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Birmingham ( ) is a city and
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolita ...
in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
with a population of 1.145 million in the
city proper A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The term ''proper'' is not exclusive to cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as "the sin ...
, 2.92 million in the West Midlands
metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...
, 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 The second city of the United Kingdom is an unofficial claim made at various times by several cities since the establishment of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (the United Kingdom was formed in January 1801). Commonly a country's "second c ...
. Located in the
West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...
of England, approximately from
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...
. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries
River Rea The River Rea (pronounced "ray") is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. It is the river on which Birmingham was founded by the Beorma tribe in the 7th century. Since 2012, TA Media had obtained the rights and access to t ...
and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the
Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the
Midlands Enlightenment The Midlands Enlightenment, also known as the West Midlands Enlightenment or the Birmingham Enlightenment, was a scientific, economic, political, cultural and legal manifestation of the Age of Enlightenment that developed in Birmingham and the wide ...
and during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern
industrial society In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world in ...
.; By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The
Watt steam engine The Watt steam engine design became synonymous with steam engines, and it was many years before significantly new designs began to replace the basic Watt design. The first steam engines, introduced by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, were of the "at ...
was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
also fostered a culture of
political radicalism Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radical ...
which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...
, was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the
Birmingham Blitz The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz , which was part of the Battle of Bri ...
. The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive
urban regeneration Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blight ...
in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy is now dominated by the
service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
. The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its
metropolitan economy A metropolitan economy refers to the cohesive, naturally evolving concentration of industries, commerce, markets, firms, housing, human capital, infrastructure and other economic elements that are comprised in a particular metropolitan area. Rat ...
is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of $121.1bn (2014). Its five universities, including the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univer ...
, make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions – 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 ...
, the
Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...
, 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 ...
, the
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 ...
and the
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...
– enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
,
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and
culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...
scenes. The city also successfully hosted the
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
. In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in the UK by people from foreign nations.


Etymology

The name ''Birmingham'' comes from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
, meaning the home or settlement of the – a tribe or clan whose name literally means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration.
Beorma Beorma ( , ) is the name most commonly given to the circa 7th century Anglo-Saxon founder or later leader of the settlement now known as the English city of Birmingham before its first mention in 1086. At its Saxon founding the forerunner settleme ...
, after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, a shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest. Surrounding settlements with names ending in ('farm'), ('woodland clearing'), ('enclosure') and ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by the later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
sites.


History


Pre-history and medieval

There is evidence of
early human ''Homo'' () is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus '' Australopithecus'' that encompasses the extant species ''Homo sapiens'' ( modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely rela ...
activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many
burnt mound A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon da ...
s that can still be seen around the city indicate that
modern humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
first intensively settled and cultivated the area during the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area. During the 1st-century
Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Stane ...
, the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large
Metchley Fort Metchley Fort was a Roman fort in what is now Birmingham, England. It lies on the course of a Roman road, Icknield Street, which is now the site of the present Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Birmingham in Edgbaston. The fort was ...
in the area of modern-day
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 a ...
in AD 48, and made it the focus of a network of
Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
. The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when 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 seigno ...
Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle, and followed this with the creation of a planned
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
and
seigneurial borough A seigneurial borough was an administrative division of urban government within a manor of medieval England, that granted a town's citizens or burgesses rights of burgage tenure and a degree of self-government under a charter or prescription gran ...
within his ''
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept ori ...
'' or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring. This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land. Within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years.


Early modern

The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the
Guild of the Holy Cross The Guild of the Holy Cross could refer to: *Guild of the Holy Cross (Birmingham) The Guild or Gild of the Holy Cross was a medieval religious guild in Birmingham, England. It was founded in 1392 by three burgesses of the town – John Coleshil ...
and the
lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...
of the
de Birmingham family The de Birmingham family (or de Bermingham) held the lordship of the manor of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also assisted in the invasion of Ireland ...
– collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving the town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in fr ...
goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed the industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of
forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
s and
furnaces A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...
stretching from
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards t ...
to
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...
and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...
. These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards a broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
and
cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and value ...
, had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than the rigid paternalism and deference of
feudal society Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...
, and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the
established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
and
aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...
were weak. The town's reputation for
political radicalism Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radical ...
and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
forces in the
Battle of Birmingham The Battle of Camp Hill (or the Battle of Birmingham) took place on Easter Monday, 3 April 1643, in and around Camp Hill, Warwickshire, during the First English Civil War. In the skirmish, a company of Parliamentarians from the Lichfield garr ...
in 1643, and it developed into a centre of
Puritanism The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
in the 1630s and as a haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the
Midlands Enlightenment The Midlands Enlightenment, also known as the West Midlands Enlightenment or the Birmingham Enlightenment, was a scientific, economic, political, cultural and legal manifestation of the Age of Enlightenment that developed in Birmingham and the wide ...
. The town developed into a notable centre of
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
,
artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...
and
theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
activity; and its leading citizens – particularly the members of the
Lunar Society of Birmingham The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 ...
– became influential participants in the circulation of
philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...
and
scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence f ...
ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton and Watt, Boulton & ...
and
James Keir James Keir FRS (20 September 1735 – 11 October 1820) was a Scottish chemist, geologist, industrialist, and inventor, and an important member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. Life and work Keir was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, in 1 ...
they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for the exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier
scientific revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transforme ...
and the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
that would follow.


Industrial Revolution

Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, and was driven by different factors. Instead of the
economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables a ...
of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk
commodity In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a co ...
such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strong
division of labour The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (specialisation). Individuals, organizations, and nations are endowed with, or acquire specialised capabilities, and ...
, practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing a constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly
entrepreneurial Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
economy of small, often self-owned workshops. This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
– Birmingham residents registered over three times as many
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
s as those of any other British town or city. The demand for
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into a major
financial centre A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ...
with extensive international connections.
Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
was founded in the town in 1765, and
Ketley's Building Society Ketley's Building Society, founded in Birmingham, England, in 1775, was the world's first building society. The society was formed by Richard Ketley, the landlord at the Golden Cross inn at 60 Snow Hill. Taverns and coffeehouses were important me ...
, the world's first
building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...
, in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at the heart of the emergence of
industrial society In sociology, industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world in ...
. In 1709 the Birmingham-trained
Abraham Darby I Abraham Darby, in his later life called Abraham Darby the Elder, now sometimes known for convenience as Abraham Darby I (14 April 1677 – 5 May 1717, the first and best known of several men of that name), was an English ironmaster and found ...
moved to
Coalbrookdale Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge. This is where iron ore was first sm ...
in
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
and built the first
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
to successfully smelt iron ore with coke, transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
. In 1732
Lewis Paul Lewis Paul (died 1759) was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill. Life and work Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury. He may ha ...
and John Wyatt invented
roller spinning Cotton-spinning machinery is machines which process (or spin) prepared cotton roving into workable yarn or thread. Such machinery can be dated back centuries. During the 18th and 19th centuries, as part of the Industrial Revolution cotton-spinnin ...
, the "one novel idea of the first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry. In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746
John Roebuck John Roebuck of Kinneil FRS FRSE (1718 – 17 July 1794) was an English inventor and industrialist who played an important role in the Industrial Revolution and who is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulphuric aci ...
invented the
lead chamber process The lead chamber process was an industrial method used to produce sulfuric acid in large quantities. It has been largely supplanted by the contact process. In 1746 in Birmingham, England, John Roebuck began producing sulfuric acid in lead-lined ch ...
, enabling the large-scale manufacture of
sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular form ...
, and in 1780
James Keir James Keir FRS (20 September 1735 – 11 October 1820) was a Scottish chemist, geologist, industrialist, and inventor, and an important member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. Life and work Keir was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, in 1 ...
developed a process for the bulk manufacture of
alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of ...
, together marking the birth of the modern
chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The p ...
. In 1765
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton and Watt, Boulton & ...
opened the
Soho Manufactory The Soho Manufactory () was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Birmingham, England, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It operated from 1766–1848 and was demolished in 1853. B ...
, pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the
factory system The factory system is a method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor. Because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories are typically privately owned by wealthy individuals or corporations who emplo ...
. Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the
industrial steam engine Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
by
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 fu ...
and
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton and Watt, Boulton & ...
. Freeing for the first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entire
industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century.


