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Chamberlain Square
Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England, named after statesman and notable mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain. The Victorian square was drastically remodelled in the 1970s, with most of the Victorian buildings demolished and the construction of the Brutalist Central Library. Re-landscaping occurred most recently when the square was closed to the public for five years until March 2021 for remodelling as part of the Paradise scheme. Its features include: *Chamberlain Memorial *Birmingham Council House (side elevation) *Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery * Birmingham Town Hall *One and Two Chamberlain Square Statues and monuments *Chamberlain Memorial - In honour of the public service Joseph Chamberlain gave to the city of Birmingham, the memorial fountain was unveiled in his presence on 10 October 1880 as the centrepiece of the new public square. The high memorial was designed by John Henry Chamberlain (no relation). and statue ...
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Chamberlain Square
Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England, named after statesman and notable mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain. The Victorian square was drastically remodelled in the 1970s, with most of the Victorian buildings demolished and the construction of the Brutalist Central Library. Re-landscaping occurred most recently when the square was closed to the public for five years until March 2021 for remodelling as part of the Paradise scheme. Its features include: *Chamberlain Memorial *Birmingham Council House (side elevation) *Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery * Birmingham Town Hall *One and Two Chamberlain Square Statues and monuments *Chamberlain Memorial - In honour of the public service Joseph Chamberlain gave to the city of Birmingham, the memorial fountain was unveiled in his presence on 10 October 1880 as the centrepiece of the new public square. The high memorial was designed by John Henry Chamberlain (no relation). and statue ...
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James Watt
James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world. While working as an instrument maker at the University of Glasgow, Watt became interested in the technology of steam engines. He realised that contemporary engine designs wasted a great deal of energy by repeatedly cooling and reheating the cylinder. Watt introduced a design enhancement, the separate condenser, which avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. Eventually, he adapted his engine to produce rotary motion, greatly broadening its use beyond pumping water. Watt attempted to commercialise his invention, but experienced great financial di ...
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Paradise Forum
Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was replaced by the Library of Birmingham. The building was demolished in 2016, after 41 years, as part of the redevelopment of Paradise Circus by Argent Group. Designed by architect John Madin in the brutalist style, the library was part of an ambitious development project by Birmingham City Council to create a civic centre on its new Inner Ring Road system; however, for economic reasons significant parts of the master plan were not completed, and quality was reduced on materials as an economic measure. Two previous libraries occupied the adjacent site before Madin's library opened in 1974. The previous library, designed by John Henry Chamberlain, opened in 1883 and featured a tall clerestoried reading room. It was demolished in 1974 after ...
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Argent Group
In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured ''argent'' are either left blank, or indicated with the abbreviation ''ar''. The name derives from Latin ''argentum'', translated as "silver" or "white metal". The word ''argent'' had the same meaning in Old French ''blazon'', whence it passed into the English language. In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of silver leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the silver content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as "argent" from those that were "sable". This leaves a false impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where, when applied next to a dark colour, arge ...
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BBC Big Screen
The BBC Big Screens are LED screens with sound systems situated in prominent locations in city centres in the United Kingdom. The project setting up these screens involved the BBC, LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games), and local councils. The premise on which the screens are operated is as a platform for all, to provide local information, and to allow filmmakers and other visual artists a platform on which to display their work. There are 21 Big Screens in cities across the UK. Between 2002 and 2013 the BBC operated these screens, but the BBC department to manage the screens centrally closed in 2013 following funding cuts. Since 2013, some of the screens have been decommissioned, and some have been transferred to local authority ownership, where they continue to operate. Locations Belfast Big Screen Belfast is in Donegall Square in the grounds of Belfast City Hall, and was installed in May 2011, the first Big Screen in Northern Irel ...
