Old Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Square is a public square and road junction in Birmingham city centre, England.
The square dates from 1713 when it was recorded as having 16 uniform two-storied houses with five-bayed fronts having angle pilasters, pedimented doorways, and dormer windows. It was affected minorly by development by John Pemberton towards the end of the century who transformed nearby derelict ruins of a priory into a residential complex.
The square was to suffer a major demolition programme in 1882 to make way for the construction of Corporation Street. Buildings that were constructed as a result were of grand architecture, one of which was the Grand Theatre to the south of the square. Lewis's Department store was constructed at the western end to replace Berlin House and to build over the Minories.
During the Victorian era, the square became a tram junction for trams running along Corporation Street and those coming from Upper Priory.
The square was to become subject to more development during the post-war years when the land leases given to the builders of Corporation Street during the 1880s expired. This resulted in the demolition of many Victorian buildings. As one major part of the development of Old Square, Lower Priory to the south was converted into the Priory Queensway, which required the road to be widened and elevated. To do this, the Grand Theatre was demolished and an underground car park was constructed beneath. The Priory Queensway made it possible for the construction of Priory Square by Sir Frederick Gibberd in the southwestern corner of the square. In the southeast, another development to compliment the new shopping centre was constructed.
In the early 2000s, Old Square was significantly redeveloped to raise the square to the surface. As part of the development, the Priory Queensway was reconstructed as a sloping road following the gradient of the Birmingham city ridge as a result of the demolition of Masshouse Circus. In 2006, refurbishment work on Cannon House to the northeast of the square commenced to convert it into Grade A office space. The development by Nurton Developments, who acquired the building in June 2004, also transformed the exterior.
Future work to the square includes the redevelopment of Priory Square to create Martineau Galleries by the Birmingham Alliance.
In the centre of Old Square, facing the eastern end of Corporation Street, is a memorial dedicated to Tony Hancock, who was born in the Hall Green area of the city. The memorial, by Bruce Williams, was unveiled by Sir Harry Secombe in 1996.
[edit] References
- Online Planning Application - Number C/07564/05/OUT, Birmingham Alliance. Submitted 06/12/2005 to Birmingham City Council for Martineau Galleries.
- Memorials of the Old Square, Birmingham, 1897 (Contents)
- Tony Hancock memorial
- British History Online Maps: 'Warwickshire: 014/05', Ordnance Survey 1:2,500: Epoch 1 (1890)
- Secular Architecture in Birmingham
- Nurton Developments: Priory and Cannon House
- Howlers: Filling in Old Square
- Grand Theatre
