This blog was originally published in 2013.
Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK and is also one of the most populous. It has a rich and diverse history that is matched today by its many cultures and communities. It is regarded as one of the most multi-cultural cities in Britain and has flourished in recent years, making the most of this new-found social wealth. It is ranked as a 'Gamma-World City' and is in the top 100 largest cities in the world.
It is, however, victim to prejudice and mockery, like many of the UK's provincial cities, with stereotypes and misconceptions still rife in popular culture and media. Colloquially known as 'Brum', the city has grown and changed dramatically over the two decades I have lived in it. Yet, it still retains its old stereotypes and reputation which reflect a history that stretches much further back and is even more diverse, differing greatly from the sprawling city that exists today.
Birmingham, as a name, is most probably derived from late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman origins, around the First Millennium. 'Ham' is a common Saxon suffix throughout the UK, and 'Birm', probably 'Beorma' in Anglo-Saxon, most probably refers to the family that inhabited the land. The city was a tiny village in 1086, when it was recorded in the Domesday Book, and there are numerous spellings of its name.
Archeological remains have also been found dating back almost 10, 400 years, found in the area around Curzon Street (pictured left), the site of the old London and Midland Railway Terminus, although all that is left of that is a neo-classical structure and a very large expanse of concrete.
By 1200 A.D Birmingham was a small farming and market community and it remained a small town throughout the Middle Ages. A market was held in the castle by Peter De Birmingham and it gradually came to be known as 'The Bullring'. The Midlands as a whole was a thriving part of England, rich in forests, fertile farmland and large river plains, as well as large natural resources.
Cities like Gloucester and Worcester thrived with trade from local farms and as market towns for goods travelling up rivers and trade routes from the South and down from the North. Birmingham, however, remained quite small due to its unique location: it has no sea or river ports, the only natural water being the small River Rea which now runs underground through most of the city.
This location meant the city never truly flourished until the 17th century, when, unknown to its original settlers, it found itself in the heart of a huge area of resources vital to the quickly advancing Industrial Revolution. The central location of the city also meant it provided a vital link in the newly emerging transport routes. First the canal network and later the railways all came via Birmingham, bringing with them wealth and industry and transforming the city into a thriving hub, connecting the North and South, East and West, and placing it at the heart of the British Empire.
By the late 18th century it had earned the name for itself as the 'Workshop of the World', providing machinery and materials to the entire British Empire and fuelling the growing industry across the world. Coal from the surrounding area, now known as the Black Country due to the amount that was mined there, iron ore and other minerals were all shipped down the canals to Birmingham, where it was then redistributed or simply consumed by the factories to produce new machines or power existing ones.
New thinking and ideas, encapsulated in the Enlightenment of the 18th century, were fully embraced in the city and county, and led to the term "Midland Enlightenment" to refer to the thinkers and inventors of the region. Birmingham's perfect location allowed it to expand and grow rapidly and by the 1790s it was widely regarded as the most powerful manufacturing town in the world.
This range of expertise and skills led to numerous city quarters developing, each one famed for its distinct trade. This pushed Birmingham to the fore of development and manufacturing, a skill which still echoes through the city streets today in the remains of the Jewellery Quarter, the Gun Quarter and along the old Wharfs and Quays that dot the various canal tow paths.
In the 19th Century, the arrival of the railways reinforced the role of Birmingham further, allowing it to ship and produce even more goods via rail and canal and to compete with the Northern Mill towns like Manchester and Bradford and southern docks and ports of London. Birmingham's unique roll as a manufacturing town ensured it remained a prominent symbol of British enterprise and kept trade and social mobility high. The chance of work and money attractied large numbers in from the rural surroundings and the population grew rapidly.
It was this social aspect, with the back to back houses and urban slums, plus the high levels of pollution from the factories that meant Birmingham was at the forefront of civil movements and an emerging politicised, working population. Birmingham quickly earned a reputation other than its manufacturing, and was regarded as the next political powerhouse after London. This reputation slowly morphed into its role as Britain's second city.
When the Cadbury family came to Birmingham to open their chocolate factory, they chose the area now called Bournville, where I grew up. The aim was to provide workers with huge, green, open spaces and an environment that they could be happy in, to boost productivity and avoid civil unrest. All workers at the factory were given a house surrounded by orchards and farmland, so they could live healthily and provide for themselves. This venture is now regarded as a breakthrough in civil and town planning and the district of Bournville is widely regarded as one of the most green and beautiful in any city in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the industry and prosperity brought in large swathes of migrant workers from across the shrinking Empire and newly formed Commonwealth, hoping, like the farm workers of the 19th century had done, to capitalise on the job prospects in Birmingham. This meant Birmingham developed a very racially diverse and mixed population, and along with cities like Coventry and Manchester, made it one of the most eclectic cities after London.
The role Birmingham played meant it was a key target for the Nazis during World War Two, and the city was badly bombed, primarily due to the car plants and Spitfire factory in Longbridge and Castle Bromwich respectively, and possibly the Birds Custard Factory in Digbeth. This destroyed vast areas of the city and although production continued, the centre was badly damaged.
It took almost 20 years to rebuild and recover and it has been a significant issue for the city since. The redevelopment in the 50s and 60s was inadequate and ill designed and has been at the centre of huge restructuring and re-planning initiatives over the last two decades. The new Bullring Shopping Centre, The Mailbox, the Library currently under construction to replace a 1970s concrete Ziggurat, and the current on-going Birmingham New Street Gateway projects are all examples of the city's attempts to rid its grotty image and rise from the (concreted-over) ashes of the war.
After almost three hundred years, industry in Brum has now all but faded, with the last notable factory, the MG Rover Longbridge Car Plant being largely demolished over the last ten years. This said, Land Rover, Jaguar and Cadbury still remain, although none are owned by a British company and are never again to be on the scales seen in the early 20th century.
Birmingham has since reinvented itself as an economic and international city. Huge developments like the National Exhibition Centre, National Indoor Arena and International Convention Centre in the 1990s have allowed it to play host to large sporting events, a Eurovision Song Contest, and encourage foreign businesses to invest, providing a new lease of life for the decaying city and regenerating interest. This continued into the late 2000s and is still visible today with large scale construction projects dotting the skyline.
The old industries may have died, but the relics left behind have been redeveloped and are now being enjoyed by a new population which is also one of the youngest in the country. The streets that were once filled with the sound of machinery and covered in the soot of industry are now filled with chain stores and hospitality companies. The city is reinventing itself, whilst embracing its rich heritage. This isn't easy and there are a lot of issues that accompany such an ambitious task. The buildings may be rebuilt or receiving a new lease of life, but the social make-up of the city is diverse and mixed, and Birmingham's history of civil politics shows little sign of fading yet…
Notable 'Brummies':
Alfred Bird- inventor of powdered custard
Matthew Boulton- industrialist
John Cadbury- founder of Cadbury Chocolate
Barbara Cartland- WriterJasper Carrot- Comedian
Neville Chamberlain- Prime Minister
Cat Deeley- TV Presenter
Sir Francis Galton- Founder of eugenics
Richard Hammond- TV Presenter
Tony Hancock- Actor
Black Sabbath- Rock Band
Sir Digby Jones- Director General of CBI
Nigel Mansell- F1 Driver
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