Drake's Road Book of the Grand Junction Railway

NAME-HISTORY-MANUFACTURES-PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND INSTITUTIONS, &c., &c.

Our native town of Birmingham, of whose celebrity and importance we are justly proud, demands our first attention in this our Itinerary; although the numerous publications which give more circumstantial particulars respecting it than the brief limits of the present work will admit, render it an unnecessary task here to occupy many pages with our notice.

In our after topography and history of towns on the "Grand Junction" line, we shall have occasion to allude to their several claims to the honours of "hoar antiquity;" but none it would appear can boast of more remote fame than our own brave old town of Birmingham, or, as it has been variously written, Bromycham, Bremecham, Bermyngham, and Bromnsycham, the etymology of which terms have served to puzzle the learned in such lore for years gone by, and will do for years to come. What never can be positively settled, always proves a most fascinating subject for argument. Mr. Hutton, the antiquary, imagines the derivation to be this: wich, or wick, being used to signify a town or village, and brom, from the broom growing in the vicinity. But we must leave the subject for more voluminous writers. The late Mr. Hamper, our especial antiquary, traced the orthography through no less than one hundred and forty variations. In proof of Birmingham being a place of no very recent creation, the prodigious accumulation of scoria produced by the smelting of iron, at Aston furnace, may be referred to; as also the great number of exhausted coal mines, on a large common within a few miles, called Wednesbury Old Field. Both these must have been the work of many centuries, as is proved by the fact, that in the former, the mass of scoria has not perceptibly increased within the memory of that remarkable individual, "the oldest inhabitant," though constantly receiving additions. It appears that the Britons were acquainted with the use and manufacture of iron previously to the Roman conquest, as they are described with chariots armed with scythes. It requires no very great stretch of imagination to suppose Birmingham (the Bremenium of the Romans) to have been a chief station for the fabrication of such weapons. In Doomsday Book, "Bermengeham" is noticed; and the manor and lordship were held by the De Birmingham family and their ancestors, during the reigns from Henry I. to Henry VIII., when John Dudley, afterwards Duke of Northumberland, being in possession of Dudley, and desirous of adding to it the manor of Birmingham, contrived, by a series of villanous artifices and perjury, to wrest it from Edward de Birmingham, and add it to his own possessions. On the attainder and execution of the duke, in the reign of Mary, the manor escheated to the crown; and in 1643 a descendant of the family, through the female line, was raised to the peerage, by the title of Baron Ward, of Birmingham, changed afterwards to Viscount Dudley and Ward, and Earl of Dudley. The remains of the ancient manor house have long been removed to make way for improvements; its former name, "The Moat," (now called Smithfield,) and two neglected effigies in St. Martin's church, of a crusader and an ecclesiastic of the De Birmingham family, are all that remain to tell of their former greatness. Few historical events seem to have disturbed the good people of Birmingham except the civil war of the seventeenth century, when they proved themselves staunch adherents to the parliamentarians, and did good service to their partizans, against Prince Rupert and his troops, at which time some earth works thrown up at Bordesley, conferred the name of Camp Hill on a part of it. The prince afterwards set fire to the town, but obligingly desisted from further demonstration of such warm regard, on being handsomely bribed to that effect. The riots of 1791 are so frequently brought to the minds of our town's people by present allusions, that it needs not to dwell here on the disgraceful theme. Turning to a pleasanter topic, we will briefly glance at the manufactures which made an anonymous poet formerly exclaim,-

"Europe's grand toy-shop, art's exhaustless mine-

These, and more titles, Birmingham, are thine."

It is amusing to look back to the condition of Birmingham in Leland's time, (Henry VIII.,) who describes it as inhabited only "by smithes that use to make knives and all manner of cutting tools, and lorimers that make bittes, and a great many nailors." Camden, in the reign of Elizabeth, speaks of it as "swarming with inhabitants, and echoing with the noise of anvils; but the upper part rising with abundance of handsome buildings;" and his continuator, Bishop Gibson, in the reign of Anne, mentions "its artificers in iron and steel, whose performances in that way are greatly admired both at home and abroad." Prior to the restoration of Charles II. the town only consisted of one long street, extending from the hamlet of Deritend to the present Bull-street, and contained barely 5,000 inhabitants. Now, the probably correct amount would stand thus: streets, 340; houses, 22,000; population, 200,000. Birmingham was created a borough by the Reform Bill, and sends two members to parliament. The honours of a mayor and corporation are now added to its civil dignities.

