are made by the ton. + +_Bedsteads, Metallic_.--The making of iron and brass bedsteads, as a +staple trade, dates only from the accession of Her Majesty; but, unlike +that august personage, they were a long time before they were +appreciated as they deserved to be, for, in 1850, there were only four +or five manufacturers in the town, and their output did not reach 500 a +week. Now, about 1,800 hands are employed in the trade, and the annual +value of the work sent out cannot be less than L200,000. + +_Boilermaking_.--The making of iron boilers, gasholders, sugar-boilers, +&c., may be dated as a special trade from about 1831, when 30 men and +boys were employed thereat, turning out about 150 tons yearly; in 1860, +about 200 hands turned out 1,000 tons; in 1880 the workers were roughly +estimated at 750 to 800 and the output at 4,500 tons. + +_Booksellers_.--In 1750, there were but three, Aris, Warren, and +Wollaston: now the booksellers, publishers, and wholesale stationers are +over a hundred, while small shops may be counted to treble the number. + +_Boots and Shoes_ are manufactured by about 40 wholesale houses, several +doing a great trade, and of retailers and little men there are a dozen +gross, not counting cobblers who come with the last. American-made +articles were first on sale here in March 1877. Rivetted boots may be +said to have originated (in 1840) through the mistake of a local +factor's traveller, who booked an order for copper sprigs too extensive +for his customer. Another of the firm's commercials suggested the +rivetting if iron lasts were used. A Leicester man, in a small way, took +up the notion, and made a fortune at it, the real inventor only getting +good orders. Ellis's patent boot studs to save the sole, and the +Euknemida, or concave-convex fastening springs, are the latest +novelties. + +_Brass_.--The making of goods in brass was commenced here about 1668, +but the manufacturer of brass itself was not carried on before 1740, +when Mr. Turner built his works in Coleshill Street. The Brass and +Spelter Co. was started in February 1781, with a capital of L20,000 in +L100 shares. Brasshouse Passage, Broad Street, tells of the site of +another smelting place, the last chimney of which was demolished on +January 27. 1866. The Waterworks Co. bought the site for offices. +Stamped brass came in through Richard Ford in 1769, and the process at +first was confined to the manufacture of small basins and pans, but in a +very few years it was adapted to the production of an infinitude of +articles. Pressed brass rack pulleys for window blinds were the +invention of Thomas Horne, in 1823, who applied the process of pressure +to many other articles. Picture frames, nicely moulded in brass, were +made here in 1825, by a modeller named Maurice Garvey. In 1865 it was +estimated that the quantities of metal used here in the manufacture of +brass were 19,000 tons of copper, 8,000 tons of old metal, 11,000 tons +of zinc or spelter, 200 tons of tin, and 100 tons of lead, the total +value being L2,371,658. Nearly double this quantity is now used every +year. The number of hands employed in the brass trade is about 18,000. + +_Buckles_ were first worn as shoe fastenings in the reign of Charles II. +When in fashion they were made of all sizes and all prices, from the +tiny half-inch on the hatband to the huge shoebuckle for the foot, and +varying from a few pence in price to many guineas the pair. The extent +of the manufactures at one time may be guessed from the fact of there +being over 20,000 buckle makers out of employ in 1791-2, when vain +petitions were made to the royal princes to stem the change then taking +place in the "fashions." Sir Edward Thomason said his father in 1780 +made 1,000 pair par day, mostly of white metal, but some few plated; by +one pattern, known as the "silver penny," he cleared a profit of L1,000. +The introduction of shoestrings, and naturally so, was much ridiculed in +our local papers, and on one occasion was made the pretext for a +disgraceful riot, the pickpockets mobbing the gentlemen going to and +from one of the Musical Festivals, the wearers of shoestrings being +hustled about and robbed of their purses and watches. + +_Buttons_.--The earliest record of button-making we have is dated 1689, +but Mr. Baddeley (inventor of the oval chuck), who retired from business +about 1739, is the earliest local manufacturer we read of as doing +largely in the trade, though sixty or seventy years ago there were four +or five times as many in the business as at present, blue coats and gilt +buttons being in fashion. By an Act passed in the 4th of William and +Mary foreign buttons made of hair were forbidden to be imported. By +another Act, in the 8th of Queen Anne it was decreed that "any taylor or +other person convicted of making, covering, selling, using, or setting +on to a garment any buttons covered with cloth, or other stuff of which +garments are made, shall forfeit five pounds for every dozen of such +buttons, or in proportion for any lesser quantity;" by an Act of the +seventh of George the First, "any wearer of such unlawful buttons is +liable to the penalty of forty shillings per dozen, and in proportion +for any lesser quantity." Several cases are on record in which tradesmen +have been heavily fined under these; strange laws, and before they were +repealed it is related by Dr. Doran (in 1855) that one individual not +only got out of paying for a suit of clothes because of the illegality +of the tailor in using covered buttons, but actually sued the +unfortunate "snip" for the informer's share of the penalties, the +funniest part of the tale being that the judge who decided the case, the +barrister who pleaded the statute, and the client who gained the clothes +he ought to have paid for, were all of them buttoned contrary to law. +These Acts were originally enforced to protect the many thousands who at +the time were employed in making buttons of silk, thread, &c., by hand, +and _not_, as is generally supposed, in favour of the metal button +manufacturers, though on April 4, 1791, Thomas Gem, the solicitor to the +committee for the protection of the button trade, advertised a reward +for any information against the wearers of the unlawful covered buttons. +The "gilt button days" of Birmingham was a time of rare prosperity, and +dire was the distress when, like the old buckles, the fashion of wearing +the gilt on the blue went out. Deputations to royalty had no effect in +staying the change, and thousands were thrown on the parish. It was +sought to revive the old style in 1850, when a deputation of button +makers solicited Prince Albert to patronise the metallic buttons for +gentlemen's coats, but Fashion's fiat was not to be gainsayed. John +Taylor, High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1756, is said to have sent out +about L800 worth of buttons per week. Papier mache buttons came in with +Henry Clay's patent in 1778. He also made buttons of slate. Boulton, of +Soho, was the first to bring out steel buttons with facets, and it is +said that for some of superior design he received as much as 140 guineas +per gross. Horn buttons, though more correctly speaking they should have +been called "hoof" buttons, were a great trade at one time, selling in +1801 as low as 5-1/2d. per gross. "Maltese buttons" (glass beads mounted +in metal) were, in 1812, made here in large quantities, as were also the +"Bath metal drilled shank button" of which 20,000 gross per week were +sent out, and a fancy cut white metal button, in making which 40 to 50 +firms were engaged, each employing 20 to 40 hands, but the whole trade +in these specialities was lost in consequence of a few men being enticed +to or imprisoned in France, and there establishing a rival manufacture. +Flexible shanks were patented in 1825 by B. Sanders. Fancy silk buttons, +with worked figured tops, were patented by Wm. Elliott, in 1837. +Porcelain buttons, though not made here, were designed and patented by a +Birmingham man, R. Prosser, in 1841. The three-fold linen button was the +invention of Humphrey Jeffries, in 1841, and patented by John Aston. In +1864 so great was the demand for these articles that one firm is said to +have used up 63,000 yards of cloth and 34 tons of metal in making them. +Cadbury and Green's "very" button is an improvement on these. Vegetable +ivory, the product of a tree growing in Central America and known as the +Corozo palm, was brought into the button trade about 1857. The shells +used in the manufacture of pearl buttons are brought from many parts of +the world, the principal places being the East Indies, the Red Sea, the +Persian Gulf, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, Panama, and the coasts +of Central America, Australia, New Zealand, &c. The prices of "shell" +vary very much, some not being worth more than L20 per ton, while as +high as L160 to L170 has been paid for some few choice samples brought +from Macassar, a seaport in India. The average import of shell is about +1,000 tons per year, and the value about L30,000.--There are 265 button +manufacturers in Birmingham, of whom 152 make pearl buttons, 26 glass, 8 +horn and bone, 14 ivory, 12 gilt metal, 3 wood, and 5 linen, the other +45 being of a mixed or general character, silver, brass, steel, wood, +and papier mache, being all, more or less, used. Nearly 6,000 hands are +employed in the trade, of whom about 1,700 are in the pearl line, though +that branch is not so prosperous as it was a few years back. + +_Chemical Manufactures_.--About 50,000 tons of soda, soup, bleaching +powder, oil of vitriol, muriatic acid, sulphuric acid, &c., are +manufactured in or near Birmingham, every year, more than 20,000 tons of +salt, 20,000 tons of pyrites, and 60,000 tons of coal being used in the +process. + +_China_, in the shape of knobs, &c., was introduced into the brass +founding trade by Harcourt Bros, in 1844. China bowls or wheels for +castors were first used in 1849 by J.B. Geithner. + +_Chlorine_.--James Watt was one of the first to introduce the use of +chlorine as a bleaching agent. + +_Citric Acid_.--Messrs. Sturge have over sixty years been manufacturing +this pleasant and useful commodity at their works in Wheeley's Lane. The +acid is extracted from the juice of the citron, the lime, and the lemon, +fruits grown in Sicily and the West Indies. The Mountserrat Lime-Juice +Cordial, lately brought into the market, is also made from these fruits. +About 350 tons of the acid, which is used in some dying processes, &c., +is sent out annually. + +_Coins, Tokens, and Medals_.--Let other towns and cities claim +preeminence for what they may, few will deny Birmingham's right to stand +high in the list of money-making places. At what date it acquired its +evil renown for the manufacture of base coin it would be hard to tell, +but it must have been long prior to the Revolution of 1688, as in some +verses printed in 1682, respecting the Shaftesbury medal, it is thus +sneeringly alluded to: + + + "The wretch that stamped got immortal fame, + 'Twas coined by stealth, like groats in Birminghame." + + +Smiles, in his lives of Boulton and Watt, referring to the middle of the +last century, says, "One of the grimmest sights of those days were the +skeletons of convicted coiners dangling from gibbets on Handsworth +Heath." Coining was a capital offence for hundreds of years, but more +poor wretches paid the penalty of their crimes in London in a single +year than here in a century, wicked as the bad boys of Brummagem were. +An immense trade was certainly done in the way of manufacturing +"tokens," but comparatively few counterfeits of the legal currency were +issued, except in cases where "a royal patent" had been granted for the +purpose, as in the instance of the historical "Wood's half-pence," +L100,000 worth (nominal) of which, it is said, were issued for +circulation in Ireland. These were called in, as being too bad, even for +Paddy's land, and probably it was some of these that the hawker, +arrested here Oct. 31, 1733, offered to take in payment for his goods. +He was released on consenting to the L7 worth he had received being cut +by a brazier and sold as metal, and his advertisements (hand bills) +burnt. These bad half pence weighed about 60 to the lb., 2s. 6d. worth +(nominal) being somewhat less than 10d. in value. In the ten years prior +to 1797 it has been estimated that 700 tons of copper were manufactured +here into tokens, and the issue of the celebrated Soho pence, providing +the nation with a sufficiency of legitimate copper coin, did not stay +the work, the number of tokens in circulation in the early part of the +present century being something wonderful, as many as 4,000 different +varieties having been described by collectors, including all +denominations, from the Bank of England's silver dollar to a country +huckster's brass farthing. More than nine-tenths of these were made in +Birmingham, and, of course, our tradesmen were not backward with their +own specimens. The Overseers issued the well-known "Workhouse Penny," a +copper threepenny piece, silver shillings and sixpences, paper notes for +2s. 6d., and leather bonds for 5s. With the exception of the penny these +are all scarce now, particularly the 5s., 2s. 6d., and 6d., a specimen +of the latter lately being sold at auction for 47s. In 1812 Sir Edward +Thomason struck, for a Reading banker (Mr. J.B. Monk), 800 gold tokens +of the nominal value of 40s. each; but this was just a step too far, and +the Government forbade their use. In the same year he also manufactured +two million penny tokens for our soldiers in Spain, which were _not_ +forbidden. The permitted manufacture of token money came to an end with +the year 1817, an Act coming into force Jan. 1, 1818, forbidding further +issue from that date, or the circulation of them after the end of the +year, except in the case of the Overseers of Birmingham, who were +granted grace till Lady-day, 1820, to call in what they had issued. In +1786 Boulton struck over 100 tons of copper for the East India Co., and, +adding to his presses yearly, soon had plenty of orders, including +copper for the American Colonies, silver for Sierra Leone, and a +beautiful set for the French Republic. To enumerate all the various +coins, medals, and tokens issued from Soho would take too much space, +but we may say that he brought the art of coining to a perfection very +little surpassed even in the present day. In 1789 he made for the Privy +Council a model penny, halfpenny, and farthing, but red-tapeism delayed +the order until 1797, when he began coining for the Government +twopennies (only for one year), pennies, halfpennies and farthings, +continuing to do so until 1806, by which time he had sent out not less +than 4,200 tons weight. In this coinage of 1797 the penny was made of +the exact weight of 1 oz., the other coins being in proportion. In 1799, +eighteen pennies were struck out of the pound of metal, but the people +thought they were counterfeit, and would not take them until a +proclamation ordering their circulation, was issued December 9th. They +became used to a deprecation of currency after that, and there was but +very little grumbling in 1805, when Boulton was ordered to divide the +pound of copper into 24 pennies. The machinery of Boulton's mint, with +the collection of dies, pattern coins, tokens, and medals, were sold by +auction in 1850. The collection should have numbered 119 different +pieces, but there was not a complete set for sale. The mint, however, +could not be called extinct, as Messrs. Watt and Co. (successors to +Bolton and Watt), who had removed to Smethwick in 1848, struck over +3,300 tons of copper and bronze coin between 1860 and 1866, mostly for +Foreign countries. The first English copper penny (1797) was struck in +Birmingham, and so was the last. Messrs. Ralph Heaton and Son (the mint, +Warstone Line) receiving the contract in April, 1853. for 500 tons of +copper coin, comprising pence, half-pence, farthings, half-farthings, +and quarter-farthings. The present bronze coinage came into use December +1st, 1860, and Messrs. Heaton have had several contracts therefor since +then. This firm has acquired a reputation quite equal to the Soho Mint, +and hive supplied the coins--silver, copper, and bronze--for Belgium, +Canada, China, Chili, Denmark, Germany, Hayti, India, Republic of +Columbia, Sarawak, Sweden, Tunis, Turkey, Tuscany, Venezuela, and other +Principalities and States, including hundreds of tons of silver blanks +for our own Government and others, sending workmen and machinery to the +countries where it was preferred to have the coins struck at home. +Boulton, in his day, supplied the presses and machinery for the Mint on +Tower Hill (and they are still in use), as well as for the Danish, +Spanish, and Russian authorities. Mexico, Calcutta, Bombay, &c. Messrs. +Heaton, and the modern Soho firm, also dealing in such articles. +Foremost among modern local medallists, is Mr. Joseph Moore, of Pitsford +Street, whose cabinet of specimens is most extensive. An effort is being +made to gather for the new Museum and Art Gallery a collection of all +coins, medals, and tokens struck in Birmingham, and if it can be +perfected it will necessarily be a very valuable one. + +_Coal_.--Over half-a-million tons of coal are used in Birmingham +annually. + +_Cocoa_.--The manufacture of cocoa cannot be classed among the staple +trades of the town, but one of the largest establishments of the kind in +the kingdom, if not in the world, is that of Messrs. Cadbury, at +Bournville, where nearly 400 persons are employed. The annual +consumption of cocoa in this country is estimated at 13,000,000 lbs., +and the proportion manufactured by Messrs. Cadbury, who have houses in +Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Montreal, &e., may be guessed at from the fact +that their works cover nearly four acres, and packing-boxes are required +at the rate of 12,000 per week. + +_Copying Presses_ were invented by James Watt in, and patented in, May, +1780. His partner, Boulton, had a lot ready for the market, and sold 150 +by the end of the year. + +_Compressed Air Power_.--A hundred years ago every little brook and +streamlet was utilised for producing the power required by our local +mill-owners, gun-barrel rollers, &c. Then came the world's +revolutioniser, steam, and no place in the universe has profited more by +its introduction than this town. Gas engines are now popular, and even +water engines are not unknown, while the motive power derivable from +electricity is the next and greatest boon promised to us. Meanwhile, the +introduction of compressed air as a means of transmitting power for long +distances marks a new and important era, not only in engineering +science, but in furthering the extension of hundreds of those small +industries, which have made Birmingham so famous a workshop. In the +Birmingham Compressed Air Power Company's Bill (passed March 12, 1884), +the principle involved is the economic utility of centralising the +production of power, and many engineers are of opinion that no other +means can possibly be found so convenient as the use of compressed air +in transmitting motive power, or at so low a cost, the saving being +quite 20 per cent, compared with the use of steam for small engines. The +Birmingham Bill provides for the supply of compressed air within the +wards of St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, Deritend, and Bordesley, which +have been selected by the promoters as affording the most promising +area. In the three wards named there were rated in March of 1883, as +many as 164 engines, of which the nominal horse-power varied from 1/2 to +10, fifty-nine from 11 to 20 fifteen from 21 to 30, six from 32 to 50, +ten from 52 to 100, and four from 102 to 289. Assuming that of these the +engines up to 30-horse power would alone be likely to use compressed +air, the promoters count upon a demand in the three wards for 1,946 +nominal, and perhaps 3,000 indicated horse-power. To this must be added +an allowance for the probability that the existence of so cheap and +convenient a power "laid on" in the streets will attract other +manufacturers to the area within which it is to be available. It is +proposed, therefore, to provide machinery and plant capable of +delivering 5,000 indicated horse-power in compressed air, and to acquire +for the works sufficient land to permit of their dimensions being +doubled when extension shall become necessary. The site which has been +chosen is a piece of ground belonging to the Birmingham and Warwick +Canal Company, and situated by the canal, and bounded on both sides by +Sampson Road North and Henley Street. Here the promoters are putting +down four air-compressing engines, driven by compound and condensing +steam engines and which are to be heated by six sets (four in each set) +of elephant boilers. From the delivery branches of the air-compressors a +main 30in. in diameter will be laid along Henley Street, and, +bifurcating, will be taken through Sampson Road North and Stratford +Street at a diameter of 24in. The mains will then divide, to as to pass +down Sandy Lane, Fazeley Street, Floodgate Street, Bradford Street, +Bromsgrove Street, and other thoroughfares, giving off smaller branches +at frequent intervals, and so forming an elaborate network. The whole +cost of buildings, plant, and construction is estimated at L140,500, but +upon this large outlay it is hoped to realise a net annual profit of +L9,164, or 6-1/2 per cent, on capital. The engineers, reckoning the +annual cost of producing small steam power in Birmingham at L10 per +indicated horse-power, which will probably be regarded as well within +the mark, propose to furnish compressed air at L8 per annum, and if they +succeed in carrying out the scheme as planned, it will without doubt be +one of the greatest blessings ever conferred on the smaller class of our +town's manufacturers. + +_Fenders and Fireirons_.--The making of these finds work for 800 or 900 +hands, and stove grates (a trade introduced from Sheffield about 20 +years back) almost as many. + +_Files and Rasps_ are manufactured by 60 firms, whose total product, +though perhaps not equal to the Sheffield output, is far from +inconsiderable. Machines for cutting files and rasps were patented by +Mr. Shilton, Dartmouth Street, in 1833. + +_Fox, Henderson and Co_.--In March, 1853, this arm employed more than +3,000 hands, the average weekly consumption of iron being over 1,000 +tons. Among the orders then in hand were the ironwork for our Central +Railway Station, and for the terminus at Paddington, in addition to +gasometers, &c., for Lima, rails, wagons and wheels for a 55-mile line +in Denmark, and the removal and re-election[1] of the Crystal Palace at +Sydenham.-See "_Exhibitions," "Noteworthy men_." + +[Footnote 1: Transcriber's note: this is probably a typographical error +for "re-erection".] + + +_Galvanised Buckets_ and other articles are freely made, but the +galvanisers can hardly be pleasant neighbours, as at the works of one +firm 40 to 50 carboys of muriatic acid and several of sulphuric acid are +used every day, while at another place the weekly consumption of +chemicals runs to two tons of oil of vitriol and seven tons of muriatic +acid. + +_German Silver_.--To imitate closely as possible the precious metals, by +a mixture of baser ones, is not exactly a Birmingham invention, as +proved by the occasional discovery of counterfeit coin of very ancient +date, but to get the best possible alloy sufficiently malleable for +general use has always been a local desideratum. Alloys of copper with +tin, spelter or zinc were used here in 1795, and the term "German" was +applied to the best of these mixtures as a Jacobinical sneer at the +pretentious appellation of silver given it by its maker. After the +introduction of nickel from the mines in Saxony, the words "German +silver" became truthfully appropriate as applied to that metal, but so +habituated have the trade and the public become to brassy mixtures that +German silver must always be understood as of that class only. + +_Glass_--The art of painting, &c. on glass was brought to great +perfection by Francis Eginton, of the Soho Works, in 1784. He supplied +windows for St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Salisbury and Lichfield +Cathedrals, and many country churches. The east window of St. Paul's, +Birmingham, and the east window of the south aisle in Aston Church, are +by Eginton. One of the commissions he obtained was from the celebrated +William Beckford, Lord Mayor of London, for windows at Fonthill, to the +value of L12,000. He was not, however, the first local artist of the +kind, for a Birmingham man is said to have painted a window in Haglev +Church, in 1756-57, for Lord Lyttelton, though his name is not now +known. William Raphael Eginton (son of Francis) appeared in the +Directory of 1818, as a glass-painter to the Princess Charlotte, but we +can find no trace of his work. Robert Henderson started in the same line +about 1820, and specimens of his work may be seen in Trinity Chapel; he +died in 1848. John Hardman began in Paradise Street about 1837, +afterwards removing to Great Charles Street, and thence to Newhall Hill, +from which place much valuable work has been issued, as the world-known +name well testifies. Engraving on glass is almost as old as the +introduction of glass itself. There is a beautiful specimen in the Art +Gallery. Glass flowers, fruit, &c., as ornamental adjuncts to +brassfoundry, must be accredited to W. C. Aitken, who first used them in +1846. American writers claim that the first pressed glass tumbler was +made about 40 years back in that country, by a carpenter. We have good +authority for stating that the first pressed tumbler was made in this +country by Rice Harris, Birmingham, as far back as 1834. But some years +earlier than this dishes had been pressed by Thomas Hawkes and Co., of +Dudley, and by Bacchus and Green, of Birmingham. No doubt the earliest +pressing was the old square feet to goblets, ales, jellies, &c. +Primitive it was, but like Watt's first engine, it was the starting +point, and Birmingham is entitled to the credit of it. It is very +remarkable that none of the samples of Venetian glass show any pressing, +although moulding was brought by them to great perfection. It would not +be fair to omit the name of the first mould-maker who made the +tumbler-mould in question. It was Mr. James Stevens, then of Camden +Street, Birmingham, and it is to him, and his sons, James and William, +that the world is greatly indebted for the pressing of glass. The older +Stevens has been dead some years, and the sons have left the trade. +Previous to this mould being made for tumblers, Mr. James Stevens made +some pressed salt-moulds to order for an American gentleman visiting +Birmingham. Some of the most beautiful works in glass fountains, +candelabra, &c., that the world has ever seen have been made at Messrs. +Oslers, Broad Street, whose show rooms are always open to visitors. + +_Guns_.