Written from the perspective of arriving to Birmingham in 1993 and discovering the layers that make up the city, subsequently many more layers have been applied in the constant tide of change, and now with the opening of the new Birmingham New Street station following its epic reorganisation, this piece gives a brief insight into the urban journey.
On the sixth floor of the Central Library, is the map section, containing Historic maps of Birmingham in plan chests that do not show Spaghetti Junction, or the areas surrounding it. The earliest is dated 1732 and shows St Martins, surrounded by small buildings and sure enough the Shambles as the mural in the Bull Ring depicts. On the map Birmingham is a market town, English Market, Welsh Market, Beast Market. The greatest landmark is the manor house protected by a moat that the local histories cite as the residence, the seat of power of the landowners the de Berminghams, dating back to the Tenth Century. Later maps show the inundation of industry and workers housing, small outdoor markets, replaced by Market Hall. Then slum clearance at the railway company’s expense, a significant area of town disappears from the map to make way for New Street Station, Peck Lane and the Froggary, along with three churches and a synagogue disappeared from the city map, as the site was lowered by 25ft in 1850. In a sense, urban devastation in the name of the public good, stories tell of the public exerting pressure on the railway companies, complaining that the existing station at Curzon Street was too far out of the city centre.
On the sixth floor of the Central Library, is the map section, containing Historic maps of Birmingham in plan chests that do not show Spaghetti Junction, or the areas surrounding it. The earliest is dated 1732 and shows St Martins, surrounded by small buildings and sure enough the Shambles as the mural in the Bull Ring depicts. On the map Birmingham is a market town, English Market, Welsh Market, Beast Market. The greatest landmark is the manor house protected by a moat that the local histories cite as the residence, the seat of power of the landowners the de Berminghams, dating back to the Tenth Century. Later maps show the inundation of industry and workers housing, small outdoor markets, replaced by Market Hall. Then slum clearance at the railway company’s expense, a significant area of town disappears from the map to make way for New Street Station, Peck Lane and the Froggary, along with three churches and a synagogue disappeared from the city map, as the site was lowered by 25ft in 1850. In a sense, urban devastation in the name of the public good, stories tell of the public exerting pressure on the railway companies, complaining that the existing station at Curzon Street was too far out of the city centre.
During construction the project was referred to as “Grand Central station at Birmingham” in ‘the Builder’ on 25th January 1853; reporting on the erection of vast 25 Ton ribs, 45 of which make up the roof.
In addition new civic buildings were erected exuding the wealth of the city, such as the hotel that was being erected on the site by the London and North Western Railway. The hotel became the Queens Hotel when it opened on 1st June 1854, along with the station becoming New Street Station, although not actually on New Street, I suppose the name ‘New Street’ sounds more glamorous than ‘Peck Lane’, although what happened to the name ‘Grand Central Station’ went, is unknown. There are other significant events that have changed the map, from the enlargement of the station during the 1870's, to the events of World War II taking their toll on the station as the grand iron roof sustained numerous direct hits, along with the neighbouring market hall, and finally the Manzoni Plan that has resulted in the city as it stands today. On the ground, traces remain of the market town shown on the maps, the blackened edifice that is St Martins hidden among the ring road, shopping centre and numerous car parks. Four lanes of traffic now circulate on Moat Lane where the historic maps show the moat to the manor house. The site of the manor house itself is now hidden beneath the vast concrete framed enclosure of the Wholesale market. Along Digbeth High Street, car dealerships dominate the street scene, car parks, billboards, filling in the spaces between the more significant buildings: Police Station, Coach Station, Irish Centre…Away from the high street, the dark brick arches of Bordesley viaduct dominate the street scene, now detached from the railway and marooned above the rooftops.
To be continued...
The full story is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble published by Xlibris - Do We Need ARCHITECTS?
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