Among the almost innumerable branches of trade and manufacture at present carried on, are light and heavy steel goods, (here called toys,) brass and iron foundery, sadlery, military accoutrements, fire-arms, swords and cutlery of various kinds; jewellery, gold, silver, and plated goods; buttons, medals, japannery; gilt, silver, ivory, bone, and other toys; glass, wood-turnery, metal-rolling, tools and implements of all kinds; mill machinery of all sorts, and steam engines on every known principle. Casting, modelling, die-sinking, engraving, and other processes connected with the various manufactures have been brought to the greatest perfection; also the cutting of glass, of which there are many brilliant specimens in the show-rooms of the town, especially those of Messrs. Rollason, Price, Henderson, Mrs. Bedford's, &c. The great establishment at the Soho, near Birmingham, is intimately connected with its manufacturing interests, as under the superintendence of Messrs. Boulton and Watt, great improvements were effected in all kinds of machinery, and the power of steam applied to every mechanical purpose. From their ingenious coining mill, the greater part of the copper money of George III. was issued. Mr. Boulton died in 1809, aged eighty-one, and Mr. Watt in 1819, aged eighty-three. They were both interred in Handsworth church, where a marble bust commemorates the former, and a statue, by Chantrey, the latter.

In the magnificent show-rooms of Mr. G. R. Collis in Church-street, (formerly Sir E. Thomason's,) splendid specimens of the chief native manufactures are collected, and their mode of manufacture shown to all respectable visitors. Mr. Phipson's pin manufactory, which in this seemingly small article employs so great a number as one thousand persons, is another large establishment; and the articles of oriental gorgeousness and diversity, displayed by Messrs. Jennens and Betteridge, at their japanned ware and papier maché manufactory, in Constitution-hill, are full of brilliant designs and adornment. The show-rooms of Messrs. Mapplebeck and Lowe, Osborne, and others, contain a great variety of hardware and cutlery.

Of ponderous machinery, none perhaps is more interesting than that of the metal rolling mills; there is positive grandeur in the great power employed, and the accuracy with which it is adjusted to the end required. The button manufacture is a principal source of wealth to the town, and many of its chief families may trace back their origin (their honourable origin-far more truly honourable than the anxiety occasionally shown by present full-blown importance to disguise it) to a humble fabricator of these small and indispensable articles. They are made of all kinds and descriptions, to suit all markets; as were buckles likewise, some years since; but fashion, that mighty revolutionist, has driven them from their once prominent station in the toilet of the exquisite of former days; and knees and shoes, and dainty spangled and high heeled slippers, fit for feminine feet, have all laid by the buckles which used to glitter in cut steel and silver delicately worked, or set with brilliants; and of so comely dimensions, as well nigh to cover the pretty insteps of our grandmothers. As a source of great wealth to our native town, we must regret the abolition of ornamental buckles. Steel tools, and lighter, tasteful articles, form another great branch. The first steel-house, or factory, gave the name "Steelhouse-lane" to the street. Guns were first made in the reign of William III., and in times of war have constituted an important part of our trade. Silver, brass, and iron are all wrought to a great extent, in every known variety of manufacture. To enumerate all the productions of Birmingham were nearly an impossible task, had we space; as it is, we must rest here, and proceed to notice a few of the chief buildings and institutions which would attract the observation of a stranger.

First, of the first class, ranks our noble and magnificent Town Hall, in Paradise-street, a Grecian temple of the Corinthian order, standing on a rustic basement, and built of marble from Anglesea. It is of recent erection; from the design, and under the direction of Mr. J. Hansom, of Hinckley, and contains a splendid hall, 140 feet long, by 65 feet wide, and 65 feet high, adapted for great public meetings, and for the performances of music at the Triennial Festivals; [7] it also contains spacious saloons, committee rooms, etc. Its organ is the finest in the kingdom. The new Free Grammar School, in New-street, is a large and handsome building, in the Gothic style, from a design by Mr. Barry, of London. The exhibition rooms of the Birmingham Society of Arts, New-street, form a handsome building, admirably adapted for the purpose; and the annual exhibition, of ancient and modern masters, is inferior to no provincial one. Another spacious suite of rooms was erected a few years since, by a dissentient party of the artists; but, having returned to the parent institution, their gallery since has been occupied by the highly interesting, valuable, and well-arranged Museum of Natural History, collected by Mr. Weaver, in the various branches of geology, ornithology, entomology, mineralogy, conchology, &c. The Royal School of Medicine and Surgery, in Paradise-street, have now purchased this splendid collection, which, joined to the one they already possess, will form one of the finest Museums in the provinces. It is liberally supported and patronised by the neighbouring nobility and county families. The General Hospital, Blue Coat School, Dispensary, and Asylums, are worthy of all praise for their essential utility as charities. The former is mainly supported by the proceeds of the Triennial Festivals; the others by liberal subscriptions, with which the inhabitants of Birmingham appear ever ready to increase the usefulness of charities having for their end the alleviation of misery, in whatever form it exists. The new Market Hall, extending from the Bull-ring to Worcester-street, is a spacious and commodious building, though the internal arrangement might be greatly improved, by a little more attention to order and neatness on the part of the various trades-people who have stalls there. The market having formerly been held in the open street, may, in some degree, account for this. Nearly opposite the hall stands a statue of Lord Nelson, by Westmacott, with a miniature man-of-war beside him, on a pedestal surrounded by an iron rail and lamps.