Regency and Victorian

Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and the
Birmingham Political Union The Birmingham Political Union (General Political Union) was a grass roots pressure group in Great Britain during the 1830s. It was founded by Thomas Attwood, a banker interested in monetary reform. Its platform called for extending and redistrib ...
bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the
Days of May The Days of May was a period of significant social unrest and political tension in the United Kingdom in May 1832, after the Tories blocked the Third Reform Bill in the House of Lords, which aimed to extend parliamentary representation to the ...
that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Street, Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, Lord Durham, who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken the fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the 1867 Reform Act, Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation, dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Birmingham Town Hall, Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and the Borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first Mayor and William Redfern was appointed as Town Clerk. Birmingham Town Police were established the following year. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and the 112-mile London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal Mail, postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first man-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, an Canals of the United Kingdom, extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in the United Kingdom, city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria.
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...
, mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain, who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of the most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established University of Birmingham, its own university in 1900.


20th century and contemporary

The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II's "
Birmingham Blitz The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz , which was part of the Battle of Bri ...
". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in the Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron, the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens, was invented by John Randall (physicist), John Randall and Henry Boot. Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby, were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in a single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale. The Bull Ring was reconstructed and Birmingham New Street railway station, New Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in Birmingham pub bombings, a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, Provisional IRA. The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two Public house, pubs in central Birmingham. Birmingham Six, Six men were convicted, who became known later as the Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal. The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested.''The Birmingham Framework -Six Innocent Men Framed for the Birmingham Bombings''; Fr. Denis Faul and Fr. Raymond Murray (1976) Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and the South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Government of the United Kingdom, Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England. These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and the city became increasingly dependent on the Automotive industry in the United Kingdom, motor industry. The Early 1980s recession, recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and 1985 Handsworth riots, outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Recently, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring, Birmingham, Bullring Shopping Centre, the construction of the new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace, The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre, Birmingham, International Convention Centre. Old streets, buildings and canals have been restored, the pedestrian subways have been removed and the A4400 road, Inner Ring Road has been rationalised. In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit. The city successfully hosted the
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
.


Government

Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in Europe, in terms of the population it covers with 101 councillors representing 77 ward (politics), wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House, Birmingham, Council House in Victoria Square, Birmingham, Victoria Square. , the council has a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party majority and is led by Ian Ward. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of a Lord Mayors of Birmingham, Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten Constituency, parliamentary constituencies are represented in the British House of Commons, House of Commons by two Conservative Party (UK), Conservative and eight Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MPs. Originally part of Warwickshire, Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to the north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands (county), West Midlands county. A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority, was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a Mayor of West Midlands, directly elected mayor, similar to the Mayor of London.


Geography

Birmingham is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between Above mean sea level, above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–south water divide, watershed between the basins of the Rivers
Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
and River Trent, Trent. To the south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills, Clent Hills and Walton Hill, which reach and have extensive views over the city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the River Cole, West Midlands, Cole and the River Rea, Rea. The City of Birmingham forms a conurbation with the largely residential borough of Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering . Surrounding this is Birmingham metropolitan area, Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes the former Mercian capital of Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth and the cathedral city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the industrial city of Coventry and the Warwickshire towns of Nuneaton, Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east; and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden, whose former presence can still be felt in the city's dense oak tree-cover and in the large number of districts such as Moseley, Saltley, Yardley, Birmingham, Yardley, Stirchley, West Midlands, Stirchley and Hockley, Birmingham, Hockley with names ending in "-ley": the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''-'' meaning "woodland clearing".


Cityscape


Geology

Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through
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 a ...
and the Bull Ring, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone Group, Mercia Mudstone, interspersed with beds of Bunter (geology), Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of the Rivers River Tame, West Midlands, Tame, River Rea, Rea and River Cole, West Midlands, Cole and their tributaries. To the north and west of the fault, between higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone. The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits, with prominent erratic boulders becoming a tourist attraction in the early 1900's.


Climate

Birmingham has a temperate Oceanic climate, maritime climate (''Cfb'' according to the Köppen climate classification), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around ; and in winter (January) around . Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was and the coldest night typically fell to . Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature, 2022 European heatwaves, set on 19 July 2022, was . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has a considerable urban heat island effect. During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, but just at
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 a ...
, near the city centre. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at Heathrow Airport, London Heathrow. Snow showers often pass through the city via the Cheshire Plain, Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes. On 23 November 1981, during a record-breaking 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak, nationwide tornado outbreak, two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive tornado occurred in Birmingham Tornado (UK), July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area.


Environment

There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park, West Midlands, Sutton Park, which covers in the north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserves in England, national nature reserve. Birmingham Botanical Gardens (United Kingdom), Birmingham Botanical Gardens, located close to the city centre, retains the Regency era, regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in
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 a ...
reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts Movement, Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian era, Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within the borough are designated as Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt, as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield land. Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by the Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Kingfisher Country Park, Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park, Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park, Kings Heath Park, and Cannon Hill Park, the latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park.


Demographics

The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded living in the city. Of that around 305,688 or 26.7% were Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom, foreign-born, making it the city with Foreign born#Cities with largest foreign born populations, one of the largest immigrant populations in Europe. Birmingham is the largest local Authority area and city in the UK outside of London. Increasing industrialisation swelled Birmingham's population. In the 1520s the town was the third largest in Warwickshire with a population of about 1,000 – a situation little changed from that two centuries earlier. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. Birmingham's population quadrupled between 1700 and 1750. – Birmingham was already the third most-populous town in England, smaller only than the older southern ports of London and Bristol and growing faster than any of its rivals. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents, before being surpassed in 2021. The Birmingham Larger Urban Zone, a Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, has a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, Dudley, Sandwell, Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, Solihull and Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, Walsall, along with the districts of Lichfield (district), Lichfield, Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth, North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove (district), Bromsgrove.


