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University of California,
.■icLLS.sion \< .(o i> 7 ^7 ' .las>s No.
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BIRMINGHAM.
HISTORY AND GENERAL DIRECTORY
OF THE
BOROUGH OF BIRMINGHAM,
WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE
PARISH OF ASTON,
THE SOHO AND PART OF HANDSWORTII INCLUDED :
BEING
OF
THE COUNTY OF V/ARWICK.
The Ancient and Modern History of this Popnlous Borough
AND ITS SUBURBS,
Has been compiled with great care and labour, from personal application to all the Public Buildings, Societies, Associations, places of Business, private Residences, and all places of Public Interest, from which much new and useful information has been derived; and Hutton and Shaw, the former Historians of Binningham, fully consulted. The rise and progress of the varied ^Manufactures, and the increase of the Population fully pointed out ; and also the Charities from the Commissioners Report.
BY FRANCIS WHITE AND Co.,
Authors of the History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Nottinghamshire ; Directories of Hull, York, and the East Riding of Yorkshhe; Newcastle, and the principal Towns in the Counties of Durham and Northumberland: every copy of which was sold two months after Publication,
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHORS,
BY JOHN BLURTON, ROYAL STEAM-PRESS OFFICES, CASTLE STREET AND KING STREET,
And Sold by F. White and Co., 54, Ilennitaije Street^ SHEFFIELD.
Price to Subscribers, Os. in cloth boards, or 1 Is. in calf binding ; Non-Subs. 25. 6d. extra.
1849.
Cp (^ 7 (o
PREFACE.
In this attempt to present to the Public a History and Topography of the Borough of Binningham, with a complete Directory of the Inhabitants, under two arrangements — first, giving the Sm-names in Alphabetical order, with the Trades and Professions at fiill length, places of Business, and Residences ; second, classified under the Heads of Trades and Professions — the Authors acknowledge their great obligation to the Literary and Official Gentlemen of the Borough, who have so freely furnished them with various sources of information; and also to the numerous Subscribers who have favoured them with their support to so liberal an extent; and hope the present Volume will be foomd the most complete Book of Reference ever published for this populous Borough.
The Plan of the Work embraces a General History and Description of the Town and Borough of Birmingham, extracted from the works of ancient and modem Authors ; and fi-om the Parliamentary Reports of Public Charities, Population, &c. ; together with a variety of Statistical, Commercial, and Biograpliical information, elicited by personal inquiry ; with a full and comprehensive view of the rise and progress of those beautiful Manufactures of which Birmingham is the emporium, to which it and the immediate locality owe much of their present wealth and importance. Lists of Magis- trates, Public Officers, Streets, Courts, Places, Squares, Terraces, &c., with an Alpha- betical arrangement of the addresses of the Inhabitants, followed by a Directory classed according to Trades and Professions ; the whole preceded by a Table shevring the re- ciprocal distances of all the Towns from each other, and from London ; and a general Index, which points out the page at which every subject may be instantly found.
The present Volume being part of a General History, Gazetteer, and Directory of the County of Warwick, which will appear complete in about five months, and will be accompanied with a large coloured sheet Map of the County, prepared expressly for th« Work.
E. WHITE & Co.
Shefieldy Ajn-a 20, 1849.
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GENERAL INDEX.
Air, (Natural) -2 AliUTinon, .'IJ Al])liabetical Directory, 88
to -289 Amusements, 54 Ancient State. 2. 33 Annual Rental, I Antiquities, 39 Architecture, 36 Art Union, (Roval) 20 Ashted, 7
Assay Oifice, 32, 53 Assemblies, 54 Aston, 71 ; Hall, 72; Union,
75; Directory, 402 Asylum for Children, 28 Athceneum, 20 Athenic Institution, 19 Bailiff, (High and Low) 2 Bankruptcy and Protective
Offices, 53 Banks, 39 Barracks, 48 Baskerville John, 34 Baths, (Ladywell and Bal-
sall Heath) 55 Battles — Birmingham, 45 ;
Camp Hill, 44 Bellows Makers, 28 Birmingham General, Bene- volent, <fec. Institutions, 27 Birmingham History, I ; Dis- tricts, 1 ; Population, 1 ; Parishes. 1 ; Rental, 1 ; State of, 36 Binningham and Midland Counties Lying-in-Hospi- tal, 27 Birmingham Licensed Vic- tuallers' Asylum, 56 Bishop's (Catholic) House,10 Blind Institution, 27 Bordesley, 1, 73 Borough, 1 ; Goal, 38 , Va- luation, 53 Botanical Gardens, 54 Boulton Mr. 31 Boundaries, 1 Breweries, 39, 314 Bridgman John, 72 British and Foreign Bible
Society, 28 Bromford, 74 Bromwich, (Little) 72 Buckles. 32
Buildings, 52, 70 Burials, 45 Buttons, 31, 33 Callum's Repository, 60 Canals, 49, 395 Carriers, 398 to 401 Castle Bromwich tt Hall, 72 Cathedral, (Roman Cathie.) 9 Catholic (Roman) Church,
10, 73 Cemeteries — Church of Eng- land, 13; General, 14 Chalybeate Spring, 2 Charities, 61 to 71; Aston,
75 to 78 Charters, 45 Chapels, (Dissenter's) 11
Baptist, 12
Baptist, (General) 12
Calvinstic, 12
Friends Meeting, 13
Inde} indents, 12, 74
Jews- Synagogue, 13
Lady .luntingdon, 12
Latter Day Saints 13
Methodists, II ; New Con- nexion jVIethodist, 11
New Jenisalem,12
Presbyterian, II
Primitive Methodists, 1 1
St. Jude's, 12
Second Advent, 13
Unitarian, 12 to 13
Unknown Tongue, 13 Churches, 3
All Saints, 4
Bishop Ryder's, 6
Christ Church, 6
Magdalen, 7
St. Andrew's, 5
St. Bartholomew's, 5
St. Barnabas, 73
St. George's, 4
St. James's, 6
St. Jude's, 6
St. Lnke's. 6
St. Mark's, 6
St. Martins. 3
St. Mary's, 5
St. Matthew's, 6
St. Paul's, 5
St. Peter's, 6
St. Phillip's, 4
St. Stephen's, 5
St. Thomas's, 4
Churches in Aston, 7
Holy Trinity, 7
St. James's, 7
St. John Baptist, 7 Churches in Edgbaston, 8
St. Bartholomew, 8
St. George's, 8
Church of the Saviour, 8 Church of England Lay As- sociation, 8 Clodshale Walter, de, 41 Coaches, 396 to 397 Coining Machines, 32 CoUis G. R. tfe Co. 35 Convent of Sisters of Mercy,
10 Corn Exchange, 31 Corporation, Members, 37 Corporation, (Petition for) 45 Coventry, (send him to,) 44 Courts, 57
Bankruptcy, 59 ; County, 58 ; Request, 57 ; Honour of Tutbury, 59 Cridda, 28 Crosses, (Old, New, and
Welch, ) 44 Deaf (fe Dumb Institution, 26 Democratic Club, 54 Denby, Earl of, Shot, 45 Depots, (Tract) 28 Deritend, I, 40, 44, 73 Dirtey, 40 Digbeth, 44 Dispensary, (General) 25
Hamoepathic, 25
Self Supporting, 25 Duddeston, 1 , 73 Dugdale, Sir William, 40 Early Proprietors, 28, 29 Earthquake 46, Ecclesiastical Divisions, 3 Edgbaston 18, 70 Egginton Francis, 32 Electric Telegraph 51 ^Electro Plating 33 to 34 Encroachments 45 Erdington and Hall 73 Excise Otfiee, 53 Eye Infirmary, 26 Fairs, 42 Fire Arms, 35
Improvements in, 36 Fires, 46, 47 Fothergill Mr. 32
VI.
GENERAL INDEX.
Founderies, 33 Ciardens, M, 55, 56 (ias \\'orks. 53 General IIos])ital,23 General Provident Benevo- lent Institution, 27, 39 Gentlemen not Tnhbts. 41 Grammar School, 14 Gravelly Hill, 74 (irecian \'ase, 35 (inns and Swords, 35, 36 Hackney Coaches, 39 Tlandsworth. 1 Hay Market, 31 Ho.sjjital, (ieucral, 23
(Queen's, 24 House of Mercy, 10 Houses rated d- not rated, 31 Humane Society, 24 Hutton Wm. Historian, 48 Ikenield street, 43 Improvements, 36 Independents College, 18 Institutions, 26 John a Dean's Hole, 44 Johnstone, Dr. 22
King's standing, 43
Lamp Act, 53
Leather, 31
Leland, 2
Librarie.*', Birmingham, 19 Circulating, Medical, 19 Theological, 4
Little lironiwich, 72
Longevity, 49
Lords of the Manor, 28, 70
Lunatic Asylum, 22
Magdalen Asyhim, 28
Magistrates, 37
Magnet.. Plating, 33 to 34
Manor, 2S. House, 30
Manor Kstate, sale of, 45
Markets. 30; St. Martin's, 31
Market Hall. 30, 69
Masters of Invention, 45
Members of Parliament, 37
Military Association, 46
M<»drrn Industry, 40
Money, value of, 42
M(tiiunients restored, 3
MoHit .lohn, Ksq., 36
Munipical, 36 to 38
Murders, 46
Museums, 21
Music Meeting, Triennial, 54
Nail Makers, 31
Name, Ancient, 2
Nrch.'lls, 1
Newdi^ate Sir Richard, 35
Now Market 11 all, .'JO
Ne\vflpQj)ers, 20
Officers, Court Leet, 30 Old Cross. 44 Organ, Magnificent. 52 Oscott College, 74 Pantechnetheca, 60 Parochial Districts, 4 Peace, 60; War, 59 Peoples Uu\]. :,4 Permanent Equitable Build- ing Society, 39 Petition for a Corporation,
38, 45 Philosoj)hical Society, 19 Pitmore Thomas, 46 Plague, (the) 45 Police Force, Station, tfec, 38 Polytechnic Institution, 18 Poor, Disbursements for un- employed, 61 Poor Law Unions, 60 Population, 59 Post Office, 53, 87 Prince Albert's \'isit, 56 Prince Rupert, 44 Priory, 43 Prisons, 38 Proof Houses, 35 Provident Societies, 38 to 39 Public Accommodation, 51 Public Offices, 38, 52 Pudding Brook, 30 Quarter Sessions, 38 Queen's College, 20; Chapel,
22 Queen's Hospital, 24 Railways, 50 to 51 Conveyance, 394 to 395 Ratepayer'sProtectionSoc.52 Register, Extracts from, 42 Repositories, 60 Riots, 46, 47 Roads, Ancient, 40 ; Public,
49 Robbery and Murder, 46 Roman Catholic Bishop, 10 Roman Roads A- Stations, 3 Saltley and Washwood, 74 Savintfs Bank, 3!) Schools, 14; (irannnar, 14 Proprietary, 15; Blue Coats,
15 British, 17; Catholic, 17 Independent, IS Infant, 17; National, 15 to 18 National Hebrew, 18 Protestant Dissenters Char- ity, 15; Itagired, 17 St. (leor^fe's Parochial, 17 St. Phillip's Industrial, 15 Unitarian, 17 ; Weslevan Day, 17
School of Design, 20
Sherlock Thomas, Bibhop of London, 45
Silver and Plated Manufac- turers, 32
Electro and Magneto, 33
Small Debts Act, 5S
Smethwick, 32
Smith C. J., 56
Smoke Burning, 60
Society of Artists, 20
Society for promoting Chris- tian Knowledge, 28
Soho, 31, 71
Stamp Office, 53
Steam Engines, 32, 57
Steel Toys, heavy and light, 32
Stock Exchange, 53
Street Act, 52
Streets, 45, 59
Streets, (List of,) 79 to B6
Surrogates, 9
Tame, 40
Tax Office, 53
Taylor John, Esq., 31
Theatre, 54
Thomason Sir Edward, 35
TowTi Hall, 51
Town Mission, 28
Town Surveyors Office, 52
Toy Shop of Eiurope, 36
Toy Trades, 31 ; Steel, 32
Trade, 31 to 36
Trades Directory 289,
Type Founding, 34
Unitarian Congregational Society 18
Vauxhall (iardens, 55
Vauxhall New, 56
\'egetable (wholesale) Mar- kets, 31
^'ictoria Benefit Society, 57
Walter de Clodshale, 44
War, 59
Ward End, 72
Wards, 37
Warwick \'ase, 35
Washwood, 74
Water Orton, 75
Water \Vorks, ^)3
Watt James, 32
Wealth, 69
AN'elch Cross, 44
White Hart, 45
Witton, 75
Workhouse, 60
Workhouse for Aston, 75
Young Men's Instruction Society, 18
vii.
INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS.
BIRMINGHAM.
20
12
14
5
8
7
43
28
16
27 22
2 18 14
27
Adie W. II. gilt watch key manufactr. Allen and Moore, medallists, etc. Allen cfe Roue, box. cfc ivory rule mnfrs. Bach and Barker, moiirninjj^ drapers Bedington John, mathematical instru- ment, rule, cVrc. maunfacturer Billing Martin, brass founder & factor Bridgwater J .metallic hot house,&c.mfr. Capella M. carver, gilder, etc. <fcc. Capner H. die sinker, stamper (fc piercer CorbettT.mathematical instrument mfr. Cotterill Edwin, patent acme latch mfr. Cox H. brass founder,bras3 ring,A:c.mfr. Cox John, mnfr. of gold seals, key, <fec. Creamer W. fur establishment Crosbee T. coach harness furniture mfr. Cutler Joseph H. button, hook, eye, and thimble manufacturer, & dealer in mother-o-pearl 4
Edwards G. T. Castle Commercial
Inn, Coventry 48
Foster Jas. P. refiner and metal dealer 3 Foster's, ^^'■arwickshire vermin killer,
Coventry 48
Foulkes W. C. clothing emporium 11
Garland J. weighing machine cfec. mfr. 18 Gillott Joseph, steel pen manufacturer 10 Gough and Sumner, wholesale sta- tioners and printers 7 Grand Junction Canal Company 49 Greaves Henry, portmanteau, carpet
bag, &c. manufacturer 22
Green M. mutual money association 2 GreenM. professor of the English lang. 6 Grifl&n James, and Son, scythe, <fec.
mnufurs. With pnoor Works, Dudley 16 Hammond W. cabinet & coffin mkr. <fec. 6 Heeley James and Son,patentees, steel
pen, etc. manufacturers 18
Hickman W. weighing machine mnfr. 21 Hinks James, die sinker, medalist, &c. 6 Hinks, Wells and Co. steel pen and
holder manufacturers 26
Hipwood and Steeple, die sinkers, <fec. 20 Hiron Saml. die sinker, medalist, <fec. 23 Holden Edw. glass lustre and chande- lier manufacturer 17 Horton Joshua and W. boiler manufr* 17 Jackson Wm. tinmen's d-c. tool mnfr. 46 Jennens and Bettridge, papier ma-
chee works 54
Jerome T. general button manufctr. 23 Kempson H. C. & Co. gun, pistol, <fec.
manufacturers 18
Kent W. & S. & Sons, vinegar mchnts.
Upton-upon-Sevem 13
Lane Thos. Royal papier machee wks. 24 Life Assurance, (Engineers, <fec.) 9
Lloyd cfe Summerfield, manufi-s. of Coo- per's pntnt. spherical air-tight stoppers 4
London it North Western Railway Co.
carrying department Louis «fc Aleir, merchants, factors, <fec. Manton Hy. caster, smelling bottle top
(fee. manufacturer Mapplebcck & Low, silversmiths Mapplebeck & Low, stove, grate, and
heavy ironmongery warehouses, and
agricultural implement repository Mapplebeck & Low, iron & brass bed- stead manufacturers Mapplebeck & Low, Midland Counties
Repository Mitchell John, steel pen & holder mnfr. Naden Geo. grocer, tallow chandler, &c. Nathan N. fancy paper box &c. mnfr. Neal&Tonks, jewellers, lapidaries, <fec. Nevill Edward, brass founder and coffin
furnitm'e manufacturer 5
Newman Wm. iron founder and mnfr.
of door springs, &c. 18
Norman George, general brass founder 14 Osier F. «fe C. glass chandelier, (fee. mfr. 21 Ottley Th: Tiedallist and die sinker Parkes V. optician & spectacle manufr. Peyton <fe Harlow, brass & iron bedstead
manufacturers Peyton & lies, patent spring hook and
eye (fee. manufacturers Poncia John, hardware, gun, (fee. wrhs. Pratt David, thimble manufacturer
2.';
48
27 50
51
52
53 19 12 13
17
5 21
47
46 3 7 Prime Thomas, patent magneto plate
works I
Redfern Joseph, spectacle manufacturer 6 Remond A. (fe Co. envelope manufrs. 20 Rogers John (fe Son, India rubber wks. 15 Rowland (fe Sons, elegant toilet, London 29 Sabin F. F. (fe W. H. music warehouse 21 Schofield (fe Jordan's lace (fe millinery
establishment 7
Shaw T. S. patent roasting jack mnfr. 22 Simms A. soda water, cigar, (fee. mnfr. 20 Smith C. J. manufctr. of the magazine
self priming guns, (fee. 1
Smith's public library 27
Smith T. B. grocer and spice merchant 23 Smith (fe Cox, electro platers Sr gilders 27 Taylor, Glover, (fe Co. genrl. news agts. 28 Terry William, private and commercial
boarding house 18
Thornton and Sons, merchants, iron- mongers, (fee. 5 Tomlinson (fe Insole, wholesale grocers 26 Tuckey E. british plate ware, (fee. mfi-. 14 Upfill E. manufr. of wrought iron gates,
garden chairs, (fee. (fe. 8 A
Watt Rt. bookbinder, stationer, (fee. 20 Wilson W. E. pump mkr. (fe well sinker 7 AVinchurst J. (fe C. jewellers, (fee. (fee. 27 Worsey Joseph, wire manufacturer 7
vm.
IXDKX TO ADVERTISEMENTS.
SHEFFIELD.
Algor Jolin, shoe, butcher, <fec. knife j Marsliall J. ct \V. edge tool, scythe, etc
inannfaetnr.'r 38 ' munufacturera
Appleyard William, Scarborough Arms 49 Matkiii Thus, general shear manufctr Ashmore W. spectacle mfr. t^ optician 45 Plnrtim's steam printing office
lioden James, pen tV pocket knife mfr. 40 llraitlnvaite Richard, scissor manufctr. ^9 broad hurst A: Son, table cutlery, d'C.
manufacturers 4-
Hrown J. mfr. of britannia metal goods 39 Brown Ar Flathcr, brace, bit, skate, Ac.
manufacturers 32
('larksou.).bookbndr. machine ruler.drc. 42 Cou-sin.s J. and Sons, scis.sor and tailors
sheiir manufacturers 39
Crookes J. iVrStm, spring knife <$rc.mfrs. 40 Dixon Jamesdr Son, silver, silver plated,
d'c. d'c. ware manufacturers 33
Kllin Thos. d: Co. steel cV: c.itlery mfrs. 32 Fowler F.J. mfr. of britannia metal gds. 44 I'rith Peter ifc Co. o])licians 3S
Harrison J. mfr. of Shetlield plated gds. 37 llawcroft \Vm. «fe Sons, razor manul'rs. 35 Haywood, Clarke, d: Co. joiners tool,
d'c. manufacturers 34
llinrhliffe John, spring knife maimfctr. 43 Howarth J as. edge tool, d:c. manufctr. 32 Hutchinson AV. d' II, surgical instru- ment manufacturers 41 Laycock J as. horse hair manufacturer 43 Maj)j)in .Ij)h. fine cutl'^ry d: razor mfr. 36 Marsden iJrothers iV: Silverwood, skate,
edge tool, saw, drc. maniifactmrers 45 Marsden Hrothers d' Silverwood, mfrs. of Fenton and Marsdeu's registered mortice gauge 8B
hair seating, &c., tool and table
Medley S. and Co., manufacturers
Moulson T. edge, d'c, knife manufacturer
Nickliu and Bush, edge tool mannfrs
Uxley (i. d- J. shoe, butcher, dc. knife manufacturers
Parkin E. fine i^cissor manufacturer
Kagg J. 6c \V . razor *k scissor manufrs.
Kixham (i. manufr. of shoe awls, dec.
llogers, Russell d: Horsfield, saw mfrs.
Russell <k Jackson, cabinet case mkrs.
Scholes George, Old Cutler's Arms
Scott, Pacey <fe Tasker, saw, d:c. ninfrs.
Shaw, Hannah 6z Son, general magnet manufact\u-ers
Shawd'Fisher.britannia metal ware mfrs
Smitli d' Hawksley, razor manufactrs.
St;indfield, Newbold and Baildou, cut- lery manufacturers
Taylor Brothers, saw manufacturers
'Iheaker .lames, London colVee house
To(tihill H. spring d: scissor knife mfr.
Tyler J. britannia metal tea ])ot,d'C.uWr.
I'nwin d: Rodgers, cutlery nmnufactrs.
\\ alters J. d' Co. tiible knife, dc. mfrs.
Warburton Brothers, edge tool, dc, manufacturers
White Matthew, cutlery manufacturer
Whittles G. dr Co. tile manufactrs. dc.
Wilson J. shoe, butcher, d'C. knife mfr.
WingM.djJ. file, saw, drc. manufr.
44 34
44
43
'69
39
45 43 42 38 40 49 44
36 .33 38
37 42 39 40 40 34 35
38 45 44 31 44
ERRATA.
irt in the.
• •"Pi" •-•■,— , .-..^,.- — - . . . J
Paj^e 59. '.M line, Herrington, read Hrdington.
Page 59, l."Uh line. Hradham, read Badhani.
Pajfe «)!, 17l!i iiin- from bottom, Wtuiion street, read Kenion.
I'age (15, 2iid line from Itottom, suplns, read surplus.
Page 73, 7fh and Mth lines from bottoni, Rev. Hyla Holden, M..\., read Rev. IIv
HobbMi |{o>^e, M.A., inrunibent ; and R(>v. Hyla Holden Rose, M.A., olVlciati;
(•unite, reiitl Itev. .lolm lioKlen Harrison. Page 256, 2nd column, 1 1th line from bottom, Spicer Rd., read Spicer.
OMITTED L\ GENERAL ALPHABET.
RuthT John, satldle-tree nuiker, court 1, (Jough street.
F.KinKton Francis, whij) ornament nuiker, 4<», I'.ssex street, from Bissel street.
(Iriire (imrtre, I.nnca^liire tool maker, 1. NVhittall street.
Harronrt Robert and Son, mercliants, 2 10, Bristol street ; h. Balsall heath.
Hy«h* .lamrs. profcsmor of music, 37« Sherhtck street.
l^res Jo««eidt, wlieehvriu'ht and l»lack*^n>ith. Swan yard, ^lurlock street.
Spercer Richard, victualler, Duke of York, S, Horse fair.
la "if
/'
HISTORY AND DIRECTORY
or
BIRMINGHAM.
