Digbeth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England.
The modern site of Digbeth was first settled upon in the 7th century AD by Beorma, founder of Birmingham (Anglo-Saxon for Beorma's Home). The area where there is a crossing on the River Rea was the birthplace of what became the city. Historically the land to the west of the river was in the Parish of Birmingham. This is Digbeth. The land to the east was in the more significant Parish of Aston, and is called Deritend. The area around Digbeth and Deritend was the first centre of industry in Birmingham. These days Digbeth is often considered to include Deritend.
The name Digbeth is derived from "dyke path".
Modern-day Digbeth is currently dominated by old factories and a blackened Victorian railway viaduct which is still in use, although as with much of Birmingham's Eastside is currently undergoing redevelopment. Other new developments include the Irish Quarter, the Arts and Media Annexe of South Birmingham College and the Custard Factory, a development designed to represent modern arts and music. Digbeth is also home to Birmingham's coach station which is operated by National Express, Britain's largest express coach network.
The area is synonymous with the development of the British electronic music scene. As well as the Custard Factory, Digbeth is home to The Sanctuary nightclub (formerly The Digbeth Institute) which was a prominent venue during the early days of the rave music scene and underwent a revival in 1998 when superclub Godskitchen began to promote a weekly event there. Godskitchen is now based at its own venue, AIR (formerly CODE). All three venues are within a stones throw of each other.
Digbeth has very close links with the Irish community of Birmingham. It is known as the Irish Quarter, and the traditional St.Patrick’s Day parade is held in and around Digbeth, usually attracting crowds at times estimated to be one hundred thousand strong. A number of Irish theme pubs are resident such as the Kerryman.
The street name Digbeth also occurs in nearby Walsall.