Ethnic groups

According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White people, White (42.9% White British, 1.5% Irish migration to Great Britain, White Irish, 4.0% Other White, 0.2% Romani people in the United Kingdom, Roma, 0.1% Irish Traveller), 31% were Asian people, Asian (17.0% British Pakistanis, Pakistani, 5.8% British Indians, Indian, 4.2% British Bangladeshis, Bangladeshi, 1.1% British Chinese, Chinese, 2.9% British Asians, Other Asian), 10.9% were Black people, Black (5.8% Black British people, African, 3.9% Black British people, Caribbean, 1.2% Black British people, Other Black), 4.8% of Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), Mixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7% British Arabs, Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of the population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White people, White, 37.7% were Asian people, Asian, 12.6% were Black people, Black, 9.7% were Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), Mixed race and 8.4% were Other.


Age structure and median age

In Birmingham, 65.9% of the population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged over 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below the age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40.


Religion

Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census. The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Islam, Muslim, Sikhism, Sikh and Buddhism, Buddhist communities; its second largest Hinduism, Hindu community; and its seventh largest Judaism, Jewish community. Between the 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar. St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when the Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: Cathedral of Saint Chad, Birmingham, St Chad's, seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Birmingham Orthodox Cathedral, Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew. The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K., Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in the Bull Ring, is listed building, Grade II* listed. A short distance from Five Ways, Birmingham, Five Ways the Birmingham Oratory was completed in 1910 on the site of Cardinal Newman's original foundation. There are several Christadelphian meeting halls in the city and the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Group has its headquarters in Hall Green. The oldest surviving synagogue in Birmingham is the 1825 Greek Revival Severn Street Synagogue, now a Freemasons' Lodge hall. It was replaced in 1856 by the listed building, Grade II* listed Singers Hill Synagogue. Birmingham Central Mosque, one of the largest in Europe, was constructed in the 1960s. During the late 1990s Ghamkol Shariff Masjid was built in Small Heath, Birmingham, Small Heath. The Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha Sikhism, Sikh Gurdwara was built on Soho Road in Handsworth in the late 1970s and the Theravada Buddhist Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda near Edgbaston Reservoir in the 1990s. Winners' Chapel also maintains physical presence in Digbeth.


Economy

Birmingham grew to prominence as a centre of manufacturing and engineering. The Gun Quarter is a district of the city that was, for many years, a centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry. The first recorded gun maker in Birmingham was in 1630, and locally made muskets were used in the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...
. The Gun Quarter is an industrial area to the north of the Birmingham city centre, city centre, bounded by Steelhouse Lane, Shadwell Street, and Loveday Street, specialising in the production of military firearms and sporting guns. Many buildings in the area are disused but plans are in place for redevelopment including in Shadwell Street and Vesey Street. The economy of Birmingham is dominated by the tertiary sector of industry, service sector, which accounted for 88% of the city's employment in 2012. Birmingham is the largest centre in Great Britain for employment in public administration, education and Health care, health; and after Leeds the second-largest centre outside London for employment in Financial services, financial and other business services. The wider
metropolitan economy A metropolitan economy refers to the cohesive, naturally evolving concentration of industries, commerce, markets, firms, housing, human capital, infrastructure and other economic elements that are comprised in a particular metropolitan area. Rat ...
is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of $121.1 billion (2014 estimate, Purchasing power parity, PPP). Major companies headquartered in Birmingham include the engineering company IMI plc, National Express, Patisserie Valerie, Claire's, and Mitchells & Butlers; including the wider metropolitan area, the city has the largest concentration of major companies outside London and the South East. hosting headquarters for Gymshark and Severn Trent Water. With major facilities such as the National Exhibition Centre and International Convention Centre, Birmingham, International Convention Centre, Birmingham attracts 42% of the UK's total conference and exhibition trade. In 2012, manufacturing accounted for 8% of the employment in Birmingham, a figure below the average for the UK as a whole. Major industrial plants in the city include Jaguar Land Rover in Castle Bromwich and Cadbury in Bournville, with large local producers also supporting a supply chain of precision-based small manufacturers and craft industries. More traditional industries also remain: 40% of the jewellery made in the UK is still produced by the 300 independent manufacturers of the city's Jewellery Quarter, continuing a trade first recorded in Birmingham in 1308. Birmingham's Gross Value Added, GVA was estimated to be £24.8 billion in 2015, economic growth accelerated each successive year between 2013 and 2015, and with an annual growth of 4.2% in 2015, GVA per head grew at the second-fastest rate of England's eight "Core Cities". The value of manufacturing output in the city declined by 21% in real terms between 1997 and 2010, but the value of financial and insurance activities more than doubled. With 16,281 Startup company, start-ups registered during 2013, Birmingham has the highest level of entrepreneurial activity outside London, while the number of registered businesses in the city grew by 8.1% during 2016. Birmingham was behind only
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
and Edinburgh for private sector job creation between 2010 and 2013. Economic inequality in Birmingham is greater than in any other major English city, exceeded only by Glasgow in the United Kingdom. Levels of unemployment are among the highest in the country, with 10% of the economically active population unemployed (June 2016). In the inner-city wards of Aston and Washwood Heath, the figure is higher than 30%. Two-fifths of Birmingham's population live in areas classified as in the 10% most deprived parts of England, and overall Birmingham is the most deprived local authority in England in terms of income and employment deprivation. The city's infant mortality rate is high, around 60% worse than the national average. Meanwhile, just 49% of women have jobs, compared to 65% nationally, and only 28% of the working-age population in Birmingham have degree level qualifications in contrast to the average of 34% across other Core Cities. According to the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey, Birmingham was placed 51st in the world, which was the second-highest rating in the UK. The city's quality of life rating has continued to improve over the years and Birmingham was ranked 49th in the world in the 2019 survey. This is the first time it has featured in the top 50. The Big City Plan of 2008 aims to move the city into the index's top 20 by 2026. An area of the city has been designated an Urban Enterprise Zone, enterprise zone, with tax relief and simplified planning to lure investment. According to 2019 property investment research, Birmingham is rated as the number one location for "The Best Places To Invest in Property in the UK". This was attributed to a 5% increase in house prices and local investment into infrastructure.