BIRMINGHAM, a Parish, Market Town, and Borough, situated near the centre of the kingdom, in the north western extremity of the County of Warwick, in a sort of peninsula, the northern and western parts of which are bounded by Handsworth, in the County of Stafford ; and the southern and eastern by King's Norton, in that of Worcester. In 52 degrees 29 minutes north latitude, 1 degree bo minutes west longi- tude; 18 miles W, by N. from Coventry; 20 miles N. W. from Warwick; 22 miles N. by W. from Stratford-upon-Avon ; 8 miles S.E. from Dudley; 14 miles S.S.W. from Wolverhampton ; 82 miles S. by E. from Manchester; 104 miles S.E. by S. from Liver- pool; and 109 miles N.W. from London, on the Holyheadroad. A small brook, at the dis- tance of about 1^ mile from the centre of the town of Birmingham, separates this County from that of Stafford ; and a narrow tongue from the County of Worcester runs into Warwickshire, on the east side of Birmingham. The parish of Birmingham contains 2660 acres of light sandy land ; in 1841 it comprised 22,272 inhabited houses, 2958 uninhabited houses, and 226 houses were building, having 138,215 inhabitants, of whom 07,317 were males, and 70,898 females. In 1801 the population was 60,822. In 1831, 146,896. The Annual Rental was assessed, in 1826, at ^239,407. For Ecclesiastical piu-poses, Birmingham is divided into the district parishes of St. Martin, St. Philip, St. George, St. Thomas, and All Saints, in the Archdeaconry of Coventry and Diocese of Worcester, each of which respectively, in 1841, contained 94,316, 24,499, 15,078, and 4,322 inhabitants ; but for all civil purposes it is still considered one parish. Birmingham was constituted a Borough after the Reform Act of 1832, and includes the hamlets and chapelry of Deritend and Bordesley, with those of Duddeston cimi Nechells, in the parish of Aston, in Warwickshire, with 13,330 acres of land. The two former contained 3630 inhabited houses, 451 uninhabited, and 28 houses were building, having 18,019 inhabitants, of whom 8647 were males, and 9372 females. Also the Parish of Edgbaston, in the Birmingham division of the Hemling- ford Hundred, V/^ mile S.W. from Birmingham, and forming a suburb to the town, forms part of the Borough. Its parish contains 2790 acres of land, and in 1841 here were 1227 inhabited houses, 61 houses uninhabited, and 18 houses were building, with 6609 inhabitants, of whom 2660 were males, and 3949 females, making a total for the entire Borough of Birmingham of 18,780 acres, which includes the entfre area of Aston, with 36,121 inhabited houses, 3841 uninhabited, and 323 houses building, with a population of 182,922 souls, of whom 88,572 were males, and 94,350 females! The extensive parish of Handsworth, in the Hundred of Offlow, and County of Stafford, adjoins the parish of Birmingham on the north west. The hamlet of So ho forms a populous suburb to the Borough of Birmingham, and will be included in the Birming- ham Directory. The remaining part of the parish, as well as the remaining part of the parish of Aston, will be given, to follow the Birmingham Directory, with the necessary local information. Bu-mingham ranks the fourth town in England as to population and commercial consequence, and it is generally considered as the second town aa to manufacturing; yet from the great variety in its manufactures, the great extent, and the value of many of the articles, it is by many said to be the first in
A
2 HISTORY OF lURM INGHAM.
consecjnence ; but on this there a})pears not data to decide. The town, previous to the Refonn Bill, was governed ])y a High Bailiff, elected annually, who presided at all public meetings ; a Low BaililT, and a Chairman of the Court Leet. It was free from the restrictions of any corporate body, and open for any person to settle in it ; this, joined with the local advantages of its situation, its proximity to the coal and iron mines, and the convenience of canals, has long contributed to the constant increase of its buildings and augmentation of its population and commerce. It has now become a great centre of Railways, which greatly adds to the other advantages. In 1690 Birmingham contained only /our thousand inhabitants. In 1821 it contained 8.5,41G, at which time Aston contained 19.189, and Edgbaston 2117 inhabitants. Dugdale snjjposes the name of the town to have been given by its Saxon proprietor, but it was more common for a man to take his name from the place, than to give name to it. llutton, the historian of Birmingham, supposes it to be much older than any Saxon date. During the last fom- centuries the name has been variously written, iiritrmrychatn, Dermynrjcham^ Bromu-ycham^ Biirwynr/hnvi, Bormyngham^ Byrmyngham^ and Birmhu/haTn ; so late as the seventeenth ceutiu-y it was \\Titten Bromycham. The word has midergone various mutations; the original seems to have been Bronnvych ; Brom per- haps from broom, a shrub, for the growth of which the soil is extremely favourable, Wych,, a dwelling, or a descent; this exactly corresponds with the declivity from the High Street to Digbcth. Two other places in the same neighbourhood bear similar names, Castle Bromwich and West Bromwich. From a series of prosperity its lord might reside in it, and assmne its name, and the particle ham would natm-ally follow. Prol>ably this happened under the Saxon Heptarchy, and the name became Brum-
irycham.
Leland, in the reign of Henry VIII. describes Birmingham as being inhabited by " smithiers that used to make knives and all sorts of cutting tools, by lorimores that make bittes, and a great many nailours." The town is a})proached from every side by ascent, except that from Hales Owen, north west, which gives a free access to the air, and showers prom<)te both cleanliness and health, by removing all obstructions. Ancient UTiters represented Birmingham as low and watery. Digbeth. formerly the chief street, bears that description. '• Binningham," Hutton says, '• like the empire to which she belongs, has for many centiu-ies been travelling 7ip hill^ and like that rising into consequence." There is not any natiu-al river runs through the parish; its boundaries are marked by three, none of which supjjly family use. After j)ene- tratin;; into a body of sand, with a small strata of soft rock, and sometimes of gravel, at the dej)th of about twenty yards, plenty of water is foinid, rather hard. There are in the lower parts of the town two excellent springs of soft water, one at the top of Higbeth, the other Lady Well, or rather one bed of water with many outlets, con- tinuing its course along the ])ottoni of the hill, and sufficiently copious to supply a large city. A Chalyueate Sraixc;, in the manor of Duddeston, one mile from Hinningham, on the road to Coleshill, which Hutton i»bserves hius but one detect, »7 tn%($ iiolhtiig; '• here," he adds, '•^ the alllicted might lind a prescription without exj)ence, eH'icacious as if sigmnl by the whole College of Physicians ; the stick and the crutch would be nailed round its margin \is trophies of victory over disease. The bottle adds to the spirits but shortens lifo ; this f»>untaiii is the renewer of health and the protractor of age." The natiu-al Air of Birmingham cnnnot be excelled in this dinnite, the modcnite elevation and dry soil evinces this trnth ; but it receives an alloy from the vast c(iii(^Ti'g;ited body ofhnniiin beings, the smoke of nmnenms fjres, and the rtlluvia arising fn»m particular tradts. It is no uncommon thing to .see a nuin with green hair or a yellow wig, from his constant employment in bnu<»s; if he reads, the green vestiges of his occupation renmin on every leaf, never to be exjmnged. The inside of his b«»dy receives no doidit the same tincture, but is cleaned ])y lieing often washed with ale.
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. O
Churches. — Ecclesiastically, as before noticed, the town of Binningham is now <livided into five parishes, having fifteen chnrches, besides six more within the borough, in the parish of Aston, and in Edgbaston.
St. Martin, the ancient parish church, the antifjuity of which is too remote for historical light, its records ha\-ing fallen a prey to tune, and the revolution of things. From various reasons its foundation is supposed to have been in the eighth centiu*y, or perhaps a little earlier, and it then was at a small distance from the buildings. The present edifice cannot be assigned to an earlier period than the l)eginning of the thirteenth century, it consists of a spacious nave with clerestory, chancel, south aisle with vestry at the east end, and north aisle, at the west end of which stands a large massive tower, surmounted by a spire of gi-eat symmetry ; the interior windows of the belfry, as also other portions of the tower, are in the early decorated style of architec- ture, and during some late repairs a window or doorway of the same style was dis- covered at the west end of the south aisle ; it therefore seems very probable that some portion of the church was erected by that Sir William de Birmingham whose monu- ment is situated in the south aisle. In the year 1690 the church and tower were cased with brich. The spire has been several times injiu-ed by lightning, and its altitude diminished. A mevislian line on the south side the tower was placed there by Ferguson the astronomer. The living is a Rectory, valued in the king's books at ^19. 3s. 6d. now ^1048, in the patronage of trustees, the Rev. John C. Miller, M.A. incumbent. This clnu-ch was, in 1291, valued at seven and a half marks. In the year 1331 Walter de Clodshale, of Saltley, gave certain lands and messuages for the founding of a chantry at the altar of the Blessed Virgin, in this church, and for maintaining one priest to celebrate divine service there for the souls of hmiself, his wife, their ancestors, and all the faithful deceased. His son Richard gave other lands for the like purjjose. In the twenty-sixth year of Hemy VIII. the value of the lands and tenements was esteemed at one hundred and one shilling. Richard de Clodshale, who served as Sheriif for this Coimty and Leicestershire, in 1426, by his last will, dated Edgbaston, 1428, bequeathed his body to sepulture in this church, " within his own proper chapel of our Lady." The Rectory is a large neat mansion, near St. Thomas's Hospital, Bath Row.
Dm-ing the year 1846, through the exertions of Mi*. H. M. Blews, the restoration of the ancient monuments of the "Lords of Binningliam" has been effected. The most ancient of which is situated in the fifth window opening of the south aisle ; it is the elfigie of a knight, cross legged and recumbent, lying on a coffin-shaped slab, gradually rising on each side to an obtuse angle or ridge. It is supposed to represent Sir William de Bunningham. In the year 1297, he was in the service of his sovereign, Edward I, under the command of the Earl of Lincoln, who attemping to relieve Bell- gai'd, then besieged by the French, was defeated by the besiegers, and the Earl, together with Su* William, eight more knights, and very many esquu-es, were taken prisoners, and carried in great triumph to Paris. He died in the latter part of Edward the First's reign, for in the year 1304, his widow, Isabel, presented John de Ayleston, clerk, to the church. In the west window of the south aisle, is the next ancient monument ; but from the porous nature of the stone, and its extreme dilapidation, a perfect restoration of this was prevented; it is supposed to be the effigy of William de Birmingham, a man of great repute in the tune of the Second and Third Edward. In the south aisle is a high altartomb, of alabaster, divided into compartments, on which is the effigy of a knight in plate armour. The slab on which the effigy reclines, is of the form tcnncd en dus dane. It is presumed to represent .John de Birmingham, who, in the year 1379, was sheriff of this county and Leicestershu'e ; he was one of the Knights of the Shire in the parliament held at Westminster, in 1382. The most interesting of these monu- ments is the effigy of an ecclesiastic, placed upon a high torn!) of alabaster, divided into seven compartments, each consisting of a pointed arch, flanked by small pinnacled
4 HISTORY OF BIRMIXGHAM.
buttresses ; beneath each arch, on a small projecting bracket, stands the figure of an angel, clad in an alb, with outstretched wings, supporting in his arms a shield ; Mr. Bloxam has assigned the date to the latter part of the fifteenth century, and considers it one of the most curious monumental effigies extant.
About the year 1715, a small portion of the original parish of St. Martin, consisting of a district in the centre of the town, was formed into the parish of St. Philip ; and in iy29, two other districts were formed into the parishes of St. George and St. Thomas ; since which, in 1832, Birmingham Heath was formed into the district parish of All Saints; since which, two other newparishcs have been formed, St. Stephen, taken out of the parish of St. George, and St. Andrew, out of Aston parish.
St. Philip's Paiiish CHrRCn is a large handsome structure, in the Grecian style of architecture, combining the Corinthian and the Doric orders, and is much admired by architects. It is a stone structure, about 140 feet long and 75 feet broad. It was com- menced in 171 1> and was consecrated October 4th, 1715 ; and cost ^^5,012, exclusive of material and labour given. It is situated on the most ele\'ated spot in the town, on an area of about four acres; and was, as well as the site on which the Blue Coat School stands, the gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Phillips, and her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. Wil- liam and Mrs. Inge; it comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a tower, supporting a dome and cupola, containing a peal of ten bells. The interior is very handsome, and commodiously fitted up ; it has two side and one end gallery ; and will accommodate 2,000 persons. The li\-ing is a rectory not in charge, and is annexed to the prebend of Sawley, in the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester ; the Hon. and Rev. Grantham Munton Yorke, M. A. incumbent. In 1845 the roof of the church was leaded, the interior cleaned and beautified, at a cost of ^2,000. From the top of the tower, a fine N-iew of the town is obtained.
The Rectory house is situated at the corner of the church yard ; and in it is a Theological Liurarv, bequeathed by the Rev. William Higgs, about a century since, for the use of the clergy of the neighboiu-hood.
St. George's Parish Church, near Tower street, is a handsome striicture in the early English decorated style of architcctiu-e, consisting of nave, chancel, side aisles, and a lofty square embattled tower, with pierced parapet and crocketed pinnacles, and cost, including the boundary walls and gates, .;£^ 12,735, raised by subscriptions, aided by a grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners; it contains 1378 free sittings. The first stone of the church was laid in 1820, and it was consecrated July 30th, 1822. The galleries are supported on iron shafts ; the communion is ornamented with a fine altar ])iece, over which is a window of tracery work, decorated with painted glass. The living is a Rectory, ncit in charge, rated at jL'.'toO, in the ])atronage of the Bishop of Worcester, Rev. John Garbett, M.A. (rural dean,) incumbent.
St. Thomas's Parish CnuncH, IloUoway Head, is a handsome structiu-e in the Grecian style ; the front is almost semicircular, and ornamented with six chaste Ionic columns. The eastern end is also ornamented with Roman Ionic columns, supporting a pediment, with a handsome spire, connected in the lower part with the sides of the church by quadrants of the Ionic order. It was erected at a cost of .^'14,222, wholly defrayed by a grant from the Parliamentary (%>mmissioners, and will accommodate 2,400 persons, 1400 of whom are provided with free sittings. The church was consecrated October 22, 1H29. The living is a Rectorj-, not in charge, rated at .£500. The executors of the late William Ilawkes, Estj, had the first presentation. The Rev. George Stringer Hull, incumbent.
All Saints Paiush CHrucw. llimiingliiim Heath, is an elegant brick structure, erected at a cost of .t'."!Sl7. exclusive of bounchtry wall, was consecrated September 2hth, 1833. It contains 1 200 sittings, of which 7'**' i""*^ free. Tlie living is a discharged Rectory, rated at .£220. in the patronage of the Rector of St. Martin's. The Rev. Francis Samuel Morgan. M.A., incumbent.
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. ^^— - 5
St. Stephen's Parish Church, Newtown Row, is built in the Norman Gothic style of architecture, at a cost of ^3,200, raised by the Bimiingham Church Building Society. It will accommodate 1000 persons, of which nimiber 500 sittings are free. It was consecrated July 24th, 1844. It comprises a district of 11,000 persons, and was a part of St. Georj^e's parish. The living is a Perpetual Curacy, rated at ^130, in the alternate patronage of the Crown and Bishop of Worcester. Rev. Edward Garbett, M.A., incumbent.
St. Andrew's Parish Church, Bordesley. A parish formed in 1846, under the Act of Parliament designated Sir Robert Peel's Act, and was the fifth church built by the Birmingham Church Building Society, formed for the erection often. The church was consecrated September 30th, 1846, and cost ^3,500. It consists of a nave, (86 feet,) a chancel, {3S feet,) and a north aisle. A vestry adjoins the chancel on the north and a porch on the south of the nave, added by the parishioners, who also added an organ at the cost of ^260, a sweet-toned instrument, built by Banfield, it contains 18 stops and about 900 pipes. The gable has a fine light window at the west end, which with the bold tower and spire at the north west angle, has a pleasing effect. It is built of red sandstone, from a design by R. Carpenter, Esq., and is a correct specimen of the second pointed English architecture. The living is a Perpetual Curacy of the value of ^^ 150 per annum, with the pew rents, and is in the alternate patronage of the Bishop of Worcester and five Trustees ; the Bishop and the Vicar of Aston always to be two of those Trustees. The Rev. David Brown Moore, incumbent.
St. Bartholemew's Church, St. Bartholemew's Square, is a plain brick building with a Cupola erected in 1749 on land presented by John Jennens Esq., as a chapel of ease to St. Martin ; it has now a district of 8500 souls awarded to it. The interior, a good specimen of the Tuscan Order, is graced with a richly carved altar piece, presented by the Earl of Denbeigh, the communion plate was presented by Mrs. Mary Careless. The Chancel of this church points to the north instead of the east ; the living a Per- petual Curacy rated at ^300. in the patronage of the Rector of St. Martin ; Rev. William Duncan Long, incumbent.
St. Mary's Church, in St. Martin's parish, is a neat octagon brick structure with a tower and handsome spire; it was erected in 1774, in pursuance of an Act passed in 1772 for the erection of two additional chapels in Birmingham ; the land was presented by Miss Mary Weaman, in whom the right of presentation was vested. The church was repaired and beautified in 1838, the interior is spacious, and comprises nave, chancel, side aisles, and galleries ; the chancel is ornamented with a beautiful stained glass window representing the ascension. It will accommodate 1690 persons, of which 470 seats are free. It was made a District Church in 1841, with a population of 8500 souls assigned to it. The living is a perpetual curacy, rated at ^520. in the patronage of trustees ; Rev. John Cascbow Barrett M.A., incumbent. The Parsonage, a neat residence in St. Mary's Row.
No Fees are required at this church for baptisms and christenings from persons resident in the district.
St. Paul's Church, St. Paul's Square, is a handsome stone edifice in the Grecian style, comprising nave, chancel, side aisles, with a handsome spire. It was erected by subscription in 1779, at a cost of ^1500. under the act for two additional churches passed in 1772; but the spire, which is much admired for lightness and elegance of design, was not erected till 1823. In 1791 a beautiful stained glass window, representing the conversion of St. Paul, was placed over the communion table. The neat burial ground, which encloses the church, is surrounded with trees, the land for the site being presented by Charles Colmore, Esq, A district of 1 1,000 souls is assigned to this church. The li\-ing a Perpetual Curacy, rated at ^170. Rev. George B. P. Latimer, M.A., is patron and incumbent. Parsonage, a neat residence, St. Pauls Square.
(\ HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
St. Petlr's Chirch, Dale End, is a neat stone edifice, in the Grecian style of architecture, with nave, chancel, and side aisles. A massive portico of the Doric order, supported by four columns, forms the entrance, an octag^onal turret rising above the roof. It was erected at a cost of ^13,087, and, including the site, about ^19.000, and contains 1,431 free sitthigs ; the Parliamentary Commissioners appointed for building new churches having defrayed a considerable j)ortion of the expense. The first stone was laid 1825, and it was consecrated August 10th, lb27 : was made a district cmuch in June, 1847, with a population assigned of 6,000 souls. In 1H31. the interior was nearly destroyed by fire. The chancel window contains ' the Ascension,' in stained glass. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the presentation of the rector of St. Philip ; Rev. Joshua Greaves, M. A., incumbent.
Bishop Ryder's Chirch. near Gem Street. Aston Street, is a neat brick structure, edged with stone. It was built by suljscription, at a cost of .i^4.500, and consecrated Decpn:ber IHth, 18.38, and has a lofty tower at the west end. The dense and increasing population of this part of the town, which was not supplied with any place of worship, attracted the attention of the late Bishop Ryder, by whose example and influence sub- scriptions were raised for the erecting of this church, which bears his name ; it has an assigned district of 9,(>00 souls, and seats are })rovided for the ]>oor. The living is a perpettial curacy, in the patronage of trustees. Rev. Sampson . J envois, incumbent.
St. Matthew's Church, (it. Lister Street, Duddeston-ciun-Nechells, Aston parish, is a handsome brick structiu-e, in the (iothic style, with lancet windows, a tower and spire, and was built by the Birmingham Church Building Society, fonned in 1838-9 to build ten churches, at a cost of .^'3,-200, and consecrated October 20th, 1840. It has a district of about 11.000 souls assigned to it. The living, a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of tnu^tecs. Rev. (ieorge W. Chamberlain, M. A., incumbent.
IVte Parsonapc, a neat residence, is near the cluu'ch.
St. Mark's Church, St. Mark's Street, Smnmer Hill, is a neat stone structure, with a tower and spire at the north-west angle, and consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, and was erected by the Birmingham Church BuiMing Society, at a cost of ^*3, 100. It was consecrated July 29th, 1841, and has a district of r),000 souls assigned to it. The living, a porjietunl curacy, in tlie j)atronnire of the Bishop of Worcester; the rector of St. Martin and others as trustees. Rev. Daniel Ledsam, M. A., incumbent.
St. Lukes Church, Bristol Road, is a handsome structure, in the Norman style of architecture. The foundaticm stone was laid July 2Sth, 1841, by the Bishop of ^Vor- cester, audit was consecrated September 28th, 1842. It consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a tower at the south-west angle. It was erected by the Birmingham (Miurch Buildint,' Soci(!»ty, at a cost of abimt .£3,.0OO : will seat 1.000 persons, of which numlx-r .'litO are free ; to which a district of 7.800 souls is assigned. The living, a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of trustees. The Rev. J. O.Oldham, M. A. incumbent.
St. Jude's Distrk t. — For this district of 7v'>00 souls, the Natiimal School Room, in Pinfold street, has l)een licensed for divine Service by the Bishop, where sen-ice is perfonned, Sunday moniing at eleven, afternoon, half-past three, and Wednesday evening, half-past seven. The living is a perpetual curacy, rated at .^M.30. in the alternate ])atronnife of the crown and bishnj). Rev. George Davenport, wa-^, in 1S47, aj)pointed incumbent.
St. James's Chapel, Queen's College, Paradise Street, St. Martin's parish, which was consecrated November Ijth, 1844, and divine ser\iceis perfonned daily at half-past seven, morning ; Sunday morning at half-past eleven, and afternoon at three. Rev. Geori,M« Richards, M. A., chaplain.
'iKiisr ( iiriK n, ll(>a(l of New Street, in tlie parisli of St. Philip, is a stone structure, with a lolly portico, sni»ported on colunuis of the Doric order, and a spire. The church wa.-f consecrated July ()th, 1813, and co.st about .t'2r),000. The body of the church is provided with free seats for the prtor. The .\ltar Pi(*ce is of carved mahogany, sujv
HISTORY OK 1UKM1N(JI1.A.M. 7
Movting a Painting V)f a Cross, sarrounded by ('louds. The laud tor the site was j)re- sented by William Phillips Inge, E.>»q., and a donation of ^£1,000 was given by liis Majesty George III. The livhig is a perpetual curacy, rated at .£200, in the patronage of the Bishop of Worcester. Rev. George Lea, M. A., incuni1)ont.
CHAi'Eii at the Ma(jilu/t'n^ Broad Street, Islington, licensed l)y the Bishoj) for divine service, wasbnilt by subscription, at a cost of a1)ont .£1400, built with brick and cemen- ted, and opened April 28tli, 1839. Service isperformcd on Sunday morning at half-past ten, evenuig, half-past six, and Wednesday evening, quarter past seven. The Rev. Sydney Gedge, M. A., and Rev. Thomas Arden, M. A., are the chaplains.
Churches in the Pai-ish of Aston, within the Borough.
St. Andrew, a parish church, and St, Matthew, a district church, are already noticed.
St. James's Chapel, Great Brook Street, Ashted, at the eastern extremity of Bir- mingham, is a substantial plain brick building, originally the private residence of the late Dr. Ash, the foimder of the General Hospital, Bmnin'^ham. On his decea.se, it \vas converted into a Proprietary Chapel, by Dr. Crofts, and very neatly fitted up as a place of worshijj. On his decease, it was put up for sale by public auction, and was pirrchased by some friends of the late Rev. Edward Brnii, incumbent of St. Mary's, at a cost of .£1,200, repaired and re-fitted at an additional expense of .£1,500, and conse- crated by Bishop Coruwallis, September 7th, 1810, and vested in the hands of the Rev. Henry Ryder and three others, as trustees for sixty years, and the Rev. Henry Burn nominated as minister. In 1829, Mr. Bum resigned the care of the chapel, when the Rev. Josiah Allport, its present incmnbent, w^as appointed. In 1830, the chapel was thoroTighly repaired, and. the galleries extended so as to provide 150 free sittings, at an expense of .£848, previous to which, in this hamlet, containing nearly 12,000 souls, there was no accommodation for the poor. In 1835, the population around being more than doubled, the chapel was enlarged, at a cost of about .£1,300, by the addition of at least one-third of its present length, forming it into a proper oblong ; besides the con- struction of a suitable chancel, and the galleries extended throughout the new part. The chapel will now seat 1,500 persons, of which 600 are free seats, besides 250 sittings for the Sunday school children. A sweet-toned organ, built by Bishop, was, dm'ing the time of the Rev. Mr. Bum, placed in the chapel ; and very recently, John Whittmgham, Esq. bequeathed ^£200. for the erection of a clock in the turret, but which is wholly unsuited to such an advantageous appendage. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of trustees, as before stated, but has no endownent attached to it : the support of the minister, and defraying of all repairs and incidental expenses, rests solely on the seatholders. The present incmnbent has four public services every Lord's day : com- mencing at nine o'clock in the morning, for the convenience of the military, in the barracks contigious to St. James's ; with congregational services at eleven, afternoon at three ; and evenuig at half-past six.
St. John Baptist's Chapel, Deritend, was founded and endowed with lands to the value of .£6. 13s. 4d., to support a priest. Hemy VIII, in 1537, seized the property as Chantry lands, then valued at ^£13. Is. 7d. ; but it is supposed they were afterwards returned. In the windows of this ancient chapel were the arms of Lord Diadley, and Dudley impaling Barclay, both knights of the garter, and a whole figure of Walter Arden, Esq. The ancient building ha\-ing fallen to decay, the present .structiu-e, which is a commodious place of worship, was erected in 1735. In 1762, a square tower was added at the west end, in which, in 1777, a clock and eight bells were placed. The chapel will accommodate 700 persons, and is a chapelry to the parish of Aston. The living is a perpetual curacy, rated at .£319, in the patronage of the inhabitants, and incimibency of the Rev. William B. Smith, M. A.
Holy Trinity Chapel, head of Bradford Street, Bordesley, is a beautiful Gothic stmcture, faced with stone, built from the design of Godwin, of London. The noble, arch which forms the entrance, constitutes its finest feature. It contains nave, chancel.
8 HISTORY OF BIRMINGH.4M.
side aisles, and galleries ; cost j£? 14,235, and was consecrated January 23rd, 1S23. The church contains a fine organ, and a beautiful altar piece, painted by Fogge, representing Christ healing the sick at the pool of Bethesda. The nave and galleries are free ; linng, a perpetual curacy, rated at ^300 ; patron, the vicar of Aston. Rev. Joseph Oldknow, i\I. A., incumbent, for whom a neat parsonage has been erected adjoining the church.
