Birmingham Town Hall
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Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England.
It was not created as an administrative building but as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival (established 1784), whose purpose was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church (later to become the Cathedral) became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings. The hall was designed by Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame, and Edward Welch. Construction began in 1832. However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction, having tendered too low. However, despite this major setback, the building was successfully opened for the delayed Music Festival of 1834. It was extended in 1837 and again in 1850 by architect Charles Edge.
Built with Anglesey Marble, the hall is modelled on the temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome. Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of flora and fauna are visible.
Charles Dickens gave public readings here to raise money for the Birmingham and Midland Institute, and Mendelssohn's Elijah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius were both premiered. Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Overture di Ballo" was also premiered here in August 1870, as part of the Triennial Musical Festival which commissioned new works for every season. The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.
Popular music has also featured, and in the 1960s and 70s, headline acts such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan appeared.
On August 9, 1902, the town hall, along with the council house, was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII. It was illuminated again on June 22, 1911 for the coronation of King George V.
It was also the scene of rioting on the occasion of a visit by Lloyd George in 1901, and doubled for the Albert Hall in the film Brassed Off.
In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI, the Town Hall was regaled in the various Arms of the Lord of the Manor of Birmingham since 1166 and each column festooned with garlands. The pediment also had images of Britannia, supported by mermaids, which were sculpted by William Bloye. This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city was devised by William Haywood, Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society.
The Hall closed in 1996 for a £31 million refurbishment that will see the Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its 6,000-pipe organ still in place. The town hall's organist performed a piece of music to a group of school children in 2005 after the majority of the organ had been cleaned. However, the organist and the children all had to wear hard hats as the risk of falling debris remained. It is due to re-open on 4 October 2007, managed by the trustees of the Symphony Hall, and will offer concerts again.
A Big Screen has been fitted to the side of the building facing into Chamberlain Square. It has featured concerts such as Live 8 and football matches of national importance.
[edit] Sources
- All About Victoria Square, Joe Holyoak, The Victorian Society Birmingham Group, ISBN 0-901657-14-X
- Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
[edit] External links
- Birmingham City Council page about Birmingham Town Hall
- Another page about Birmingham Town Hall
- BBC on the reopening in October 2007
- Images of England - photograph and details from listed building text
- 1890 Ordnance Survey map of the town hall
- This building is on the English Heritage - Buildings at Risk Register - link to entry (Buildings at Risk Register article)
| Buildings in Birmingham, England Highrise (In height order): BT Tower | Holloway Circus Tower | Chamberlain Clock Tower | Alpha Tower | Orion Building | The Rotunda | NatWest Tower | Five Ways Tower | Centre City Tower | Hyatt Regency Hotel | 1 Snow Hill Plaza | Quayside Tower | Colmore Gate | The McLaren Building | Metropolitan House | Edgbaston House | Post & Mail Building | Jury's Inn Birmingham Notable lowrise: | | Birmingham Assay Office | | Central Library | Council House | Curzon Street railway station | Great Western Arcade | ICC | The Mailbox | | Millennium Point | The Old Crown | Paradise Forum | Birmingham Proof House | Sarehole Mill | Symphony Hall | Town Hall | |
Categories: Buildings on the Buildings at Risk Register | Buildings and structures in Birmingham, England | Culture in Birmingham, England | Music venues in England | City and town halls in the United Kingdom | Grade I listed buildings | Government buildings in the United Kingdom | 1834 architecture