--The imitative, if not inventive, powers of our forefathers have +been shown in so many instances, that it is not surprising we have no +absolute record of the first gun-maker, when he lived, or where he +worked, but we may be confident that firearms were not long in use +before they were manufactured here. The men who made 15,000 swords for +the Commonwealth were not likely to go far for the "musquets" with which +they opposed Prince Rupert. The honour of procuring the first Government +contract for guns rests with Sir Richard Newdigate, one of the members +for the county in William III.'s reign, a trial order being given in +1692, followed by a contract for 2,400 in 1693, at 17/-each. For the +next hundred years the trade progressed until the Government, in 1798, +found it necessary to erect "view-rooms" (now "the Tower", Bagot Street) +in Birmingham. From 1804 to 1817 the number of muskets, rifles, +carbines, and pistols made here for the Government, amounted to +1,827,889, in addition to 3,037,644 barrels and 2,879,203 locks sent to +be "set up" in London, and more than 1,000,000 supplied to the East +India Co. In the ten years ending 1864 (including the Crimean War) over +4,000,000 military barrels were proved in this town, and it has been +estimated that during the American civil war our quarreling cousins were +supplied with 800,000 weapons from our workshops. Gunstocks are chiefly +made from beech and walnut, the latter for military and best work, the +other being used principally for the African trade, wherein the prices +have ranged as low as 6s. 6d. per gun. Walnut wood is nearly all +imported, Germany and Italy being the principal markets;--during the +Crimean war one of our manufacturers set up sawmills at Turin, and it is +stated that before he closed them he had used up nearly 10,000 trees, +averaging not more than thirty gunstocks from each. To give anything +like a history of the expansion of, and changes in, the gun trade during +the last fifteen years, would require a volume devoted solely to the +subject, but it may not be uninteresting to enumerate the manifold +branches into which the trade has been divided--till late years most of +them being carried on under different roofs:--The first portion, or +"makers", include--stock-makers, barrel welders, borers, grinders, +filers, and breechers; rib makers, breech forgers and stampers; lock +forgers, machiners, and filers; furniture forgers, casters, and filers; +rod forgers, grinders, polishers, and finishers; bayonet forgers, socket +and ring stampers, grinders, polishers, machiners, hardeners, and +filers; band forgers, stampers, machiners, filers, and pin makers; sight +stampers, machiners, jointers, and filers; trigger boxes, oddwork +makers, &c. The "setters up" include machines, jiggers (lump filers and +break-off fitters), stockers, percussioners, screwers, strippers, barrel +borers and riflers, sighters and sight-adjusters, smoothers, finishers +makers-off, polishers, engravers, browners, lock freers, &c., &c. The +Proof-house in Banbury Street, "established for public safety" as the +inscription over the entrance says, was erected in 1813, and with the +exception of one in London is the only building of the kind in England. +It is under the management of an independent corporation elected by and +from members of the gun trade, more than half-a-million of barrels being +proved within its walls yearly, the report for the year 1883 showing +383,735 provisional proofs, and 297,704 definitive proofs. Of the +barrels subjected to provisional proof, 29,794 were best birding single, +150,176 best birding double, and 160,441 African. Of those proved +definitively, 63,197 were best double birding barrels, 110,369 +breech-loading birding, 37,171 breech-loading choke bore, and 54,297 +saddle-pistol barrels. As an instance of the changes going on in the +trades of the country, and as a contrast to the above figures, +Birmingham formerly supplying nearly every firearm sold in England or +exported from it, trade returns show that in 1882 Belgium imported +252,850 guns and pistols, France 48,496, the United States 15,785, +Holland 84,126, Italy 155,985, making (with 3,411 from other countries) +560,653 firearms, valued at L124,813, rather a serious loss to the gun +trade of Birmingham. + +_Handcuffs and Leg Irons_.--It is likely enough true that prior to the +abolition of slavery shackles and chains were made here for use in the +horrible traffic; but it was then a legal trade, and possibly the +articles were classed as "heavy steel toys," like the handcuffs and leg +irons made by several firms now. A very heavy Australian order for these +last named was executed here in 1853, and there is always a small demand +for them. + +_Hinges_.--Cast-iron hinges, secret joint, were patented in 1775 by +Messrs. Izon and Whitehurst, who afterwards removed to West Bromwich. +The patent wrought iron hinge dates from 1840, since which year many +improvements have been made in the manufacture of iron, brass, wire, +cast, wrought, pressed, and welded hinges, the makers numbering over +three score. + +_Hollow-ware_.--The invention of tinning iron pots and other hollow-ware +was patented in 1779 by Jonathan Taylor, the process being first carried +out by Messrs. Izon and Whitehurst at their foundry in Duke Street. The +enamelling of hollow-ware was Mr. Hickling's patent (1799), but his +method was not very satisfactory, the present mode of enamelling dating +from another patent taken out in 1839. Messrs. Griffiths and Browett, +Bradford Street, have the lion's share of the local trade, which is +carried on to a much greater extent at Wolverhampton than here. + +_Hydraulic Machinery_ is the specialite almost solely of Messrs. Tangye +Bros., who established their Cornwall Works in 1855. + +_Jewellery_.--A deputation from Birmingham waited upon Prince Albert, +May 28, 1845, at Buckingham Palace, for the purpose of appealing to Her +Majesty, through His Royal Highness, to take into gracious consideration +the then depressed condition of the operative jewellers of Birmingham, +and entreating the Queen and Prince to set the example of wearing +British jewellery on such occasions and to such an extent as might meet +the royal approval. The deputation took with them as presents for the +Queen, an armlet, a brooch, a pair of ear-rings, and a buckle for the +waist; for the Prince Consort a watch-chain, seal, and key, the value of +the whole being over 400 guineas. The armlet (described by good judges +as the most splendid thing ever produced in the town) brooch, ear-rings, +chain and key were made by Mr. Thomas Aston, Regent's Place; the buckle +and seal (designed from the Warwick vase) by Mr. Baleny, St. Paul's +Square. It was stated by the deputation that 5,000 families were +dependent on the jewellery trades in Birmingham. The "custom of trade" +in connection with jewellers and the public was formerly of the most +arbitrary character, so much so indeed that at the Great Exhibition of +1851, the Birmingham jewellers did not exhibit, except through the +London houses they were in the habit of supplying, and the specimens +shewn by these middlemen were of a very unsatisfactory character as +regards design. It is almost impossible to describe them without +appearing to exaggerate. Construction in relation to use went for +nothing. A group of Louis Quatorze scrolls put together to form +something like a brooch with a pin at the back to fasten it to the +dress, which it rather disfigured than adorned; heavy chain-like +bracelet, pins, studs, &c., of the most hideous conceits imaginable, +characterised the jewellery designs of Birmingham until about 1854-55, +when a little more intelligence and enterprise was introduced, and our +manufacturers learned that work well designed sold even better than the +old-styled ugliness. A great advance has taken place during the past +thirty years, and Birmingham jewellers now stand foremost in all matters +of taste and design, the workmen of to-day ranking as artists indeed, +even the commonest gilt jewellery turned out by them now being of +high-class design and frequently of most elaborate workmanship. At the +present time (March 1885) the trade is in a very depressed condition, +thousands of hands being out of employ or on short time, partly arising, +no doubt, from one of those "changes of fashion" which at several +periods of our local history have brought disaster to many of our +industrial branches. It has been estimated that not more than one-half +of the silver jewellery manufactured in Birmingham in 1883, passed +through the Assay Office, but the total received there in the twelve +months ending June 24th, 1883, amounted to no less than 856,180 ounces, +or 31 tons 17 cwt. 4 lbs. 4 oz., the gold wares received during same +period weighing 92,195 ounces, or 3 tons 7 cwt. 12 lbs. 3 oz., the total +number of articles sent in for assaying being 2,649,379. The directory +of 1780 gave the names of twenty-six jewellers; that of 1880 gives +nearly 700, including cognate trades. The fashion of wearing long silver +guard-chains came in in about 1806, the long gold ones dating a score +years later, heavy fob chains then going out. The yearly make of wedding +rings in Birmingham is put at 5,000 dozen. Precious stones are not to be +included in the list of locally manufactured articles, nor yet "Paris +pastes," though very many thousands of pounds worth are used up every +year, and those anxious to become possessed of such glittering trifles +will find dealers here who can supply them with pearls from 6d., garnets +from 2d., opals from 1s., diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethysts, &c., +from half-a-crown, the prices of all running up according to size, &c., +to hundreds of pounds per stone. + +_Latten_, the term given to thin sheets of brass, was formerly applied +to sheets of tinned iron. + +_Lockmakers_ are not so numerous here as they once were, though several +well known patentees still have their works in the borough. The general +trade centres round Willenhall, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. + +_Looking-glasses_.--Messrs. Hawkes's, Sromsgrove Street, is the largest +looking-glass manufactory in the world, more than 300 hands being +employed on the premises. A fire which took place Jan. 8, 1879, +destroyed nearly L12,000 worth of stock, the turnout of the +establishment comprising all classes of mirrors, from those at 2. a +dozen to L40 or L50 each. + +_Mediaeval Metalwork_.--Mr. John Hardman, who had Pugin for his friend, +was the first to introduce the manufacture of mediaeval and +ecclesiastical metal work in this town, opening his first factory in +Great Charles Street in 1845. The exhibits at the old Bingley Hall in +1849 attracted great attention and each national Exhibition since has +added to the triumphs of the firm. Messrs. Jones and Willis also take +high rank. + +_Metronome_, an instrument for marking time, was invented by Mr. W. +Heaton, a local musician, about 1817. + +_Mineral Waters_.--The oldest local establishment for the manufacture of +aerated artificial and mineral waters is that of Messrs. James Goffe and +Son, of Duke Street, the present proprietors of the artesian well in +Allison Street. This well was formed some years ago by Mr. Clark, a +London engineer, who had undertaken a Corporation contract connected +with the sewers. Finding himself embarassed with the flow of water from +the many springs about Park Street and Digbeth, he leased a small plot +of land and formed a bore-hole, or artesian well, to check the +percolation into his sewerage works. After boring about 400 feet he +reached a main spring in the red sandstone formation which gives a +constant flow of the purest water, winter and summer, of over 70,000 +gals. per day, at the uniform temperature of 50 deg. The bore is only +4in. diameter, and is doubly tubed the whole depth, the water rising +into a 12ft. brick well, from which a 4,000 gallon tank is daily filled, +the remainder passing through a fountain and down to the sewers as +waste. Dr. Bostock Hill, the eminent analyst, reports most favourably +upon the freedom of the water from all organic or other impurities, and +as eminently fitted for all kinds of aerated waters, soda, potass, +seltzer, lithia, &c. The old-fashioned water-carriers who used to supply +householders with Digbeth water from "the Old Cock pump" by St. Martin's +have long since departed, but Messrs. Goff's smart-looking barrel-carts +may be seen daily on their rounds supplying the real _aqua pura_ to +counters and bars frequented by those who like their "cold without," and +like it good.--Messrs. Barrett & Co. and Messrs. Kilby are also +extensive manufacturers of these refreshing beverages. + +_Nails_.--No definite date can possibly be given as to the introduction +of nailmaking here as a separate trade, most smiths, doubtless, doing +more or less at it when every nail had to be beaten out on the anvil. +That the town was dependent on outsiders for its main supplies 150 years +back, is evidenced by the Worcestershire nailors marching from Cradley +and the Lye, in 1737 to force the ironmongers to raise the prices. +Machinery for cutting nails was tried as early as 1811, but it was a +long while after that (1856) before a machine was introduced +successfully. Now there are but a few special sorts made otherwise, as +the poor people of Cradley and the Lye Waste know to their cost, +hand-made nails now being seldom seen. + +_Nettlefold's (Limited)_.--This, one of the most gigantic of our local +companies, was registered in March, 1880, the capital being L750,000 in +shares of L10 each, with power to issue debentures to the vendors of the +works purchased to the extent of L420,000. The various firms +incorporated are those of Messrs. Nettlefold's, at Heath Street, and +Princip-street, Birmingham, at King's Norton, at Smethwick, &c., for the +manufacture of screws, wire, &c., the Castle Ironworks at Hadley, +Shropshire, and the Collieries at Ketley, in the same county; the +Birmingham Screw Co., at Smethwick; the Manchester Steel Screw Co., at +Bradford, Manchester; Mr. John Cornforth, at Berkeley Street Wire and +Wire Nail Works; and Messrs. Lloyd and Harrison, at Stourport Screw +Works. The purchase money for the various works amounted to L1,024.000, +Messrs. Nettlefold's share thereof being L786,000, the Birmingham Screw +Co.'s L143,000, the Manchester Co.'s L50,000, Messrs. Cornforth, Lloyd +and Harrison taking the remainder. The firm's works in Heath Street are +the most extensive of the kind in existence, the turnout being more than +200,000 gross of screws per week, nearly 250 tons of wire being used up +in the same period.--See "_Screws_." + +_Nickel_ owes its introduction here to Mr. Askin, who, in 1832, +succeeded in refining the crude ore by precipitation, previously it +having been very difficult to bring it into use. Electro-plating has +caused a great demand for it. + +_Nuts and Bolts_.--In addition to a score or two of private firms +engaged in the modern industry of nut and bolt making, there are several +limited liability Co.'s, the chief being the Patent Nut and Bolt Co. +(London Works, Smethwick), which started in 1863 with a capital of +L400,000 in shares of L20 each. The last dividend (on L14 paid up) was +at the rate of 10 per cent., the reserve fund standing at L120,000. +Messrs. Watkins and Keen, and Weston and Grice incorporated with the +Patent in 1865. Other Co.'s are the Midland Bolt and Nut Co. (Fawdry +Street, Smethwick), the Phoenix Bolt and Nut Co. (Handsworth), the +Patent Rivet Co. (Rolfe Street, Smethwick), the Birmingham Bolt and Nut +Co., &c. + +_Optical and Mathematical Instruments_ of all kinds were manufactured +here in large numbers eighty years ago, and many, such as the solar +microscope, the kaleidoscope, &c. may be said to have had their origin +in the workshops of Mr. Philip Carpenter and other makers in the first +decade of the present century. The manufacture of these articles as a +trade here is almost extinct. + +_Papier Mache_.