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Winterval
Winterval was a season of public events in Birmingham, England, organised by Birmingham City Council in each of two consecutive winters: first from 20 November to 31 December 1997, and then again from mid-October 1998 to mid-January 1999. The intention was to encourage people into the newly rejuvenated city centre, with secular and religious events marking religious and other occasions, including Christmas, during the relevant period. The name "Winterval" has since become used in the UK as shorthand for what are misrepresented as attempts to "rebrand" Christmas so as not to exclude non-Christians. 1997 The name "Winterval" was a portmanteau of ''winter'' and ''festival'', coined by the Council's Head of Events, Mike Chubb. In October 2008 he explained: The programme of events in 1997 included theatre and arts events; marking of Diwali; candlelit tours of Aston Hall; an outdoor ice rink; a German-style Christmas market; Christmas lights in the streets; and a New Year's Eve P ...
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Birmingham Christmas Craft Fair
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midlands Enl ...
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Victoria Square, Birmingham
Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square. It is named in honour of Queen Victoria. The square is often considered to be the centre of Birmingham, and is the point from where local road sign distances are measured. It is a short walk from St. Philip's Cathedral on Colmore Row and is on the main pedestrian route between the Bull Ring and Brindleyplace areas. Three major roads, Colmore Row, New Street and Paradise Street, and others, meet there. History The square was formerly known as Council House Square, and had a tramway running through it. It was renamed on 10 January 1901, to honour Queen Victoria. She died just 12 days later. A marble statue, donated by Henry Barber and sculpted by Thomas Brock, was erected and unveiled; it was later recast in bronze.Grimley, Terry. ''A fine art gift to the city'', Birmingham Post, 1 April 2006 Part of ...
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Paradise Street
Paradise Street is a short street in the core area of Birmingham City Centre, in England. Paradise Street runs roughly from Victoria Square to Suffolk Street and Broad Street. The street existed in 1796 when a congregation gathered at a meeting hall for a sermon. Paradise Street is noted as the location of Birmingham Town Hall (started in 1832) and the former site of Queen's College, Birmingham (started 1843) which was the first establishment in Birmingham to grant degrees. The Birmingham and Midland Institute had its first building on Paradise Street (opened 1860) but moved to Margaret Street when the Inner Ring Road (A4400) was developed in the 1960s. The head office building of the Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and oper ... was built o ...
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Plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height of the plinth is usually kept as 45 cm (for buildings). It transmits loads from superstructure to the substructure and acts as the retaining wall for the filling inside the plinth or raised floor. In sculpting, the terms base, plinth, and pedestal are defined according to their subtle differences. A base is defined as a large mass that supports the sculpture from below. A plinth is defined as a flat and planar support which separates the sculpture from the environment. A pedestal, on the other hand, is defined as a shaft-like form that raises the sculpture and separates it from the base. An elevated pedestal or plinth that bears a statue, and which is raised from ...
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Thomas Attwood (economist)
Thomas Attwood (6 October 1783 – 6 March 1856) was a British banker, economist, political campaigner and Member of Parliament. He was the leading figure of the underconsumptionist Birmingham School of economists, and, as the founder of the Birmingham Political Union, the leading figure in the public campaign for the Great Reform Act of 1832. Life and career Thomas Attwood was born in Halesowen, then a detached part of Shropshire, and attended Halesowen Grammar School (now Earls High School) before being moved to Wolverhampton Grammar School. On 12 May 1806, Attwood married Elizabeth Carless from Lower Ravenhurst Farm, an area which is now part of the Moor Pool estate. They had two sons, George de Bosco Attwood (15 March 1808), who stood unsuccessfully for the Walsall constituency in the 1832 general election, and Thomas Aurelius Attwood (4 March 1810). Their daughter Angela married Daniel Wakefield with whom she emigrated to New Zealand. He founded the Birmingham Political ...
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Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in electricity and other areas of science. He was a close friend of, and worked in close association with Benjamin Franklin involving electricity experiments. Priestley is credited with his independent discovery of oxygen by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide, having isolated it in 1774. During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of carbonated water, his writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). Priestley's determination to defend phlogiston theory and to reject what would become the chemical revolution eventually left him isolated within the scientific community. Prie ...
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