BIRMINGHAM TOWN HALL
Able to seat 4,000 people or to squeeze in 10,000 standing [Strangers Guide to Birmingham 1858], the Birmingham Town Hall was designed by Joseph Hansom, better known as the creator of the famous Hansom Cab, and cost £25,000 to build. Surrounded by impressive Corinthian columns on all sides, it is made of brick faced with Angelsea marble, and is styled after the ancient temple of Castor and Pollux in the Roman Forum in Rome, Italy.
The Town Hall is located on the corner of Paradise Street in Victoria Square, which was named for Queen Victoria on 10 January 1901 (along with the unveiling of her statue) just twelve days before she died. The Square is at the top end of New Street. It took two and a half years to build the Town Hall and opened on 7th October 1834 just after the passage of the first Great Reform Act. It was a period when Birmingham was embroiled in political reform, and the Town Hall provided a venue for debates and meetings of the Birmingham Political Union. John Collins was numerously heard to speak there.
The Town Hall is located on the corner of Paradise Street in Victoria Square, which was named for Queen Victoria on 10 January 1901 (along with the unveiling of her statue) just twelve days before she died. The Square is at the top end of New Street. It took two and a half years to build the Town Hall and opened on 7th October 1834 just after the passage of the first Great Reform Act. It was a period when Birmingham was embroiled in political reform, and the Town Hall provided a venue for debates and meetings of the Birmingham Political Union. John Collins was numerously heard to speak there.
On 4 July 1837 the newly revived Birmingham Political Union (BPU) met in the Town Hall to conduct business. It was the beginning of a new era: the reign of Queen Victoria had just begun following the death of her father King William and, in a break with tradition, the BPU elected the first working class man to join the BPU's middle class council.
That man was John Collins of Bread Street (now Cornwall Street), Birmingham. He would become a much respected Birmingham leader during the early part of the Chartist Movement, and later Birmingham Town Councilor for the district of Ladywood. |
Until the Council House opened in the 1879, the Town Hall was used by local government, and at the beginning of the Chartist era thousands of marching feet passed by its spectacular facade on their way to the Great Midland Demonstration of 1838. Numerous British prime ministers and important politicians have spoken there, including such notables as Joseph Chamberlain, Neville Chamberlain, David Lloyd George, William Gladstone and Margaret Thatcher.
The Chartists and the Town Hall Affair
In January 1841, John Collins and another working man, applied to the Street Commissions (who were in charge of the Town Hall) for permission to use the Hall for a lecture by Arthur O'Neill on the present state of the country's economy and prospects of the people. After completing the necessary form and offering the required money the application was quickly turned down. In reporting this outcome at a Chartist meeting at the Christian Chartist Church, Collins stated this was a case of the rich not allowing the working man a place to meeting.
The chairman of the meeting wanted to know why strangers of all grades, politics and religion were allowed to come to Birmingham and be able to command the use of the Town Hall while the men who built and paid for it were deprived of the occasional use of it. However, this kind of despotic behaviour was not new, and another individual claimed the conduct of the Commissioners toward the working man had always been bad. As far back as 1839, he and other working men had applied for use of the building, and although they had the necessary requisition signed by one hundred and thirty-nine ratepayers the Commissioners would not grant them use of the building.
John Collins pledged he would attend future public Town Hall meetings, regardless of their purpose, with a view to interrupting proceedings and expressing his views. In conclusion Collins made a Resolution that was seconded and unanimously agreed, "That we view with feelings of regret and indignation the unjust and partial conduct of the Commissioners in granting the Town Hall for many political and religious party purposes, while at the same time they refused it when applied for by two working men who requested it solely for the purpose of spreading information among the people."
In January 1841, John Collins and another working man, applied to the Street Commissions (who were in charge of the Town Hall) for permission to use the Hall for a lecture by Arthur O'Neill on the present state of the country's economy and prospects of the people. After completing the necessary form and offering the required money the application was quickly turned down. In reporting this outcome at a Chartist meeting at the Christian Chartist Church, Collins stated this was a case of the rich not allowing the working man a place to meeting.
The chairman of the meeting wanted to know why strangers of all grades, politics and religion were allowed to come to Birmingham and be able to command the use of the Town Hall while the men who built and paid for it were deprived of the occasional use of it. However, this kind of despotic behaviour was not new, and another individual claimed the conduct of the Commissioners toward the working man had always been bad. As far back as 1839, he and other working men had applied for use of the building, and although they had the necessary requisition signed by one hundred and thirty-nine ratepayers the Commissioners would not grant them use of the building.
John Collins pledged he would attend future public Town Hall meetings, regardless of their purpose, with a view to interrupting proceedings and expressing his views. In conclusion Collins made a Resolution that was seconded and unanimously agreed, "That we view with feelings of regret and indignation the unjust and partial conduct of the Commissioners in granting the Town Hall for many political and religious party purposes, while at the same time they refused it when applied for by two working men who requested it solely for the purpose of spreading information among the people."
Town Hall Interior
At the time of its opening the Town Hall was said to be the finest music hall in the country. Over the years the walls have resounded to the sound of its massive organ - with pipes stretching from the gallery to the ceiling - as well as everything from the music of the Rolling Stones to Mendelssohn. Now, over 180 years later, the Town Hall is thought to be the oldest concert hall of its size in the world. |
TOWN HALL EXTERIOR & ENVIRONS 1785 - 1899
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