--This manufacture was introduced here by Henry Clay in +1772, and being politic enough to present Queen Caroline with a Sedan +chair made of this material, he was patronised by the wealthy and titled +of the day, the demand for his ware being so extensive that at one time +he employed over 300 hands, his profit being something like L3 out of +every L5. It has been stated that many articles of furniture, &c., made +by him are still in use. Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge commenced in +1816, and improvements in the manufacture have been many and continuous. +George Souter introduced pearl inlaying in 1825; electro-deposit was +applied in 1844; "gem inlaying" in 1847, by Benj. Giles; aluminium and +its bronze in 1864; the transfer process in 1856 by Tearne and Richmond. +Paper pulp has been treated in a variety of ways for making button +blanks, tray blanks, imitiation jet, &c., the very dust caused by +cutting it up being again utilised by mixture with certain cements to +form brooches, &c. + +_Paraffin_.--The manufacture of lamps for the burning of this material +dates only from 1861. + +_Pins_.--What becomes of all the pins? Forty years ago it was stated +that 20,000,000 pins were made every day, either for home or export use, +but the total is now put at 50,000,000, notwithstanding which one can +hardly be in the company of man, woman, or child, for a day without +being asked "Have you such a thing as a pin about you?" Pins were first +manufactured here in quantities about 1750, the Ryland family having the +honour of introducing the trade. It formerly took fourteen different +persons to manufacture a single pin, cutters, headers, pointers, +polishers, &c., but now the whole process is performed by machinery. The +proportion of pins made in Birmingham is put at 37,000,000 per day, the +weight of brass wire annually required being 1,850,000 lbs., value +L84,791; iron wire to the value of L5,016 is used for mourning and hair +pins. The census reports say there are but 729 persons employed (of whom +495 are females) in the manufacture of the 11,500,000,000 pins sent from +our factories every year. + +_Planes_.--Carpenters' planes were supplied to our factors in 1760 by +William Moss, and his descendants were in the business as late as 1844. +Messrs. Atkins and Sons have long been celebrated makers, their hundreds +of patterns including all kinds that could possibly he desired by the +workman. Woodwork is so cut, carved, and moulded by machinery now, that +these articles are not so much in demand, and the local firms who make +them number only a dozen. + +_Plated Wares_.--Soho was celebrated for its plated wares as early as +1766; Mr. Thomason (afterwards Sir Edward) commenced the plating in +1796; and Messrs. Waterhouse and Ryland, another well-known firm in the +same line, about 1808, the material used being silver rolled on copper, +the mountings silver, in good work, often solid silver. The directory of +1780 enumerates 46 platers, that of 1799 96 ditto; their names might now +be counted on one's finger ends, the modern electro-plating having +revolutionised the business, vastly to the prosperity of the town. + +_Puzzles_.--The Yankee puzzle game of "Fifteen," took so well when +introduced into this country (summer of 1880), that one of our local +manufacturers received an order to supply 10,000 gross, and he was +clever enough to construct a machine that made 20 sets per minute. + +_Railway Waggon Works_.--With the exception of the carriage building +works belonging to the several great railway companies, Saltley may be +said to be the headquarters of this modern branch of industry, in which +thousands of hands are employed. The Midland Railway Carriage and Waggon +Co. was formed in 1853, and has works of a smaller scale at Shrewsbury. +The Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Waggon Co. was originated in +London, in 1845, but removed to Saltley in 1862, which year also saw the +formation of the Union Rolling Stock Co. The capital invested in the +several companies is very large, and the yearly value sent out is in +proportion, more rolling stock being manufactured here than in all the +other towns in the kingdom put together, not including the works of the +railway companies themselves. Many magnificent palaces on wheels have +been made here for foreign potentates, Emperors, Kings, and Queens, +Sultans, and Kaisers, from every clime that the iron horse has travelled +in, as well as all sorts of passenger cars, from the little narrow-gauge +vehicles of the Festiniog line, on which the travellers must sit back to +back, to the 60ft. long sleeping-cars used on the Pacific and Buenos +Ayers Railway, in each compartment of which eight individuals can find +sleeping accommodation equal to that provided at many of the best +hotels, or the curious-looking cars used on Indian railways, wherein the +natives squat in tiers, or, as the sailor would say, with an upper and +lower deck. + +_Ropemaking_ is a trade carried on in many places, but there are few +establishments that can equal the Universe Works in Garrison Lane, +where, in addition to hundreds of tons of twine and cord, there are +manufactured all sorts of wire and hemp ropes for colliery and other +purposes, ocean telegraph cables included. Messrs. Wright introduced +strain machinery early in 1853, and in the following year they patented +a rope made of best hemp and galvanised wire spun together by machinery. +On a test one of these novelties, 4-1/4in. circumference, attached to +two engines, drew a train of 300 tons weight. To supply the demand for +galvanised signalling and fencing cords, the machines must turn out +15,000 yards of strand per day. + +_Rulemaking_, though formerly carried on in several places, is now +almost confined to this town and the metropolis, and as with jewellery +so with rules, very much of what is called "London work" is, in reality, +the produce of Birmingham. Messrs. Rabone Brothers are the principal +makers, and the boxwood used is mostly obtained from Turkey and the +Levant, but the firm does not confine itself solely to the manufacture +of wood rules, their steel tapes, made up to 200ft in one length, +without join of any sort, being a specialty highly appreciated by +surveyors and others. + +_Saddlery_.--One of the oldest local trades, as Lelaud, in 1538, speaks +of "lorimers" as being numerous then. That there was an important +leather market is certain (Hutton thought it had existed for 700 years), +and we read of "leather sealers" among the local officers as well as of +a "Leather Hall," at the east end of New Street. The trade has more than +quadrupled during the last 25 years, about 3,000 hands being now engaged +therein, in addition to hundreds of machines. + +_Screws_.--In olden days the threads of a screw had to be filed out by +hand, and the head struck up on the anvil. The next step was to turn +them in a lathe, but in 1849 a Gerimn clockmaker invented a machine by +which females could make them five times as fast as the most skilful +workman, and, as usual, the supply created a demand; the trade for a few +years received many additions, and the "screw girders," as the +hard-working lasses were called, were to be met with in many parts of +the town. 1852, 1,500 hands were employed, the output being from 20 to +25 tons per week, or 2,000,000 gross per year. Gradually, however, by +the introduction and patenting of many improvements in the machinery, +the girls were, in a great measure, dispensed with, and their employers +as well, Messrs. Nettlefold and Chamberlain having, in 1865, nearly the +whole trade in their hands, and sending out 150,000 gross of screws per +week. Nearly 2,000 people are employed at Nettlefold's, including women +and girls, who feed and attend the screw and nail-making machines. +Notwithstanding the really complicated workings of the machines, the +making of a screw seems to a casual visitor but a simple thing. From a +coil of wire a piece is cut of the right length by one machine, which +roughly forms a head and passes it on to another, in which the blank has +its head nicely shaped, shaved, and "nicked" by a revolving saw. It than +passes by an automatic feeder into the next machine where it is pointed +and "wormed," and sent to be shook clear of the "swaff" of shaving cut +out for the worm. Washing and polishing in revolving barrels precedes +the examination of every single screw, a machine placing them one by one +so that none can be missed sight of. Most of the 2,000 machines in use +are of American invention, but improved and extended, all machinery and +tools of every description being made by the firm's own workpeople. + +_Sewing Machines_.--The various improvements in these machines patented +by Birmingham makers may be counted by the gross, and the machines sent +out every year by the thousands. The button-hole machine was the +invention of Mr. Clements. + +_Sheathing Metal_.--In a newspaper called _The World_, dated April 16, +1791, was an advertisement beginning thus--"By the King's patent, +_tinned copper_ sheets and pipes manufactured and sold by Charles Wyatt, +Birmingham, and at 19, Abchurch lane, London." It was particularly +recommended for sheathing of ships, as the tin coating would prevent the +corrosion of the copper and operate as "a preservative of the iron +placed contiguous to it." Though an exceedingly clever man, and the son +of one of Birmingham's famed worthies, Mr. Charles Wyatt was not +fortunate in many of his inventions, and his tinned copper brought him +in neither silver nor gold. What is now known as sheathing or "yellow" +metal is a mixture of copper, zinc, and iron in certain defined +proportions, according as it is "Muntz's metal," or "Green's patent," +&c. Several patents were taken out in 1779, 1800, and at later dates, +and, as is usual with "good things," there has been sufficient +squabbling over sheathing to provide a number of legal big-wigs with +considerable quantities of the yellow, metal _they_ prefer. George +Frederick Muntz, M.P., if not the direct inventor, had the lion's share +of profit in the manufacture, as the good-will of his business was sold +for L40,000 in 1863, at which time it was estimated that 11,000 tons of +Muntz's mixture was annually made into sheathing, ships' bolts, &c., to +the value of over L800,000. The business was taken to by a limited +liability company, whose capital in March, 1884, was L180,000, on which +a 10 per cent, dividend was realised. Elliott's Patent Sheathing and +Metal Co. was formed in.1862. + +_Snuff-boxes_.--A hundred years ago, when snuff-taking was the _mode_, +the manufacture of japanned, gilt, and other snuff-boxes gave employment +to large numbers here. Of one of these workmen it is recorded that he +earned L3 10s. per week painting snuff-boxes at 1/4d. each. The first +mention of their being made here is in 1693. + +_Soap_.--In more ways than one there is a vast deal of "soft soap" used +in Birmingham, but its inhabitants ought to be cleanly people, for the +two or three manufactories of hard yellow and mottled in and near the +town turn out an annual supply of over 3,000 tons. + +_Spectacles_.--Sixty and seventy years ago spectacles were sent out by +the gross to all part of the country, but they were of a kind now known +as "goggles," the frames being large and clumsy, and made of silver, +white metal, or tortoise-shell, the fine steel wire frames now used not +being introduced until about 1840. + +_Stereoscopes_, the invention of Sir David Brewster, were first made in +this town, Mr. Robert Field producing them. + +_Steel Pens_.--Though contrary to the general belief, metallic pens are +of very ancient origin. Dr. Martin Lister, in his book of Travels, +published in 1699, described a "very curious and antique writing +instrument made of thick and strong silver wire, wound up like a hollow +bottom or screw, with both the ends pointing one way, and at a distance, +so that a man might easily put his forefinger between the two points, +and the screw fills the ball of his hand. One of the points was the +point of a bodkin, which was to write on waxed tables; the other point +was made very artificially, like the head and upper beak of a cock and +the point divided in two, just like our steel pens, from whence +undoubtedly the moderns had their patterns; which are now made also of +fine silver or gold, or Prince's metal, all of which yet want a spring +and are therefore not so useful as of steel or a quill: but the quill +soon spoils. Steel is undoubtedly the best, and if you use China ink, +the most lasting of all inks, it never rusts the pen, but rather +preserves it with a kind of varnish, which dries upon it, though you +take no care in wiping it."--Though Messrs. Gillott and Sons' Victoria +Works, Graham Street, stands first among the pen-making establishments +open to the visit of strangers, it is by no means the only manufactory +whereat the useful little steel pen is made in large quantities, there +being, besides, Mr. John Mitchell (Newhall Street), Mr. William Mitchell +(Cumberland Street), Hinks, Wells and Co. (Buckingham Street), Brandauer +and Co. (New John Street, West), Baker and Finnemore (James Street), G. +W. Hughes (St. Paul's Square), Leonardt and Co. (Charlotte Street), +Myers and Son (Charlotte Street), Perry and Co. (Lancaster Street), +Ryland and Co. (St. Paul's Square). Sansum and Co. (Tenby Street), &c., +the gross aggregate output of the trade at large being estimated at 20 +tons per week. + +_Stirrups_.--According to the Directory, there are but four stirrup +makers here, though it is said there are 4,000 different patterns of the +article. + +_Swords_.