Church of the Saviour, Edward Street, Birmingham parish, is an elegant brick edifice, with a massive cemented front, in the Corinthian order; the entrance is a fine ornamented arch, supported by two enriched [columns. The church was opened August 8th, 1847 ; will seat 1,500 persons ; 500 of the sittings are free. In a niche at the upper end of the church, supported by two beautiful Corinthian columns, is a fine organ, which is accompanied by a first-rate choir ; in front of which stands the pulpit, entered on either side by a flight of steps ; from the reading board is suspended an elegant i)iece of drapery, of crimson velvet, on which is a beatifully enriched emblem of the cross, in ornamental needle-work; on either side the rostnun stands a marble tablet, on which is engraved the commandments laid down by Christ, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," <fcc. <fcc. This elegant structure is not an episcopal place of worship. Rev. George Dawson, M.A., is the minister. On the last Satiwday of each month, a divine service of music is performed in this church, as a means of the expression of religious feeling by that of sacred song.
Churches, Edgbaston Parish, which as previously explained, forms a part of the Borough of Birmingham. The apjjearance of the village of Edgbaston is very attrac- tive, the houses are well built, the streets wide, straight, and lighted with gas. There are also numerous villas, and altogether it forms a fashionable appendage to Birming- ham, extending two miles south west.
St. Bartholomew, the Parish Chin-ch, is an ancient structure, which Dugdale informs us " reposed amongst the trees which eiuTOund the Hall, and was utterly destroyed by the Parliamentary forces in the civil wars. After the Restoration it was rebuilt, and the interior decorated by Sir Richard Gough. The body of the church was rebuilt in 1810, and was repaired and re-roofed in 1845. In the square tower is a peal of ])ells, and in the interior an organ, and several monuments, principally to the Gough family. The living a vicarage, rated at J^35, now dt'542, has been aug- mented with .£200. private benefaction, and ^200. Queen Anne's Bounty. In the patronage of Lord Calthorpe and incumbency of Rev. Isaac Spooner, M.A., for whom a nea*^^ parsonage house is about to be erected.
St. (iEORGES Chapel, Calthorpe Street, is a handsome Gothic structure, in the early pointed style of the 13th century, the first stone of which was laid 17th August, 1836, and it was consecrated November 28th, 1838 ; erected and endowed at the sole expense of Lord Calthorpe, aided by a legacy of j£^500 . from the late Mr. Wheely, of Edgbaston, at a cost of about ^6*6,000. It contains seats for 1000 persons, and has 100 free sittings. The living is a Perpetual Curacy, in the patronage of Lord Calthorpe and inciunbency of the Rev. Edward Lillingston, M.A.
A few years since the only buildings which Edgbaston contained were the Church, the Hall, the Parsonage, and a few farm houses. The present proprietor is Lord Calthorpe, who lets <Mit portions of land on long building leases ; and the number of its inhabitants is yearly increasing, and the business man of Birmingham carries with him into his retirement a correct taste not only for the u.seful, but also for the beautiful and i)icturesrjue. The Botanic Gardens and the Obser\'atory are in this parish. The ancient Hall, formerly the seat of the lords of the manor, was burned by the populace at the revolution, who l"eari'd it might become a refuge for Ronum Catholics. The present Hall was built by Sir Richard (Jough. It is seated in a small well-wooded park, ornamented with a fine sheet of water, and is the seat of Edward Johnstone, . Esq., M.D.
The Church of England Lay Association, was called into exi.stence by a requisition, dated 24th May, 1838. The object of this Association is exclusively the
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 9
preservation of the rights and privileges of the Church, and its connection with the State. The Right Hon. the Earl of Dartmouth, President. James Taylor, Esfi., Treasurer.
Surrogates for granting marriage licenses for the Dioceses of Worcester and Lich- field. The Rev. J. C. xMiller, lion, and Rev. G. M. Y<»rke, Rev. J. Garbett, Rev. S. F. Morgan, Rev. G. S Bull, Rev. R. Kennedy, Rev. G. O. Fenwicke, Rev. C. Pixell, and Rev. J. Allport.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral situated at the junction of Bath street and Shadwell street is dedicated to St. Chad, who was bishop of Lichfield in the seventh centm"y. It is built with l)rick, having stone dressings after the example of many continental churches. The nave is divided from the aisles by twelve clusters of pillars, six on each side, fi*oni the capitals of which a series of pointed arches spring completely up to the roof A\nthout any break for a treforiam or clerestory, thus forming the loftiest range of arches in the kingdom, a handsome screen surmounted by the holy rood divides the choir from the nave, and a similar though richer screen partitions off the Lady Chapel or Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, from the top of the North Aisle, The windows in the choir and down the sides, with the exception of those in the tran- scepts, are long laurlets, divided each into two bays, while the west window, and the windows of the transcepts are very large apertures distributed each into six compartments affording great facilities for the display of stained glass ; some good specimens of which are already to be found in the choir, representing ancient Saxon Saints in the Lady Chapel, where the Blessed Virgin stands in glory between St. Cuthbert and St. Chad ; and in the north transcept where St. James, St. Thomas, and St. Patrick are accom- panied by the leading featiu-es in then' history. Among the antiquities of the Cathedral' may be mentioned the pulpit, an elaborate carving in oak of the sixteenth century ; an episcopal sluine and stalls of the fifteenth centiu'y ; and a brass littern of the same period. All these are either of Flemish or German workmanship. Beneath the cathe- dral is a ciypt or xmdercroft, dedicated to St. Peter, and divided into separate chauntries, which subserve the double purpose of Oratories and burial places for the dead. Besides the principal chantry or chapel tlu*ee others are fitted up and appropriated. There is mass every Monday and Friday morning, at half-past six. The hom's for mass in the cathedral, are every morning at seven, and on Sundays at seven, rpiarter past nine, and eleven o'clock ; the one at eleven being the high mass. The vespers, followed by benediction, are at half-past six on Sundays, and there is a public service every Monday and Thursday evening, at half-past seven. The side doors of the cathedral are opened for private devotion every morning and evening at six o'clock. Visitors wishing to enter the chm-ch diu-iug the day must apply to the Sachristan, who lives near the north door in Shadwell street. This church, one of the most magnificent erected in England since the Reformation, for Catholic worship, is in the middle age style of architecture, from plans of Mr. Pugin. It is 240 feet in length, 70 feet in width, and 57 in height di\-ided lengthwise into three compartments. The cost of the building has been .^^60,000. it was consecrated on Tuesday, the 14th of July, 1838, by Dr. Wiseman, Bishop of the district, assisted by Dr. Doyle, the pastor of the Chapel. There were present the Archbishop of Treeves, the Bishops of Tom-nay, Chalons, and Chersonesees, with their caxons and chaplains, with 260 English and Foreign Priests, together with members of many religioiis Orders. There were also present the Earls of Shrewsbury, Arundel, and Surrey ; Lord Camoys, Lord Stafford, &c. ; the entire body of the chapel being filled with Roman Catholic laity. Several distinguished members of the Protestant chm-ch were also present. The Bishops in their mitres with the various dresses of the different orders, youths bearing lights and lilies preceded and followed the procession. The whole ceremony presented a most imposing coupd'oeil. The tower and spire will, when complete, be 320 feet in height. The Organ, by Bishop, cost £7oO ; there is also a smaller organ which cost £350. The metal works and altar furniture were by Mr. John Ilardman. of Birmingham.
B
10 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Roman Catholic Bishop of Biniiingliain. By a rescript from the Pope, the Right Rev. William Bernard Ullathonie, D.D. officiating Bishop of the Western Di^'trict in England, was appointed Bishop of Birmingham, and enthroned at St. Chads Cathe- dral, Angu-st 30th, 1848; the Pope's Bull being read by Dr. Weedall ; and Dr. Wiseman, and the Hon. and Rev. G. Spencer, with a niunerons body of Priests, took part in the ceremony.
Thc Bishops IIoise. — Nearly opposite the west front of the Cathedral, in Bath Street, is the residence of the Bishop and such Priests as officiate about St. Chads. The entrance is through an arched doorway into a short cloister, which communicates with one side of the kitchen offices, and an ahnonry for the poor, and on the other with the private and jmblic rooms of the establishment. In the second or principal story, are found the Bishop's apartments, the library, the dc^mestic chapel, and the refectory or common hall, which is an apartment about .'{(J feet long, and is deci^rated in the style of a college hall ; most of these are stencilled with varioas de\-ices, have caned fire places, and are enriched with stained glass. The residents, are Right Rev. ^^'illiam Bernard Ullathorne, D.D. the Bishop, who also occa.sionly resides at St. Barnabas, Nottingham; Rev. John Moore, Arch Priest: the other priests, are Rev. Bernai-d Ivers. Rev. Thoma-s Leith, and Rev. William Molloy, and John Salt, Sachristan.
Convent of Sisters of Mkrcv, situated in Hunters lane. — It is a brick building, with stone doorways, windows, etc., and resembles in form and character the conventical buildings of the middle ages; it was provided by the late John Hardman Esq.; and consists of chapel dedicated to St. Mary, with cloisters, oratory, cemetery, refectory, reception room, cells and community room for the religious, and kitchen offices. The chapel Is laid with encaustic tiles, and highly ornamented with painting and coloured glass. An open screen divides the chapel into two parts ; in the interior of which are two ranges of stalls for the religii)us. Niches filled with ancient carvings, representing chieflv circumstances in our Lord's history, break the long line of the cloister walls. The Sisters of Mercy are a community of Ladies who have voluntarily forsaken the world, live in one common house, and labom- together for the spiritual and temporal pood of their destitute fellow creatures. The Rev. Miss Juliana Hardman is tlie
Princii)al.
House of Mercy, at a short distance from the Convent, and united to it by a very picturestpic cloister, is the House of Mercij^ which was erected at almost the sole ex- pence t)f the sisterhood. In it poor destitute young women are entertained, if they can bring with them a good character; and they are boarded, clothed, and provided with work, until proper situations can be provided for them ; they have every facility aflordedthem f<»r improving themselves, and learning useful arts. There Ls an excellent laundry, washhouse, drying room, w(»rk room, bakehouse, and kitchen. There are several ex- tensive well aired dormitories, and medicines prej)ared under the direction of an experienced physician, hi a dispensary on the premises. The number of young women in the house is usually about sixty, including eight or ten orphan cliildren, who reside permanently in the houses, where every attention is paid to their habits and morals. Servants are sent from this establishment all over the kingdom, and application may be made for th<« purpose, either personally or by letter.
St. Peter's, Catholic Chapel, St. Peter's Place, Broad Street, is a neat plain brick b.iiMintr, erected in IJSU, ii"d enlarged in 1798; Rev. (leorge Jeffries and the Ri«v. Michael OSullivan, j)rie.sts. The chapel, jirevious to thc erection of this, was at Edg- baston.
Catiiomc CHHRcn, Mas.shou.se lane. The first stone of this Church was laid by Brother Lee, of St. Mary Magdalen, alias Hand-.lph, of the Holy Order of St. Francis, March 2:{rd, 1(587. On the Kith day of August, HISS, the first stone of St. Marie Mag- dalen's Convent was laid at the north west corner of the above Clnu-ch ; it had five cro.Hs.'M nn..n it. with hftcrs- eiiL-raven ; and on the 4th September, in the same year, the
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 11
fliurcli was consecrated by the Right Rev. Father in God, Ronaventure GifTavd, Bishop of Mnudaura, and Apostolical Vicar, and dedicated to (iod and St. Marie Magdalen. The church contained three Altars, the High Altar in Honour of God and St. Marie Magdalen, the North Altar in Honour of God and the Blessed Lady, and the South in Honoiu- of God and the Holy Father, St. Francis. The sum of .£^1,281 2s. .')d. was raised by subscriptions and donations, the whole of which was expended in building and iittiiig up the church. His Majesty, King James H., gave I2o tons of timber from Needwood Forest ; Sir John Gage gave timber valued at jCYAO.', Mrs. Ann Gregg gave .£'250. ; Queen Catherine Dowager gave c6T0. 15s. Od. ; with many others. The chm-ch and part of the Convent was first defaced and most of it burnt within, to near the value of .£400, by Tvord Dellamere's orders, November 26th, 1688; and that day sc'nnight the rabble began to pull the Church and Convent down, and ceased not till the foun- dations were pulled up ; plate to the value of .£40. only was saved. After this, a small Chapel was erected at Edgbaston, part of which is now a Fann house.
Wesleyax METHoniSTS form a numerous and influential body in Birmingham, a«d have many Chapels in the Borough, and date their origin from John and Charles Wesley, who commenced their extraordinary laboiu-s in the year 1729. These eminent men devoted their unwearied efforts to the good of mankind, emphatically fulfilling their apostolic mission, by preaching to the poor and ignorant. They have two Cir- cuits. The East Circxiit comprises the large Chapels at Belmoxt Row, Bradford Street, New Towx Row, Netchells Greex, and Balsall Heath, where Divine Services are performed three times every Sunday, and also on various Week-day nights. The Circuit also extends to Small Heath, Coleshill, Whitacre, Bodymore Heath, Castle Bromwich, Hill, Water-Orton and Curdworth, Curdworth and Water- Ortox, and Lord Street, where Services are perfonned twice or three times every Sunday, and on other days ; it also extends to eleven other places, where Ser\'icea are performed once a week ; having five Itinerant Preachers, 36 Local Preachers, with five on trial, and eight Exhorters ; Superintendent, P^ev. Joseph Roberts. The West Circuit comprises the large Chapels at Cherry Street, Wesley Chapel, Islington Chapel, Bristol Road, and Ninevah, where Divine Services are performed three times every Sunday, also on various week-day nights ; the Circuit also extends to Summer Hill, Astox Ville, Streetley Street, Harborne, and Quintox, where Services are performed twice on Sundays, and also on other weekdays; and also extends to ten other places, where Ser\-ices are performed once a week ; having five Itinerant Preachers, 42 Local Preachers, with two onTrial, and nine Exhorters; Rev. Isaac Keeling, Superintendent.
New Connexion Methodists were foimded by the Rev. Alexander Kilham, who separated from the Wesleyans in 1795. They have a Chapel in Unett Street, a plain brick building, and a small Chapel in Oxford sti-eet.
The Primitive Methodist Chapel, New John Street, West, erected in 1848, having let to the Independents their Chapel in Bordesley Street.
Presbyterian Church, Broad Street, Islington, in connection with the Synod of the Presbyterian Chiu-ch in England, and in communion with the Free Church of Scot- land, established their small place of Worship, in 1834, which having become too small for the Society, the first stone of the New Chiu-ch was laid, Monday, July 25th, 1848, by Charles Coivati, Esq., of Edinburgh. It is in the Italian style, fi-om a plan by Mr.Bolham, of Birmingham. In external dimensions, 90 feet long, and 47 wide ; the principal front next Broad street, is occupied by a tower, vestibules, and staircases, and the opposite end l)y a deep arched recess, for the minister's platform, with a vestry on one side it, and a vestibule to the entrance in the flank of the building next Oozells Street. The body of the Chm-ch is 71 feet 6 inches long, and 43 feet 6 inches wide, and will accommodate 640 persons; a gallery at the tower end extonding the whole width of the building, will
12 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
afford acconimoflation for 260 j)or.son.s ; and provbion is made for the erection of side gallerie.s hereafter. 1 he chiircli is li-^'hted from the roof. The interior is plain, but neatly finished. Rev. Jolin Robinson Mackenzie is the Pastor.
IxDCPEXDEXTs. — The Chapel, in Carr Lane, is a large brick building cemented, ha\-ing an imposing fi-ont in the Grecian style ; waserectedin 1820, at a cost of .£10,000, raised by subscription, and will seat 2000 persons, and under the pa-storal care of the Rev. Edwin Dorringtoii. In connection with this Chapel, is the Palmer Street Cha- pel, a small brick building, erected in 1S.'J2, in St. Andrew's Parish, Bnrdesley.
Graham Street Independent Chapel, is a large handsome brick building, with stone facings, erected in 1844; will seat 1200 persons. Rev. Brewin Grant, Pastor.
Independent Chapel, Legge Street, a neat small stuccoed edifice, to accommodate 160 hearers, originally built by the Primitive Methodists, but has been occupied by the Independents about 20 years, llev. Peter Sibree, Pastor.
Trinity Tabernacle, (Independent) Parade, is a small brick building, of which Rev. James Jay, is Pastor.
Independent, (Boabnen's) Crescent Locks, is u small place, and has no regular Pastor.
St. Jude's Chapel, New Hall, is a substantial building, imder the pastoral care of the Rev. F. C. B. Earle.
Salem Chapel, Peck Lane, a small cemented brick building, is occupied by a Calvinistic congregation. No regular minister.
Ebenezer Chapel, Stcelhouse Lane, is a large commodioiLs brick building, erected in 1818, by a Calvinistic congregation. No Minister at present.
Baptist Chapels. — Circus Chapel, Circus Street, is a large cemented brick building, foniu'rly used as the Amjdiitheatre; it was piu-chased of Mr. Joseph Stiu-ge, and William Lucey, by Mr. William Middlemore, and the Rev. Charles Ilill Roe, for .i'lO.lO, and converted into a Chapel, at the expence of .£1200; it is well fitted up in the interior, and will seat 800 persons, and was opened, October 24th, 1848, by Dr. Rallies, from Liverpool, and the Rev. John Adescoe, from London. In connectit>u with this, is a small neat Chapel, in lleneage Street, erected in 1842. Rev. Charles Hill Roe, Pastor.
Baptist Chapel, Bond Street, is a neat substantial building, established in 17Si5. Rev. Isaac New, the Pastor.
Baptist Chapel, New Hall Street, is a small plain building; has no stationary Minister.
Baptist (General) Chapel, L(mibard Street, is a substantial brick building, erected in 1786; will seat GOO persons. Rev. (Jeorge Cheatle, Pastor.
Baptist Chapel, (Jraham Street, is a large neat brick cemented ])uilding, erected in 1820; has galleries all round, and will seat 2,000 persons, tmder the pastoral care of the Rev. M<trtlock Daniell.
Baptist Chai'i:l, foot of King Street, erected in 1S4S. No regular Pastor.
liADY IliNTiNiiTON's Chapel, Peck Lane, is an elegant spacioiLs building, of which the Rev. John Jones is the Pastor.
New Jerusale.m Chtrch, Summer Lane, is a handsome commodious structure, was erected in the year 1S.'{0. to accomodate 600 jjersons. This Church was formed about fifty years ago. They are hearers of the doctrines of the word of God, as oxj)ounded in the writinL,'s of the I Ion. I'mfuuiel Swedeiiliorg, a Swedish Nt>bl(Mnan, disliiimnshcd alike for his proroiuid b-aruin!/, as he was illustritms for his attaiinneuts in piiilosophy and science. Kev. Edward MadeU'y, Pastor.
I'nitarian Church, New Hall Hill, is a large neat brick edifice, erected at a cost of .£4100, raised by subscrij)tion, and opened in July, IS.'W ; it will accommodate 1,000 persons, and is undiT the j)astoral care of the Rev. James Cranebrook.
Tnttarian New Meetinc, Moor Street, is a neat building erected in 1730, at which time one in Digbcth wrnt into (li'^use ; the Rev. Samuel Badie. the pastor.
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. ]:.)
Unitarian Old Meetino, Old Mectin«T Street, is a neat brick edifice, erected in 1794, at a cost of jt'0,000, and will seat 1,000 persons; Rev. Hugh Hutton, isthepastor' The Unitai'iaus here have been foremost in every pliilauthropic effort to ameliorate the condition of the poor ; and they have a Domestic Mission Chapel, in Lawrence Street, a neat brick edifice, to accommodate 500 persons ; it is well attended by the poorest people; Rev. John Gent Brook, is the pastor.
Friends' Meeting House, Bull Street, is a plain building, having a neat interior, with a cemetery at the back.
Unknown Tongue Chapel, New Ilall Street, is a small plain building, formerly the Scotch Kirk. No regular minister.
Latter Day Saints' Chapel, Livery Street, is a plain substantial building. No regular minister.
Second Advent, a small body of Christians here, founded by Mr. Miller, an Amer- ican, who have a room in Cambridge Street, and one in Anne Street, but no regular minister.
Jewish Synagogue, Severn Street, is a neat building erected in 1817, and enlarged 1823. They have a burial ground amidst some gardens near Broad Street. Rev. Maurice Jacob Raphall, M. A., Rabbi and Theological Doctor, Rev. L. Chapman, Reader.
Church of England Cemetery, Warstone, Birmingham, was consecrated Tues- day, August 8th, 184S. It has been established by a proprietary of ^£20,000, raised iu shares of .^10. each, the whole of which has been expended. The purchase consisted of 16 acres of land, of which 9 acres are enclosed and consecrated. The Church of the cemetery is in what is called the third pointed perpendicular style of architecture, having a nave, chancel, tower and spire, it being thought proper to provide a place in which to administer the Holy Sacrament, to mom-ners under grief for the loss of their friends requiring such service or consolation. The nave of the building is formed by the intro- duction of a handsome open stone screen at the entrance, which, while separating that portion of the btdlding intended for the burial service fi-om that which is open to the people, is kept so low as not to interfere with the proportions of the interior, or to in- terscept the view through the tower arch of the lower w^est window. The nave has a fine open roof. Ranges of carved seats are placed on each side for those who attend the burial sen-ice, and in the centre of the nave is an ornamented stand for the bier, whence, by means of Bramah's hydraulic machine, the coffins are let down to the vaults below, and by a subterranean passage conveyed to the circular catacombs. The chancel is of ample dimensions, with a fine east window of three lights, fitted with stained glass, presented by Mr. ^V'. Chance to the company, executed at his works. The roof is board- ed with neat panelled work, and the floor laid with encaustic tiles, while that of the nave is plain chequered squares. The tower is formed at the base by three massive archways intended as a porch for the hearses. The architect has introduced cloisters, or ambulatory, extending north and south of the main entrance. This featm*e is quite ■unique in this country. These cloisters are cut off from the body of the chapel, and have a doorway to each on the eastern side, communicating with the grounds. This ambulatory is 150 feet in length, is of beautiful construction, having a long range of rich windows in the western front, and blank recesses of corresponding tracery for the reception of monuments on the other, seats having been formed out of the window sills, and recesses on each side for the accommodation of those who frequent tliem. This place was long a neglected sand pit, which will form a regular circle, and two ranges of catacombs be constructed in the banks faced with rough battlemented stone- work. These, when seen at a distance, will form a sort of basement to the main building, crowning the summit of the hill. The entrance to the principal front, on im- mediately turning Frederick street, Warstone, forms a commodious residence for the secretary, with a bold archway for hearses to drive through, and the directors' room over, with a handsome oriel window. On passing through this archway the funeral
14 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
procession enters an avenne of cyjjresses and other funeral trees. The grounds are tastefully laid out and planted. The church is dedicated to St. Michael, patron, the Bishop of Worcester; Rev. James Brown, B.A., Chaplain; Mr. George Horton, Secretary.
The General Cemetery, Kay Hill, Hockley, is a favoxu-ite place of resort for the inhabitants, and was formed by a proprietary of 12(t() j)ersons, in shares of ^10 each. It comprises about ten acres of land, tastefully laid out in walks, interspersed with lawns and shrubberies. In the centre of the ground stands the chapel, in which the burial service is performed ; underneath wliich is a residence for the registrar. A large portion of the cemetery is on rock, in which are placed catacombs. The ground was opened in April, 1H36, and contains some elegant and superior monuments; one in particular of white marl)le, by Mr. IloUins — flowers in full bloom, cut by the scythe — is very beautiful. Rev. Peter Sibree, chaplain; Mr. Joshua Hammond, secretary; Mr. George Barnes, registrar.
Schools are numerous in the Borough of Birmingham ; Sunday Schools are attached to nearly every place of worship, and many have day schools. By a circular issued in 1S4(), relative to the establishment of Infant Schools, it was stated that, in regard to Children, l)etwcen the ages of Seven and Fifteen, educational provision had been made, eitlier by the Chm-ch of England, or Dissenting bodies, for 7749 in daily schools, of wliicli i>,837 were stated to belong to the Church of England. From a report dated 5th Ai)ril, 1H47, it is stated there were 18 Boy's, 18 Girl's, and 10 Infant schools belonging to the established churches in the Borough, in connexion with the Nation'al School Society; that Society contending that to profess the education of a child, and yet to to make nought, or to make light of religious belief and j)rinciple, is to endanger in youtli the most fatal habit of mind and thought, and sap the foundation of all religion in the breast.