Culture


Music

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 ...
's home venue is Symphony Hall (Birmingham), Symphony Hall. Other notable professional orchestras based in the city include the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and Ex Cathedra, a Baroque music, Baroque chamber choir and Historically informed performance, period instrument orchestra. The Orchestra of the Swan is the resident chamber orchestra at Birmingham Town Hall, where weekly recitals have also been given by the Birmingham City Organist, City Organist since 1834. The Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals took place from 1784 to 1912. Music was specially composed, conducted or performed by Felix Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn, Charles Gounod, Gounod, Arthur Sullivan, Sullivan, Antonín Dvořák, Dvořák, Granville Bantock, Bantock and Edward Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham. Elgar's ''The Dream of Gerontius'' had its début performance there in 1900. Composers born in the city include Albert William Ketèlbey and Andrew Glover (composer), Andrew Glover. Jazz has been popular in the city since the 1920s, and there are many regular festivals such as the Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival. Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include Arena Birmingham (previously known as the National Indoor Arena and the Barclaycard Arena), which was opened in 1991, o2 Academy Birmingham, O2 Academy on Bristol Street, which opened in September 2009 replacing the o2 Academy Birmingham, O2 Academy in Dale End, the CBSO Centre, opened in 1997, Digbeth Institute, HMV Institute in Digbeth and the Bradshaw Hall at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. During the 1960s, Birmingham was the home of a music scene comparable to that of Liverpool. It was "a seething cauldron of musical activity", and the international success of groups such as The Move, The Spencer Davis Group, The Moody Blues, Traffic (band), Traffic and the Electric Light Orchestra had a collective influence that stretched into the 1970s and beyond. The city was a centre for early heavy metal music, with pioneering metal bands from the late 1960s and 1970s such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and half of Led Zeppelin having come from Birmingham. The next decade saw the influential metal bands Napalm Death and Godflesh emerge from the city. Birmingham was the birthplace of modern bhangra (music), bhangra in the 1960s, and by the 1980s had established itself as the global centre of bhangra culture, which has grown into a global phenomenon embraced by members of the Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin, Indian diaspora worldwide from Los Angeles to Singapore. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city with such bands as Steel Pulse, UB40, Musical Youth, The Beat (British band), The Beat and Beshara (band), Beshara, expounding racial unity with politically leftist lyrics and multiracial line-ups, mirroring social currents in Birmingham at that time. Other popular bands from Birmingham include Duran Duran, Johnny Foreigner, Fine Young Cannibals, Felt (band), Felt, Broadcast (band), Broadcast, Ocean Colour Scene, The Streets, The Twang, King Adora, Dexys Midnight Runners, and Magnum (band), Magnum. Musicians Jeff Lynne, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, John Lodge (musician), John Lodge, Roy Wood, Joan Armatrading, Toyah Willcox, Denny Laine, Sukshinder Shinda, Apache Indian, Steve Winwood, Jamelia, Oceans Ate Alaska, Fyfe Dangerfield and Laura Mvula all grew up in the city. Since 2012 the Digbeth-based B-Town indie music scene has attracted widespread attention, led by bands such as Peace (band), Peace and Swim Deep, with the ''NME'' comparing Digbeth to London's Shoreditch, and ''The Independent'' writing in 2012 that "Birmingham is fast becoming the best place in the UK to look to for the most exciting new music."


Theatre and performing arts

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 ...
is Britain's longest-established producing theatre, presenting a wide variety of work in its three auditoria on Centenary Square, Birmingham, Centenary Square and touring nationally and internationally. Other producing theatres in the city include the Blue Orange Theatre in the Jewellery Quarter; the Old Rep, home stage of the Birmingham Stage Company; and @ A. E. Harris, the base of the experimental Stan's Cafe theatre company, located within a working metal fabricators' factory. Touring theatre company, theatre companies include the politically radical Banner Theatre, the Maverick Theatre Company and Kindle Theatre. The Alexandra Theatre (Birmingham), Alexandra Theatre and the Birmingham Hippodrome host large-scale touring productions, while professional drama is performed on a wide range of stages across the city, including the Crescent Theatre, the Custard Factory, the Old Joint Stock Theatre, The Drum (Arts Centre), the Drum in Aston and the ''Mac (Birmingham), mac'' in Cannon Hill Park. The
Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...
is one of the United Kingdom's five major Ballet company, ballet companies and one of three based outside London. It is resident at the Birmingham Hippodrome and tours extensively nationally and internationally. The company's associated ballet school – Elmhurst School for Dance in
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 a ...
– is the oldest vocational dance school in the country. The Birmingham Opera Company under artistic director Graham Vick has developed an international reputation for its avant-garde productions, which often take place in factories, abandoned buildings and other Stage (theatre)#Created and found spaces, found spaces around the city. More conventional seasons by Welsh National Opera and other visiting opera companies take place regularly at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The first dedicated comedy club outside of London, The Glee Club, was opened in The Arcadian Centre, city centre, in 1994, and continues to host performances by leading regional, national and international acts.


Literature

Literary figures associated with Birmingham include Samuel Johnson who stayed in Birmingham for a short period and was born in nearby Lichfield. Arthur Conan Doyle worked in the Aston area of Birmingham whilst poet Louis MacNeice lived in Birmingham for six years. It was whilst staying in Birmingham that American author Washington Irving produced several of his most famous literary works, such as ''Bracebridge Hall'' and ''The Humorists, A Medley'' which are based on Aston Hall, as well as ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' and ''Rip Van Winkle'' . The poet W. H. Auden grew up in the Harborne area of the city and during the 1930s formed the core of the Auden Group with Birmingham University lecturer Louis MacNeice. Other influential poets associated with Birmingham include Roi Kwabena, who was the city's sixth poet laureate, and Benjamin Zephaniah, who was born in the city. The author J. R. R. Tolkien was brought up in the Kings Heath area of Birmingham. The award-winning political playwright David Edgar (playwright), David Edgar was born in Birmingham, and the science fiction author John Wyndham spent his early childhood in the
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 a ...
area of the city. Birmingham has a vibrant contemporary literary scene, with local authors including David Lodge (author), David Lodge, Jim Crace, Jonathan Coe, Joel Lane and Judith Cutler. The city's leading contemporary literary publisher is the Tindal Street Press, whose authors include prize-winning novelists Catherine O'Flynn, Clare Morrall and Austin Clarke (novelist), Austin Clarke.


Art and design

The Birmingham School (landscape artists), Birmingham School of landscape artists emerged with Daniel Bond in the 1760s and was to last into the mid 19th century. Its most important figure was David Cox (artist), David Cox, whose later works make him an important precursor of impressionism. The influence of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and the Birmingham School of Art made Birmingham an important centre of Victorian art, particularly within the Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts movements. Major figures included the Pre-Raphaelite and symbolist Edward Burne-Jones; Walter Langley, the first of the Newlyn School painters; and Joseph Southall, leader of the group of artists and craftsmen known as the Birmingham Group (artists), Birmingham Group. The Birmingham Surrealists were among the "harbingers of surrealism" in Britain in the 1930s and the movement's most active members in the 1940s, while more abstract artists associated with the city included Lee Bank-born David Bomberg and CoBrA member William Gear. Birmingham artists were prominent in several post-war developments in art: Peter Phillips (artist), Peter Phillips was among the central figures in the birth of Pop Art; John Salt was the only major European figure among the pioneers of photo-realism; and the BLK Art Group used painting, collage and multimedia to examine the politics and culture of Black British identity. Contemporary artists from the city include the Turner Prize winner Gillian Wearing and the Turner Prize shortlisted artists Richard Billingham, John Walker (painter), John Walker, Roger Hiorns, and conceptual artist Pogus Caesar whose work has been acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, London, National Portrait Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Birmingham's role as a manufacturing and printing centre has supported strong local traditions of graphic design and product design. Iconic works by Birmingham designers include the Baskerville font, Ruskin Pottery, the Acme Whistles, Acme Thunderer whistle, the Art Deco branding of the Odeon Cinemas and the Mini.


