Broad Street, Birmingham
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Broad Street is a major
thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...
and popular nightspot centre in
Central Birmingham Birmingham City Centre, also known as Central Birmingham and often known locally as town, is the central business district of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is now defined as being the area w ...
,
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 ...
. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into the new Westside district of the city centre due to its position within the
A4540 road The A4540 is a ring road in Birmingham, England, also known as the Middle Ring Road, or the Middleway. It runs around the centre ( St Philip's Cathedral) of the city at a distance of approximately . Birmingham City Centre is the area within ...
. Broad Street is also the centre of Birmingham's banking and financial centre. It can boast region head offices of
Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank w ...
,
Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
,
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
,
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
and many other banking organisations. More than 15,000 people are employed in this sector, in this area of Birmingham.


History


Early history

In the 1500s the area which is now known as Broad Street was made up of several schools and
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s such as The Biddles/Free School, Colmore, Shillon/Smallbrooke Guild/School, Billwiggler Croft and Byngas Hall which was later to become a home for the
Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...
family and subsequently
Bingley Hall Bingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site. Precursor The precursor of Bingley Hall was an " ...
and then Symphony Hall/ICC after Bingley Hall burned down. In the 1750s, Broad Street was an unnamed country path that ran across Easy Hill from Bewdley Street (now Victoria Square) and Swinford Street (now the top end of New Street) to Five Ways and on to
Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...
and
Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...
. However, in the following years, Easy Hill began to develop with the construction of a house by
John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wov ...
, a local printer and type-face designer. This led to the widening of the street which passed in front of his house. The path was soon removed and an established street was added that ran to the border of
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
and, as a result of its widening, it was named Broad Street. St Martin's Church owned land on the southern end of Broad Street, at what is now Five Ways, and began to develop the land in 1773 after the passing of an
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
. The site was developed into an estate known as the 'Six Closes' or the 'Islington Estate' (named after Islington Row which bounded the south of the site). The Crown Inn was built in 1781, and survives in modified form. By 1795, several streets had been created according to Pye's map. One of the streets that remain from the development is Tennant Street, named after William Tennant who had the
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...
of St Martin's Church. Development slowed as a result of overseas wars, but rapidly increased after the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
. Land along the street also developed and became a well established neighbourhood as a result of the connections with industry and Edgbaston, an upmarket area. In the 19th century, well established industries were established along the canals at the northern end of the street and residential properties were built at the southern end. Churches of various denominations were also built along the stretch of Broad Street, such as the Unitarian Church of the Messiah, the
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
St Peter's Church, and the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Immanuel Church.


Transformation

In the 1970s and 1980s, Broad Street was still very much a suburban high street. However, one prescient early manifestation of the street's future purpose as a fashionable partying district was the Rum Runner nightclub, which from the late 1970s restyled itself after
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...
and later London's
Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
club. The club was best known as the original home base of major 1980s band
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
. It was situated on the South side at the East end of the road from 1964 to 1987 when it was demolished. During the 1990s, Broad Street was transformed into a dynamic convention, entertainment and
nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, c ...
quarter, centred on the International Convention Centre, which opened in 1991. The Broad Street area is home to numerous bars and restaurants, the
Brindleyplace Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It was named after Brindley Place, the name of the street (in turn named after the 18th century canal engineer James Brindley) around whi ...
development and cultural attractions such as the
Ikon Gallery The Ikon Gallery () is an English gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Grade II listed, neo-gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henry Chamberlain in 1877. Ikon was set u ...
. Three major
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s -
Free Birmingham Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...
,
Capital Birmingham Capital Birmingham is a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham from studios at Brindleyplace in Birmingham City Centre. In April 2019, Capital Birmingham was merg ...
and 100.7 Heart FM - have their studios on the street. From 1969 to 1999 the area was a major national television production facility. The junction with Paradise Circus was home to the
studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...
of former
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
companies ATV and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
; the studios (on the land between the
Alpha Tower Alpha Tower is a Grade II listed office skyscraper in Birmingham, England. It was designed by the Birmingham-born architect George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV (Associated T ...
and the former
Birmingham Municipal Bank The Birmingham Municipal Bank was a savings bank in the city of Birmingham, England. It was created as the Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank by a 1916 Act of Parliament on a temporary basis and replaced by the Birmingham Municipal Bank in 1919 ...
) have since been demolished. The area has recently been hit by a number of venue closures. In July 2008 the ''Sunday Mercury'' newspaper reported that as many as 40% of the venues between the Hyatt Hotel and Five Ways had closed, including well-known ones as the Hard Rock Cafe, Brannigans and the Waxy O'Connor's Irish-themed bar.


Traffic and transport

There is long standing concern over
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
in the evenings when car drivers attracted by the nightlife are cruising the area. There was a proposal to ban cars during Friday and Saturday evenings and in 1998 there was a plan to ban cars every evening after 8.00 pm. Broad Street is served by several
National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, su ...
bus routes. The road's only night bus service ceased in 2008. There are plans to extend the
West Midlands Metro The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmin ...
along Broad Street to Five Ways between 2015 and 2019 with stops at Birmingham Library,
Brindleyplace Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It was named after Brindley Place, the name of the street (in turn named after the 18th century canal engineer James Brindley) around whi ...
and Five Ways. The proposed SPRINT
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
route between Birmingham and Quinton would also serve Broad Street.