Free Grammar, or Krxr, Edward's School, New Street, was founded by King Edward the \'I., in the fifth year, (15.r2.) of his reign, and endowed with the revenues of the CJuild of the Cross, which, prior to the dissolution, occupied the site of the present building. Tlie endo\^^nent arising from land, at that time prodxiced only j£30. per annum, but now, from being let on building leases, produces from .£"8,000. to .£10.000 per annum, which on the expiration of leases, is still increasing. The management is vested in a bailiff and 18 governors, who appoint a head master, second master, and usher, with a writing master and a drawing master. Visitors: The Lord Chancellor, and (in some cases) the Bishop of Worcester. A new and suitable edifice was erected in 1834 by the governors of this wealthy establishment, on a convenient site in the centre of tlie town, at an expence of nearly .£-\<0,000. The desi^,'n was furnished by Mr. C. Barry, of London, and presents a mixed style of (iothic architecture, characterized by new but beautiful and aj)j)ropriate ct>mbinations. The external fonn of the structure is rpiadran- gular, and extends 174 in front, and 125 feet in flank ; the internal arrangements embrace two courts similar in form, around and between which the different sections of the buildings rise ; the wings of the front and flanking buildings form elegant mansions for the head and second masters, besides a fixed salary of .:6*400. a year; the head master derives additional emoluments in ])r<>|)ortion to the niunber of l)Oys in the school, by a capitation fee on each boy, which, calculating the number of boys at 400, will make the salary .XMOOO. a year. The governors have recently obtained an act to enable them to ajipoint masters to teach mathematics, modern languages, and the arts and sciences in the ^Tamnmr school. The head master is also entitled to receive 18 boarders, and the second master 12. An annual visitation of the school is held, at which thr(»e resident members of tbe universities attend and examine tlu» boys, and report u])on the state of (lie scliool to tbe j^'overnors. There are ten exhil>itions of ^*.>0. a year each, for four y<'ars, attaclied to this school; they are open to any college, and are given by the pf>vernore to tlie boys who are declared by the examiners to be liighest in classical
HISTORY OF BIRAIINGMAM. 15
attahnucuts. Five clomcutary .schools on this foundation are under the inspection of the head master, the Rev. E. H. Giflord, M.'A, viz., a Branch in Gem Street, a neat buihling erected in 1S.*]8, will accomodate* l.'^.^l)oys and 13Up:irls. A Branch in jNIoridau street, a neat brick building, erected in 18.'}S, to acconnnodate 240 boys ; and a Branch in Edward street, for boys and girls, to accommodate 140 each. It is a neat brick build- ing erected in 1838. These schools are always fully attended, and by the report pub- lished 1847, 1,200 children are returned for King Edward's School. The names of the teachers are given in the Directory. A sum of c£'.'i9,000 has been paid to the Governors of the Grannnar School, by the London and North Western Railway Company, for property recpiired in Birmingham. The clahn was for .£42,000.
The Birmingham and Edobastox Propuietauy School, Five "Ways, Edgbaston, founded in 1838, and the present building completed in 1841, at a considerable expcnce, including the grounds. It comprises a handsome building in the Elizabethan style, with stone dressings ; in the rear of the building are extensive play grounds. The building is divided into class rooms, one of which is 70 feet long, 30 wide, and 25 high. The frontage consists of the entrance to thcschool, flanked on each side with masters houses. The east wing, occupied l)y the commercial master, is a large and commodious house, fitted up in the first style of elegance, as a boarding establishment, and in which the comfort and convenience of the pupils has in every possible manner been studied, the number of boarders being limited. The west wing is occupied by the French and junior masters, each of whom take a few pupils as boarders. There are private establishments in Edgbaston, where pupils are received as boarders. The Rev. Edward lUingworth, M.A., the Principal. — See Directory.
Blue Coat Charity School, St. Philip's Church Yard, was established by sub- scription in 1724, for the maintenance, clothing, and education of twenty boys and ten girls. Its funds having been increased by additional subscriptions, donations, and legacies, the buildings were enlarged in 1794, and now fonn a noble substantial edifice. There are now 130 boys and 70 girls in the school, the average income being ^"2,400. ]Mr. George Kirkland, head master. — (See Directory.)
Protestant Dissenting Charity School, Graham Street. This institution was founded in 1760, by the societies of the Old and New Meeting Houses. It was origi- nally devoted to the maintenance and education of children of both sexes, but in 1813 was confined to girls, who are trained up in it under the care of a governess, for some respectable and beneficial service. The school was originally situated in Meeting street, whence, in 1791, it was removed to a house in Park street, and in 1840 to its present situation, which comprises a large substantial brick building, erected in 1839 for its use. The institution is supported entirely by voluntary contributions, consisting of donations and annual subscriptions, and collections made annually after sermons preached in behalf of the charity, at the two places of worship with whose religious societies it originated. The management of the institution is vested in the hands of the Governors for the time being ; an annual subscription of one guinea entitling any person to be a Governor. A meeting of the Governors is held on the last INIonday in January, for the election of the committee and officers of the school for that year. Children are chosen for admission at any period between nine and twelve years of age, by a plurality of votes of the Governors present at the annual general meeting in January. The present number of girls is about 40, who are clothed, educated, and fitted for service. They are put out at the age of fifteen ; their number is not limited. Mr. Samuel Bache, Secretary.
St. Philip's Industrial Free School, 19, Lichfield Street, originally established and the school erected in 1724, in St. Philip's Church Yard : the present building being erected in 1846, where 170 children, boys and girls, are instructed.
National Schools. — Schools are attached to all the Churches of the Establi.shment ^18 in number) in Birmingham, for boys and girls, ten of which have infant schools,
16 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
viz: — All Saints, attended by 105 infants ; St. George's, 269; St. Thomas's, 125; St. Matthew's, 160; St. Paul's 159; St. Marj-'s, 139; St. Stephen's, 82; and one each at St. Philiji's, Christ Chnrch, and St. Luke's. The number of children present at the 63rd anniversary meeting of the Birmingham Church of England schools on Whit Friday, May 2Sth, 1M7, including the Magdalen, Blue Coat school, Asylum, Edgbaston, and Bordesley, were 9566.
National Schools noticed by Parishes alphabetically : —
All Saints, Birmingham Heath, is a neat brick building, with residences for the master and mistress, and erected in 11S43, by subscription, aided by a grant of .^500. from the National Society, and ^616. from the Committee of Council of Education, will accommodate 750 children. The present average numbers are 100 Boys, 70 Girls, 90 Infants.
B I SHOT Ryder's, Gem street, Aston street, a commodious brick building, erected 1837, to accommodate 170 Boys, and 300 Girls and infants. The average attendance is 240.
BouDESLEY, Aston Parish, a neat brick building, erected in 1831, will accommodate 180 Boys, and 180 Girls. The average attendance being 112 Boys, and 120 Girls.
St. Andrew, Watery street, Aston Parisli, is entirely supported by the Rev. David Brown Moore, the Incumbent. Will accommodate 120 Boys, and 120 Girls and In- fants. Also, an evening school is open on four nights in the week for such as may be cm- ployed during the day.
St. Bartholemew's, St. Bartholemew Square. A neat brick building, erected 1834 ; will accomnjodate 200 Boys and 150 Girls.
St. George's, Great Russell street, is a neat brick building, adjoining the Cluu-ch, erected 1842, with a house for the master. Will accommodate 180 Boys, 200 Girls, and 200 IiifiMils. The average atteadance being 150 Boys, 90 Girls, and 150 Infants. Also a ni'fht school for those who cannot attend in the day. In connexion with this School and Church, is the St. George's Instruction Society, established January, 1843. The object of this Society is the Diffusion of Religious and Useful Information, and it offers to the Subscribers the following advantages: — A Library, consisting of about 1,500 Vt)lumes. A lieadmfj Room, supplied with Newpapers and Periodicals. Lectures on dilfcrent subjects, and Classes for improvement in the various de])artments of know- ledge. Annual subscription, 5s., or Is. 6d. per rpiarter. Also, a Provident Society, Clothing Club, and Ladies' Dorcas Society, drc. President, Rev. John Garbett, AL A. St. James's, Henry street, will accommodate 200 each, Boys and (iirls; 90 Boys and 70 Girls is the average attendance.
St. John's, Deritend, Aston Parish; a neat brick building, consisting of three rooms erected in 1848, havitit; accommodution for 120 oach. Boys, Girls, and Infiuits.
St. Mark's, St. Mark's street; a neat brick building, erected in 1843, to accommo- date 200 each. Boys and (iirls; 1(50 Boys and 100 (Jirls are the average attendants. St. Martin's, Well lane, Allison street, for Boys and Girls; 150 regularly attend. St. Mary's, Bath street; a neat building, erected fnuu the exertions of the Rev. John Casebow Barrett, the Incumbent of St. Mary's Church, to supply the original schoftl built in 1.S24. The land having been originally given by Mr. Jt)nes, of Edgbivstou. The new schotils were opened Sth January, 1S4(). The building consists «>f school rooms for Boys, Girls, and Infants, with commodious class rooms, and a handsome and well supplied reading room and library, which latter by a moveable i)artition, can he thrown into the Girls' 8chot>l nxmi, thus forming a large elegant room for lectures and other pur])oses. The total cost of the building was .£2,187., of which .t' 1,090. was raised hy sui»s(ription, and .^,'1,100. from the National Society and the Privy CounciH^unmit- tee of Kdiuation. It is in the (iothic style of archchiteiture, and allitwed to be one of the neatest and most comjilete minor t'cclesiiustical bnildings in the town or neighbour- hood. It will accomnuidatc at one time, in the various departments, 900 Children; in
HISTORY OF niRMlNGEIAM. IT
tiilflition to the day and sabbath schools, evcnintf schools, and a Church Lvstructiox Society, with its lectures, classes, library, and reading rooms, are carried ou upon the premises.
St. Matthew's, Lxipiu street, a lari^e substantial building, erected in 1841 ; will accommodate 2l)0 Boys, 100 Girls, and loO Infants ; the avcrasje attendance being 98 Boys, 50 Girls, and 90 Infants.
St. Pall's, Warstone lane, Spencer street, a handsome bxiilding, in a stylo of archi- tecture, to con-espoud with St. Paul's Church. It was opened in January, l!S4.>, and cost jt'2,000, raised by subscription, aided with grants from the National Society and the Committee of Council of Education ; the site being given by the Lord of the Manor. The school consists of a spacious lower and upper room, to accommodate 250 Boys, 170 Girls, and 250- Infants; the average being I70 Boys, 50 Girls, and 130 Infants* Adjoining is a house for the residence of the Teachers.
St. Peter's, Dale End, a commodious brick building, established in 1844, to ac- coumiodate 400 children ; the average attendance being 80 boys and 45 girls.
St. Philip's, Lichfield Street, a large neat brick building, erected in 1842, to accom- modate 300 each, boys and girls, with infants ; the average attendance being 210.
St. Stephen's, New Town Row, is a large quadrangular building, erected in 1846, at a cost of ^£2.400, raised by subscription, aided by a grant from the National Society ; it consists of three airy well-ventilated rooms, to accommodate 150 each, boys and girls, and 160 infants; average attendance, 100 boys, 50 girls, and 50 infants.
St. Thomas's, Wood Street, is a large stuccoed brick building ; average attendance being 300 each, boys and girls, and 100 infants.
St. George's Parochial Schools, Carpenter's Road, Edgbaston. This school was commenced in May, 1847, and completed the following December, and cost, with the interior fittings, j^I,400. raised by subscription. The site, about three-quarters of an acre, was given by Lord Calthorpe, and ratified by his two next heirs. A house for the master and mistress is also to be erected, land being set apart for that purpose.
Infant Schools. A fund has been raised for the building of infant schools. The first stone of the first school to be bmlt from that fund, was laid on Friday, November 10th, 1848, in Fainn street, near Hockley Hill, St. George's parish, by the Rev. John Garbett, rector and rural dean.
British School, (for boys.) Severn Street, erected in 1808, through the agency of Joseph Lancaster ; average attendance, 273. There is in connection with this school. an extensive library and laboratory, for giving correct ideas of scientific subjects.
An Infant School, in St. Ann Street, to accommodate 160 children, is supported by subscription, chiefly by the society of Friends; average attendance, 120.
Infant School, Digby Street, to accommodate 160, but averages 60; in connection with the Legge Street Independent Chapel.
Infant School, Graham Street, erected 1821, to accommodate 80 ; average attend- ance, 60 ; in connection with the Baptist societies.
Ragged School, I, Windmill Street, established 1845, by William Chance, Esq., to accommodate 280 ; average attendance, 250. There is a li))rary, for the use of the children. Also, the same generous iiidi\-idual, in November, 1848, establislied a Ragged School, in Digby Street; in connection with the Independent Chapel, Legge Street.
Unitarian School, Lawrence Street ; average attendance, 120.
Catholic Schools, in Shadwell Street and in St. Peter's Place ; the former erected in 1839, for boys and girls, with an average attendance of 230 children. They are both neat brick buildings, and well attended.
Weslevan Methodist Day Schools. Cherry Street School, a substantial brick building, to accommodate 120 boys and 80 gii'ls ; average attendance, 90 boys and 50 girls.
C
18 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Hatchet Street School, erected 1834, to accommodate 300 boys ; average attend- ance, 200. Also, an Infant School.
Law LEY Street School, to accommodate 200 boys ; average attendance, 10(». Also, an Inkaxt School.
Lord Street School, to accommodate 200 girls; average attendance, 100.
Mott Street School, built 1831, to accommodate 130 boys; average attendance, 90.
Independent Schools. New Meeting Street School, is a handsome sn})stan- tially built l>rick building, erected 1844, at a cost of .£2,164. 17s. 9d. ; the site having cost upwards of ^6*800. It consists of an ujjpcr and lower room ; the fonncr usL*d as the school, to accommodate 2.>0 l)oys ; average attendance, 230. The ground floor is used as a lecture room, and will seat 450 persons. The girls and infant schools are situated ])ehind the lectnre room, and will accommodate liiO girls and 120 infants, and averages 80 in the fonncr and 70 in the latter.
iNDEPrNDENT CoLLEGE, Spring Hill, for educating young men for the ministry, among the Independents, was established in 1838. The college is in connection with the University of Londtm ; and empowered to send students to take their degi-ee at the University. Tltors: — In biblical and classical philology, the Rev. J. R. liarker; in philosophy, the Rev. Henry Rogers ; in theology, the Rev. Francis Watts. Honourable secretary to the committee of management, Thomas Beilby, Esq.
Unitarian, New Meeting Congregational Society, f(»r the support of evening schools. The object of this society being to diffuse religious knowledge among the poor, by the establishment of evening schools ; and to promote, as far a.s possil)k', their moral and intellectual improvement. By the report of 1848, these schools were well attended, and many, during the winter, were refused admittance for want of room. The adult classes were well attended, and an additional room opened for the yonng men. The Society also have afternoon .sewing schools, in New Meeting Street, and LawTence Street, which, from the exertions of the Misses llawkes, and the Misses Bedford, have gone on well. Aljout 120 children are taught to make and mend their own and their families' clothes. A Library, Reading, nnd News Room, is also ai)pendent to this society ; the library consists of 1250 volumes; the number of members is upwards of GOO — for whose accommodati«m three daily papers and nineteen weekly ones are taken, besides some of the weekly and monthly magazines. This society has effected much good, and is supported by donations and subscriptions. Rev. Samuel Bache, President; A. S, Clarkr, Huiioran/ Secretary.
IlrruiEw National School, Lower Hurst Street. This school was built in 1843, for the instruction of youth in the Hebrew Language, as well as the English and French. The average atlt-ndance is (50 boys and 2o girls.
YouNO Men's Instri'ction Society, (>, Edmund street, was established in 1844, for mutual instruction, and consists of about 'M mrnibers, who (^ach jiay Is. jxt (juarter; meet every nii,'ht, except Saturday, from half-jjast seven to ten o clock ; and Sunday morning and aft<njoon.
Polytechnic Institi'Tion, lu'ld in the Theatre of the IMiilosophical Institution, Cannon street, was t'stablislu-d in 184.'{. It embraces Pi-blic Classes f«)r Instruction in English Literature, Music, and Drawing, the French, Latin, and Cicnnan Languages, Experimental classes in Scii-nce, and Phono;/r(i/>/iic and I'/umcli/pir clashes. Ln- T,., IPS— of which 3H were delivered in IS.'J/, with great benefit, and beard with great interest. A Lirrary, consisting of about 3,.'i(»() vidumes. Mr. Macready, from a re- (piest made to him in December, 184(), gave, tor the l)enefit of the Institution, a read- ing of the tragedy of Macbeth, by which the sum of .£'2(1 was raised. News and Kead- iNo Rooms, which are attended with great interest. The possession of larger and more comm«»dious j)remises appears to be the only thing wanting to ensure permanent suc- cess. Members (^iiiirteriy Tickets for the News Room. Lectures, Library, and Classes, ,.„j,t, ."is.— all ••rpially modi-rate. J'nsidcul -^William Scholefield, K^.j. Ifvtwniri/ Sccrc- /,„.y_('l,nrles M. Evans. Esq. Librarian -Mr. George Battison Haines.
illSTORT OF BIRMINGHAM. 10
Athemc Institute, Snflfolk Street, established in 1848; its object being to provide its members with the means by which may be obtained mental, moral, and physical improvement, together with rational amusement. Edward Norton, Secretary. Terms very moderate.
Libraries. — The Birmingham Library, 23, Union street, was established in the year 1779 ; it comprises a handsome stone building with a circular portico. The read- ing room is circular, and is lighted by a dome lanthorn, resting on handsome Ionic pillars of poii)hi,Ty. It was erected in 1798, at a cost of ^'900. raised by a tontine sul)- scrijjtion of £o shares. The society pays a ground rent of c£^12 per annum, and 2=} per cent, upon the building. At this time, (1848), 100 of the nominees, out of 181, are alive. In 1845, the library was enlarged at a cost of ^2,000. The institution is under the du-cction of a committee. The terms of admission, at the commencement, were one guinea, and an annual subscription of six shillings. In 1781, the annual subscription was raised to eight shillings; and, in 1782, the library received that stability and method without which no institution can prosper. In 1786, the admission was advanced to a guinea and a half — on the niunber of subscribers amounting to 300 — to two guineas ; and when 400, to three guineas. In 1794, there were 437 subscribers, at ten shillings per annum. In 1798, that when the number of subscribers amounted to 500, the price of admission should be four guineas. In the year 1805, the annual subscription was raised to fifteen shillings; in 1812, to seventeen and sixpence, and the price of admis- sion to ten pounds. In the year 1820, the subscription was raised to one pound, and in 1835, to twenty-five shillings. In 1844, the Medical Library was admitted to join this, and in 1848, the subscription was raised to thirty shillings annually. The Library con- tains 1,000 folio volvmies, 2,300 quarto, 14,000 octavo, 4,700 duodecimo, and 4,000 volumes on medicine, making a total of 26,000 volumes. Mr. William Alldrett, Librarian.
The Philosophical Society, Cannon Street, which had been established some years, in 1810 extended then- plan, and erected a commodious Theatre for the delivery of Lectures, by their own members, and occasionally by eminent Professors in the various branches of science. They have a Museum, containing a fine collection of minerals and fossils ; an extentive philosophical apparatus; a library and reading room. The Institution consists of 219 Proprietors and Subscribers. Of these 9 are permanent Tmstees, 25 are Fellows, and 4 are Associates, Tinder the management of a committee of 16 members. Gentlemen subscribing £\ lis. 6d. annually, are entitled to a Irans- ferahle ticket to the lectures, and to personal admission to the news room, museiuu, and library of the institution. Ladies subscribing £\ Is. annually, are entitled to a ticket to the lectm"es, (transferable among ladies only.) and admission to the museum and library. Subscribers as above are entitled to tickets to the lectures, transferable among the members of their respective households, at 15s. each. Subscribers of ^'1. Is. annually are entitled to a non-transferable ticket to the lectures, and to personal admission to the musemn and lil^rary. Minors, being children of non-residents sub- scribing 15s. are entitled to personal admission to lectures, museum, and library. The amount of income and expenditure of the institution exceeds ^1000 per annum. The Right Hon. Lord Wrottesley, F.R.A.S., president; Mr. James Russell, treasurer.
At the Philosophical Institution, one of Osier's self-registering anemometers and rain guages is in operation, by means of which a constant record is obtained of the direction and force of the wind, and quantity of rain which falls. A sheet of paper, having the re- quisite lines, etc. is placed daily in the instniment, and is moved on regularly by means of a clock, at the rate of about half an inch per hour ; while three pencils, worked by the in- strument, are employed in constantly registering ; one the direction of the wind, another its force, and the third the quantity of rain that fall? ; recording at the same moment, the
20 HISTORY OF BIRMIKGUAM.
})recisc time at wliidi any clianijes occur. For more particulars of the coustmction of tlii:< iiistruinont. mid tlie advanccmeut of science, we must refer our readers to the reports ]>ul)li.slied by the British Association.
RovAL iJip.MiNOHAM and Midland Counties Art Union, IIH, New Street. Established conforma])le to the provisions of the Act of Parliament for legalizing Art Unions. Its object is to aid in extending the love of the Fine Arts throughout England, and to give encouragement to artists beyond that afforded by the patronage of indi- viduals ; but more especially with a view to the attainment of that high condition of provincial art, which is essential to the perfection of EuglLsh manufactures. Patrons. Her Majesty the Queen; Ills Royal Highness Prince Albert, K. G., tfec. President. The Ejirl of Shrewsbury. Secretary, Capt. Henry Van Bearle.
Society of Artists, Athaeneum, Temple Row, was established in 1842, solely for the encouragement of the Fine Arts. An annual exhibition of modern paintings is h»'ld, which is kept open for the space of four months. President, Sir Mai-tin Arthur Shee, P. R. A. Secretary, Mr. Henry Harris.
Society of Arts and School of Design, 69, New Street, in connection with the Government School of Design, Somerset House, London. This structTU-e has a fine fr«mt, in the Grecian style of architectm-e, consisting of a lofty and bold portico, sup- ported by fluted columns, with rich ca})itals, supporting a triangular pediment. The large exhibition room is of a circular form, 52 feet in diameter, and adjoining are smaller ones for the reception of casts and marbles, d'C. now used for modelling, draw- ing from the antique, <\:c. The formation of this institution is due, in a great measure, to Sir Robert Lawley, who, in 1821, presented a collection of casts moulded from the original Grecian mai'bles. It has also received donations, presents of works of art, and valualile books from many noblemen and gentlemen. The management is vested in a committee. In 1843 the school was opened as a School of Design, a liberal grant and donation of casts and necessary fiirnitiu-e having been made by the Government School of Design, in London. The grant has been increased, and in 1847 was cC'SoO^ which was hoped would l)e increased. The Provincial Schools are now placed under the special superintendence of Mr. Wilson, formerly Director of the Government School, in London. Many valualjle gifts have been made to the permanent and lend- ing libraries; and M. P. W. Boulton, Esq. has added to the works of art a series of the Soho coins and medals. The number of pupils are upwards of 350, who are admitted on the payment of small fees, on the nomination of a subscriber. There are male and female classes at stated hours. An annual meeting is held in May, when prizes are given to the most deser\ing. Honorary Secretary — J. W. Unett, Estj.
Newspapers. — The periodical press of Birmingham furnishes foiu" weekly news- papers.
Aris's Gazetti:, estal)lished .Tune 4th, 1741, by T. Aris ; published and j)rinted Monday, by John Caldicott, 71, High-street.
BiRMiNtiiiAM JoiRNAL, established .huie 4th, ls2.'», has several times changed pro- ])rietorH, now published and printed on Saturday, at 38, New-street, by John Frederick Feeney, on liberal princi])les.
Midland Counties Heualp, established July 28th, 183G, on the plan of a gra- tuitous circulation, ])rincip;illy dcv<>t«'d to advertistMuents ; has an extensive circulation in nirmingliiiin, and also through the j)rincipal towns and cities in England; j)rinted and pul)lished Thursday, by '1 ht)mas Barl)er Wright, Union-street, for Wright and Dain, the first establishers.
liiHMiMHiAM Merci'rv, established December 3()th, 1848, on strict independent principles; printed and j)ublishcd on Saturday, ut 110, New-street, by William Benja- min Smith.
t^i EE.NH Coi.i.rcr., Paradise street, Birmingham, was ftiunded in the year 1828, by the indefatigable exertions of William Sands CoXj Esq., F.U.S. It is a handsome strue-
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 21
ture, in the later EnglLsli stylo ; erected xinder the sui)erintenflence of Mes.'^rs, Jhitemaii and Drury, Architects, The Collo'^e was Incorporated by Koyal Charter, in August, 184^; and in 1S47, a Sn])i)leniental Charter was ad(k^d. IJy these Charters, the Princi- pal and Coiuicil. and their snccessors, are empowered to take, piircliiise, and hold for the use of the said College, any goods, chattels, or personnl proj)erty, whatsoever; and are also empowered, notwithstanding the statutes of mortmain, to take, purchase, and hold, not only all such lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and possessions, what- soever, as may be from time to time used exclusively for the sites, and immediate purposes of the said College ; but also for the use and maintenance of the said College, any other lands, tenements, and possessions, not exceeding the annual value of j£.'2,o00.