Museums and galleries

Birmingham has two major public art collections. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is best known for its works by the Pre-Raphaelites, a collection "of outstanding importance". It also holds a significant selection of old masters – including major works by Giovanni Bellini, Bellini, Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens, Canaletto and Claude Lorrain, Claude – and particularly strong collections of 17th-century Italian Baroque art, Italian Baroque painting and English watercolours. Its design holdings include Europe's pre-eminent collections of ceramic art, ceramics and fine metalwork. The
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...
in
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 a ...
is one of the finest small art galleries in the world, with a collection of exceptional quality representing Western art history, Western art from the 13th century to the present day. Birmingham Museums Trust runs other museums in the city including Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Soho House and Sarehole Mill. The Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city. Cadbury World, Birmingham, Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and Cadbury Schweppes, the company. The Ikon Gallery hosts displays of contemporary art, as does Eastside Projects. Thinktank, Birmingham, Thinktank is Birmingham's main science museum, with a giant screen cinema, a planetarium and a collection that includes the ''Smethwick Engine'', the world's oldest working steam engine. Other science-based museums include the National Sea Life Centre (Birmingham), National Sea Life Centre in Brindleyplace, the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univer ...
and the Centre of the Earth environmental education centre in Winson Green.


Nightlife

Nightlife in Birmingham is mainly concentrated along Broad Street, Birmingham, Broad Street and into Brindleyplace. Although in more recent years, Broad Street has lost its popularity due to the closing of several clubs; the Arcadian now has more popularity in terms of nightlife. Outside the Broad Street area are many stylish and underground venues. The Medicine Bar in the Custard Factory, Digbeth Institute, hmv Institute, Rainbow Pub and Air are large clubs and bars in Digbeth. Around the Chinese Quarter are areas such as the Arcadian and Hurst Street, Birmingham, Hurst Street Birmingham Gay Village, Gay Village, that abound with bars and clubs. Summer Row, The Mailbox, O2 Academy Birmingham, O2 Academy in Bristol Street, Snobs Nightclub, St Philips/Colmore Row, St Paul's Square and the Jewellery Quarter all have a vibrant night life. There are a number of late night pubs in the Irish Quarter. Outside the city centre is Star City, Birmingham, Star City entertainment complex on the former site of Nechells Power Station.


Festivals

Birmingham is home to many national, religious and cultural festivals, including a Saint George, St. George's Day party. The city's largest single-day event is its St. Patrick's Day parade (Europe's second largest, after Dublin). The Nowka Bais is a Bengali culture, Bengali boat racing festival which takes place annually in Birmingham. It is a leading cultural event in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands, United Kingdom attracting not only the Bangladeshi diaspora but a variety of cultures. It is also the largest kind of boat race in the United Kingdom. Other multicultural events include the Bangla Mela and the Vaisakhi Mela. The Birmingham Heritage Festival is a Mardi Gras style event in August. Caribbean and African culture are celebrated with parades and street performances by busking, buskers. The Caribbean-style Birmingham International Carnival takes place in odd-numbered years. The UK's largest two-day Gay Pride is Birmingham Pride (LGBT festival), which is typically held over the spring bank holiday weekend in May. The streets of Birmingham's gay district pulsate with a carnival parade, live music, a dance arena with DJs, cabaret stage, women's arena and a community village. Birmingham Pride takes place in the Birmingham Gay Village, gay village. From 1997 until December 2006, the city hosted an annual arts festival, ArtsFest, the largest free arts festival in the UK at the time. The Birmingham Tattoo is a long-standing military show held annually at the National Indoor Arena. The Birmingham Comedy Festival (since 2001; 10 days in October), has been headlined by such acts as Peter Kay, The Fast Show, Jimmy Carr, Lee Evans (comedian), Lee Evans and Lenny Henry. Since 2001, Birmingham has been host to the Frankfurt Christmas Market, Birmingham, Frankfurt Christmas Market. Modelled on its Frankfurt Christmas Market, German counterpart, it has grown to become the UK's largest outdoor Christmas market and is the largest German market outside of Germany and Austria, attracting over 3.1 million visitors in 2010 and over 5 million visitors in 2011. The biennial Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) started in 2008, organised by DanceXchange and involving indoor and outdoor venues across the city. Other festivals in the city include the Birmingham International Jazz Festival, and "Party in the Park", originally a festival hosted by local and regional radio stations which died down in 2007 and has now been brought back to life as an unsigned festival for regional unsigned acts to showcase themselves in a one-day music festival for the whole family.


Food and drink

Birmingham's development as a commercial town was originally based around its market for agricultural produce, established by royal charter in 1166. Despite the industrialisation of subsequent centuries this role has been retained and the Birmingham Wholesale Markets remain the largest combined wholesale food markets in the country, selling meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and flowers and supplying fresh produce to restaurateurs and independent retailers from as far as away. Birmingham is the only city outside London to have five Michelin Guide, Michelin starred restaurants: Andreas Antona, Simpson's in
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 a ...
, Carters of Moseley, and Glynn Purnell, Purnell's, Opheem and Adam's in the city centre. List of breweries in Birmingham, Birmingham based breweries included Ansells, Davenport's and Mitchells & Butlers. Aston Manor Brewery is currently the only brewery of any significant size. Many fine Victorian pubs and bars can still be found across the city, whilst there is also a plethora of more modern nightclubs and bars, notably along Broad Street, Birmingham, Broad Street. The Wing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its headquarters in Nechells. The Balti (food), Balti, a type of curry, was invented in the city, which has received much acclaim for the 'Balti Belt' or 'Balti Triangle'. Famous food brands that originated in Birmingham include Typhoo tea, Bird's Custard, Cadbury's, Cadbury's chocolate and HP Sauce. There is also a thriving independent and artisan food sector in Birmingham, encompassing microbreweries like Two Towers, and collective bakeries such as Loaf. Recent years have seen these businesses increasingly showcased at farmers markets, popular street food events and food festivals including Birmingham Independent Food Fair.


Entertainment and leisure

Birmingham is home to many entertainment and leisure venues, including Europe's largest leisure and entertainment complex Star City, Birmingham, Star City as well as Europe's first out-of-city-centre entertainment and leisure complex Resorts World Birmingham owned by the Genting Group. The Mailbox which caters for more affluent clients is based within the city.