--Some writers aver that Birmingham was the centre of the metal +works of the ancient Britons, where the swords and the scythe blades +were made to meet Julius Caesar. During the Commonwealth, over 15,000 +swords were said to have been made in Birmingham for the Parliamentary +soldiers, but if they thus helped to overthrow the Stuarts at that +period, the Brummagem boys in 1745 were willing to make out for it by +supplying Prince Charlie with as many as ever he could pay for, and the +basket-hilts were at a premium. Disloyalty did not always prosper +though, for on one occasion over 2,000 Cutlasses intended for the +Prince, were seized _en route_ and found their way into the hands of his +enemies. Not many swords are made in Birmingham at the present time, +unless matchets and case knives used in the plantations can be included +under that head. + +_Thimbles_, or thumbells, from being originally worn on the thumb, are +said by the Dutch to have been the invention of Mynheer van Banschoten +for the protection of his lady-love's fingers when employed at the +embroidery-frame; but though the good people of Amsterdam last year +(1884) celebrated the bicentenary of their gallant thimble-making +goldsmith, it is more than probable that he filched the idea from a +Birmingham man, for Shakespeare had been dead sixty-eight years prior to +1684, and he made mention of thimbles as quite a common possession of +all ladies in his time: + + + "For your own ladies, and pale-visag'd maids, + Like Amazons, come tripping after drums, + Their thimbles into armed gauntlets change; + Their neelds to lances." + + _King John_, Act v. sc. 3. + + + "Thou liest, thou thread, thou thimble." + "And that I'll prove upon thee, though thy + little finger be armed in a thimble," + + _Taming of the Shrew_, Act iv., sc. 3. + +The earliest note we really have of thimbles being manufactured in +Birmingham dates as 1695. A very large trade is now done in steel, +brass, gold, and silver. + +_Thread_.--Strange are the mutations of trade. The first thread of +cotton spun by rollers, long before Arkwright's time, was made near this +town in the year 1700, and a little factory was at work in the Upper +Priory (the motive power being two donkeys), in 1740, under the +ingenious John Wyatt, with whom were other two well-remembered local +worthies--Lewis Paul and Thomas Warren. Many improvements were made in +the simple machinery, but fate did not intend Birmingham to rival +Bradford, and the thread making came to an end in 1792. + +_Tinderboxes_, with the accompanying "fire steels," are still made here +for certain foreign markets, where lucifers are not procurable. + +_Tinning_.--Iron pots were first tinned in 1779, under Jonathan Taylor's +patent. Tinning wire is one of the branches of trade rapidly going out, +partly through the introduction of the galvanising process, but latterly +in consequence of the invention of "screw," "ball," and other bottle +stoppers. There were but five or six firms engaged in it ten years back, +but the then demand for bottling-wire may be gathered from the fact that +one individual, with the aid of two helpers, covered with the +lighter-coloured metal about 2cwt. of slender iron wire per day. This +would give a total length of about 6,500 miles per annum, enough to tie +up 25,718,784 bottles of pop, &c. + +_Tools_--The making of tools for the workers in our almost countless +trades has given employ to many thousands, but in addition thereto is +the separate manufacture of "heavy edge tools." Light edge tools, such +as table and pocket knives, scissors, gravers, &c., are not made here, +though "heavy" tools comprising axes, hatchets, cleavers, hoes, spades, +mattocks, forks, chisels, plane irons, machine knives, scythes, &c., in +endless variety and of hundreds of patterns, suited to the various parts +of the world for which they are required. Over 4,000 hands are employed +in this manufacture. + +_Tubes_.--Immense quantities (estimated at over 15,000 tons) of copper, +brass, iron, and other metal tubing are annually sent out of our +workshops. In olden days the manufacture of brass and copper tubes was +by the tedious process of rolling up a strip of metal and soldering the +edges together. In 1803 Sir Edward Thomason introduced the "patent +tube"--iron body with brass coating, but it was not until 1838 that Mr. +Charles Green took out his patent for "seamless" tubes, which was much +improved upon in 1852 by G. F. Muntz, junr., as well as by Mr. Thos. +Attwood in 1850, with respect to the drawing of copper tubes. The Peyton +and Peyton Tube Co., London Works, was registered June 25, 1878, capital +L50,000 in L5 shares. Messrs. Peyton received 1,000 paid-up shares for +their patent for machinery for manufacturing welded and other tubes, +L3,500 for plant and tools, the stock going at valuation. + +_Tutania Metal_ took its name from Tutin, the inventor. It was much used +a hundred years ago, in the manufacture of buckles. + +_Umbrellas_.--The name of the man who first carried an umbrella in this +town (about the year 1780) has not yet been enrolled among our +"Birmingham Worthies," but he must have been known to some of our +fathers, for it is not much more than 100 years ago since Jonas Hanway +walked down the Strand, shielding his wig from the wet with the first +umbrella seen in London. The metal work required for setting-up, +technically called "furniture," has long been made here, and gives +employment to about 1,700 hands, two-thirds of whom are females. + +_Vinegar_.--Fardon's Vinegar Brewery, Glover Street, is worth a visit, +if only to look at their five vats, each upwards of 30ft. high and 24ft. +in diameter, and each capable of storing 58,000 gallons. But, besides +these, among the largest of their kind in the world, there are thirteen +24,000 gallons vats, five 15,000, and twenty seven 10,000. + +_Vitriol_.--The Oil of Vitriol in 1800 was reduced from 3s. per lb. to +1s.; in 1865 it was sold at 1d. + +_Watchmaking_.--Few names of eminent horologists are to be found in the +lists of departed tradesmen; so few indeed that watchmaking would seem +to have been one of the unknown arts, if such a thing was possible at +any period of the last two hundred years of Birmingham history. Messrs. +Brunner (Smallbrook Street), Swinden (Temple Street), and Ehrardt (Barr +Street West) take the lead at present among private firms, but the +introduction of a watch manufactory is due to Mr. A L. Dennison, who, +though not the originator of the notion, after establishing factories in +America (in or about 1850) and Switzerland, came to this country in +1871, and, with other gentlemen in the following year started the +Anglo-American Watch Co. (Limited), a factory being erected in Villa +Street. The trade of the Co. was principally with America, which was +supplied with machine-made "works" from here until the Waltham, Elgin, +and other firms over there beat them out of the market, a not very +difficult operation, considering that our fair-trading cousins impose a +25 per cent. duty on all such goods sent there by the free-traders of +this country. The Villa Street establishment was purchased in 1875 by +Mr. William Bragge, who developed the business under the name of The +English Watch Co., the manufacture being confined almost solely to +English Lever watches, large and small sized, key-winding and keyless. +In January, 1882, Mr. Bragge, for the sum of L21,000 parted with the +business, plant, stock, and premises, to the present English Watch Co. +(Limited), which has a registered capital of L50,000 in shares of L10 +each, the dividend (June, 1884) being at the rate of 6 per cent. on +paid-up capital.--In April, 1883, the prospectus of The English Double +Chronograph Co. (Limited) was issued, the capital being L50,000 in L10 +shares, the object of the company being to purchase (for L15,000) and +work the patents granted to Mr. W. H. Douglas, of Stourbridge, for +improvements in chronographs, the improvements being of such a nature +that ordinary keyless English levers can be turned into double +chronographs at a trifling cost. + +_Whipmaking_, as a trade distinct from saddlery, dates from about 1750, +and it received a great impetus by the introduction, in 1780, of a +machine by Matthew Dean for the easier manipulation of the leather +thongs. + +_Whistles_ of all sizes and sorts, from the child's tin whistle to the +huge and powerful steam whistles used on board the American liners, are +made in this town, and it might be imagined there could be but little +novelty in any new design. This, however, is not the case, for when the +authorities of Scotland Yard (June, 1884) desired a new police whistle, +samples were sent in from many parts of the country, from America, and +from the Continent. The order, which was for 40,000, was secured by +Messrs. J. Hudson and Co., Buckingham Street, and so distinct is the +speciality, that fifty other places have followed the example of the +Metropolis. + +_Wire_.--Wire-drawing, which formerly had to be done by hand, does not +appear to have been made into a special trade earlier than the beginning +of the 18th century, the first wire mill we read of being that of Penns, +near Sutton Coldfield, which was converted from an iron forge in 1720. +Steel wire was not made till some little time after that date. The +increased demand for iron and steel wire which has taken, place during +the last 35 years is almost incredible, the make in 1850 being not more +than 100 tons: in 1865 it was calculated at 2,000 tons, in 1875 it was +put at 12,000 tons, while now it is estimated to equal 30,000 tons. In +March 1853, a piece of No. 16 copper wire was shown at Mr. Samuel +Walker's in one piece, three miles long, drawn from a bar 6/8ths in +diameter. Originally the bar weighed 128 lbs, but it lost 14lbs in the +process, and it was then thought a most remarkable production, but far +more wonderful specimens of wire-spinning have since been exhibited. A +wire rope weighing over 70 tons, was made in 1876 at the Universe Works, +of Messrs. Wright, who are the patentees of the mixed wire and hemp +rope. Birdcages, meat covers, mouse traps, wire blinds, wire nails, wire +latticing, &c., we have long been used to; even girding the earth with +land and ocean telegraph wire, or fencing in square miles at a time of +prairie land, with wire strong enough to keep a herd of a few thousand +buffaloes in range, are no longer novelties, but to shape, sharpen, and +polish a serviceable pair of penny scissors out of a bit of steel wire +by two blows and the push of a machine, _is_ something new, and it is +Nettlefold's latest. + +_Wire Nails, Staples, &c._, are made at Nettlefold's by machinery much +in advance of what can ba seen elsewhere. In the nail mill the "Paris +points" as wire nails are called, are cut from the coil of wire by the +first motion of the machine as it is fed in, then headed and pointed at +one operation, sizes up to one inch being turned out at the rate of 360 +a minute. In the manufacture of spikes, the punch for making the head is +propelled by springs, which are compressed by a cam, and then released +at each stroke; two cutters worked by side cams on the same shaft cut +off the wire and make the point. A steel finger then advances and knocks +the finished spike out of the way to make room for the next. Wire +staples, three inches long, are turned out at the rate of a hundred a +minute; the wire is pushed forward into the machine and cut off on the +bevel to form the points; a hook rises, catches the wire, and draws it +down into the proper form, when a staple falls out complete. + +_Wire Gauge_.--The following table shows the sizes, weights, lengths, +and breaking strains of iron wire under the Imperial Standard Wire +Gauge, which came into operation March 1, 1884-- + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ +Size | DIAMETER | Sectional | WEIGHT OF | Length | BREAKING STRAINS +on | ------------| area in |----------- | of | ---------------- +Wire | Inch Mille- | Sq. |100 Mile | Cwt. | Annealed |Bright +Gauge| metres | Inches |Yards | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + lbs. lbs. yds. lbs. lbs. +7/0 .500 12.7 .1963 193.4 3404 58 10470 15700 +6/0 .464 11.8 .1691 166.5 2930 67 9017 13525 +5/0 .432 11. .1466 144.4 2541 78 7814 11725 +4/0 .400 10.2 .1257 123.8 2179 91 6702 10052 +3/0 .372 9.4 .1087 107.1 1885 105 5796 8694 +2/0 .348 8.8 .0951 93.7 1649 120 5072 7608 +1/0 .342 8.2 .0824 81.2 1429 138 4397 6595 + 1 .300 7.6 .0598 69.6 1225 161 3770 5655 + 2 .276 7. .0598 58.9 1037 190 3190 4785 + 3 .252 6.4 .0499 49.1 864 228 2660 3990 + 4 .232 5.9 .0423 41.6 732 269 2254 3381 + 5 .212 5.4 .0365 34.8 612 322 1883 2824 + 6 .192 4.9 .0290 28.5 502 393 1644 2316 + 7 .176 4.5 .0243 24. 422 467 1298 1946 + 8 .160 4.1 .0201 19.8 348 566 1072 1608 + 9 .144 3.7 .0163 16. 282 700 869 1303 + 10 .128 3.3 .0129 12.7 223 882 687 1030 + 11 .116 3. .0106 10.4 183 1077 564 845 + 12 .104 2.6 .0085 8.4 148 1333 454 680 + 13 .092 2.3 .0066 6.5 114 1723 355 532 + 14 .080 2. .0050 5. 88 2240 268 402 + 15 .072 1.8 .0041 4. 70 2800 218 326 + 16 .064 1.6 .0032 3.2 56 3500 172 257 + 17 .056 1.4 .0025 2.4 42 4667 131 197 + 18 .048 1.2 .0018 1.8 31 6222 97 145 + 19 .040 1. .0013 1.2 21 9333 67 100 + 20 .036 .9 .0010 1. 18 11200 55 82 +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + + +_Yates_.--At one period this was the favourite slang term of the +smashing fraternity for the metal used in their nefarious business, the +spoons manufactured by Messrs. Yates and Son being the best material for +transmutation into base coin. + +~Trafalgar.~--See "_Nelson_" and "_Statues_." + +~Train Bands.