The Public Office was a municipal building on Moor Street in

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 ...

, built between 1805 and 1807. It was the first important administrative building in Birmingham, and remained the principal local government centre until the 1880s, when the much larger

Council House A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

was constructed. The building was demolished in 1911 to make way for a railway goods station.

History

The Public Office was built to give 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 ...

a permanent headquarters. The complex also included the

magistrates courts A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

and a small

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. The architect was William Hollins. The design was described as 'imposing' consisting of a rusticated base, above which was the principal story of six bays, divided by paired Ionic columns which supported an

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 ...

and a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. The first stone of the building was laid on 18 September 1805, the cost being estimated at £10,000 (), The prison was opened on 29 September 1806 and the Public Office was opened on 19 October 1807. It was enlarged in 1830, and again in 1861. The small prison attached to the rear of the building, known as the Birmingham Town Gaol, was used to hold prisoners immediately before trial and immediately after conviction, to serve their sentences they were sent to the county gaol at

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 ...

. In 1849 a dedicated prison was built at

Winson Green Winson Green is a loosely defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho. It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham (known locally as Winson Green Prison or "the Green") and of City Hospi ...

. After this it was used as a lock up, and was described as the 'Moor Street Lock Up'. In 1852, the Street Commissioners were wound up, and ownership of the building was transferred to

Birmingham Town Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

, who used a room at the Public Office known as the council chamber as their meeting place. Despite being expanded, the Public Office was inadequate for the needs of the growing town (which became a city in 1889) and so in the 1870s, the council decided to build a much larger premises; the

which opened in 1879. The building continued to be used by the

Birmingham City Police Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of Birmingham from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West M ...

, but in 1909 the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

opened Moor Street railway station adjacent to it, and in July that year they purchased the old Public Office from the council for £15,250 (), in order to demolish it to make way for a new

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

. Demolition was delayed however until 1911, as the police had to move to a new police station in

Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment ...

. Most of the site of the Public Office is now occupied by the Selfridges Building.

References

{{Buildings and structures in Birmingham, England Government buildings completed in 1807 Buildings and structures demolished in 1911 Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Demolished buildings and structures in the West Midlands (county) History of Birmingham, West Midlands City and town halls in the West Midlands (county)