Birmingham- A city Guide
Introduction
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the English
West Midlands. It is commonly considered to be England's "second
city" and is the largest of England's core cities. The city's
reputation was forged as the powerhouse of the Industrial
Revolution in Britain, a fact which led to Birmingham being
known as "the workshop of the world". To this day over a quarter
of the UK's exports originate in the greater Birmingham area.
History
Birmingham has a recorded history going back 1000 years. In
this time, it has grown from a tiny Anglo-Saxon farming village
into a major industrial and commercial city.
The Birmingham area was occupied in Roman times, with several
military roads and a large fort. Birmingham started life as a
small Anglo-Saxon hamlet in the Early Middle Ages. It was first
recorded in written documents by the Domesday Book of 1086 as a
small village, worth only 20 shillings. In the 12th century,
Birmingham was granted a charter to hold a market. By the 16th
century, Birmingham's access to supplies of iron ore and coal
meant that metalworking industries became established. In the
17th century, Birmingham became an important manufacturing town
with a reputation for producing small arms. During the
Industrial Revolution (from the mid 18th century onwards),
Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial centre. Unlike
many other English industrial cities such as Manchester,
industry in Birmingham was based upon small workshops rather
than large factories or mills.
the city expanded in the late 19th and early 20th century,
absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire
to the west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974, and at
the same time became part of the new West Midlands County.
Places of Interests
The places of interests in Birmingham are as follows:
Aston Hall Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham Zoo Blakesley Hall
Brindleyplace - Canalside development Cannon Hill
Park Cadbury World Centenary Square
Central Mosque Chamberlain Square featuring a BBC
Big Screen Convention Quarter Gun Quarter -
Once the foremost gun manufacturing community in the UK
Jewellery Quarter - The largest concentration of dedicated
jewellers in Europe MAC National Sealife
Centre Sarehole Mill St Philip's
Cathedral Sutton Park Victoria Square
Museums and Art Galleries
In Birmingham one can find a number of museums and art
galleries. Some of the famous museums and art galleries are:
Barber Institute of Fine Arts Birmingham Museum &
Art Gallery Birmingham Think tank - Science Museum
Birmingham Railway Museum Trust Edgbaston
Museum Lapworth Museum of Geology Soho House
Museum The Transport Museum, Wythall
Warwickshire County Cricket Club Museum
Birmingham has some theaters and groups, following are the
famous of all:
Alexandra Theatre ("the Alex") Birmingham
Repertory Theatre ("The Rep") The Birmingham Hippodrome
and the Old Rep
Shopping
The city has a world famous jewelry quarter. In addition to
exploring the Jewelry Quarter, Birmingham is a great town for
shopping. There are more than 700 retail stores, and many people
in the Midlands come here just to shop, especially along Cannon
Street and New Street with its recently opened top-brand
designer stores. The city's Mailbox complex at Wharfside Street
was once used to sort the mail. But now it's becoming a big
shopping center, with department stores like Harvey Nichols
moving in. In the heart of town, The Bullring, near St. Martin's
Square, is being developed into Europe's largest city-center
retail area, based around the historic street patterns of the
city and linking New Street and High Street. The reinvention of
"Brum" (as Britain's much-maligned second city is nicknamed) is
reflected by the opening of a grand department store,
Selfridges, Bullring Centre. As a fashion emporium, its
architecture was appropriately inspired by a dress. The
curvaceous complex is adorned with 15,000 aluminum disks