~--The Trainbands of former days may be likened to the +militia of the present time, but were drawn from every parish in the +hundreds, according to the population. A document in the lost Staunton +Collection, gave the names and parishes of the men forming "Lord +Compton's Company of Foot for the Hundred of Hemlingford" in 1615, being +part of the "Warwickshire Trayue Bands." Birmingham supplied six men +armed with pikes and six with muskets; Birmingham and Aston jointly the +same number; Edgbaston one pike; Coleshill three of each; Sutton +Coldfield. four pikes and six muskets; Solihull three pikes and four +muskets; Knowle the same; Berkswell two pikes and five muskets; and +Meriden one pike and two muskets. These Trained Bands numbered 6OO men +from Coventry and the county in 1642, besides the Militia and Volunteers +of Warwickshire, which were called up in that year. These latter +mustered very strongly on the days for review and training, there being +at Stratford-upon-Avon (June 30) 400 Volunteers well armed and 200 +unarmed; at Warwick (July 1 & 2) 650 well armed; at Coleshill (July 4) +8OO almost all well armed; and at Coventry near 800 most well armed--the +total number being 2,850, making a respectable force of 3,450 in all, +ready, according to the expression of their officers, "to adhere to His +Majestie and both Houses of Parliament, to the losse of the last drop of +their dearest blood." These fine words, however, did not prevent the +"Voluntiers" of this neighbourhood opposing His Majestie to the utmost +of their power soon afterwards. + +~Tramways.~--These take their name from Mr. Outram, who, in 1802, +introduced the system of lightening carriage by running the vehicles on +rail in the North of England. The first suggestion of a local tramway +came through Mr. G.F. Train, who not finding scope sufficient for his +abilities in America, paid Birmingham a visit, and after yarning us well +asked and obtained permission (Aug. 7, 1860) to lay down tram rails in +some of the principal thoroughfares, but as his glib tongue failed in +procuring the needful capital his scheme was a thorough failure. Some +ten years after the notion was taken up by a few local gentlemen, and at +a public meeting, on December 27, 1871, the Town Council were authorised +to make such tramways as they thought to be necessary, a Company being +formed to work them. This Company was rather before its time, though now +it would be considered, if anything, rather backward. The first line of +rails brought into use was laid from the buttom of Hockley Hill to +Dudley Port, and it was opened May 20, 1872; from Hockley to top of Snow +Hill the cars began to run September 7, 1873; the Bristol Road line +being first used May 30, though formally opened June 5, 1876. The +Birmingham and District Tramway Company's lines cost about L65,000, and +they paid the Corporation L910 per year rental, but in May, 1877, their +interest was bought up by the Birmingham Tramway and Omnibus Company for +the sum of L25,000, the original cost of the property thus acquired +being L115,000. The new company leased the borough lines for seven years +at L1,680 per annum, and gave up the out-district portion of the +original undertaking. That they have been tolerably successful is shown +by the fact that in 1883 the receipts from passengers amounted to +L39,859, while the owners of the L10 shares received a dividend of 15 +per cent. The authorised capital of the company is L60,000, of which +L33,600 has been called up. The Aston line from Corporation Street to +the Lower Grounds was opened for traffic the day after Christmas, 1882. +The Company's capital is L50,000, of which nearly one-half was expended +on the road alone. This was the first tramway on which steam was used as +the motive power, though Doune's locomotire was tried, Jan. 8, 1876, +between Handsworth and West Bromwich, and Hughes's between Monmouth +Street and Bournbrook on July 2, 1880, the latter distance being covered +in twenty-five minutes with a car-load of passengers attached to the +engine. The next Company to be formed was tha South Staffordshire and +Birmingham District Steam Tramway Co., who "broke ground" July 26, 1882, +and opened their first section, about seven miles in length (from +Handsworth to Darlaston), June 25, 1883. This line connects Birmingham +with West Bromwich, Wednesbury, Great Bridge, Dudley, Walsall, and +intermediate places, and is worked with 40-horse power engines of +Wilkinson's make. The Birmingham and West Suburban Tramways Co.'s lines, +commencing in Station Street run, by means of branches from several +parts, to various of the suburbs:--1st, by way of Pershore Street, Moat +Row, Bradford Street, and Moseley Road, to Moseley; 2nd, by way of +Deritend, Bordesley, Camp Hill, along Stratford Road, to Sparkhill; 3rd, +leaving Stratford Road (at the Mermaid) and along Warwick Road, to +Acock's Green; 4th, striking off at Bordesley, along the Coventry Road +to the far side of Small Heath Park; 5th, from Moat Row, by way of +Smithfield Street to Park Street, Duddeston Row, Curzon Street, Vauxhall +Road, to Nechells Park Road; 6th, in the same direction, by way of Gosta +Green, Lister Street, and Great Lister Street, using "running powers" +over the Aston line where necessary on the last-named and following +routes; 7th from Corporation Street, along Aston Street, Lancaster +Street, Newtown Row, up the Birchfield Road; 8th, from Six Ways, +Birchfield, along the Lozells Road to Villa Cross, and from the Lozells +Road along Wheeler Street to Constitution Hill, forming a junction with +the original Hockley and Snow Hill line. The system of lines projected +by the Western Districts Co., include: 1st, commencing in Edmund Street, +near the Great Western Railway Station, along Congreve Street, Summer +Row, Parade, Frederick Street, and Vyse Street, to join the Hockley +line; 2nd, as before to Parade, along the Sandpits, Spring Hill to +borough boundary in Dudley Road, and along Heath Street to Smethwick; +3rd, as before to Spring Hill, thence in one direction along Monument +Road to Hagley Road, and in the opposite direction along Icknield Street +to Hockley; 4th, starting from Lower Temple Street, along Hill Street, +Hurst Street, Sherlock Street to the borough boundary in Pershore Road, +and from Sherlock Street, by way of Gooch Street, to Balsall Heath; 5th, +by way of Holloway Head, Bath Row, and Islington to the Five Ways. The +whole of the lines now in use and being constructed in the Borough are +the property of the Corporation, who lease them to the several +Companies, the latter making the lines outside the borough themselves, +and keeping them in repair. The average cost of laying down is put at +50s. per yard for single line, or L5 per yard for double lines, the cost +of the metal rail itself being about 20s. per yard. + +~Trees in Streets.~--Though a few trees were planted along the Bristol +Road in 1853, and a few others later in some of the outskirts, the +system cannot be fairly said to have started till the spring of 1876, +when about 100 plane trees were planted in Broad Street, 100 limes in +Bristol Street, 20 Canadian poplars in St. Martin's church-yard, a score +or so of plane trees near Central Station, and a number in Gosta Green +and the various playgrounds belonging to Board Schools, a few elms, +sycamores, and Ontario poplars being mixed with them. As a matter of +historical fact, the first were put in the ground Nov. 29, 1885, in +Stephenson Place. + +~Tunnels.~--The tunnel on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, near +King's Norton, is 2,695 yards long, perfectly straight, 17-1/2-ft. wide, +and 18-ft. high. In the centre a basin is excavated sufficiently wide +for barges to pass without inconvenience; and in this underground +chamber in August, 1795, the Royal Arch Masons held a regular chapter of +their order, rather an arch way of celebrating the completion of the +undertaking. The other tunnels on this canal are 110, 120, 406, and 524 +yards in length. On the old Birmingham Canal there are two, one being +2,200 yards long and the other 1,010 yards. On the London and Birmingham +Railway (now London and North Western) the Watford tunnel is 1,830 yards +long, the Kisley tunnel 2,423 yards, and Primrose Hill 1,250 yards. On +the Great Western line the longest is the Box tunnel, 3,123 yards in +length. The deepest tunnel in England pierces the hills between Great +Malvern and Herefordshire, being 600ft. from the rails to the surface; +it is 1,560 yards in length. The longest tunnels in the country run +under the range of hills between Marsden in Yorkshire and Diggle in +Lancashire, two being for railway and one canal use. One of the former +is 5,434 yards, and the other (Stanedge, on the L. & N.W.) 5,435 yards +long, while the canal tunnel is 5,451 yards. + +~Turnpike Gates.~--At one time there were gates or bars on nearly every +road out of the town. Even at the bottom of Worcester Street there was a +bar across the road in 1818. There was once a gate at the junction of +Hang'sman Lane (our Great Hampton Row) and Constitution Hill, which, +baing shifted further on, to about the spot where Green and Cadbury's +Works now are, remained till 1839. The gate in Deritend was removed in +August, 1828; the one at Five Ways July 5, 1841; those at Small Heath, +at Sparkbrook, in the Moseley Road, and in the Hagley Road were all +"free'd" in 1851, and the sites of the toll houses sold in 1853. In the +"good old coaching days" the turnpike tolls paid on a coach running +daily from here to London amounted to L1,428 per year. + +~Union Passage~, at first but a field path out of the yard of the Crown +Tavern to the Cherry Orchard, afterwards a narrow entry as far as +Crooked Lane, with a house only at each end, was opened up and widened +in 1823 by Mr. Jones, who built the Pantechnetheca. Near the Ball Street +end was the Old Bear Yard, the premises of a dealer in dogs, rabbits, +pigeons, and other pets, who kept a big brown bear, which was taken out +whenever the Black Country boys wanted a bear-baiting. The game was put +a stop to in 1835, but the "cage" was there in 1841, about which time +the Passage became built up on both sides throughout. + +~Vaughton's Hole.~--An unfortunate soldier fell into a deep clay pit +here, in July, 1857, and was drowned; and about a month after (August 6) +a horse and cart, laden with street sweepings, was backed too near the +edge, over-turned, and sank to the bottom of sixty feet deep of water. +The place was named after a very old local family who owned considerable +property in the neighbourhood of Gooch Street, &c., though the +descendants are known as Houghtons. + +~Vauxhall.~--In an old book descriptive of a tour through England, in +1766, it is mentioned that near Birmingham there "is a seat belonging to +Sir Listen Holte, Bart, but now let out for a public house (opened June +4, 1758), where are gardens, &c., with an organ and other music, in +imitation of Vauxhall, by which name it goes in the neighbourhood." The +old place, having been purchased by the Victoria Land Society, was +closed by a farewell dinner and ball, September, 16, 1850, the first +stroke of the axe to the trees being given at the finish of the ball, 6 +a.m. next morning. In the days of its prime, before busy bustling +Birmingham pushed up to its walls, it ranked as one of the finest places +of amusement anywhere out of London. The following verse (one of five) +is from an "Impromptu written by Edward Farmer in one of the alcoves at +Old Vauxhall, March 6. 1850":-- + + + "There's scarce a heart that will not start, + No matter what it's rank and station, + And heave a sigh when they destroy, + This favourite place of recreation. + If we look back on memory's track, + What joyous scenes we can recall, + Of happy hours in its gay bowers, + And friends we met at Old Vauxhall!" + + +~Velocipedes.~--We call them "cycles" nowadays, but in 1816-20 they were +"dandy-horses," and in the words of a street billet of the period + + + "The hobby-horse was all the go + In country and in town." + + +~Views of Birmingham.~--The earliest date "view" of the town appears to +be the one given in Dugdale's Warwickshire, of 1656, and entitled "The +Prospect of Birmingham, from Ravenhurst (neere London Road), in the +South-east part of the Towne." + +~Villa Cross~ was originally built for and occupied as a school, and +known as Aston Villa School. + +~Visitors of Distinction~ in the old Soho days, were not at all rare, +though they had not the advantages of travelling by rail. Every event of +the kind, however, was duly chronicled in the _Gazette_, but they must +be men of superior mark indeed, or peculiarly notorious perhaps, for +their movements to be noted nowadays. Besides the "royalties" noted +elsewhere, we were honoured with the presence of the Chinese +Commissioner Pin-ta-Jen, May 7, 1866, and his Excellency the Chinese +Minister Kus-ta Jen, January 23, 1878. Japanese Ambassadors were here +May 20, 1862, and again November 1, 1872. The Burmese Ambassadors took a +look at us August 14, 1872, and the Madagascar Ambassadors followed on +January 5, 1883.--Among the brave and gallant visitors who have noted +are General Elliott, who came August 29th, 1787. Lord Nelson, August 30, +1802, and there is an old Harborneite still living who says he can +recollect seeing the hero come out of the hotel in Temple Row. The Duke +of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel dined at Dee's Hotel, September 23, +1830. The Duke's old opponent, Marshal Soult, in July 1833, seemed +particularly interested in the work going on among our gun-shops. Lady +Havelock, her two daughters, and General Havelock, the only surviving +brother of Sir Henry, visited the town October 8, 1858. General Ulysses +Grant, American Ex-president, was soft-soaped at the Town Hall, October +19, 1877.--Politicians include Daniel O'Connell, January 20, 1832. The +Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, who visited the Small Arms Factory, August +18, 1869, was again here August 22, 1876, immediately after being raised +to the peerage as Earl of Beaconsfield. The Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone +was welcomed with a procession and a "monster meeting" at Bingley Hall. +May 31, 1877. The Right Hon. R.A. Cross, Home Secretary, honoured the +Conservatives by attending a banquet in the Town Hall, Nov. 20, 1876. +Sir Stafford Northcote, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, came here Oct. +19, 1878, and was at Aston, Oct. 13, 1884, when the Radical roughs made +themselves conspicuous. Lord Randolph Churchill was introduced to the +burgesses, April 15, 1884; and has been here many times since, as well +as the late Col. Burnaby, who commenced his candidature for the +representation of the borough July 23, 1878.