Birmingham Town Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Birmingham Town Hall, a concert venue. For the seat of Birmingham City Council, see Council House, Birmingham.
Birmingham Town Hall

The town hall after being refurbished seen from Victoria Square
Building
Type Concert and meeting venue
Architectural Style Classical
Location Victoria Square, Birmingham, England
Coordinates 52°28′46.56″N 1°54′13.59″W / 52.4796, -1.903775Coordinates: 52°28′46.56″N 1°54′13.59″W / 52.4796, -1.903775
Construction
Started April 27, 1832
Completed October 7, 1834
Design Team
Architect Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch
Other designers Charles Edge
Awards and Prizes Grade I listed

Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England.[1] It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church (later to become a Cathedral) became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings. Between 2002 and 2008, it was refurbished into a concert hall.

Contents

[edit] History

A ground level view from an 1836 book.
A ground level view from an 1836 book.
A view of the town hall (on the right) from an 1886 drawing.
A view of the town hall (on the right) from an 1886 drawing.

Two sites were considered by the Birmingham Street Commissioners for the construction of a concert hall in the city; Bennetts Hill and the more expensive Paradise Street site. Paradise Street was chosen and a design competition was launched which resulted with the submission of 67 designs including one by Charles Barry, whose design for the King Edward's School on New Street was then under construction.

Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame, and Edward Welch were chosen as the architects and they expressed that they expected the construction cost to be £8,000. Hill of London was hired to build the 6,000 pipe organ for £6,000. Construction began on April 27, 1832 with an expected completion date of 1833.[2] 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 October 7, 1834, despite the building still being unfinished. During construction, on January 26, 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 Win. 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.

Built in brick, created in Selly Oak, and faced with Penmon Anglesey Marble presented to the town by Sir R. Bulkeley, proprietor of the Penmon quarries, the hall is modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome. Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of plants and animals are visible. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the front arches were glazed to create an entrance foyer.

Charles Dickens gave public readings here to raise money for the Birmingham and Midland Institute, and Mendelssohn's Elijah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius were both premiered. Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Overture di Ballo" was also premièred here in August 1870, 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 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 Prison under the Disraeli Government's Public Worship Regulation Act.[3]

Popular music has also featured, and in the 1960s and 1970s, headline acts such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan appeared.

The Town Hall in 1937 decorated for the Coronation of George VI.
The Town Hall in 1937 decorated for the Coronation of George VI.

On August 9, 1902, the town hall, along with the council house, was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII. It was illuminated again on June 22, 1911 for the coronation of King George V. In 1901, it was the scene of rioting on the occasion of a visit by Lloyd George.

It featured prominently in the 1967 Peter Watkins film Privilege and doubled for the Royal Albert Hall in 1996s Brassed Off.

In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI, the Town Hall was regaled in the various Arms of the Lord of the Manor 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. This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city was devised by William Haywood, Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society.

[edit] Renovations

The Town Hall emerging after years of refurbishment. Big Brum is in the background.
The Town Hall emerging after years of refurbishment. Big Brum is in the background.

The Hall closed in 1996 for a £35 million refurbishment, undertaken by Wates Construction, that has seen the Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its 6,000-pipe organ still in place.[2] 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 town hall's organist 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. The hall is now managed by the trustees of the Symphony Hall. It reopened on 4 October 2007, and is to offer concerts again.[4][5] At 1,100, the seating capacity is about half that of Symphony Hall.[6]

During the years of refurbishment the side of the Town Hall facing Victoria Square was hidden by giant advertising sheets, a giant advent calendar, and during the 2002 FIFA World Cup a large outside television screen that was used to broadcast live matches from Korea and Japan. 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, which broadcast live from the television channel BBC One. The BBC Big Screen controversially[7][8][9] sited next to the rear of the building, facing Chamberlain Square, has been removed.

[edit] References

  1. ^ grid reference SP066868
  2. ^ a b The Organ. Birmingham City Council (16 Sep 2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
  3. ^ G. Wakelin (1895) The Oxford Movement, Sketches and Recollections.
  4. ^ £35m restoration brings Town Hall back to life - Birmingham Post, Oct 5 2007
  5. ^ Town Hall comes out of the shadows - Birmingham Post, Oct 5 2007
  6. ^ Hall’s well - Birmingham’s revived Town Hall is a world-beater - Times Online, September 29, 2007
  7. ^ Chamberlain Square big screen `an eyesore` - Birmingham Mail, Apr 5 2007
  8. ^ No permission but big screen remains - Birmingham Post, May 9 2007
  9. ^ Plug is pulled on big screen - Birmingham Mail, May 25 2007
  • Holyoak, Joe (1989). All About Victoria Square. Birmingham: The Victorian Society Birmingham Group. ISBN 090165714X. 
  • Foster, Andy (2005). Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300107315. 
  • Thistlewaite, Nicholas (1984). Birmingham Town Hall Organ. Birmingham: Birmingham City Council. OCLC 30721233. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Buildings in Birmingham, England
Highrise (in height order):
Notable lowrise:
Major railway stations:
Major complexes:
Sports venues:
List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham  • List of Birmingham board schools  • Listed buildings in Birmingham