The Churches most remarkable for architectural beauty, are, St. Philip's, in the Doric style, with a graceful tower and cupola: Trinity Church, Bordesley, designed by Mr. F. Goodwin, much in the style of King's College Chapel, Cambridge; it is a fine example of the Ecclesiastical Gothic: St. George's, also Gothic, but of far inferior beauty; St. Martin's, which has been a fine old edifice, with a tapering spire, but is now disfigured by a brick shell: St. Paul's, Christ Church, St. Thomas's, St. Peter's, St. Bartholomew's, St. Mary's, All Saints', and others are of less striking appearance. Many of the dissenting congregations have handsome and spacious meeting-houses and chapels, particularly the Catholic Chapels; Unitarian Meeting-houses; Independent Meeting-house, Carr's-lane; Mount Zion Chapel; Scottish Kirk, &c. Schools are connected with all, and with the numerous National, Lancasterian, Infant, and other schools, combine in distributing knowledge, in however a small degree as yet, among the useful and industrious classes. The excellent school for the instruction of Deaf and Dumb children is pleasantly situated at Edgbaston: there are also various Asylums for the young, the helpless, and the immoral (repentant, of course).

The Old Library, in Union-street, contains a valuable collection of 40,000 volumes, and commodious reading rooms. The New Library, in Temple-row, is a more recent and smaller establishment. Divers conglomerations of novels, called "Circulating Libraries," also exist for the benefit of the sentimental. The Philosophical Institution has a convenient Lecture-Theatre and Museum in Cannon-street, with a resident Curator. Subscribers have the privilege of introducing strangers to the lectures. The members of the Mechanics' Institution at present have lectures in the same building, until the erection of one suitable for them. Strangers are admitted to the Mechanics' lectures on payment of one shilling. The Botanical and Horticultural Society have extensive gardens and conservatories at Edgbaston, situated on rising ground, and commanding a beautiful and richly-wooded expanse of scenery. The exhibitions of plants, fruits, &c., when a brilliant company generally assembles, are scenes of great gaiety.

The Conservatories and Greenhouses, are the erection of Mr. T. Clark, of Lionel-street, Birmingham, whose manufactory for Metallic Hothouses, &c., is very extensive.

A Cemetery has been recently laid out and planted on the north side of the town, at Key Hill, where a large excavation in a hill of gravel renders the spot striking and even picturesque: a neat Chapel is erected for the performance of the funeral service.

In 1813 an Act of Parliament was obtained for the erection of a Proof House for all fire-arms made in the town, which are subjected to a very severe test. The hall and other premises are in Banbury-street, and have quite a military and formidable appearance.

The News Room, on Bennett's-hill, and the different banking establishments, are handsome buildings, many of them of considerable architectural beauty. The Theatre is large, and inferior to few out of the metropolis, though the indifferent encouragement given to the drama in Birmingham, causes it to be comparatively but little used. It is capable of accommodating 2,500 persons, and contains to the front, a suite of Assembly Rooms, Billiard and Coffee Rooms, &c. There were formerly two smaller theatres, and an amphitheatre for equestrian performances, all three of which have been converted from their dissolute ways, and become pious and holy conventicles for divine worship. Temporary amphitheatres have frequently been erected since, and a permanent one is in progress. For more circumstantial particulars and descriptions of these and other edifices, we must refer our readers to the "Picture of Birmingham," [11] or other more lengthy histories.

The environs of the town, especially Edgbaston and Harborne, contain many tasteful residences, erected by the wealthier merchants and tradesmen; whose pretty suburban villas have all gardens and pleasure grounds attached. In the neighbourhood of Birmingham are many fine old houses, or halls, as they are called, well deserving of a visit from the antiquary or artist; and the far famed glories of Warwick, Kenilworth, Shakespeare-sainted Stratford, Guy's Cliff, and other places of renown, are within a short drive.

In this brief survey of the past and present condition of Birmingham, it will be seen how rapidly its greatness and importance have been achieved by the perseverance, spirit, and ingenuity of its inhabitants. We may expect as rapid, and almost as great improvements from the additional consequence and advantages it will receive from the great works now nearly completed. The finished line of railway from London to Liverpool through this place, may, with confidence, be looked to as another great era in its history, from whence to date still increasing wealth, power, and intelligence.