CovLRxous. A donor of .;6'1U0. constitutes a Life Governor, with the privilege of nominating annually a student, who being approved by the Council, has preference of chambers, and pays reduced rent. A donor of ^oO. constitutes a Governor of the second class, and has the privilege of appointing a student annually, subject to the approval of the Council. A donor of ^£25. constitutes a Governor of the third class.
The Council, as appointed under the Charter, consists of twenty-four persons, viz ; a Principal, Vice Principal, Dean of the Faculty, Twelve Governors elected at the annual meetmg of Governors, two Professors, two members of the Committee of Council of the Queen's Hospital, the Senior Physician, and Senior Surgeon of the said Hospital, the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of the C(ninty of Warwick, the Dean of the Cathedral of Worcester, the Archdeacon of the Archdeaconry of Coventry, the Mayor, the High Bailiff, and the Rectors of the Parishes of St. Martin and St. Philip. The Goveunment of the College is vested in the Council, subject only to a general meeting of the Gover- nors.
The System of the College is based on that of Oxford and Cambridge, varied according to difference of time and circumstance ; the general education is carried on in four distinct, yet mutually related departments : first, the Theological department ; second, the department of General Literatiu*e and Science ; third, the department of the Applied Sciences ; fourth, the Medical department.
Degrees. — The course of education qualifies for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws, Doctor of Law, Bachelor of Medicine, and Doctor of Medicine, to be conferred by the University of London; also for the Diplomas of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Society of Apothecaries, w^ithout any residence elsewhere.
Endowment. — The system of the College was prominently brought under the notice of the Reverend Samuel Wilson Warneford, L.L.D. by the Rev. Vaughan Thomas, B.D. in a printed letter, dated August 18th, 1842. That great philantliropist has made the following endowments : — For the endowment of a Chaplaincy, ^1,000 ; for the endow- ment of a Professorship of Theology, ^1,000; for the endowment of a Scholarship, ^1,000; for the endownnent of Prize Essays, .^1,000; for the endowment of a resident medical tutor, .^1,000 ; and for the endo\\nnent of a Professorship of Pastoral Theology, .^2,000. The Rev. Chancellor James T. Law, INLA., Rev. Vaughan Thomas, B.D., and William Sands Cox, F.R.S., are Trustees under these endowments.
Honorary Distinctions. — Scholarships, medals, and certificates of honour, are annually offered by the College to the Students in the several departments. The Students are alSo admitted to contend for the Scholarships, Exhibitions, (lold Medals, and Books offered by the Senate of the University of London, and Students in the Medical Department are eligible to offer themselv^es for the Studentships of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Museums and Library. — Connected with the College are Museums of Human and Comparitive Anatomy, containing upwards of 3000 specimens ; enriched by the collections of the late George Freer, and the late Alfred Tukes, surgeons of the General Hospital, and the late John Ingleby, surgeon of the Dispensary, the pathological
22 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
models of the late Dr. Felix Thiljert ; also innseiims of Zoologj-, Geology, and the other departments of natural historj*; enriched by the invaluable coUecticm of the late Karl of MoTintnorris, and the late Vicomit \'alentia; also by the Weaver Mnsemn, jjurchased at the sunl of .£151)0. The Library contains upwards of 3000 volumes, whicli includes some of the best editions of the classics, Works of Divinity, General Literature, towards the formation of which the late Dr.'John Johnstone, the Rev. Dr. S. \V . \\arneford, and the llev. Chuncellor .lames T. Law, have been jkrrcat contributors. The Museums and Library arc at all times open to the Governors, Fellows, Professors and Students, under certain regulations.
Thh Chapel. — The foundation stone of the chapel was laid on the 18th August, 1S43, by the Rev. Chancellor James T. Law; and consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese, in November. 1S44. The chapel has recently been enriched by a splendid painted glass window; the subject, — "Christ healing the sick;' designed by Mr. Jirooke Smith, and executed by Mr. Pemberton. The window was suljscribed for through the exertions of James Vaughan Hughes, a distinguished student of the college. The arms of the \-isitor, the Rev. S. Warneford; of the principal, Lord Lyttleton ; the \ice-i)rinci])al, the Rev. Chancellor Law; the late principal. Dr. Johnstone; and of the founder, ^Villiam Sands Cox, occupy compartments of the window.
Dn. Johnston r, of Edgbaston Hall, was appointed the first ])rincipal under the char- ter, and on his retirement, at a pul)lic meeting, held in the Town Hall, October 2Sth, 1^45, a resolution was imanimously passed: — " The governors, comicil, professors, and students, beg to convey to Dr. Johnstone, on the occasion of his retirement from the office of principal, the earnest and affectionate exjjression of their gratitude, for his invaluable and unremitting sen-ices in promoting the fonnation, and in presiding over the councils of the college, for the long period of IS years, A-c. ; and it is their earnest lioi)e, that it may please Almighty Providence to continue long to him the enjo^nnent of health, and of every earthly blessing; and to the college, in council asseml)led. the l)rotracted benefit of that fostering care and paternal advice, which have so essentially contributed to its present p»)sition and character."
The expense of the charter, and supplemental charter, was almost entirely defrayed by the Rev. Dr. S. \V. Warneford. and the Rev. James Thomas Law, chancellor of the diocese of Lichfield, (the vice-principal and honoran,' warden of the college.) whose generous sernces have thus been recorded in the annals of the institution. "' The coinicil desire to have placed on record, the inestimable l)enefit the college has derived from the personal jiresence of the vice-principal, diu-ing his residence within their walls, in the honorary' performance of warden. His presence raised the tone and gave elevation to the thoughts of the students; and the felicitous influence of the precepts ''that teach by e\antj)l(','" has been very i>roniinently marked in the general reirularity and practical working of the institution." At a meeting of the governors, held on the illith of August, lH4l), the council conchided their report by stating, that 'Minder the blessing «)f God. now the institution was ccMuplete in all its parts; they could not refrain from referring to one, who may be virtually c<msidered the foiuider ttf the Queen's College, and of the Queen's Hospital, William Sands Cox, Esq.; who has at every personal sacrifice, given himself up, heart and soul, during a jieriod of 21 years, to the institution ; hnviti^' therel)y conferred a lasting benefit on the j)lace of his birth, and secmvd to hims^df a claim upon the gratitude of his country."
Li'NATic AsvMiM, Winson Green. 2.} miles W . from the Hull Ring. 'I'he first stone of Ibis liiiilding was laid 2!)th SfptenilxT. 1S47, and it is t<» be completed in September, 1S4!). '1 111- rstinmted cost <»f tbe building is .t'4r»,000, and is to be defrayed out of the llorongb Kiitf. Tlic building is of lirick, and consists »tf two wings, one for nmle, and tlie otbcr for ft'nialr patients, containing fine ifoUeries in each, which willacciunmodate .'{.'•O ]»ers(»ns. witb rmmiv for tbe board of directf»rs.viipi>rintendent. nmtron, surgeon, iVc.
HISTOKV OF BIRMINGHAM. 23
and will occupy about fiftocu acres of land, liavinfr ciiflitcon airini; com-(.s or ^-iirds. besides extensive walks and pleasiu-e i^'ronnds. and each win^' will coxitain a suit of baths. Daniel Kowliuson Hill, Es(i. is the architect, and Mr. John Ilardwick, the contractor, both of Birminjj;hani.
General Hospital. Summer Lane, a noble institution, for the relief of the poor inhabitants of the town. It is an extensive brick buildinjj^, commenced in the year 176t?. but the funds bcinij exhausted, the stnictm-e was delayed till 1778, when other subscriptions and donations were obtained, and in 177i^ it was opened to the public. The wings were added in 1791. The interior is well arranged, containing fom-tcen wards, in which are one hundred and sixty five beds, for the accommodation of its sick inmates, with excellent ranges of offices and apartments for the medical and other officers connected with the institution. A fine room, in which the committee assem1)le, contains a portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, of Dr. Ash, an eminent physician, to whose exertions the establishment of the hospital is mainly to be attril>uted. It also contains a good portrait of the late Mr. Freer, by T. Phillips, B.A. ; and a bust of the late Charles Lloyd, Esc^. ; also of William llolle, Esq., a great benefactor to the institution, and one to the late G. Biu-ker, Esq. The institution is under the management of a committee, comprised of the Right lion, the Earl of Dartmouth, the Hon. Frederick Gough, and sixteen others. Four physicians and four surgeons render gratuitous ser- vice; twelve visitors are appointed to inspect the wards, and a clergyman of the Church of England officiates as chaplain. There is also a resident surgeon and apothecary, with a steward and matron, who reside in the hospital. It is supported by subscrip- tions, donations, and by funds arising from, the triennial Musical Festival. The first festival was held in September, 1776, at St. Philip's Church, the perfonuances consist- ing of selections of sacred music, lasted three days. Since the town hall was completed they have been held there. The morning performances are generally an Oratorio of Handel, or of some other celebrated composers; and the -Jveniug concerts, consistiu"' of selections from the compositions of foreign and English masters, are, perhaps, the most magnificent that are held in the kingdon. The orchestra usually includes the first in- strumental and vocal performers in Europe. On the last evening a dress ball is given. This, though a very uncertain source, yet from the extraordinary exertions used in providing this Grand Mcsical Festival, in 1846, the sum of j^J,508 5s. lid. was paid over by the committee of the Festival to the treasurer of the General Hospital ; the largest sum ever received, except in the year 1824, when it reached £5,807. The chief support to this Hospital, at its first establishment, arose from country subscribers. At the present time, about two thirds of the subscribers are resident in the town and im- mediate neighbourhood. Within a few years, hospitals have been erected at Leaming- ton, Coventry, and W^olverhampton, each successive year thei-efore, increases the necessity of looking to the immediate locality for additional aid. Since the first open- ing of the Ho-^pital, to the niidsmnmer of 1847, the number of In-patients admitted was 74,234, and the nmnber of Out-patients 189,024. Dming the period of that year 1,9J4 In-patients had been admitted, and, during the same period of that year, 140 deaths occurred; pre\-ious to which the average nmnber of deaths was about 100 annually. The income for the year ending midsummer, 1847, was — Annual Subscriptions, ^'2,247 5s. — Dividends on Stock, Interest, tfec. ^1082. 9s. 4d. — Donations, ^'160. 12s. Id. — Legacies, ^1,401 10s. — which, with the smn received from the ^Musical Festival, making a total of jC10,400 3s. Id., exclusive of small contingencies. The real expenditiue be- ing ^o,9ll lis. 8d., but which left a balance in the hands of the Treasurer, House Steward, and IVIatron, of ^'410 14s. 4. against a similar balance of .i^364 5s at the com- mencement of the year. The present Officers of the Hospital (1848) are, Prcsidcnl — • Lord Ward. Vice-Presidents — Lord Brooke, Evylin John Shirley, Esq., M.P,, Charles Newdigate Newdegate, Esq., M.P., Richard Spooner, Esq., M.P. Physicians — Dr. James Johnstone. Dr. John Eccles, Dr. George Fabian Evans, and Dr. Bell Fletcher.
24 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Surgeons — Mr. Ricbard Wood, Mr. Dickinson Webster Cromptou, Mr. Samuel Hohn- den Anij)lilet, and Mr. Alfred Baker. Committee — Consisting of eighteen. Commit- tee OF Ar( dints — Mr. John Cadbury. and Mr. Sampson S. Lloyd. Auditors — Joseph Frederick Ledsam, Esq., and Mr. Thomas (Joodman. Visitors — Consisting of twelve. Chaplain — Rev. Charles Hume. Treasurers — Messrs. Taylor and Lloyd. House SuRGEo.v — Mr. Oliver Pemberton. Matron — Mrs. Rebecca Hawkes. Secretary and House-Steward — Mr. Henry Howell. Collector — Mr. John Culcope Bond. — The Humane Society, f<tr the recovery of persons apparently drowned, established in 179'N ^va.'^, in the year ISU^, attached to the General Hospital.
The Queen's Hospital, situated on an elevated site of deep red sand stone and gravel, at the west extremity of the town. It consists of a centre and two wings, called respectively the Victoria and Adelaide wings. This Institution was founded under the auspices of the Rev. James Thomas Law, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lichfield, by the unwearied exertions of William Sands Cox, F.R.S. The first stone was laid 18th June, 1840, l)y the Riu'ht Hon. Earl Howe. The Masonic l)ody of the Town and Midland Counties attended on the occasion. The Rev. Vaughan Thomas, B.D., vicar of Stoneleigh, delivered a most impressive address to the spectators. The Wards were opened for the reception of patients, l)y the Lord Bishop of the Diocese in the folhiwing year, when an eloquent sermon was preached at St. Thomas's Church by the Diocesan. The fimndation stone of the detached Fever Wards was laid on the 16th .July, 184o, by Edward Towuseud Cox, Esq., and patients admitted within their walls 1st October, 184(3. This building also contains a centre and tA-o wings, and will accommodate "JO patients. The Hospital is a chaste and elegant structure from a design by Bateinan and Dmry, architects. The entire cost of the building was.i^8746. 1 Is. Id. The Chapel, the Physicians and Surgeons rooms, and the Dispensary, were fitted up at theexpence of the Rev. Dr. Warneford ; and the whole of the glass required in the Dis- pensary, was presented ])y T. Gammon, Esq. of the Belmont glass works. The Hospital contains l.'iO beds, and is approached by an elegant pctrtico, surmounted by the arms of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Wilson \\'arneford, a great benefactor to the charity; who, to furnish the patient.s with the advantages of religious instruction and consolation, l)resented in the year 1842 to the committee, the munificent sum of .£1.000. To relieve the Charity from a building debt in the year 1847, the artizans instituted a penny subscription, and through their chairman, Mr. Alderman Palmor, their treasurer, Mr. Aldcrmiui IMiillips. and their Secretary, Mr. John Talbut, contributed the noble sum <)f X"!)0."<, which is rec<»rded on a marble tablet in the vestibule. Also here is placed a Inist from the studio »)f Mr. Peter Ilollins, of the Rev. Dr. Warneford. By Subscriptions and Donations for the year 1847, .^t'lO.jl was received ; .£.'315. 18s. by Fees for Students, and .f-JSO. the proceeds of a Hall, and the sum of .£453. 8s. Id. remained in the Treitsurers hands. The In-Patients were 908, and the Home and Out Patients, 2264, Iloiiorarv Physicians, Edward Johnstone, M.D. and Jtdin K. IJooth, M. D. — Honorary Suri^eon, Edward TovnisiMid Cox. — Pii vsicians, John Birt Davies, John B. Melson, ami Sanuiel Wright.— Sur(;i:ons, William Sands Cox, F.R.S,, G. B. Kuowles, F.L.S. and Langstou Parker. The Charity is open to the sick and lame poor, from whatsoever county recommended, and for the reception of all contagioxis fevers. As a dispensary for out and home patients, who enjoy the advantages of medical and surgical assistance at their own homes. As a maternity charity, for the benefit of poor lyinir-in married women, who are attended at their own homes, under the direction of the professors of niiilwifery, at t^ueen's C«dlege. Every governor is entitled to recommend t\)r "Vaccine Innocubition ' lus nuiny as he may think j»roper. Subscribers of one guinea have tho ])rivilege to recouunend one In-jjatient, one Home-patient, and one Out-patient, and so in proportion. The maimgement of the Hosi)ital is by Subscribers of two Guineas and iq)wards. The general bnsin«vss is transacted by a Committee, called the Ccunmittee «)f Coun'il. which consists of the Princii>al. \'ice-Principal. and Dean of the Faculty of
HISTORY OF in RIMING HAM. 25
the Queen's College, and two of the Professors, tojjcther with not more than twenty nor less than twelve Governors, to be elected annually, by ])rinted lists sent to each Benefactor and Governor. The medical olTioors attend daily at 9 o'clock, and on roturninf? from the Wards, enter their names in a book to the previously written or printed day of the month.
General Dispensary, Union Street, is a neat modern stone building, with a centre and two wings, hax'ing four lofty pilasters, supporting a triangular pedunent. Over the entrance is an appropriate piece of sculpture in relief, the work of Mr. H. Hollins. The Dispensary was established in 1794 : the object of the charity is to relieve poor patients, who must be recommended l)y a subscriber. The subscription is a guinea a year, and upwards. There are two resident surgeons, a dispensing apothecary, and an accoiicheur. Three physicians and six surgeons give their gratuitous services. The total number of patients up to December 31st, 1847, was 117,927 sick, 26,937 midwifery, and 68,190 of vaccine innocculation. The expenditm'e amounts to about j£l,100. per annum, and the receipts, from January 1st, to December 31st, 1847, to j^l242. Us. 4d., made up from an annual Subscription list amounting to.:£701. 8s., from Dividends on Stock ^£98. 18s. 4d., Interest, from Worcester Canal Company, for Loan of j^oOO, c£23. Is. 3d., and Interest of money in the hands of the Treasurers, c£10. 9s. lid., and ^331. Is. from le- gacies and donations during the year, lea\-ing a balance in the hands of the Treasurers of i£^499. 13s. Id. The Officers are, President — W. S. Dugdale, Esq. Committee of (iovERNORS — Consisting often gentlemen. Treasurers — Messrs. Moilliet and Son. Physicians — Samuel Wright, M.D., L.L.D., and James Russell, M.B. Surgeons — Messrs. G. Elkington, S. A. Boudley, James Harmar, W. M. Richards, Edward Cripps, and T. L. Hill. Resident Surgeons — Mr. John Carter and Mr. Thomas Shaw. Resident Surgeon Accoucheur — Mr. Richard Thomason. Dispensing Apothecary — Mr. Geo. Webb. Collector — Mr. Richard Beilby. In connection with the Dispensary, is a Fund for the relief of the destitute patients of the General Dispensary, which was esta- l^lLshed at a meeting held November 16th, 1842. This fund is principally supported by subscriptions, which, for the year ending Michaelmas, 1847, amounted to £5A. 13., and a donation of £\. Is. The expenditure was <^o(). Os. 2d., whch, however, left a balance of .^68. Us. 4d., in the hands of the Treasurers.
Birmingham and Deritend Self-Supporting Dispensary. — Central office, .3, Colmore Row. The objects of this Institution are, to place within the reach of the provident and industi'ious among the working classes, who reside within three miles of St. Philip's Cluu-ch, prompt and competent medical assistance, on the payment of a smn suited to their circmnstances, to enable them, dm-ing health, to pro\'ide for the ne- cessities of sickness, and enable them to prevent the danger of incurring medical ex- penses which they may never be able to discharge. Twelve siu-geons, in various dis- tricts, give their attention to this Institution. The Registrar, Mr. Josiah Allen, 3, Cobnore Row, can give tickets and every other information.
HoMCEOPATHic DisPENSARY, 13, Old Square — Disciples of Ilalmeinan. This Insti- tution was commenced in 1847. Homoeopathy was first introduced into Birmingham in 184o, when only one family could be found to aver their readiness to be treated Ijy it in acute illness, the practice being one of simples, and medicines greatly diluted, in oppo- sition to the administering of extracts and strong chemical preparations. The present Dispensary was opened in May, 1847, so that, from the very beginning, it had many obstacles to contend with. Three medical men in Birminr/ham are now practisin(j it exclw sivel;/, and the applications to this institution have greatly increased. Every subscriber or donor of one guinea is entitled to recommend for gratuitoiLs ti-eatment at the Insti- tution, six patients annually, and one other to be attended at his or her home. Other persons, who do not seek relief, are prescribed for at the Dispensary, on paying two shillings and sixpence per month, or six shillings per quarter. By a Report, from the 10th May, 1847, to the 24th June, 1848, the sum of .£363. Os. 6d. was received from
D
26 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
subscribing patients, and the sum of ^'IJl. os. 7<i. from annual subscriptions and dona- tions, making a total of ^514. 6s. Id. The total expenditure was ^310. \6s. Ud., leav- ing a balance to the credit of the Dispensary of ^203. 9s. 2d. Patients are admitted daily, from two to three o'clock. Every exertion is used in obia'ming funds necess iry for the reception of In-patients. The present Officers are, Patrox — E. J. Shirley, M. P. A Committee of nine persons as Managers. Mudical Officers. — Dr. Fearou attends on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Mr. LauTence on Tuesdays, Thvirsdays, and Saturdays. Mr. Pearson on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Secretary — Mr. George Taylor. Chemist — Mr. Corfield, 11, New Street.
Eye Infirmary, Cannon Street, was founded in 1823, and opened in April, 1824, for the relief of poor persons afflicted with diseases of the eye. Attendance is given every day (Sunday excepted), at one o'clock : patients, in certain cases, received as In- patients. Donors of ten guineas, annual subscribers of on? guinea, and the medical officers, are governors, a'.id possess the right of recommending an unlimited number of patients : and the head or other officer, for the time being, of any parish, township, body corjiorate, or society, making such donation or subscription, shall be a governor. The power of appointing all paid officers is vested in a committee. During the year ending 31st March, 1848, 3,325 patients were admitted, Avhich exceeded the number in the pre- vious year by nearly 500 cases. The whole nmuber since 1824 is 51,026. The expendi- ture, during the year, was j£^154. 9s. 2d., with an income of .£269. 14s. 9d., of which i£18S. 3s. was subscriptions, £\0. 15s. donations, and £00. the legacy of Miss Primer. The sum of .£2. in the charity box; interest on the bank account, .£7., and on a loan to the Gas Company, ^I 1. 4s. 7d. The regular subscriptions fall considerably short of the expenditm-e. The Committee are very anxious to obtain a more capacious and perma- nent l)uilding for the use of this Institution. The attending Surgeons are Mr. Ryland, Mr. Cheshire, and Mr. Soloman, and the consulting Surgeon Joseph Ilodgsou, Esq. F.R.S.
I.NSTiTUTioN FOR THE Relief OF Deafness. Tliis lustitiition owes its establish- ment to William Dutton, Esq., M.R.C.C. The expenses for the year, ending Novem- ber 30th, 1847, amounted to c£53. 3s. 8d., and the income to £\()y). 12s. lOd., of which .i^47. 5s. was subscriptions, ^£^50. a legacy from Miss Prim9r, and £3. 7s. lOd. the interest on the Ijalance in the Treasurer's hands for one year, including interest on the legacy for foiu mouths — the balance in hand being £dS. 5s. U^d. During the year 253 cases were under treatment, many of which were of long standing; of these, 98 were cured, 84 relieved, 50 incurable, and 21 remained under treatment. President — Right Hon. Lord Ward. Medical Officer — William Dufton, Esq., M.R.C.S. Treasurer — W. L. Sargant, Esq. IIoxorary Secretary — W, Chance, jim.. and a Committee of eight gentlemen.
(lEMiUAi- Institi'tion for the Instruction of Deaf and Dtmb Children, Edgbaston, near Birmingham, established in the year 1812. This excellent charity was founded, princii)ally, by the exertions of Drs. De Lys and Blair. It comprises a handsome building, having accommodation for sixty-five children, for which an annual rent of £15. is paid to Lord Calthorpe. No children are lodged or boarded in the asylmn un- less Iheir friends, or the ]»arishes to which Ihey belong, contribute towards the expenses of their maintenance ami clothing, according to a rate to l)e re;,'ulated, from tinu^ to time, by the Committee. Annual subscribers «»f one guinea are members, with the right of voting at General Meetings. Dtinors of XIO. and upwards, (at one time,) or executors paying a legacy of ,£50. or upwards, nre entitled, for life, to the jnivileges of members. Durint? the past year, endiuir October 1st, 1847, legacies and donation.s lunomitiiij; to .t'753. Is, 1 Id. have been received ; of which, .£400. was from the executors of th(* late Samuel Barlx r, and ,£150. from the cxix-utors of the late .Tosej)h \\'alker. Annual .subscript ions, aiuountiug to ubotit .£500. per annum, are received from War- wickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire,
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 27
Sliropsliire, and other Counties. Tlic state of the institution is most satisfactory. During the year, £-2S\. 12s. Sd.'was expended in building, repairs of buildings, &c. ; the housekeeping expenses amounted to £63S. 7s. 6d. ; and .£'6()0. was invested in the three per cent, consols ; 55 children were in the institution, of whom three were paid for by their friends, Mr. Arthur IT<^ppor, B.A., the iNSTRrcroR, wlio ranks high for his skill and diligence in the education of the jmpils, has accommodation to receive a Ihnited niimber of private deaf and dmnb pupils ; Secuetart, Mr. Edward Everitt; Drawing Master, Mr. W. (Ireen ; Matron, Mrs. Green.