--In the long list of +learned and literary visitors occur the names of John Wesley, who first +came here in March, 1738, and preached on Gosta Green in 1743. Whitfield +preached here in Oct., 1753. Benjamin Franklin was in Birmingham in +1758, and for long afterwards corresponded with Baskerville and Boulton. +Fulton, the American engineer, (originally a painter) studied here in +1795. Washington Irving, whose sister was married to Mr. Henry Van Wart, +spent a long visit here, during the course of which he wrote the series +of charming tales comprised in his "Sketch Book." His "Bracebridge +Hall," if not written, was conceived here, our Aston Hall being the +prototype of the Hall, and the Bracebridge family of Atherstone found +some of the characters. Thomas Carlyle was here in 1824; Mr. and Mrs. +Beecher Stowe ("Uncle Tom's Cabin"), in May, 1853; Sir W. Crofton, Oct. +9, 1862; M. Chevalier, April 28, 1875; Mr. Ruskin, July 14, 1877; Rev. +Dr. Punshon, March 19, and J.A. Froude, M.A., March 18, 1878; Mr. +Archibald Forbes, April 29, 1878; H.M. Stanley, Nov. 6, 1878; Bret +Harte, April 7, 1879; the Rev. T. de Wilt Talmage, an American preacher +of great note, lectured in Town Hall June 9 and July 7, 1879, on "The +Bright side of Things," and on "Big Blunders;" but, taking the brightest +view he could, he afterwards acknowledged that his coming here was the +biggest blunder he had ever made. Oscar Wilde, March 13, 1884. Lola +Montes lectured here March 2-4, 1859. Dr. Kenealy was here June 26, +1875. The Tichborne Claimant showed himself at the Town Hall, August 26, +1872, and again, "after his exile," at the Birmingham Concert Hall, Jan. +12, 1885. + +~Volunteers in the Olden Time.~--A meeting was held October 5, 1745, for +the raising of a regiment of volunteers to oppose the Scotch rebels, but +history does not chronicle any daring exploits by this regiment. Playing +at soldiers would seem to have been formerly a more popular (or shall we +say patriotic) amusement than of late years; for it is recorded that a +local corps was organised in August, 1782, but we suppose it was +disbanded soon after, as in 1797, when the threatening times of +revolution alarmed our peaceful sires, there were formed in Birmingham +two companies, one of horse and one of foot, each 500 strong, under the +commands of Capt. Pearson and Lord Brooke. They were called the +Birmingham Loyal Association of Volunteers, and held their first parade +in Coleshill Street, August 15, 1797. On the 4th of June following a +grand review was held on Birmingham Heath (then unenclosed) to the +delight of the local belles, who knew not which the most to admire, the +scarlet horse or the blue foot. Over 100,000 spectators were said to +have been present, and, strangest thing of all, the Volunteers were +armed with muskets brought from Prussia. The corps had the honour of +escorting Lord Nelson when, with Lady Hamilton, he visited the town in +1802. At a review on August 2, 1804, the regiment were presented with +its colours, and for years the "Loyals" were the most popular men of the +period. Our neighbours do not seem to have been more backward than the +locals, though why it was necessary that the services of the Handsworth +Volunteer Cavalry should be required to charge and put to flight the +rioters in Snow Hill (May 29, 1810) is not very clear.--See also "_Train +Bands_." + +~Volunteers of the Present Day.~--The first official enrolment of +Volunteers of the present corps, was dated Nov. 25, 1859, though a list +of names was on paper some three months earlier. Unlike sundry other +movements which are now of a national character, that for the formation +of a volunteer army was so far from having a local origin, that for a +long time it was viewed with anything but favour in Birmingham; and, +though it is not pleasant to record the fact, it was not until the +little parish of Handsworth had raised its corps of the First +Staffordshire, that the Brums really stepped into the ranks. Properly +the natal day should be reckoned as the 14th of December, 1859, when a +town's meeting was held "for the purpose of adopting such measures as +might seem desirable for placing Birmingham in its proper position with +regard to the great national rifle movement." The Hon. Charles Granvllle +Scott had been previously selected by Lord Leigh (the Lord-Lieutenant of +the County) as Colonel, Major Sanders had accepted the Captaincy, Mr. +J.O. Mason been appointed Lieutenant, and 111 names entered on the roll +of members of the 1st Company, but it was not till the above-named day +that the movement really made progress, the Mayor (Mr. Thos. Lloyd), Sir +John Ratcliff, Mr. A. Dixon, and Mr. J. Lloyd each then promising to +equip his twenty men apiece, and sundry other gentlemen aiding to dress +up others of the rank and file. The money thus being found the men were +soon forthcoming too, the end of the year showing 320 names on the roll +call, a number increased to 1,080 by the close of 1860. The latter year +saw the first parade in Calthorpe Park, the opening of the range at +Bournebrook, and the formation of the twelve companies forming the first +battalion, but, notwithstanding many liberal donations (the gunmakers +giving L850), and the proceeds of the first annual ball, it closed with +the corps being in debt over L1,000. On the formation of the 2nd county +battalion, Col. Scott took command thereof, Major Sanders being +promoted. He was followed by Lieut.-Col. Mason, on whose resignation, in +February, 1867, Major Ratcliff succeeded, the battalion being then 1,161 +strong. Col. Ratcliff retired in June, 1871, and was replaced by +Major-General Hinde, C.B., who held command until his death, March 1, +1881. Major Gem who temporarily acted as commander, also died the +following Nov. 4, Major Burt filling the post till the appointment of +Col. W. Swynfen Jervis. The first adjutant (appointed in 1860) was +Captain McInnis, who retired in 1870, having received bodily injuries +through being thrown from his horse; he was succeeded by the present +Adjutant-Colonel Tarte. The first uniform of the corps was a grey tunic +with green facings, and a peaked cap with cock's feathers; in 1863 this +was changed for a green uniform with red facings, similar to that worn +by the 60th Rifles, with the exception of a broad red stripe on the +trousers. The trouser stripe was done away with in 1875, when also the +cap and feathers gave place to the busby and glengarry, the latter in +1884 being exchanged for the regulation army helmet, and soon perhaps +our boys will all be seen in scarlet like their brothers of the +Staffordshire battalions. At no date since its enrolment has the +battalion been free from debt, and it now owes about L1,300, a state of +affairs hardly creditable to the town which sends out yearly, some +half-million firearms from its manufactories. The annual balls did not +become popular, the last taking place in 1864; bazaars were held October +14-17, 1863, and October 24-27, 1876; athletic displays have been given +(the first in May, 1865), and the cap has been sent round more than +once, but the debt--it still remains. At the Volunteer Review, July 24, +1861, before the Duke of Cambridge; at the Hyde Park Review, June, 1865, +before the Prince of Wales; at the Midland Counties' Review at Derby, +June, 1867; at the Royal Review at Windsor in 1868; and at every +inspection since, the Birmingham corps has merited and received the +highest praise for general smartness and efficiency; it is one of the +crack corps of the kingdom, and at the present time (end of 1884) has +not one inefficient member out of its 1,200 rank and file, but yet the +town is not Liberal enough to support it properly. The first march-out +of 720 to Sutton took place June 21, 1875, others joining at the camp, +making over 800 being under canvas, 744 attending the review. The +camping-out at Streetly Wood has annually recurred since that date; the +first sham fight took place June 20, 1877. The "coming-of-age" was +celebrated by a dinner at the Midland Hotel, January 29, 1881, up to +which time the Government grants had amounted to L26,568 14s., the local +subscriptions to L8,780, and the donations to L1,956 1s. 3d. The +Birmingham Rifle Corps is now known as the First Volunteer Battalion of +the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, having been linked to the "Saucy +Sixth," under the army scheme of 1873.--See "_Public Buildings_--_Drill +Hall_." + +~Von Beck.~--The Baroness Von Beck was a lady intimately connected with +the chiefs of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and appears to have been +employed by them in various patriotic services. In 1851 she visited +Birmingham and was a welcome guest until "someone blundered" and charged +her with being an impostor. On the evening of August 29, she and her +copatriot, Constant Derra de Moroda, were arrested at the house of Mr. +Tyndall and locked up on suspicion of fraud. Her sudden death in the +police-court next morning put a stop to the case; but an action +resulted, in which George Dawson and some friends were cast for heavy +damages as a salve for the injured honour of M. de Moroda. + +~Wages and Work.~--In 1272 the wages of a labouring man was just 1-1/2 +d. per day. In Henry VIII.'s reign labourers' wages averaged 4d. per +day; skilled workmen 5-1/2d. per day. The penny at that time was equal +to a shilling of the present day, and would, relatively, purchase as +much. In 1682, the Justices of the Peace assembled in Quarter Sessions +at Warwick fixed the rates of wages to be paid to the several classes of +artificers, labourers, and others, as enjoined by a statue of Elizabeth. +From their order then made, we find that a master carpenter, his +servants, and journeymen, were to receive 1s each per day; a master +bricklayer, a mason, a cartwright, a thatcher, a tyler, a mower, and a +reaper also 1s. per day, other workmen and labourers averaging from 4d. +to 8d. per day, but none of them to receive more than half these rates +if their meat and drink was found them. The hours of work to be from +five in the morning till half-past seven at night. Any person refusing +to work upon these terms was to be imprisoned, and anyone paying more to +forfeit L5 in addition to ten days' imprisonment, the unfortunate +individual receiving such extra wages to suffer in like manner for +twenty-one days. In 1777, there was a row among the tailors, which led +to what may be called the first local strike. The unfortunate "knights +of the thimble" only got 12s. to 14s. per week. + +~Warstone Lane~ takes its name from the Hoarstone, supposed to have been +an ancient boundary mark, which formerly stood at the corner of the lane +and Icknield Street, and which is now preserved within the gateway +entrance to the Church of England cemetery. Hutton says that in 1400 +there was a castle, with a moat round it, in Warstone Lane. The lane has +also been called Deadman's Lane, and considering the proximity of the +cemetery that name might even now be applicable. + +~Warwick House~, as it now stands was began in 1839 or 1840; formerly it +was composted of two cottages, one with a bit of garden ground in front, +which underwent the usual transformation scene of being first covered in +then built upon. + +~Warwickshire~, the county in which Birmingham is situated, has a total +area of 566,458 acres, of which 283,946 acres are permanent pasture +lands, and 210,944 acres under crops or arable land. In 1882 the live +stock in the country, as returned by the occupiers of land, included +29,508 horses, 5,503 being kept solely for breeding; 93,334 cattle; +218,355 sheep; and 41,832 pigs. + +~Warwick Castle~ is open to visitors every day, except Sunday; when the +family are absent from home, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but if they are at +home, from 9 to 10 a.m. only. + +~Warwick Vase.~--The bronze copy in Aston Hall was cast by Sir Richard +Thomason. + +~Warwickshire Regiment.~--The 6th Foot recruited in this county in 1778 +so successfully that it was called "The Warwickshire," Birmingham +supplying the largest proportion of the men, and raising by public +subscription L2,000 towards their equipment. Under Lord Cardwell's army +localisation plan of 1873, the regiment is now called the 1st Royal +Warwickshire, and, with the Warwickshire Militia and Volunteers, forms +the 28th Brigade. + +~Watch House.~--On the right hand side of Crooked Lane from High Street, +may still be seen the old Watch House, where, fifty years ago, the +"Charleys," or night watchmen, took any drunken or disorderly +characters, or night prowlers, they happened to meet with, or whom they +dare tackle. + +~Waterloo Veterans.~--John McKay was born in November, 1792, and entered +the army as a drummerboy in 1803; he died here in July, 1879. He served +41 years, and was for the last 25 years of his life office keeper of the +Royal Engineers' Office in this town. Another "Waterloo man," George +Taylor, died here, November 6, 1880, aged 98. + +~Water Pipes.~--In 1810 Mr. Murdoch started a Company for manufacturing +stone pipes for water-works, and they made a large quantity, which were +laid down in London and Manchester, but they had to come up again, as +the pipes split--and the Company burst. + +~Waterspouts and Whirlwinds~ are not of common occurrence hereabouts. +One of the former burst over the Lickey Hills, April 13, 1792, the +resulting flood reaching to Bromsgrove. A whirlwind at Coleshill, April +4, 1877, played havoc with some hay-ricks, hedges, trees, &c. + +~Water Street~, formerly Water Lane, had a brook running down one side +of it when houses were first built there. + +~Weather Cocks.