Architecture

Birmingham is chiefly a product of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; its growth began during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Consequently, relatively few buildings survive from its earlier history and those that do are protected. There are 1,946 listed buildings in Listed buildings in Birmingham, Birmingham and thirteen scheduled ancient monuments. Birmingham City Council also operate a locally listing scheme for buildings that do not fully meet the criteria for statutorily listed status. Traces of medieval Birmingham can be seen in the oldest churches, notably the original parish church, St Martin in the Bull Ring. A few other buildings from the medieval and Tudor architecture, Tudor periods survive, among them the ''Lad in the Lane'' and The Old Crown, Birmingham, ''The Old Crown'', the 15th century ''Saracen's Head'' public house and Old Grammar School in Kings Norton and Blakesley Hall. A number of Georgian era, Georgian buildings survive, including St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, St Philip's Cathedral, Soho House, Perrott's Folly, the Birmingham Town Hall, Town Hall and much of St Paul's Square, Birmingham, St Paul's Square. The Victorian era saw extensive building across the city. Major civic buildings such as the Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham, Victoria Law Courts (in characteristic red brick and terracotta), the City of Birmingham Council House, Council House and the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Museum & Art Gallery were constructed. Cathedral of Saint Chad, Birmingham, St Chad's Cathedral was the first Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in the UK since the English Reformation, Reformation. Across the city, the need to house the industrial workers gave rise to miles of redbrick streets and terraces, many of back-to-back houses, some of which were later to become inner-city slums. Postwar redevelopment and anti-Victorianism resulted in the loss of dozens of Victorian buildings like Birmingham New Street railway station, New Street station and the old Birmingham Central Library, Central Library, often replaced by brutalism, brutalist architecture. Sir Herbert Manzoni, City Engineer and Surveyor of Birmingham from 1935 until 1963, believed conservation of old buildings was sentimental and that the city did not have any of worth anyway. In inner-city areas too, much Victorian housing was demolished and urban renewal, redeveloped. Existing communities were relocated to tower block Housing estate, estates like Castle Vale. In a partial reaction against the Manzoni years, Birmingham City Council is demolishing some of the brutalist buildings like the Central Library and has an extensive tower block demolition and renovation programme. There has been much redevelopment in the city centre in recent years, including the award-winning Future Systems' Selfridges Building, Birmingham, Selfridges building in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, Bullring Shopping Centre, the Brindleyplace regeneration project, the Millennium Point (Birmingham), Millennium Point science and technology centre, and the refurbishment of the iconic Rotunda (Birmingham), Rotunda building. Funding for many of these projects has come from the European Union; the Town Hall for example received £3 million in funding from the European Regional Development Fund. Highrise development has slowed since the 1970s and mainly in recent years because of enforcements imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom, Civil Aviation Authority on the heights of buildings as they could affect aircraft from the Airport (e.g. Beetham Tower, Birmingham, Beetham Tower).


Demonymy and identity

People from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the city's nickname of "Brum", which originates from the city's old name, Brummagem. The Brummie Accent (dialect), accent and dialect are particularly distinctive.


Transport

Partly due to its central location, Birmingham is a major transport hub on the motorway, railway and canal networks.


Roads

The city is served by the M5 motorway, M5, M6 motorway, M6, M40 motorway, M40 and M42 motorway, M42 motorways, and possibly the most well known motorway junction in the United Kingdom: Gravelly Hill Interchange, Spaghetti Junction, a colloquial name for the Gravelly Hill Interchange. The M6 passes through the city on the Bromford Viaduct, which at is the longest bridge in the UK. Birmingham introduced a Clean Air Zone from 1 June 2021, which charges polluting vehicles to travel into the city centre.


Air

Birmingham Airport, located east of the city centre in the neighbouring borough of Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, Solihull, is the Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, seventh busiest airport by passenger traffic in the UK and the third busiest outside the London area, after Manchester Airport, Manchester and Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh. It is a major base for Flybe, Jet2.com, Jet2, Ryanair and TUI Airways. Airline services operate from Birmingham to many destinations in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Middle East, Asia and Oceania.


Public transport

Birmingham's local public transport network is co-ordinated by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) which is a branch of the West Midlands Combined Authority. Birmingham has a high level of public transport usage; in 2015, 63% of morning peak trips into Birmingham were made by public transport, with the remaining 37% made by private car. Rail was the most popular public transport mode, accounting for 36.4% of journeys, followed by buses at 26.3% and the Metro at 0.3%. There is currently no underground system in Birmingham; it is the largest city in Europe not to have one. In recent years, ideas of an underground system have started to appear, but none so far have been planned in earnest primarily due to the ongoing expansion of the West Midlands Metro tram network being viewed as a higher priority.


Railway

The main railway station in the city is Birmingham New Street railway station, Birmingham New Street, which is the List of busiest railway stations in Great Britain, busiest railway station in the UK outside London, both for passenger entries/exits and for passenger interchanges. It is the national hub for CrossCountry, the most extensive long-distance train network in Britain, and a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from Euston railway station, London Euston, Glasgow Central station, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley railway station, Edinburgh Waverley. Birmingham Moor Street railway station, Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham Snow Hill railway station, Birmingham Snow Hill form the northern termini for Chiltern Railways express trains running from Marylebone station, London Marylebone. Birmingham Curzon Street railway station, Curzon Street railway station, currently under construction, will be the terminus for trains to the city on High Speed 2, the first phase of which will open around 2030. Birmingham and the surrounding region have a network of Urban rail in the United Kingdom#Birmingham, local and suburban railways, mostly operated by West Midlands Trains. There are a total of List of railway stations in the West Midlands, 70 railway stations within the West Midlands county, :Railway stations in Birmingham, West Midlands, 34 of which are within Birmingham's city boundaries. Suburban railway lines in Birmingham include the Cross-City Line, the Chase Line, the Snow Hill Lines and the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line, Birmingham loop. In 2016/17, there were nearly 55 million rail passenger journeys within the TfWM area, a big increase over the 23 million back in 2000/01.


Tram

Historically, Birmingham had a substantial tram system operated by Birmingham Corporation Tramways which was closed in 1953. In 1999, trams returned to the city with the West Midlands Metro (formerly known as the ''Midland Metro'') which operates a line between Edgbaston Village tram stop, Edgbaston Village in Central Birmingham and Wolverhampton via Bilston, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Expansion of the West Midlands Metro system is underway with extensions to the existing line and new lines being constructed.


Bus

261 million bus journeys were made in the TfWM area in 2016/17, a decrease from 319 million in 2009/10. Bus routes are mainly operated commercially by private companies, although TfWM subsidises some socially necessary services. National Express West Midlands, accounts for nearly 80% of all bus journeys in Birmingham, though there are around 40 other, smaller registered bus companies. The National Express West Midlands Birmingham Outer Circle, number 11 outer circle bus route, which operates in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions around the outskirts of the city, is the longest urban bus route in Europe, being over long with 272 bus stops. The National Express headquarters are located in Digbeth, in offices above Birmingham Coach Station, which forms the national hub of the company's coach network. The bus division is based in Bordesley Green, just outside of the city centre. Until 1974, the other major bus operator in Birmingham was Midland Red who had a number of bus depots both in Birmingham and the wider metropolitan area. After selling the West Midlands-based operations to WMPTE, the company and its successors continued to serve Birmingham on many routes from outside the West Midlands County. However, by April 2022, only two routes remain which are the 110 from Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth which is operated by Arriva Midlands and the 144 from Worcester, England, Worcester operated by First Worcestershire.