Institutiox for the Blind, 113, Broad Street. This institution for some time existed as a private establishment, but at the first annual meeting, held at Dee's Royal Hotel, on Monday, 24th Ai)ril, 1848, it was resolved to form a piiblic institution, to be called •' The Bu-mingliam Institution for the Blind." During the previous year the pupils had never exceeded 17, though 20 had been admitted; 11 other applications had been made, but the smallncss of the premises prevented their admission, either as day pupils or boarders. The committee are searching for suitable premises, and for a great extension of the subscriptions and donations, &c. The annual subscriptions for the year ending Lady Day, 1848, amounted to ^'80. 18s.; donations, .^123. 3s.; and a donation of ^25. for extending the institution ; £16. 3s. 9d. was received from the pupils, and £6. 4s. Sd. from the sale of articles manufactm-ed by the pupils, with the sum of £1. 15s. interest from the Savings' Bank, making a total of ^£253. 5s. 5d. The ex- penditure, including furniture and a piano, amounted to £\99. 17s. lOd., leaving a balance of ^53. 7s. 7d. President, James Taylor, Esq. ; Chaplain, Rev. George Lea; Physician, Dr. Bell Fletcher; Surgeon, Mr. Thomas Chavasse; Treasurer, Mr. Thomas Goodman; Honorary Secretary, Mr. C. P. Higgs.
Birmingham General Provident and Benevolent Institution, established 1833. Central office. No. 25, Ann Street, with 13 other district offices and agents. On December 31st, 1847, there were 2,501 members on the books, of whom 2,147 were insuring medical attendance; 1,878 insiu-ing a sum of money at death, (630 of them being children in the Sitnday Schools ;) 30 are paying double for 18 years and 7 months ; 4 treble for 1 1 years ; and 8 quadniple for 7 years and 9 months, to become independent of their weekly contributions to their sick club, and to insure an extra provision for their widows and orphans at their death ; one is already independent, two are paying for independent endowments, and two for independent annuities ; one is paying for an annuity after the age of 60, and thirty-one for annuities after the age of 65 ; 256 are depositing in the saving's fund ; and 58 are honorary members, subscribing to the benevolent fund only. This institution is rapidly increasing in usefulness, and has a balance in hand of .£3,767. In 1841 the number of members were 670, and the balance in hand £6S6. The central office is open daily, from nine in the morning until six in the evening ; Mr. W. Thompson, Secretary. Under the patronage of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Worcester. — A Branch Office of the Birmingham Provident and Benevolent Institution is opened at St. Andrew's Parish, Bordesley, school house, Watery lane, every Monday evening, at 7 o'clock, Mr. E. Wigley, agent; also a Clothing Club at the same time. A Dorcas Society is also held at Mr. Moore's, the minister's house, 1, St. Andrew's TeiTace; and a Sick Linen Society is held in connection with the Holy Trinity, Bordesley, and the hamlet of Deritend. The linen kept at William Rowley's, next the school house. Watery lane.
Birmingham and Midland Counties Lying-in-Hospital and Dispensary, Islington, instituted in the year 1812, by the indefatigable exertions of a few charitable individuals; and nearly .£1,500. was received as the proceeds of a bazaar, held at the Town Hall. The objects of this institution is to supply medical and obstetric attend- ance to poor married women, at their confinements ; either in their own houses, or within the wards of the hospital, and to afford medical relief in the diseases incident to women and children. From the commencement of the charity, to the year end-
28 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
ing September 29tlj, 1847, upwards of 2,851 patients liave received medical attend- ance, in the midwiferj' depiirtment ; and 2,205 have been attended l)y the medical oflBcers, and supplied with medicines, <fec., in the dispensary department. A Mu- seum is attached to the Hospital. The present building is quite inadequate to the wants of the institution ; and it seems desirable, that this important subject should re- ceive the immediate attention of the governors and friends of the Hospital. During the year, the annual subscriptions amounted to £263. lis.; a legacy of £30. was received from the late Mr. Owen; and small donations amounting to .£1.5s. ; making ^314. 16s. : also, dm-ing the year, was received donations in aid of the Building Fimd, amomiting to j^245. Secretary and Collector, Mr. Da\-id Cope; Medical Officers, Francis Elkington, Esq., M.R.C.S., Eric Mackay, Esq., M.D., M.R.C.S., John Archer, Esq., M.R.C.S. ; Resident Surgeons, Mr. Basset, and Mr. Deakin ; Dispenser, Mr. Atkin- son; Matron., Mrs. Saggers.
Magdalen Asvlim, Broad Street, Islington, was instituted 1828, as a Penitentiary for unfortunate females, who profess themselves desirous to return to the paths of virtue ; its object and design having respect to the formation of principles and habits, that will qualify their subject to live a reputable and usefiil life. A Chapel is connected with the institution, in which divine senice is perfonned twice on a Simday, at half-past ten, morning, and half-past six, evening. The number remaining in the Asylum, at the close of the year 1846, was 21; and eight applications had l)ecn rejected for want of room. Many donations have been made to the institution, since its establishment ; and annual subscriptions, amountmg to upwards of ^160.; a collection at St. Martin's Church, t(j j£30; with work and other somces of income; which renders the institution tolerably efiicient. President, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Worcester; Physi- cian, Samuel Wright, M.D., L.L.D.; Sirgeon, Mr. Samuel Berry; Chaplain, Rev. Thomas Arden; Secretary, Mr. .Joseph Rock; Matron, Elizabeth Carpenter.
Birmingham Town Mission ; .John Whitehouse Showell, Secretary, 26, Teujplo Street. Also, the Otlice for the Animal's Friend Society ; and the Depot for the Reli- gious Tract Society, London, and for the Sunday School Union. Bible Society's Depot, at William Ilaswells, New Street.
The Society for Promoting Christian Knoui.edges Depot, at Henry Charles Langbridge's, Bull Street.
Tin; St. (Ieorge's Association, and the British and Foreiga Bible Society's Depot, at AVilliam Deer's, 3, Great Russell Street.
Asylum for Children, Summer Lane, was fonned in the year 17^7, for the purjjose of afibrding an Asylum to the infant children of the poor. It is under the management of a committee of overseers and guardians, and supported from the Poor's rate ; it will accommodate 343 children, boys and girls ; nveraging upwards of 300. Every attention is ])aid lo the morals and comfort of the children, the establishment being provided with a i>lay gi'ound, a ])ath, and a chapel for Divine Service. Those who are old emuigh, are emph)yed in shoe making, tailoring, sewing, «fec. Master, Matthew Dixon; Matron, Hannah Silcock ; Schoolma.ster, Charles Tye; School- mistress, .lane A. Edwards.
The Manor of Birmingham was for many centuries the possession of the noble family of Bimiinghiim. Iluttov states that Cridda. a Saxon, came over with a body of troops, and reduced MtTcia, (of which lUriningham was nearly in the centre) in ."»82 ; therefore as no revolution hap])ened alter, that w(mld cause Birmingham to change its owner, and as the land was not in a very saleable state, there is the greatest reason to suppose the fotinder of the house of Binuintrham came over with Cridda as an officer in his army, and procured this little flourishing domini(ni as a reward for his services. The succeeding generations of this family are too remote for historical penetration, and the mutiitions of time too vari»)us, until the reign of F.dward the Confessor, the livst of the Saxon Kings. In lOoO, L'lwin became its possessor ; iu 1060, Richard, who lived
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 2(7
at the period of the conquest, succeeded hhn; In 1130, William, who like his unfortu- nate father, was in a state of vassalage ; in 1 154, Peter de Beumingham, the first of his family who took up the name of Benningham, lived in affluence at the Moat near Bermingham ; in l-21t), William de BEiiMixdHAM, whose uncle was supposed to bo instnimontal under Strongbow, in the reduction of Irelnnd, in the reign of Henry 11., and who was rewarded with an estate and the title of Earl of Lowth ; in 1-24G, William DE Bermingham married the daughter of the eminent Thomas de Astley, and joined lam under Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and, in 1265, fell in the battle against Henry III. at Evesham. The barons were prescribed, and the manor of Benningham (valued at .£40. per annum) confiscated, and afterwards given by the King to Roger de Clifiord, one of his favoiwites. In 1265 William de Bermingham redeemed hLs lands, and recovered the inheritance of his family ; in 1306, William de Benningham succeeded, but was not knighted until 1317; in 1324, William de Bermingham, Lord Bermingham raised troops under Edward H., and in the first year of Edward HI. was for the first and only time siunmoned to parliament, by the title of Lord William de Benningham. In 1340, Sir Fouk de Berminghaji succeeded, was returned member forWarwick, 1352, 1362, and in several succeedmg parliaments ; in 1376 Sir John de Bermingham, was, in succession, returned member for the Counties of Warwick, Bedford, and Buckingham. In 1500, Edward Bermingham succeeded his grandfather at the age of three, being bom in 1497, and in his minority, Edward Lord Dudley was granted the wardship, by Henry VU. in 1502. The family estates then consisted of the manor of Bermingham, five others in the county of Oxford, one in Bucks, and one in Worcester ; and after peaceable possession of these estates for nearly forty years, this ancient and illustrious family was overwhelmed by the ambitious and base John Diidley, Duke of Northum- berland, and his possessions surrendered to the crown xmder a special Act of Parlia- ment, which allowed the said Edward and his wife <;£^40 a-year during their lives. This Duke of Northumberland, being anxious to possess himself of this manor, by a wicked device contrived it that Edward de Bermingham was apprehended and prosecuted as one of a party of robbers, and his estates were given up to the crown as above stated ; and remaining nine years, (probably so long that the world might not censure the act.) was, on December 21st, the 37th of Henry VIII. granted, with the patronage of the Rectory, and all the other estates of Edward de Bermingham, to Viscount L'Isle, commonly known by the greater titles of Earl of WarvWck and Duke of Northumber- land. ]Mr. Hutton states that he knew of no branch of this family except that of which the Earl of Lowth was head. In 1537, John Duke of Northumberland became lord ofthe manor of Binningham, but it did not prosper under his government; although he exercised the ownership, he did not accept the grant until 1546, when these cla- moiirs had somewhat subsided. He kept possession six or seven years only, when, through his ambition and artifices, he was attainted in the first of Queen Mary, and losing his head, fell unlamented ; and the manor reverted to the crown, which Queen Mary, in 1555, gi-anted to Thomas Marrow, in whose family it continued nearly two centuries, when, from the male line failing, it became the property of four co-heiresses, who disposed of the private estate in the manor, to Thomas Shu-lock, Bishop of London. It then amounted to about j£^400. per annum; in 1796 the annual rent increased to ^2,400. The manor itself was sold for ^6^1, 700. in 17-16, to Thomas Archer, Avhose family had resided at Umberslade, in this county, for more than six centuries. It de- scended ft-om him to Andrew Lord Archer, who, at his demise, left the manor to his three daughters; one married the Earl of Plymouth. The present Lord ofthe Manor, who succeeded his father, is Christopher Musgrave, Esq. John Arnold, Esq. is the Steward, who holds a Court Leet annually, when the ancient officers are chosen.
After the extinction of the Bermingham family, the lords did not reside on the manor. This place gives the title of Baron Birmingham to Lord Viscount Dudley and Ward, who, by the female line is descended from the Norman Barons, the Fitz-Aus- culfs, the Paganalls, the Somerys, the Suttons, and the Dudleys.
30 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Manor House. — The Moat, the residence of the h:)rds of Bemiingham. was situated within sixty yards of St. Martin's church, and twenty west of Digbeth. The moat, which defended the manor house, was supplied by a small stream, which originally joined the Rea, at Vaughton's hole, and divided the parishes of Birmingham and Edg- baston. At the formation of the Moat, the course of this apparently insignificant stream, (which afterwards turned a thread mill for several years in Mill lane.) wa-s changed, and was so level and gentle, that another, (ai)pro])ri:itely called PfnniNG Brook, fn»m receiving the washings of the town,) ran parallel with it in an opposite direction. On the filling up of the Moat, the former stream, which had been diverted from the river Ilea for about one thousand years, was again restored to it by an arti- ficial channel, near Vaughton's hole. The Moat was filled up in 1816, until which period some slight traces remained of the original Hall, where the Court Leets were held. The original site of the mansion and domain is now converted into a cattle market of great extent and utility, and named Smilkfield, after that of the metropolis.
The Oflicers chosen at the Court Lect, are, High Bailift, William James, Esq. ; Low Bailii-f, Robert Martin, Esq.; Constables, Messrs. George Tiu-ner and Edwin Smith ; Headborough, Mr. George Red fern ; Constable for Deuitend, Mr. Thomas Wells Ingram ; Flesh Coxners, Messrs. John Schofield and Edward Shrews- bury ; Ale Cowers, Messrs. John Machin and Richard Bates.
Market Hall. — This building, which is constructed of fi"ee stone, from a design by Mr. Edge, of Birmingham, extends from High-street to Worcester-street, and is 360 feet long, 108 wide, and 28 high up to the roof. It is a plain Grecian structure, with a deep base, and a projecting entablature, having one large and lofty entrance in Fligh-street, and another in Worcester-street; two similar entrances, with plain pyramidal projecting facades in Phili])-street, and two in Bell-street, to the \inder part of tlie building ; and from thence by sto])s np to the hall. The roof is composed of a lantern middle ])art for air and light, iind has fifly-six windows on each side, and five at each end, with seventeen large sky-lights at the top, and two side parts of the com- mon angular construction, which have seventeen sky-lights each. The whole is sus- tained by seventeen series of beams, which are supported by seventeen pairs of iron pillars, 28 feet high, and 20 feet a-part. There are twenty-six lot\y circular-headed windows on each side of the hall ; six at the north entrance, and two at the south ; and altogether there are 22^ windows in the luiilding. In Bell-street, the west side, there is a row of vaults which are let for shops, twenty-three in number ; and there are forty vaults under the building, in a long range of cellaring, which are used as stores. In the body of the hall there is room for accommodating 600 persons with stalls, with sj)ace sufficient for three or four thousand persons to perambulate. The cost of the Imild in-,' was about X'2r». 000.; and the erection occupied nearly two years. The an- nual rent paid for stalls amoiuits, j)rol)ably, to l)etweeii five ami six thousmul ])Ounds. It is usually allowed to be one of the finest l)uildings in the kingdom. This hall was erected imder an Act of Parliament, passed May 23rd, 1828, for improving the town of Binnint^ham, under which the Market Place was made very extensive. Tlie Mar- kets are Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Fairs are held, for horses and cattle, on Thursday, in AVhitsun week, and the Tlnu"sday nearest to Micliaelmas-d;iy ; the two days succeeding each are pleasure fairs.
In the centre of the Market Scpiare stands Nelson's Statue. It is a bronze figure, by Westmacott. The figure rests on a round nuirble jjedestal, which is ornamented with scul])ture; the left arm reclines u])on an anchor, and the group is nuide up with the tnodel of a ship of war. The statue is surrounded by a sfjuare of iron jialisades, the comers of which are appropriately ornamented with castings of cannon. It cost about .£'2,;')00. and was opened f«>r public insj)ection in the year 1800.
Also a New Market Hall, in Pros])ect Row, was erected in 1837, by Messrs, E. and C. Robins, at their own expense, the great increase of pojmlation in the immediate neighljoxuhood having induced thereto. The market is divided into com-
F^ISTOliY OF IJIRMIXGDAM. .3i
partment«, and a house is attached, in which the superintendent resides. Tliese Halls are for the sale of butter, ejfgs, poultry, fruit, vegetables, tfec. — Corn is sold at the CoHX ExcH.wtiK, Iliifh street, Tuesday and Thiirsday, the latter being the principal day. Smithkikiu Cattli: Maiiki.t, (St. Miulins,) for horses and cattle on Thiu-sday. Fish M\hki:t, Dale End, is generally supplied with every variety of fish in season, and also with game. St. Mautin's Market, Jamaica row, for wholesale butchers on Tuesday, Thiu-sday, and Saturday, from four till nine in the morning. Wholesale Vegetable Markets. — Bull Ring, Tuesday, Thiu-sday, and Satxu-day. And a wholesale vegetable market also on the same mornings at Costa Green. The Hay and Straw Market is on Tuesday, at Smithfield.
The Corn Exchange was erected by a Joint Stock Company, whose capital is .£5,000., in shares of £-2o. each . It Ls a beautiful building, in the Doric order of archi- tecture, and, including the vestibule, is 172 feet long. It is lighted from the roof, which is glass throughout the extent of the building. It is decidedly the most elegant Corn Exchange in the kingdom, and the interior decorations and fittings reflect the highest credit on the ai'chitect. It was opened for business in October, 1847, and ou Thm-sdays is crowded with farmers and dealers from the town and country.
Trade. — Among the early articles of ti-ade in Buiuingham, Leather fonued one of its most extensive — it now forms one of the least. Digbeth not only abounded with tanners, but Birmingham was also a considerable market for the sale of hides, which ar- rived weekly, and the whole country found a supply of leather, deposited in the Lea- ther Hall. Mr. Hutton considers this market of such antirpiity as to have existed 700 years. It continued till the commencement of the eighteenth century. Houses and shops now cover the tan-vats, and the Leather Hall has disappeared. The making of Bellows, which, doubtless, was co-existent with the leather trade, is still extensively carried on. The making of Nails was one of its earliest trades, and it is still exten- sively earned on, although it has undergone great changes. A large portion are cut by power, from rolled iron, and others are cast, or founded, from pig metal, and then annealed, or made malleable, the hammer-made nails being procured, mostly, by the merchants from country makers. Hutton obsen'es, the " efforts of nature will produce a ten-fold crop in the field, and those of art, fifty." He also obser\-es, (1795,) " there are not four thousand houses, in Birmingham, that pay the parochial rates, whilst there are more than seven thousand that do not." Hence we see the amazing nmnber of the laborious part of mankind amongst us. "This valuable class," he observes," are the prop of the remainder. They spread oiu- tables, and oil the wheels of oiu* carnages." The practice of the Birmingham manufacturer was, for ages, to keep within the w^armth of his own forge, the foreign customer regularly making his appearance twice a-year ; and, although this practice is not quite extingtiished, a different one is adopted. The merchant stands at the head of the manufacturer, piu-chases his produce, and travels the whole island to promote the sale ; nay, the commercial spirit of the age is such, that the whole world is made subsennent to his desires. Genius seems to increase with multitude. John Taylor, Esq. effected great improvements ; the spring and conse- qiience of action were open to his view. He rose from small beginnings. To his un- common genius the gilt button, the japanned and gilt snuffboxes, and the nmnerous classes of enamels, and the painted snuff-box, are due. A nobleman purchasing some of the articles, and, amongst the rest, a toy of eighty guineas value, whilst paying for them, obsen-ed, with a smile, that "ho plainly saw he could not reside in Birmingham for less than .:£'2U0. a day." Mr. Taylor died in 1775, at the age of 64, after acquiring a fortune of jt':200,0()0. The toy trades first made then* api)carancc in Birmingham at the beginning of Charles H.'s reign, in an amazing variety, attended with all their beauties and graces. The late Mr. Boulton was unremitting in his efforts to advance the national character, and augment the national wealth, by extending manufactures and commerce, facilitating lal)oiu-, and enlarging the sphere of human ingenuity. In 1762 Mr. Boulton jnirchased the lease of the Soho, a hamlet in the parish of Hands-
32 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
wortli, in Staffordshire, but forming a suburb to Birmingbam ; here was a small house and a mill, which but a few years before liad only a naked hut, the habitation of a warrener. In 1764 he laid the foundation of the most superb and extensive manu- factiu^ing establishment in the world, which was finished the next year, at a cost of j£!9,000. and the manufactory removed there from Birmingham, where, in connection with his tlu'n partner, Mr. Fothergill, established a mercantile correspondence through- out Eiirope. To assist his water mill, in 1767, be made a steam engine on Savary's plan, with the intention of retiuTiing and raising the water twenty feet high. He soon after formed an acquaintance with Mr. James Watt, of Glasgow, who, in 1765, had invented several valuable im})rovements in the steam engine; and in 1775 Mr. Watt entered into partnership with Mr. Boulton, and they established a very exten- sive manufactory of steam engines at the Soho, and many of them were conveyed to the deep mines and extensive works where great power was required. About the year 1779, that ingenious art of copying pictiu-es in oil colours by a mechanical process, waa invented at Soho, and brought to such perfection as to be taken for originals by the most experienced connoiseurs. This was chiefly conducted by the ingenious Mr. Eg^- ton, which led bun to that of painting and staining glass, which, far surjiassing that of the ancients, will long continue a monmnent of his imrivalled abilities. He exe- cuted fur many extensive windows in all parts of the kingdom ; he died March •25th, 1805. In 1788 a mint was erected at Soho, to be worked by the steam engine, from the rolling of the copper into sheets, afterwards passing it through polished steel rollers and cutting out the lilanks, all which was performed with the greatest ease and regu- larity by children. The coining machines were worked with rapidity by boys from twelve to foiuleen years of age, the machine depositing the blanks upon the dies, and when struck displacing those that had received impressions, and depositing other blanks in their place. To facilitate the manufactm-ing of steam engines, Messrs. Boulton and Watt erected an iron foundry at Smethwick, on the banks of the Birmingham canal, where most of the laborious work is done by the steam engine. Steam engines of all sizes and power were manufactured, and the coining of medals, medallions, ttc. of any size, carried on. Mr. Bcmlton, on his removal to Soho, engaged the most celebrated artists of every sort. Silvi:r and Plated wares were manufactured to such an extent that it caused an apj)lication for an Assay Office, which siicceeded, and was estab- lished in 1773, in Birmingham. The manufacture of Plated Goods consists in mak- ing such goods as had before been made of silver, of copper covered with silver, on either one or })oth sides, and that by such a heat of fusion as imited them together as firmly as if one l)()dy ; such union to be eftbcted before the articles were made, in that respect difl"<Tiiig from what bad been long called Frcnrli J'ldiiiiff. About the year 1743 Mr. Thomas Bolsover, an ingenious cutler, at ShetVield, connnenced the plated manu- factory, he having previously, when employed in repairing the handle of a knife partly of silver and partly of copper, being, by the accidental fusion of the two metals, struck with the possibility of uniting them, so as to fonn a cheap substance which should present only an exterior of silver, and which might therefore be used in the manulacture of various articles in whicli silvt>r had before been sololy emjdoyed. The Soiio and the town of Binningham early «>l)tained a share in this lucrative business. Mr. Boulton connnenced the manufacture of silver and plated articles of every de- scription ; tea urns, vast-s, tureens, dishes, candelabras, and every necessary article to decorate the table and the drawing-room. Metals of every description are here rolled to any length t>r breadth required ; cojjyingnuichines, fine polished steel fire irons, steel liutfons, ornanuMits for stov<' grates, fenders, and any other article in steel, where taste and elegance are necessary. The Somo is now let to various jirrsons. Tn e II eavy SteelTov ranks amongst th»" most ancient manufacture of Birmingham, and is still ex- tensively manufactured, which consist of hammers, hatchets, shears, tfec. ; and the Light Steel Toy, inider which is included corkscrews, snuflers, nxitcrackers, ni])pers, plyers, tweezers, watch chains, A-c. The Bitklf Tiiade, which at (me time employed
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 33
20,000 persons, and the large plated buckle, worn so late as 1785, was, by the Prince of Wales appeiiring at a ball in shoe strings, completely ruined, and, with the exception of very small buckles, or those used at court on any particular occasion, are sujierseded by strings. The Buttons are manufactiu-cd in great variety, though the most ex- pensive of the engraved and ornamented sorts have not of late been so much in de- mand as formerly, yet the consumi)tiou is still iumiexise. The pearl button is manu- factured in hnmeuse quantities, and bone buttons to a great extent, and buttons from humble horn may be obtained at Hd. per gross, to the splendid button of one guinea each.
Iron ForxDixo has attained singular excellence ; every article that can cross the imagiuatiou is now cast ; locks and keys, hinges with moveable joints, buttons to imi- tate steel, scissors, and even nails, and even needles, with various other articles in the coach and harness fiumitirre line, which are annealed and made malleable, and con- verted so that they will draw out under the hammer, and harden and temper like steel, as well as stoves, ranges, saucepans, and all heavier articles. — Brass Founding is car- ried on in every variety.