~--Mention is made of Weather Cocks as early as the ninth +century, and it has been supposed that the Cock was intended as an +emblem of the vigilance of the clergy, who irreverently styled +themselves the Cocks of the Almighty, their duty being, like the cock +which roused Peter, to call the people to repentance, or at any rate to +church. These are the longest-lived birds we know of. The one which had +been perched on the old spire of St. Martin's for a hundred years or +more was brought down July 22, 1853, and may still be seen at Aston +Hall, along with the old bird that tumbled off Aston church October 6, +1877. The last was made of copper in July, 1830, and contained, among +other articles, a copy of Swinney's _Birmingham Chronicle_ of June 29, +1815, with a full account of the Battle of Waterloo. + +~Weighing Machines~ were introduced by John Wyatt, in 1761, and the +first was purchased by the Overseers in 1767, so that the profits might +reduce the poor rates. It was situated at the top corner of Snow Hill, +and so much did the Overseers value it, that they gave notice, (Feb. +18th, 1783) of their intention of applying to Parliament for the +monopoly of securing "the benefit of weighing out coals to the town." + +~Welsh Cross.~--One of the Old-time Market-houses at the corner of Bull +Street, the bottom portion of the edifice being used by country people +as a butter market. The upper room was for meetings and occasionally +used for the detention of prisoners who came (it has been said) through +the window on to a small platform for the pillory or cat-o'-nine-tails, +according to their sentence. + +~West Bromwich~, if we are to credit "Britannia Depicto," published in +1753, was originally West Bromicham, or West Birmingham. + +~Wheeley's Lane~, though one of the quietest thoroughfares in Edgbaston, +was formerly used as part of the coach-road to Bristol, those vehicles +passing the Old Church and down Priory Road. + +~Windmill.~--The old windmill that used to be on Holloway Head is marked +on the 1752 map, and it has been generally understood that a similar +structure stood there for many generations, but this one was built about +1745. The sails might have been seen in motion forty or forty-five years +ago, and probably corn was then ground there. After the departure of the +miller and his men it was used for a time as a sort of huge summer +house, a camera obscura being placed at the top, from which panoramic +views of the neighbourhood could be taken. It was demolished but a few +years back. + +~Woman's Rights.~--A local branch of the Women's Suffrage Association +was formed here in 1868: a Women's Liberal Association was instituted in +October, 1873; a branch of the National Union or Working Women was +organised January 29th, 1875; and a Woman Ratepayers' Protection Society +was established in August, 1881. With ladies on the School Board, lady +Guardians, lady doctors, a special Women's Property Protection Act, &c., +&c., it can hardly be said that our lady friends are much curtailed of +their liberty. We know there are Ladies' Refreshment Rooms, Ladies' +Restaurants, and Ladies' Associations for Useful Work and a good many +other things, but we doubt if the dear creatures of to-day would ever +dream of having such an institution as Ladies' Card Club, like that of +their Edgbaston predecessors of a century back. + +~Women Guardians.~--The introduction of the female element in the choice +of Guardians of the Poor has long been thought desirable, and an +Association for promoting the election of ladies was formed in 1882. +There are now two women Guardians on the Birmingham Board, and one on +the King's Norton Board. Taking lesson of their political brothers, the +members of the Association, experiencing some difficulty in finding +ladies with proper legal qualification to serve on the Board, "purchased +a qualification," and then run their candidate in. The next step will +doubtless be to pay their members, and, as the last year's income of the +Association amounted to L12 4s. 11d., there can be no difficulty there. + +~Yeomanry Cavalry.~--The last official report showed the Warwickshire +regiment could muster 213 on parade; while the Staffordshire had 422. + +~Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A.~--See "_Philanthropic Institutions_." + +~Zoological Association.~--Early in 1873 a provisional committee of +gentlemen undertook the formation of a local society similar to that of +the Regent's Park, of London, proposing to raise a fund of L7,000 +towards such an establishment, partly by donations and partly in shape +of entrance fees to Fellowship (fixed at L5). It was believed that with +a fair number of annual 40s. subscriptions and gate money from the +public that such a society might be made successful; several handsome +donations were promised, and a lot of "fellows" put their names down as +good for the fivers, but when, a little time after, Edmunds' (_alias_ +Wombwell's) agents were trying to find here a purchaser for their +well-known travelling collections, the piecrust proverb was again proved +to be correct. + +~Zoological Gardens.~--Morris Roberts, the ex-prizefighter, opened a +menagerie in the grounds of the Sherbourne Hotel, and called it The +Zoological Gardens, May 4, 1873. The animals were sold in April, 1876, +the place not being sufficiently attractive. + +~Obituary.~ + +The following short list of local people of interest may not be an +unacceptable addition to the many whose names appear in various parts of +the preceding work:-- + +AITKEN, W.C., the working man's friend, died March 24, 1875, aged 58. + +ALBITES, ACHILLE, a respected teacher of French, died June 8, 1872, aged +63. + +ARIS, THOMAS, founder of the _Gazette_, died July 4, 1761. + +AYLESFORD, LORD, died Jan. 13, 1885, at Big Springs, Texas, aged 35. + +BANKS, MORRIS, chemist and druggist, died June 21, 1880, aged 75. + +BANKS, William, long connected with the local Press, died March 1, 1870, +aged 50. + +BATES, WILLIAM, a literary connoisseur of much talent, died September +24, 1884. + +BOULTON, ANN, only daughter of Matthew Boulton, died October 13, 1829. + +BROWN, Rev. PHILIP, for 32 years Vicar of St. James's, Edgbaston, died +September 15, 1884. + +BIRD, ALFRED, well-known as a manufacturing chemist, died December 15, +1878, aged 67. + +BARRETT, Rev. I.C., for 43 years Rector of St. Mary's, died February 26, +1881. + +BRACEBRIDGE, CHARLES HOLTE, a descendant of the Holtes of Aston, died +July 12, 1872, aged 73. He left several pictures, &c., to the town. + +BRAILSFORD, Rev. Mr., Head-master Grammar School, died November 20, +1775. + +BRAY, SOLOMON, formerly Town Clerk, died January 9, 1859. + +BREAY, Rev. JOHN GEORGE, seven years Minister of Christ Church, died +December 5, 1839, in his 44th year. + +BREEDON, LUKE, over fifty years a minister of the Society of Friends, +died in 1740, aged 81. + +BRIGGS, Major, W.B.R.V., died January 24, 1877, aged 45. + +BURN, Rev. EDWARD, 52 years Minister at St. Mary's, died May 20, 1837, +aged 77. + +CADBURY, B.H., died January 23, 1880, in his 82nd year. + +CHAVASSE, PYE.--A surgeon, well known by his works on the medical +treatment of women and children, died September 20, 1879, in his 70th +year. + +CHAVASSE, THOS., pupil of Abernethy, and followed his profession in this +town till his 80th year. He died October 19, 1884, aged 84. + +CHURCH, BENJ., of the _Gazette_, died July 1, 1874, aged 48. + +DAVIS, GEORGE, a local poet, as well as printer, died 1819. + +DAWSON, SUSAN FRANCES, relict of George Dawson, died November 9, 1878. + +DOBBS, JAMES, a comic song writer and comedian, a great favourite with +his fellow-townspeople, died November 1, 1837, aged 56. + +EGINGTON, F., an eminent painter on glass, died March 25, 1805, aged 68. + +ELKINGTON, GEORGE RICHARDS, the patentee and founder of the +electro-plate trade, died September 22, 1866 aged 65. + +EVERITT, EDWARD, landscape painter, a pupil of David Cox, and a member +of the original Society of Arts, died July 2, 1880, in his 88th year. + +FEENEY, J.F., proprietor of _Birmingham Journal_, died May 12, 1869. + +FREETH, Miss JANE, last surviving daughter of poet Freeth, died +September 2, 1860, aged 89. + +GARBETT, Rev. JOHN, died August 23, 1858, aged 66. + +GARNER, THOMAS, a distinguished line engraver, died in July, 1868. His +delineations of the nude figure were of the highest excellence. + +GODFREY, ROBT., for nearly fifty years a minister of the Catholic +Apostolic Church, died Jan. 12, 1883, aged 75. + +GOUGH, JOHN, an old churchwarden of St. Martin's, died November 30, +1877, aged 63. + +HAMMOND, Rev. JOSEPH, Congregational Minister, Handsworth, died March, +30, 1870. + +HANMAN, WILLIAM, for twenty-one years Market Superintendent, died Dec. +1, 1877, aged 51. + +HILL, M.D., first Borough Recorder, died June 7, 1872, aged 79. + +HILL, Rev. Micaiah, director of the Town Mission, founder of the Female +Refuge, and Cabmen's Mission, &c., died September 24, 1884, aged 60. + +HODGETTS, WILLIAM, the first printer of the _Birmingham Journal_ (in +1825) and afterwards publisher of _Birmingham Advertiser_, died January +2, 1874, aged 83. + +HODGSON, Mr. JOSEPH, for 27 years one of the surgeons at General +Hospital, died February 7, 1869, aged 82. + +HOLDER, HENRY, died January 27, 1880, in his 70th year. + +HOLLINGS, W., architect, died January 12, 1843, aged 80. + +HORTON, ISAAC, pork butcher, died November 15, 1880, aged 59. His +property in this town estimated at L400,000, besides about L100,000 +worth in Walsall, West Bromwich, &c. + +HUDSON, BENJAMIN, printer, 54 years in one shop, died December 9, 1875, +aged 79. + +HUTTON CATHERINE, only daughter of William Hutton died March 31, 1846, +aged 91. + +HUTTON, Rev. HUGH, many years minister at Old Meeting, died September +13, 1871, aged 76. + +IVERS, the Very Rev. BERNARD, canon of St. Chad's Cathedral, and for +thirty years rector of St. Peter's (Roman Catholic) church, Broad +Street, died June 19, 1880. + +JAFFRAY, JAMES, a pleasant writer of local history, died Jan. 7, 1884. + +JEUNE, Rev. FRANCIS, Bishop of Peterborough, and once head master of +Free Grammar School, died August 21, 1868, aged 62. + +KENNEDY, REV. RANN, of St. Paul's died January 5, 1851, aged 79. + +KENTISH, REV. JOHN, for fifty years pastor at the New Meeting, died +March 6, 1853. + +KNIGHT, EDWARD, an eminent comic actor, who had long performed at Drury +Lane and the Lyceum, was born in this town in 1774; died Feb. 21, 1826. + +LEE, DR. J. PRINCE, the first Bishop of Manchester, and who had been for +many years head master at Free Grammar School, died December 24, 1869. + +LLOYD, MR. SAMPSON, banker died December 28, 1807, aged 80. + +MACREADY, WM., many years manager at Theatre Royal, died April 11, 1829. + +MACKENZIE, Rev. JOHN ROBERTSON, D.D., many years at Scotch Church, Broad +Street, died March 2, 1877, aged 66. + +MADDOCKS, CHARLES, a local democrat of 1819, died April 3, 1856, aged +78. + +MARSDEN, Rev. J.B., of St. Peter's, died June 16, 1870. + +McINNIS, Capt. P., adjutant B.R.V., died February 16, 1880, aged 66 +years. + +MITCHELL, SIDNEY J., solicitor, accidentally killed at Solihull, March +22, 1882. + +MOLE, Major ROBERT, B.R.V., died June 9, 1875, aged 46. + +MOORE, JOSEPH, "founder of the Birmingham Musical Festival," died April +19, 1851. + +MOTTERAM, J., eight years County Court Judge, died Sept. 19, 1884, aged +67. + +NETTLEFORD, JOSEPH HENRY, died November 22, 1881, aged 54. He left a +valuable collection of pictures to the Art Gallery. + +NOTT, Dr. JOHN, born in 1751, studied surgery in Birmingham, but was +better known as an elegant poet and Oriental scholar, died in 1826. + +OLDKNOW, REV. JOSEPH, Vicar of Holy Trinity, died September 3, 1874, +aged 66. + +OSLER, THOS. CLARKSON, died Nov. 5, 1876, leaving personal estate value +L140,000. He bequeathed L1,000 to the hospitals, and L3,000 to the Art +Gallery. + +PAGE, REV. RICHARD, first Vicar of St. Asaph's, died March 9, 1879, aged +41. + +PEMBERTON, CHARLES REECE, long connected with Mechanics' Institute, died +March 3, 1840, aged 50. + +PENN, BENJAMIN, died November 13, 1789. He was one of the old "newsmen" +who, for twenty years, delivered the _Gazette_ to its readers, and +though he travelled nearly 100 miles a week, never suffered from +illness. + +PETTIT, REV. G., Vicar of St. Jude's, died January 19, 1873, aged 64. + +PYE, JOHN, a celebrated landscape engraver, died February 6, 1874, aged +91. + +RATCLIFF, Lady JANE, widow of Sir John, died Sept. 12, 1874, aged 72. + +REDFERN, WILLIAM, the first Town Clerk, died April 23, 1872, aged 70. + +REECE, W.H., solicitor, died in May, 1873, aged 63. He rebuilt St. +Tudno's Church, on the Ormeshead, and did much to popularise Llandudno. + +RICHARDS, Mr. WM. WESTLEY, the world-known filmmaker, died Sept. 14, +1875, aged 76. + +ROBINS, EBENEZER, auctioneer, died July 1, 1871. + +ROTTON, H., died December 13, aged 67. + +SALT, T.C., a prominent member of the Political Union, died April 27, +1859, aged 70. + +SAXTON, Rev. LOT, a Methodist New Connexion Minister of this town, died +suddenly, September, 1880, in his 72nd year. + +SCHOLEFIELD, JOSHUA, M.P., died July 4, 1814, aged 70. + +SCHOLEFIELD, Rev. RADCLIFFE, for 30 years pastor of Old Meeting, died +June 27, 1803, aged 70. + +SMITH, JOHN, attorney, died September 23, 1867. + +SMITH, TOULMIN, died April 30, 1869. + +SPOONER, Rev. ISAAC, for 36 years Vicar of Edgbaston, died July 26, +1884, aged 76. + +SPOONER, RICHARD, Esq., M.P., died Novembar 24, 1864, aged 81. + +SPOONER, Mr. WILLIAM, for seventeen years County Court Judge, of the +North Staffordshire district, died May 19, 1880, in his 69th year. + +STANBRIDGE, THOMAS, Town Clerk died February 10, 1869, aged 52. + +ST. JOHN, Rev. AMBROSE, of the Oratory, died May 24, 1875, aged 60. + +SWINNEY, MYLES, 50 years publisher of the _Birmingham Chronicle_, died +November 2, 1812, aged 74. + +THORNTON, Capt. F., B.E.V., was thrown from his carriage and killed, May +22, 1876. He was 35 years of age. + +TURNER, GEORGE (firm of Turner, Son and Nephew), died March 25, 1875, +aged 68, leaving a fortune of L140,000. + +UPTON, JAMES, printer, died November 9, 1874. + +VINCENT, HENRY, the Chartist, died Dec. 29, 1878. + +WORRALL, WILLIAM, for 30 years Secretary of St. Philip's Building +Society, died May 1, 1880, in his 78th year. + +WRIGHT, Mr. THOS. BARBER, who died October 11, 1878, was one of the +founders of the _Midland Counties Herald_, the first to propose the +Hospital Sunday collections, and to establish the Cattle Shows. + + +BIRMINGHAM +PRINTED BY J.G. HAMMOND & Co +136-8, EDMUND STREET. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham +by Thomas T. 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