[Transcriber’s note: There are small sections where the print is
missing from the original. Missing words have been marked [**]. Minor
obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Where it has not been possible to convert fractions to HTML, they have
been denoted as example: one and 3/5 = 1-3/5.]

SHOWELL’S

Dictionary of Birmingham.

NOTES OF BIRMINGHAM IN THE PAST.

Birmingham to the Seventh Century.—We have no record or
traces whatever of there being inhabitants in this neighbourhood,
though there can be little doubt that in the time of the invasion of
the Romans some British strongholds were within a few miles of the
place, sundry remains having been found to show that many battles had
been fought near here. If residents there were prior to King Edward
the Confessor’s reign, they would probably be of Gurth’s
tribe, and their huts even Hutton, antiquarian and historian as he
was, failed to find traces of. How the name of this our dwelling-place
came about, nobody knows. Not less than twelve dozen ways have been
found to spell it; a score of different derivations
“discovered” for it; and guesses innumerable given as to its
origin, but we still wait for the information required.

Birmingham in the Conqueror’s Days.—The Manor was
held, in 1066, by Alwyne, son of Wigod the Dane, who married the
sister of the Saxon Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to
“Domesday Book,” in 1086, it was tenanted by Richard, who,
held, under William Fitz-Ansculf, and included four hides of land and
half-a-mile of wood, worth 20s.; there were 150 acres in cultivation,
with but nine residents, five villeins, and four bordarers. In 1181
there were 18 freeholders (libere tenentes) in Birmingham
cultivating 667 acres, and 35 tenants in demesne, holding 158
acres, the whole value being £13 8s. 2d.

Birmingham in the Feudal Period.—The number of armed men
furnished by this town for Edward III.’s wars were four, as
compared with six from Warwick, and forty from Coventry.

Birmingham in the Time of the Edwards and Harrys.—The
Manor passed from the Bermingham family in 1537, through the knavish
trickery of Lord L’Isle, to whom it was granted in 1545. The
fraud, however, was not of much service to the noble rascal, as he was
beheaded for treason in 1553. In 1555 the Manor was given by Queen
Mary to Thomas Marrow, of Berkswell.

Birmingham in 1538.—Leland, who visited here about this
date, says in his “Itinerary”—”There be many
smithies in the towne that use to make knives and all manner of
cutlery tooles, and many lorimers that make bittes, and a great many
naylors, so that a great part of the towne is maintained by smithes,
who have their iron and seacole out of Staffordshire.” He
describes the town as consisting of one street, about a quarter of a
mile long, “a pretty street or ever I enterd,” and
“this street, as I remember, is called Dirtey.”

Birmingham in 1586.—Camden in his “Britannica,”
published this year, speaks of “Bremicham, swarming with
inhabitants, and echoing with the noise of anvils, for the most part
of them are smiths.”

Birmingham in 1627.—In a book issued at Oxford this year
mention is made of “Bremincham inhabited with blacksmiths, and
forging sundry kinds of iron utensils.”

Birmingham in 1635.—As showing the status the town held
at this date we find that it was assessed for “ship money”
by Charles I. at £100, the same as Warwick, while Sutton
Coldfield had to find £80 and Coventry £266.

Birmingham in 1656.—Dugdale speaks of it as “being a
place very eminent for most commodities made of iron.”

Birmingham in 1680-90.—Macaulay says: The population of
Birmingham was only 4,000, and at that day nobody had heard of
Birmingham guns. He also says there was not a single regular shop
where a Bible or almanack could be bought; on market days a bookseller
named Michael Johnson (father of the great Samuel Johnson) came over
from Lichfield and opened a stall for a few hours, and this supply was
equal to the demand. The gun trade, however, was introduced here very
soon after, for there is still in existence a warrant from the Office
of Ordnance to “pay to John Smart for Thomas Hadley and the rest
of the Gunmakers of Birmingham, one debenture of ffour-score and
sixteen poundes and eighteen shillings, dated ye 14th of July,
1690.”—Alexander Missen, visiting this town in his travels,
said that “swords, heads of canes, snuff-boxes, and other fine
works of steel,” could be had, “cheaper and better here than
even in famed Milan.”

Birmingham in 1691.—The author of “The New State of
England,” published this year, says: “Bromichan drives a
good trade in iron and steel wares, saddles and bridles, which find
good vent at London, Ireland, and other parts.” By another
writer, “Bromicham” is described as “a large and
well-built town, very populous, much resorted to, and particularly
noted a few years ago for the counterfeit groats made here, and
dispersed all oven the kingdom.”

Birmingham in 1731.—An old “Road-book” of this
date, says that “Birmingham, Bromicham, or Bremicham, is a large
town, well built and populous. The inhabitants, being mostly smiths,
are very ingenious in their way, and vend vast quantities of all sorts
of iron wares.” The first map of the town (Westley’s) was
published in this year. It showed the Manorhouse on an oval island,
about 126 yards long by 70 yards extreme width, surrounded by a moat
about twelve yards broad. Paradise Street was then but a road through
the fields; Easy Hill (now Easy Row), Summer Hill, Newhall Hill,
Ludgate Hill, Constitution Hill, and Snow Hill pleasant pastures.

Birmingham in 1750.—Bradford’s plan of the town,
published in 1751, showed a walk by Rea side, where lovers could take
a pleasant stroll from Heath Mill Lane. The country residences at
Mount Pleasant (now Ann Street) were surrounded with gardens, and it
was a common practice to dry clothes on the hedges in Snow Hill. In
“England’s Gazetteer,” published about this date,
Birmingham or Bromichan is said to be “a large, well-built, and
populous town, noted for the most ingenious artificers in boxes,
buckles, buttons, and other iron and steel wares; wherein such
multitudes of people are employed that they are sent all over Europe;
and here is a continual noise of hammers, anvils, and files.”

Birmingham in 1765.—Lord and Lady Shelburne visited here
in 1765. Her ladyship kept a diary, and in it she describes Mr.
Baskerville’s house (Easy Row) as “a pretty place out of the
town.” She also mentions visiting a Quaker’s to see “the
making of guns.”

Birmingham in 1766.—In “A New Tour through
England,” by George Beaumont, Esq., and Capt. Henry Disney,
Birmingham is described as “a very large populous town, the upper
part of which stands dry on the side of a hill, but the lower is
watry, and inhabited by the meaner sort of people. They are employed
here in the Iron Works, in which they are such ingenious artificers,
that their performances in the smallwares of iron and steel are
admired both at home and abroad. ‘Tis much improved of late years,
both in public and private buildings.”

Birmingham in 1781.—Hutton published his “History of
Birmingham” this year. He estimated that there were then living
ninety-four townsmen who were each worth over £5,000; eighty
worth over £10,000; seventeen worth over £20,000; eight
worth over £30,000; seven worth over £50,000; and three at
least worth over £100,000 each.

Birmingham in 1812.—The appearance of the town then would
be strange indeed to those who know but the Birmingham of to-day. Many
half-timbered houses remained in the Bull Ring and cows grazed near
where the Town Hall now stands, there being a farmhouse at the back of
the site of Christ Church, then being built. Recruiting parties
paraded the streets with fife and drum almost daily, and when the
London mail came in with news of some victory in Spain it was no
uncommon thing for the workmen to take the horses out and drag the
coach up the Bull Ring amid the cheers of the crowd. At night the
streets were patrolled by watchmen, with rattles and lanterns, who
called the hours and the weather.

AB House, so called from the initials inscribed thereon to show
the division of the parishes of Aston and Birmingham near to Deritend
Bridge. Early in 1883 part of the foundations were uncovered, showing
that the old building was raised on wooden piles, when the
neighbourhood was little better than a swamp.

ABC Time Table was first issued in July, 1853. A rival, called
the “XYZ Time Table,” on a system that was to make all the
puzzles of Bradshaw as plain as pikestaves, was brought out in August,
1877, but it required such extra wise heads to understand its
simplicity that before one could be found the whole thing was lost,
the old Alpha being preferred to the new Omega.

Accidents and Accidental Deaths are of constant occurrence.
Those here noted are but a few which, from their peculiar nature, have
been placed on record for reference.

A woman fell in Pudding Brook, June 3, 1794, and was drowned in the
puddle.

In 1789, a Mr. Wright, a patten-maker, of Digbeth, attempted to cross
the old bridge over the Rea, fell in and was “smothered in the
mud.”

The Bridge in Wheeley’s Road was burst up by flood waters,
November 26, 1853.

Five men were killed by the fall of a scaffold in New Street Station,
Oct. 11, 1862.

A lady was accidently shot in Cheapside, Nov. 5, 1866.

Pratt, a marker at Bournebrook Rifle Range, was shot April 12, 1873.

The body of a man named Thomas Bishop who had fallen in a midden in
Oxford Street, was found Oct. 3, 1873.

Charles Henry Porter, surgeon, Aug. 10, 1876, died from an overdose of
prussic acid taken as a remedy.

Richard Riley was killed by the bursting of a sodawater bottle, June
19, 1877.

Alfred Mills drowned in a vinegar vat at the Brewery in Glover Street,
March 7, 1878.

Two gentlemen (Messrs. W. Arnold and G. Barker), while on a visit of
inspection at Sandwell Park Colliery, Nov. 6, 1878, were killed by
falling from the cage. Two miners, father and son, were killed by a
fall of coal in the following week.

A water main, 30 inches diameter, burst in Wheeler Street, June 17,
1879.

On the night of Sep. 5, 1880, Mrs. Kingham, landlady of the “Hen
and Chickens,” fell through a doorway on the third storey landing
into the yard, dying a few hours after. The doorway was originally
intended to lead to a gallery of the Aquarium then proposed to be
built at the back of the hotel.

January 12th, 1881.—A helper in the menagerie at Sanger’s
Exhibition, then at Bingley Hall, was attacked and seriously injured
by a lion, whose den he was cleaning out. The animal was beaten off by
the keeper, the said keeper, Alicamoosa (?) himself being attacked and
injured a few days after by the same animal.

A child of 17 months fell on to a sewer grating in River Street, May
28th, 1881, and died from the effects of hot steam arising therefrom,
neighbouring manufacturers pouring their waste boiler water into the
sewers.

Accidental Deaths by Drowning.—Five persons were drowned
at Soho Pool, on Christmas Day, 1822, through the ice breaking under
them.

In 1872, John Jerromes lost his life while trying to save a boy who
had fallen into Fazeley Street Canal. £200 subscriptions were
raised for his wife and family.

A boat upset at the Reservoir, April 11, 1873, when one life was lost.

Boat upset at Kirby’s Pools, whereby one Lawrence Joyce was
drowned, May 17, 1875. Two men were also drowned here July 23, 1876.

Three boys, and a young man named Hodgetts, who attempted to save
them, were drowned, Jan 16, 1876, at Green’s Hole Pool, Garrison
Lane, through breaking of the ice.

Arthur, 3rd son of Sir C.B. Adderley, was drowned near Blair Athol,
July 1, 1877, aged 21.

Four boys were drowned at the Reservoir, July 26, 1877.

Two children were drowned in the Rea at Jakeman’s Fields, May 30,
1878.

Rev. S. Fiddian, a Wesleyan Minister, of this town, aged nearly 80,
was drowned while bathing at Barmouth, Aug. 4, 1880.

A Mrs. Satchwell was drowned at Earlswood, Feb. 3, 1883, though a
carrier’s cart falling over the embankment into the Reservoir in
the dusk of the evening. The horse shared the fate of the lady, but
the driver escaped.

Accidental Death from Electricity.—Jan. 20, 1880, a
musician, named Augustus Biedermann, took hold of two joints of the
wires supplying the electric lights of the Holte Theatre, and
receiving nearly the full force of the 40-horse power battery, was
killed on the spot.

Accidents from Fallen Buildings.—A house in Snow Hill
fell Sept. 1, 1801, when four persons were killed.

During the raising of the roof of Town Hall, John Heap was killed by
the fall of a principal (Jan. 26, 1833), and Win. Badger, injured same
time, died a few weeks after. Memorial stone in St. Philip’s
Churchyard.

Welch’s pieshop, Temple Street, fell in, March 5, 1874.

Two houses fell in Great Lister Street, Aug. 18, 1874, and one in
Lower Windsor Street, Jan. 13, 1875.

Three houses collapsed in New Summer Street, April 4, 1875, when one
person was killed, and nine others injured.

Four houses fell in Tanter Street, Jan. 1, 1877, when a boy was lamed.

Two men were killed, and several injured, by chimney blown down at
Deykin & Sons, Jennens Row, Jan. 30, 1877, and one man was killed
by wall blown down in Harborne Road, Feb. 20, same year.

Some children playing about a row of condemned cottages, Court 2, Gem
Street, Jan. 11, 1885, contrived to pull part on to their heads,
killing one, and injuring others.

Accidents from Fire.—February, 1875, was an unfortunate
month for the females, an old woman being burnt to death on the 5th, a
middle-aged one on the 7th, and a young one on the 12th.

Accidents through Lightning.—A boy was struck dead at
Bordesley Green, July 30, 1871. Two men, William Harvey and James
Steadman, were similarly killed at Chester Street Wharf, May 14, 1879.
Harvey was followed to the grave by a procession of white-smocked
navvies.

Accidents at Places of Amusement.—A sudden panic and
alarm of [**] caused several deaths and many injuries at the Spread
Eagle Concert Hall, Bull Ring, May 5, 1855.

The “Female Blondin” was killed by falling from the high
rope, at Aston Park, July 20, 1863.

A trapeze gymnast, “Fritz,” was killed at Day’s Concert
Hall, Nov. 12, 1870.

A boy was killed by falling from the Gallery at the Theatre Royal,
Feb. 16, 1873.

At Holder’s Concert Hall, April 1, 1879, Alfred Bishop (12) had
his leg broken while doing the “Shooting Star” trick.

Accidents in the Streets.—On New Year’s Day, 1745, a
man was killed by a wagon going over him, owing to the
“steepness” of Carr’s Lane.

The Shrewsbury coach was upset at Hockley, May 24, 1780, when several
passengers were injured.

The Chester mail coach was upset, April 15, 1787, while rounding the
Welsh Cross, and several persons much injured.

Feb. 28, 1875, must be noted as the “slippery day,” no less
than forty persons (twelve with broken limbs), being taken to the
Hospitals through falling in the icy streets.

Captain Thornton was killed by being thrown from his carriage, May 22,
1876.

The Coroner’s van was upset in Livery Street, Jan. 24, 1881, and
several jurymen injured.

Accidents on the Rails.—An accident occurred to the
Birmingham express train at Shipton, on Christmas Eve, 1874, whereby
26 persons were killed, and 180 injured. In the excitement at Snow
Hill Station, a young woman was pushed under a train and lost both her
legs, though her life was saved, and she now has artificial lower
limbs.

Police-officer Kimberley was killed in the crush at Olton Station on
the Race Day, Feb. 11th, 1875.

While getting out of carriages, while the train was in motion, a man
was killed at New Street Station, May 15, 1875, and on the 18th,
another at Snow Hill, and though such accidents occur almost weekly,
on some line or other, people keep on doing it.

Three men were killed on the line near King’s Norton, Sept. 28,
1876.

Mr. Pipkins, Stationmaster at Winson Green, was killed Jan. 2. 1877.

Inspector Bellamy, for 30 years at New Street Station, fell while
crossing a carriage, and was killed, April 15, 1879.

Acock’s Green, a few years back only a little village, is
fast becoming a thriving suburban town. The old estate, of about 150
acres, was lotted out for building in 1839, the sale being then
conducted by Messrs. E. and C. Robbins, August 19. The Public Hall,
which cost about £3,000, was opened December 20, 1878; its
principal room being 74 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high.

Adderley.—Sir Charles B. Adderley was gazetted a peer
April 16, 1878, his title being Baron Norton, of Norton-on-the-Moors,
Staffordshire.

Adderley Park was opened Aug. 30, 1856. Its area is 10a. Or.
22p., and the Corporation hold it as tenants under a 999 years’
lease, at 5s. rental. A Reading Room and Branch Library was opened on
Jan. 11, 1864.

Advertisements.—The duty on advertisements in newspapers
was abolished Aug. 4,1853. One of the most attractive styles of
advertising was that adopted by Messrs. Walter Showell and Son, August
30, 1881, when The Birmingham Daily Post gave up a whole page
for the firm’s use. 10,000 copies were sent to their customers by
early post on day of publication.

Afghan War.—A stormy “town’s meeting” on
this subject was held in the Town Hall, Dec. 3, 1878, memorable for
the interference of the police by order of the Mayor, and the
proceedings consequent thereon.

Agricultural Labourers.—Jos. Arch, their champion,
addressed a meeting in their behalf at Town Hall, Dec. 18, 1873, and
other meetings were held April 15 and July 3 following. A collection
made for some of the labourers on strike amounted to £137 9s.
2-1/2d.

Agricultural Shows.—The Warwickshire Agricultural Show
(with the Birmingham Horse Show, and the Rose Show) began at Aston,
June 17, 1873. The first exhibition here of the Royal Agricultural
Society took place July 19-24, 1876, in Aston Park, specially granted
by the Corporation.— See Cattle Shows, &c.

Albion Metal, tin rolled on lead, much used for making
“lace,” &c., for coffin decoration, was introduced in
1804, being the invention of Thomas Dobbs, a comic actor, then engaged
at the Theatre Royal. He was also the designer of a reaping machine,
and made one and showed it with real corn for his “Benefit”
on the stage of the Theatre Royal in 1815.

Alcester Turnpike road was first used in 1767.

Aldermen.—See Corporation.

Ales and Alehouses were known in this country nearly 1,200
years ago, but the national beverage was not taxed until 1551, a few
years previous to which (1535) hops were first used in place of
wormwood, &c. In 1603 it was enacted that not more than 1d. (equal
to 9d. value now) should be charged per quart for the best ale or
beer, or for two quarts of the “smaller” sort. An additional
excise duty was imposed on ale and beer in 1643. See also Breweries.

Almanacks.—The first English-printed Almanack was for the
year 1497, and the London Stationers’ Company had the monopoly of
printing them for nearly 300 years. The first locally printed Almanack
was the “Diaria Britannica” (or “British Diary”),
by Messrs. Pearson and Rollason, issued in 1787 for 1788, at 9d. per
copy, in addition to the 1s. 6d. required for stamp duty. It was
barely half the size and not a tenth the value of the
“Diary” published by Messrs Walter Showell and Sons, and of
which 20,000 copies are given away annually. The stamp duty was
removed from Almanacks in 1834. “Showell’s Almanack” in
past years was highly esteemed before we had been supplied with
“Moody’s,” the “Red Book,” &c., and a copy
of it for the year 1839 is valuable as a curiosity, it being issued
with a partly printed page with blanks left for the insertion of the
names of the members of the Corporation, whose first election under
the charter of incorporation was about to take place. To prevent any
mistake, the “Esqrs.” were carefully printed in where the
names of the new Aldermen were to go, the blanks for Councillors being
only honoured with a “Mr.”

Almshouses for Lench’s Trust were built in Steelhouse Lane
in 1764. In later years other sets of houses have been built in
Conybere Street, Hospital Street, Ravenhurst Street, and Ladywood
Road, the inmates, all women, numbering 182. Jas. Dowell’s
Almshouses in Warner Street, consisting of 20 houses and a chapel,
known as the “Retreat,” were built in 1820. Mrs.
Glover’s Almshouses in Steelhouse Lane for 36 aged women, were
erected in 1832. James Lloyd’s twenty-four Almshouses in Belgrave
Street were erected in 1869.

Aluminium.—This valuable material for the use of one of
our staple trades was first obtained by a German chemist in 1837, but
was not produced in sufficient quantity for manufacturing purposes
until 1854, at which time its market value was 60s. per oz. It
gradually cheapened, until it is now priced at 5s., and a company has
lately been formed for its more easy manufacture, who promise to
supply it at about as many pence.

Amphitheatres.—Astley’s celebrated amphitheatre was
brought here in October, 1787. Mr. and Mrs. Astley themselves had
performed in Birmingham as early as 1772.—A local amphitheatre
was opened in Livery Street in 1787, on the present site of Messrs.
Billing’s printing works. After the riots of 1791 it was used for
a time by the congregations of Old and New Meeting, while their own
chapels were being rebuilt. An attempt to bring it back to its old
uses failed, and “the properties” were sold Nov. 25, 1795.
Several sects occupied it in after years, the last being the
Latter-Day Saints. It was taken down in 1848.—Another
amphitheatre was opened at Bingley Hall, December 29, 1853, by the
plucky but unlucky John Tonks, a well-known caterer for the
public’s amusement.

Amusement, Places of—Notes of the Theatres, Concert
Halls, Parks, &c., will be found under the several headings. Among
the most popular series of concerts of late years have been those of a
Saturday evening (at 3d. admission) in the Town Hall, which began on
Nov. 8, 1879, and are continued to present date.

Analyst.—Dr. Hill was appointed Borough Analyst in Feb.,
1861, his duties being to examine and test any sample of food or
drinks that may be brought or sent to him in order to prove their
purity or otherwise. The fees are limited to a scale approved by the
Town Council.

Ancient History of Birmingham can hardly be said to exist. Its
rise and progress is essentially modern, and the few notes that have
come to us respecting its early history will be found briefly
summarised at the commencement of this book.

Anti-Borough-Rate Meeting.—In 1874 the Town Council asked
for power to lay a Borough-rate exceeding 2s. in the £., but
after three days’ polling (ending March 30) permission was refused
by a majority of 2,654 votes. The power was obtained afterwards.

Anti-Church-Rate Meetings were frequent enough at one period of
our history. The two most worthy of remembrance were those of Dec. 15,
1834, when the rate was refused by a majority of 4,966 votes, and
Oct., 1841, when the polling showed 626 for the rate and 7,281
against.

Anti-Corn-Law Meetings were also numerous. The one to recollect
is that held Feb. 18, 1842.

Anti-Papal Demonstration.—A town’s meeting took place
in the Town Hall, Dec. 11, 1850, to protest against the assumption of
ecclesiastical titles by the Catholic hierarchy. About 8,000 persons
were present, and the “No Popery” element was strong, but
Joseph Sturge moved an amendment for freedom to all parties, which so
split the votes that the Mayor said the amendment was not carried and
the resolution was lost.

Anti-Slavery.—The first Anti-Slavery meeting held here
was that of Nov. 27, 1787. A local petition to Parliament against the
slave trade was presented to the House of Commons, Feb. 11, 1788. A
local society was formed here in 1826, Joseph Sturge being secretary,
and many meetings were held before the Day of Abolition was
celebrated. The most noteworthy of these was that at Dee’s
Assembly Room, April 16, 1833, when G.F. Muntz and the Political Union
opposed the agitation; a great meeting, Oct. 14, 1835; another on Feb.
1, 1836, in which Daniel O’Connell and John Angell James took
part. This last was the first large town’s meeting at which the
“total and immediate” abolition of slavery was demanded.
Joseph Sturge following it up by going to the West Indies and
reporting the hardships inflicted upon the blacks under the
“gradual” system then in operation. Aug. 7, 1838, the day
when slavery dropped its chains on English ground, was celebrated here
by a children’s festival in the Town Hall, by laying the
foundation-stone of “The Negro Emancipation Schools,” Legge
Street, and by a public meeting at night, at which Sir Eardley
Wilmott, D. O’Connell, Dr. Lushington, Edward Baines, &c.,
were present.

Anti-one-thing-or-t’other.—True to their motto,
Birmingham people are always ready to oppose the wrong and forward the
right, but what is right and what wrong is only to be ascertained by
public discussion, and a few dates of celebrated “talks” are
here given:—

In 1719 the apprenticing of Russian youths to local trades was
objected to.

In the Christmas week of 1754 public protest was made against the tax
on wheel carriages.

March 12, 1824, a deputation was sent to Parliament to protest against
our workmen being allowed to emigrate, for fear they should teach the
foreigners.

A proposed New Improvement Bill was vetoed by the burgesses, Dec. 18,
1855. We have improved a little since then!

An Anti-Confessional meeting was held Nov. 8, 1877.

An Anti-Contagious Diseases Act meeting, April 19, 1877.

An Anti-giving-up-Fugitive-Slave meeting, Jan. 1, 1876, when a certain
Admiralty Circular was condemned.

An Anti-Irish-Church-Establishment meeting was held June 14, 1869.

An Anti-moving-the-Cattle Market meeting Dec. 14, 1869, Smithfield
being preferred to Duddeston Hall.

An Anti-Railway-through-Sutton-Park meeting, April 15, 1872, but the
railway is there.

An Anti-Rotten-Ship-and-Sailor-drowning meeting, with Mr. Plimsoll to
the fore, May 14 1873. Another July 29, 1875.

An Anti-Ashantee War meeting Sept. 29, 1873.

An Anti-Turkish Atrocity meeting, Sept. 7, 1876; followed by one on
Oct. 2nd, properly settling the Eastern question.

An Anti-Six-Million-War-Vote meeting was held on Jan. 28, 1878, when
the Liberal majority was immense. A Tory opposition meeting, in
support of the vote, was held Feb. 12, when chairs and forms were
broken up to use as arguments, the result being a majority of 2 to 1
for both sides.

An Anti-War meeting, May 3, 1878.

Anti-Vivisection meetings. April 24, 1877, and May 6, 1878.

Apollo, Moseley Street.—Opened as a public resort in
1786, the Rea being then a clear running brook. The first tenant did
not prosper, for in the first week of March, 1787, the Gazette
contained an advertisement that the Apollo Hotel, “pleasantly
situate in a new street, called Moseley Street, in the hamlet of
Deritend, on the banks of the River Rea,” with “a spacious
Bowling Green and Gardens,” was to be let, with or without four
acres of good pasture land. When closed as a licensed house, it was at
first divided into two residences, but in 1816 the division walls,
&c., were removed, to fit it as a residence for Mr. Hamper, the
antiquary. That gentleman wrote that the prospect at the back was
delightful, and was bounded only by Bromsgrove Lickey. The building
was then called “Deritend House.”

Aquariums.—The Aquarium at Aston Lower Grounds was opened
July 10, 1879. The principal room has a length of 312 feet, the
promenade being 24 feet wide by 20 feet high. The west side of this
spacious apartment is fitted with a number of large show tanks, where
many rare and choice specimens of marine animals and fishes may be
exhibited. On a smaller scale there is an Aquarium at the
“Crystal Palace” Garden, at Sutton Coldfield, and a
curiosity in the shape of an “Aquarium Bar” may be seen at
the establishment of Mr. Bailey, in Moor Street.

Arcades.—The Arcade between Monmouth Street and Temple
Row, was commenced April 26, 1875; first illuminated August 19, 1876,
and opened for public use on 28th of that month. It is built over that
portion of the G.W.R. line running from Monmouth Street to Temple Row,
the front facing the Great Western Hotel, occupying the site once
filled by the old Quaker’s burial ground. It is the property of a
company, and cost nearly £100,000, the architect being Mr. W.H.
Ward. The shops number 38, and in addition there are 56 offices in the
galleries.—The Central Arcade in Corporation Street, near
to New Street, and leading into Cannon Street, is from the designs of
the same architect and was opened September 26, 1881. Underneath the
Arcade proper is the Central Restaurant, and one side of the
thoroughfare forms part of the shop of Messrs. Marris and
Norton.—The North-Western Arcade, which was opened April
5, 1884, is like a continuation of the first-named, being also built
over the G.W.R. tunnel, and runs from Temple Row to Corporation
Street. The architect is Mr. W. Jenkins, and the undertakers Messrs.
Wilkinson and Riddell, who occupy the principal frontage. Several of
the twenty-six shops into which the Arcade is divided have connection
with places of business in Bull Street.—The Imperial
Arcade, in Dale End, next to St. Peter’s Church, is also a
private speculation (that of Mr. Thos. Hall), and was opened at
Christmas, 1883. It contains, in addition to the frontage, thirty-two
shops, with the same number of offices above, while the basement forms
a large room suitable for meetings, auctions, &c., it being 135ft.
long, 55ft. wide and nearly 15ft. high. Two of the principal features
of the Arcade are a magnificent stained window, looking towards St.
Peters, and a curious clock, said to be the second of its kind in
England, life-size figures of Guy, Earl of Warwick, and his Countess,
with their attendants, striking the hours and quarters on a set of
musical bells, the largest of which weighs about 5cwt.—Snow
Hill Arcade, opposite the railway station, and leading to Slaney
Street, is an improvement due to Mr. C. Ede, who has adopted the
designs of Mr. J.S. Davis.—The Hen and Chickens Arcade
has been designed by Mr. J.A. Cossins, for a company who purpose to
build it, and, at the same time, enlarge the well-known New Street
hotel of the same name. The portico and vestibule of the hotel will
form the entrance in New Street to the Arcade, which will contain
two-dozen good-sized shops, a large basement room for restaurant,
&c.; the out in Worcester Street being nearly facing the Market
Hall.

Area of Borough.—Birmingham covers an area of 8,400
acres, with an estimated population of 400,680 (end of 1881), thus
giving an average of 47.7 persons to an acre. As a means of
comparison, similar figures are given for a few other large
towns:—

Arms of the Borough.—The Town Council, on the 6th day of
August, 1867, did resolve and declare that the Arms of the Borough
should be blazoned as follows: “1st and 4th azure, a bend
lozengy or; 2nd and 3rd, parti per pale or and
gules.”—(See cover).

Art and Artists.—An “Academy of Arts” was
organised in 1814, and an exhibition of paintings took place in Union
Passage that year, but the experiment was not repeated. A School of
Design, or “Society of Arts,” was started Feb. 7, 1821; Sir
Robert Lawley (the first Lord Wenlock) presenting a valuable
collection of casts from Grecian sculpture. The first exhibition was
held in 1826, at The Panorama, an erection then standing on the site
of the present building in New Street, the opening being inaugurated
by a conversazione on September 10. In 1858, the School of Design was
removed to the Midland Institute. The “Society of Artists”
may be said to have commenced in 1826, when several gentlemen withdrew
from the School of Design. Their number greatly increased by 1842,
when they took possession of the Athenæum, in which building
their exhibitions were annually held until 1858. In that year they
returned to New Street, acquiring the title of “Royal” in
1864. The Art Students’ Literary Association was formed in
September, 1869.

Art Gallery and School of Art.—In connection with the
Central Free Library a small gallery of pictures, works of Art,
&c., loaned or presented to the town, was opened to the public
August 1, 1867, and from time to time was further enriched.
Fortunately they were all removed previous to the disastrous fire of
Jan. 11, 1879. A portion of the new Reference Library is at present
devoted to the same purpose, pending the completion of the handsome
edifice being erected by the Gas Committee at the back of the
Municipal Buildings, and of which it will form a part, extending from
Congreve Street along Edmund Street to Eden Place. The whole of the
upper portion of the building will be devoted to the purposes of a
Museum and Art Gallery, and already there has been gathered the
nucleus of what promises to be one of the finest collections in the
kingdom, more particularly in respect to works of Art relating more or
less to some of the principal manufactures of Birmingham. There are a
large number of valuable paintings, including many good specimens of
David Cox and other local artists; quite a gallery of portraits of
gentlemen connected with the town, and other worthies; a choice
collection of gems and precious stones of all kinds; a number of rare
specimens of Japanese and Chinese cloisonné enamels; nearly a
complete set of the celebrated Soho coins and medals, with many
additions of a general character; many cases of ancient Roman, Greek,
and Byzantine coins; more than an hundred almost priceless examples of
old Italian carvings, in marble and stone, with some dozens of ancient
articles of decorative furniture; reproductions of delicately-wrought
articles of Persian Art work, plate belonging to the old City
Companies, the Universities, and from Amsterdam and the Hague; a
collection of Wedgwood and other ceramic ware, the gift of Messrs. R.
and G. Tangye, with thousands of other rare, costly, and beautiful
things. In connection with the Art Gallery is the “Public Picture
Gallery Fund,” the founder of which was the late Mr. Clarkson
Osler, who gave £3,000 towards it. From this fund, which at
present amounts to about £450 per year, choice pictures are
purchased as occasion offers, many others being presented by friends
to the town, notably the works of David Cox, which were given by the
late Mr. Joseph Nettlefold.—The School of Art, which is
being built in Edmund Street, close to the Art Gallery, is so
intimately connected therewith that it may well be noticed with it.
The ground, about 1,000 square yards, has been given by Mr. Cregoe
Colmore, the cost of election being paid out of £10,000 given by
Miss Ryland, and £10,000 contributed by Messrs. Tangye. The
latter firm have also given £5,000 towards the Art Gallery; Mr.
Joseph Chamberlain has contributed liberally in paintings and in cash;
other friends have subscribed about £8,000; Mr. Nettlefold’s
gift was valued at £14,000, and altogether not less than
£40,000 has been presented to the town in connection with the
Art Gallery, in addition to the whole cost of the School of Art.

Art Union.—The first Ballot for pictures to be chosen
from the Annual Exhibition of Local Artists took place in 1835, the
Rev. Hugh Hutton having the honour of originating it. The tickets were
21s. each, subscribers receiving an engraving.

Ash, John, M.D.—Born in 1723, was an eminent physician
who practised in Birmingham for some years, but afterwards removed to
London. He devoted much attention to the analysis of mineral waters,
delivered the Harveian oration in 1790, and was president of a club
which numbered among its members some of the most learned and eminent
men of the time. Died in 1798.