Canals

An extensive Transport in Birmingham#Canals, canal system still remains in Birmingham from the Industrial Revolution. The city has more miles of canal than Venice, though the canals in Birmingham are a less prominent and essential feature due to the larger size of the city and the fact that few of its buildings are accessed by canal. The canals are mainly used today for leisure purposes; canalside regeneration schemes such as Brindleyplace have turned the canals into a tourist attraction.


Education


Further and higher education

Birmingham is home to five universities: Aston University,
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univer ...
, Birmingham City University, University College Birmingham and Newman University, Birmingham, Newman University. The city also hosts major campuses of the University of Law and BPP University, as well as the Open University's West Midlands regional base. In 2011 Birmingham had 78,259 full-time students from all over the world aged 18–74 resident in the city during term time, more than any other city in the United Kingdom outside London. Birmingham has 32,690 academic research, research students, also the highest number of any major city outside London. The Birmingham Business School (University of Birmingham), Birmingham Business School, established by William Ashley (economic historian), Sir William Ashley in 1902, is the oldest graduate-level business school in the United Kingdom. Another top business school in the city includes Aston Business School, one of fewer than 1% of business schools globally to be granted triple accreditation, and Birmingham City Business School. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University, offers professional training in music and acting. Birmingham is an important centre for religious education. St Mary's College, Oscott is one of the three seminary, seminaries of the Catholic Church in England and Wales; Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Woodbrooke is the only Quaker study centre in Europe; and Queen's College, Edgbaston is an ecumenical theological college serving the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church. Birmingham Metropolitan College is one of the largest further education colleges in the country, with fourteen campuses spread across Birmingham and into the Black Country and Worcestershire. South & City College Birmingham has nine campuses spread throughout the city. Bournville College is based in a £66 million, 4.2 acre campus in Longbridge that opened in 2011. Fircroft College is a residential college based in a former Edwardian mansion in Selly Oak, founded in 1909 around a strong commitment to social justice, with many courses aimed at students with few prior formal qualifications. Queen Alexandra College is a specialist college based in Harborne offering further education to visually impaired or disabled students from all over the United Kingdom.


Primary and secondary education

Birmingham City Council is England's largest local education authority, directly or indirectly responsible for 25 nursery schools, 328 primary schools, 77 secondary schools and 29 special schools. and providing around 3,500 adult education courses throughout the year. Most of Birmingham's state school#United Kingdom, state schools are Community school (England and Wales), community schools run directly by Birmingham City Council in its role as local education authority (LEA), although there are also voluntary aided school, voluntary aided schools within the state system. Since the 1970s, most secondary schools in Birmingham have been 11-–-16/18 comprehensive schools, while post GCSE students have the choice of continuing their education in either a school's sixth form or at a further education college. King Edward's School, Birmingham, founded in 1552 by King Edward VI, is one of the oldest schools in the city, teaching GCSE and International Baccalaureate, IB, with alumni including J R R Tolkien, author of the ''Lord of the Rings'' books and ''The Hobbit''. Independent schools in the city include the Birmingham Blue Coat School, King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham, King Edward VI High School for Girls and Edgbaston High School for Girls. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School was founded by Bishop Vesey in 1527.


Public services

In Birmingham library, libraries, leisure centres, Parks and open spaces in Birmingham, parks, play areas, transport, street cleaning and waste collection face cuts among other services. Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council called on the government to change radically how local services are funded and provided. It is claimed government cuts to local authorities have hit Birmingham disproportionately. Child protection services within Birmingham were rated "inadequate" by OFSTED for four years running between 2009 and 2013, with 20 child deaths since 2007 being investigated. In March 2014 the government announced that independent commissioner would be appointed to oversee improvements to children's services within the city.


Library services

The former Birmingham Central Library, opened in 1972, was considered to be the largest municipal library in Europe. Six of its collections were Designation Scheme, designated by the Arts Council England as being "pre-eminent collections of national and international importance", out of only eight collections to be so recognised in local authority libraries nationwide. A new
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 ...
in Centenary Square, replacing Central Library, was opened on 3 September 2013. It was designed by the Dutch architects Mecanoo and has been described as "a kind of public forum ... a memorial, a shrine, to the book and to literature". This library faces cuts, due to reduced funding from Central government. There are 41 local libraries in Birmingham, plus a regular mobile library service. The library service has 4 million visitors annually. Due to budget cuts, four of the branch libraries risk closure whilst services may be reduced elsewhere.


Emergency services

Law enforcement in Birmingham is carried out by West Midlands Police, whose headquarters are at Lloyd House, Birmingham, Lloyd House in the city centre. With 87.92 recorded offences per 1000 population in 2009–10, Birmingham's crime rate is above the average for England and Wales, but lower than any of England's other major Core Cities Group, core cities and lower than many smaller cities such as Oxford, Cambridge or Brighton. Fire and rescue services in Birmingham are provided by West Midlands Fire Service and emergency medical care by West Midlands Ambulance Service.


Healthcare

There are several major National Health Service hospitals in Birmingham. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, adjacent to the Birmingham Medical School in
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 a ...
, is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the United Kingdom with over 1,200 beds. It is a major trauma centre offering services to the extended West Midlands region and houses the largest single-floor critical care unit in the world, with 100 beds. The hospital has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe as well as the largest renal transplant programme in the United Kingdom and it is a national specialist centre for liver, heart and lung transplantation, as well as cancer studies. It is the home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine for military personnel injured in conflict zones. Other District General Hospital, general hospitals in the city include Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green, Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and City Hospital, Birmingham, City Hospital in Winson Green. There are also many specialist hospitals, such as Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham Dental Hospital, and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. Birmingham saw the first ever use of radiography in an Surgery operation, operation, and the UK's first ever Atrial septal defect, hole-in-the-heart operation was performed at Birmingham Children's Hospital.


Water supply

The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was set up in 1876 to supply water to Birmingham, up until 1974 when its responsibilities were transferred to Severn Trent Water. Most of Birmingham's water is supplied by the Elan aqueduct, opened in 1904; water is fed by gravity to Frankley Reservoir, Frankley, and Bartley Reservoir, Bartley Green, from Elan Valley Reservoirs, reservoirs in the Elan Valley, Wales.


Energy from waste

Within Birmingham the Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant, a large incineration plant built in 1996 for Veolia, burns some 366,414 tonnes of household waste annually and produces 166,230 MWh of electricity for the National Grid (UK), National Grid along with 282,013 tonnes of carbon dioxide.