The Electro and Magneto P latino form branches of manufacture which essen- tially belong to Birmingham. It is among the more singular events of the age, that the accidental ob.ser\-ation of a deposit, precipitated by the action of the galvanic bat- tery cell, containinij sulphate of copper, being a complete copy of such cell. Who would have thought, that the mere dissolving of metals by acid, or the revolving of a wire in front of the poles of a magnet, should be the means of establishing a trade which is useful, most beautiful, and promises to become the most extensive the art of working in metals may have to boast of. The galvanic or electro plating of the Messrs. Elking- ton and others, and magnetic plating of Mr. J. S. Woolrich, furnishes the means of per- forming these wonders of science. The methods of plating and gilding are almost en- tirely carried on by these processes, and from their enabling the manufacturer to use cast and richly ornamented goods, the style is daily improving over the rigid and stiff forms of the old branch of the plated wares manufacture. By the new methods, articles of any size, shape, or lightness, can be coated with the same cost as the plainest sheet of metal ; conse<|uently we see the manufacturers availing themselves of cast orna- ments, which they could not do before ; all had to be manufactured from the plated copper, the seams more or less showing the solder xmed in putting them together ; and when the plate was worn off, Alexander, the coppersmith, necessarily protruded. The new process enables the manufacturer to make his goods from German silver, an alloy of nickel, which is hard and white ; and after the articles are made and polished, they re- ceive the last thing, a coating of the "precious metal," which entirely envelopes the white base ; and the articles cannot then be detected by the eye from that of solid silver, and have the great advantage, when the silver is worn off, of not showing the red copper. The process was accused of peeling off, and want of hardness, which, by subsequent improvements, has been entirely mastered. The process is by means of large wooden vats, which contain a strong solution of silver, in which is placed at con- venient distances, sheets of pm-e silver, connected with a wire, which forms one of the channels for electricity ; and, resting upon the top of the vats, are likewise })rass rods, which ai-e coimected together by a wire ; after having licen well cleaned, the various articles to be plated are suspended from these rods by wires between the sheets ; a cur- rent of electricity is sent by the wire to the sheets, through the liquid to the articles, and then along the brass rods back to its source ; the solution suffers decomposition, the silver, of which it Is partly composed, is deposited on the articles, while at tho same tune the silver sheets loose the same amount of silver ; this process goes on a* long as required, so that the thinnest film, or the thickest coat, may be obtained ; the goods being weighed before and after the process, shriws the amount of metal deposited upon them. The electro, or galvanic plating, is performed by means of galvanic bat-
E
34 HISTORV OF BIRMINGHAM.
teries, wliich arc made with plates of zinc, copper, and dilute stilphuric acid ; by the action of the acid upon these metals, electricity is generated ; and which being passed, by the means described, into a solution of cyanide of potassium and silver, the plating is effected. This constitutea the essential part of the patent granted to Messrs. Elkington, in March, 1840, and which they carry on in their extensive works in New- hall-street. The Magneto Process consists in the novelty of single currents of mag- netic electricity, which are generated by simply revolving a coil of wire between the poles of a steel magnet, and is found to answer every purpose of a galvanic battery, without any of its uncertanity of action, expense, or trouble. The same machine admits being regulated in power for the largest or smallest articles. The o})jection to its use is, that it requires a small, constant power, to turn the coil of wire ; a thing of no moment, where steam, or other power is used ; its regularity of action, however, constitutes one of its chief advantages. The amount of metal deposited is ascertained by the length of time the articles are under operation, and in this respect it is greatly superior to the battery, which is more or less incessant ; and as there are many classes of articles which cannot be weighed, its excellency is self-evident. The solution employed, is sulphate of pottasa and silver; the deposit from this solution is much harder, and not so liable to tarnish as that from the cyanide. This process is carried on by the patentee at his establishment, 12, James-street, St. Paul's; the patent is dated August, 1842. Li- censes have been granted under these patents to several manufacturers, but it is found that the process is more cheaply and better carried on, on a large scale. Establish- ments, therefore, have been opened where individuals can send their work to be plated and gilt. Another great superiority over the old mode of manufacturing plated wares is, when the silver may be worn off, they can be re-plated at a moderate expense. Another application of electricity consists in the deposition of metals xipon wax casts, which, when melted out. leaves the precise form in metal; this j)rocess is known under the name of Electrotype, and which at some futvue period will be of immense moment to the manufacturers.
Type Founding and Printing. — John Basken-ille, a native of Wolverley, in Worcestershire, was, in succession, a stone cutter, a schoolmaster, a japanner, and lastly an eminent type founder and printer. He gave a name to the first, and his establish- ment of fame to the other. Hutton, his biographer, observes that in 174.5 he took a building lease of about eight acres of land, to which he gave the name of Easy Hill ; converted it into a Little Eden, and built a house in the centre, and it was soon sur- rounded with houses. Here he continued the bu-siness of japanner for life; his car- riage (each pannel of which was a distinct picture, might be considered as the pal tern card of his trade) was drawn by a beautiful pair of cream-coloured liorses. His inclina- tion for letters induced him in \7o() to turn his thoughts to the press. His first attemj)t, in 175(), was a quarto edition of \'irgil; this ho is said to have repvhited in 17o8, and was emi)l(»yed by the I'niversity of Oxford upon an entirely new-faced Greek tj'pe. His talrnts were now generally appreciated, luid he printed nnmy extensive works, manufacturing his own paper, type, and ink. He had leave from the University of CamV)ridge to print a bible in royal f»>lio, and two editions of the common jjrayer book, in three sizes, for the pennission of doing which he i)aid a great preiuiinn. After the i)ublication of this bible, Mr. Baskerville became weary of iirinting, and endeavoured, though unsuccesfully, to disi)ose of his types and printing materials, lie died without issue? JanuMry Hth, 177."», aged Gi), and by his will directed his body to be buried in a conical building on his own premises, heretofore used an a mill, which he had raised and painted, and in a vault prepared for it. A literary society in Paris, in 1771'. for .£":?,70<), purchase! this valnal)le jjrojierty, and expended .flOO.OOO in printing, with Baskenilles elegant type, the works of Voltaire. Mrs. Haskenille died in March, 1788. John Ry- land, Es(i., mud.- considerable improvements to IJaskervilles house, which were but jnst complet<Hl, when, on the 1.5th of July, 17^1. «»» the second day of the Birmingham riota, they were burned by the rioters, and the conic urn, placed to Uaskerville's memory.
HISTORY OF BlRMINGHAiM. 35
lost in the niiua. In levelling the ground fur the formation of some wharfs, his coffin, .standing in an upright position, and in an entire state, was dug \ip ; upon opening it % the body was found nut to be decomposed, and the teeth had the appearance of being ^ "^ perfectly sound.
Sir EnwARD Thomason's, now G. R. CoUis & Co.'s, manufactory, in Church-str "'^' with a splendid suite of show rooms attached to it, are. replete with costly and el ^^'^" rate specimens of workmanship, in gold, silver, plated ware, medals, bronzes, anr ■''i^ chrystallized bases of metals. Among the more massive productions, is a stat- ^*'^* bronze, of his late majesty, George IV., in his coronation robes ; it is more th'^'"^*'* feet high, weighs forty-five hundredweight, and is so proportioned at its proper r-''*' > tion, to present a fine resemblance in comitenance, form, and statiu-e, of the mor'"^"** when at the age of fifty. In a room, built entirely for the puri)ose, is a fac-similO'a" the celebrated Grecian Vase of Lysippus, who flourished 325 years before the Christi era, dug from the ruins of Adrian's palace, near Tivoli, which was brought over v England by the late Sir William Hamilton, at the expense of Lord Warwick, and placed in the gardens of Warwick Castle. To this huge piece of art, which is more than twenty-one feet in cu-cumference, six feet in height, and weighs ninety hundred weight, the proprietor, by the peculiar process which he adopted, has imparted a soft solidity of colour, unequalled by any example, both in the porphyritic oxyde of the ground, or field, and in the ancient green bronze of the arms, visors, panthers' skins, foliage, and other ornaments, with w^hich it is embellished. Mr. Thomason, who was early initiated at the scientific school of Soho, also produced a beautiful series of six- teen scientific and philosophical medals of German silver, each containing within a circle of three inches in diameter, a complete epitome of one of the sciences: they are inclosed in a morrocco case, in the form and size of an imperial octavo volume. The present proprietors have their extensive rooms fitted up in the most elegant and costly manner, and visitors are conducted tlu-ough theii- extensive manufactory, and never fail to be highly gratified.
Guns axd Swords. — The sword was, no doubt, the manufacttu-e of Bu-mingham in the time of the Britons; but tradition says, King William, once lamenting that guns were not manufactured in his dominions, but that he was obliged to procure them from Holland, at a great expense, and greater difficulty. Sir Richard Newdegate, one of the members for the county, being present, told the King '• That genius resided in Wanvickshire, and that he thought his constituents could answer his Majesty's wishes." The King was pleased with the remark, and the member posted to Birmingham. Upon application to a person in Digbeth, the pattern was executed %vith precision, which, when presented to the royal board, gave entire satisfaction. Orders were im- mediately issued for large munbers, and the ingenious artists, so amply rewarded, Hutton says, that they have rolled in their carriages to this day. G overnment have at all times large stores of fire-arms in the Tower of London, yet, after the French re- volution, in 1793, and England was threatened with an invasion, the numerous volun- teers, who offered their sen-ices at that time to repel the enemy, required such a pro- fusion to be disfributed among them, that it became necessary to purchase large quan- tities from any part of the continent where they could be procured ; and the volun- teers from this town were supplied with muskets from Prussia. At that time the num- ber of hands employed in the trade were but few. In the year 1804, they were enabled to supply five thousand stand of arms monthly. In 1809, government was supplied with twenty thousand stand of arms monthly. In 1810, the number was increased from twenty-eight to thirty thousand monthly; and the number was regularly sup- plied until the peace of Paris. An act of parliament was obtained, in the year 1813, for the erection of a Proof House in this town, situated in Banlnu-y-street, where all barrels of guns, pistols, blunderbusses, &c. must be proved and marked, under a se- vere penalty ; and since that time the manufacturing of fowling pieces has very con-
•3(5 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
«idera1)ly incroased ; it is conducted under the direction of three wardens, who are chosen 1)}- certain trustees and guardian?, under the act. The proof house, for the government department, Baggot-street, for manufacturing and proving small arms, is large building. Capt. Frederick James Ranie, store keeper. The definitive treaty ElkiL*^^ peace of Amiens arrived in Bunningham 9th March, ly02, when the intelligence hall-st hrought from London in ten hours and forty minutes, netic e^f tl»e various improvements in the manufacture of fire arms, the nipple and perciLs- poles o '^^ detonating powder cap, which superseded the old hammer and flint in their dis- withoutN"'^"' probably the greatest. It was the invention of a clergjnnan, and has been being rf" about forty years. Mr. C. J. Smith, of Birmingham, has lately obtained a patent that it s(?lf-pnming gun, and a self-j)riming revolving pistol. The weapon is not primed where-h*^ hammer is on full cock; thus rendering it perfectly safe in use, and the touch of it«^ ^^ covered and protected from damj) and dirt. Compared with the ordinary gun, tlie of f''&''^ of the communication from the point where the detonating box explodes, to the ^,. body of the powder inthebanel, is reduced about onefifth, thereby gi-eatly lessening tlie chance of missing fire ; and the strength of the fire enhanced, and as the cap is alto- gether dispensed with, loading is greatly facilitated ; the detonating powder is enclosed in copper. A revolving six-ban eilcd})istol does not require a cap or nipple, but is supplied by the action of the pistol itself, v.hen in use, at the last instant. The pistol having no liammer, a clear and double sight for taking aim is resen-ed ; and the nipj)le lieing hori- zontal, instead of perpendicular, renders a shield or guard unnecessary, so that the body of the weapon is reduced to the size of the barrel. Specimens of both were presented on Thursday, October 31st, 1848. to Ilis Royal IIii,'hness Prince Albert; the Board of Ord- nance, the Earl of Auckland, and the Board of Admiralty, and many distinguished officers of the army and uavy ; and the invention was generally approved of.
BinMiNMjHAM, '• I'he grand toy shop of Europe," a century and a half ago, was an insignificant market town, that never experienced the emanations of royal favour. We have endeavoured to describe some of its first great manufactm-ing and mercantile men ; they have been constantly followed by successors equally ingenious, scientific, and spirited. And pi^haps we cannot conclude these remarks on The Tbade better than by giving the last stanza of appropriate lines, ^^Titten by John Morfitt, Esq., a gentleman who intended writing a history of Birmingham, and in these lines gives a li\ely dc'srri{)tion of its trade, d-c.
" Thine, too, the trJnkpt that the fair adorn- But who can count the spangles of the moru ? What pencil can pourtray this splemliil mart, This vast stupendous wilderness of art? Where fancy sporta in nil her rainbow hues, And beautifs" radient forms perplex the muse; The boundless theme transcends poetic lays, — Let plain historic truth record thy praise. "
IHnningham, during the last fifty years, by the spirited expenditure of individuals, and the judicious maniigement of the street commissioners, has changed its character of blackness-, closeness, and def««ctive taste, for that of a town of spacioiLs, wide, and well ])aved streets, abounding in puldic buildings, in the offices of large trading companies, and in private undertakings, oxbibilinij generally a highly advanced state of jinhitec- tiiral decorations, and a general air of substantial wealth and indi^pendence.
MiNiriPAi,. Birmingham, until the passing of the Refonn Act, in 1832, and the Corporation Refonn Act, !Mb September, IS.'i.'*, was unrepresented in the great council of the nation. As previously stated, it now sends two members to parliament, and the bonmgh is ctmiposed of the parishes of liinningham and Ed^baston, and the hamlets of Bordesley, I)nddest(»n and Nechells, and Deritend, in the j)arishof Aston, and in the county of Warwick. On the .'Mst October. 18:{8, it received a municipal charter; and r*u the '2»>th Di'ceinljrr. IH.JS, the first election of mayor, town councillors, and alder-
HISTORY CF BIRMINGHAM. 1^7
men, took place, whoii V»'illiani Scholofu'ld, Ivsq., was elected mayor. The l)orough is divided into tliirteen wards, of which the parish of Birmingham forms ten, the parish (»f Kdghaston, and the townsliips of Borde.sley and Deritend, and of Duddeston and Nechells, each one. For the entire borough, sixteen aldermen are elected ; of these one each is elected to represent each of the thirteen wards by the burgesses, and the other three are elected by the body corporate, and act in case of any of the representa- tives for the wards being absent ; three councillors are elected for ten wards, and six. each for the other three wards ; making a total of forty-eight councillors. The ten \vards of Birminghant, with the population of each, are, Lady Wood, 8,7!^7; All-saints, 1.3,719; Hampton, 110)37; St. George, 19,648; St. Mary, 14,682; St. Paul, 8,97.3; Market Hall, 13,014 ; St. Peter, 16, 773; St. Martin, ]3,.323 ; and St. Thomas, 18,234.
A separate Court of Quarter Sessions has recently been granted. The Borough Gaol is situated at ^\'iuson Green, 2^ miles west trom the Market Hall. The corporate body are
Members of parliament, J. G. F. Muntz, Esq., William Scholefield, Esq. Mayor. Samuel Thornton, Esq. Recorder. M. D. Hill, Esq.
Mayisiraies. Samuel Beale, Esq.; Thomas Beilby, Esq.; Thomas Bolton, Esq, ; Francis Clark, Esq.; John Birt Davics, Esq.; Charles G each, Esq.; James James, Esq.; John T. La^^Tence, Esq.; Howard Luccock, Esq.; William Mathews, Esq.; J. B. Melson, Esq.; John Meredith, Esq.; C. R. Moorson, Esq.; T. Pemberton, Esq.; C. C. Scholefield, Esq.; William Scholefield, Esq.; Charles Shaw, Esq.; Henry \'au Wart, Esq.
Towx Council. Lady Wood. Alderman, John Pabner. Councillors. — Mr. John Collins, Mr. Charles Stm-ge, Mr. James Baldwin.
All Saints. Alderman, P. H. Muntz. Councillors. — Mr. L Prime, Mr. J. Hinks, Mr. F. Matchett.
Hampton. Alderman, C. Lawde\y. Councillors. — Mr. T. R. T. Hodgson, Mr. G. V. Blunt, Mr. Aaron Jennens.
St. George's. Aldennan, H. Van Wart. Councillors. — Mr. W. Spicer, Mr. Kalph Heaton, Mr. G. Lingard.
St. Marys. Alderman, T. Weston. Councillors. — Mr. Thomas Walker, Mr. Charles Cheshire, Mr. L B. Wright.
St. Paul's. Alderman, James James. Councillors. — Mr. S. G. Onion, Mr. W. L. Sargant, Mr. E. Lucas.
Market Hall. Alderman, Thomas Phillips. Councillors. — Mr. J. Smith, Mr. J. B. Pavne, Mr. A. Browett.
St. Peter's. Alderman, H. Smith. Councillors. — Mr. R. Smith, Mr. Joseph James, Mr. D. Barnett, Mr. C. Dollman, Mr. J. Shackel, Mr. C. Clifford.
St. Martin's. Alderman, J. H. Cutler. Councillors. — Mr. J. Rodway, Mr. J. Roderick, Mr. S. Briggs.
St. Thomas's. Alderman, R. Martineau. Councillors, — Mr. J. C. Wynn, Mr. J. Poolton, Mr. J. Harcourt.
Edgbaston. Alderman, S. Beale. Councillors. — !Mr. W. Bolton, Mr. R. Under- hill, Mr. S. Bucklev.
Deritend and Bordesley. Aldennan, Charles Geach. Councillors. — Mr. J. Hawkes, Mr. W. Boddington, Jun., Mr. H. Holland, Mr. T. Harding, Mr. R. B. Potter, Mr. T. Harlow.
Duddeston-cum-Nechells. Aldennan, W. Scholefield, Esq., M.P. Councillors. — Mr. W. Wood, Mr. H. Hawkes, Mr. W. Gammon, Mr. S. Haycock, Mr. E. Gwtb^, Mr. H. Cracklow.
Aldermen not assigned to wards, Thomas Bolton, Francis Room. Coroner. J. B. Da\-ie9, Esq., M.D.
38 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Town Clerk. S. Bray. Esq.
Clerk of the Peace. G. Edmonds, Esq.
Deputy Clerk of the Peace. E. Wright, Esq.
Treasurer. Mr. Henry Knight.
IlKiH Constable. Mr. G. Redfem.
Chief Superintendent of Police. Mr. R. A. Stephens.
Prison Keeper. Mr. G. Glossop.
Public Offices and Prison, Moor Street, were erected in 1806, for the meetings of the magistrates. The PrLson was separated from the Pii])lic Office hy an extensive yard, and has two departments, one for male and the other for female prisoners. These premises are now transferred to the corporation.
Police Force consists of one cliief Superintendent, five Inspectors, six Sub- Inspectors, twenty-two Sergeants, and 282 Constables.
Chief Police Station, First Divison, 60, New Street, opposite the Post Office. Chief Superintendent, Mr. Richard AUeyn Stephens. Inspector of Nuisances, James Bliss. First Division Inspector, John Leggett ; Chief Clerk, John Austen. Sergeants John Gaule, Melvill Burton, Thomas Hall, Joseph Timmins, Thomas Spear, Timothy Sullivan, and John Casey.
Police Station, No. 2, Sand Pitts. Sub-Inspectors, Henry Frceth and John Taylor. Sergeants, Joshua Rest Prankish, Allen Hewson, William Orme, and James Baker.
Police Station, No. 3, Staniforth Street. Inspector, Edward Edmunds. Sub- Inspectors, Cornelius Sullivan and Edwin Hine.
Section House, Bath Row and Crooked Lane.
Office of the Detective Force, Public Offices,Moor Street. ^Ir. George Glossop, Insj)ector, and Mr. George Philip Tandy, Sub-Inspector.
Public Office, Moor Street, Petty Sessions, held daily.
Quarter Sessions are fixed by the Recorder.
The Prison department contains, 16 cells, S for males, and 8 for females; fomr airing yards, and a bath room. There are also three bed rooms, set apart for the Governors house, for the more respectable class brought here, who are accommodated with a feather bed and clean sheets, &c. for which a charge of one shilling per night is made, which goes to the Borough fund. The cells are fitted up with every convenience, and great credit is due to the Governor, Mr. George Glossop, for the cleanliness obsened in this place; which is only used as a place of confinement befure trial, or until fully convicted.
Borough (Jaol. Previous to the grant of a separate Court of Quarter Ses^iious for the Borough, all prisoners after conviction by the magistrates, were sent to Warwick, to the county prison, to await their trials. A Borough Gaol was conunenced, atWinson Green, in 1848, distant 2\ miles from the Market Hall; it is built after the model prison, Pentonville, London, to accommodate 340 prisoners, intended for males, females, juveniles and debtors, the estimated cost being ^50,000., to be defrayed out of the Bor(tUL'h rate. The prison stands uj)on foiu" acres of groiind, built of brick and stone. a bouiidiiry wall twejity fet't bigh, surrounding the prison, having four wardrr's turrets overlooking the prison yards.
In noticing a Petition about the year 1716, for a Corporation, addressed to King George I. Huttonsays, ••• a more simple government cannot be instituted, nor one more efficacious;" and adds, '' a town, gitverned by a multitude of governors, is the most likoly t(» be ill governed."
I'rovidpnt SociiTirs. Belonging to this class, there are in this town many Benefit Societies (Chil)s,) the members »)f which })ay small monthly contributions to tbeir resjiective funds, from which they are relieved in cases of sickness, infinnity, and superannuation; and from which the friends of decea.«jed members receive a certain sum of money to provide for their decent interment. Amongst these fraternities are
HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 30
several secret Orders, whose splendid Regalia gives an imposing effect to all public processions. Numerous other Provident Societies exist in liirminghara, of which the Permanent Equitable Benefit Building Society, established at Mr. J. Corbett's Temperance Hotel. 49, Paradise Street, on Friday, November 6th, 1846, and enrolled according to Act of Parliimmt, is conducted by four Trustees and twelve Directors ; and its rules appear well calculated to ensure beneficial results.
General Provident Benevolent Institution, for the working classes, established in 1833, for various benevolent objects. The number of members on the books, December 31, 1847, were 2501, of whom 2147 were insuring medical attendance ; 1878 insuring a sum of money at death ; 1864 insmTing weekly payments in sickness, (630 of them being children in the Sunday Schools;) 30 are paying double for 18 years and 7 months, and 4 treble for 1 1 years, and 8 quadruple for 7 years and 9 months, to become independent of their weekly contributions to the Sick Club; and to insure an extra prov-ision for their widows and orphans at their death : 1 is already Independent; 2 are paying for Independent EndowTnents; and 2 for Independent Annuities; I is paying for an Annuity after the age of 60, and 31 for Annuities after the age of 65: 2i>6 are depositors in the Savings Fund; and 58 are Honorary members, subscribing to the Benevolent Fund only. 13 Offices are established in various parts of the Borough. Central Office, 25, Ann Street, open daily, from nine in the morning to six in the evening; Secretary, Mr. W. Thompson. Patron, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Worcester. President, the Rev. J. C. Miller, M. A.
The Saving's Bank, 9, Temple Row, is a provident institution, which affords a safe and beneficial investment of the savings of the humbler classes ; it was estab- lished in 1827. A handsome building has been erected out of the surplus-fand, with a residence for the secretary. It is open from 12 till 2 every Monday and Thursday. The balance due to depositors, 20th November, 1847, was .;£:337,216. 2s. 9d., in 18,634 accounts, of which there were 12,882 whose respective balances did not exceed ^20. ; 3,161 were above ^^20., and not exceeding ,^50. ; 1,304 were above ^50., and not ex- ceeding ^100. ; 378 were above ^100., and not exceeding ^150. ; 193 were above £160., but not exceeding ^200. ; 48 were charitable societies, and 71 friendly societies; and of the above sum, ,^3,300. belonged to the seperate surplus-fund. President : Right Hon. Lord Calthorp. Vice-Presidents : Sir Fras. Lawley, Bart., and William Stiatford Dugdale, Esq. Secretary: Mr. William Bolton.
Breweries. — A wholesale brewery was established in the Hinckleys in 1752^ but soon fell to decay ; the publicans at that time brewing their own beer. In 1782 another was erected in Mosely street. In 1784, a brewery was established in Warstone Lane, to furnish the town with porter in the London style; this is supplied by a small rivulet which once served to guard the castle. Hutton says, " the proprietor may be said to barrel up a river, and the inhabitants to swallow a stream, which run useless for ages."
Hackney Coaches. — In 1775, a man was determined to try if a hackney coach would succeed; he had not mounted the box many times, before he inadvertently dropped the expression, "thirty shillings a day," and very soon a second rolled into the circus, and in 1793 were augmented to fifteen.
Banks. — Previous to the year 1765, the discounting of bills was principally done by the drapers and grocers, but in that year two opulent individuals, Messrs. Taylor and Lloyd, established a regular bank ; success produced a second, by Francis Cooke, Esq. ; and a third, by Francis Goodall, Esq. and Co.; and, in 1790, a fourth, by Isaac Spooner, Esq. and Co. To enumerate the greatvariety of trades and occupations in Binningham would be useless; we must therefore refer the reader to an examination of the Directory, which vWU present him with the trades of every sort, and also with the number in eacli trade.