Ashford, Mary.—Sensational trials for murder have of late
years been numerous enough, indeed, though few of them have had much
local interest, if we except that of the poisoner Palmer. The death of
the unfortunate Mary Ashford, however, with the peculiar circumstance
attending the trial of the supposed murderer, and the latter’s
appeal to the right then existing under an old English law of a
criminal’s claim to a “Trial of Battel,” invested the
case with an interest which even at this date can hardly be said to
have ceased. Few people can be found to give credence to the
possibility of the innocence of Abraham Thornton, yet a careful
perusal of a history of the world-known but last “Wager of
Battel” case, as written by the late Mr. Toulmin Smith, must lead
to the belief that the poor fellow was as much sinned against as
sinning, local prejudices and indignant misrepresentations
notwithstanding. So far from the appeal to the “Wager of
Battel” being the desperate remedy of a convicted felon to escape
the doom justly imposed upon him for such heinous offence as the
murder of an innocent girl, it was simply the attempt of a clever
attorney to remove the stigma attached to an unfortunate and
much-maligned client. The dead body of Mary Ashford was found in a pit
of water in Sutton Coldfield, on the 27th of May, 1817, she having
been seen alive on the morning of the same day. Circumstances
instantly, and most naturally, fastened suspicion of foul play upon
Abraham Thornton. He was tried at Warwick, at the Autumn Assizes of
the same year, and acquitted. The trial was a very remarkable one.
Facts were proved with unusual clearness and precision, which put it
beyond the bounds of physical possibility that he could have murdered
Mary Ashford. Those facts hinged on the time shown by several
different clocks, compared with the standard time kept at Birmingham.
But the public feeling on the matter was intense. An engraving of the
scene of the alleged murder, with a stimulating letter-press
description, was published at the time, and the general sense
undoubtedly was, that the perpetrator of a very foul murder had
escaped his just doom. Hoping to do away with this impression, a
well-known local lawyer bethought himself of the long-forgotten
“Appeal of Murder,” trusting that by a second acquittal
Thornton’s innocence would be acknowledged by all. Though the
condition of all the parties was but humble, friends soon came forward
with funds and good advice, so that within the year and a day which
the law allowed, proceedings were taken in the name of William Ashford
(Mary’s brother, who, as next heir, according to the old law, had
the sole power of pardon in such a case) for an “Appeal of
Murder” against Abraham Thornton. What followed is here given in
Mr. Toulmin Smith’s own words:—”I have seen it stated,
hot indignation colouring imagination, that here was a weak stripling
nobly aroused to avenge the death of his sister, by tendering himself
to do battle against the tall strong man who was charged with her
murder. The facts, as they stand are truly striking enough; but this
melodramatic spectacle does not formally true part of them.” A
writ of “Appeal of Murder” was soon issued. It bears the
date of 1st October, 1817. Under that writ Thornton was again arrested
by the Sheriff of Warwick. On the first day of Michaelmas Term, in the
same year, William Ashford appeared in the Court of King’s Bench
at Westminster, as appellant, and Abraham Thornton, brought up
on writ of habeas corpus, appeared as appellee. The
charge of murder was formally made by the appellant; and time to plead
to this charge was granted to the appellee until Monday, 16th
November.—It must have been a strange and startling scene, on
the morning of that Monday, 16th November, 1817, when Abraham Thornton
stood at the bar of the Court of King’s Bench in Westminster Hall;
a scene which that ancient Hall had not witnessed within the memory of
any living man, but which must have then roused the attention of even
its drowsiest haunter. “The appellee being brought into Court and
placed at the bar” (I am quoting the original dry technical
record of the transaction), “and the appellant being also in
court, the count [charge] was again read over to him, and he
[Thornton] was called upon to plead. He pleaded as
follows;—’Not Guilty; and I am ready to defend the same by
my body.’ And thereupon, taking his glove off, he threw it on the
floor of the Court.” That is to say, Ashford having
“appealed” Thornton of the murder, Thornton claimed the
right to maintain his own innocence by “Trial of Battel;”
and so his answer to the charge was a “Wager of Battel.” And
now the din of fight seemed near, with the Court of King’s Bench
at Westminster for the arena, and the grave Judges of that Court for
the umpires. But the case was destined to add but another illustration
to what Cicero tells us of how, oftentimes, arms yield to argument,
and the swordsman’s looked-for laurel vanishes before the
pleader’s tongue. William Ashford, of course, acting under the
advice of those who really promoted the appeal, declined to accept
Thornton’s wager of battel. Instead of accepting it, his counsel
disputed the right of Thornton to wage his battel in this case;
alleging, in a very long plea, that there were presumptions of guilt
so strong as to deprive him of that right. Thornton answered this plea
by another, in which all the facts that had been proved on the trial
at Warwick were set forth at great length. And then the case was very
elaborately argued, for three days, by two eminent and able counsel,
one of whom will be well remembered by most readers as the late
Chief-Justice Tindal. Tindal was Thornton’s counsel. Of course I
cannot go here into the argument. The result was, that, on 16th April,
1881, the full Court (Lord Ellenborough, and Justices Bayley, Abbott,
and Holroyd) declared themselves unanimously of opinion that
the appellee (Thornton) was entitled to, wage his battel, no
presumptions of guilt having been shown clear enough or strong enough
to deprive him of that right. Upon this, Ashford, not having accepted
the wager of battel, the “appeal” was stayed, and Thornton
was discharged. Thus no reversal took place of the previous acquittal
of Thornton by the Jury at Warwick Assizes. But that acquittal had
nothing whatever to do with any “trial by battel;” for I
have shown that the “wager of battel” arose out of a
proceeding later than and consequent upon that acquittal, and that
this “wager of battel” never reached the stage of a
“trial by battel.”

What became of Thornton is unknown, but he is supposed to have died in
America, where he fled to escape the obloquoy showered upon him by an
unforgiving public. The adage that “murder will out” has
frequently proved correct, but in this case it has not, and the charge
against Thornton is reiterated in every account of this celebrated
trial that has been published, though his innocence cannot now be
doubted.

Ashted, now a populous part of the town, takes its name from
Dr. Ash, whose residence was transformed into Ashted Church, the
estate being laid out for building in 1788.

Assay Marks.—These consist of the initials of the maker,
the Queen’s head for the duty (17/-on gold, 1/6 on silver, per
oz.), a letter (changed yearly) for date, an anchor for the Birmingham
office mark, and the standard or value mark, which is given in
figures, thus:—for gold of 22-carat fineness (in oz. of 24) a
crown and 22; 18-carat, a crown and 18; 15-carat, 15.625; 12-carat,
12.5; 9-carat, 9.375. The value mark for silver of 11 oz. 10 dwts. (in
lb. of 12 oz.) is the figure of Britannia; for 11 oz. 2 dwts. a lion
passant. The date letter is changed in July. At present it is k. The
lower standards of 15, 12, and 9-carat gold (which are not liable to
duty), were authorised by an Order in Council, of December 22, 1854,
since which date an immense increase has taken place in the quantity
assayed in Birmingham.

Assay Office.—There are seven Assay Offices in the
country, the Birmingham one being established by special Act in 1773,
for the convenience of silversmiths and plateworkers. A few hours per
week was sufficient for the business at that time, and it was
conducted at the King’s Head in New Street; afterwards, in 1782,
in Bull Lane, in 1800 at a house in Little Colmore Street, and from
1816 at the old Baptist Chapel in Little Cannon Street. In 1824 the
Act 5, George IV., cap 52, incorporated the assay of gold, the
guardians being 36 in number, from whom are chosen the wardens. On
July 14, 1877, the foundation stone was laid of the New Assay Office
in Newhall Street, and it was opened for business June 24, 1878.

Assizes.—Birmingham was “proclaimed” an assize
town January 14, 1859, but the first assizes were held in July, 1884.

Aston.—Eight hundred years ago, Aston filled a small
space in the Domesday book of history, wherein it is stated that the
estate consisted of eight hides of land, and three miles of wood,
worth £5, with 44 residents (one being a priest), and 1,200
acres in cultivation. The present area of Aston Manor is 943 acres, on
which are built about 14,000 houses, having a population of some
60,000 persons, and a rateable value of £140,000. In the first
ten years of the existence of the Local Board (1869 to 1878)
£30,000 was spent on main drainage works, £10,000 in
public improvements, and £53,000 in street improvements. Aston
has now its Public Buildings, Free Library, &c., as well as an
energetic School Board, and, though unsuccessful in its attempt in
1876 to obtain a charter of incorporation, there can be little doubt
but that it will ultimately bloom forth in all the glories of a Mayor,
Aldermen, and Burgesses. Aston parish, which extends in several
directions into the borough of Birmingham, has an area of 13,786
acres.

Aston Almshouses were built in 1655, according to the
provisions made by Sir Thomas Holte previous to his decease.

Aston Church was probably built about the year 1170, the nave
and part of chancel being added in 1231, the east end and arch of
chancel in 1310, and the tower and spire in 1440. The old building,
which contained an interesting collection of monuments in memory of
the Holtes, the Ardens, the Erdingtons, and other county families, has
been lately enlarged by the extension of the nave and aisles eastward,
and widening the chancel so as to accommodate about 1,200 people,
instead of 500. The whole of the monuments have been replaced in their
relative positions.

Aston Cross Tavern was opened as a licensed house and tea
gardens in 1775, the first landlord, Mr. Barron, dying in 1792, his
widow keeping it till her death in 1817. Of late years it has been a
favourite resort of all classes of athletes, though from being so
closely built to it has lost much of the attraction which drew our
grandfathers to its shady arbours when on country pleasure bent. The
park wall extended to the corner of and along the side of Park Lane,
opposite the tavern.

Aston Hall and Park.—This building was commenced by Sir
Thomas Holte in April, 1618, and finished in April, 1635, Inigo Jones
being accredited with the design. King Charles I., in his days of
trouble, paid a short visit to the Hall, his host being punished
afterwards by some of Cromwell’s soldiers and the malcontents of
Birmingham besieging the place in the week after Christmas, 1643. The
brick wall round the park, nearly three miles long, but of which there
are now few traces left, was put up by Sir Lister Holte about 1750,
and tradition says it was paid for by some Staffordshire coal-masters,
who, supposing that coal lay underneath, conditioned with Sir Lister
that no mines should be sunk within [word missing—presume
“its”] boundary. The Hall and Park were held by the various
generations of the family till the death of the late Dowager Lady
Holte. (For an accurate and interesting description of the edifice see
Davidson’s “Holtes of Aston.”) The Act authorising the
sale of the Aston estates received the royal sanction on July 10,
1817, and the sale of the furniture and effects in the Hall was
commenced by Messrs. J. and C. Robins on September 22. The sale lasted
nine days, there being 1,144 lots, which realised £2,150; the
farming stock, &c., being sold afterwards for £1,201. The
Hall and Park was put up on April 15, 1818, and was bought by Messrs.
Greenway, Greaves, and Whitehead, bankers, of Warwick, the estate of
1,530 acres being let off by them in suitable lots. The herd of deer,
reduced to 150 head, was sold December 21. The Hall was rented by Mr.
James Watt, son of the James Watt, and for many years it was
closed to the public. At his death, in 1848, the changes which had
been going on all round for years begin to make themselves seen in the
shape of huge gaps in the old wall, houses springing up fast here and
there, and a street being cut through the noble avenue of chestnut
trees in 1852. By degrees, the park was reduced to 370 acres, which,
with the Hall, were offered to the town in 1850 for the sum of
£130,000; but the Town Council declined the bargain, though less
than one-half of the Park (150 acres) was sold immediately after for
more than all the money. In 1857 a “People’s Park”
Company was started to “Save Aston Hall” and the few acres
close round it, an agreement being entered into for £35,000.
Many of the 20s. shares were taken up, and Her Majesty the Queen
performed the opening ceremony June 15, 1858. The speculation proved a
failure, as out of about £18,000 raised one-half went in
repairs, alterations, losses, &c., and it would have been lost to
the town had not the Corporation bought it in February, 1864. They
gave £33,000 (£7,000 being private subscriptions), and it
was at last opened as a free park, September 22, 1864. The picture
gallery is 136ft. long, by 18ft. wide and 16ft. high. In this and
various other rooms, will be found a miscellaneous museum of
curiosities, more or less rare, including stuffed birds and animals,
ancient tapestry and furniture, &c.

Aston Lower Grounds, the most beautiful pleasure grounds in the
Midland counties, cover 31 acres, and were originally nothing more
than the kitchen and private gardens and the fish-ponds belonging to
Aston Hall, and were purchased at the sale in 1818 by the Warwick
bankers, who let them to Mr. H.G. Quilter, at the time an attempt was
made to purchase the Hall and Park “by the people.” Adding
to its attractions year by year, Mr. Quilter remained on the ground
until 1878, when a limited liability company was formed to take to the
hotel and premises, building an aquarium 320 feet long by 54 feet
wide, an assembly-room, 220 feet long, by 91 feet wide, and otherwise
catering for the comfort of their visitors, 10,000 of whom can be now
entertained and amused under shelter, in case of wet weather. Mr.
Quilter’s selling price was £45,000, taking £25,000 in
shares, and £20,000 cash by instalments. The speculation did not
appear to be very successful, and the property is now in private
hands. The visitors to the Lower Grounds since 1864 have averaged
280,000 per annum.

Asylum, in Summer Lane, was opened in July 1797, by the
Guardians of the Poor as an industrial residence and school for 250
children. It was dismantled and closed in 1846, though the
“Beehive” carved over the door was allowed to remain on the
ruins some years after.

Athenæum—For the “diffusion of Literature and
Science” was established in March, 1839, but has long been merged
in the Midland Institute. In the building called the
“Athenæum”, top of Temple Street, some of the early
exhibitions of paintings were held.

Athenic Institute, founded in 1841, was an institute of a
somewhat similar character to the Athenæum, though including
athletics, and existed no longer.

Athletic Clubs.—The first festival of the Birmingham
Athletic Club was held in 1868. On the 1st of March, 1880, an
association was organised of many of the bicycle clubs, cricket clubs,
football clubs, and similar athletic bodies in the town and
neighbourhood, under the name of “The Midland Counties
Amateurs’ Athletic Union.”

Atlantic Cables.—It would have been strange if Birmingham
had not had a hand in the making of these. For the cable laid in 1865,
16,000 miles of copper wire, weighing 308 tons, were turned out by
Messrs. Bolton and Sons and Messrs. Wilkes and Sons. The cable itself
was 2,300 (nautical) miles in length.

Baby Show.—Let Mr. Inshaw, of the “Steam
Clock,” have the honour of being recorded as the first to
introduce the Yankee notion of a “baby show,” which took
place at his Music Hall, May 15, 1874.

Bachelors.—In 1695, bachelors over 24 had to pay a tax of
1s., if “a common person,” the scale running as high as
£12 10s. for a duke! Judging from the increase of the population
about that time, we doubt if even a “common” bachelor paid
here. The married folks had not much to laugh at though, for they had
to pay duty on every child that was born. Funny time, those!

Balloons.—A Mr. Harper was the first to scale the clouds
in a balloon from this town, January 4, 1785. He rose again on the 31,
from the Tennis Court, in Coleshill Street, and is said to have sailed
a distance of 57 miles in 80 minutes. Mr. Sadler went up from
Vauxhall, October 7th, 1811, and again on October 20th, 1823. Mr.
Green rose from Newhall Hill, July 17th, 1827, and several times
after.

Balsall Heath.—In some ancient deeds called “Boswell
Heath.” The land round Mary street, known as the Balsall Heath
estate, was sold in building lots (234) in 1839, the last day’s
sale being August 26, and the auctioneers, Messrs. E. & C. Robins.
Edwardes-street takes its name from the last owner of the estate, who,
if he could now but glance over the property, would be not a little
astonished at the changes which have taken place in the last forty
years, for, like unto Aston, it may be said to really form but a
portion of the ever-extending town of Birmingham. Balsall Heath, which
is in the parish of King’s Norton, has now a Local Board (with its
offices in Lime Grove, Moseley Road) several Board schools, chapels,
and churches, a police court, and that sure mark of advancement, a
local newspaper. One thing still wanting, however, is a cemetery.
Though an appropriate and convenient spot near Cannon Hill Park was
chosen for the last resting-place, the ratepayers, at a meeting held
July 21, 1879, decided that they could not yet afford the required
outlay of some £17,000 necessary for the purpose,
notwithstanding that the annual rateable value of the property in the
neighbourhood is something like £70,000, and increasing by three
to four thousand a year.

Banks and Bankers.—The Birmingham Branch Bank of England
(drawing on the parent Bank of England), is in Bennett’s Hill.

The local Branch of the National Provincial Bank of England (Lim.),
Bennett’s Hill, also draws on its headquarters. It commenced
business here on New Year’s Day 1827.

The Birmingham Banking Company (Lim.), also in Bennett’s Hill,
draws on the London and Westminster. It opened its doors Sept. 1,
1829, with a nominal capital of £500,000, in £50 shares,
£5 being paid up at starting. An amalgamation took place in the
year 1880 with the Stourbridge and Kidderminster Bank (established in
1834) the united company having a paid-up capital of £286,000
and a reserve of £312,000.

The Birmingham and Midland Bank (Limited) opened in Union Street,
August 23, 1836, removing to New Street in 1869. London agents, the
Union Bank of London. Authorised capital, £2,400,000.

The Birmingham, Dudley, and District Banking Co. (Limited) was
commenced in Colmore Row July 1st, 1836, as the Town and District
Bank, with a capital of £500,000, in £20 shares. London
agents, Barclay and Co., and Williams and Co.

The Birmingham Joint Stock Bank (Limited) opened in Temple Row West,
Jan. 1st, 1862, with a capital of £3,000,000, in £100
shares, £10 paid. Agents, London Joint Stock. Has branches in
New Street and Great Hampton Street.

Lloyds’ Banking Co. (Limited) Colmore Row, dates from June 3rd,
1765. when it was known as Taylor and Lloyds, their first premises
being in Dale End [hence the name of Bank Passage]. This old
established firm has incorporated during its century of existence a
score of other banks, and lately has been amalgamated with Barnetts,
Hoares, and Co., of London, the present name being Lloyd, Barnett,
Bosanquet, and Co. (Limited). There are sub-offices also in Great
Hampton Street, Deritend, Five Ways and Aston. In this and adjoining
counties, Lloyds’ number about 40 branch establishments.

The Worcester City and County Banking Co. (Limited), drawing on Glynn
and Co., removed from Cherry Street to their newly-built edifice in
Colmore Row, June 1, 1880.

The Union Bank of Birmingham (Limited), Waterloo Street, commenced
business with a nominal capital of £1,000,000, in £20
shares, £5 paid. London agents, the City Bank. It has since been
taken over by the Midland Bank.

Banks.—A popular Penny Bank was established in 1851, but
came to grief in 1865, closing March 16, with assets £1,608, to
pay debts £9,448. Another penny bank was opened in Granville
Street, April 13, 1861, and is still carried on at the Immanuel
Schools, Tennant Street, with about 5,000 depositors at the present
time.

A Local Savings Bank was opened in May, 1827, and legalised in the
year after, but ultimately its business was transferred to the Post
Office Savings Bank, which opened its doors in Cannon Street, Dec. 1,
1863. By a Government return, it appeared that at the end of 1880 the
total amount to the credit of depositors in the Post Office Savings
Banks of the Kingdom stood at £30,546,306. After the
Metropolitan counties of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, Warwickshire
comes next with a deposit of £1,564,815, the average for the
whole of the English counties being but little over £500,000.

Banks Defunct.—The old-established concern known so long
as Attwood and Spooner’s closed its doors March 10, 1865, with
liabilities amounting to £1,007,296. The Joint Stock Bank took
the business, and paid 11s. 3d. in the £.

Bank of Deposit stopped Oct. 26, 1861.

The Borough Bank, a branch of Northern and Central Bank of England,
stopped Feb. 24, 1840.

The Commercial (Branch) Bank, closed July 27, 1840.

Coates, Woolley and Gordon, who occupied the premises at corner of
Cherry Street and Cannon Street in 1814, was joined to Moilliet’s,
and by them to Lloyds.

Freer, Rotton, Lloyds and Co., of 1814, changed to Rotton, Onions and
Co., then Rotton and Scholefield, next to Rotton and Son, and lastly
with its manager transferred to National Provincial.

Galton, Galton and James, of 1814, retired in 1830.

Gibbins, Smith, and Co. failed in 1825, paying nearly 20s. in the
£.

Gibbins and Lowell, opened in 1826, but was joined to Birmingham
Banking Co. in 1829.

Smith, Gray, Cooper and Co., of 1815, afterwards Gibbins, Smith, and
Goode, went in 1825.

Banknotes.—Notes for 5/3 were issued in 1773. 300
counterfeit £1 notes, dated 1814, were found near Heathfield
House, January 16, 1858. A noted forger of these shams is said to have
resided in the immediate neighbourhood about the period named on the
discovered “flimsies.” When Boulton and Watt were trying to
get the Act passed patenting their copying-press the officials of the
Bank of England opposed it for fear it should lead to forgery of their
notes, and several Members of Parliament actually tried to copy
banknotes as they did their letters.

Bankrupts.—In the year 1882 (according to the Daily
Post) there were 297 bankruptcies, compositions, or liquidations
in Birmingham, the total amount of debts being a little over
£400,000. The dividends ranged from 2d. to 15s. in the £,
one-half the whole number, however, realising under 1s. 6d. The
estimated aggregate loss to creditors is put at £243,000.

Baptists.—As far back as 1655, we have record of meetings
or conferences of the Baptist churches in the Midland district, their
representatives assembling at Warwick on the second day of the third
month, and at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, on the 26th of the fourth month in
that year. Those were the Cromwellian days of religious freedom, and
we are somewhat surprised that no Birmingham Baptists should be among
those who gathered together at the King’s Head, at Moreton, on the
last named date, as we find mention made of brethren from Warwick,
Tewkesbury, Alcester, Derby, Bourton-on-the-Water, Hook Norton,
Moreton-in-the-Marsh, and even of there being a community of the same
persuasion at Cirencester. The conference of the Midland Counties’
District Association of Baptist Churches met in this town for the
first time in 1740.—For Chapels see “Places of Worship.”

Barr Beacon.—A trial was made on January 10, 1856, as to
how far a light could be seen by the ignition of a beacon on Malvern
Hills. It was said to have been seen from Snowdon in Wales (105
miles), and at other parts of the country at lesser distances, though
the gazers at Worcester saw it not. The look-out at Dudley Castle (26
miles) could have passed the signal on to Barr Beacon, but it was not
needed, as the Malvern light was not only seen there, but still away
on at Bardon Hill, Leicester.—Many persons imagine that Barr
Beacon is the highest spot in the Midland Counties, but the idea is
erroneous, Turners Hill, near Lye Cross, Rowley Regis, which is 893
ft. above mean sea level, being considerably higher, while the Clee
Hills reach an altitude of 1,100 ft.

Barber of Birmingham, The.—The knights of the pole (or
poll) have always been noted for getting into mischief, and it is not
therefore so very surprising to find that in March, 1327, a royal
pardon had to be granted to “Roger, the barber of
Birmingham,” for the part he had taken in the political
disturbances of that time. Was he a Con., or a Lib., Tory or Rad.?

Baron of Birmingham.—One of the titles of Lord Ward.

Barracks.—Built in 1793, at a cost of £13,000, as a
consequence of the riots of 1791.

Barring Out—On the 26th of Nov. 1667, the scholars of the
Grammar School “barred out” the Master, and then left the
school for a time. When they returned they found the worthy pedagogue
had obtained admission and intended to keep his young rebels outside.
Whereupon, says an old chronicler, they, being reinforced by certain
of the townsmen “in vizards, and with pistolls and other
armes,” sought to re-enter by assault, threatening to kill the
Master, and showering stones and bricks through the windows. When the
fun was over the Governors passed a law that any boy taking part in
future “barrings-out” should be expelled from the School,
but the amusement seems to have been rather popular, as an entry in
the School records some ten years later show that a certain Widow
Spooner was paid one shilling “for cleansinge ye Schoole at
penninge out.”

Baskerville (John).—This celebrated local worthy was a
native of Wolverley, near Kidderminster, having been born in the year
1706. He came to this town in early life, as we find that he kept a
writing school in 1726. In 1745 he built himself a residence at
Easy-hill, and carried on the business of japanner afterwards adding
to it that of printer and typefounder. His achievements in this line
have made his name famous for ever, though it is said that he spent
£600 before he could produce one letter to his own satisfaction,
and some thousands before he obtained any profits from his printing
trade. He was somewhat eccentric in personal matters of dress and
taste, his carriage (drawn by cream-coloured horses) being a wonderful
specimen of the art of japanning in the way of pictured panels, etc.,
while he delighted to adorn his person in the richest style of dress.
The terms of his peculiar will, and his apparent renunciation of
Christianity, were almost as curious as his choice of a place of
sepulture. He was buried in his own grounds under a solid cone of
masonry, where his remains lay until 1821, at which time the canal
wharf, now at Easy Row, was being made. His body was found in a good
state of preservation, and for some short period was almost made a
show of, until by the kindness of Mr. Knott the bookseller, it was
taken to Us present resting-place in one of the vaults under Christ
Church. Mr. Baskerville died January 8, 1775, his widow living till
March 21, 1787, to the age of 80 years.

Baths.—Ladywell Baths were said by
Hutton to be the most complete in the island, being seven in number,
that for swimmers 36 yards long by 18 wide, and cost £2,000. The
place is now occupied by a timber yard, the old spring being covered
in, though fitted with a pump for public use. For many years a tribe
of water carriers procured a living by retailing the water at a
halfpenny per can. The red sand from the New Street tunnels was turned
to account in tilling up the old baths, much to the advantage of Mr.
Turner, the lessee, and of the hauliers who turned the honest penny by
turning in so near at hand.

Baths and Wash-houses.—The local movement for the
establishment of public Baths first took practical shape at a meeting
held Nov. 19,1844, within a week of which date subscriptions amounting
to £4,430 were received for the purpose. The Association then
formed purchased a plot of land in Kent Street in June, 1846, and
presented it to the Town Council in November following, though the
Baths erected thereon were not opened to the public until May 12,
1851. It was at that time imagined that the working classes would he
glad of the boon provided for them in the convenient wash-houses
attached to the Baths proper, and the chance given them to do away
with all the sloppy, steamy annoyances of washing-day at home, but the
results proved otherwise, and the wash-houses turned out to be not
wanted. The Woodcock Street establishment was opened August 27, 1860;
Northwood Street, March 5, 1862; Sheepcote Street in 1878, and
Ladywood in 1882. Turkish Baths are now connected with the above, and
there are also private speculations of the same kind in High Street,
Broad Street, and the Crescent. Hardy swimmers, who prefer taking
their natatory exercises in the open air, will find provision made for
them at the Reservoir, at Cannon Hill Park, and also at Small Heath
Park. The swimming-bath in George Street, Balsall Heath, opened in
1846, was filled up in 1878, by order of the Local Board of Health.

Bath Street takes its name from some baths formerly in Blews
Street, but which, about 1820, were turned into a malthouse.

Battle Of the Alma.—A disturbance which took place at a
steeplechase meeting at Aston, Monday, March 26, 1855, received this
grandiloquent title.

Battles and Sieges.—It is more than probable that the
British, under their gallant Queen Boadicea, fought the Romans more
than once in the near vicinity of this district, and very possibly in
those happy days of feudalism, which followed the invasion of the
Normans, when every knight and squire surrounded himself with his
armed retainers, sundry skirmishes may have taken place hereabouts,
but history is silent. Even of the battle of Barnet (April 14, 1471),
when the Earl of Warwick and 10,000 men were slain, we have not
sufficient note to say, though it can hardly be doubted, that many
Birmingham citizens went down. But still we have on record one real
“Battle of Birmingham,” which took place on the 3rd of
April, 1643. On that day our town was attacked by Prince Rupert, with
some 2,000 horse and foot; being pretty stoutly opposed, his soldiers
slew a number of inhabitants, burnt nearly 80 houses, and did damage
(it is said) to the extent of £30,000. It took five days for the
news of this exploit to reach London. In the week following Christmas
of the same year, a number of townspeople, aided by a party of the
Commonwealth soldiers, laid siege to, and captured, Aston Hall.

Bazaars.—When originated none can tell. How much good
done by means of them, nobody knows. But that immense amounts have
been raised for good and charitable purposes, none can deny—and
then, “they are such fun!”. “Grand Bazaars”
have been held for many an institution, and by many different sects
and parties, and to attempt to enumerate them would be an
impossibility, but the one on behalf of the Queen’s Hospital, held
in April, 1880, is noteworthy, for two reasons:—first, because
the proceeds amounted to the munificent sum of £5,969, and,
secondly, from the novelty of the decorations. The body of the Town
Hall was arranged to represent an English street of the olden time, a
baronial castle rising tower upon tower at the great gallery end, and
an Elizabethan mansion in the orchestra, with a lawn in front,
occupied by a military band. The sides of the Hall constituted a
double row of shops, the upper storeys (reaching to the galleries)
being filled with casements and balconies, from whence the doings in
the street could be witnessed.

Bean Club.—The first anniversary we read of was that held
July 17, 1752, at which meeting Lord Fielding gave £120 to erect
an altarpiece in St. Bartholomew’s.

Beardsworth (John).—Founder of the Repository, began life
as driver of a hackney coach, in which one night he drove a beautiful
young lady to a ball. John went home, dressed, procured admission to
the ball, danced with the lady, handed her to the coach, drove her
home, and some time after married her. The lady’s cash enabled him
to acquire an ample fortune, being at one time worth nearly a quarter
of a million, most of which, however, was lost on the turf. The
Repository was the largest establishment of the kind in the kingdom,
and Beardsworth’a house adjoining was furnished in most splendid
style, one centre table (made of rich and rare American wood) costing
£1,500.

Beelzebub.—Watt’s first steam engine was so
christened. It was brought from Scotland, put up at Soho, and used for
experimenting upon. It was replaced by “Old Bess,” the first
engine constructed upon the expansive principle. This latter engine is
now in the Museum of Patents, South Kensington, though Mr. Smiles says
he saw it working in 1857, seventy years after it was made.

Beer.—Brewers of beer were first called upon to pay a
license duty in 1784, though the sellers thereof had been taxed more
or less for 250 years previously. The effect of the heavy duties then
imposed was to reduce the consumption of the national and wholesome
beverage, which in 1782 averaged one barrel per head of the then
population per annum, down to half-a-barrel per head in 1830, its
place being filled by an increased consumption of ardent spirits,
which from half-a-gallon per head in 1782, rose by degrees to
six-sevenths of a gallon per head by 1830. In this year, the statesmen
of the day, who thought more of the well-being of the working part of
the population than raising money by the taxation of their
necessaries, took off the 10s. per barrel on beer, in the belief that
cheap and good malt liquors would be more likely to make healthy
strong men than an indulgence in the drinking of spirits.
Notwithstanding all the wild statements of the total abstainers to the
contrary, the latest Parliamentary statistics show that the
consumption of beer per head per annum averages now only
seven-eighths of a barrel, though before even this moderate quantity
reaches the consumers, the Government takes [see Inland Revenue returns, 1879, before alteration of
malt-tax] no less a sum than £19,349 per year from the good
people of Birmingham alone. Of this sum the brewers paid £9,518,
the maltsters £425, beer dealers £2,245, and beer
retailers £7,161.

Bells.—There was a bell foundry at
Good Knave’s End, in 1760, from whence several neighbouring
churches were supplied with bells to summon the good knaves of the day
to prayers, or to toll the bad knaves to their end. There was
also one at Holloway Head, in 1780, but the business must have been
hollow enough, for it did not go ahead, and we find no record of
church bells being cast here until just a hundred years back (1732),
when Messrs. Blews & Son took up the trade. Birmingham bells have,
however, made some little noise in the world, and may still be heard
on sea or land, near and far, in the shape of door bells, ship bells,
call bells, hand bells, railway bells, sleigh bells, sheep bells, fog
bells, mounted on rockbound coasts to warn the weary mariner, or
silver bells, bound with coral from other coasts, to soothe the
toothless babbler. These, and scores of others, are ordered here every
year by thousands; but the strangest of all orders must have been that
one received by a local firm some fifteen years ago from a West
African prince, who desired them to send him 10,000 house bells (each
3/4 lb. weight), wherewith to adorn his iron “palace.” And
he had them! Edgar Poe’s bells are nowhere, in comparison with

Ten bells were put in St. Martin’s, in 1786, the total weight
being 7 tons, 6 cwt. 2 lbs.

The peal of ten bells in St. Philip’s were first used August 7,
1751, the weight being 9 tons 10 cwt. 22 lbs., the tenor weighs 30
cwt.

A new peal of eight bells were put up in Aston Church, in May, 1776,
the tenor weighing 21 cwt. The St. Martin’s Society of Change
Ringers “opened” them, July 15, by ringing Holt’s
celebrated peal of 5040 grandsire triples, the performance occupying 3
hours 4 minutes.

Eight bells and a clock were mounted in the tower of Deritend Chapel,
in 1776, the first peal being rung July 29.

The eight bells in Bishop Ryder’s Church, which weigh 55 cwt., and
cost £600, were cast in 1868, by Blews and Sons, and may be
reckoned as the first full peal founded in Birmingham.

There are eight bells in Harborne Parish Church, four of them bearing
date 1697, two with only the makers’ name on, and two put in
February, 1877, on the 24th of which month the whole peal were
inaugurated by the ringing of a true peal of Stedman triples, composed
by the late Thomas Thurstans, and consisting of 5,040 changes, in 2
hours and 52 minutes. The St. Martin’s ringers officiated.

The six bells of Northfield Church were cast by Joseph Smith, of
Edgbaston, in 1730.

St. Chad’s Cathedral has eight bells, five of which were presented
in 1848 as a memorial to Dr. Moore; the other three, from the foundry
of W. Blews and Sons, were hung in March, 1877 the peculiar ceremony
of “blessing the bells” being performed by Bishop Ullathorne
on the 22nd of that month. The three cost £110. The bells at
Erdington Catholic Church were first used on February 2, 1878.

Bellows to Mend.—Our townspeople bellowed a little over
their losses after Prince Rupert’s rueful visit, but there was one
among them who knew how to “raise the wind,” for we find
Onions, the bellows-maker, hard at work in 1650; and his descendants
keep at the same old game.

Bennett’s Hill.—There was a walled-in garden (with an
old brick summer-house) running up from Waterloo-street to Colmore-row
as late as 1838-9.

Benefit and Benevolent Societies.—See “Friendly Societies.”

Bellbarn Road, or the road to Mr. Bell’s barn.

Bermingham.—The Irish family of this name descended from
Robert, son of Peter de Bermingham, who left here and settled in
Connaught about the year 1169.

Bibles and Testaments.—In 1272 the price of a Bible, well
written out, was £30 sterling, and there were few readers of it
in Birmingham. The good book can now be bought for 6d., and it is to
be hoped there is one in every house. The Rev. Angell James once
appealed to his congregation for subscriptions towards sending a
million New Testaments to China, and the Carrslaneites responded
promptly with £410 8s., enough to pay for 24,624
copies—the publisher’s price being 4d. each. They can be
bought for a penny now.—A local Auxiliary Bible Society was
commenced here May 9, 1806.

Bingley Hall—Takes its name from Bingley House, on the
site of which it is built. It was erected in 1850 by Messrs. Branson
and Gwyther, at a cost of about £6,000, the proprietary shares
being £100 each. In form it is nearly a square, the
admeasurements being 224 ft. by 212 ft., giving an area of nearly one
acre and a half. There are ten entrance doors, five in King
Edward’s Place, and five in King Alfred’s Place, and the
building may be easily divided into five separate compartments. The
Hall will hold from 20,000 to 25,000 people, and is principally used
for Exhibitions and Cattle Shows; with occasionally “monster
meetings,” when it is considered necessary for the welfare of the
nation to save sinners or convert Conservatives.

Bird’s-eye View of the town can be best obtained from the
dome of the Council House, to which access may be obtained on
application to the Curator. Some good views may be also obtained from
some parts of Moseley Road, Cannon Hill Park, and from Bearwood Road.

Birmingham.—A horse of this name won the Doncaster St.
Leger in 1830 against 27 competitors. The owner, John Beardsworth,
cleared £40,000. He gave Connolly, the jockey, £2,000.

Birmingham Abroad.—Our brethren who have emigrated do not
like to forget even the name of their old town, and a glance over the
American and Colonial census sheet shows us that there are at least a
score of other Birminghams in the world. In New Zealand there are
three, and in Australia five townships so christened. Two can be found
in Canada, and ten or twelve in the United States, the chief of which
is Birmingham in Alabama. In 1870 this district contained only a few
inhabitants, but in the following year, with a population of 700, it
was incorporated, and at once took rank as a thriving city, now
proudly called “The Iron City,” from its numerous ironworks,
furnaces, and mills. Last year the citizens numbered over 12,000, the
annual output of pig-iron being about 60,000 tons, and the coal mines
in the neighbourhood turning out 2,000 tons per day. The city is 240
miles from Nashville, 143 miles from Chattanooga, and 96 miles from
Montgomery, all thriving places, and is a central junction of six
railways. The climate is good, work plentiful, wages fair, provisions
cheap, house rent not dear, churches and schools abundant, and if any
of our townsmen are thinking of emigrating they may do a deal worse
than go from hence to that other Birmingham, which its own
“daily” says is a “City of marvellous wonder and magic
growth,” &c., &c.

Birmingham Begging.—Liberal to others as a rule when in
distress, it is on record that once at least the inhabitants of this
town were the recipients of like favours at the hands of their
fellow-countrymen. In the churchwardens’ books of Redenall,
Norfolk, under date September 20, 1644, is an entry of 6s. paid
“to Richard Herbert, of Birmingham, where was an hundred fifty
and five dwelling house burnt by Pr. Rupert.”

