Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in central

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, named after statesman and notable mayor of Birmingham,

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...

. The Victorian square was drastically remodelled in the 1970s, with most of the Victorian buildings demolished and the construction of the Brutalist Central Library. Re-landscaping occurred most recently when the square was closed to the public for five years until March 2021 for remodelling as part of the

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

scheme. Its features include: * Chamberlain Memorial * Birmingham Council House (side elevation) * Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery *

Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...

*One and Two Chamberlain Square

Statues and monuments

*Chamberlain Memorial – In honour of the public service Joseph Chamberlain gave to the city of Birmingham, the memorial fountain was unveiled in his presence on 10 October 1880 as the centrepiece of the new public square. The high memorial was designed by John Henry Chamberlain (no relation). * Statue of

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

, which was originally located in Victoria Square (then called Council House Square). * Statue of

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 f ...

, which was originally located on Paradise Street next to the Town Hall. * Statue of Thomas Attwood by Sioban Coppinger and Fiona Peever, 1993. The bronze statue sits, having left his

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, and scattered his bronze pages, on the steps. The annual Birmingham Christmas Craft Fair is held in Chamberlain Square from the third Friday in November to 23 December. The event began in 1997 as " Winterval", held from 20 November to 31 December, with the intention of attracting business into Birmingham's newly rejuvenated city centre. Chamberlain Square was the original site of Birmingham's BBC Big Screen, where it was situated until September 2007.

Paradise Circus development

As part of the Paradise Circus development by Argent Group the square was re-landscaped and surrounding buildings demolished including the brutalist

Birmingham Central Library Birmingham Central Library was the main public library in Birmingham, England, from 1974 until 2013, replacing a library opened in 1865 and rebuilt in 1882. For a time the largest non-national library in Europe, it closed on 29 June 2013 and was ...

and Paradise Forum (beneath the former reference library). In 2014 landscape architects, Grant Associates were awarded the contract to design the new public realm. The square reopened in March 2021 as the final part of the first phase of the £700m Paradise scheme following its closure in November 2015, the square was transformed with new paving, steps and lighting. Two commercial buildings, One Chamberlain Square and Two Chamberlain Square, totalling 350,000 sq ft of space, now face onto the square and form the commercial part of Phase One of Paradise.

Photo gallery

File:Chamberlain Memorial Birmingham.jpg, Chamberlain Memorial File:Chamberlain Square Statue Priestley.jpg, Joseph Priestley File:James Watt - Statue - Birmingham - 2005-10-13.jpg, James Watt File:Thomas Attwood on the steps.jpg, Thomas Attwood, empty plinth, and scattered bronze pages on steps File:Birmingham in 1886.jpg, Chamberlain Square in 1886 File:Chamberlain Square, Birmingham April 2007.jpg, The square prior to development File:Chamberlain Square July 2016.jpg, During redevelopment, July 2016 File:One Chamberlain Square (1).jpg, One Chamberlain Square File:Chamberlain Square.jpg, Two Chamberlain Square

Statues and monuments

Paradise Circus development

Photo gallery

Sources

Further reading