Sport

Birmingham has played an important part in the history of modern sport. The Football League – the world's first league association football, football competition – was founded by Birmingham resident and Aston Villa director William McGregor (football), William McGregor, who wrote to fellow club directors in 1888 proposing "that ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season". The modern game of tennis was developed between 1859 and 1865 by Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera at Perera's house in
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 a ...
, with the Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society remaining the oldest tennis club in the world. The Birmingham and District Premier League, Birmingham and District Cricket League is the oldest cricket league in the world, and Birmingham was the host for the first ever Cricket World Cup, a Women's Cricket World Cup in 1973. Birmingham was the first city to be named National City of Sport by the UK Sport, Sports Council. Birmingham was selected ahead of London and Manchester to bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics, but was unsuccessful in the final selection process, which was won by Barcelona. Today, the city is home of two of the country's oldest professional association football, football teams: Aston Villa F.C., which was founded in 1874 and plays at Villa Park; and Birmingham City F.C., which was founded in 1875 and plays at St Andrew's (stadium), St Andrew's. Rivalry between the clubs is fierce and the fixture between the two is called the Second City derby. Aston Villa currently play in the Premier League while Birmingham City currently play in the EFL Championship, Championship. West Bromwich Albion also draw support within the Birmingham area, being located at The Hawthorns just outside the city boundaries in Sandwell. Rival football team Coventry City F.C., Coventry City also played briefly at St Andrew's for two seasons between 2019 and 2021 due to an ongoing dispute with Wasps RFC, their landlords over use of the Coventry Building Society Arena. Warwickshire County Cricket Club play at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, which also hosts test cricket and one day internationals and is the largest cricket ground in the United Kingdom after Lord's. Edgbaston was the scene of the highest ever score by a batsman in first-class cricket, when Brian Lara scored 501 not out for Warwickshire in 1994. Birmingham is also home to professional Rugby Union clubs such as Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club, Birmingham Moseley and Birmingham & Solihull R.F.C., Birmingham & Solihull. The city also has a semiprofessional Rugby League club, the Midlands Hurricanes as well as an amateur club the Birmingham Bulldogs. The city is also home to one of the oldest American football teams in the BAFA National Leagues, the Birmingham Bulls (American football), Birmingham Bulls. Two major championship golf courses lie on the city's outskirts. The Belfry near Sutton Coldfield is the headquarters of the Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain and Ireland), Professional Golfers' Association and has hosted the Ryder Cup more times than any other venue. The Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club near Birmingham Airport, England, Birmingham Airport is also a regular host of tournaments on the PGA European Tour, including the British Masters and the English Open. The AEGON Classic is, alongside The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon and AEGON International, Eastbourne, one of only three UK tennis tournaments on the Women's Tennis Association, WTA Tour. It is played annually at the Edgbaston Priory Club, which in 2010 announced plans for a multimillion-pound redevelopment, including a new showcase centre court and a museum celebrating the game's Birmingham origins. The Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr is the headquarters of UK Athletics, and one of only two British venues to host fixtures in the elite international IAAF Diamond League. It is also the home of Birchfield Harriers, which has many international athletes among its members. The National Indoor Arena hosted the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the World Athletics Indoor Championships, 2003 and 2018 World Indoor Championships, as well as hosting the annual Aviva Indoor Grand Prix – the only British indoor athletics fixture to qualify as an IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings, IAAF Indoor Permit Meeting – and a wide variety of other sporting events. Professional boxing, field hockey, hockey, skateboarding, stock-car racing, greyhound racing and Motorcycle speedway, speedway also take place within the city. Since 1994 Birmingham has hosted the All England Open Badminton Championships at Arena Birmingham.


Commonwealth Games

Birmingham hosted the
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...
, which took place between 28 July and 8 August 2022. This was the first time that Birmingham has hosted the Commonwealth games and the 22nd Commonwealth games to take place. Birmingham has a wealth of existing sports venues, arenas and conference halls that proved ideal for hosting sport during the Games. Alexander Stadium, which hosted the ceremonies and athletics was renovated, and the capacity was increased to 40,000 seats. The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham were expected to generate a £526 million boost to the West Midlands regional economy. The official handover to Birmingham took place at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on 15 April 2018.


Media

Birmingham has several major local newspapers – the daily ''Birmingham Mail'' and the weekly ''Birmingham Post'' and ''Sunday Mercury'', all owned by Reach plc. ''Forward'' is a freesheet produced by Birmingham City Council, which is distributed to homes in the city. Birmingham is also the hub for various national ethnic media, lifestyle magazines, digital news platforms, and the base for two regional Metro (British newspaper), Metro editions (East and West Midlands). Birmingham has three mainstream digital-only news publishers, ''I Am Birmingham'', ''Birmingham Updates'' and ''Second City''. Birmingham has a long cinematic history; The Electric, Birmingham, The Electric on Station Street is the oldest working cinema in the UK. Birmingham is the location for several British and international film productions including ''Felicia's Journey (film), Felicia's Journey'' of 1999, which used locations in Birmingham that were used in ''Take Me High'' of 1973 to contrast the changes in the city. The BBC has two facilities in the city. The Mailbox, in the city centre, is the national headquarters of BBC English Regions and the headquarters of BBC West Midlands and the BBC Birmingham network production centre. These were previously located at the Pebble Mill Studios in
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 a ...
. The BBC Drama Village, based in Selly Oak, is a production facility specialising in BBC television drama, television drama. ITV Central, Central/ATV studios in Birmingham was the location for the recording of various programmes for ITV, including ''Tiswas'' and ''Crossroads (soap opera), Crossroads'', until the complex was closed in 1997, and Central moved to its current Gas Street studios. Central's output from Birmingham now consists of only the ''West'' and ''East'' editions of the regional news programme ''ITV News Central''. The city is served by numerous national and regional radio stations, as well as hyperlocal radio stations. These include Free Radio Birmingham and Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands, Capital Birmingham, Heart West Midlands, Absolute Radio, and Smooth West Midlands. The city has a community radio scene, with stations including Big City Radio, New Style Radio 98.7FM, New Style Radio, Brum Radio, Switch Radio, Scratch Radio, Raaj FM, and Unity FM. ''The Archers'', the world's longest running radio soap, is recorded in Birmingham for BBC Radio 4. BBC Birmingham studios additionally produce shows for BBC WM, BBC Radio WM and BBC Asian Network in the city.


Notable people


International relations

Birmingham has nine Town twinning, sister cities; * Lyon, France (since 1951) * Frankfurt am Main, Germany (since 1966) * Milan, Italy (since 1974) * Changchun, China (since 1983) * Leipzig, Germany (since 1992) * Chicago, United States (since 1993) * Johannesburg, South Africa (since 1997) * Guangzhou, China (since 2006) * Nanjing, China (since 2007) Birmingham was twinned with Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine, in the late Soviet Union period. This is noted in Ukrainian, in Birmingham public records, and in a Question time#United Kingdom, written answer from the Minister of State for Local Government.


See also

* List of freemen of the City of Birmingham


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Birmingham City Council

Visitbirmingham.com - Tourism website
{{Authority control Birmingham, West Midlands, Cities in the West Midlands (region) Towns in the West Midlands (county) Metropolitan boroughs of the West Midlands (county) NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Populated places established in the 6th century 6th-century establishments in England