Birmingham Borough, which is in the hundred of Hemlingford, and
wholly in the county of Warwick, includes the parish of Birmingham,
part of the parish of Edgbaston, and the hamlets of
Deritend-and-Bordesley, and Duddeston-cum-Nechells, in the parish of
Aston. The extreme length is six miles one furlong, the average
breadth three miles, the circumference twenty-one miles, and the total
area 8,420 acres, viz., Birmingham, 2,955; in Edgbaston, 2,512; and in
Aston, 2,853. Divided into sixteen wards by an Order in Council,
approved by Her Majesty, October 15, 1872. The mean level of
Birmingham is reckoned as 443 feet above sea level.

Birmingham Heath.—Once an unenclosed common, and part of
it may now be said to be common property, nearly 100 acres of it being
covered with public buildings for the use of such as need a common
home. There is not, however, anything commonplace in the style of
these erections for sheltering our common infirmities, as the
Workhouse, Gaol, and Asylum combined have cost “the Commons”
something like £350,000. The Volunteers in 1798 made use of part
of the Heath as a practice and parade ground.

Birmingham Bishops.—The Rev. John Milner, a Catholic
divine and eminent ecclesiastical antiquary, who was educated at
Edgbaston, was appointed Bishop Apostolic in the Midland district,
with the title of “Bishop of Castaballa.” He died in 1826,
in his 74th year.—Dr. Ullathorne was enthroned at St.
Chad’s, August 30th, 1848, as Bishop of the present Catholic
diocese.—The Rev. P. Lee, Head Master of Free Grammar School in
1839, was chosen as the first Bishop of Manchester.— The Rev. S.
Thornton, St. George’s, was consecrated Bishop of Ballarat, May 1,
1875.—The Rev. Edward White Benson, D.D., a native of this town,
was nominated first Bishop of Truro, in December, 1876, and is now
Archbishop of Canterbury.—The Rev. Thomas Huband Gregg resigned
the vicarage of East Harborne in March, 1877, and on June 20 was
consecrated at New York a Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

Birmingham (Little).—In a record of the early date
of 1313 there is mention of a place called Little Birmingham (parvam
Birmingham), as being in the hundreds of North and South Erpyngham,
Norfolk.

Birmingham in the Future.—It has been proposed that the
Borough should be extended so as to include the Local Board districts
of Harborne and Handsworth, Balsall Heath, Moseley, King’s Heath,
part of King’s Norton parish, the whole of Yardley and Acock’s
Green, part of Northfield parish, all Aston Manor, Saltley, Witton,
Little Bromwich, and Erdington, covering an area of about 32,000
acres, with a present population of over half a million.

Blind Asylum.—See “Philanthropic Institutions.”

Blondin made his first appearance at Aston Park, June 8, 1861;
at the Birmingham Concert Hall, December, 1869, and March, 1870; at
the Reservoir September, 1873, and September, 1878. Mrs. Powell, who
was known as the “Female Blondin,” was killed at a
fête in Aston Park, July 20, 1868, by falling from the high
rope.

Bloomsbury Institute.—Opened in 1860. The memorial stones
of the lecture-hall in Bloomsbury Street were laid August 6, 1877, the
£750 cost being given by Mr. David Smith. Seats 500.

Blue Coat School.—See “Schools.”

Blues.—The United Society of True Blues was founded in
1805 by a number of old Blue Coat boys (formerly known as “The
Grateful Society”) who joined in raising an annual subscription
for the School.

Board Schools.—See “School Board.”

Boatmen’s Hall, erected on Worcester Wharf, by Miss Ryland,
was opened March 17, 1879.

Bonded Warehouses.—Our Chamber of Commerce memoralised
the Lords of the Treasury for the extension of the bonded warehouse
system to this town, in December, 1858, but it was several years
before permission was obtained.

Books.—The oldest known Birmingham book is a “Latin
Grammar, composed in the English tongue,” printed in London in
1652, for Thomas Underhill, its author having been one of the masters
of our Free School.

Book Club (The).—Commenced some few years previous to
1775, at which time its meetings were held in Poet Freeth’s,
Leicester Arms, Bell-street. As its name implies, the club was formed
for the purchase and circulation among the members of new or choice
books, which were sold at the annual dinner, hence the poet’s hint
in one of his invitations to these meetings:—

“Due regard let the hammer be paid, Ply the glass gloomy care to
dispel; If mellow our hearts are all made, The books much better may
sell.”

In these days of cheap literature, free libraries, and halfpenny
papers, such a club is not wanted.

Books on Birmingham.—Notes of Birmingham were now and
then given before the days of that dear old antiquary Hutton, but
his “History” must always take rank as the first.
Morfitt’s was amusing as far as it went; Bissett’s was ditto
and pictorial; but it remained till the present period for really
reliable sketches to be given. The best are Langford’s
“Century of Birmingham Life,” Harman’s “Book of
Dates,” Dent’s “Old and New Birmingham,”
Bunce’s “Municipal History,” and the last is
“Showell’s Dictionary of Birmingham.”

Botanical Gardens.—See “Horticultural Societies.”

Borough Members.—See “Parliamentary Elections.”

Boulton (Mathew).—The son of a hardware manufacturer of
the same name, was born here on September 3, 1728 (old style) and
received his education principally at the academy of the Rev. Mr.
Anstey, Deritend. He is accredited with having at the early age of
seventeen invented the inlaying of steel buckles, buttons and
trinkets, which for many years were in great request. These articles
at first were exported to France in large quantities, being afterwards
brought from thence and sold in London as the latest Parisian fashion.
In 1762 (his father having left him a considerable property) Mr.
Boulton leased a quantity of the land then forming part of Birmingham
Heath, where at a cost of over £10,000 he erected the famous
Soho Works, and later on (in 1794) he purchased the freehold of that
and a considerable tract of the adjoining land. In 1767 steam was
first brought into use to supplement the power derived from the water
wheels, and in 1769 he became acquainted with James Watt, with whom he
afterwards went into partnership to make steam engines of all kinds,
sinking £47,000 before he had any return for his money. Mr.
Boulton lived to the patriarchal age of fourscore and one, leaving
this life on August 7, 1809. He was buried at Handsworth, 600 workmen,
besides numberless friends, following his remains; all of whom were
presented with hatbands and gloves and a silver medal, and regaled
with a dinner, the funeral costing altogether about
£2,000.—See “Coinage,” &c.

Bourne College, erected by the Primitive Methodists and their
friends, at Quinton, at a cost of nearly £10,00, was formally
opened on October 240 [Transcriber’s note: as original] 1882. When
completed there will be accommodation for 120 students.

Bowling Greens.—These seem to have been favourite places
of resort with our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The completion
of one at the Union Tavern, Cherry Street, was announced March 26,
1792, but we read of another as attached to the Hen and Chickens, in
High Street, as early as 1741. There is a very fine bowling-green at
Aston Hall, and lovers of the old-fashioned game can be also
accommodated at Cannon Hill Park, and at several suburban hotels.

Boys’ Refuge is at corner of Bradford Street and Alcester
Street, and the Secretary will be glad of help.

Boyton.—Captain Boyton showed his life-preserving dress,
at the Reservoir, April 24, 1875.

Bracebridge.—A very ancient family, long connected with
this neighbourhood, for we read of Peter de Bracebrigg who married a
grand-daughter of the Earl of Warwick in A.D. 1100, and through her
inherited Kingsbury, an ancient residence of the Kings of Mercia. In
later days the Bracebridges became more intimately connected with this
town by the marriage in 1775 of Abraham Bracebridge, Esq., of
Atherstone, with Mary Elizabeth, the only child and heiress of Sir
Charles Holte, to whom the Aston estates ultimately reverted. Many
articles connected with the Holte family have been presented to
Birmingham by the descendants of this marriage.

Bradford Street takes its name from Henry Bradford, who, in
1767, advertised that he would give a freehold site to any man who
would build the first house therein.

Breweries.—In the days of old nearly
every publican and innkeeper was his own brewer, the fame of his house
depending almost solely on the quality of the “stingo” he
could pour out to his customers. The first local brewery on a large
scale appears to have been that erected in Moseley Street in 1782,
which even down to late years retained its cognomen of the Birmingham
Old Brewery. In 1817 another company opened a similar extensive
establishment at St. Peter’s Place, in Broad Street, and since
then a number of enterprising individuals have at times started in the
same track, but most have come grief, even in the case of those whose
capital was not classed under the modern term “limited.” The
principal local breweries now in existence are those of Messrs.
Holder, Mitchell, and Bates, in addition to the well-known Crosswells
Brewery of Messrs Walter Showell and Sons, noted in next paragraph.
The principal Vinegar Brewery in Birmingham is that of Messrs. Fardon
and Co. (Limited), in Glover Street, which was formed in 1860, and is
well worthy of the stranger’s visit. The annual output is about
850,000 gallons, there being storage for nearly a million gallons, and
36,000 casks to send the vinegar out in.

Brewery at Crosswells.—Though by far the most extensive
brewery supplying Birmingham, the Crosswells cannot claim to be more
than in the infancy of its establishment at present, as only twelve
years ago the many acres of ground now covered by its buildings formed
but part of an unenclosed piece of waste land. Nevertheless, the spot
was well-known and often visited in ancient times, on account of the
wonderful and miraculous cures said to have been effected by the free
use of the water gushing up from the depths of the springs to be found
there, and which the monks of old had christened “The Wells of
the Cross.” Be its medicinal qualities what they might in the
days before Harry the Eighth was king, the Cross Wells water retained
its name and fame for centuries after the monks were banished and the
burly king who drove them out had himself turned to dust. It has
always been acknowledged as one of the purest waters to be found in
the kingdom; but its peculiar and special adaptability to the brewing
of “good old English cheer” was left to be discovered by the
founder of the firm of Messrs. Walter Showell and Sons, who, as stated
before, some twelve years back, erected the nucleus of the present
extensive brewery. Starting with the sale of only a few hundred
barrels per week, the call for their ales soon forced the proprietors
to extend their premises in order that supply should meet demand. At
first doubled, then quadrupled, the brewery is now at least ten times
its original size; and a slight notion of the business carried on may
be gathered from the fact that the firm’s stock of barrels tots up
to nearly 60,000 and is being continually increased, extensive
cooperages, blacksmiths’ shops, &c., being attached to the
brewery, as well as malthouses, offices, and storehouses of all kinds.
The head offices of the firm, which are connected by telephone with
the brewery, as well as with the stores at Kingston Buildings,
Crescent Wharf, are situated in Great Charles Street, and thus the
Crosswells Brewery (though really at Langley Green, some half-dozen
miles away as the crow flies) becomes entitled to rank as a Birmingham
establishment, and certainly not one of the least, inasmuch as the
weekly sale of Crosswells ales for this town alone is more than 80,000
gallons per week.

Brickkiln Lane, now called the Horse Fair, gives its own
derivation.

Bright.—The Right Hon. John Bright, though not a
Birmingham man, nor connected with the town by any ties of personal
interest or business, has for the last quarter-century been the
leading member returned to Parliament as representing the borough, and
must always rank foremost among our men of note. Mr. Bright is the son
of the late Jacob Bright, of Greenbank, near Rochdale, and was born
November 16, 1811. He and his brother, Mr. Jacob Bright, M.P. for
Manchester, began business as partners in the affiliated firms of John
Bright and Brothers, cotton spinners and manufacturers, Rochdale, and
Bright and Co., carpet manufacturers, Rochdale and Manchester. At an
early age Mr. Bright showed a keen interest in politics, and took part
in the Reform agitation of 1831-32. In those days every householder
was compelled by law to pay the Church-rates levied in his parish,
whatever his religious creed might be, and it is said that Mr.
Bright’s first flights of oratory were delivered from a tombstone
in Rochdale church-yard in indignant denunciation of a tax which to
him, as a member of the Society of Friends, appeared especially
odious. It was not, however, till 1839, when he joined the Anti-Corn
Law League, that Mr. Bright’s reputation spread beyond his own
immediate neighbourhood; and there can be no doubt but that his fervid
addresses, coupled with the calmer and more logical speeches of Mr.
Cobden, contributed in an appreciable degree to the success of the
movement. In July, 1843, he was returned as M.P. for the city of
Durham, which he represented until the general election of 1847, when
he was the chosen of Manchester. For ten years he was Manchester’s
man in everything, but the side he took in regard to the Russian war
was so much at variance with the popular opinions of his constituents
that they at last turned on him, burnt his effigy in the streets, and
threw him out at the general election in March, 1857. At the death of
Mr. G.F. Muntz, in July following, Mr. Bright was almost unanimously
selected to fill his place as M.P. for this town, and for 25 years he
has continued to honour Birmingham by permitting us to call him
our member. (See “Parliamentary Elections.”) Mr. Bright has been
twice married, but is now a widower, and he has twice held office in
the Cabinet, first as President of the Board Of Trade, and more lately
as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Bristol Road.—Trees were first planted in this road in
the spring of 1853.

Britannia Metal.—A mixed metal formed of 90 parts of tin,
2 copper, and 8 antimony, brought into use about 1790, and long a
favourite with manufacturers and public alike. The introduction of
electroplating did much towards its extended make at first, but
latterly it has been in great measure, replaced by German silver and
other alloys.

British Association for the Advancement, of Science first met
in this town Aug. 26, 1839. They were here again Oct. 12, 1857, and
Sep. 6, 1865.

Brittle Street formerly ran from Livery Street to Snow Hill,
about the spot where now the entrance gates to the Station are.

Broad Street.—150 years ago part of what is now known as
Dale End was called Broad Street, the present thoroughfare of that
name then being only a pathway through the fields.

Brunswick Buildings.—Erected in New Street, by Mr. Samuel
Haines in 1854. A funny tale has been told about the original lease,
which included a covenant that at the expiration of the term of 100
years for which it was granted, the land was to be delivered up to the
Grammar School “well cropped with potatoes.” In 1760 New
Street was a new street indeed, for there were but a few
cottages with gardens there then, and the potatoe proviso was no doubt
thought a capital provision; but fancy growing that choice edibie
there in 1860!

Buck.—Henry Buck, P.G.M., and Sec. of the Birmingham
district of the Manchester Order of Oddfellows for twenty-five years,
died Jan. 22, 1876, aged 63. A granite obelisk to his memory in St.
Philip’s churchyard was unveiled Sep. 17, 1877.

Building Societies took early root here, as we find there were
several in 1781.—See “Friendly Societies.”

Buckles were worn as shoe fasteners in the reign of Charles
II.—See “Trades.”

Buttons.—Some interesting notes respecting the
manufacture of buttons will be found under the head of
“Trades.”

Bulgarian Atrocities, 1876-7.—A considerable amount of
“political capital” was made out of these occurrences, but
only £1,400 was subscribed here for the relief of the
unfortunates; while merely £540 could be raised towards helping
the thousands of poor Bosnian refugees driven from their homes by the
Russians in 1878, and of this sum £200 was given by one person.

Bullbaiting was prohibited in 1773 by Order in Council, and an
Act was passed in 1835, to put a stop to all baiting of bulls,
badgers, and bears. At Chapel Wake, 1798, some law-defying reprobates
started a bullbaiting on Snow Hill, but the Loyal Association of
Volunteers turned out, and with drums beating and colours flying soon
put the rebels to flight, pursuing them as far as Birmingham Heath,
where the baiters got a beating, the Loyals returning home in triumph
with the bull as a trophy. The last time this “sport” was
indulged in in this neighbourhood appears to have been early in
October, 1838, at Gib Heath, better known now as Nineveh Road.

Bull Lane was the name once given to that part of the present
Colmore Row between Livery Street and Snow Hill, though it has been
better known as Monmouth Street.

Bull Street.—Once called Chapel Street, as leading to the
chapel of the ancient Priory; afterwards named from the old inn known
as the Red Bull (No. 83).

Burial Grounds.—See “Cemeteries.”

Burns.—Excisemen, when Robert Burns was one of them, were
wont to carry pistols, and those the poet had were given him by one of
our gunmakers, Mr. Blair. They were afterwards bought by Allan
Cunningham, who gave them back to Burns’ widow.—Birmingham
lent its rill to the great river of homage to the genius of Burns
which flowed through the length and breadth of the civilised world on
the occasion of the Burns’ centenary in January, 1859. The most
interesting of the three or four meetings held here was one of a
semi-private nature, which took place at Aston Hall, and which
originated, not with Scotchmen, but with Englishmen. Some forty-five
or fifty gentlemen, only some half-dozen of whom were Scotch, sat down
to an excellent supper in the fine old room in which the Queen lunched
the previous year. The chairman was Mr. Samuel Timmins, and the
vice-chairman was Mr. Ross.

Cabs, Cars, and Carriages.—The hackney carriages, or
four-wheelers, of this town, have the credit of being superior to
those used in London, though the hansoms (notwithstanding their being
the inventions of one who should rank almost as a local
worthy—the architect of our Town Hall) are not up to the mark.
Prior to 1820 there were no regular stands for vehicles plying for
hire, those in New Street, Bull Street, and Colmore Row being laid in
that year, the first cabman’s license being dated June 11. The
first “Cabman’s Rest” was opened in Ratcliffe Place,
June 13, 1872, the cost (£65) being gathered by the cabman’s
friend, the Rev. Micarah Hill, who also, in 1875, helped them to start
an association for mutual assistance in cases of sickness or death.
There are sixteen of these “shelters” in the town, the
cabmen subscribing about £200 yearly towards expenses. As a
rule, the Birmingham cabmen are a civil and obliging body of men,
though now and then a little sharp practice may occur, as in the
instance of the stranger who, arriving in New Street Station one
evening last summer, desired to be taken to the Queen’s Hotel. His
luggage being properly secured, and himself safely ensconced, Mr.
Cabby cooly took the rug from his horse’s back, mounted his seat
and walked the animal through the gates back to the building the
stranger had just left, depositing his fare, and as calmly holding out
his hand for the customary shilling as if he had driven the full
distance of a mile and a half. The fares laid down by the bye-laws as
proper to be charged within the Borough, and within five miles from
the statue in Stephenson Place, in the Borough, are as follows:—

Calthorpe Park, Pershore road, has an area of 3la. 1r. 13p.,
and was given to the town in 1857 by Lord Calthorpe. Though never
legally conveyed to the Corporation, the Park is held under a grant
from the Calthorpe family, the effect of which is equivalent to a
conveyance in fee. The Duke of Cambridge performed the opening
ceremony in this our first public park.

Calthorpe Road was laid out for building in the year 1818, and
the fact is worthy of note as being the commencement of our local West
End.

Calico, Cotton, and Cloth.—In 1702 the printing or
wearing of printed calicoes was prohibited, and more strictly so in
1721, when cloth buttons and buttonholes were also forbidden. Fifty
years after, the requisites for manufacturing cotton or cotton cloth
were now allowed to be exported, and in 1785 a duty was imposed on all
cotton goods brought into the Kingdom. Strange as it may now appear,
there was once a “cotton-spinning mill” in Birmingham. The
first thread of cotton ever spun by rollers was produced in a small
house near Sutton Coldfield as early as the year 1700, and in 1741 the
inventor, John Wyatt, had a mill in the Upper Priory, where his
machine, containing fifty rollers, was turned by two donkeys walking
round an axis, like a horse in a modern clay mill. The manufacture,
however, did not succeed in this town, though carried on more or less
till the close of the century, Paul’s machine being advertised for
sale April 29, 1795. The Friends’ schoolroom now covers the site
of the cotton mill.

Canals.—The first Act for the
construction of the “cut” or canal in connection with
Birmingham was passed in 1761, that to Bilston being commenced in
1767. The delivery here of the first boat-load of coals (Nov. 6, 1769)
was hailed, and rightly so, as one of the greatest blessings that
could be conferred on the town, the immediate effect being a reduction
in the price to 6d per cwt, which in the following May came down to
4d. The cutting of the first sod towards making the Grand Junction
Canal took place July 26, 1766, and it was completed in 1790. In 1768
Briudley, the celebrated engineer, planned out the Birmingham and
Wolverhampton Canal, proposing to make it 22 miles long; but he did
not live to see it finished. The work was taken up by Smeaton and
Telford; the latter of whom calling it “a crooked ditch”
struck out a straight cut, reducing the length to 14 miles, increasing
the width to 40 feet, the bridges having each a span of 52 feet. The
“Summit” bridge was finished in 1879. The Fazeley Canal was
completed in 1783, and so successfully was it worked that in nine
years the shares were at a premium of £1170. In 1785 the
Birmingham, the Fazeley, and the Grand Junction Companies took up and
completed an extension to Coventry. The Birmingham and Worcester Canal
was commenced in 1,791, the cost being a little over £600,000,
and it was opened for through traffic July 21, 1815. By an agreement
of September 18, 1873, this canal was sold to the Gloucester and
Berkeley Canal Co. (otherwise the Sharpness Dock Co.), and has thus
lost its distinctive local name. The Birmingham and Warwick commenced
in 1793; was finished in 1800. Communication with Liverpool by water
was complete in 1826, the carriage of goods thereto which had
previously cost £5 per ton, being reduced to 30s. For a through
cut to London, a company was started in May, 1836, with a nominal
capital of £3,000,000, in £100 shares, and the first
cargoes were despatched in August, 1840. In April, 1840, an Act was
passed to unite the Wyrley and Essington Canal Co. with the Birmingham
Canal Co., leading to the extension, at a cost of over £120,000,
of the canal system to the lower side of the town. There are 2,800
miles of canals in England, and about 300 miles in Ireland. The total
length of what may properly be called Birmingham canals is about 130
miles, but if the branches in the “Black Country” be added
thereto, it will reach to near 250 miles. The first iron boat made its
appearance on canal waters July 24, 1787; the first propelled by steam
arrived here from London, September 29, 1826. The adaptation of steam
power to general canal traffic, however, was not carried to any great
extent, on account of the injury caused to the banks by the
“wash” from the paddles and screws, though, when railways
were first talked about, the possibility of an inland steam navigation
was much canvassed. When the Bill for the London and Birmingham
Railway was before Parliament, in 1833, some enterprising carriers
started (on Midsummer-day) an opposition in the shape of a stage-boat,
to run daily and do the distance, with goods and passengers, in 16
hours. The Birmingham and Liverpool Canal Company introduced steam
tugs in 1843. On Saturday, November 11, they despatched 16 boats, with
an aggregate load of 380 tons, to Liverpool, drawn by one small vessel
of 16-horse power, other engines taking up the “train” at
different parts of the voyage. Mr. Inshaw, in 1853, built a steamboat
for canals with a screw on each side of the rudder. It was made to
draw four boats with 40 tons of coal in each at two and a half miles
per hour, and the twin screws were to negative the surge, but the iron
horses of the rail soon put down, not only all such weak attempts at
competition, but almost the whole canal traffic itself, so far as
general merchandise and carriage of light goods and parcels was
concerned. “Flyboats” for passengers at one time ran a close
race with the coaches and omnibuses between here, Wolverhampton, and
other places, but they are old people now who can recollect travelling
in that manner in their youth.

Canal Accidents.—The banks of the Birmingham and
Worcester Canal, near Wheeley’s Road, gave way on May 26, 1872,
causing considerable damage to the properties near at hand. A similar
occurrence took place at Aston, July 20, 1875; and a third happened at
Solihull Lodge Valley, October 27, 1880, when about 80ft. of an
embankment 30-ft. high collapsed.

Canal Reservoir, better known as “The Reservoir,”
near Monument Lane, a popular place of resort, covers an area of 62A.
1R. 5P., and is three-quarters of a mile long. Visitors and others
fond of boating can be accommodated here to their heart’s content.

Cannon.—The first appearance of these instruments of
destruction in connection with the English army was in the time of
Edward III. in his wars with the Scotch and the French, the first
great battle of historical note in which they were used being that of
Cressy, in 1346. The manufacture of “small arms,” as they
are called, has been anything but a small feature in the trade history
of our past, but cannon-founding does not appear to have been much
carried on, though a local newspaper of 1836 mentioned that several
250 and 300-pounder guns were sent from here in that year for the
fortifications on the Dardanelles.

Cannon Hill Park covers an area of 57a. 1r. 9p., and was
presented to the town by Miss Ryland, the deed of conveyance bearing
date April 18th, 1873. The nearest route to this Park is by way of
Pershore Road and Edgbaston Lane, omnibuses going that way every
half-hour.

Caps.—The inventor of percussion caps is not known, but
we read of them as being made here as early as 1816, though they were
not introduced into “the service” until 1839. The
manufacture of these articles has several times led to great loss of
life among the workers, notes of which will be found under the head of
“Explosions.”
See also “Trades.”

Carlyle.—The celebrated philosopher, Thomas Carlyle,
resided here for a short time in 1824; and his notes about Birmingham
cannot but be worth preserving. Writing to his brother John under date
Aug. 10, he says:—

“Birmingham I have now tried for a reasonable time, and I
cannot complain of being tired of it. As a town it is pitiful
enough—a mean congeries of bricks, including one or two large
capitalists, some hundreds of minor ones, and, perhaps, a hundred
and twenty thousand sooty artisans in metals and chemical produce.
The streets are ill-built, ill-paved, always flimsy in their
aspect—often poor, sometimes miserable. Not above one or two
of them are paved with flagstones at the sides; and to walk upon
the little egg-shaped, slippery flints that supply their places is
something like a penance. Yet withal it is interesting for some of
the commons or lanes that spot and intersect the green, woody,
undulating environs to view this city of Tubal Cain. Torrents of
thick smoke, with ever and anon a burst of dingy flame, are issuing
from a thousand funnels. ‘A thousand hammers fall by
turns.’ You hear the clank of innumerable steam engines, the
rumbling of cars and vans, and the hum of men interrupted by the
sharper rattle of some canal boat loading or disloading, or,
perhaps, some fierce explosion when the cannon founders [qy: the
proof-house] are proving their new-made ware. I have seen their
rolling-mills, their polishing of teapots, and buttons and
gun-barrels, and lire-shovels, and swords, and all manner of toys
and tackle. I have looked into their ironworks where 150,000 men
are smelting the metal in a district a few miles to the north:
their coal mines, fit image, of Arvenus; their tubes and vats, as
large as country churches, full of copperas and aqua fortis and oil
of vitroil; and the whole is not without its attractions, as well
as repulsions, of which, when we meet, I will preach to you at
large.”

Carr’s Lane.—Originally this is believed to have been
known as “Goddes Cart Lane,” and was sufficiently steep to
be dangerous, as evidenced by accidents noted in past history.

Carr’s Lane Chapel, the meeting house of the old
Independents, or as they are now called, the Congregationalists, will
be noticed under “Places of Worship.”

Cartoons.—If some of our fore-fathers could but glance at
the illustrations or the portait caricatures of local public men and
their doings, now given us almost daily, we fear they would not credit
us moderns with much advancement in the way of political politeness,
however forward we may be in other respects. Many really good cartoons
have appeared, and neither side can be said to hold a monopoly
of such sketchy skilfulness, but one of the best (because most
truthful) was the cartoon issued in October 1868, giving the portrait
of a “Vote-as-you’re-told” electer, led by the nose by
his Daily Post.

Castle.—Birmingham Castle is named in an ancient document
as being situated a “bowshot southwestward of the church,”
but the exact site thereof has never been traced. It is supposed to
have been erected about the year 1140, and to have been demolished by
order of King Stephen, in 1176.

Castle Street takes its name from the hostlery once so famous
among our coach officers.

Catacombs.—There is a large number of massively-built
stone vaults underneath Christ Church, each divided into tiers of
catacombs, or receptacles for the dead. It is in one of these that the
remains of Baskerville at last found a resting place.—The
catacombs at the General Cemetery are many, being cut out of the
sandstone rock known as Key Hill, and a large number have been and can
be excavated underneath the church in the Warstone Lane Cemetery.

Cathedral.—See “Places of Worship—Catholic.”

Cat Shows.—The first Cat Show held here was opened
November 29th, 1873, and was a very successful speculation; but the
exhibitions of the two following years did not pay and since then the
grimalkins have been left at home.

Cattle Show.—As first started (in 1849,
when it was held near Kent Street), and at Bingley Hall in the
following year, this was an annual show of cattle, sheep, and pigs
only, but after years has made it a gathering place for specimens, of
nearly everything required on a farm, and the “Show” has
become an “Exhibition,” under which heading full
notice will be found.

Cemeteries.—The burial grounds
attached to the Churches were formerly the only places of interment
save for suicides and murderers—the former of whom were buried
at some cross-road, with a stake driven through the body, while the
latter were frequently hung in chains and got no burial at all. In
1807 the first addendum to our churchyards was made by the purchase of
13,192 square yards of land in Park Street, which cost £1,600.
Having been laid out and enclosed with substantial railed walls at a
further outlay of £764, the ground was duly consecrated July 16,
1813, and for some years was the chief receptacle for decaying
humanity of all classes, many thousands of whom were there deposited.
By degrees the ground came to be looked upon as only fit for the
poorest of the poor, until, after being divided by the railway, this
“God’s Acre” was cared fir by none, and was well called
the “black spot” of the town. Since the passing of the
Closed Burial Grounds Bill (March 18, 1878) the Corporations have
taken possession, and at considerable expense have re-walled the
enclosure and laid it out as a place of health resort for the children
of the neighbourhood. The burial grounds of St. Bartholomew’s, St.
Martin’s, St. Mary’s, and St. George’s have also been
carefully and tastefully improved in appearance, and we can now
venture to look at most of our churchyards without shame.

The General Cemetery at Key Hill was originated at a meeting held Oct.
18, 1832, when a proprietary Company was formed, and a capital fixed
at £12,000, in shares of £10 each. The total area of the
property is about twelve acres, eight of which are laid out for
general burials, in a edition to the catacombs cut into the sandstone
rock.

The Church of England Cemetery in Warstone Lane is also the property
of a private Company, having a capital of £20,000 in £10
shares. The area is nearly fifteen acres, the whole of which was
consecrated as a burial ground for the Church on August 20, 1848.

The Catholic Cemetery of St. Joseph, at Nechell’s Green, received
its first consignment in 1850.

The introduction and extension of railways have played sad havoc with
a number of the old burial grounds belonging to our forefathers. As
mentioned above the London and North Western took a slice out of Park
Street Cemetery. The Great Western cleared the Quakers’ burial
ground in Monmouth Street (where the Arcade now stands) the remains of
the departed Friends being removed to their chapel yard in Bull
Street, and a curious tale has been told in connection therewith. It
is said that the representative of the Society of Friends was a proper
man of business, as, indeed, most of them are, and that he drove
rather a hard bargain with the railway directors, who at last were
obliged to give in to what they considered to be an exorbitant demand
for such a small bit of freehold. The agreement was made and the
contract signed, and Friend Broadbrim went on his way rejoicing; but
not for long. In selling the land he apparently forgot that the land
contained bones, for when the question of removing the dead was
mooted, the Quaker found he had to pay back a goodly portion of the
purchase money before he obtained permission to do so. In clearing the
old streets away to make room for New Street Station, in 1846, the
London and North Western found a small Jewish Cemetery in what was
then known as the “Froggery,” but which had long been
disused. The descendants of Israel carefully gathered the bones and
reinterred them in their later-dated cemetery in Granville Street, but
even here they did not find their last resting-place, for when, a few
years back, the Midland made the West Suburban line, it became
necessary to clear out this ground also, and the much-disturbed
remains of the poor Hebrews were removed to Witton. The third and last
of the Jewish Cemeteries, that in Betholom Row, which was first used
in or about 1825, and has long been full, is also doomed to make way
for the extension of the same line.—During the year 1883 the
time-honoured old Meeting-house yard, where Poet Freeth, and many
another local worthy, were laid to rest, has been carted
off—dust and ashes, tombs and tombstones—to the great
graveyard at Witton, where Christian and Infidel, Jew and Gentile, it
is to be hoped, will be left at peace till the end of the world.

In 1860, the Corporation purchased 105 acres of land at Witton for the
Borough Cemetery. The foundation stones of two chapels were laid
August 12, 1861, and the Cemetery was opened May 27, 1863, the total
cost being nearly £40,000. Of the 105 acres, 53 are consecrated
to the use of the Church of England, 35 laid out for Dissenters, and
14 set aside for Catholics and Jews.

Census.—The numbering of the people by a regular and
systematic plan once in every ten years, only came into operation in
1801, and the most interesting returns, as connected with this town
and its immediate neighbourhood, will be found under the heading of
“Population.”

Centre of Birmingham.—As defined by the authorities for
the settlement of any question of distance, Attwood’s statue at
the top of Stephenson Place, in New Street, is reckoned as the central
spot of the borough. In olden days, Nelson’s monument, and prior
to that, the Old Cross, in the Bull Ring, was taken as the centre. As
an absolute matter of fact, so far as the irregular shape of the
borough area will allow of such a measurement being made, the central
spot is covered by Messrs. Harris and Norton’s warehouse in
Corporation Street.

Centenarians.—John Harman, better known as Bishop Vesey,
died in 1555, in his 103rd year. James Sands, who died at Harborne in
1625, was said to have been 140 years old, and his wife lived to be
120. Joseph Stanley, of Aston, died in May, 1761, in his 106th year.
Wesley, under date of March 19, 1768, wrote of having seen George
Bridgens, then in his 107th year; Hutton, in noticing the long life of
Bridgens, also mentions one John Pitt who lived to be 100, a Mrs.
Moore who reached 104, and an old market man who completed his 107th
year. A Mr. Clarkson died here, in February, 1733, aged 112. William
Jennens, the Jennens of untold, but much coveted, wealth, died
in June, 1798, aged 103. John Roberts, of Digbeth, had a family of
twenty-eight children, six by his third wife, whom he married when
nearly eighty, and lived to see his 103rd year, in 1792, dying July 6.
Thomas Taylor, a cobbler, stuck to his last until a week of his death,
July 8, 1796, at 103. T. Blakemore died November 12, 1837, aged 105.
Mrs. E. Bailey, founder of the Female Charity School, was also 105 at
her death, December 2, 1854. Another old lady was Elizabeth Taylor,
who died at Sparkbrook, March 5, 1864, aged 104 years. Mary Hemming,
of Moseley Wake Green, died December 5, 1881, in her 104th year.

Centenary Celebrations, more or less worthy of note, are
continuously recurring, and the date of some few are here preserved.
Our loyal grandfathers honoured the hundredth, anniversary of the
Revolution of 1688, by a public dinner, November 4, 1788. Old Bluecoat
boys in like manner kept the centenary of their school, August 24,
1824. Admirers of the Philosopher Priestley chose All Fools’ Day,
1831, as the fitting day to celebrate the anniversary of his birth.
The Centenary of the Protestant Dissenting Charity Schools was
worthily celebrated by the raising of a special sum amounting to
£1,305, as an addition to the funds. In January, 1859, Robert
Burns’ anniversary was remembered by the holding a supper in Aston
Hall, at which only half-a-dozen Scotchmen were present out of
half-a-hundred guests. The Dissenting Ministers of this and the
neighbouring counties, who, for a hundred years, have met together
once a month, celebrated the event by a quiet luncheon-dinner,
December 13, 1882. The Tercentenary of the Free Grammar School was
celebrated with learned speeches April 16, 1852; that of Good Queen
Bess, by a public prayer meeting, November 16, 1858; and that of
Shakespeare, April 23, 1864, by the founding of a Shakespeare Memorial
Library. The thousandth anniversary of Alfred the Great, October 29,
1849, was made much of by the Political Knowledge Association, which
had not been in existence it thousand days. The fact of John Bright
being M.P. for Birmingham for a quarter of a century, was celebrated
in June, 1883, by the Liberal Association, who got up a
“monster” procession in imitation of the celebrated Attwood
procession of the old days of Reform. The holiday was most thoroughly
enjoyed by the public generally, and immense numbers of people
thronged the streets to hear the bands and see what was to be seen.

