Birmingham Town Hall is a
concert hall and venue for
popular assemblies
A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy. Some assemblies are of people from a location ...
opened in 1834 and situated in
Victoria Square,
Birmingham
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 ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is a
Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It now hosts a diverse programme of events including jazz, world, folk, rock, pop and classical concerts, organ recitals, spoken word, dance, family, educational and community performances, as well as annual general meetings, product launches, conferences, dinners, fashion shows, graduation ceremonies and broadcasts.
History
The building was created as a home for the
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. It last took place in 1912.
History
The first music festival, over three days in September 1768 ...
established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
, after
St Philip's Church
''Riceyman Steps'' is a novel by British novelist Arnold Bennett, first published in 1923 and winner of that year's James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. It follows a year in the life of Henry Earlforward, a miserly second-hand bookshop ow ...
(later to become a cathedral) became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings.
Two sites were considered by the
Birmingham Street Commissioners
The Birmingham Street Commissioners were a local government body, created in Birmingham, England in 1769, with powers to manage matters such as streets, markets, and policing. Subsequent Improvement Acts of 1773, 1801, and 1812 gave increased power ...
for the construction of a concert hall in the city; Bennetts Hill and the more expensive
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 meeti ...
site. The latter was chosen and a design competition was launched which resulted with the submission of 67 designs including one by
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respons ...
, whose design for the
King Edward's School on New Street was then under construction.
Joseph Hansom
Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, '' The Builder'', in 1843.
Career ...
, of
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, ...
fame, and
Edward Welch were chosen as the architects and they expressed that they expected the construction cost to be £8,000 (equivalent to £ in ). The first of the monumental
town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
s that would come to characterise the cities of
Victorian England
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, Birmingham Town Hall was also the first significant work of the 19th-century revival of
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered on ...
, a style chosen here in the context of the highly charged radicalism of 1830s Birmingham for its
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
associations. The design was based on the proportions of the
Temple of Castor and Pollux
The Temple of Castor and Pollux ( it, Tempio dei Dioscuri) is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces ...
in the
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
. "Perfect and aloof" on a tall, rusticated podium, it marked an entirely new concept in English architecture.
Hill of London was hired to build the 6,000 pipe organ for £6,000. Construction began on 27 April 1832 with an expected completion date of 1833.
However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction, having tendered too low. The contractors were also losing money. Three guarantors donated money for the building; W. P. Lloyd, John Welch and Edward Tench. With the injection of this money, the building was successfully opened for the delayed Music Festival on 7 October 1834.
During construction, on 26 January 1833, two workers were killed when a 70-foot crane constructed to install the roof trusses broke and the pulley block failed. John Heap died instantly and William Badger died a few days later from his injuries. They were buried in
St Philip's churchyard and a memorial, consisting of a pillar base made by one of the workmen for the Town Hall, was dedicated to them. Architect
Charles Edge was commissioned in 1835 to repair weaknesses to the design of the building. He was also commissioned for the extension of the building in 1837 and again in 1850.
[
At Christmas 1853, ]Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
gave the first of his public readings of his own works in the building, repeating this to raise money for the Birmingham and Midland Institute
, mottoeng = Endless Learning
, established = 1854 by Act of Parliament
, city = Birmingham
, province = West Midlands
, country = United Kingdom
, president = Sir David Cannadine
, vice_president = Dr Serena Trowbridge, Sami ...
; and Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
's ''Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...
'' (August 1846), Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
's ''The Dream of Gerontius
''The Dream of Gerontius'', Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment b ...
'' (October 1900) and Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
's ''Overture di Ballo
The ''Overture di Ballo'' is a concert overture by Arthur Sullivan. Its first performance was in August 1870 at the Birmingham Triennial Festival, conducted by the composer. It predates all his work with W. S. Gilbert, and is his most frequentl ...
'' (August 1870) received their premieres in the hall as part of the Triennial Musical Festival which commissioned new works for every season. The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...
from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.[
In November 1880, the Hall was filled to capacity for a Birmingham public protest meeting in support of Revd. Richard Enraght, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley, who was imprisoned in ]Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
Prison under the Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
Government's Public Worship Regulation Act
The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict c 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ritual ...
. In December 1901, it was the scene of rioting on the occasion of a visit by David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
.
On 9 August 1902, the town hall, along with the council house, was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
and Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...
.
In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
, the Town Hall was bedecked with the various Arms of the Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
of Birmingham since 1166 and each column festooned with garlands. The pediment also had images of Britannia, supported by mermaids, which were sculpted by William Bloye
William James Bloye (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975) was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II.
Life
Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War ...
. This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city was devised by William Haywood, Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society
Birmingham Civic Society is a voluntary body in Birmingham, England, and is registered with the Civic Trust.
History
The society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10 June 1918 in the Birmingham Council House. The first president of the ...
.
