The Sentinels
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The Sentinels are two 90 metre tall
residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...
tower blocks A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...
on Holloway Head in
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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The two towers, called Clydesdale Tower and Cleveland Tower, are both 31 storeys tall and were part of a major regeneration and council home building scheme following
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
which in the 1960s and 1970s saw the construction of hundreds of tower blocks. Originally built and operated by the City of Birmingham, the buildings were part of a stock transfer from Birmingham local authority to Optima Community Association in 1999, and today the buildings are owned by Citizen
housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...
(itself an amalgamation of several West Midlands housing associations). The Sentinels were the tallest purely residential tower blocks in the city until the completion of the 102 metre tall skyscraper Bank Tower 2 in 2019. They are also surpassed by the 132 metre tall residential tower known as
The Mercian The Mercian (also known as 218 Broad Street by its address and formerly known as 2one2 Broad Street and Broad Street Tower) is a residential skyscraper on Broad Street in Birmingham, England. It is designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the de ...
located on Broad Street with 42 floors.


History


Planning

The tower blocks were the brainchild of the Chairman of Birmingham's House Building and Housing Management Committees returning from a visit to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
to witness the opening of the
Marina City Marina City is a mixed-use residential-commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America, designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg. The multi-building complex on State Street on the north bank of the Chicago River o ...
development which consists of two 61-storey towers.
Bigger is Better? Local authority housing and the strange attraction of high-rise, 1945-70
', Phil Jones,
University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
, 25 October 2002
The councillors decided that Birmingham needed a development similar to this and in 1965, plans began to surface for the construction of
twin towers Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
at Holloway Head to overlook the new ring road. After discussions over height, it was decided that the tower blocks should be 32 storeys tall, one storey taller than the Red Road tower blocks in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It was decided to construct them out of
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
, which was common among tower blocks in the city during that time. They were designed by C.Bryant & Son. and both towers were identical though angled differently to provide a different perspective to each block.


Construction

The project was approved in 1967 and construction of the towers commenced immediately. Cleveland Tower was completed in 1970 and Clydesdale Tower in 1971. Upon their opening, they had 488 flats. Recent changes to housing legislation by the incoming
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
government allowed the Council to offer many of the flats on a cost
rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
basis to those not on the
council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
waiting list. The flats thus initially attracted a much wider range of tenants than would usually be found in a
high rise A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction ...
council block, including the actress
Noele Gordon Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter, of Scottish descent. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson, later Ryder) in the long-running British soap opera ''Crossr ...
(who appreciated their closeness to the ATV television studios) and many
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
men who found it convenient for the nearby
gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
s. Both towers are affectionately known within the Birmingham Gay community as ‘Dorothy Towers’ or ‘Twinkle Towers’ due to the number of LGBTQ residents. Although changes to the Council's letting policy subsequently ended cost rent lettings, the Sentinels have always enjoyed a wider range of residents than many other blocks and remain popular. During the height of the
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
/
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
crisis the number of gay men living in the Sentinels provoked hysteria in the media with the tabloid Daily Star interviewing one new resident who said that she wore protective gloves when touching the buttons on the lift in fear of contracting the disease.


Refurbishment

In 1999, residents of The Sentinels together with four other council owned estates, voted to transfer their homes into the ownership of an independent housing association, Optima Community Association. Optima then embarked on an extensive refurbishment programme as part of a wider regeneration scheme in the
Attwood Green Atwood is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Angela Atwood (1949–1974), founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), American terrorist group which kidnapped Patricia Hearst * Brett Atwood, journalist, online edi ...
area in Birmingham. The project at The Sentinels involved replacing windows, kitchens, lifts, refurbishing the communal areas and improving security. A new entrance was constructed as well as a roof feature, lighting scheme, which illuminates the building a blue light at night, and the addition of new cladding to the exterior of the building. In 2004, the Sentinels Residents Association submitted a petition to Birmingham City Council complaining about waste facilities. They also complained about a man, who had previously threatened suicide, being rehoused on a high floor of one of the towers.Minutes of a meeting of the Ladywood Ward Committee held on Thursday 15 April 2004 at 1900 hours, in St. Thomas' Primary School, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, Ladywood, Birmingham
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See also

*
Beetham Tower, Birmingham 10 Holloway Circus (also known as Beetham Tower, Radisson Tower, or Holloway Circus Tower) is a tall mixed-use skyscraper in Birmingham city centre, England. It was originally named after the developers, Beetham Organisation, and was desi ...
*
List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham This list of the tallest buildings and structures in the Birmingham Birmingham metropolitan area, Metropolitan Area, West Midlands (region), West Midlands ranks buildings and free-standing structures by height, based on standard height measu ...


References


External links


Clydesdale Tower on SkyscrapernewsCleveland Tower on SkyscrapernewsOptima Community Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sentinels 1971 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Residential buildings completed in 1971 Residential skyscrapers in England Twin towers