Chamberlain Memorial.—See “Statues,” &c.

Chamber of Commerce.—In 1783 there was a “Standing
General Commercial Committee,” composed of the leading merchants
and Manufacturers, who undertook the duty of looking after the public
interests of the town (not forgetting their own peculiarly private
ditto). That they were not so Liberal as their compeers of to-day may
be gathered from the fact of their strongly opposing the exportation
of brass, and on no account permitting a workman to go abroad.

Chamber of Manufacturers.—When Pitt, in 1784, proposed to
tax coal, iron, copper, and other raw materials, he encountered a
strong opposition from the manufacturers, prominent among whom were
Boulton (Soho), Wilkinson (Bradley), and Wedgwood (Potteries), who
formed a “Chamber,” the first meeting of which was held here
in February, 1785. The Minister was induced to alter his mind.

Chandeliers.—Many beautiful works of art have been
manufactured in this town, which, though the wonder and admiration of
strangers, receive but faint notice here, and find no record except in
the newspaper of the day or a work like the present. Among such may be
ranked the superb brass chandelier which Mr. R.W. Winfield sent to
Osborne in 1853 for Her Majesty, the Queen. Designed in the Italian
style, this fine specimen of the brassworkers’ skill, relieved by
burnishing and light matted work, ornamented with figures of Peace,
Plenty, and Love in purest Parian, masks of female faces typical of
night, and otherwise decorated in the richest manner, was declared by
the late Prince Consort as the finest work he had ever seen made in
this country and worthy to rank with that of the masters of old. Not
so fortunate was Mr. Collis with the “Clarence chandelier”
and sideboard he exhibited at the Exhibition of 1862. Originally made
of the richest ruby cut and gilded glass for William IV., it was not
finished before that monarch’s death, and was left on the
maker’s hand. Its cost was nearly £1,000, but at the final
sale of Mr. Collis’s effects in Dec. 1881 it was sold for
£5.

Chapels and Churches.—See “Places of Worship.”

Charity.—Charitable collections were made in this
neighbourhood in 1655, for the Redmontese Protestants, Birmingham
giving £15 11s. 2d., Sutton Coldfield £14, and Aston
£4 14s. 2d. On the 6th of June, 1690, £13 18s. 1-1/2d.
were collected at St. Martin’s “for ye Irish
Protestants.” In 1764 some Christmas performances were given for
the relief of aged and distressed housekeepers, and the charitable
custom thus inaugurated was kept up for over seventy years. In the
days of monks and monasteries, the poor and needy, the halt and lame,
received charitable doles at the hands of the former and at the gates
of the latter, but it would be questionable how far the liberality of
the parsons, priests, and preachers of the present day would go were
the same system now in vogue. It has been estimated that nearly
£5,000 is given every year in what may be called the
indiscriminate charity of giving alms to those who ask it in the
streets or from door to door. By far the largest portion of this
amount goes into the hands of the undeserving and the worthless, and
the formation of a central relief office, into which the
charitably-disposed may hand in their contributions, and from whence
the really poor and deserving may receive help in times of distress,
has been a long felt want. In 1869 a “Charity Organisation
Society” was established here, and it is still in existence, but
it does not appear to meet with that recognised support which such an
institution as suggested requires. In 1882 a special fund was started
for the purpose of giving aid to women left with children, and about
£380 was subscribed thereto, while the ordinary income was only
£680. The special fund can hardly be said as yet to have got
into working order, but when the cost of proving the property of the
recipients, with the necessary expenses of office rent, salaries,
&c., have been deducted from the ordinary income, the amount left
to be distributed among the persons deemed by the officials deserving
of assistance is small indeed, the expenses reaching about £330
per year. In 1880 it cost £329 18s. 4d. to give away food, cash,
and clothing, &c., valued at £386 16s. 6d., an apparent
anomally which would not be so glaring if the kind-hearted and
charitable would only increase the income of the Society, or
re-organise it upon a wider basis.—For statistics of poverty and
the poor see “Pauperism” and “Poor Rates.”

Charitable Trusts.—See “Philanthropical Institutions,” &c.

Chartism.—Following the great Reform
movement of 1832, in which Birmingham led the van, came years of bad
harvests, bad trade, and bitter distress. The great Chartist movement,
though not supported by the leaders of the local Liberal party, was
taken up with a warmth almost unequalled in any other town in the
Kingdom, meetings being held daily and nightly for months in
succession, Feargus O’Connor, Henry Vincent, and many other
“orators of the fiery tongue,” taking part. On the 13th of
August, 1838, a monstre demonstration took place on Holloway Head, at
which it was reckoned there were over 100,000 persons present, and a
petition in favour of “The Charter” was adopted that
received the signatures of 95,000 people in a few days. The Chartist
“National Convention” met here May 13, 1839, and noisy
assemblages almost daily affrighted the respectable townsmen out of
their propriety. It was advised that the people should abstain from
all exciseable articles, and “run for gold” upon the savings
banks—very good advice when given by Attwood in 1832, but
shockingly wicked in 1839 when given to people who could have had but
little in the savings or any other banks. This, and the meetings which
ensued, so alarmed the magistrates for the safety of property that, in
addition to swearing in hundreds of special constables, they sent to
London for a body of police. These arrived on July 4, and
unfortunately at the time a stormy meeting was being held in the Bull
Ring, which they were at once set to disperse, a work soon
accomplished by the free use they made of their staves. The indignant
Brums, however, soon rallied and drove the police into the Station,
several being wounded on either side. The latent fury thus engendered
burst out in full force on the 15th when the notorious Chartist Riots
commenced, but the scenes then enacted, disgraceful as they were, may
well be left in oblivion, especially as the best of “the
points” of the Charter are now part of the laws of the land.
Besides many others who were punished more or less, two of the
leaders, Wm. Lovett and John Collins, were sentenced to one year’s
imprisonment for a seditious libel in saying that “the people of
Birmingham were the best judges of their own rights to meet in the
Bull Ring, and the best judges of their own power and resources to
obtain justice.” On the 27th July, 1849, Lovett and Collins were
accorded a public welcome on their release from prison, being met at
the Angel by a crowd of vehicles, bands of music, &c., and a
procession (said to have numbered nearly 30,000), accompanied them to
Gosta Green where speeches were delivered; a dinner, at which 800
persons sat down, following on the site of “The People’s Hall
of Science,” in Loveday Street. In 1841, Joseph Sturge gave in
his adhesion to some movement for the extension of the franchise to
the working classes, and at his suggestion a meeting was held at the
Waterloo Rooms (Feb. 25th, 1842), and a memorial to the Queen drawn
up, which in less than a month received 16,000 signatures. On the 5th
of April, 87 delegates from various parts of England, Ireland, and
Scotland, assembled here, and after four days’ sitting formed
themselves into “The National Complete Suffrage Union,”
whose “points” were similar to those of the Charter, viz.,
manhood suffrage, abolition of the property qualification, vote by
ballot, equal electoral districts, payment of election expenses and of
members, and annual Parliaments. On the 27th of December, another
Conference was held (at the Mechanics’ Institute), at which nearly
400 delegates were present, but the apple of discord had been
introduced, and the “Complete Suffrage Union” was
pooh-poohed by the advocates of “the Charter, the whole Charter,
and nothing but the Charter,” and our peace-loving townsman, whom
The Times had dubbed “the Birmingham Quaker
Chartist,” retired from the scene. From that time until the final
collapse of the Chartist movement, notwithstanding many meetings were
held, and strong language often used, Birmingham cannot be said to
have taken much part in it, though, in 1848 (August 15th), George J.
Mantle, George White, and Edward King, three local worthies in the
cause, found themselves in custody for using seditious language.

Chauntries.—In 1330 Walter of Clodeshale, and in 1347
Richard of Clodeshale, the “Lords of Saltley,” founded and
endowed each a Chauntry in old St. Martin’s Church, wherein daily
services should be performed for themselves, their wives, and
ancestors, in their passage through purgatory. In like manner, in
1357, Philip de Lutteley gave to the Lutteley chantry in Enville
Church, a parcel of land called Morfe Woode, “for the health of
his soul, and the souls of all the maintained of the said
chantry;” and in 1370 he gave other lands to the chantry,
“for the priest to pray at the altar of St. Mary for the health
of his soul, and Maud his wife, and of Sir Fulke de Birmingham,”
and of other benefactors recited in the deed. It is to be devoutly
hoped that the souls of the devisees and their friends had arrived
safely at their journeys’ end before Harry the Eighth’s time,
for he stopped the prayers by stopping the supplies.

Cherry Street took its name from the large and fruitful cherry
orchard which we read of as being a favourite spot about the year
1794.

Chess.—See “Sports and Sporting.”

Chicago Fire.—The sum of £4,300 was subscribed and
sent from here towards relieving the sufferers by this calamity.

Children.—A society known as “The Neglected
Children’s Aid Society,” was founded in 1862, by Mr. Arthur
Ryland, for the purpose of looking after and taking care of children
under fourteen found wandering or begging, homeless or without proper
guardianship. It was the means of rescuing hundreds from the paths of
dishonesty and wretchedness, but as its work was in a great measure
taken up by the School Board, the society was dissolved Dec. 17, 1877.
Mr. Thos. Middlemore, in 1872, pitying the condition of the
unfortunate waifs and strays known as “Street Arabs,” took a
house in St. Luke’s Road for boys, and one in Spring Road for
girls, and here he has trained nearly a thousand poor children in ways
of cleanliness and good behaviour prior to taking the larger part of
them to Canada. A somewhat similar work, though on a smaller scale, is
being carried on by Mr. D. Smith, in connection with the mission
attached to the Bloomsbury Institution. In both instances the children
are found good homes, and placed with worthy people on their arrival
in Canada, and, with scarcely an exception all are doing well. The
total cost per head while at the Homes and including the passage money
is about £16, and subscriptions will be welcomed, so that the
work of the Institutions may be extended as much as possible.

Chimes.—The earliest note we can find respecting the
chimes in the tower of St. Martin’s is in a record dated 1552,
which states there were “iiij belles, with a clocke, and a
chyme.”

Chimnies.—Like all manufacturing towns Birmingham is
pretty well ornamented with tall chimnies, whose foul mouths belch
forth clouds of sooty blackness, but the loftiest and most substantial
belongs to the town itself. At the Corporation Wharf in Montague
Street the “stack” is 258 feet in height, with a base 54
feet in circumference, and an inside diameter of 12 feet. About
250,000 bricks were used in its construction, which was completed in
September, 1879.—Householders of an economical turn must
remember it is not always the cheapest plan to clean their chimnies by
“burning them out,” for in addition to the danger and risk
of damage by so doing, the authorities of Moor Street have the
peculiar custom of imposing a penalty (generally 10s.) when such cases
are brought before them. Should such an event occur by mischance keep
all doors and windows shut, and do not admit the sweeps who may come
knocking at your door, unless fully prepared with the half-crowns they
require as bribes not to tell the police. As a rule it is cheaper to
trust to “Robert” not seeing it.

China Temple Field was a noted place for amusements about the
year 1820, and was situate where Cattell Road is now. Originally it
formed part of the grounds of Bordesley Hall, which was wrecked in the
riots of 1791.

Choral Society.—This Society held its first Choral
Concert, August 2, 1836. The Festival Choral Society was established
in 1845.

Cholera.—This dreadful epidemic has never yet been felt
in severity in this town, though several fatal cases were reported in
August, 1832. In July, 1865, great alarm was caused by the fact of 243
inmates of the Workhouse being attacked with choleraic symptoms, but
they all recovered.

Church Pastoral Aid Society.—There is a local branch of
this Society here, and about £1,300 per annum is gathered in and
forwarded to the parent society, who in return grant sums in aid of
the stipends of thirty Curates and as many Scripture readers,
amounting to nearly £4,700 per year.

Churchrates.—Prior to 1831, Churchrates had been
regularly levied, and, to a great extent, cheerfully paid, but with
the other reforms of that Reforming age came the desire to re-form
this impost, by doing away with it altogether, and at a meeting held
on August 7, 1832, the ratepayers assembled not only denounced it, but
petitioned Parliament for its entire abolition. Between that year and
1837, Churchrates of 6d. to 9d. in the £ were not at all
infrequent, but in the latter year there was a sweet little row, which
led to an alteration. At a vestry meeting held March 28, the
redoubtable George Frederick Muntz, with George Edmonds, and other
“advanced” men of the times, demanded a personal examination
of the books, &c., &c., with the result doubtless anticipated
and wished for—a general shindy, free fight, and tumult. For his
share in the riot, G.F.M. was put on his trial in the following year
(March 30 to April 1) and had to pay over £2,000 in the shape of
costs, but he may be said to have won something after all, for a
better feeling gradually took the place of rancour, and a system of
“voluntary” rates—notably one for the rebuilding of
St. Martin’s—was happily brought to work. The Bill for the
abolition of Churchrates was passed July 13, 1868.

Church Street.—In 1764 at Warwick a legal battle was
fought as to a right of way through the New Hall Park, the path in
dispute being the site of the present Church Street.

Circuses.—The first notice we have of any circus visiting
Birmingham is that of Astley’s which came here October 7, 1787. In
1815 Messrs. Adams gave performances in a “new equestrian circus
on the Moat,” and it has interest in the fact that this was the
first appearance locally of Mr. Ryan, a young Irishman, then described
as “indisputably the first tight-rope dancer in the world of his
age.” Mr. Ryan, a few years later, started a circus on his own
account, and after a few years of tent performances, which put money
in his pocket, ventured on the speculation of building a permanent
structure in Bradford-street, opening his “New Grand Arena”
there in 1827. Unfortunately, this proved a failure, and poor Ryan
went to the wall. The circus (known now as the Circus Chapel), long
lay empty, but was again re-opened May 19, 1838, as an amphitheatre,
but not successfully. In 1839 the celebrated Van Amburgh, whose
establishment combined the attractions of a circus and a menagerie,
visited this town, and his performances were held, rather strangely,
at the Theatre Royal. On the night of the Bull Ring Riots, July 15th,
when there was “a full house,” the startling news that a
number of buildings were on fire, &c., was shouted out just at the
moment that Van Amburgh was on the stage with a number of his
well-trained animals. He himself was reclining on the boards, his head
resting on the sides of a tawny lion, while in his arms was a
beautiful child, four or five years old, playing with the ears of the
animal. The intelligence naturally caused great excitement, but the
performer went quietly on, hoisting the little darling to his
shoulder, and putting his animals through their tricks as calmly as if
nothing whatever was the matter. In 1842, Ducrow’s famous troupe
came, and once again opened Ryan’s Circus in the Easter week, and
that was the last time the building was used for the purpose it was
originally erected for. Cooke’s, Hengler’s, Newsome’s, and
Sanger’s periodical visits are matters of modern date. The new
building erected by Mr. W.R. Inshaw, at foot of Snow Hill, for the
purposes of a Concert Hall, will be adaptable as a Circus.

Climate.—From the central position in which Birmingham is
situated, and its comparative elevation, the town has always been
characterised as one of the healthiest in the kingdom. Dr. Priestley
said the air breathed here was as pure as any he had analysed. Were he
alive now and in the habit of visiting the neighbourhood of some of
our rolling mills, &c., it is possible he might return a different
verdict, but nevertheless the fact remains that the rates of mortality
still contrast most favourably as against other large manufacturing
towns.

Clocks.—One of Boulton’s specialties was the
manufacture of clocks, but it was one of the few branches that did not
pay him. Two of his finest astronomical clocks were bought by the
Empress of Russia, after being offered for sale in this country in
vain. His friend, Dr. Small, is said to have invented a timepiece
containing but a single wheel. The “town clocks” of the
present day are only worth notice on account of their regular
irregularity, and those who wish to be always “up to the time
o’ day,” had best set their watches by the instrument placed
in the wall of the Midland Institute. The dome of the Council House
would be a grand position in which to place a really good clock, and
if the dials were fitted with electric lights it would be useful at
all hours, from near and far.

Clubs.—No place in the kingdom can record the
establishment of more clubs than Birmingham, be they Friendly Clubs,
Money Clubs (so-called), or the more taking Political Clubs, and it
would be a hard task to name them all, or say how they flourished, or
dropped and withered. In the years 1850-60 it was estimated that at
publichouses and coffeehouses there were not less than 180 Money
Clubs, the members paying in weekly or fortnightly subscriptions of
varying amount for shares £5 to £100, and though there
cannot be the slightest doubt that many of our present mastermen owe
their success in life to this kind of mutual help, the spirit of
gambling in money shares proved, on the whole, to be disastrous to the
members who went in for good interest on their deposits. Of Friendly
Clubs we shall have something to say under another beading. Respecting
the Political Clubs and those of a general nature we may say that the
earliest we have note of is the “Church and King Club,”
whose first meeting was held at the Royal Hotel, Nov. 27, 1792. Of a
slightly different nature was the “Hampden Club,”
established in 1815, but which was closed by the suspension of the
Habeas Corpus Act in 1817. During the troublous times of 1830-40, many
clubs, or “smoke-room palavers,” existed, but, perhaps the
only one that really showed results was the Branch Club (or local
agency), connected with the Land Scheme of Feargus O’Connor [see
“Land
Societies“], and that ultimately dwindled to naught. On
July 5, 1847, a club on the plan of the London “Whittington”
was started here, but when or why it ended deponent knoweth
not.—The Union Clubhouse, corner of Newhall Street and Colmore
Row, which cost £16,000, was built in 1868-9, being opened May
3rd of the latter year. This must be considered as the chief neutral
ground in local club matters, gentlemen of all shades of politics,
&c., being members. The number of members is limited to 400, with
50 “temporary” members, the entrance fee being £15
15s., and the annual subscription £7 7s.—The Town and
District Club, opened at the Shakespeare Rooms, in August, 1876, also
started on the non-political theory: the town members paying £3
3s per annum, and country members a guinea or guinea and half,
according to their residence being within 25 or 100 miles.—A
Liberal Club was founded October 16, 1873, under the auspices of Mr.
Joseph Chamberlain and took possession of its present rooms in
Corporation Street, January 20, 1880, pending the completion of the
palatial edifice now in course of erection in Edmund Street, at the
corner of Congreve Street. The “Forward Liberal Club,”
opened in Great Hampton Street, October 30, 1880. A “Junior
Liberal Club” celebrated their establishment by a meeting in the
Town Hall, November 16, 1880. The Conservatives, of course, have not
been at all backward in Club matters, for there has been some
institution or other of the kind connected with the party for the last
hundred years. The Midland Conservative Club was started July 4, 1872,
and has its head-quarters now in Waterloo-street, the old County Court
buildings being remodelled for the purpose. A Junior Conservative Club
opened in Castle Street, June 25, 1874; a Young Men’s Conservative
Club commenced July 26, 1876; the Belmont Conservative Club, July 30,
1877; and the Hampton Conservative Club, August 21st of same year. In
fact, every ward in the borough, and every parish and hamlet in the
suburbs now has its Conservative and Liberal Club; the workingmen
having also had their turn at Club-making, the Birmingham Heath
working men opening up shop, August 25, 1864; the Saltley boys in
October, 1868; the St. Albanites following suit December 1, 1873; and
the Ladywood men, November 30, 1878. A Club of more pretentious
character, and called par excellence “The
Working-man’s Club,” was begun July 20, 1863, but the
industriously-inclined members thereof did not work together well, and
allowed the affair to drop through. Backed by several would-be-thought
friends of the working class, another “Working Men’s
Club” sprung into existence April 29, 1875, with a nominal
capital of £2,500 in 10s. shares. Rooms were opened in Corn
Exchange Passage on the 31st of May, and for a time all promised well.
Unfortunately the half-sovereigns did not come in very fast, and the
landlord, though he knew “Nap” to be a very favourite game,
did not choose, to be caught napping, and therefore “took his
rest” at the end of the fifth half-year, and in so doing rent the
whole fabric of the club.—The Edgbaston Art Club was organised
in 1878; the Chess Club in 1841; the Germania Club in 1856; the
Gymnastic Club in 1866; the Dramatic Club in May, 1865; the
Farmer’s Club in May, 1864, the Pigeon flying Club at
Quilter’s in 1875, &c., &c. Club law has great attractions
for the Brums—every profession and every trade hath its club,
and all the “fanciers” of every sort and kind club by
themselves, till their name is “Legion.”

Coaches.—From its being situated as it were in the very
heart of the kingdom, Birmingham, in the olden days, and it is but
fifty years ago, was an important converging central-point of the
great mailcoach system, and a few notes in connection therewith cannot
be uninteresting. Time was when even coaching was not known, for have
we not read how long it took ere the tidings of Prince Rupert’s
attack on our town reached London. A great fear seems to have
possessed the minds of the powers that were in regard to any kind of
quick transmission whatever, for in the year 1673 it was actually
proposed “to suppress the public coaches that ran within fifty or
sixty miles of London,” and to limit all the other vehicles to a
speed of “thirty miles per day in summer, and twenty-five in
winter”—for what might not be dreaded from such an
announcement as that “that remarkable swift travelling coach,
‘The Fly,’ would leave Birmingham on Mondays and reach London
on the Thursdays following.” Prior to and about 1738, an
occasional coach was put on the road, but not as a regular and
periodical conveyance, the fare to London being 25 shillings,
“children on lap, and footmen behind, being charged
half-price.” A “Flying Coach” commenced running direct
to the Metropolis on May 28th, 1745, and was evidently thought to be
an event of some importance, as it was advertised to do the distance
in two days “if the roads permitted.” In July, 1782, the
same journey was accomplished in 14 hours, showing a great improvement
in the arrangements of the road. The first mail coaches for the
conveyance of letters was started by Mr. Palmer, of Bath, in 1784, the
earliest noticed as passing through here being on August 23, 1785, but
the first direct mail from this town dates only from May 25, 1812. In
February, 1795, the Western mailcoaches were delayed nearly a week
together in consequence of a rapid thaw rendering the roads
impassable. In 1777 fifty-two coaches passed through here to London
and sixteen to Bristol every week. In 1829 at least 100 departed from
or passed through the town daily, 550 persons travelling between here
and London. In 1832 Mr. Lecount estimated the general results of the
road and canal traffic between here and London as follows: Pessengers,
233,155; goods, 62,389 tons; parcels, 46,799; beasts, 50,839; sheep,
365,000; pigs, 15,364; the amount expended in cost of transit being
£1,338,217. In 1837 it was estimated that £6,789 was
received per week from coach passengers on the road from here to
London, £1,571 for parcels per coach, and £729 from
persons posting along the same roads; and that £8,120 was
received for goods by canals and waggons, not including iron, timber,
cattle, minerals, or other goods at low tonnage—£17,209
per week. There was, notwithstanding the large number of
coaches leaving here every day, no direct conveyance from Birmingham
to Edinburgh. The best and usual route was by Walsall, Manchester,
Preston, and Carlisle; distances and times being, Manchester, 78-1/2
miles, 8 hours, fare, 14s.; Manchester to Carlisle, 118 miles, 12
hours 55 minutes by the mail, including stoppage of fifty minutes at
Preston for post office purposes, fare, £1 2s. 6d.; Carlisle to
Edinburgh, 95 miles, 9 hours 35 minutes, fare, 18s.; coachmen and
guards’ fees about 15s.; all hotel charges, &c., were paid by
the passenger. Total distance, 291-1/2 miles; travelling time, 30-1/2
hours; cost, £3 9s. 6d., in all. The mail coach which left the
Albion reached London in 10-1/2 hours, which would be reckoned as very
good travelling, even in these days. For some time after the
introduction of railways, the coaching interest was still of some
account, for as late as 1840 there were 54 coaches and omnibuses
running from here every 24 hours.— There has been a kind of
modern revival of the good old coaching days, but it has not become
popular in this part of the country, though quite a summer feature on
the Brighton Road. A four-in-hand, driven by the Earl of Aylesford,
was put on the road from here to Coventry, at latter end of April,
1878; and another ran for part of the summer, in 1880, to Leamington.
The introduction of railways set many persons to work on the making of
“steam coaches” to travel on the highways. Captain Ogle
coming here on one of his own inventing September 8th, 1832, direct
from Oxford, having travelled at from ten to fourteen miles per hour.
Our local geniuses were not behindhand, and Messrs. Heaton Bros., and
the well-known Dr. Church brought out machines for the purpose. Both
parties started joint-stock companies to carry out their inventions,
and in that respect both parties succeeded, for such was the run for
shares, that in June, 1833, when Heatons’ prospectus came out,
offering to the public 2,000 £10 shares, no less than 3,000 were
asked for in one day. There was also a third company in the field, the
“London, Birmingham, and Liverpool,” with a nominal capital
of £300,000; but none of them prospered; for though they could
construct the engines and the coaches, they could not make receipts
cover expenses. Heatons’ ran theirs for some little time to
Wolverhampton and back, and even to the Lickey; the Doctor came out
every month with something new; and even the big Co. managed to bring
one carriage all the way from London (August 28th, 1835). Others
besides Captain Ogle also came here on their iron horses, and there
was plenty of fun and interest for the lookers-on generally— but
no trade and no interest for the speculators. For steam coaches of the
present day, see “Tramways.”

Coal was not in common use much before 1625, and for a long
time was rather shunned by householders, more especially in the rural
parts where the black diamonds were looked upon as something
altogether uncanny. Prior to the opening of the first canal, the roads
leading from the Black Country daily presented the curious feature of
an almost unending procession of carts and waggons bringing the
supplies needed by our manufacturers, and high prices were the rule of
the day. The first boatload was brought in on November 6th, 1769, and
soon after the price of coal at the wharf was as low as 4d. per
cwt.—See “Trades.”

Cobbett delivered a lecture on the Corn Laws, &c., at
Beardsworth’s Repository, May 10 1830.

Cobden.—There was a general closing of places of business
here on April 6, 1865, the day on which Richard Cobden was buried.

Cockfighting.—Aris’s Gazette of December 26,
1780, announced in one of its advertisements that “the Annual
Subscription Match of Cocks” would be fought at Duddeston Hall,
commonly called “Vauxhall,” on the New Year’s day and
day after.—The same paper printed an account of another
Cockfight, at Sutton, as late as April 17, 1875.

Coffeehouses.—Coffee, which takes its name from the
Abyssinian province of Kaffa, was introduced into this country in the
early part of the 17th century, the first coffeehouse being opened in
London in 1652. Until very late years coffeehouses in provincial towns
were more noted for their stuffy untidiness than aught else, those of
Birmingham not excepted, but quite a change has come o’er the
scene now, and with all the brave glitter of paint and glaring gas
they attempt to rival the public-houses. The Birmingham Coffeehouse
Company, Limited (originally miscalled The Artizan’s Clubhouse
Company), which came into existence March 27, 1877, with a capital of
£20,000 in 10s. shares, has now near upon a score of houses
open, and their business is so successful that very fair dividends are
realised.

Coffins.—Excluding textile fabrics and agricultural
produce, Birmingham supplies almost every article necessary for the
comfort of man’s life, and it is therefore not surprising that
some little attention has been given to the construction of the
“casket” which is to enclose his remains when dead. Coffins
of wood, stone, lead, &c., have been known for centuries, but
coffins of glass and coffins of brass must be ranked amongst the
curiosities of our later trades. Two of the latter kind polished,
lacquered, and decorated in a variety of ways, with massive handles
and emblazoned shields, were made here some few years back for King
Egbo Jack and another dark-skinned potentate of South Africa. “By
particular request” each of these coffins were provided with four
padlocks, two outside and two inside, though how to use the latter
must have been a puzzle even for a dead king. The Patent Metallic
Air-tight Coffin Co., whose name pretty accurately describes their
productions, in 1861 introduced hermetically-sealed coffins with plate
glass panels in the lid, exceedingly useful articles in case of
contagious diseases, &c., &c. The trade in coffin
“furniture” seems to have originated about 1760, when one
ingenious “Mole” pushed it forward; and among the list of
patents taken out in 1796 by a local worthy there is one for “a
patent coffin,” though its particular speciality could not have
met with much approval, as although some thousands of bodies have been
removed from our various sepultures nothing curious or rarer than
rotten boards and old lead has been brought to light.

Coinage.—So far had our patriotic
forefathers proceeded in the art of making money that about the middle
of the last century it was estimated over one half the copper coin in
circulation was counterfeit, and that nine-tenths thereof was
manufactured in Birmingham, where 1,000 halfpennies could be had of
the makers for 25s. Boulton’s big pennies were counterfeited by
lead pennies faced with copper. One of these would be a curiosity now.
The bronze coinage was first issued December 1, 1860, and soon after
Messrs. Ralph Heaton & Sons made 100 tons of bronze coins for the
Mint. They are distinguished by the letter “H” under the
date. The number, weight, and value of this issue were as
follows:—

The same firm has had several similar contracts, the last being in
hand at the present time. The bronze is composed of 95 parts copper, 4
tin, and 1 zinc.

Colleges.—See “Schools,” &c.

Colmore Row, which now extends from the Council House to the
Great Western Hotel (including Ann Street and Monmouth Street) is
named after the Colmore family, the owners of the freehold. Great
Colmore Street, Caroline and Charlotte Streets, Great and Little
Charles Streets, Cregoe, Lionel, and Edmund Streets, all take their
names from the same source.

Colonnade.—This very handsome and (for Birmingham) rather
novel-looking building, was opened Jan. 10, 1883, being erected by Mr.
A. Humpage, at a cost of about £70,000, from the designs of Mr.
W.H. Ward. The Colonnade proper runs round the entire building, giving
frontage to a number of shops, the upper portion of the block being
partly occupied by the Midland Conservative Club, and the rest of the
building, with the basement, fitted up as a Temperance Hotel and
“Restaurant.”

Comets.—The inhabitants were very much terrified by the
appearance of a comet in December, 1680. At Michaelmas, 1811, an
exceedingly brilliant comet appeared, supposed to have been the same
which was seen at the birth of Jesus Christ. Donati’s comet was
first observed June 2, 1858, but was most brilliant in September and
October. The comets of 1861 and 1883 were also visible here.

Commissioners.—The first local governing body of the
town, though with but the merest shadow of power as compared with the
Corporation of to-day, were the Street Commissioners appointed under
an Act of Geo. III. in 1769, their duties being confined almost solely
to repairing, cleansing, and “enlightening” the streets of
the town, appointing watchmen, &c., their power of raising funds
being limited to 1s. in the £. By succeeding Acts of 1773, 1801,
1812, and 1828, the powers of the Commissioners were considerably
enlarged, and they must be credited with the introduction of the first
set of local improvement schemes, including the widening of streets,
clearing the Bull Ring of the houses round St. Martin’s Church,
making owners lay out proper streets for building, purchasing the
market tolls, building of Town Hall and Market Hall, regulating
carriages, and “suppressing the smoke nuisance arising from
engines commonly called steam engines,” &c., and, though they
came in for their full share of obloquy and political rancour, it
cannot be denied they did good and faithful service to the town. The
Commissioners had the power of electing themselves, every vacancy
being filled as it occurred by those who remained, and, as the Act of
1828 increased their number to no less than 89, perhaps some little
excuse may be made for the would-be leading men of the day who were
left out in the cold. Be that as it may, the Charter of Incorporation
put them aside, and gave their power and authority into the hands of a
popularly-elected representative body. The Commissioners, however,
remained as a body in name until the last day of December, 1851, when,
as a token of remembrance, they presented the town with the ornamental
fountain formerly standing in the centre of the Market Hall, but which
has been removed to Highgate Park. On the transfer of their powers to
the Corporation, the Commissioners handed over a schedule of
indebtedness, showing that there was then due on mortgage of the
“lamp rate,” of 4 per cent, £87,350; on the “Town
Hall rate,” at 4 per cent., £25,000; annuities, £947
3s. 4d.; besides £7,800, at 5 percent., borrowed by the
Duddeston and Nechells Commissioners, making a total of £121,097
3s. 4d.

Commons.—Handsworth Common was enclosed in 1793. An Act
was passed in 1798 for enclosing and allotting the commons and waste
land in Birmingham. The commons and open fields of Erdington and
Witton were enclosed and divided in 1801.

Concert Halls, &c.—The Birmingham
Concert Hall, better known as “Holder’s,” was built in
1846, though for years previous the house was noted for its harmonic
meetings; the present Hall has seats for 2,200 persons. Day’s
Concert Hall was erected in 1862 the opening night, September 17,
being for the benefit of the Queen’s Hospital, when £70 was
realised therefor; the Hall will accommodate 1,500.—The Museum
Concert Hall was opened Dec. 20, 1863, and will hold about 1,000
people.—A very large building intended for use as a Concert
Hall, &c., will soon be opened in Snow Hill, to be conducted on
temperance principles.—A series of popular Monday evening
concerts was commenced in the Town Hall, Nov. 12, 1844, and was
continued for nearly two years.—Twopenny weekly “Concerts
for the People” were started at the Music Hall, Broad Street (now
Prince of Wales’ Theatre), March 25, 1847, but they did not take
well.—Threepenny Saturday evening concerts in Town Hall, were
begun in November, 1879.

Conferences and Congresses of all sorts of people have been
held here from time to time, and a few dates are here annexed:—A
Conference of Wesleyan ministers took place in 1836, in 1844, 1854,
1865, and 1879, being the 136th meeting of that body. Four hundred
Congregational ministers met in Congress Oct. 5, 1862. A Social
Science Congress was held Sept. 30, 1868. A Trades Union Conference
Aug. 23, 1869. National Education League Conference, Oct. 12, 1869.
National Republican Conference, May 12, 1873. Conference on Sanitary
Reform, Jan. 14, 1875. A Co-operative Societies Conference, July 3,
1875. A Conference of Christians in Needless Alley, Oct. 27, 1875. The
Midland Counties’ Church Defence Associations met in the Exchange,
Jan. 18, 1876, and on the 9th of Feb. the advocates for
disestablishing and disendowing the Church said their say in the
Masonic Hall, resolutions in favour of sharing the loaves and fishes
being enthusiastically carried by the good people who covet not their
neighbours’ goods. A Domestic Economy Congress was held July 17,
1877. A Church Conference held sittings Nov. 7, 1877. The friends of
International Arbitration met in the Town Hall, May 2, 1878, when 800
delegates were present, but the swords are not yet beaten into
ploughshares. How to lessen the output of coal was discussed March 5,
1878, by a Conference of Miners, who not being then able to settle the
question, met again June 17, 1879, to calmly consider the
advisableness of laying idle all the coalpits in the country for a
time, as the best remedy they could find for the continued reduction
of wages. The 18th Annual Conference of the British Association of Gas
Managers was held here June 14, 1881, when about 500 of those
gentlemen attended. A considerable amount of gassy talk anent the
wonderful future naturally arose, and an endowment fund of £323
was banked to provide a medal for “any originality in connection
with the manufacture and application of gas,” but the Gas
Committee of Birmingham, without any vast improvement in the
manufacture, still keep to their original idea of sharing
profits with ratepayers, handing over £25,000 each year to the
Borough rates. On Bank Holiday, August 6, 1883, a Conference of Bakers
took place here, and at the same date the 49th “High Court”
of Foresters assembled at the Town Hall, their last visit having been
in 1849.

