New Street, Birmingham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England (grid reference SP069867). It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.
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[edit] History
New Street is mentioned in a deed dated back to 1398 which makes it one of the oldest streets in the city.
The street underwent large development during the 18th and 19th century and in an 1840s guide, shortly after the building of the Town Hall it is described as "the Bond Street of Birmingham; what with its glittering array of shops, its inns; its fine Elizabethan School, its School of Arts, its Theatre, its Post-office, it gives the ton to that part of the town."
In 1974, the Birmingham pub bombings took place in two pubs; one on New Street, the other under the Rotunda.
[edit] Lost buildings
- King Edward's School (Originally the Guild of the Holy Cross. Rebuilt twice on this site and then moved to Edgbaston)
- The Hen and Chickens Inn (1798, James Wyatt), which was replaced by King Edward VI High School for Girls (1896, J. A. Chatwin), also demolished and moved to Edgbaston
- The Theatre Royal (1774 - 1956)
- The Birmingham Society of Artists, which had a prominent Greek Doric portico jutting into the street (1829, Thomas Rickman) (Demolished, rebuilt in a more conventional style, 1822. Royal Birmingham Society of Artists subsequently moved to near St Paul's Square)
- Christ Church, 1805-1899, a church located in what is now Victoria Square.
- Colonnade Hotel, a conglomerate of buildings some of which remain however many have been demolished.
- Museum or Bazaar, a building containing art and curiosities owned by James Bisset and visited by Horatio Nelson in 1802.
[edit] Today
Victoria Square, containing Birmingham Town Hall, the old Post Office building, and Antony Gormley's Iron: Man, is at the western end. The Bull Ring shopping area and the Rotunda are at the eastern end.
New Street today is mostly pedestrianised, although commercial vehicles are still permitted to enter. It is a popular shopping area which provides a busy link from Corporation Street to the newly built Bull Ring Shopping Centre.
Every Christmas a Frankfurt market forms on the street and in Victoria Square, its wooden huts selling items such as jewellery or clothing and German food. A farmers' market occurs on the first and third Wednesday of each month.
The Burlington Hotel, formerly known as the Midland Hotel, is located next to the Waterstone's bookshop which occupies the former grade II listed Midland Bank] building (1869). The Burlington Arcade, the front area to the Burlington Hotel, underwent a renovation under the design of Malcolm Payne architects who designed a glass roof to cover the area which was once known as Burlington Passage. The lettering of the Midland Hotel is still visible however on the rear of the building fronting Stephenson Street.
In 2004 a tourist information centre was constructed in the middle of the street outside the Waterstone's store.
[edit] Sources
- The Buildings of England: Warwickshire, Nikolaus Pevsner and Alexandra Wedgwood, 1966, 2003, ISBN 0-300-09679-8
[edit] External links