Buildings and other structures

At its northern end is: *
Centenary Square Centenary Square is a public square on the north side of Broad Street in Birmingham, England, named in 1989 to commemorate the centenary of Birmingham achieving city status. The area was an industrial area of small workshops and canal wharves ...
, with ** Baskerville House **
Hall of Memory Hall of Memory is a name used for some memorials, including: * The Hall of Memory, Birmingham, a war memorial in Birmingham, United Kingdom, honoring residents killed in World War I. * The octagonal chapel at the heart of the Australian War Memori ...
**
Library of Birmingham A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
**The old Masonic Hall, later Central Television - ''(demolished 2008)'' **The
Birmingham Municipal Bank The Birmingham Municipal Bank was a savings bank in the city of Birmingham, England. It was created as the Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank by a 1916 Act of Parliament on a temporary basis and replaced by the Birmingham Municipal Bank in 1919 ...
, the first municipal bank in the country, later Lloyds TSB, then bought by the council for redevelopment **The Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue, recently re-gilded **The
Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre c ...
**The International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall * The Crown Inn *A tunnel (with a
grade II listed 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 ...
Martin & Chamberlain John Henry Chamberlain, William Martin, and Frederick Martin were architects in Victorian Birmingham, England. Their names are attributed singly or pairs to many red brick and terracotta buildings, particularly 41 of the forty-odd Birmingham ...
building built on it) over the BCN Main Line canal leading to
Gas Street Basin Gas Street Basin () is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side d ...
and
Brindleyplace Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It was named after Brindley Place, the name of the street (in turn named after the 18th century canal engineer James Brindley) around whi ...
. *Hyatt Regency Birmingham Hotel. * Quayside Tower * Jury's Inn hotel


Walk of Stars

A 'Walk of Stars', similar to the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
, runs along the pavement on Broad Street.
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
, of the
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...
area of Birmingham, became the first person to be honoured when he had his brass star installed on 6 July 2007. Since then comedian
Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. Early life Born in Shaftmoor Lane, Acocks Green, in Birmingham, Carrott was educated at Acocks G ...
, glam rocker
Noddy Holder Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co ...
, motor racing commentator
Murray Walker Graeme Murray Walker (10 October 1923 – 13 March 2021) was an English motorsport commentator and journalist. He provided television commentary of live Formula One coverage for the BBC between 1976 and 1996, and for ITV between 1997 and 2001 ...
, the cast and crew of
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural settin ...
'', long serving ''Archers'' cast member Norman Painting and founding member of
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 ...
,
Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...
have all been honoured on the street with a star. Other famous local people nominated to do the same include
Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
,
Cat Deeley Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show ''SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' C ...
and
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
a group that at the start of the 1980s based themselves in the
Rum Runner nightclub The Rum Runner was a nightclub on Broad Street, Birmingham. The club operated from 1964 until its demolition in 1987. History 1960s–70s Originally a casino, by the 1970s the Rum Runner had become more of a conventional club. One of its f ...
situated in Broad Street but which has subsequently been knocked down to make way for the Hyatt Hotel.Walk of Stars: Vote for stars


Future buildings

Developments planned for the street include Broad Street Tower, Regal Tower,
V Building The V Building (formerly known as Arena Central Tower) was a proposed 51-storey residential skyscraper approved for construction on Broad Street on the Westside of the city centre of Birmingham, England. The tower was part of the larger Arena Ce ...
and a redevelopment of Five Ways Shopping Centre.


Westside Business Improvement District

Broad Street is part of Westside Business Improvement District (BID), voted for by local businesses to improve the area through better marketing and the introduction of a cleaner business environment. The BID was established in July 2005 following a ballot of 262 businesses throughout the Broad Street area. With a 92% "Yes" vote, the result is the highest of all BIDs in the UK to date. The current BID term lasts for five years until March 2010. Westside Partnership Limited manage the BID with a board of directors who represent local businesses, property owners and developers, West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, the Leisure Forum (representing bars and clubs) and the City Centre Neighbourhood Forum. Since the start of the BID, a number of changes have happened in the Westside area, the first of which, the introduction of a team of Street Wardens, commenced in July 2005. The wardens work closely in partnership with West Midlands Police, venue door supervisors, taxi companies and other agencies to prevent crime and to reduce the fear of crime. There is a late night Taxi Marshal scheme in operation on Friday and Saturday evenings from 10pm to 4am. A street cleaning regime, in addition to the service provided by Birmingham City Council, has been introduced by the BID. The Broad Street area is now cleaned twice a day. Daily street washing and deep cleansing of areas requiring special attention now takes place five days per week and graffiti is removed on each shift. In addition, a pavement deep cleaning operation took place in February 2007 to remove over 150,000 pieces of chewing gum. This is all supported by the installation of 32 BID branded litter bins and a number of stainless steel bins on lampposts. In March 2007, Birmingham City Centre was awarded the Cleanest City Award by the British Cleaning Council. It was praised for its special focus on leisure facilities and shopping areas and for the introduction of street wardens to monitor anti social activity in the area.


See also

*
Church of the Messiah, Birmingham The Church of the Messiah, Birmingham was a Unitarian place of worship on Broad Street. The impressive Victorian Gothic church was constructed between 1860-1862 and straddled the Birmingham Canal. The congregation pre-dates the building, and h ...
* Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Birmingham


References

*''Brum and Brummies: Vol 2'' (Chapter 3: 'The Old End' - "''From Glebe Land to Working Class Heartland: The Bishopsgate Street Neighbourhood''", Page 65),
Carl Chinn Carl Steven Alfred Chinn, MBE (born 6 September 1956) is an English historian, writer and broadcaster whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of Birmingham. He broadcast a programme on the BBC from the mid ...
, 2001, Brewin Books () {{Streets in Birmingham Streets in Birmingham, West Midlands Business improvement districts in the United Kingdom Ladywood Centenary Square, Birmingham