Conservative Associations have been in existence for at least
fifty years, as the formation of one in December, 1834, is mentioned
in the papers of the period. The present one, which is formed on a
somewhat similar plan to that of the Liberal Association, and consists
of 300 representatives chosen from the wards, held its first meeting
May 18, 1877. Associations of a like nature have been formed in most
of the wards, and in Balsall Heath, Moseley, Aston, Handsworth, and
all the suburbs and places around.

Constables.—In 1776 it was necessary to have as many as
25 constables sworn in to protect the farmers coming to the weekly
market.—See also “Police.”

Consuls.—There are Consulates here for the following
countries (for addresses see Directory):—Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chili,
France, Germany, Greece, Liberia, Portugal, Spain and Italy, Turkey,
United States, United States of Columbia, and Uruguay.

Convents.—See “Religious Institutions.”

Co-operative Societies at one time were put in the same
category as Chartist, Socialist, and Communistic Associations, all
banned alike. Nevertheless, in the old “Reform days” the
theory of co-operation was most enthusiastically taken up by the
workers of this town, even more so than in any other place in the
kingdom. As early as 1828 several attempts had been made to form such
societies, but the one which appeared the most likely to succeed was
the so-called “Labour Exchange,” situated in the old Coach
Yard, in Bull Street, formed on the basis so eloquently and
perseveringly advocated by Robert Owen. The principle of this Exchange
was to value all goods brought in at the cost of the raw material,
plus the labour and work bestowed thereon, the said labour being
calculated at the uniform rate of 6d. per hour. On the reception of
the goods “notes” to the value were given which could be
handed over as equivalent for any other articles there on sale, and
for a time this rather crude plan was successful. Sharp customers,
however found that by giving in an advanced valuation of their own
goods they could by using their “notes” procure others on
which a handsome profit was to be made outside the Labour Mart, and
this ultimately brought the Exchange to grief. Mr. William Pare and
Mr. George Jacob Holyoake, were foremost among the advocates of
Co-operation at the period, and a most interesting history of
“Co-operation in England” has been written by the latter
gentleman. Other societies were also in operation from time to time,
the longest-lived being the “Economic Provision Company,”
which was commenced at Handsworth in 1830 by some of the workers at
Soho and Soho Foundry, 139 of whom clubbed 20s. each as a starting
fund. After a few months’ trial, the profits were allowed to
accumulate until they made up £5 per share, on which capital no
less than £6,000 were paid in dividends during the first thirty
years. The Supply Associations of the present day are somewhat
differently constituted, such establishments as the one in Corporation
Street (formerly in Cannon Street) and that in High Street being on
the most extensive scale, offering to the general public all the
advantages derivable from the use of large capital, combined with a
fair division of profits to the customer, as well as to the
shareholders. The Birmingham Household Supply Association in
Corporation Street supplies all the necessaries required in the
household, in addition to eatables and drinkables of the very best
quality, including Messrs. Walter Showell and Sons’ ales, which
are sent out at the same prices as from the firm’s own offices,
either in cask or bottle.

Cornavii.—The ancient inhabitants of this part of
England, but who were subdued by the Romans. Whether the said
inhabitants had any name for the particular spot now called Birmingham
must for ever remain doubtful.

Corn Exchange, in High-street, was opened October 28, 1847. The
original capital of the Company was £5,000, in shares of
£25 each; but the total cost of erection was a little over
£6,000. The length of the interior is 172 feet and the breadth
40 feet.

Corn Laws.—Long before the formation of the Anti-Corn Law
League in 1838, a movement for the repeal of the obnoxious imposts had
been started in this town, a petition being sent from here to
Parliament in March, 1815, with 48,600 signatures attached. The doings
of the League and their ultimate success is an off-told tale, the men
of Birmingham of course taking their part in the struggle, which
culminated on the 26th of June, 1846, in the passing of Sir Robert
Peel’s Bill for the total repeal of all duties levied on corn and
breadstuffs.

Coroners.—The first borough coroner, the late Dr. Birt
Davies, was appointed May 15, 1839, and he held the office till July,
1875, when Mr. Henry Hawkes was chosen as his successor, only one
member of the Town Council voting against him. The preent coroner has
introduced several improvements on the old system, especially in the
matters of holding inquests at public-houses, and the summoning of
jurors. Formerly the latter were chosen from the residents nearest to
the scene of death, some gentlemen being continually called upon,
while the occasional exhibition of a dead body in the back lumberroom
of an inn yard, among broken bottles and gaping stablemen, was not
conductive to the dignity of a coroner’s court or particularly
agreeable to the unfortunate surgeon who might have to perform a
post mortem. Thanks to the persevering tenacity of Mr. Hawkes
we have a proper court in Moor-street, and a mortuary at every police
station to which bodies can at once be taken. The jurors are now
chosen by rotation, so that having been once called upon to act as a
good citizen in such a capacity no gentleman need fear a fresh summons
for some years to come. Mr. Hooper, the coroner for South
Staffordshire, received his appointment in 1860.

Corporation.—The Charter of
Incorporation of the Borough of Birmingham, authorising the formation
of a Governing body, consisting of Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors,
duly elected by the Burgesses, dates from October 31, 1838. The
elections took place in December, the first meeting being held on the
27. The borough was originally divided into 13 wards, but has since
been, by Order in Council, made into 16, though the number of Aldermen
(16) and Councillors (48) has not been increased. The Mayor is elected
for one year, the Councillors for three, and the Aldermen for six. The
first Mayor chosen was William Schofield, Esq., who was succeeded by
P.H. Muntz, Esq., in 1839 and 1840, the election taking place at the
November sitting in each year. Since 1840, the Mayoral chair has been
successively filled by:—

1841, S. Beale; 1842, J. James; 1843, T. Weston; 1844, T. Phillips;
1845, H. Smith; 1846, R. Martineau; 1847, C. Geach; 1848, S. Thornton;
1849, W. Lucy; 1850, W. Lucy; 1851, H. Smith; 1852, H. Hawkes; 1853,
J. Baldwin; 1854, J. Palmer; 1855, T. R, T. Hodgson; 1856, J.
Ratcliff; 1857, J. Ratcliff; 1858, Sir J. Ratcliff, Kt.; 1859, T.
Lloyd; 1860, A. Ryland; 1861, H. Manton; 1862, C. Sturge; 1863, W.
Holliday; 1864, H. Wiggin; 1865, E. Yates; 1866, G. Dixon; 1867, T.
Avery; 1868, H. Holland; 1869, T. Prime; 1870, G. B. Lloyd; 1871, J.
Sadler; 1872, A. Biggs; 1873, J. Chamberlain; 1874, J. Chamberlain;
1875, J. Chamberlain; 1876, G. Baker; 1877, W. Kenrick; 1878, J.
Collings; 1879, R. Chamberlain; 1880, R. Chamberlain; 1881, T. Avery;
1882, W. White; 1883, W. Cook; 1884, W. Martineau.

The members of the Council in 1862 subscribed £200 for the
purchase of a “Mayor’s Chain,” the first to wear
“the glittering gaud,” strange to say, being a Quaker,
Charles Sturge to wit. To this chain a valuable addition has since
been made in the shape of a stone, worth £150, presented to the
Town Council by Mr. W. Spencer, June 27, 1873, as being the first
diamond cut in Birmingham, and which was appropriately mounted. For
the names and addresses of the Aldermen and Councillors of the various
wards (changes taking place yearly) reference should be made to
“The Birmingham Red Book” published annually, in which will
also be found a list of all the borough officials, &c.

Corporation Stock.—The balance against the Borough in the
shape of loans, or mortgages on the then rates, when the Town Council
took over from the Street Commissioners was £121,100. By the end
of 1864 the Borough debts stood at £638,300, at varying rates of
interest. After the purchase of the Gas and Water Works, and the
commencement of the Improvement Scheme, this amount was vastly
increased, the town’s indebtedness standing in 1880 at no less
than £6,226,145. The old system of obtaining loans at the market
price of the day, and the requirement of the Local Government Board
that every separate loan should be repaid in a certain limited number
of years, when so large an amount as 6-1/4 millions came to be handled
necessitated a consolidation scheme, which has since been carried out,
to the relief of present ratepayers and a saving to those who will
follow. The whole of the liabilities in the Borough on loans were
converted into Corporation three and a half per cent. stock at the
commencement of 1881, the operation being performed by the Bank of
England. The tenders for same were opened Jan. 18th, when it was found
that £1,200,000 had been applied for at and slightly over the
minimum rate of £98 per £100. The remaining £800,000
was allotted to a syndicate, who afterwards applied for it at the
minimum price. Persons having money to invest cannot do better than
visit the Borough Treasurer, Mr. Hughes, who will give every
information as to the mode of investing even a £10 note in the
Birmingham Corporation Stock.

Council House.—See “Public Buildings.”

County Areas.—The total areas of this and adjoining
counties are:— Warwickshire 566,458 acres, Worcestershire
472,453, Staffordshire 732,434, and Shropshire 841,167.

County Court.—First opened in Birmingham at the Waterloo
Rooms, Waterloo Street, April 28th, 1847. R. G. Welford, Esq., Q.C.,
acting as judge until September, 1872. He was followed by H. W. Cole,
Esq., Q.C., who died in June, 1876; James Motteram, Esq., Q.C., who
died Sept. 19, 1884: the present judge being W. Chambers, Esq., Q.C.
The Circuit (No. 21) includes the towns and places of Aston,
Atherstone, Balsall Heath, Curdworth, Castle Bromwich, Erdington,
Gravelly Hill, Handsworth, Harborne, King’s Heath, King’s
Norton, Lea Marston, Little Bromwich, Maxstoke, Minworth, Moseley,
Nether Whitacre, Perry Barr, Saltley, Selly Oak, Sutton Coldfield,
Tamworth, Water Orton and Wishaw.

County Officials.—For names and addresses of the Lord
Lieutenant, Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, County Magistrates, and
other official gentlemen connected with the county of Warwick, see
“Red Book.”

Court of Bankruptcy holden at Birmingham (at the County Court,
in Corporation Street) comprises all the places within the district of
the County Court of Warwickshire holden at Birmingham, Tamworth and
Solihull, and all the places in the district of the County Court of
Worcestershire holden at Redditch.

Court Of Judicature.—Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall,
and Worcester, are District Registries of the Supreme Court of
Judicature.

Court Leet.—The origin of that peculiar kind of Local
Government Board, known in the olden days as the Court Leet of the
Manor of Birmingham, is lost in the misty shadows of our past history.
Doubtless there were many onerous duties connected therewith, and very
possibly the officials considered themselves as “men of high
degree,” but what those duties actually were, and what the
remuneration for their due fulfilment, appears to have been matter of
doubt, even so late as a hundred and a few odd years ago. The rights,
powers, and privileges of the officers of this Court had evidently
been questioned by some of our Radical-minded great-grandfathers, as
we find it was deemed necessary to assemble a jury on the 20th day of
October, 1779, to “ascertain and present” the same, and from
a little pamphlet at that time published, we extract the
following:—

The Office of Low Bailiff.—”The Jury find and
present that this officer is annually elected by the Jury, and that
his office is in the nature of Sheriff of the Manor; that to him all
the process of the Court is to be directed, and that it is his right
and duty to summon all Juries to this court. And the Low Bailiff, at
each fair, is entitled to one penny for each stall or standing pitched
in the said fairs.”

The Office of High Bailiff.—”The Jury find and
present that this Officer is annually elected by the Jury; and that it
is his duty to see that the fairs be duly proclaimed, and that due
order be preserved in the fairs and markets; and if he sees any person
in such fairs or markets using unlawful games, to the injury of
ignorant persons and thoughtless youths, he may seize them and commit
them to custody, to be taken before a proper magistrate. That it is
his duty to see that all persons exposing any wares for sale in the
fairs or markets, or as shopkeepers within the manor, have legal
weights and measures.”

The other officers of the Court Leet, whose duties are also defined in
the aforesaid pamphlet, are the “Constables,” the
“Headborough,” two “Affeirers” (who looked after
the rents and dues belonging to the Lord of the Manor), two
“Leather Sealers” (once important officers, when there was a
Leather Market, but whose duties in and about the year named seemed to
be confined to attending at the yearly dinners given by the High
Bailiff), two “Ale-conners, otherwise high tasters,” and two
“Flesh-conners, otherwise low tasters.” From their name it
might be thought the duties of the last named officers were limited to
the inspection of meat or flesh, but it will be seen that they were of
a more comprehensive character:—

“Their duty is to see that all butchers, fishmongers,
poulterers, bakers, and other sellers of victuals, do not sell or
expose to sale within this Manor any unwholesome, corrupt, or
contagious flesh, fish, or other victuals; and in case any such be
exposed to sale, we find that the said Officers, by the ancient
custom of the Manor may seize, burn, or destroy the same, or
otherwise present the offenders at the next Court Leet to be holden
for this Manor.”

As we are now officered, inspectored and policed, and generally looked
after as to our eating and drinking, &c., in the most improved
modern style possible, it is not necessary to further fill space by
saying what the “Headborough” had to do, or how many
“Constables” assisted him. The last meeting of the Court
Leet, long shorn of all its honours and privileges, was held October
28, 1851.

Court Of Record.—This was also called the
“Mayor’s Court,” and was authorised in the Charter of
Incorporation for the recovery of small debts under £20, the
officers consisting of a Judge, Registrar, and two Sergeants-at-Mace.
In 1852 (Oct. 26) the Town Council petitioned the Queen to transfer
its powers to the County Court, which was acceded to in the following
spring.

Court of Requests.—Constituted by Act
of Parliament in 1752 this Court for “the more easy and speedy
recovery of small debts within the town of Birmingham and the
adjoining hamlet of Deritend” continued in operation until the
present County Court system became the law of the land. Its powers
were originally limited to debts not exceeding 40s. in amount (which
was increased to £5 by an Act passed in 1807), the periods of
imprisonment to which defaulting debtors were liable being apportioned
out at the rate of one day in durance for each shilling due, except in
special cases, wherein an addition (not to exceed three months) might
be the reward for fraudulent concealment of property from creditors.
The “Court” consisted of no less than six dozen judges, or,
as the Act styled them, “Commissioners,” from whose
decisions there was no appeal whatever. These Commissioners were at
first chosen from the ratepayers in a haphazard style, no mental or
property qualification whatever being required, though afterwards it
was made incumbent that they should be possessed of an income from
real estate to value of £50 per year, or be worth £1,000
personalty. From the writings of William Hutton, himself one of the
Commissioners, and other sources, we gather that justice, or what was
supposed to be equivalent thereto, was administered in a
rough-and-ready fashion of the rudest kind, the cases being frequently
disposed of at the rate of thirty to forty per hour, and when we
consider that imprisonment resulted at an average of one case in ten
the troubles attendant upon impecuniosity in those days may be better
imagined then described. The Court House, which is now occupied by
sundry tradesmen, lay a little back from High-street, nearly opposite
New-street, and in itself was no mean structure, having been (it is
said), erected about the year 1650, as the town house of John Jennens,
or Jennings, one of the wealthy family, the claims to whose estates
have been unending, as well as unprofitable, barring, of course, to
the long-robed and bewigged fraternity. A narrow passage from the
right of the entrance hall leads by a dark winding staircase to the
cellars, now filled with merchandise, but which formerly constituted
the debtors’ prison, or, as it was vulgarly called, “The
Louse Hole,” and doubtless from its frequently-crowded and
horribly-dirty condition, with half-starved, though often debauched
and dissipated, occupants, the nasty name was not inappropriately
given. Shocking tales have been told of the scenes and practices here
carried on, and many are still living who can recollect the miserable
cry of “Remember the poor debtors,” which resounded morning,
noon, and night from the heavily-barred windows of these underground
dungeons. The last batch of unfortunates here confined were liberated
August 16, 1844.

Creche.—An institution which has been open in Bath Row
for several years, and a great blessing to many poor mothers in its
neighbourhood, but it is so little known that it has not met with the
support it deserves, and is therefore crippled in its usefulness for
want of more subscribers. The object of the institution is to afford,
during the daytime, shelter, warmth, food, and good nursing to the
infants and young children of poor mothers who are compelled to be
from home at work. This is done at the small charge of 2d. per
day—a sum quite inadequate to defray the expenses of the
charity. The average number of children so sheltered is about 100 per
week, and the number might be greatly increased if there were more
funds. Gifts of coal, blankets, linen, perambulators, toys, pictures,
&c., are greatly valued, and subscriptions and donations will be
gladly received by the hon. treasurer.

Crescent, Cambridge Street.—When built it was thought
that the inhabitants of the handsome edifices here erected would
always have an extensive view over gardens and green fields, and
certainly if chimney pots and slated roofs constitute a country
landscape the present denizens cannot complain. The ground belongs to
the Grammar School, the governors of which leased it in 1789 to Mr.
Charles Norton, for a term of 120 years, at a ground rent of
£155 10s. per year, the lessee to build 34 houses and spend
£12,000 thereon; the yearly value now is about £1,800. On
the Crescent Wharf is situated the extensive stores of Messrs. Walter
Showell & Sons, from whence the daily deliveries of Crosswells
Ales are issued to their many Birmingham patrons. Here may be seen,
stacked tier upon tier, in long cool vistas, close upon 6,000 casks of
varying sizes containing these celebrated ales, beers, and stouts.
This stock is kept up by daily supplies from the brewery at Langley
Green, many boats being employed in the traffic.

Cricket.—See “Sports.”

Crime.—A few local writers like to acknowledge that
Birmingham is any worse than other large towns in the matter of crime
and criminals, and the old adage respecting the bird that fouls its
own nest has been more than once applied to the individuals who have
ventured to demur from the boast that ours is par excellence, a
highly moral, fair-dealing, sober, and superlatively honest community.
Notwithstanding the character given it of old, and the everlasting
sneer that is connected with the term “Brummagem,” the fast
still remains that our cases of drunkenness are far less than in
Liverpool, our petty larcenies fewer than in Leeds, our highway
robberies about half compared with Manchester, malicious damage a long
way under Sheffield, and robberies from the person not more than a
third of those reported in Glasgow; while as to smashing and coining,
though it has been flung at us from the time of William of Orange to
the present day; that all the bad money ever made must be
manufactured here, the truth is that five-sixths of the villainous
crew who deal in that commodity obtain their supplies from London, and
not from our little “hardware village.” But alas!
there is a dark side to the picture, indeed, for, according to
the Registrar-General’s return of June, 1879 (and the
proportionate ratio, we are sorry to say, still remains the same),
Birmingham holds the unenviable position of being the town where most
deaths from violence occur, the annual rate per 1,000 being 1.08 in
Birmingham, 0.99 in Liverpool, 0.38in Sheffield, 0.37 in Portsmouth,
the average for the kingdom being even less than that—”the
proportional fatality from violence being almost invariably more than
twice as large in Birmingham as in Sheffield.”

Cross.—In the Bull Ring, when Hutton first came here, a
poor wayfarer seeking employ, there was a square building standing on
arches called “The Cross,” or “Market Cross,” the
lower part giving a small shelter to the few countrywomen who brought
their butter and eggs to market, while the chamber above provided
accommodation for meetings of a public character. When the Corn
Cheaping, the Shambles, and all the other heterogeneous collection of
tumbledown shanties and domiciles which in the course of centuries had
been allowed to gather round St. Martin’s were cleared away, the
Market Cross was demolished, and its exact site is hardly
ascertainable. At Dale End there was a somewhat similar erection known
as the “Welsh Cross,” taking its peculiar name, says Hutton,
from the locality then called “Welsh End,” on account of the
number of Welsh people living on that side of the town; though why the
“Taffies” were honoured with a distinct little market house
of their own is not made clear. This building was taken down in 1803,
the 3-dial clock, weathercock, &c., being advertised for sale,
October 12, 1802.

Crown.—The old Crown Inn, Deritend, is one of the very
few specimens we have of the style of architecture adopted in the days
of old, when timber was largely used in place of our modern bricks.
Leland mentions the Crown Inn as existing in 1538, and a much longer
history than that is claimed for it. In 1817 there was another Old
Crown Inn in New Street, on the spot where Hyam’s now stands,
access to the Cherry Orchard being had through its yard, the right of
way thus obtained being the origin of the present Union Passage.

Crystal Palaces.—It was proposed in August, 1853, that
the Corporation should join with the Midland Railway Co. and the
Corporation of Sutton in the erection of a “Sydenham Palace”
in Sutton Park: Birmingham to lease 250 acres for 999 years, at 1s.
per acre, find from £20,000 to £30,000 for the building
and divide profits, the Midland Railway Co. being willing to make
branch from Bromford and run cheap trains. The scheme was highly
approved, but the Suttonites killed the goose that was to lay them
such golden eggs by refusing to lease the land for more than
ninety-nine years and wanting 20s. per acre rent. In July, 1877, a
“Sutton Park Crystal Palace Co. (Lim.)” was registered, with
a capital of £25,000 in £5 shares, for buying Mr.
Cole’s Promenade Gardens, erecting Hotel, Aquarium, Skating Rink,
Concert Hall, Winter Gardens, &c., and the shares were readily
taken up. Additional grounds were purchased, and though the original
plans have not yet been all carried out, a very pleasant resort is to
be found there. Day’s, in Smallbrook Street, is also called a
“Crystal Palace,” on account of the style of decoration, and
the immense mirror the proprietor purchased from the Hyde Park
Exhibition of 1851.

Curzon Hall, built originally for the purposes of the Dog
Shows, was opened in 1865. It is the property of a company, and cost
about £7,500. The building is well suited and has been often
used for exhibitions, panoramas, circus entertainments, &c., the
hall being 103 ft. long by 91 ft. wide; the stage is of the fullest
width, with a depth of 45 ft. There is room for 3,000 seats.

Danielites.—A tribe who eschew fish, flesh, and fowl, and
drink no alcohol; neither do they snuff, smoke, or chew tobacco. At a
fruit banquet, held on August, 1877, it was decided to organise a
“Garden of Danielites” in Birmingham.

Dates.—The most complete work giving the dates of all the
leading events in the world’s history is “Haydn’s Book of
Dates,” the latest edition bringing them down to 1882. For local
events, the only “Local Book of Dates” published is that of
1874, but “Showell’s Dictionary of Birmingham” (by the
same author), will be found to contain more reliable data than any
book hitherto issued. For information of a general character,
respecting the immediate neighbourhood and adjoining counties, our
readers cannot do better than refer to the files of Birmingham
newspapers, preserved in the Reference Library, or write to the
present editors of the said papers, gentlemen noted for their
urbanity, and readiness to tell anybody anything.

Dawson, George, See “Parsons, Preachers, and Priests,” and
“Statues.”

Deaf and Dumb Asylum.—See “Philanthropic Institutions.”

Debating Societies.—From time immemorial the Brums have
had their little Parliaments, mostly in public-house parlours and
clubrooms, and certain Sunday nights gathering at “Bob
Edmonds” and other well-known houses have acquired quite an
historical interest; but the regularly-constituted “Spouting
Clubs” of the present day cannot claim a very long existence, the
Birmingham Debating Society having held their first palaver on the 3rd
of Dec., 1846. In 1855 they joined the Edgbastonians. The latest of
the kind started in 1884, is known as the Birmingham Parliamentary
Debating Society, and has its premier, parties, and political fights,
in proper Parliamentary style.

Deer Stealers.—There was a taste for venison in more
classes than one in 1765, for it was found necessary to offer rewards
for the detection of those persons who stole the deer from Aston Park.

Dental Hospital.—See “Hospitals.”

Deodands.—Prior to the passing of 9 and 10 Vict., 1846,
Coroner’s Juries had the power of imposing a “deodand”
or penalty on any article or animal which had been instrumental in
causing the death of a human being, the said animal or article being
forfeited if the owner did not pay.

Deritend.—In some antique records the name has been spelt
“Duratehend.” For this and other reasons it has been thought
to have had its origin rather from the ancient British, as
“dur” is still the Welsh word for water, and its situation
on the Rea (a Gaelic word signifying a running stream) seems to give a
little foundation therefor. Mr. Tonlmin Smith, in whose family the
“Old Crown House” has descended from the time it was built,
and who, therefore, is no mean authority, was of opinion that the name
was formerly “Der-yat-end,” or “Deer-Gate-End,”
from the belief that in ancient days there was here an ancient deer
forest. Leland said he entered the town by “Dirtey,” so
perhaps after all Deritend only means “the dirty end.” Like
the name of the town itself, as well as several other parts of it, we
can only guess at the origin.

Deritend Bridge.—Old records show that some centuries
back there was a bridge here of some sort, and occasionally we find
notes of payments made for repairs to the roads leading to the gates
of the bridge, or to the watchmen who had charge thereof, who appear
to have been in the habit of locking the gates at night, a procedure
which we fear our “Dirtyent” neighbours of to-day would be
inclined to resent. The Act for building the present bridge was
obtained in 1784; the work was commenced in 1789, but not completed
till 1814.

Dickens, Charles, made his first appearance amongst us at a
Polytechnic Conversazione held February 28, 1844, his last visit being
to distribute prizes to students of the Midland Institute, January 6,
1870. In December, 1854, he gave the proceeds of three
“Readings,” amounting to £227, to the funds of the
Institute, in which he always took great interest.—See also
“Theatrical Notes,”
&c.

Digbeth, or Dyke Path, or Ducks’ Bath, another puzzle to
the antiquarians. It was evidently a watery place, and the pathway lay
low, as may be seen at “Ye Olde Leather Bottel.”

Dining Halls.—Our grandfathers were content to take their
bread and cheese by the cosy fireside of a public-house kitchen; this
was followed by sundry publicans reserving a better room, in which a
joint was served up for their “topping customers.” One who
got into trouble and lost his license, conceived the idea of opposing
his successor, and started dining-rooms, sending out for beer as it
was required, but not to his old shop. This innovation took,
and when the railways began bringing in their streams of strangers,
these dining-rooms paid well (as several of the old ones do still).
The next step was the opening of a large room in Slaney Street (June
8, 1863), and another in Cambridge Street, with the imposing title of
“Dining Halls,” wherein all who were hungry could be fed at
wholesale prices—provided they had the necessary cash. Our
people, however, are not sufficiently gregarious to relish this kind
of feeding in flocks, barrackroom fashion, and though the provisions
were good and cheap, the herding together of all sorts spoilt the
speculation, and Dining Halls closed when “Restaurants”
opened.—See “Luncheon
Bars.”

Diocese.—Birmingham is in the diocese of Worcester, and
in the Archdeaconry of Coventry.

Directories.—The oldest Birmingham Directory known was
printed in 1770, but there had been one advertised a few years
earlier, and every now and then, after this date one or other of our
few printers ventured to issue what they called a directory, but the
procuring a complete list of all and every occupation carried on in
Birmingham appears to have been a feat beyond their powers, even sixty
years back. As far as they did go, however, the old directories are
not uninteresting, as they give us glimpses of trade mutations and
changes compared with the present time that appear strange now even to
our oldest inhabitants. Place for instance the directory of 1824 by
the side of White’s directory for 1874 (one of the most valuable
and carefully compiled works of the kind yet issued). In the former we
find the names of 4,980 tradesmen, the different businesses under
which they are allotted numbering only 141; in 1874 the trades and
professions named tot up to 745, under which appears no less than
33,462 names. In 1824, if we are to believe the directory, there were
no factors here, no fancy repositories, no gardeners or florists, no
pearl button makers, no furniture brokers or pawnbrokers (!), no
newsagents, and, strange to say, no printer. Photographers and
electro-platers were unknown, though fifty years after showed 68 of
the one, and 77 of the latter. On the other hand, in 1824, there were
78 auger, awlblade and gimlet makers, against 19 in 1874; 14 bellows
makers, against 5; 36 buckle and 810 button makers, against 10 and
265; 52 edge tool makers and 176 locksmiths, against 18 of each in
1874; hinge-makers were reduced from 53 to 23; gilt toy makers, from
265 to 15. (Considering the immense quantity of gilt trifles now sent
out yearly, we can only account for these figures by supposing the
producers to have been entered under various other headings). Among
the trades that have vanished altogether, are steelyard makers, of
whom there were 19 in 1824; saw-makers, of whom there were 26;
tool-makers, of whom there were 79, and similorers, whatever they
might have been. Makers of the time-honoured snuffers numbered 46 in
1824, and there were even half-a-dozen manufacturers left at work in
1874. The introduction of gas-lighting only found employ, in the
first-named year, for three gasfitters; in 1874, there were close upon
100. Pewterers and manufacturers of articles in Britannia metal
numbered 75 in 1824, against 19 in 1874, wire-drawers in the same
period coming down from 237 to 56. The Directories of the past ten
years have degenerated into mere bulky tomes, cataloguing names
certainly, but published almost solely for the benefit (?) of those
tradesmen who can be coaxed into advertising in their pages. To such
an extent has this been carried, that it is well for all advertisers
to be careful when giving their orders, that they are dealing with an
established and respectable firm, more than one bogus Directory having
come under the notice of the writer during the past year or two. The
issue of a real Post Office Directory for 1882, for which the names,
trades, and addresses were to be gathered by the letter-carriers, and
no body of men could be more suitable for the work, or be better
trusted, was hailed by local tradesmen as a decided step in advance
(though little fault could be found with the editions periodically
issued by Kelly), but unfortunately the proposed plan was not
successfully carried out, and in future years the volume will be
principally valued as a curiosity, the wonderfully strange mistakes
being made therein of placing the honoured name of Sir Josiah Mason
under the head of “Next-of-Kin Enquiry Agents,” and that,
too, just previous to the exposure of the numerous frauds carried out
by one of the so-called agents and its curiousness is considerably
enhanced by the fact that a like error had been perpetrated in a
recent edition of Kelly’s Directory.

Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society in 1882 gave assistance
to 642 persons, at an average cost of 9s. 9-1/2d.
each—£315 19s. 4d. £161 16s. 5d. of this amount came
from the convicts’ gratuities, while the cost of aiding and
helping them took £192 2s.

Dispensary.—Established in 1794; the first stone of the
building in Union Street was laid December 23, 1806, and it was opened
for the reception of patients early in 1808, the cost being about
£3,000. It has been one of the most valuable institutions of the
town, thousands receiving medical assistance every year, and is
supported by voluntary subscriptions. A branch Dispensary was opened
in Monument Road, Feb. 27, 1884. Provident Dispensaries, to which
members pay a small monthly sum for medicine and attendance, were
organised in 1878, the first branch being opened at Hockley in October
of that year. In the first fifteen months 3,765 individuals, paid
subscriptions, and about £577 was paid for drugs and doctors
fees. There are also branches at Camp Hill and Small Heath.

Dissenters.—In 1836 there were 45 places of worship
belonging to various denominations of Dissenters here; there are now
about 145.—See “Places
of Worship.”

Distances from Birmingham to neighbouring places, county towns,
trade centres, watering places, &c. Being taken from the shortest
railway routes, this list may be used as a guide to the third-class
fares— Reckoned at 1d. per mile:—

Dogs.—A 5s. duty on dogs came into force April 5, 1867;
raised to 7s. 6d. in June, 1878; This was not the first tax of the
kind, for a local note of the time says that in 1796 “the fields
and waters near the town were covered with the dead carcases of dogs
destroyed by their owners to avoid payment of the tax.” The
amount paid per year at present for “dog licenses” in
Birmingham is about £1,800. The using of dogs as beasts of
burden (common enough now abroad) was put a stop to in London at the
end of Oct. 1840, though it was not until 1854 that the prohibition
became general. Prior to the passing of the Act in that year, dogs
were utilised as draught animals to a very great extent in this
neighbourhood by the rag-and-bone gatherers, pedlars, and little
merchants, as many as 180 of the poor brutes once being counted in
five hours as passing a certain spot on the Westbromwich Road. There
have been one or two “homes” for stray dogs opened, but it
is best in case of a loss of this kind to give early information at
the nearest police station, as the art of dog stealing has latterly
been much cultivated in this town, and it should be considered a duty
to one’s neighbour to aid in putting a stop thereto.

Dog Shows.—The first local Dog Show was held in 1860, but
it was not until the opening in Curzon Hall, December 4, 1865, that
the Show took rank as one of the “yearly institutions” of
the town.—See “Exhibitions.”

Domesday Books.—The so-called Domesday Book, compiled by
order of William the Norman Conqueror, has always been considered a
wonderful work, and it must have taken some years compiling. Some
extracts touching upon the holders of land in this neighbourhood have
already been given, and in a sense they are very interesting, showing
as they do the then barrenness of the land, and the paucity of
inhabitants. Though in Henry VIII.’s reign an inventory of all
properties in the hands of Churchmen was taken, it did not include the
owners of land in general, and it was not till Mr. John Bright in 1873
moved for the Returns, that a complete register of the kind was made.
It would not be easy, even if space could be given to it, to give the
list of individuals, companies, and corporation who claim to be
possessors of the land we live on in Birmingham and neighbourhood; but
a summary including the owners in this and adjoining counties may be
worth preserving. As will be seen by the annexed figures, Warwick and
Stafford rank high in the list of counties having large numbers of
small owners (small as to extent of ground, though often very valuable
from the erections thereon). There can be no doubt that the Freehold
Land and Building Societies have had much to do with this, and as
Birmingham was for years the headquarters of these Societies, the fact
of there being nearly 47,000 persons in the county (out of a total
population of 634,189) who own small plots under one acre, speaks well
for the steady perseverance of the Warwickshire lads. That we are not
wrong in coming to this conclusion is shown by the fact that leaving
out the Metropolitan Counties, Warwick heads, in this respect, all the
shires in the kingdom.