Popular music has also featured, and in the 1960s and 1970s, headline acts such as Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
, The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
appeared.[
It featured prominently in the 1967 ]Peter Watkins
Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English film and television director. He was born in Norbiton, Surrey, lived in Sweden, Canada and Lithuania for many years, and now lives in France. He is one of the pioneers of docudrama. His films ...
film '' Privilege'' and doubled for the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in the 1996 film ''Brassed Off
''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor.
The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...
''.
Renovations
The Hall closed in 1996 for a £35 million refurbishment, undertaken by Wates Construction, that saw the Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its 6,000-pipe organ still in place.[ The project was funded by £18.3 million from Birmingham City Council, £13.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £3 million from the European Regional Development Fund. The upper gallery, which had been added in 1926–27, was removed, restoring the interior of the hall to an approximation of its original condition.
The ]Birmingham City Organist
Birmingham City Organist is an appointment made by the City of Birmingham. The purpose of the appointment is to have an organist for civic occasions and who will provide a series of free public organ recitals.
Birmingham Town Hall is the traditi ...
, Thomas Trotter, performed a piece of music to a group of school children in 2005 after the majority of the organ had been cleaned. However, the organist and the children all had to wear hard hats as the risk of falling debris remained. He had played the organ each month from the hall's closure to 2005, thus ensuring that it was maintained in playable condition. The hall is now managed alongside Symphony Hall, by the registered charity Performances Birmingham Limited.
At 1,100, the seating capacity is about half that of Symphony Hall.
It reopened for concerts on 4 October 2007,
and was officially reopened on 22 April 2008 by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
During the years of refurbishment the side of the Town Hall facing Victoria Square was hidden by giant advertising sheets, a giant advent calendar
An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood b ...
, and during the 2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
a large outside television screen that was used to broadcast live matches from Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Although the television screen was only temporary, another "Big Screen" was erected on the corner of the building in Chamberlain Square facing Birmingham Central Library
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 ...
, which broadcast live from the television channel BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. The BBC Big Screen was removed after much controversy.
Architecture
The hall takes the form of a free-standing Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
temple, with 14 bays running north to south and 8 bays east to west. It is closely modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux
The Temple of Castor and Pollux ( it, Tempio dei Dioscuri) is an ancient temple in the Roman Forum, Rome, central Italy. It was originally built in gratitude for victory at the Battle of Lake Regillus (495 BC). Castor and Pollux (Greek Polydeuces ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and reproduces its predecessor's most distinctive feature – its tall podium
A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...
– in rusticated stone. The building's columns are topped with capitals featuring Acanthus leaves
The acanthus ( grc, ἄκανθος) is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration, and even as the leaf distinguishing the heraldic coronet of a manorial lord from other coronets of royalty or nobility, which us ...
in a distinctive interlocking spiral design, above which the simplified entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
features a plain architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can ...
and dentil cornice. Behind the colonnade the cella
A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extende ...
containing the Great Hall features tall windows capped with eared architraves. At the south end of the podium there is an arcade two bays deep, glazed in to form a vestibule in 1995, that marks the main entrance to the building.
The building is constructed in brick made in Selly Oak
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborn ...
and faced with Penmon
Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" ...
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
presented to the town by Sir Richard Bulkeley, proprietor of the Penmon quarries.
Pipe organ
The town hall is famous for its concert pipe organ. Originally installed in 1834 by William Hill & Sons
William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century.
The founder
William Hill was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot, on 30 October 1818 i ...
with 6,000 pipes, it was once the largest and most technologically advanced in the world. In 1888, Charles William Perkins
Charles William Perkins (4 October 1855 - 2 August 1927) was Birmingham City Organist from 1888 to 1923.
Life
He was born in 1855 the son of Robert A Perkins, jeweller, and Hannah.
He studied organ under Andrew Deakin, organist of the Church of ...
was appointed the first City Organist, based at the Town Hall. The organ was restored by Willis in 1932.
Further pictures
Image:Birmingham Town Hall 01.jpg, The columns on the east side of Birmingham Town Hall
Image:Birmingham Town Hall 02.jpg, Birmingham Town Hall north end, facing the library
Image:Birmingham Town Hall 03.jpg, Birmingham Town Hall south end, main entrance
Image:Birmingham Town Hall 04.jpg, Birmingham Town Hall west side.
Image:Birmingham Town Hall and Council House.jpg, Birmingham Town Hall and Council House photographed from Victoria Square
Image:Birm1.png, Music Festival in 1834 after the installation of William Hill's organ
Notes
References
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External links
*
1890 Ordnance Survey map of the town hall
{{Authority control
Music venues completed in 1834
City and town halls in the West Midlands (county)
Concert halls in England
Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands
Grade I listed buildings in the West Midlands (county)
Grade I listed concert halls
Neoclassical architecture in England
Music venues in Birmingham, West Midlands
Buildings by Joseph Hansom
Grade I listed buildings in Birmingham