Antiquities.— It has been truly remarked, that until Mr. Ilutton's History of Birmingham, very little pains had been bestowed in describing a place, holding so
40 HISTORY Of IURMLVGHaSI.
liiijlj a rank thruughout Europe, in tlie scale of its population and commerce, and in the mechanical and n.sefal art«j. Dugdale, the {^reat historian of the county, only be- stowed a few pages to its early lii^tory Lelaiid, in his Itinerary, compiled by the order <.f Henry VIII. says, -I came thronj,'h a pretty street as ever I entered, into Ijinningham town. This street, as I remember, is called Dirtey (Deritend). In it dwell smiths and cutlers, and there is a brook that divides this street from Birmingham, an hamlet member belonginj^' to the parish thereby. There is at the end of Dirtey a proper chapel, and mansion hoiise of timber (the moat) hard on the ripe (bank) as the brook runneth down, and as I went through the ford by the bridge, the water came down on the right hand, and a few miles below goeth into the Tame. This brook, above Dirtey, Jjreaketh into two arms; tluit a little beneath the bridge close arruin. Tliis brook riseth, as some say, four or five miles above Birmingham, towards lilack hills. The beauty of Birmingham, a good market town in the extreme parts of War- wicksliire, is one street going up alonge, almost from the left ripe of the brook, up a mean hill, by the length of a quarter of a mile. I saw but one parish church in the town. A great part of the town is maintained l)y smithes, who have their iron and sea-coal out of Stafturdshire."
We have no histories of those times but what are letl us by the Romans, who pur- sued Britain a whole century before they reduced it, which indicates they considered it a valuable prize. Though the Britons were not masters of science, like the Romans, yet by many testimonies, it is evident they were masters of plain life ; that many of tlie simple arts were practised in that day as well as in this ; tlie Romans themselves allow the Britons were complete masters of the chariot ; that when the scythe was lixed at each end of tlie axletree, they drove with great dexterity into the midst of the enemy, broke tlieir ranks, and mowed them down. The instnmients of war used by the Britons, were a sword, spear, shield, and scythe. If they were not the manufac- turers, how came they by these instnmients. It cannot be supposed that either they or the chariots were imported, for that would give them much greater consequence. They must have been well ac(piainted with the tools used in husbandry ; and bad as their houses were, a chest of carpenter's tools would be necessary to complete them. 1'here is the greatest reason to supj)ose our forefatliers, the Britons, were supplied with these necessary imj)lements by the artists of the Birmingham forge. Iron-stone and coal are the materials for this production, both which are found in the ncighl)ourhood in great plenty. The smelting of iron-stone was do doubt practised by the Britons; the vast heaj)s of slag or cinder remaining are sufficient e\-idence, and the great num- ber of disuN(^l coal pits on \Veduesl)ury Old Field, lead to the same conclusion. The chief, if not the only manufacture of Binningham, from its tirst existence, j)robably as long before the days t>f C'a'sar as since, to the restoratitm of Charles the Second, was in iron ; of tliis was j)roduced the instnnnents of war, and of husbandry, furniture for the kitchen, and tools for the whole system of carjientry. The very roads that pro- ceed from Birmingham are additional indications of her great antiquity and commer- cial influence; having been worn, by the long practice of ages, into deep hollowayg, Pome of them twelve or fourteen yards below the surface t)f the l)anks with which they were once even. Modern industry, anil various turnpike acts, have changed these roads. Its inland trade was sn»all, ])rior to the titteenth century. The liorse was the chief conveyer of burdens among the Britons, and for centuries alter; if we, therefore, consider the great length of tinu' it would take for tlie rains tofonn these deep ravages, we must plac«! the origin «tf Birmingham at a very early date. The ancient centre of Binniiigliam seems to have been the Oi.n Ciioss. from the ntunber of streets pointing towards it, numy of them formed with narrow (Mitraiu-es. Iluttt)n justly observes, " (uie generation, for want ol* foresight, tonus a narrow «>ntrance. and another widens it by Act of I'arliaiment." Success, which ever waits on indu>try, produced a gradual but >ery slow increase in Birmingham; but having taken firm root, wa^ able to stand the
niSTORY OF III RM INCH AM. 41
wintry blasts of fortune, and continnod to wield her sparkling heat, in executing the orders of tlie sturdy Briton ; tlien of the polite and lieroic Ilonmn ; afterwards of our mild ancestors, the Saxons, and whether for the plundering Dane, is uncertain his reign being sliort ; and lastly for the resolute and swrly Norman.
liinningham. from its first formation to the present day, was never the liabitation of a gentleman, the lords of the manor excepted, (see ])age 28.) The smoke of Bir- mingham is very ))ropitious to their growth, but not to their maturity. Gentlemen, as well as buttons, have l)een stamped here ; but, like them, when finished, are moved off. They both originate from a very imcouth state, without form or comeliness^ and pass through various stages ; some of them at length receive the last polish, and arrive at perfection ; while others, ruined by a flaw, are deemed ivasters. Hutton says, " I have known the man of opulence direct his gilt chariot out of Birmingham, who first approach- ed her, an helpless orphan in rags : I have known the chief magistrate of fifty thousand people, fiiU from his pluTton, and luunbly ask bread at a parish vestry." The paternal ancestor of the late Sir Charles Holt, was a native of this place; and purchaser, in the beginning of the reign of Edward Til. of the several manors which have been the hon- our and support of his house to the present time. Walter Clodshale was a native of Birmingham, who, in 1332, purchased the manor of Saltley. The Colmore family, of which a numerous branch still flourish here — of whom, the predecessor, in the reign of Henry VIII. is said to have occupied a shop, in High street, as a draper, and general receiver of taxes — the head of it, in the reign of James I. erected New Hall, and him- self into a gentleman. On this desirable eminence, about half a mile from the buildings, they resided, till tune, fashion, and success, removed them, like their predecessors, the sons of fortune, to a greater distance. The place was then possessed by a tenant as a fanii ; biit, Birmingham, a speedy traveller, marched over the premises, and covered them with twelve hundred houses, on building leases ; and the farmer was converted into a fellmonger. Many other families were equally successful. Richard Smallbroke, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, in the reign of George II. was a native of Binnmgham. It has often been remarked, that wealth seldom continues for more than three genera- tions in one family, and Hutton points out many fallen families to corroborate the above remark ; he adds, " the families of those ancient heroes, of Saxon and Norman race, are chiefly by the mutations of time and of state, either become extinct or reduced to the lowest verge of fortime. These few, therefore, whose descent is traceable, may be carried higher than that of the present nobility ; none of whom claim peerage beyond Edward I., about 1295. Hence it follows, that for antiriuity, alliance, and blood, the advantage is evidently in favour of the lowest class. Most of the ancient chm-ches in England are of Saxon original, and were erected between the fourth and tenth cen- tury; that of St. Martin's is ancient beyond the reach of historical knowledge; but frona various concmrent cu'cumstances, it appears most probable to have been erected in the eighth century, and, no doubt, according to the custom of the times, was out of the precincts of the to^^^l, Digbeth and Deritend lying in the road to Stratford, War- wick, and Coventry ; all places of antiquity were now formed, and this famous niu*sery of arts might by this time consist of six hundred houses. Deritend, as an appendage to Birmingham, long laboured under the inconvenience of being remote fi-om the parish church of Aston, and, too numerous for admission into that of Birmingham, pro- cured a grant in I38I, to erect a chapel of their own. It does not appear that Deri- tend was attended with any considerable augmentation from the Nonnan conquest to the year 1767, when a turnpike road was opened to Alcester, and when Henry Brad- ford publicly offered a freehold to the man who should first build upon his estate ; since which time it has made rapid progress. In 1309, William de Birmingham, Lord of the manor, took a distress of the inhabitants of Bromsgrove and King's Norton, for refusing to pay the customary tolls of the market. The inhabitants, therefore, brought their action, and recovered damages, because it was said, their lands being the ancient de-
F
42 HISTORY OF BIRMIVGHAM.
mesne of the crown, they had a right to sell their produce in any market in the King's dominions. It appeared in the course of the trial, that the ancestors of William de Bermingham had a Market here before the Norman conquest. An old author ob- ser\-es, that in the time of the Saxons, Birmingham was governed by two constables; which says much in favour of the population and antiquity of the place. In Domes- day book it is rated at four hides of land. A hide was as much as a team could con- veniently plough in a year; perhaps about fifty acres. It was also said to contain woods of half a mile in length, and four fiirlongs in breadth. What difference sub- sisted in ancient times between half a mile and four fiulongs is uncertain ; we know of none now. The mile was reduced to its present standard in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; neither are there the least traces of those woods. Timber forms no part of the manufactory of Birmingham. The ancient increase of the town was towards the 50uth, because of the great road, the conveniency of water, the church, and the manor house, all which lay in that quarter ; but the modern extension was chiefly to the north, the scions of her trade having been transplanted as far as Wednesbury, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. But particularly as approaching the coal depths, which were considered the soul of her prosperity. The following extract jfrom the register, will show her gradual increase, even before the restoration: — In the year 1555, there were .37 christenings, 15 weddings, and 27 burials; in the year 1603, 65 christenings, 14 weddings, and 47 burials ; in 1625, 76 christenings, 18 weddings, and 49 burials. In 1251, William de Bermingham, Lord of th^ manor, procured an additional charter from Henry III., reviving some decayed privileges, and granting others ; among the last was that of the Whitsuntide fair, to begin on the eve of Holy Thursday, and to continue four days. At the alteration of the style, in 1 752, it was prudently changed to the Thursday in Whitsun week, that less time might be lost to the injury of work and the workmen. lie also procured another fair, to begin on the eve of St. Michael, and continue three days. Both which fairs are still in great repute. By the interest of Audomore de Valance, Earl of Pembroke, a license was obtained from the crown, in 1319, to charge an additional toll upon every article sold in the market for , three years, towards paving the town. Every quarter of corn to pay one farthing, and other things in proportion. At the expiration of the term, the toll was foimd inade- quate to the expense, and the work lay dormant for eighteen years, till 1337, when a second license was obtained equal to the first, which completed the intention. Bir- mingham, in the twelfth century, was crowded with timber, within and without ; her streets dirty and narrow. The inhabitant became an early encroacher upon her nar- row streets ; and sometimes the lord was the greatest. Her houses were mean and low, but few reaching more than one story, perhaps none more than two, composed of wood and plaster; she was a stranger to brick; no public building but the church-. In the fourteenth century lier buildings were multiplied, but not much improved ; and, besides the church, a priory of stone, founded by contributicm, at the head of which stood her lord, the guild of timber, now the Free School ; and Deritend chapel of the same materials, resembling a barn with somethmg like an awkward dove cote at the west end, by way of steeple. The inhabitants were plain, industrunis, and honest, In curious operations, knoum only to a few, the artist was anq)ly paid. The great difleronre in the value of money will appear by the following transcripts from the churchwarden's ledger :— " Paid for bread and ale to make my Lord Abbot drink in llogaticm Week, 2d," An ecclesiastical nobleman accepting a twopenny treat from a country churchwarden would now be strange ; the sum that sei-\'ed my Lord Abbot would now be devoured by a journeyman in four minutes. '' 1498, i)aid for repeyling the organs, to the organ uuiker, at Ikomirliam, IDs.' Birmingham then discovered the j)o\vers of genius in the finer arts, as well as in iron. It appears while the artist could procure as much money for tunnig an organ as would purchase an acre of land, or treat near half a gros« of Lord Abbots, the art of making money was as well un- derstood by our fathers as by us.
HISTORY OF BIRMIXGUAM. 43
Ikexield Street. About five furlongs North of the Navigation Bridge, in Great Charles Street, runs the Ikenield Street, an ancient Roman Road, which rises near Southampton, extends nearly North, through Winchester, Wallingford, and over the Isis, at New-bridge ; thence to Burford, crossing the Foss Way, at Stour in the Woulds, near Bitford Bridge, in the county of Warwick, to Alcester, by Studley, Ipsley, Beely, Wetherick-hill, Stuteley streets, crosses the road from Birmingham to Bromsgrove, at Selley-Oak, leaving Harborne a mile to the left; also, the Hales Owen road, a mile west of Birmingham ; thence by the Observatory, in Lady Wood Lane, where it enters the parish of Birmingham, crossing the Dudley road, at the Sand-pits, along Worstone lane, through the Little-pool and Hockley-brook, where it quits the parish; thence over Handsworth Heath, entering a little lane on the right of Bristle land's-end, and over the river Tame, at Offord-house, (Oldford,) directly to Sutton Coldfield. It passes the Ridgeway, 1-26 yards East of King's Standing, a little artificial mount, on which Charles L is said to have stood, when he harangued the troops he brought out of Shrop- shire, at the opening of the civil wars in 1642: from thence the road proceeds through Sutton Park, and the remainder of the Coldfield; over Radley-moor, from thence to Wall, a Roman Station, where it meets the Watling Street, leaving Lichfield a mile to the left; it leads tlu-ough Street-hay, over Fradley-heath ; thence through Alderwas-hays, crossing the river Trent, at Wichnor-bridge, to Branson turnpike, over Branson-moor, where for about 200 yards it is visible; thence over Burton-moor, to Monk's-bridge, upon the river Dove; along Eginton-heath, Little-over, Stepping Lane, Nun-Green, and Darley Slade, to the river Derwent, one mile above Derby, upon the eastern banks of which stands little Chester, built by the Romans. The Romans properly termed their ways streets, a name retained by many of them to this day ; one of the smaller roads issuing from London, passes through Stratford-upon-Avon, (Street-ford,) Monks path-sti"eet, and Shirley street, to Birmingham ; all which serves to prove that Bir- mingham was a place of note in the time of Caesar. (For a full account of the Roman Roads, see the General History of Warwickshire.)
The Priory was founded in the early reigns of the Norman Kings, by the Berming- hams, lords of the manor of Birmingham, and was called the Hospital of St. Thomas; the priest being bound to pray for the souls of the founders every day, to the end of the world. In 1285, Thomas de Madenhache, Lord of the manor of Aston, gave ten acres of land in his manor ; William de Bermingham, ten, supposed to be where the Priory stood; and Ranulph de Rukeby, three acres in Saltley. About the same time, sundry others gave houses and land in smaller quantities. The religious fervour of that day run high ; it was unfashionable to leave the world, and not remember the Priory. In 1351, Fouk de Benningham, and Richard Spencer, jointly gave to the Priory, one hundred acres of land, lying in Aston, and part in Birmingham, to maintain another priest, who should celebrate divine service daily at the altar of the Virgin Mary, in the church of the hospital, for the souls of William la Mercer, and his wife. The church is supposed to have stood upon the spot in Hutton's time, of No. 27, in Bull Street. In the garden belonging to the Red Bull, nearly opposite, have been discovered human bones, which has caused some to suppose it the place of interment for the religioua belonging to the Priory. The Cemetery more probably extended North to the Minories, leading to the square, for in the premises of Charles Greatrex, many bushels of hmnan bones were dug up in 1786, in great perfection, the polish of the teeth remaining. At the dissolution of the abbies, in 1536, the king's visitors valued the annual income at the trifling sum of £8. 8s. 9d. The land formerly used for the Priory of Birmingham, is now the property of many persons : upon that ground, where about thirty persons lived upon the industry of others, about three thousand live upon their own. In 1775, Mr. Hutton took down an old house of wood and plaster, which had been erected in 1567- The foundation of this seemed to have been built with stones from the Priory, some of which were again used in the fire place of an under kitchen. Perhaps they are the only Gothic fragments remaining of that venerable edifice.
44 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Walter de Clodshale, a native of Bimiingliam, who having acquired several estates in Birmingham, purchased the manor of Saltley ; and in 1331, procured a licence from the lord of the manor of Birmingham, and from the crown, to found a chantry at the altar of St. Martin's Church, for one priest to pray for his soul, and that of his wife. This was dissolved in 1535, then valued at £5. Is. per annum, and was seized by the King.
Old Cross, so called after the erection of the Welch Cross, previous to which it was simply called The Cross. This important article of religion was thought to answer two purposes, that of collecting the people, and containing a charm against ghosts, evil spirits, <fec. ; with the idea of which that age was very much infested. To accom- plish these singular ends, it was blended into the common actions of life ; and at that period entered the Market Place. A few circular steps, from the centre of which is- sued an elevated pillar, terminating in a cross, was the general fashion throughout the kingdom; which continued with various reparations till 1702, Avhen the Old Cross waa erected at the expense of £30. 9s. Id., and was the first upon that spot honoured with a roof, the under part being found a useful shelter for the market people; the room over it being designed for the court leet, and other public business. This building was taken down in I7t5*i.
Welch Cross. — The place where this stood was, 250 years ago, called the Welch End, perhaps from the number of Welch in its neighbom-hood, or probably from its being the great road to that principality, and was at that time the extremity of the town. It was erected early in the seventeethcentmy for a Saturday market ; but though time had brought it nearly in the centre of the town, it was not a favourite market. The markets were generally inconvenient and detached, till the late improvements.
John a Dean's Hole. — At the bottom of Digbeth, aboiit thirty yards north from the bridge, on the left, is a watercourse that takes in a small drain from Digbeth, but more from the adjacent meadows, and which divides the parishes of Aston and Bir- mingham, called John a Dean's Hole, from a person of that name, who is said to have lost his life there ; and from the antiquity of the name, the time of this unhappy man's misfortune may be fixed about the reign of Edward the Third.
Battle of Camp Hill, 1643. — Clarendon reproaches, with virulence, our spirited ancestors, for disloyalty to Charles I. The day after the King left Bu-mingham, on his march from Shrewsbury, in 1642, they seized his carriages, containing the royal plate and furniture, which they conveyed, for security, to Warwick Castle. They ap- prehended all messengers and suspected persons, frequently attacked and reduced small parties of the royalists, whom they sent prisoners to Coventry. Hence the pro- verbial expression, to a refractory person, send him to Coventry. In 1643, the King or- dered Prince Rupert, with a detachment of 2,000 men, to open a communication be- tween Oxford and York. In his march to Birmingham he found a company of foot kept for the parliament, lately reinforced by a troop of horse from the garrison at Lich- field ; but, supposing they would not resist a power often to one, sent his (piarter-master to demand lodgings, and oflfer protection. But the sturdy sons of freedom, having cast up slight works at each end of the town, and ban-icadod the les-er avenues, re- jected the offer and the olficers. The military, uniting in one small and compact body, assisted by the inhabitants, were determined the King's forces should not enter. Their little fire oi)ened upon the Prince ; but bravery itself, though possessed of an excellent spot of ground for defence, was obliged to give way to numbers. The Prince quickly put them to silence ; yet, under the success of his own anus, he was not able to enter the town, for the inhabitants had clioaked up with carriages the deep and narrow road then between Deritend and Camp-hill, whicli obliged the l»rince to alter his route to the left, and proceed towards Long-bridge. The spirit of resistance was not yet broken ; they sustained a second attack, but to no piu-pose, except that of .slaughter. A run- ning Hght continued through thetown ; victory dcclnred loudly for the Prince; the re-
HISTORY OF B[RMINGHAM. 45
treat became general ; part of the vanquished took their way to Oldbury. William Fielding, Earl of Den])igh, a volunteer under the Prince, being in close pm-suit of an officer in the serx'ice of the parliament, and both upon the full gallop, up Sherland-lane, in the manor of Smethwick ; the officer, instantly turning, discharged a pistol at the Earl, and mortally wounded him with a random shot. The parliament troops were animated in the engagement by a clergyman, who acted as governor ; but being taken in the defeat, and refusing quarter, was killed in the Red Lion Inn. The Prince, pro- voked at the resistance, in revenge, set fire to the town. His Avrath is said to have kindled in Bull-street, and consumed several houses near the spot, afterwards No. 12. He obliged the inhabitants to quench the flames with a heavy fine, to prevent further military execution. Part of the fine is said to have been shoes and stockings for his people. The parliament forces had formed their Camp in the angle which dix-ides the Stratford and Warwick roads, upon Camp-hill. The victorious Prince left no garrison, because their insignificant works were untenable; but left an humbled people, and inarched to the reduction of Lichfield.
When the charter for the market w^as granted is uncertain, but it has been re- newed both by Saxon and Norman Kings ; and the day seems never to have been changed from Thursday.
The Plague. — In 1665, Birmingham, as well as London, and many other parts of England, was visited with this dreadful mark of the divine judgment. The infection is said to have been caught by a box of clothes brought by the carrier and lodged at the White Hart. Depopulation ensued ; the church yard was insufficient for the re- ception of the dead, who were conveyed to Lady-wood green, one acre of waste land, thence denominated the pest ground.
It has been asserted that Birmingham, at the restoration, consisted only of three streets ; this remark, published in 1743, Mr Hutton thinks was not correct, and that it more probably consisted of fifteen ; however, the same author says, from the restoration to the year 1700, the streets of Birmingham were encreased to thirty-one. From the year 1700 to 1731, there is said to have been a further addition of twenty -five streets. From 1741 to 1781, Birmingham appears to have acquired the amazing augmentation of seventy-one streets, 4,172 houses, and 25,032 inhabitants; the total, then, as Mr. Hutton states, being 125 streets, 8,382 houses, and 50,295 inhabitants ; and in 1791, he says, the streets were 203, the houses 12,681, and the population 73,653; which, as previously shewn, has, to the present time, continued rapidly to increase.
Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London, about the year 1730, purchased the private estate of the ladies of the manor, chiefly lands, about .^^400. per annum. The bishop was frequently asked to let 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 oiF;" he, therefore, not only refused, but prohibited his successor from granting such leases. But Sir Thomas Gooch, who succeeded him, procured an act of parliament, about 1766, to set aside the prohibiting clause in the bishop's will. A considerable town was soon erected on his property, producing .^2,400. per annum.
Huttton says, " the inhabitants of Birmingham may justly be styled, masters of invention i" but, if genius displays herself in the shops, she is seldom seen in the streets ; there is not a street in the whole town, but might have been better constructed ; for tresspasses and encroachments appear to have been often connived at, previous to the year 1769, when the lamp act was obtained.
Petitiox for a Corporation. — A petition, signed by eighty-four of the principal inhabitants, was addressed to King George I., about 1716, in which they beseech his majesty to incorporate the town, and grant such privileges as will enable them to sup- port their trade, the king's interest, and destroy the villainous attempts of the Jacobites, <fec.
46 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM.
Earthquake. — At four in the morning, of November loth, 1772, a shock of an earthquake was felt; it extended about eight miles in length, and four in breadth.
Military Association. — Upon the change of the Lord North ministry, in 1782, the new premier, in a circular letter, advised the nation to arm, as the danger of in- vasion threatened us with dreadful aspect. Binningham instantly responded to the call; public meetings were held, and the Birmingliam association was formed, amount- ing to seventy. Each was to be officer and private byballot, giving an idea of equality, and was called upon to exercise once a week. Hutton observes, " as their uniform re- sembled that of a commander, so did their temper. There were none to submit, and the farce ended by a quarrel." Probably Mr. Hutton is a little too severe, and the cause of their disbanding was that the danger had parsed away.
Thomas Pitmore, a native of Cheshire, after spending a fortune of ^700, was cor- poral in the second regiment of foot ; and John Hammond, an American by birth, was dnunmer in the thirty-sixth, both of recruiting parties in Birmingham. Having prociu"ed a brae© of pistols, they committed several robberies on the highways. At eight in the evening, of November 22nd, 1780, about five Inmdred yards short of the four mile stone on the Coleshill road, they met three butchers of Birmingham, who closely followed each other in their return from Rugby fair. One of the robbers at- tempted the bridle of the first man, but his horse being young, started out of the road and ran away. The drmnmer then attacked the second, Wilfred Banvick, with, " stop yovir horse," and that moment, through the agitation of a timerous luind, discharged a pistol, and lodged a brace of slugs in the bowels of the unfortunate Barwick, who ex- claiming, I am a dead man, fell. A fourth butcher and a lad coming up, who having heard the report of the pistol, seen the flash, and saw the druimner escape into a field, leaped over the hedge in pursuit of the murderer, and the dmmmer was captured. The drummer impeached hLs companion, who had retreated to Birmingham, and they were both that night lodged in the dungeon. Upon the trial, March 31st, 1781, the matter was too plain to 1)C controverted. They were both executed, and hung in chains at Washwood-heath, April 2nd.
RiOTS. — The scarcity of provisions, in 1766, excited the mminur of the poor; they began to breathe vengeance against the farmer, miller, and baker, for doing what they do themselves, procure the greatest price for their property. On the market day a common labourer formed the resolution to lead the mob. He, therefore, erected his standard, an inverted mop, and cried out, " Redresj of Grievances." The colliers were to bring their dark retinue and destruction from Wednesbury. Amazement seized the town; the people of fortune trembled. John Wyrley, an able magistrate, swore in about eighty constables, to oppose the rising storm, armed them with a staff of au- thority, warm from the turning lathe, and applied to the war office for a military force. After a slrort exertion of power, the lime-powdered monarch gave way, and was committed to prison, and harmony restored without Ijlood.
HuTTOX, always critical, at all times wished to shew, that industry, civility, and a peaceable disposition, greatly predominated in the inhabitants of Binniughani; but in 1791 found that bigotry, licentiousness, disorder, insult, rapine, burnings, and mm-- der, possessed the people. These unhappy riots, which astonished all Europe, com- menced on Thursday, July 14th, 1791, and were a shameful attack upon private pro- perty; they were a disgrace to humanity, and a lasting stigma on the place. About eighty-one persons, of various denominations, having met at the hotel to celebrate the