Duddeston Hall, and the Holte Family.—The first record of
this family we have is towards the close of the thirteenth century
when we find mention of Sir Henry Holte, whose son, Hugh del Holte,
died in 1322. In 1331 Simon del Holte, styled of Birmingham, purchased
the manor of Nechells “in consideration of xl li of
silver.” In 1365 John atte Holte purchased for “forty
marks” the manor of Duddeston, and two years later he became
possessed by gift of the manor of Aston. For many generations the
family residence was at Duddeston, though their burial place was at
Aston, in which church are many of their monuments, the oldest being
that of Wm. Holte, who died September 28, 1514. That the Holtes,
though untitled, were men of mark, may be seen by the brass in the
North Aisle of Aston Church to the memory of Thomas Holte,
“Justice of North Wales, and Lord of this town of Aston,”
who died March 23, 1545. His goods and chattels at his death were
valued at £270 6s. 2d.—a very large sum in those days, and
from the inventory we find that the Hall contained thirteen sleeping
apartments, viz., “the chambur over the buttrie, the chappel
chambur, the maydes’ chambur, the great chambur, the inner
chambur, to the great chambur, the yatehouse chambur, the inner
chambur to the same, the geston chambur, the crosse chambur, the inner
chambur to the same, the clark’s chambur the yoemen’s chambur,
and the hyne’s chambur.” The other apartments were “the
hawle, the plece, the storehouse, the galarye, the butterye, the
ketchyn, the larderhowse, the dey-howse, the bakhowse, the bultinge
howse, and the yeling howse,” —the “chappell”
being also part of the Hall. The principal bedrooms were hung with
splendid hangings, those of the great chamber being “of gaye
colors, blewe and redde,” the other articles in accordance
therewith, the contents of this one room being valued at xiij li. xiv.
s. iiijd. (£13 14s. 4d.) The household linen comprised “22
damaske and two diapur table clothes” worth 4s.; ten dozen table
napkins (40s.); a dozen “fyne towells,” 20s.; a dozen
“course towells” 6s. 8d.; thirty pair “fyne
shetes” £5; twenty-three pair “course shetes”
£3; and twenty-six “pillow beres” 20/-. The kitchen
contained “potts, chafornes, skymmers, skellets, cressets,
gredires, frying pannys, chfying dishes, a brazon morter with a
pestell, stone morters, strykinge knives, broches, racks, brandards,
cobberds, pot-hangings, hocks, a rack of iron, bowles, and
payles.” The live stock classed among the “moveable goods,
consisted of 19 oxen, 28 kyne, 17 young beste, 24 young calves, 12
gots, 4 geldings, 2 mares, 2 naggs and a colte, 229 shepe, 12 swyne, a
crane, a turkey cok, and a henne with 3 chekyns”—the lot
being valued at £86 0s. 8d. Sir Thomas’s marriage with a
daughter of the Winnington’s brought much property into the
family, including lands, &c., “within the townes, villages,
and fields of Aston, next Byrmyngham, and Wytton, Mellton Mowlberye
(in Leicestershire), Hanseworthe (which lands did late belonge to the
dissolved chambur of Aston), and also the Priory, or Free Chappell of
Byrmyngham, with the lands and tenements belonging thereto, within
Byrmyngham aforesaid, and the lordship or manor of the same, within
the lordship of Dudeston, together with the lands and tenements,
within the lordship of Nechells, Salteley, sometime belonging to the
late dissolved Guild of Derytenne,” as well as lands at
“Horborne, Haleshowen, Norfielde and Smithewicke.” His son
Edward, who died in 1592, was succeeded by Sir Thomas Holte (born in
1571; died December, 1654), and the most prominent member of the
family. Being one of the deputation to welcome James I. to England, in
1603, he received the honour of knighthood; in 1612 he purchased an
“Ulster baronetcy,” at a cost of £1,095 [this brought
the “red hand” into his shield]; and in 1599 he purchased
the rectory of Aston for nearly £2,000. In April, 1618, he
commenced the erection of Aston Hall, taking up his abode there in
1631, though it was not finished till April, 1635. In 1642 he was
honoured with the presence of Charles I., who stopped at the Hall
Sunday and Monday, October 16 and 17. [At the battle of Edge Hill
Edward Holt, the eldest son, was wounded—he died from fever on
Aug. 28, 1643, during the siege of Oxford, aged 43] The day after
Christmas, 1643, the old squire was besieged by about 1,200
Parliamentarians from Birmingham (with a few soldiers), but having
procured forty musketeers from Dudley Castle, he held the Hall till
the third day, when, having killed sixty of his assailants and lost
twelve of his own men, he surrendered. The Hall was plundered and he
was imprisoned, and what with fines, confiscations, and compounding,
his loyalty appears to have cost him nearly £20,000. Sir Thomas
had 15 children, but outlived them all save one. He was succeeded in
his title by his grandson, Sir Robert, who lived in very straightened
circumstances, occasioned by the family’s losses during the Civil
War, but by whose marriage with the daughter of Lord Brereton the
Cheshire property came to his children. He died Oct. 3, 1679, aged 54,
and was followed by Sir Charles, who had twelve children and lived
till June 15, 1722, his son, Sir Clobery, dying in a few years after
(Oct. 24, 1729). Sir Lister Holte, the next baronet, had no issue,
though twice married, and he was succeeded (April 8, 1770), by his
brother, Sir Charles, with whom the title expired (March 12, 1782),
the principal estates going with his daughter and only child, to the
Bracebridge family, as well as a dowry of £20,000. In 1817, an
Act of Parliament was obtained for the settlement and part disposal of
the whole of the property of this time-honoured and wealthy
family—the total acreage being 8,914a. 2r. 23p, and the then
annual rental £16,557 Os. 9d.—the Aston estate alone
extending from Prospect Row to beyond Erdington Hall, and from
Nechells and Saltley to the Custard House and Hay Mill Brook. Several
claims have been put forward by collateral branches, both to the title
and estates, but the latter were finally disposed of in 1849, when
counsel’s opinion was given in favour of the settlements made by
Sir Lister Holte, which enabled the property to be disposed of. The
claimants to the title have not yet proved their title thereto, sundry
registers and certificates of ancient baptisms and marriages being
still wanting.

Duddeston Ward Hall.—The name tells what it is for. The
first stone was laid Dec. 15, 1877; it was opened June 1, 1878; will
seat about 300, and cost £3,500, which was found by a limited
Co.

Dungeon.—This very appropriate name
was given to the old gaol formerly existing in Peck Lane. A writer, in
1802, described it as a shocking place, the establishment consisting
of one day room, two underground dungeons (in which sometimes
half-a-dozen persons had to sleep), and six or seven night-rooms, some
of them constructed out of the Gaoler’s stables. The prisoners
were allowed 4d. per day for bread and cheese, which they had to buy
from the keeper, who, having a beer license, allowed outsiders to
drink with his lodgers. This, and the fact that there was but one day
room for males and females alike, leaves but little to be imagined as
to its horrible, filthy condition. Those who could afford to pay 2s.
6d. a week were allowed a bed in the gaoler’s house, but had to
put up with being chained by each wrist to the sides of the bedsteads
all night, and thus forced to lie on their backs. The poor wretches
pigged it in straw on the floors of the night rooms. See also
“Gaols” and
“Prisons.”

Dwarfs.—The first note we have of the visit here of one
of these curiosities of mankind is that of Count Borulawski, in 1783:
though but 39 inches high it is recorded that he had a sister who
could stand under his arm. The next little one, Manetta Stocker, a
native of Austria, came here in 1819, and remained with us, there
being a tombstone in St. Philip’s churchyard bearing this
inscription:—

In Memory of MANETTA STOCKER, Who quitted this life the fourth day
of May, 1819, at the age of thirty-nine years. The smallest woman
in this kingdom, and one of the most accomplished. She was not more
than thirty-three inches high. She was a native of Austria.

General Tom Thumb (Charles Stratton) was exhibited at Dee’s Royal
Hotel, in September, 1844, when he was about ten years old, and
several times after renewed the acquaintance. He was 31 inches high,
and was married to Miss Warren, a lady of an extra inch. The couple
had offspring, but the early death of the child put an end to
Barnum’s attempt to create a race of dwarfs. Tom Thumb died in
June 1883. General Mite who was exhibited here last year, was even
smaller than Tom Thumb, being but 21 inches in height. Birmingham,
however, need not send abroad for specimens of this kind, “Robin
Goodfellow” chronicling the death on Nov. 27, 1878, of a poor
unfortunate named Thomas Field, otherwise the “Man-baby,”
who, though twenty-four years of age, was but 30 inches high and
weighed little over 20lbs., and who had never walked or talked. The
curious in such matters may, on warm, sunny mornings, occasionally
meet, in the neighbourhood of Bromsgrove Street, a very intelligent
little man not much if any bigger than the celebrated Tom Thumb, but
who has never been made a show of.

Dynamite Manufacture.—See “Notable Offences.”

Ear and Throat Infirmary.—See “Hospitals.”

Earthquakes are not of such frequent occurrence in this country
as to require much notice. The first we find recorded (said to be the
greatest known here) took place in November, 1318; others were felt in
this country in May, 1332; April, 1580; November, 1775; November,
1779; November, 1852, and October, 1863.

Easy Row, or Easy Hill, as Baskerville delighted to call the
spot he had chosen for a residence. When Mr. Hanson was planning out
the Town Hall, there were several large elm trees still standing in
Easy Row, by the corner of Edmund Street, part of the trees which
constituted Baskerville’s Park, and in the top branches of which
the rooks still built their nests. The entrance to Broad Street had
been narrow, and bounded by a lawn enclosed with posts and chains,
reaching to the elm trees, but the increase of traffic had
necessitated the removal (in 1838) of the grassplots and the fencing,
though the old trees were left until 1847, by which time they were
little more than skeletons of trees, the smoky atmosphere having long
since stopped all growth.

Eccentrics.—There are just a few now
to be found, but in these days of heaven-sent artists and special-born
politicians, it would be an invidious task to chronicle their doings,
or dilate on their peculiar idiosyncracies, and we will only note a
few of the queer characters of the past, leaving to the future
historian the fun of laughing at our men of to-day. In 1828 the man of
mark was “Dandie Parker,” a well-to-do seedsman, who, aping
Beau Brummel in gait and attire, sought to be the leader of fashion.
He was rivalled, a little while after, by one Meyers, to see whom was
a sight worth crossing the town, so firm and spruce was he in his
favourite dress of white hat and white trousers, dark green or blue
coat with gilt buttons, buff waistcoat, and stiff broad white
neckcloth or stock, a gold-headed cane always in hand. By way of
contrast to these worthies, at about the same period (1828-30) was one
“Muddlepate Ward,” the head of a family who had located
themselves in a gravel pit at the Lozells, and who used to drive about
the town with an old carriage drawn by pairs of donkeys and ponies,
the harness being composed of odd pieces of old rope, and the whip a
hedgestake with a bit of string, the whole turnout being as remarkable
for dirt as the first-named “dandies” were for
cleanliness.—”Billy Button” was another well-known but
most inoffensive character, who died here May 3, 1838. His real name
was never published, but he belonged to a good family, and early in
life he had been an officer in the Navy (some of his biographers say
“a commander”), but lost his senses when returning from a
long voyage, on hearing of the sudden death of a young lady to whom he
was to have been married, and he always answered to her name, Jessie.
He went about singing, and the refrain of one of his favourite
songs—

was for years after “Billy Button’s” death the nightly
“cry” of more than one peripatetic shellfishmonger. The
peculiarity that obtained for the poor fellow his soubriquet of
“Billy Button” arose from the habit he had of sticking every
button he could get on to his coat, which at his death, was covered so
thickly (and many buttons were of rare patterns), that it is said to
have weighed over 30lbs.—”Jemmy the Rockman,” who died
here in September, 1866, in his 85th year, was another well-known
figure in our streets for many years. His real name was James Guidney,
and in the course of a soldier’s life, he had seen strange
countries, and possibly the climates had not in every case agreed with
him, for, according to his own account, he had been favoured with a
celestial vision, and had received angelic orders no longer to shave,
&c. He obtained his living during the latter portion of his
existence by retailing a medicinal sweet, which he averred was good
for all sorts of coughs and colds.—Robert Sleath, in 1788, was
collector at a turnpike gate near Worcester, and, ’tis said, made
George III. and all his retinue pay toll. He died here in November,
1804, when the following appeared in print:—

Eclipses, more or less partial, are of periodical occurrence,
though many are not observed in this country. Malmesbury wrote of one
in 1410, when people were so frightened that they ran out of their
houses. Jan. 12, 1679, there was an eclipse so complete that none
could read at noonday when it occurred. May 3, 1715, gave another
instance, it being stated that the stars could be seen, and that the
birds went to roost at mid-day. The last total eclipse of the sun
observed by our local astronomers (if Birmingham had such
“plants”) occurred on May 22, 1724. An account of the next
one will be found in the Daily Mail, of August 12, 1999. On
August 17, 1868, there was an eclipse of the sun (though not
noticeable here) so perfect that its light was hidden for six minutes,
almost the maximum possible interval, and it may be centuries before
it occurs again.

Economy.—Our grandfathers, and their fathers,
practised economy in every way possible, even to hiring out the
able-bodied poor who had to earn the cost of their keep by spinning
worsted, &c., and they thought so much of the bright moonlight
that they warehoused the oil lamps intended for lighting the streets
for a week at a time when the moon was at its full, and never left
them burning after eleven o’clock at other times.

Edgbaston.—The name as written in the earliest known
deeds, was at first Celbaldston, altered as time went on to
Eggebaldston, Eggebaston, and Edgbaston. How long the family held the
manor before the Conquest is unknown; but when Domesday Book was
written (1086), the occupying tenant was one Drogo, who had two hides
of land and half a mile of wood, worth 20s.; 325 acres were set down
as being cultivated, though there were only ten residents. The
Edgbastons held it from the lords of Birmingham, and they, in turn,
from the lords of Dudley. Further than the family records the place
has no history, only 100 years ago Calthorpe Road being nothing but a
fieldpath, and Church Road, Vicarage Road, and Westbourne Road merely
narrow lanes. After the opening up of these and other roads, building
sites were eagerly sought by the more moneyed class of our local
magnates, and the number of inhabitants now are sufficient to people a
fair-sized town. In 1801 the population was under 1,000; in 1811, just
over that number; in 1851, it was 9,269; in 1861, 12,900; in 1871,
17,442, and on last census day, 29,951; showing an increase of more
than 1,000 a year at the present time; while what the rentals may
amount to is only known inside “the estate office.” Some
writers say that the parish church dates from about the year 775. The
earliest register book is that for 1635, which escaped the notice of
Cromwell’s soldiers, who nearly destroyed the church in 1648; and
from an entry in the register of St. Sepulchre’s Church,
Northampton, for 1659, it would appear that there were collections
made towards repairing the damage done by those worthies. This entry
quaintly states that “seven shillings and sixpence” was
received towards the repairs of the church of Edge Barston, in the
county of Warwick, adding also that there was “never a minister
in the said parish.”

Edgbaston Hall.—The last of the
Edgbastons was a lady by whose marriage the Middlemores came into
possession, and for nearly three hundred years the old house echoed
the footsteps of their descendants. In the troublous times of the
Commonwealth, Edgbaston House and Church were seized by Colonel John
Fox, the latter building being used as a stable for his horses, and
the former garrisoned by the soldiers kept there to over-awe the
gentry and loyal subjects of the country, to whom “Tinker
Fox,” as he was dubbed, was a continual terror. This worthy
carried on so roughly that even the “Committee of Safety”
(never particularly noted for kindness or even honesty) were ashamed
of him, and restored the place to its owner, Robert Middlemore, the
last of the name. By the marriages of his two grand-daughters the
estate was divided, but the portion including the manor of Edgbaston
was afterwards purchased by Sir Richard Gough, Knight, who gave
£25,000 for it. In the meantime the old house had been destroyed
by those peace-loving Brums, who, in December, 1688, razed to the
ground the newly-built Catholic Church and Convent in Masshouse Lane,
their excuse being that they feared the hated Papists would find
refuge at Edgbaston. Sir Richard (who died February 9, 1727) rebuilt
the Manor House and the Church in 1717-18, and enclosed the Park. His
son Henry was created a Baronet, and had for his second wife the only
daughter of Reginald Calthorpe, Esq., of Elvetham, in Hampshire. Sir
Henry Gough died June 8, 1774, and his widow on the 13th of April,
1782, and on the latter event taking place, their son, who succeeded
to the estates of both his parents, took his mother’s family name
of Calthorpe, and in 1796 was created a peer under the title of Baron
Calthorpe, of Calthorpe, county Norfolk. Edgbaston Hall has not been
occupied by any of the owners since the decease of Lady Gough, 1782.

Edgbaston Pool covers an area of twenty-two acres, three roods,
and thirty-six poles.

Edgbaston Street.—One of the most ancient streets in the
Borough, having been the original road from the parish church and the
Manor-house of the Lords de Bermingham to their neighbours at
Edgbaston. It was the first paved street of the town, and the chosen
residence of the principal and most wealthy burgesses, a fact proved
by its being known in King John’s reign as “Egebaston
Strete,” the worde “strete” in those days meaning a
paved way in cities or towns. This is further shown by the small plots
into which the land was divided and the number of owners named from
time to time in ancient deeds, the yearly rentals, even in Henry
VIII’s time being from 3s. to 5s. per year. At the back of the
lower side of Edgbaston Street, were several tanneries, there being a
stream of water running from the moat round the Parsonage-house to the
Manor-house moat, the watercourse being now known as Dean Street and
Smithfield Passage.

Electric Light.—The light of the future. The first public
exhibition of lighting by electricity, was introduced by Maccabe, a
ventriloquial entertainer of the public, at the entrance of Curzon
Hall, September 30, 1878. On the 28th of the following month, the
novelty appeared at the Lower Grounds, on the occasion of a football
match at night, the kick-off and lighting-up taking place at seven
o’clock. At the last Musical Festival, the Town Hall was lit up by
Messrs. Whitfield, of Cambridge-street, and the novelty is no longer a
rarity, a company having been formed to supply the houses, shops, and
public buildings in the centre of the town.

Electro Plate.—As early as 1838, Messrs. Elkington were
in the habit of coating ornaments with gold and silver by dipping them
in various solutions of those metals, and the first patent taken out
for the electro process appears to be that of July 6, 1838, for
covering copper and brass with zinc. Mr. John Wright, a surgeon, of
this town, was the first to use the alkaline cyanides, and the process
was included in Elkington’s patent of March 25, 1840. The use of
electricity from magnets instead of the voltaic battery was patented
by J.S. Wolrich, in August, 1842. His father was probably the first
person who deposited metals for any practical purpose by means of the
galvanic battery. Mr. Elkington applied the electro-deposit process to
gilding and silverplating in 1840.—See “Trades,” &c.

Electoral Returns.—See “Parliamentary.”

Emigration.—In August, 1794, Mr. Russell, of Moor Green,
and a magistrate for the counties of Warwick and Worcester, with his
two brothers and their families, Mr. Humphries, of Camp Hill Villa,
with a number of his relatives, and over a hundred other Birmingham
families emigrated to America. Previous to this date we have no record
of anything like an emigration movement from this town, though it is a
matter of history how strenuously Matthew Boulton and other
manufacturers exerted themselves to prevent the emigration of
artisans and workpeople, fearing that our colonies would be enriched
at the expense of the mother country. How sadly the times were changed
in 1840, may be imagined from the fact that when free passages to
Australia were first being offered, no less than 10,000 persons
applied unsuccessfully from this town and neighbourhood alone. At the
present time it is calculated that passages to America, Canada,
Australia, &c., are being taken up here at an average of 3,000 a
year.

Erdington.—Another of the ancient places (named in the
Domesday Book as Hardingtone) surrounding Birmingham and which ranked
as high in those days of old, though now but like one of our suburbs,
four miles on the road to Sutton Coldfield. Erdington Hall, in the
reign of Henry II., was the moated and fortified abode of the family
of that name, and their intermarriages with the De Berminghams,
&c., connected them with our local history in many ways. Though
the family, according to Dugdale and others, had a chapel of their
own, the hamlet appertained to the parish of Aston, to the mother
church of which one Henry de Erdington added an isle, and the family
arms long appeared in the heraldic tracery of its windows. Erdington
Church (St. Barnabas) was built in 1823, as a chapel of ease to Aston,
and it was not until 1858 that the district was formed into a separate
and distinct ecclesiastical parish, the vicar of Aston being the
patron of the living. In addition to the chapel at Oscott, the
Catholics have here one of the most handsome places of worship in the
district, erected in 1850 at a cost of over £20,000, a
Monastery, &c., being connected therewith. Erdington, which has
doubled its population within the last twenty years, has its Public
Hall and Literary Institute, erected in 1864, Police Station, Post
Office, and several chapels, in addition to the almshouses and
orphanage, erected by Sir Josiah Mason, noticed in another part of
this work. See also “Population Tables,” &c.

Estate Agents.—For the purposes of general business,
Kelly’s Directory will be found the best reference. The office for
the Calthorpe estate is at 65 Hagley Road; for the William Dudley
Trust estates, at Imperial Chambers B, Colmore Row; for the Great
Western Railway properties at 103, Great Charles Street; for the
Heathfield Estate in Heathfield Road, Handsworth; for the Horton
(Isaac) properties at 41, Colmore Row; Sir Joseph Mason’s estate
at the Orphanage, Erdington.

Exchange.—Corner of Stephenson Place and New Street,
having a frontage of 64 feet to the latter, and 186 feet to the
former. The foundation stone was laid January 2, 1863, the architect
being Mr. Edward Holmes, and the building was opened January 2, 1865,
the original cost being a little under £20,000. It has since
been enlarged (1876-78) to nearly twice the original size, under the
direction of Mr. J.A. Chatwin. The property and speculation of a
private company, it was (December 2, 1880) incorporated, under the
Joint Stock Companies’ Act, and returns a fair dividend on the
capital expended. In addition to the Exchange and Chamber of Commerce
proper, with the usual secretarial and committee rooms appertaining
thereto, refreshment, billiard, and retiring rooms, &c., there is
a large assembly-room, frequently used for balls, concerts, and
entertainments of a public character. The dimensions of the principal
hall are 70 feet length, 40 feet width, with a height of 23 feet, the
assembly-room above being same size, but loftier. The central tower is
110 feet high, the turret, in which there was placed a clock made by
John Inshaw, to be moved by electro-magnetic power (but which is now
only noted for its incorrectness), rising some 45 feet above the
cornice. Other portions of the building are let off in offices.

Excise.—It is but rarely the Inland Revenue authorities
give the public any information showing the amount of taxes gathered
in by the officials, and the return, therefore, for the year ending
March 31, 1879, laid before the House of Commons, is worth preserving,
so far as the Birmingham collection goes. The total sum which passed
through the local office amounted to £89,321, the various
headings under which the payments were entered, being:—Beer
dealers, £2,245; beer retailers, £7,161; spirit dealers,
£1,617; spirit retailers, £8,901; wine dealers,
£874; wine retailers, £2,392; brewers, £9,518;
maltsters, £408; dealers in roasted malt, £17;
manufacturers of tobacco, £147; dealers in tobacco,
£1,462; rectifiers of spirits, £11; makers of methylated
spirits, £10; retailers of methylated spirits, £33;
vinegar makers, £26; chemists and others using stills, £4;
male servants, £1,094; dogs, £1,786; carriages,
£4,613; armorial bearings, £374; guns, £116; to kill
game, £1,523; to deal in game, £136; refreshment houses,
£366; makers and dealers in sweets, £18; retailers of
sweets, £42; hawkers and pedlars, £68; appraisers and
house agents, £132; auctioneers, £1,210; pawnbrokers,
£1,958; dealers in plate, £1,749; gold and silver plate
duty, £17,691; medicine vendors, £66; inhabited house
duty, £21,533.

The Excise (or Inland Revenue) Offices are in Waterloo Street, and are
open daily from 10 to 4.

Excursions.—The annual trip to the
seaside, or the continent, or some other attractive spot, which has
come to be considered almost an essential necessary for the due
preservation of health and the sweetening of temper, was a thing
altogether unknown to the old folks of our town, who, if by chance
they could get as far as Lichfield, Worcester, or Coventry once in
their lives, never ceased to talk about it as something wonderful. The
“outing” of a lot of factory hands was an event to be
chronicled in Aris’s Gazette, whose scribes duly noted the
horses and vehicles (not forgetting the master of the band, without
whom the “gipsy party” could not be complete), and the
destination was seldom indeed further than the Lickey, or Marston
Green, or at rarer intervals, Sutton Coldfield or Hagley. Well-to-do
tradesmen and employers of labour were satisfied with a few hours
spent at some of the old-style Tea Gardens, or the Crown and Cushion,
at Perry Barr, Aston Cross or Tavern, Kirby’s, or the New Inn, at
Handsworth, &c. The Saturday half-holiday movement, which came
soon after the introduction of the railways, may be reckoned as
starting the excursion era proper, and the first Saturday afternoon
trip (in 1854) to the Earl of Bradford’s, at Castle Bromwich, was
an eventful episode even in the life of George Dawson, who accompanied
the trippites. The railway trips of the late past and present seasons
are beyond enumeration, and it needs not to be said that anyone with a
little spare cash can now be whisked where’er he wills, from
John-o’-Groats to the Land’s End, for a less sum than our
fathers paid to see the Shrewsbury Show, or Lady Godiva’s ride at
Coventry. As it was “a new departure,” and for future
reference, we will note that the first five-shilling
Saturday-night-to-Monday-morning trip to Llandudno came off on August
14, 1880. The railway companies do not fail to give ample notice of
all long excursions, and for those who prefer the pleasant places in
our own district, there is a most interesting publication to be had
for 6d., entitled “The Birmingham Saturday Half-holiday
Guide,” wherein much valuable information is given respecting the
nooks and corners of Warwick and Worcester, and their hills and dales.

Executions.—In 1729 a man was hung on
Gibbett Hill, site of Oscott College, for murder and highway robbery.
Catherine Evans was hung February 8, 1742, for the murder of her
husband in this town. At the Summer Assizes in 1773, James Duckworth,
hopfactor and grocer, of this town, was sentenced to death for
counterfeiting and diminishing the gold coin. He was supposed to be
one of the heaviest men in the county, weighing over twenty-four
stone. He died strongly protesting his innocence, On the 22nd Nov.,
1780, Wilfrid Barwick, a butcher, was robbed and murdered near the
four mile stone on the Coleshill Road. The culprits were two soldiers,
named John Hammond (an American by birth) and Thomas Pitmore (a native
of Cheshire) but well known as “Jack and Tom,” drummer and
fifer in the recruiting service here. They were brought before the
magistrates at the old Public Office in Dale End; committed; and in
due course tried and sentenced at Warwick to be hanged and gibbeted on
Washwood Heath, near the scene of the murder. The sentence was carried
out April 2, 1781, the bodies hanging on the gibbet in chains a short
time, until they were surreptitiously removed by some humanitarian
friends who did not approve of the exhibition. What became of the
bodies was not known until the morning of Thursday, Jan. 20, 1842,
when the navvies employed on the Birmingham and Derby (now Midland)
railway came upon the two skeletons still environed in chains when
they were removing a quantity of earth for the embankment. The
skeletons were afterwards reinterred under an apple-tree in the garden
of the Adderley Arms, Saltley, and the gibbet-irons were taken as
rarities to the Aston Tavern, where, possibly, inquisitive
relic-mongers may now see them. Four persons were hung for highway
robbery near Aston Park, April 2, 1790. Seven men were hung at
Warwick, in 1800, for forgery, and one for sheep-stealing. They hung
people at that time for crimes which are now punished by imprisonment
or short periods of penal servitude, but there was little mercy
combined with the justice then, and what small portion there happened
to be was never doled out in cases where the heinous offence of
forgery had been proved. On Easter Monday (April 19), 1802, there was
another hanging match at Washwood Heath, no less than eight
unfortunate wretches suffering the penalty of the law for committing
forgeries and other crimes in this neighbourhood. There would seem to
have been some little excitement in respect to this wholesale
slaughter, and perhaps fears of a rescue were entertained, for there
were on guard 240 of the King’s Dragoon Guards, then stationed at
our Barracks, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Toovey Hawley, besides
a detachment sent from Coventry as escort with the prisoners. The last
public execution here under the old laws was that of Philip Matsell,
who was sentenced to be hanged for shooting a watchman named Twyford,
on the night of July 22, 1806. An alibi was set up in defence,
and though it was unsuccessful, circumstances afterwards came to light
tending to prove that though Matsell was a desperado of the worst
kind, who had long kept clear of the punishments he had deserved, in
this instance he suffered for another. There was a disreputable gang
with one of whom, Kate Pedley, Matsell had formed an intimate
connection, who had a grudge against Twyford on account of his
interfering and preventing several robberies they had planned, and it
is said that it was his paramour, Kit Pedley, who really shot Twyford,
having dressed herself in Matsell’s clothes while he was in a
state of drunkenness. However, he was convicted and brought here (Aug.
23), from Warwick, sitting on his coffin in an open cart, to be
executed at the bottom of Great Charles Street. The scaffold was a
rough platform about ten feet high, the gallows rising from the centre
thereof, Matsell having to stand upon some steps while the rope was
adjusted round his neck. During this operation he managed to kick his
shoes off among the crowd, having sworn that he would never die with
his shoes on, as he had been many a time told would be his fate. The
first execution at Winson Green Gaol was that of Henry Kimberley
(March 17, 1885) for the murder of Mrs. Palmer.

Exhibitions.—It has long been matter
of wonder to intelligent foreigners that the “Toyshop of the
World” (“Workshop of the World” would be nearer the
mark) has never organised a permanent exhibition of its myriad
manufactures. There is not a city, or town, and hardly a country in
the universe that could better build, fit up, or furnish such a place
than Birmingham; and unless it is from the short-sighted policy of
keeping samples and patterns from the view of rivals in trade—a
fallacious idea in these days of commercial travellers and town
agencies—it must be acknowledged our merchants and manufacturers
are not keeping up with the times in this respect. Why should
Birmingham be without its Crystal Palace of Industry when there is
hardly an article used by man or woman (save food and dress materials)
but what is made in her workshops? We have the men, we have the iron,
and we have the money, too! And it is to be hoped that ere many years
are over, some of our great guns will see their way to construct a
local Exhibition that shall attract people from the very ends of the
earth to this “Mecca” of ours. As it is, from the grand old
days of Boulton and his wonderful Soho, down to to-day, there has been
hardly a Prince or potentate, white, black, copper, or coffee
coloured, who has visited England, but that have come to peep at our
workshops, mayor after mayor having the “honour” to toady to
them and trot them round the back streets and slums to where the men
of the bench, the file, and the hammer have been diligently working
generation after generation, for the fame and the name of our
world-known town. As a mere money speculation such a show-room must
pay, and the first cost, though it might be heavy, would soon be
recouped by the influx of visitors, the increase of orders, and the
advancement of trade that would result. There have been a few
exhibitions held here of one sort and another, but nothing on the plan
suggested above. The first on our file is that held at the Shakespeare
rooms early in 1839, when a few good pictures and sundry specimens of
manufactures were shown. This was followed by the comprehensive
Mechanics’ Institute Exhibition opened in Newhall Street, December
19th, same year, which was a success in every way, the collection of
mechanical models, machinery, chemical and scientific productions,
curiosities, &c., being extensive and valuable; it remained open
thirteen weeks. In the following year this exhibition was revived
(August 11, 1840), but so far as the Institute, for whose benefit it
was intended, was concerned, it had been better if never held, for it
proved a loss, and only helped towards the collapse of the Institute,
which closed in 1841. Railway carriages and tramcars propelled by
electricity are the latest wonders of 1883; but just three-and-forty
years back, one of our townsmen, Mr. Henry Shaw, had invented an
“electro-galvanic railway carriage and tender,” which formed
one of the attractions of this Exhibition. It went very well until
injured by (it is supposed) some spiteful nincompoop who, not having
the brain to invent anything himself, tried to prevent others doing
so. The next Exhibition, or, to be more strictly correct,
“Exposition of Art and Manufactures,” was held in the old
residence of the Lloyd’s family, known as Bingley House, standing
in its own grounds a little back from Broad Street, and on the site of
the present Bingley Hall. This was in 1849, and from the fact of its
being visited (Nov. 12) by Prince Albert, who is generally credited
with being the originator of International Exhibitions, it is believed
that here he obtained the first ideas which led to the great
“World’s Fair” of 1851, in Hyde Park.—Following
the opening of Aston Hall by Her Majesty in 1858, many gentlemen of
position placed their treasures of art and art manufacture at the
disposal of the Committee for a time, and the result was the
collecting together of so rich a store that the London papers
pronounced it to be after the “Great Exhibition” and the
Manchester one, the most successful, both as regarded contents and
attendance, of any Exhibition therebefore held out of the Metropolis.
There were specimens of some of the greatest achievements in the arts
of painting, sculpture, porcelain and pottery, carving and enamelling;
ancient and modern metalwork, rich old furniture, armour, &c, that
had ever been gathered together, and there can be little doubt that
the advance which has since taken place in the scientific and artistic
trade circles of the town spring in great measure from this
Exhibition.—On the 28th of August, 1865, an Industrial
Exhibition was opened at Bingley Hall, and so far as attendance went,
it must take first rank, 160,645 visitors having passed the doors.

Agricultural Exhibitions.—The Birmingham Agricultural
Exhibition Society, who own Bingley Hall, is the same body as the old
Cattle Show Society, the modern name being adopted in 1871. As stated
elsewhere, the first Cattle Show was held in Kent Street, Dec. 10,
1849; the second in Bingley Hall, which was erected almost solely for
the purposes of this Society, and here they have acquired the name of
being the best in the kingdom. To give the statistics of entries,
sales, admissions, and receipts at all the Shows since 1849, would
take more space than can be afforded, and though the totals would give
an idea of the immense influence such Exhibitions must have on the
welfare and prosperity of the agricultural community, the figures
themselves would be but dry reading, and those for the past few years
will suffice.

[Transcriber’s note: No figures are given in the original for 1883
in this table.]

In addition to the Christmas Cattle Show, the Society commenced in
March, 1869, a separate exhibition and sale of pure-bred shorthorns,
more than 400 beasts of this class being sent every year. Indeed, the
last show is said to have been the largest ever held in any country.
The value of the medals, cups, and prizes awarded at these cattle
shows averages nearly £2,400 per year, many of them being either
subscribed for or given by local firms and gentlemen interested in the
breeding or rearing of live stock. One of the principal of these
prizes is the Elkington Challenge Cup, valued at 100 guineas, which,
after being won by various exhibitors during the past ten years, was
secured at the last show by Mr. John Price, who had fulfilled the
requirements of the donors by winning it three times. Messrs.
Elkington & Co. have most liberally given another cup of the same
value. In 1876, for the first time since its establishment in 1839,
the Royal Agricultural Society held its exhibition here, the ground
allotted for its use being seventy acres at the rear of Aston Hall,
twenty-five acres being part of the Park itself. That it was most
successful may be gathered from the fact that over 265,000 persons
visited the show, which lasted from July 19th to 24th.

Poultry forms part of the Bingley Hall Exhibition, and
numerically the largest portion thereof, as per the table of entries,
which is well worth preserving also for showing when new classes of
birds have been first penned:

Fanciers give wonderfully strange prices sometimes. Cochin China fowls
had but lately been introduced, and were therefore “the
rage” in 1851-2. At the Poultry Show in the latter year a pair of
these birds were sold for £30, and at a sale by auction
afterwards two prize birds were knocked down at £40 each: it was
said that the sellers crowed louder than the roosters.

Fine Art.—The first exhibition of pictures took place in
1814, and the second in 1827. In addition to the Spring and Autumn
Exhibitions at the New Street Rooms, there is now a yearly show of
pictures by the members of the “Art Circle,” a society
established in 1877, for promoting friendship among young local
artists; their first opening was on Nov. 28, at 19, Temple Row. On
Nov. 17, 1879, Mr. Thrupp commenced a yearly exhibition of China
paintings, to which the lady artists contributed 243 specimens of
their skill in decorating porcelain and china.

Horses and hounds.—The first exhibition of these took
place at the Lower Grounds, Aug. 12, 1879. There had been a Horse Show
at Bingley Hall for several years prior to 1876, but it had dropped
out for want of support.

Birds.—An exhibition of canaries and other song birds,
was held Aug. 18, 1874. Another was held in 1882, at the time of the
Cattle Show.

Pigeons.—The first exhibition of pigeons in connection
with the Birmingham Columbarian Society, took place in Dec., 1864. The
annual Spring pigeon show at the Repository, opened March 20,1878.
There have also been several at St. James’ Hall, the first dating
Sept. 24, 1874.

Dogs.—Like the Cattle Show, the original Birmingham Dog
Show has extended its sphere, and is now known as the National
Exhibition of Sporting and other Dogs. The show takes place in Curzon
Hall, and the dates are always the same as for the agricultural show
in Bingley Hall. There is yearly accommodation for 1,000 entries, and
it is seldom that a less number is exhibited, the prizes being
numerous, as well as valuable. At the meeting of the subscribers held
July 19, 1883, it was resolved to form a new representative body, to
be called the National Dog Club, having for its object the improvement
of dogs, dog shows, and dog trials, and the formation of a national
court of appeal on all matters in dispute. It was also resolved to
publish a revised and correct stud book, to include all exhibitions
where 400 dogs and upwards were shown, and to continue it annually,
the Council having guaranteed £150, the estimated cost of the
publication of the book. This step was taken in consequence of the
action of certain members of the Kennel Club, who passed what had been
called “The Boycotting Rules,” calling upon its members to
abstain from either exhibiting or judging at shows which were not
under Kennel Club rules, and excluding winning dogs at such shows from
being entered in the Kennel Club Stud Book, many of the principal
exhibitors being dissatisfied with such arbitrary proceedings,
evidently intended to injure the Birmingham shows. At each show there
are classes for bloodhounds, deerhounds, greyhounds, otterhounds,
beagles, fox terriers, pointers, English setters, black-and-tan
setters, Irish setters, retrievers, Irish spaniels, water spaniels
(best Irish), Clumber spaniels, Sussex spaniels, spaniels (black),
ditto (other than black), dachshunds, bassett hounds, foreign sporting
dogs, mastiffs, St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, sheep dogs, Dalmatians,
bulldogs, bull-terriers, smooth-haired terriers, black-and-tan
terriers (large), small ditto black-and-tan terriers with uncut ears,
Skye-terriers, Dandie Dinmonts, Bedlington terriers, Irish terriers,
Airedale or Waterside terriers, wire-haired terriers, Scotch terriers
(hard haired), Yorkshire terriers, Pomeranians, pugs, Maltese, Italian
greyhounds, Blenheim spaniels, King Charles spaniels, smooth-haired
toy spaniels, broken-haired ditto, large and small sized foreign dogs.

In 1879, the exhibition of guns and sporting implements was
introduced, an additional attraction which made no difference
financially, or in the number of visitors.

Sporting.—An exhibition of requisites and appliances in
connection with sports and pastimes of all kinds was opened in Bingley
Hall, Aug 28, 1882. In addition to guns and ammunition, bicycles and
tricycles, there were exhibited boats, carriages, billiard tables,
&c.

Dairy Utensils.—The first of these exhibitions, June,
1880, attracted considerable attention for its novelty. It is held
yearly in Bingley Hall.

Bees.—An exhibition of bees, beehives, and other apiary
appliances took place at the Botanical Gardens, in Aug., 1879.

Food and Drinks.—A week’s exhibition of food, wines,
spirits, temperance beverages, brewing utensils, machinery, fittings,
stoves and appliances, was held in Bingley Hall, December 12-20, 1881.

Building.—A trades exhibition of all kinds of building
material, machinery, &c., was held in 1882.

Bicycles, &c.—The Speedwell Club began their annual
exhibition of bicycles, tricycles, and their accessories in February,
1882, when about 300 machines were shown. In the following year the
number was nearly 400; in 1884, more than 500; in 1885, 600.

Roots.—Messrs. Webb, of Wordsley, occupied Curzon Hall,
November 20, 1878, with an exhibition of prize roots, grown by their
customers.

Fruit, Flowers, &c.—The first flower show we have
note of was on June 19, 1833. The first chrysanthemum show was in
1860. The first Birmingham rose show in 1874 (at Aston); the second,
five years later, at Bingley Hall. The Harborne gooseberry-growers
have shown up every year since 1815, and the cultivators of pommes
de terre in the same neighbourhood first laid their tables in
public in Sept., 1879.

Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862.—Even as Birmingham may be
said to have given the first idea for the “Great Exhibition”
of 1851, so it had most to do with the building thereof, the great
palace in Hyde Park being commenced by Messrs. Fox, Henderson &
Co., July 26, 1850, and it was finished in nine months at a total cost
of £176,031. In its erection there were used 4,000 tons of iron,
6,000,000 cubic feet of woodwork, and 31 acres of sheet glass,
requiring the work of 1,800 men to put it together. 287 local
exhibitors applied for space amounting to 22,070 sup. feet, namely,
10,183 feet of flooring, 4,932 feet of table area, and 6,255 feet of
wall space. The “glory” of this exhibition was the great
crystal fountain in the centre, manufactured by Messrs. Osler, of
Broad Street, a work of art till then never surpassed in the
world’s history of glass-making and glass cutting, and which now
pours forth its waters in one of the lily tanks in Sydenham Palace.
Many rare specimens of Birmingham manufacture besides were there, and
the metropolis of the Midlands had cause to be proud of the works of
her sons thus exhibited. Fewer manufacturers sent their samples to the
exhibition of 1862, but there was no falling off in their beauty or
design. The Birmingham Small Arms trophy was a great attraction.

Explosions.—That many deplorable
accidents should occur during the course of manufacturing such
dangerous articles as gun caps and cartridges cannot be matter of
surprise, and, perhaps, on the whole, those named in the following
list may be considered as not more than the average number to be
expected:—Two lives were lost by explosion of fulminating powder
in St. Mary’s Square, Aug. 4. 1823.—Oct. 16, same year,
there was a gunpowder explosion in Lionel Street.—Two were
killed by fireworks at the Rocket Tavern, Little Charles Street, May
2, 1834.— An explosion at Saltley Carriage Works, Dec. 20,
1849.—Two injured at the Proof House, Sept. 23, 1850.—Five
by detonating powder in Cheapside, Feb 14, 1852.—Thirty-one were
injured by gas explosion at Workhouse, Oct. 30, 1855.—Several
from same cause at corner of Hope Street, March 11, 1856.—A cap
explosion took place at Ludlow’s, Legge Street, July 28,
1859.—Another at Phillips and Pursall’s, Whittall Street,
Sept. 27, 1852, when twenty-one persons lost their lives.—
Another in Graham Street June 21, 1862, with eight
deaths.—Boiler burst at Spring Hill, Nov. 23, 1859, injuring
seven.—An explosion in the Magazine at the Barracks, March 8,
1864, killed Quartermaster McBean.— At Kynoch’s, Witton,
Nov. 17, 1870, resulting in 8 deaths and 28 injured.—At
Ludlow’s ammunition factory, Dec. 9, 1870, when 17 were killed and
53 injured, of whom 34 more died before Christmas.—At Witton,
July 1, 1872, when Westley Richards’ manager was killed.—At
Hobb Lane, May 11, 1874.—Of gas, in great Lister Street, Dec. 9,
1874. —Of fulminate, in the Green Lane, May 4, 1876, a youth
being killed.— Of gas, at St. James’s Hall, Snow Hill, Dec.
4, and at Avery’s, Moat Row, Dec. 31, 1878.—At a match
manufactory, Phillip Street, Oct. 28, 1879, when Mr. Bermingham and a
workman were injured.

Eye Hospital.—See “Hospitals.”

Fairs.—The officers of the Court Leet, whose duty it was
to walk in procession and “proclaim” the fairs, went through
their last performance of the kind at Michaelmas, 1851. It was
proposed to abolish the fairs in 1860, but the final order was not
given until June 8th, 1875. Of late years there have been fairs held
on the open grounds on the Aston outskirts of the borough, but the
“fun of the fair” is altogether different now to what it
used to be. The original charters for the holding of fairs at
Whitsuntide and Michaelmas were granted to William de Bermingham by
Henry III. in 1251. These fairs were doubtless at one time of great
importance, but the introduction of railways did away with
seven-tenths of their utility and the remainder was more nuisance than
profit. As a note of the trade done at one time we may just preserve
the item that in 1782 there were 56 waggon loads of onions brought
into the fair.

Family Fortunes.—Hutton in his “History,” with
that quaint prolixity which was his peculiar proclivity gives numerous
instances of the rise and fall of families connected with Birmingham.
In addition to the original family of De Birmingham, now utterly
extinct he traced back many others then and now well-known names. For
instance he tells us that a predecessor of the Colmores in Henry
VIII.’s reign kept a mercer’s shop at No. 1, High Street; that
the founder of the Bowyer Adderley family began life in a small way in
this his native town in the 14th century; that the Foxalls sprang from
a Digbeth tanner some 480 years ago; and so of others. Had he lived
till now he might have largely increased his roll of local
millionaires with such names as Gillott, Muntz, Mason, Rylands,
&c. On the other hand he relates how some of the old families,
whose names were as household words among the ancient aristocracy,
have come to nought; how that he had himself charitably relieved the
descendants of the Norman Mountfourds, Middemores and Bracebridges,
and how that the sole boast of a descendant of the Saxon Earls of
Warwick was in his day the fact of his grandfather having “kept
several cows and sold milk.” It is but a few years back since the
present writer saw the last direct descendant of the Holtes working as
a compositor in one of the newspaper offices of this town, and almost
any day there was to be seen in the streets a truck with the name
painted on of “Charles Holte Bracebridge, Licensed Hawker!”

Famines.—In the year 310, it is said that 40,000 persons
died in this country from famine. It is not known whether any
“Brums” existed then. In 1195 wheat was so scarce that it
sold for 20s. the quarter; ten years after it was only 12d. In 1438,
the times were so hard that people ate bread made from fern roots. In
1565, a famine prevailed throughout the kingdom.

Fashionable Quarter.—Edgbaston is our “West
End,” of which Thomas Ragg (before he was ordained) thus
wrote:—

Feasts, Feeds, and Tea-fights.—Like other Englishmen,
when we have a good opinion of people we ask them to dinner, and the
number of public breakfasts, dinners, teas, and suppers on our record
is wonderful. We give a few of the most interesting:—3,800
persons dined with our first M.P.’s., Attwood and Scholefield, at
Beardsworth’s Repository, Sept. 15, 1834.—A Reform banquet
was the attraction in the Town Hall, Jan. 28, 1836.—Members and
friends of the ‘Chartist Church’ kept their Christmas
festival, by ‘taking tea’ in Town Hall, Dec.28,
1841.—1,700 Anti-Cornlawites (John Bright among them) did ditto
Jan. 22, 1843.—The defeat of an obnoxious Police Bill led 900
persons to banquet together April 9, 1845.—A banquet in honour
of Charles Dickens opened the year 1853—The first anniversary of
the Loyal and Constitutional Association was celebrated by the dining
of 848 loyal subjects, Dec. 17, 1855.— dinner was given to 1,200
poor folks in Bingley Hall, Jan. 25, 1858, to make them remember the
marriage of the Princess Royal. Those who were not poor kept the game
alive at Dee’s Hotel.—John Bright was dined in Town Hall,
Oct. 29, 1858.—A party of New Zealand chiefs were stuffed at
same place, March 16, 1864—To celebrate the opening of a Dining
Hall in Cambridge Street, a public dinner was given on All Fools’
Day, 1864.—On the 23rd April following, about 150 gentlemen
breakfasted with the Mayor, in honour of the Shakespeare Library being
presented to the town.—The purchase of Aston Park was celebrated
by a banquet, Sept. 22, 1864.—Over a hundred bellringers, at
Nock’s Hotel, 1868, had their clappers set wagging by Blews and
Sons, in honour of the first peal of bells cast by them, and now in
Bishop Ryder’s Church.—The Master Bakers, who have been
baking dinners for the public so long, in December, 1874, commenced an
annual series of dinners among themselves, at which neither baked
meats, nor even baked potatoes, are allowed.—Of political and
quasi-political banquets, there have been many of late years, but as
the parties have, in most cases, simply been gathered for party
purposes, their remembrance is not worth keeping.—To help pay
for improvements at General Hospital, there was a dinner at the Great
Western Hotel, June 4, 1868, and when the plate was sent round, it
received £4,000. That was the best, and there the list must
close.

Females.—The fairer portion of our local community number
(census 1881) 210,050, as against 197,954 males, a preponderance of
12,096. In 1871 the ladies outnumbered us by 8,515, and it would be an
interesting question how this extra ratio arises, though as one half
of the super-abundant petticoats are to be found in Edgbaston it may
possibly only be taken as a mark of local prosperity, and that more
female servants are employed than formerly.—See “Population” Tables.

Fenianism.—It was deemed necessary in Jan., 1881, to
place guards of soldiers at the Tower and Small Arms Factory, but the
Fenians did not trouble us; though later on a very pretty manufactory
of dynamite was discovered in Ledsam Street.—See “Notable Offences.”

Ferrars.—The De Ferrars were at one time Lords of the
Manor, Edmund de Ferrars dying in 1438. The ancient public-house sign
of “The Three Horseshoes” was taken from their coat of arms.

Festivals.—Notes of the past Triennial Musical Festivals
for which Birmingham is so famous, the performances, and the many
great artistes who have taken part therein, will be found further on.

Fetes were held in Aston Park July 27, and September 15, 1856,
for the benefit of the Queen’s and General Hospitals, realising
therefore £2,330. The first to “Save Aston Hall” took
place August 17, 1857, when a profit of £570 was made. There
have been many since then, but more of the private speculation class,
Sangers’ so-called fête at Camp Hill, June 27, 1874, being
the first of their outdoor hippodrome performances.

Fires.—When Prince Rupert’s soldiers set fire to the
town, in 1643, no less than 155 houses were burned.—Early in
1751 about £500 worth of wool was burned at Alcock’s, in
Edgbaston Street.—May 24, 1759, the stage waggon to Worcester
was set on fire by the bursting of a bottle of aqua-fortis, and the
contents of the waggon, valued at £5,000, were
destroyed.—In November, 1772, Mr. Crowne’s hop and cheese
warehouse, top of Carr’s Lane, was lessened £400 in
value.—The Theatre Royal was burned August 24, 1791, and again
January 6, 1820.—Jerusalem Temple, Newhall Hill, was burned
March 10, 1793.—St. Peter’s Church suffered January 24,
1831.—There was a great blaze at Bolton’s timber yard, Broad
Street, May 27, 1841.—At the Manor House, Balsall Heath, in
1848.—Among Onion’s bellows, in March, 1853.—At the
General Hospital, December 24, 1853.—At the Spread Eagle Concert
Hall, May 5, 1855.—At a builder’s in Alcester Street,
October 4, 1858.—At Aston Brook Flour mill, June 1, 1862, with
£10,000 damage.—At Lowden & Beeton’s, High Street,
January 3, 1863; the firm were prosecuted as incendiaries.—At
Gameson’s Tavern, Hill Street, December 25, 1863; six lives
lost.—On the stage at Holder’s, July 3, 1865; two ballet
dancers died from fright and injuries.—At Baskerville Sawmills,
September 7, 1867.—In Sutton Park, August 4, 1868.—In a
menagerie in Carr’s Lane, January 25, 1870. —At Dowler’s
Plume Works, March 16.—In Denmark Street, May 23; two children
burned.—At Worcester Wharf, June 2, 1870; two men
burnt.—At Warwick Castle, Dec. 3, 1871.—At Smith’s hay
and straw yard, Crescent, through lightning, July 25, 1872.—In
Sherbourne Street, June 25, 1874, and same day in Friston Street; two
men burned.—At the hatter’s shop in Temple Street, Nov. 25,
1875.—At Tipper’s Mystery Works, May 16, and at Holford
Mill, Perry Barr, August 3, 1876.—At Icke and Co.’s, Lawley
Street, May 17, 1877; £2,500 damage.—At Adam’s colour
warehouse, Suffolk Street, October 13, 1877; £10,000
damage.—In Bloomsbury Street, September 29, 1877; an old man
burned.—In Lichfield Road, November 26, 1877; two horses, a cow,
and 25 pigs roasted.—January 25, 1878, was a hot day, there
being four fires in 15 hours.—At Hayne’s flour mill,
Icknield Port Road, Feb. 2, 1878, with £10,000 damage; first
time steam fire engine was used.—At Baker Bros’., match
manufactory, Freeth Street, February 11.—At Grew’s and at
Cund’s printers, March 16, 1878; both places being set on fire by
a vengeful thief; £2,000 joint damage. —At corner of Bow
Street, July 29, 1878.—At Dennison’s shop, opposite Museum
Concert Hall, August 26, 1878, when Mrs. Dennison, her baby, her
sister, and a servant girl lost their lives. The inquest terminated on
September 30 (or rather at one o’clock next morning), when a
verdict of “accidental death” was given in the case of the
infant, who had been dropped during an attempted rescue, and with
respect to the others that they had died from suffocation caused by a
five designedly lighted, but by whom the jury had not sufficient
evidence to say. Great fault was found with the management of the fire
brigade, a conflict of authority between them and the police giving
rise to very unpleasant feelings. At Cadbury’s cocoa manufactory,
November 23, 1878. In Legge Street, at a gun implement maker’s,
December 14, 1878; £600 damage.—And same day at a gun
maker’s, Whittall Street; £300 damage.—At Hawkes’s
looking-glass manufactory, Bromsgrove Street, January 8, 1879;
£20,000 damage.—The Reference Library, January 11, 1879 (a
most rueful day); damage incalculable and irreparable.—At Hinks
and Sons’ lamp works, January 30, 1879; £15,000
damage.—At the Small Arms Factory, Adderley Road, November 11,
1879; a fireman injured.—At Grimsell and Sons’, Tower
Street, May 5, 1880; over £5,000 damage.—Ward’s
cabinet manufactory, Bissell Street, April 11, 1885.

Firearms.—See “Trades.”

Fire Brigades.—A volunteer brigade, to help at fires, was
organised here in February 1836, but as the several companies, after
introducing their engines, found it best to pay a regular staff to
work them, the volunteers, for the time, went to the “right
about.” In 1863 a more pretentious attempt to constitute a public
or volunteer brigade of firemen, was made, the members assembling for
duty on the 21st of February, the Norwich Union engine house being the
headquarters; but the novelty wore off as the uniforms got shabby, and
the work was left to the old hands, until the Corporation took the
matter in hand. A Volunteer Fire Brigade for Aston was formed at the
close of 1878, and its rules approved by the Local Board on Jan. 7,
1879. They attended and did good service at the burning of the
Reference Library on the following Saturday. August 23, 1879 the Aston
boys, with three and twenty other brigades from various parts of the
country, held a kind of efficiency competition at the Lower Grounds,
and being something new in it attracted many. The Birmingham brigade
were kept at home, possibly on account of the anniversary of the
Digbeth fire. Balsall Heath and Harborne are also supplied with their
own brigades, and an Association of Midland Brigades has lately been
formed which held their first drill in the Priory, April 28, 1883.

Fire Engines.—In 1839 the Birmingham Fire Office had two
engines, very handsome specimens of the article too, being profusely
decorated with wooden battle axes, iron scroll-work, &c. One of
these engines was painted in many colours; but the other a plain drab,
the latter it was laughingly said, being kept for the Society of
Friends, the former for society at large. The first time a
“portable” or hand engine was used here was on the
occurrence of a fire in a tobacconist’s shop in Cheapside Oct. 29,
1850. The steam fire engine was brought here in Oct. 1877.—See
“Fire Engine
Stations” under “Public Buildings.”

Fire Grates.—The first oven grate used in this district
was introduced in a house at “the City of Nineveh” about the
year 1818, and created quite a sensation.

Fire Insurance Companies.—The Birmingham dates its
establishment from March 1805. All the companies now in existence are
more or less represented here by agents, and no one need be uninsured
long, as their offices are so thick on the ground round Bennet’s
Hill and Colmore Row, that it has been seriously suggested the latter
thoroughfare should he rechristened and be called Insurance Street. It
was an agent who had the assurance to propose the change.

Fish.—In April, 1838, a local company was floated for the
purpose of bringing fish from London and Liverpool. It began
swimmingly, but fish didn’t swim to Birmingham, and though several
other attempts have been made to form companies of similar character,
the trade has been kept altogether in private hands, and to judge from
the sparkling rings to be seen on the hands of the ladies who
condescend to sell us our matutinal bloaters in the Market Hall, the
business is a pretty good one—and who dare say those dames de
salle are not also pretty and good? The supply of fish to this
town, as given by the late Mr. Hanman, averaged from 50 to 200 tons
per day (one day in June, 1879, 238 tons came from Grimsby alone) or,
each in its proper season, nearly as follows:—Mackerel, 2,000
boxes of about 2 cwt. each; herrings, 2,000 barrels of 1-1/2 cwt.
each; salmon, 400 boxes of 2-1/2 cwt. each; lobsters, 15 to 20 barrels
of 1 cwt. each; crabs, 50 to 60 barrels of 1-1/4 cwt. each; plaice,
1,500 packages of 2 cwt. each; codfish, 200 barrels of 2 cwt. each;
conger eels, 20 barrels of 2 cwt. each; skate, 10 to 20 barrels of 2
cwt. each.—See “Markets.”

Fishing.—There is very little scope for the practice of
Isaac Walton’s craft near to Birmingham, and lovers of the gentle
art must go farther afield to meet with good sport. The only spots
within walking distance are the pools at Aston Park and Lower Grounds,
at Aston Tavern, at Bournbrook Hotel (or, as it is better known,
Kirby’s), and at Pebble Mill, in most of which may be found perch,
roach, carp, and pike. At Pebble Mill, March 20, last year, a pike was
captured 40 inches long, and weighing 22 lbs., but that was a finny
rarity, and not likely to be met with there again, as the pool (so
long the last resort of suicidally inclined mortals) is to be filled
up. A little farther off are waters at Sarehole, at Yardley Wood, and
the reservoir at King’s Norton, but with these exceptions anglers
must travel to their destinations by rail. There is good fishing at
Sutton Coldfield, Barnt Green (for reservoir at Tardebigge), Alcester,
Shustoke, Salford Priors, and other places within a score of miles,
but free fishing nowhere. Anyone desirous of real sport should join
the Birmingham and Midland Piscatorial Association (established June,
1878), which rents portions of the river Trent and other waters. This
society early in 1880, tried their hands at artificial
salmon-hatching, one of the tanks of the aquarium at Aston Lower
Grounds being placed at their disposal. They were successful in
bringing some thousand or more of their interesting protegees from the
ova into fish shape, but we cannot find the market prices for salmon
or trout at all reduced.

Fishmongers’ Hall.—Not being satisfied with the
accommodation provided for them in the Fish Market, the Fish and Game
Dealers’ Association, at their first annual meeting (Feb. 13,
1878), proposed to erect a Fishmongers’ Hall, but they did not
carry out their intention.

Flogging.—In “the good old days,” when George
the Third was King, it was not very uncommon for malefactors to be
flogged through the streets, tied to the tail end of a cart. In 1786
several persons, who had been sentenced at the Assizes, were brought
back here and so whipped through the town; and in one instance, where
a young man had been caught filching from the Mint, the culprit was
taken to Soho works, and in the factory yard, there stripped and
flogged by “Black Jack” of the Dungeon, as a warning to his
fellow-workmen. This style of punishment would hardly do now, but if
some few of the present race of “roughs” could be treated to
a dose of “the cat” now and then, it might add considerably
to the peace and comfort of the borough. Flogging by proxy was not
unknown in some of the old scholastic establishments, but whipping a
scarecrow seems to have been the amusement on February 26th. 1842,
when Sir Robert Peel, at that day a sad delinquent politically, was
publicly flogged in elligy.

Floods—The milldams at Sutton burst their banks, July 24,
1668, and many houses were swept away.—On the 24th November,
1703, a three days’ storm arose which extended over the whole
kingdom; many parts of the Midlands being flooded and immense damage
caused, farmers’ live stock especially suffering. 15,000 sheep
were drowned in one pan of Gloucestershire; several men and hundreds
of sheep near to Worcester; the losses in Leicestershire and
Staffordshire being also enormous. Though there is no local record
respecting it here, there can be little doubt that the inhabitants had
their share of the miseries.—July 2, 1759, a man and several
horses were drowned in a flood near Meriden.— Heavy rains caused
great floods here in January, 1764.—On April 13, 1792, a
waterspout, at the Lickey Hills, turned the Rea into a torrent.
—The lower parts of the town were flooded through the heavy rain
of June 26, 1830.—There were floods in Deritend and Bordesley,
Nov. 11, 1852.—June 23, 1861, parts of Aston, Digbeth, and the
Parade were swamped.—Feb. 8, 1865, Hockley was flooded through
the bursting of the Canal banks; and a simmilar accident to the
Worcester Canal, May 25, 1872, laid the roads and gardens about
Wheeley’s Road under water.— There were very heavy rains in
July and October, 1875, causing much damage in the lower parts of the
town.—Aug. 2 and 3, 1879, many parts of the outskirts were
flooded, in comparatively the shortest time in memory.

Flour Mills.—The Union Mill Co. (now known as the Old
Union, &c.) was formed early in 1796, with a capital of
£7,000 in £1 shares, each share-holder being required to
take a given amount of bread per week. Though at starting it was
announced that the undertaking was not intended for profit,—such
were the advantages derived from the operations of the Company that
the shareholders it is said, in addition to a dividend of 10 per
cent., received in the course of couple of years a benefit equal to
600 per cent, in the shape of reduced prices. Large dividends have at
times been received, but a slightly different tale is now
told.—The New Union Mill was started in 1810; the Snow Hill Mill
about 1781; the Britannia Mills in 1862.

Fly Vans.—”Fly Boats” to the various places
connected with Birmingham by the canals were not sufficient for our
townspeople seventy years ago, and an opposition to the coaches
started in 1821, in the shape of Fly Vans or light Post Waggons, was
hailed with glee. These Fly Vans left the Crescent Wharf (where
Showell and Sons’ Stores are now) three evenings a week, and
reached Sheffield the following day. This was the first introduction
of a regular “parcels’ post,” though the authorities
would not allow of anything like a letter being sent with a parcel,
if they knew it.

Foolish Wager.—On July 8,1758, for a wager, a man named
Moraon got over the battlements of the tower at St. Martin’s, and
safely let himself down to the ground (a distance of 73 feet) without
rope or ladder, his strength of muscle enabling him to reach from
cornerstone to cornerstone, and cling thereto as he descended.

Football.—See “Sports.”

Forgeries.—The manufacture of bogus bank-notes was
carried on here, at one time, to an alarming extent, and even fifty
years ago, though he was too slippery a fish for the authorities to
lay hold of, it was well-known there was a clever engraver in the
Inkleys who would copy anything put before him for the merest trifle,
even though the punishment was most severe. Under “Notable
Offences” will be found several cases of interest in this
peculiar line of business.

Forks.—Our ancestors did without them, using their
fingers. Queen Elizabeth had several sent to her from Spain, but she
seldom used them, and we may be quite sure it was long after that ere
the taper fingers of the fair Brums ceased to convey the titbits to
their lips. Even that sapient sovereign, James I., the Scotch Solomon,
did not use the foreign invention, believing possibly with the
preacher who denounced them in the pulpit that it was an insult to the
Almighty to touch the meat prepared for food with anything but
one’s own fingers. Later on, when the coaches began to throng the
road, gentlemen were in the habit of carrying with them their own
knife and fork for use, so seldom were the latter articles to be found
at the country inns, and the use of forks cannot be said to have
become general more than a hundred years ago.

Forward.—The self-appropriated motto of our borough,
chosen at one of the earliest committee meetings of the Town Council
in 1839. Mr. William Middlemore is said to have proposed the use of
the word as being preferable to any Latin, though “Vox populi,
vox Dei,” and other like appropriate mottoes, have been
suggested. Like all good things, however, the honour of originating
this motto has been contested, the name of Robert Crump Mason having
been given as its author.

Fogs.—Bad as it may be now and then in the neighbourhood
of some of our works, it there is one thing in nature we can boast of
more than another, it is our comparatively clear atmosphere, and it is
seldom that we are troubled with fogs of any kind. In this respect, at
all events, the Midland metropolis is better off than its Middlesex
namesake, with its “London particular,” as Mr. Guppy calls
it. But there was one day (17th) in December, 1879, when we were, by
some atmospheric phenomena, treated to such “a peasouper”
that we must note it as being the curiosity of the day, the street
traffic being put a stop to while the fog lasted.

Folk-lore.—Funny old sayings are to be met with among the
quips and quirks of “folk-lore” that tickled the fancies of
our grandfathers. The following is to [**] with several changes, but
it [**] good to be lost:—

Fountains.—Messrs. Messenger and Sons designed, executed,
and erected, to order of the Street Commissioners, in 1851, a very
neat, and for the situation, appropriate, fountain in the centre of
the Market Hall, but which has since been removed to Highgate Park,
where it appears sadly out of place.

A number of small drinking-fountains or taps have been presented to
the town by benevolent persons (one of the neatest being that put up
at the expense of Mr. William White in Bristol Road in 1876), and
granite cattle-troughs are to be found in Constitution Hill, Icknield
Street, Easy Row, Albert Street, Gosta Green, Five Ways, &c. In
July, 1876, Miss Ryland paid for the erection of a very handsome
fountain at the bottom of Bradford Street, in near proximity to the
Smith field. It is so constructed as to be available for quenching the
thirst not only of human travellers, but also of horses, dogs,
&c., and on this account it has been appropriately handed over to
the care of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It
is composed of granite, and as it is surmounted by a gas lamp, it is,
in more senses than one, both useful and ornamental.—The
fountain in connection with the Chamberlain Memorial, at back of Town
Hall, is computed to throw out five million gallons of water per annum
(ten hours per day), a part of which is utilised at the fishstalls in
the markets. The Water Committee have lately put up an ornamental
fountain in Hagley Road, in connection with the pipe supply for that
neighbourhood.

Foxalls.—For centuries one of the most prosperous of our
local families, having large tanneries in Digbeth as far back as 1570;
afterwards as cutlers and ironmongers down to a hundred years ago.
They were also owners of the Old Swan, the famous coaching house, and
which it is believed was the inn that Prince Rupert and his officers
came to when Thomas, the ostler, was shot, through officiously
offering to take their horses.

Fox Hunts.—With the exception of the annual exhibition of
fox-hounds and other sporting dogs, Birmingham has not much to do with
hunting matters, though formerly a red coat or two might often have
been seen in the outskirts riding to meets not far away. On one
occasion, however, as told the writer by one of these old inhabitants
whose memories are our historical textbooks, the inhabitants of
Digbeth and Deritend were treated to the sight of a hunt in full cry.
It was a nice winter’s morning of 1806, when Mr. Reynard sought to
save his brush by taking a straight course down the Coventry Road
right into town. The astonishment of the shop-keepers may be imagined
when the rush of dogs and horses passed rattling by. Round the corner,
down Bordesley High Street, past the Crown and Church, over the bridge
and away for the Shambles and Corn Cheaping went the fox, and close to
his heels followed the hounds, who caught their prey at last near to
The Board. “S.D.R.,” in one of his chatty gossips anent the
old taverns of Birmingham, tells of a somewhat similar scene from the
Quinton side of the town, the bait, however, being not a fox, but the
trail-scent of a strong red herring, dragged at his stirrup, in wicked
devilry, by one of the well-known haunters of old Joe Lindon’s.
Still, we have had fox-hunts of our own, one of the vulpine
crew being killed in St. Mary’s Churchyard, Feb. 26, 1873, while
another was captured (Sept. 11, 1883) by some navvies at work on the
extension of New Street Station. The fox, which was a young one, was
found asleep in one of the subways, though how he got to such a
strange dormitory is a puzzle, and he gave a quarter-hour’s good
sport before being secured.

Freemasons.—See “Masonic.”

Freeth, the Poet.—The first time Freeth’s name
appears in the public prints is in connection with a dinner given at
his coffee-house, April 17, 1770, to celebrate Wilkes’ release
from prison. He died September 29, 1808, aged 77, and was buried in
the Old Meeting House, the following lines being graved on his
tombstone:—

Friendly Societies are not of modern origin,
traces of many having been found in ancient Greek inscriptions. The
Romans also had similar societies, Mr. Tomkins, the chief clerk of the
Registrar-General, having found and deciphered the accounts of one at
Lanuvium, the entrance fee to which was 100 sesterces (about 15s.),
and an amphora (or jar) of wine. The payments were equivalent to 2s. a
year, or 2d. per mouth, the funeral money being 45s., a fixed portion,
7s. 6d. being set apart for distribution at the burning of the body.
Members who did not pay up promptly were struck off the list, and the
secretaries and treasurers, when funds were short, went to their own
pockets.—The first Act for regulating Friendly Societies was
passed in 1795. Few towns in England have more sick and benefit clubs
than Birmingham, there not being many public-houses without one
attached to them, and scarcely a manufactory minus its special fund
for like purposes. The larger societies, of course, have many branches
(lodges, courts, &c), and it would be a difficult matter to
particularise them all, or even arrive at the aggregate number of
their members, which, however, cannot be much less than 50,000; and,
if to these we add the large number of what may be styled “annual
gift clubs” (the money in hand being divided every year), we may
safely put the total at something like 70,000 persons who take this
method of providing for a rainy day. The following notes respecting
local societies have been culled from blue books, annual reports, and
private special information, the latter being difficult to arrive at,
in consequence of that curious reticence observable in the character
of officials of all sorts, club stewards included.

Artisans at Large.—In March, 1868, the Birmingham
artisans who reported on the Paris Exhibition of 1867, formed
themselves into a society “to consider and discuss, from an
artisan point of view, all such subjects as specially affect the
artisan class; to promote and seek to obtain all such measures,
legislative or otherwise, as shall appear beneficial to that class;
and to render to each other mutual assistance, counsel, or
encouragement.” Very good, indeed! The benefits which have arisen
from the formation of this society are doubtless many, but as the
writer has never yet seen a report, he cannot record the value of the
mutual assistance rendered, or say what capital is left over of the
original, fund of counsel and encouragement.

Barbers.—A few knights of the razor in 1869 met together
and formed a “Philanthropic Society of Hairdressers,” but
though these gentlemen are proverbial for their gossiping
propensities, they tell no tales out of school, and of their charity
boast not.

Butchers.—A Butchers’ Benefit and Benevolent
Association was founded in 1877.

Coaldealers.—The salesmen of black diamonds have a mutual
benefit association, but as the secretary declines to give any
information, we fear the mutual benefit consists solely of helping
each other to keep the prices up.

Cannon Street Male Adult Provident Institution was established
in 1841. At the expiration of 1877 there were 8,994 members, with a
balance in hand of £72,956 15s. 5d. The total received from
members to that date amounted to £184,900, out of which
£131,400 had been returned in sick pay and funeral benefits, the
payments out varying from 4s. to 20s. a week in sickness, with a
funeral benefit of £20, £8 being allowed on the death of a
wife.

Carr’s Lane Provident Institution was commenced in 1845,
and has 299 male and 323 female members, with a capital of
£5,488, the amount paid in 1883 on account of sickness being
£242, with £54 funeral money.

Chemistry.—A Midland Counties’ Chemists’
Association was formed in May, 1869.

Christ Church Provident Institution was established in 1835,
and at the end of 1883, there were 646 male and 591 female members;
during the year £423 had been paid among 138 members on account
of sickness, besides £25 for funerals. Capital about
£5,800. A junior or Sunday school branch also exists.

Church of the Saviour Provident Institution was started in
1857.

Church School Teachers.—The Birmingham and District
Branch of the Church Schoolmaster’s and Schoolmistresses’
Benevolent Institution was formed in 1866, and the members contribute
about £250 per year to the funds.

Druids.—The order of Druids has five Lodges here, with
nearly 400 members. The United Ancient Order of Druids has twenty-one
Lodges, and about 1,400 members.

Ebenezer Chapel Sick Society was established in 1828. Has 135
members, whose yearly payments average 32s. 6d., out of which 17s.
dividend at Christmas comes back, the benefits being 10s. a week in
sickness and £10 at death.

Foresters.—In 1745 a few Yorkshire-men started “The
Ancient Order of Royal Foresters,” under which title the
associated Courts remained until 1834, when a split took place. The
secessionists, who gave the name of “Honour” to their No. 1
Court (at Ashton-under-Lyne), declined the honour of calling
themselves “Royal,” but still adhered to the antique part of
their cognomen. The new “Ancient Order of foresters” throve
well, and, leaving their “Royal” friends far away in the
background, now number 560,000 members, who meet in nearly 7,000
Courts. In the Birmingham Midland District them are 62 courts, with
about 6,200 members, the Court funds amounting to £29,900, and
the District funds to £2,200. The oldest Court in this town is
the “Child of the Forest,” meeting at the Gem Vaults,
Steelhouse Lane, which was instituted in 1839. The other Courts meet
at the Crown and Anchor, Gem Street; Roebuck, Lower Hurst Street;
Queen’s Arms, Easy Row; White Swan, Church Street; Red Cow, Horse
Fair; Crown, Broad Street; White Hart, Warstone Lane; Rose and Crown,
Summer Row; Red Lion, Suffolk Street; Old Crown, Deritend; Hope and
Anchor, Coleshill Street; Black Horse, Ashted Row; Colemore Arms,
Latimer Street South; Anchor, Bradford Street; Army and Navy Inn,
Great Brook Street; Red Lion, Smallbrook Street; Union Mill Inn, Holt
Street; Vine, Lichfield Road; Wellington, Holliday Street; Ryland
Arms, Ryland Street; Star and Garter, Great Hampton Row; Oak Tree,
Selly Oak; Station Inn, Saltley Road; Drovers’ Arms, Bradford
Street; Old Nelson, Great Lister Street; Ivy Green, Edward Street;
Iron House, Moor Street; Green Man, Harborne; Fountain, Wrentham
Street; King’s Arms, Sherlock Street; Shareholders’ Arms, Park
Lane; Shakespeare’s Head, Livery Street; Criterion, Hurst Street;
Acorn, Friston Street; Hen and Chickens, Graham Street; Albion, Aston
Road; Dog and Partridge, Tindal Street; White Horse, Great Colmore
Street; Carpenters’ Arms, Adelaide Street; Small Arms Inn, Muntz
Street; Weymouth Arms, Gerrard Street; General Hotel, Tonk Street;
Railway Tavern, Hockley; Noah’s Ark, Montague Street; Sportsman,
Warwick Road; Roebuck, Monument Road; Bull’s Head, Moseley; Swan
Inn, Coleshill; Hare and Hounds, King’s Heath; Roebuck, Erdington;
Fox and Grapes, Pensnett; Hazelwell Tavern, Stirchley Street; Round
Oak and New Inn, Brierley Hill; The Stores, Oldbury; and at the
Crosswells Inn, Five Ways, Langley.

General Provident and Benevolent Institution was at first
(1833) an amalgamation of several Sunday School societies. It has a
number of branches, and appears to be in a flourishing condition, the
assets, at end of 1883, amounting to over £48,000, with a yearly
increment of about £1,400; the number of members in the medical
fund being 5,112.

Grocers.—These gentlemen organised a Benevolent Society,
in 1872.

Independent Order of Rechabites.—Dwellers in tents, and
drinkers of no wine, were the original Rechabites, and there are about
a score of “tents” in this district, the oldest being
pitched in this town in 1839, and, as friendly societies, they appear
to be doing, in their way, good service, like their friends who meet
in “courts” and “lodges,” the original
“tent’s” cashbox having £675 in hand for cases of
sickness, while the combined camp holds £1,600 wherewith to bury
their dead.

Jewellers’ Benevolent Association dates from Oct. 25, 1867.

Medical.—A Midland Medical Benevolent Society has been in
existence since 1821. The annual report to end of 1883 showed invested
funds amounting to £10,937, there being 265 benefit members and
15 honorary.

Musical.—The Birmingham Musical Society consists almost
solely of members of the Choral Society, whose fines, with small
subscriptions from honorary members, furnishes a fund to cover
rehearsal, and sundry choir expenses as well as 10s in cases of
sickness.

New Meeting Provident Institution was founded in 1836, but is
now connected with the Church of the Messiah. A little over a thousand
members, one-third of whom are females.

Oddfellows.—The National Independent Order of Oddfellows,
Birmingham Branch, was started about 1850. At the end of 1879 there
were 1,019 members, with about £4,500 accumulated funds.

The Birmingham District of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows in
January, 1882, consisted of 43 lodges, comprising 4,297 members, the
combined capital of sick and funeral funds being £42,210. Tho
oldest Lodge in the District is the “Briton’s Pride,”
which was opened in 1827.

The first Oddfellows’ Hall was in King Street, but was removed
when New Street Station was built. The new Oddfellows’ Hall in
Upper Temple Street was built in 1849, by Branson and Gwyther, from
the designs of Coe and Goodwin (Lewisham, Kent), at a cost of
£3,000. Tim opening was celebrated by a dinner on December 3rd,
same year. The “Hall” will accommodate 1,000 persons. The
Oddfellows’ Biennial Moveable Committee met in this town on May
29th, 1871.

The M.U. Lodges meet at the following houses:—Fox, Fox Street;
White Horse, Congreve Street; Swan-with-two-Necks, Great Brook Street;
Albion, Cato Street North; Hope and Anchor, Coleshill Street; 13,
Temple Street; Wagon and Horses, Edgbaston Street; Crystal Palace, Six
Ways, Smethwick; The Vine, Harborne; Prince Arthur, Arthur Street,
Small Heath; George Hotel, High Street, Solihull; Bell, Phillip
Street; Bull’s Head, Digbeth; Edgbaston Tavern, Lee Bank, Road;
The Stork, Fowler Street, Nechells; Three Tuns, Digbeth; Town Hall,
Sutton Coldfield; Coffee House, Bell Street; Coach and Horses, Snow
Hill; Roe Buck, Moor Street; Drovers’ Arms, Bradford Street;
Co-operative Meeting Room, Stirchley Street; Black Lion, Coleshill
Street; Queen’s Head, Handsworth; No. 1 Coffee House, Rolfe
Street, Smethwick; New Inn, Selly Oak; Wagon and Horses, Greet;
Talbot, Yardley; Saracen’s Head, Edgbaston Street; Dolphin, Unett
Street; Grand Turk, Ludgate Hill; Roebuck, Moor Street; White Swan,
Church Street; White Lion, Thorpe Street; Queen’s Arms, Easy Row;
Rose and Crown, Wheeler Street, Lozells.

The National Independent Order was instituted in 1845, and registered
under the Friendly Societies’ Act, 1875. The Order numbers over
60,000 members, but its strongholds appear to be in Yorkshire and
Lancashire, which two counties muster between them nearly 40,000. In
Birmingham district, there are thirteen “lodges,” with a
total of 956 members, their locations being at the Criterion, Hurst
Street; Bricklayers’ Arms, Cheapside; Ryland Arms, Ryland Street;
Sportsman, Moseley Street; Iron House, Moor Street; Exchange Inn, High
Street; Red Lion, Smallbrook Street; Woodman, Summer Lane; Emily Arms,
Emily Street; Boar’s Head, Bradford Street; Turk’s Head, Duke
Street; Bird-in-Hand, Great King Street; Tyburn House, Erdington.

Old Meeting Friendly Fund was commenced in 1819, and registered
in 1824. Its capital at the close of the first year, was £5 14s.
10-1/2d.; at end of the tenth year (1828) it was nearly £264; in
1838, £646; in 1848, £1,609; in 1858, £3,419; 1868,
£5,549; in 1878, £8,237; and at the end of 1883,
£9,250 16s. 2d.;—a very fair sum, considering the numbers
only numbered 446, the year’s income being £877 and the
out-goings £662.

Railway Guards’ Friendly Fund was originated in this town
in 1848. It has nearly 2,200 members; the yearly disbursements being
about £6,000, and the payments £40 at death, with life
pensions of 10s. and upwards per week to members disabled on the line.
More than £85,000 has been thus distributed since the
commencement.

Roman Catholic.—A local Friendly Society was founded in
1794, and a Midland Association in 1824.

Shepherds.—The Order of Shepherds dates from 1834, but we
cannot get at the number of members, &c. August 9, 1883 (according
to Daily Post), the High Sanctuary meeting of the Order of
Shepherds was held in our Town Hall, when the auditor’s report
showed total assets of the general fund, £921 15s. 4d., and
liabilities £12 6s. 9-1/2d. The relief fund stood at £292
18s. 8d., being an increase of £66 0s. 11d. on the year; and
there was a balance of £6 13s. 9-1/2d. to the credit of the sick
and funeral fund.

St. David’s Society.—The members held their first
meeting March 1, 1824.

St. Patrick’s Benefit Society, dating from 1865 as an
offshoot of the Liverpool Society, had at end of 1882, 3,144 members,
the expenditure of the year was £857 (£531 for funerals),
and the total value of the society £2,030.

Unitarian Brotherly Society, registered in 1825, has about 500
members, and a capital of £8,500.

United Brothers.—There are nearly 100 lodges and 10,000
members of societies under this name in Birmingham and neighbourhood,
some of the lodges being well provided for capital, No. 4 having
£8,286 to 186 members.

United Family Life Assurance and Sick Benefit Society claims to
have some 8,500 members, 750 of whom reside in Birmingham.

United Legal Burial Society, registered in 1846, like the
above, is a branch only.

Union Provident Sick Society.—Founded 1802, enrolled in
1826 and certified in 1871, had then 3,519 members and a reserve fund
of £8,269. At end of 1883 the reserve fund stood at
£15,310 16s. 9d., there having been paid during the year
£4,768 17s. 2d. for sick pay and funerals, besides 15s. dividend
to each member.

There are 15,379 Friendly Societies or branches in the kingdom,
numbering 4,593,175 members, and their funds amounted to (by last
return) £12,148,602.

Friends (The Society of).—Quakerism
was publicly professed here in 1654, George Fox visiting the town the
following year and in 1657. The triends held their first
“meetings” in Monmouth Street in 1659. The meeting-house in
Bull Street was built in 1703, and was enlarged several times prior to
1856, when it was replaced by the present edifice which will seat
about 800 persons. The re-opening took place January 25, 1857. The
burial-ground in Monmouth Street, where the Arcade is now, was taken
by the Great Western Railway Co. in 1851, the remains of over 300
departed Friends being removed to the yard of the meeting-house in
Bull Street.

Froggery.—Before the New Street Railway Station was
built, a fair slice of old Birmingham had to be cleared away, and
fortunately it happened to be one of the unsavoury portions, including
the spot known as “The Froggery.” As there was a Duck Lane
close by, the place most likely was originally so christened from its
lowlying and watery position, the connection between ducks and frogs
being self-apparent.

Frosts.—Writing on Jan. 27, 1881, the late Mr. Plant said
that in 88 years there had been only four instances of great cold
approaching comparison with the intense frost then ended; the first
was in January, 1795; the next in December and January, 1813-14; then
followed that of January, 1820. The fourth was in December and
January, 1860-61; and, lastly, January, 1881. In 1795 the mean
temperature of the twenty-one days ending January 31st was 24.27
degrees; in 1813-14, December 29th to January 18th, exclusively, 24.9
degrees; in 1820, January 1st to 21st, inclusively, 23.7 degrees; in
1860-61, December 20th to January 9th, inclusively, 24.5 degrees; and
in 1881, January 7th to 27th, inclusively, 23.2 degrees. Thus the very
coldest three weeks on record in this district, in 88 years, is
January, 1881. With the exception of the long frost of 1813-4, which
commenced on the 24th December and lasted three months, although so
intense in their character, none of the above seasons were remarkable
for protracted duration. The longest frosts recorded in the present
century were as follows:—1813-14, December to March. 13 weeks;
1829-30, December, January, February, 10 weeks; 1838, January,
February, 8 weeks; 1855, January, February, 7 weeks; 1878-79,
December, January, February, 10 weeks.

Funny Notions.—The earliest existing statutes governing
our Free Grammar of King Edward VI. bear the date of 1676. One of
these rules forbids the assistant masters to marry.—In 1663
(temp. Charles II.) Sir Robert Holte, of Aston, received a
commission from Lord Northampton, “Master of His Majesty’s
leash,” to take and seize greyhounds, and certain other dogs, for
the use of His Majesty!—The “Dancing Assembly,” which
was to meet on the 30th January, 1783, loyally postponed their light
fantastic toeing, “in consequence of that being the anniversary
of the martyrdom of Charles I.”—In 1829, when the Act was
passed appointing Commissioners for Duddeston and Nechells, power was
given for erecting gasworks, provided they did not extend over more
than one acre, and that no gas was sent into the adjoining parish of
Birmingham.—A writer in Mechanics’ Magazine for 1829,
who signed his name as “A. Taydhill, Birmingham,” suggested
that floor carpets should be utilized as maps where with to teach
children geography. The same individual proposed that the inhabitants
of each street should join together to buy a long pole, or mast, with
a rope and pulley, for use as a fireescape, and recommended them to
convey their furniture in or out of the windows with it, as “good
practice.”—A patent was taken out by Eliezer Edwards, in
1853, for a bedstead fitted with a wheel and handle, that it might be
used as a wheelbarrow.—Sergeant Bates, of America, invaded
Birmingham, Nov. 21, 1872, carrying the “stars and stripes,”
as a test of our love for our Yankee cousins.

Funeral Reform.—An association for doing away with the
expensive customs so long connected with the burying of the dead, was
organised in 1875, and slowly, but surely, are accomplishing the task
then entered upon. At present there are about 700 enrolled members,
but very many more families now limit the trappings of woe to a more
reasonable as well as economical exhibit of tailors’ and
milliners’ black.

Furniture.—Judging from some old records appertaining to
the history of a very ancient family, who, until the town swallowed it
up, farmed a considerable portion of the district known as the
Lozells, or Lowcells, as it was once called, even our well-to-do
neighbours would appear to have been rather short of what we think
necessary household furniture. As to chairs in bedrooms, there were
often none; and if they had chimnies, only movable grates, formed of a
few bars resting on “dogs.” Window-curtains, drawers,
carpets, and washing-stands, are not, according to our recollection,
anywhere specified; and a warming-pan does not occur till 1604, and
then was kept in the bed-room. Tongs appear as annexations of grates,
without poker or shovel; and the family plate-chest was part of
bed-room furniture. Stools were the substitutes for chairs in the
principal sitting-room, in the proportion of even twenty of the former
to two of the latter, which were evidently intended, par
distinction, for the husband and wife.

Galton.—The family name of a once well-known firm of gun,
sword, and bayonet makers, whose town-house was in Steelhouse Lane,
opposite the Upper Priory. Their works were close by in Weaman Street,
but the mill for grinding and polishing the barrels and blades was at
Duddeston, near to Duddeston Hall, the Galton’s country-house. It
was this firm’s manufactury that Lady Selbourne refers to in her
“Diary,” wherein she states that in 1765 she went to a
Quaker’s “to see the making of guns.” The strange
feature of members of the peace-loving Society of Friends being
concerned in the manufacture of such death-dealing implements was so
contrary to their profession, that in 1796, the Friends strongly
remonstrated with the Galtons, leading to the retirement of the senior
partner from the trade, and the expulsion of the junior from the body.
The mansion in Steelhouse Lane was afterwards converted into a
banking-house; then used for the purposes of the Polytechnic
Institution; next, after a period of dreary emptiness, fitted up as
the Children’s Hospital, after the removal of which to Broad
Street, the old house has reverted to its original use, as the private
abode of Dr. Clay.

Gambetta.—The eminent French patriot was fined 2,000
francs for upholding the freedom of speech and the rights of the
press, two things ever dear to Liberal Birmingham, and it was proposed
to send him the money from here as a mark of esteem and sympathy. The
Daily Post took the matter in hand, and, after appealing to its
40,000 readers every day for some weeks, forwarded (November 10, 1877)
a draft for £80 17s. 6d.

Gaols.—The Town Gaol, or Lockup, at
the back of the Public Office, in Moor-street, was first used in
September, 1806. It then consisted of a courtyard, 59 ft. by 30 ft.
(enclosed by a 26 ft. wall) two day rooms or kitchens, 14 ft. square,
and sixteen sleeping cells, 8 ft. by 6 ft. The prisoners’
allowance was a pennyworth of bread and a slice of cheese twice a day,
and the use of the pump. Rather short commons, considering the 4 lb.
loaf often sold at 1s. The establishment, which is vastly improved and
much enlarged, is now used only as a place of temporary detention or
lockup, where prisoners are first received, and wait their
introduction to the gentlemen of the bench. The erection of the
Borough Gaol was commenced on October 29, 1845, and it was opened for
the reception of prisoners, October 17, 1849, the first culprit being
received two days afterwards. The estimated cost was put at
£51,447, but altogether it cost the town about £90,000,
about £70,000 of which has been paid off. In the year 1877,
three prisoners contrived to escape; one, John Sutcliffe, who got out
on July 25, not being recaptured till the 22nd of January following.
The others were soon taken back home. The gaol was taken over by the
government as from April 1, 1878, Mr. J.W. Preston, being appointed
Governor at a salary of £510, in place of Mr. Meaden, who had
received £450, with certain extras.—See “Dungeon” and “Prisons.” The new County Goal
at Warwick was first occupied in 1860.

Gaol Atrocities.—The first Governor appointed to the
Borough Gaol was Captain Maconochie, formerly superintendent over the
convicts at Norfolk Island in the days of transportation of criminals.
He was permitted to try as an experiment a “system of
marks,” whereby a prisoner, by his good conduct and industry,
could materially lessen the duration of his punishment, and, to a
certain extent improve his dietary. The experiment, though only tried
with prisoners under sixteen, proved very successful, and at one time
hopes were entertained that the system would become general in all the
gaols of the kingdom. So far as our gaol was concerned, however, it
proved rather unfortunate that Captain Maconochie, through advancing
age and other causes, was obliged to resign his position (July, 1851),
for upon the appointment of his successor, Lieutenant Austin, a
totally opposite course of procedure was introduced, a perfect reign
of terror prevailing in place of kindness and a humane desire to lead
to the reformation of criminals. In lieu of good marks for industry,
the new Governor imposed heavy penal marks if the tasks set them were
not done to time, and what these tasks were may be gathered from the
fact that in sixteen months no less than fifteen prisoners were driven
to make an attempt on their lives, through the misery and torture to
which they were exposed, three unfortunates being only too successful.
Of course such things could not be altogether hushed up, and after one
or two unsatisfactory “inquiries” had been held, a Royal
Commission was sent down to investigate matters. One case out of many
will be sufficient sample of the mercies dealt out by the governor to
the poor creatures placed under his care. Edward Andrews, a lad of 15,
was sent to gaol for three months (March 28, 1853) for stealing a
piece of beef. On the second day he was put to work at “the
crank,” every turn of which was equal to lifting a weight of
20lbs., and he was required to make 2,000 revolutions before he had
any breakfast, 4,000 more before dinner, and another 4,000 before
supper, the punishment for not completing either of these tasks being
the loss of the meal following. The lad failed on many occasions, and
was fed almost solely on one daily, or, rather, nightly allowance of
bread and water. For shouting he was braced to a wall for hours at a
time, tightly cased in a horrible jacket and leather collar, his feet
being only moveable. In this position, when exhausted almost to death,
he was restored to sensibility by having buckets of water thrown over
him. What wonder that within a month he hung himself. A number of
similar cases of brutality were proved, and the Governor thought it
best to resign, but he was not allowed to escape altogether scot free,
being tried at Warwick on several charges of cruelty, and being
convicted, was sentenced by the Court of Queen’s Bench to a term
of three months’ imprisonment.

Garibaldi.—At a meeting of the Town Council, April 5,
1865, it was resolved to ask Garibaldi to pay a visit to this town,
but he declined the honour, as in the year previous he had similarly
declined to receive an offered town subscription.

Garrison.—Though a strong force was kept in the Barracks
in the old days of riot and turbulence, it is many years since we have
been favoured with more than a single company of red coats at a time,
our peaceful inland town not requiring a strong garrison.

Gardens.—A hundred to 150 years ago there was no town in
England better supplied with gardens than Birmingham, almost every
house in what are now the main thoroughfares having its plot of garden
ground. In 1731 there were many acres of allotment gardens (as they
came to be called at a later date) where St. Bartholomew’s Church
now stands, and in almost every other direction similar pieces of land
were to be seen under cultivation. Public tea gardens were also to be
found in several quarters of the outskirts; the establishment known as
the Spring Gardens closing its doors July 31, 1801. The Apollo Tea
Gardens lingered on till 1846, and Beach’s Gardens closed in
September, 1854.

Gas.—William Murdoch is generally
credited with the introduction of lighting by gas, but it is evident
that the inflammability of the gas producible from coal was known long
before his day, as the Rev. Dr. John Clayton, Dean of Kildare,
mentioned it in a letter he wrote to the Hon. Robert Boyle, in 1691.
The Dr.’s discovery was probably made during his stay in Virginia,
and another letter of his shows the probability of his being aware
that the gas would pass through water without losing its lighting
properties. The discovery has also been claimed as that of a learned
French savant but Murdoch must certainly take the honour of
being the first to bring gas into practical use at his residence, at
Redruth, in 1792, and it is said that he even made a lantern to light
the paths in his evening walks, the gas burned in which was contained
in a bag carried under his arm, his rooms being also lit up from a bag
of gas placed under weights. The exact date of its introduction in
this neighbourhood has not been ascertained though it is believed that
part of the Soho Works were fitted with gas-lights in 1798, and, on
the occurrence of the celebration of the Peace of Amiens, in 1802, a
public exhibition was made of the new light, in the illumination of
the works. The Gazette of April 5, 1802 (according to extract
by Dr. Langford, in his “Century of Birmingham Life”)
described the various devices in coloured lamps and transparencies,
but strangely enough does not mention gas at all. Possibly gas was no
longer much of a novelty at Soho, or the reporter might not have known
the nature of the lights used, but there is the evidence of Mr. Wm.
Matthews, who, in 1827 published an “Historical Sketch of
Gaslighting,” in which he states that he had “the
inexpressible gratification of witnessing, in 1802, Mr. Murdoch’s
extraordinary and splendid exhibition of gaslights at Soho.” On
the other hand, the present writer was, some years back, told by one
of the few old Soho workmen then left among us, that on the occasion
referred to the only display of gas was in the shape of one large lamp
placed at one end of the factory, and then called a “Bengal
light,” the gas for which was brought to the premises in several
bags from Mr. Murdoch’s own house. Though it has been always
believed that the factory and offices throughout were lighted by gas
in 1803, very soon after the Amiens illumination, a correspondent to
the Daily Post has lately stated that when certain of his
friends went to Soho, in 1834, they found no lights in use, even for
blowpipes, except oil and candles and that they had to lay on gas from
the mains of the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Company in the
Holyhead Road. If correct, this is a curious bit of the history of the
celebrated Soho, as other manufacturers were not at all slow in
introducing gas for working purposes as well as lighting, a well-known
tradesman, Benjamin Cook, Caroline Street, having fitted up retorts
and a gasometer on his premises in 1808, his first pipes being
composed of old or waste gun-barrels, and he reckoned to clear a
profit of £30 a year, as against his former expenditure for
candles and oil. The glassworks of Jones, Smart, and Co., of Aston
Hill, were lit up by gas as early as 1810, 120 burners being used at a
nightly cost of 4s. 6d., the gas being made on the premises from a
bushel of coal per day. The first proposal to use gas in lighting the
streets of Birmingham was made in July 1811, and here and there a lamp
soon appeared, but they were supplied by private firms, one of whom
afterwards supplied gas to light the chapel formerly on the site of
the present Assay Office, taking it from their works in Caroline
Street, once those of B. Cook before-mentioned. The Street
Commissioners did not take the matter in hand till 1815, on November 8
of which year they advertised for tenders for lighting the streets
with gas instead of oil. The first shop in which gas was used was that
of Messrs. Poultney, at the corner of Moor Street, in 1818, the pipes
being laid from the works in Gas Street by a private individual, whose
interest therein was bought up by the Birmingham Gaslight Company. The
principal streets were first officially lighted by gas-lamps on April
29, 1826, but it was not until March, 1843, that the Town Council
resolved that that part of the borough within the parish of Edgbaston
should be similarly favoured.

Gas Companies.—The first, or Birmingham Gaslight Co. was
formed in 1817, incorporated in 1819, and commenced business by buying
up the private adventurer who built the works in Gas Street. The
Company was limited to the borough of Birmingham, and its original
capital was £32,000, which, by an Act obtained in 1855, was
increased to £300,000, and borrowing powers to £90,000
more, the whole of which was raised or paid up. In the year 1874 the
company supplied gas through 17,000 meters, which consumed 798,000,000
cubic feet of gas. The Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Co. was
established in 1825, and had powers to lay their mains in and outside
the borough. The original Act was repealed in 1845, the company being
remodelled and started afresh with a capital of £320,000,
increased by following Acts to £670,000 (all called up by 1874),
and borrowing powers to £100,000, of which, by the same year
£23,000 had been raised. The consumption of gas in 1874 was
1,462,000,000 cubic feet, but how much of this was burnt by the
company’s 19,910 Birmingham customers, could not be told. The two
companies, though rivals for the public favour, did not undersell one
another, both of them charging 10/-per 1,000 feet in the year 1839,
while in 1873 large consumers were only charged 2/3 per 1,000 feet,
the highest charge being 2/7. The question of buying out both of the
Gas Companies had been frequently mooted, but it was not until 1874
that any definite step was taken towards the desired end. On April
17th, 1874, the burgesses recorded 1219 votes in favour of Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain’s proposition to purchase the Gas [and the Water]
Works, 683 voting against it. On Jan. 18th, 1875, the necessary Bills
were introduced into the House of Commons, and on July 15th and 19th,
the two Acts were passed, though not without some little opposition
from the outlying parishes and townships heretofore supplied by the
Birmingham and Staffordshire Co., to satisfy whom a clause was
inserted, under which Walsall, West Bromwich, &c., could purchase
the several mains and works in their vicinity, if desirous to do so.
The Birmingham Gas Co. received from the Corporation £450,000,
of which £136,890 was to be left on loan at 4%, as Debenture
Stock, though £38,850 thereof has been kept in hand, as the
whole was redeemable within ten years. The balance of £313,000
was borrowed from the public at 4%, and in some cases a little less.
The Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Co. were paid in Perpetual
Annuities, amounting to £58,290 per year, being the maximum
dividends then payable on the Co.’s shares, £10,906 was
returned as capital not bearing interest, £15,000 for surplus
profits, £30,000 the half-year’s dividend, and also
£39,944 5s. 4d. the Co’s Reserve Fund. The total cost was
put down as £1,900,000. The Annuities are redeemable by a
Sinking Fund in 85 years. For their portion of the mains, service
pipes, works, &c. formerly belonging to the Birmingham and
Staffordshire Company, the Walsall authorities pay the Corporation an
amount equivalent to annuities valued at £1,300 per year;
Oldbury paid £22,750, Tipton £34,700, and West Bromwich
£70,750.

Gas Fittings.—Curious notions appear to have been at
first entertained as to the explosive powers of the new illuminator,
nothing less than copper or brass being considered strong enough for
the commonest piping, and it was thought a great innovation when a
local manufacturer, in 1812, took out a patent for lead pipes
copper-coated. Even Murdoch himself seems to have been in dread of the
burning element, for when, in after years, his house at Sycamore Hill
changed owners, it was found that the smaller gas pipes therein were
made of silver, possibly used to withstand the supposed corrosive
effects of the gas. The copper-covered lead pipes were patented in
1819 by Mr. W. Phipson, of the Dog Pool Mills, the present compo being
comparatively a modern introduction. Messengers, of Broad Street, and
Cook, of Caroline Street (1810-20), were the first manufacturers of
gas fittings in this town, and they appear to have had nearly a
monopoly of the trade, as there were but three others in it in 1833,
and only about twenty in 1863; now their name is legion, gas being
used for an infinitude of purposes, not the least of which is by the
gas cooking stove, the idea of which was so novel at first that the
Secretary of the Gas Office in the Minories at one time introduced it
to the notice of the public by having his dinner daily cooked in a
stove placed in one of the office windows. An exhibition of gas
apparatus of all kinds was opened at the Town Hall, June 5, 1878, and
that there is still a wonderful future for development is shown by its
being seriously advocated that a double set of mains will be
desirable, one for lighting gas, and the other for a less pure kind to
be used for heating purposes.

Gas Works.—See “Public Buildings.”

Gavazzi.—Father Gavazzi first orated here in the Town
Hall, October 20, 1851.

Geographical.—According to the Ordnance Survey,
Birmingham is situated in latitude 52° 29′, and longitude
1° 54′ west.

Gillott.—See “Noteworthy Men.”

Girls’ Home.—Eighteen years ago several kind-hearted
ladies opened a house in Bath Row, for the reception of servant girls
of the poorest class, who, through their poverty and juvenility, could
not be sheltered in the “Servants’ Home,” and that such
an establishment was needed, is proved by the fact that no less than
334 inmates were sheltered for a time during 1883, while 232 others
received help in clothing &c., suited to their wants. The Midland
Railway having taken Bath House, the Home has lately been removed to a
larger house near the Queen’s Hospital, where the managers will be
glad to receive any little aid that can be rendered towards carrying
on their charitable operations.

Glass.—In the reign of Henry VI. the commonest kind of
glass was sold at 2s. the foot, a shilling in those days being of as
much value as a crown of today. The earliest note we can find of glass
being made here is the year 1785, when Isaac Hawker built a small
glasshouse behind his shop at Edgbaston Street. His son built at
Birmingham Heath on the site now occupied by Lloyd and Summerfield. In
1798 Messrs. Shakespeare and Johnston had a glasshouse in Walmer Lane.
Pressed glass seems to have been the introduction of Rice Harris about
1832, though glass “pinchers” (eleven of them) are named in
the Directory of 1780. In 1827 plate-glass sold at 12s. per foot and
in 1840 at 6s., ordinary sheet-glass being then 1s. 2d. per foot.
There was a duty on plate-glass prior to April 5, 1845, of 2s.
10-1/2d. per foot. The “patent plate” was the invention of
Mr. James Chance, and Chance Brothers (of whose works a notice will be
found in another part of this book) are the only manufacturers in this
country of glass for lighthouse purposes—See also “Trades,” &c.

Godwillings.—In olden days when our factors started on
their tours for orders, it was customary to send a circular in advance
announcing that “God willing” they would call upon their
customers on certain specified dates. In the language of the
counting-house the printed circulars were called
“Godwillings.”

Goldschmidt.—Notes of the various visits of Madame
Goldschmidt, better known by her maiden name of Jenny Lind, will be
found under the heading of “Musical Celebrities.”

Good Templars.—The Independent Order of Good Templars, in
this town, introduced themselves in 1868, and they now claim to have
90,000 adult members in the “Grand Lodge of England.”

Gordon.—Lord George Gordon, whose intemperate actions
caused the London Anti-Papist Riots of 1780, was arrested in this town
December 7, 1787, but not for anything connected with those
disgraceful proceedings. He had been found guilty of a libel, and was
arrested on a judge’s warrant, and taken from here to London, for
contempt of the Court of King’s Bench in not appearing when called
upon to do so. It has been more than once averred that Lord George was
circumcised here, before being admitted to the Jewish community, whose
rites and ceremonies, dress and manners, he strictly observed and
followed; but he first became a Jew while residing in Holland, some
time before he took lodgings in such a classic locality as our old
Dudley-street, where he lay hidden for nearly four months, a long
beard and flowing gaberdine helping to conceal his identity.

Gough.—Gough Road, Gough Street, and a number of other
thoroughfares have been named after the family, from whom the present
Lord Calthorpe, inherits his property.—See “Edgbaston Hall.”

Grammar School.—See “Schools.”

Great Brooke Street takes its name from Mr. Brookes, an
attorney of the olden time.

Great Eastern Steamship.—The engines for working the
screw propeller, 4 cylinders and 8,500 horse-power (nominal 1,700)
were sent out from the Soho Foundry.

Green’s Village.—Part of the old [**]ookeries in the
neighbourhood of the [**]nkleys.

Grub Street.—The upper part of Old Meeting Street was so
called until late years.

Guardians.—See “Poor Law.”

Guildhall.—The operative builders commenced to put up an
edifice in 1833 which they intended to call “The Guildhall,”
but it was only half finished when the ground was cleared for the
railway. Some of the local antiquaries strongly advocated the adoption
of the name “Guildhall” for the block of municipal buildings
and Council House, if only in remembrance of the ancient building on
whose site, in New Street, the Grammar School now stands.

Guild of the Holy Cross.—Founded in the year 1392 by the
“Bailiffs and Commonalty” of the town of Birmingham
(answering to our aldermen and councillors), and licensed by the
Crown, for which the town paid £50, the purpose being to
“make and found a gild and perpetual fraternity of brethren and
sustern (sisters), in honour of the Holy Cross,” and “to
undertake all works of charity, &c., according to the appointment
and pleasure of the said bailiffs and commonalty.” In course of
time the Guild became possessed of all the powers then exercised by
the local corporate authorities, taking upon themselves the building
of almshouses, the relief and maintenance of the poor, the making and
keeping in repair of the highways used by “the King’s
Majestie’s subjects passing to and from the marches of
Wales,” looking to the preservation of sundry bridges and lords,
as well as repair of “two greate stone brydges,” &c.,
&c. The Guild owned considerable portion of the land on which the
present town is built, when Henry VIII., after confiscating the
revenues and possessions of the monastic institutions, laid hands on
the property of such semi-religious establishments as the Guild of the
Holy Cross. It has never appeared that our local Guild had done
anything to offend the King, and possibly it was but the name that he
disliked. Be that as it may, his son, Edward VI., in 1552, at the
petition of the inhabitants, returned somewhat more than half of the
property, then valued at £21 per annum, for the support and
maintenance of a Free Grammar School, and it is this property from
which the income of the present King Edward VI.’s Grammar Schools
is now derived, amounting to nearly twice as many thousands as pounds
were first granted. The Guild Hall or Town’s Hall in New Street
(then only a bye street), was not quite so large as either our
present Town Hall or the Council House, but was doubtless considered
at the time a very fine building, with its antique carvings and
stained glass windows emblazoned with figures and armorial bearings of
the Lords right Ferrers and others. As the Guild had an organist in
its pay, it may be presumed that such an instrument was also there,
and that alone goes far to prove the fraternity were tolerably well
off, as organs in those times were costly and scarce. The old
building, for more than a century after King Edward’s grant, was
used as the school, but even when rebuilt it retained its name as the
Guild Hall.

Guns.—Handguns, as they were once termed, were first
introduced into this country by the Flemings whom Edward IV. brought
over in 1471, but (though doubtless occasional specimens were made by
our townsmen before then) the manufacture of small arms at Birmingham
does not date further back than 1689, when inquiries were made through
Sir Richard Newdigate as to the possibility of getting them made here
as good as those coming from abroad. A trial order given by Government
in March, 1692, led to the first contract (Jan. 5, 1693) made between
the “Officers of Ordnance” and five local manufacturers, for
the supply of 200 “snaphance musquets” every month for one
year at 17/-each, an additional 3/-per cwt. being allowed for carriage
to London. The history of the trade since then would form a volume of
itself, but a few facts of special note and interest will be given in
its place among “Trades.”

Gutta Percha was not known in Europe prior to 1844, and the
first specimens were brought here in the following year. Speaking
tubes made of gutta percha were introduced early in 1849.

Gymnasium.—At a meeting held Dec. 18, 1865, under the
presidency of the Mayor, it was resolved to establish a public
gymnasium on a large scale, but an present it is non-existent, the
only gymnasium open being that of the Athletic Club at Bingley Hall.

Hackney Coaches were introduced here in 1775. Hutton says the
drivers of the first few earned 30s. per day; those of the present day
say they do not get half the sum now. Hansom Cabs, the invention, in
1836, of the architect and designer of our Town Hall, were first put
on the stands in 1842.