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Birmingham, West Midlands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Birmingham, with its population of 977,087 (2001 Census), is
technically the biggest city in the United Kingdom. Because London is
bigger, and often erroneously thought of as a single city, Birmingham
is known as "the Second City" (a title also occasionally claimed by
Manchester).
Introduction
The city
is situated in the West Midlands conurbation, of which it forms the
largest part. Along with the city of Wolverhampton, the Black Country
and a number of surrounding towns, this conurbation consists of around
2.25 million people. Birmingham is part of the traditional county of Warwickshire,
although it does not lie within the administrative county of the same
name (established 1889).
The city
is commonly known to its inhabitants as Brum (from the old name
"brummagem") and its inhabitants known as Brummies. Birmingham
residents also speak with a distinctive Brummie accent. The people are
generally regarded as hard working, and having an unusual sense of
humour that is quite unique. It is often said that "you can always tell
a Brummie, but you can't tell him much".
Birmingham
is governed by Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in
the United Kingdom (UK). Birmingham is a multi-cultural city, with a
large population from the Indian sub-continent and Carribean, according
to the 2001 census 29.7% of the population of Birmingham is non-white.
This has meant that the city has a surprising mix of cultures.
Birmingham balti
restuarants are reputed to produce the best Indian food outside India.
You will
often hear Brummies quoting the facts that not only does Birmingham
have more canals than Venice but that it also has both more parkland
and more trees (per person) than any other city in Europe. Birmingham
certainly does boast an unusual number of trees, and there 35 miles of
canals within the Birmingham city boundaries (by comparison there are
26 miles of canals within the centre of Venice - that is, within the
six sestieri, and thus a much smaller land area than Birmingham.
Birmingham
is also popular tourist attraction - about 22 million people every year
visit the city. It's top attractions include the Art Gallery, Bull
Ring, Cadbury World and the somewhat bizzarrely located National Sea
Life Centre.
The
City's coat of arms shows two figures, representing Industry and The
Arts.
Industry
The
conurbation is an industrial centre, home to the Jaguar and
MG Rover Group car companies. Until 2003, coins were
manufactured at the Birmingham
Mint , the oldest independent mint in the world. Other famous
brands from the "City of a thousand trades" include Cadburychocolate,
LDV vans and
HP Sauce. Past brands include Bird's
Custard, BSA motorbikes, Bakelite, Lucas, the Mini and
Ansells Beer.
Birmingham
also has a history of making railway carriages, wire, steam engines,
aeroplanes, guns, precious- metalware, jewellery and even, bizarrely
for somewhere so far from the sea, ships (which were made as
pre-fabricated sections, assembled at the coast). While manufacturing
is still important to the city, and to its future, the local economy is
rapidly diversifying; in particular, professional and financial
services and tourism are growing quickly. More details about the
Birmingham economy can be found at: www.birminghameconomy.org.uk
Once
considered the Industrial Backbone of Britain, Birmingham has in recent
years been renovated, with the city centre now a more attractive
and pleasant place to walk around.
The Arts
The
bands Black
Sabbath, The Beat, Spencer Davis Group, Charlatans,
Dexy's Midnight Runners, Dodgy, Duran Duran,
ELO,
Judas Priest, The Moody Blues,
Magnum, Pop Will Eat Itself, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, The Move,
Ocean Colour Scene, Steel Pulse, Traffic, UB40 and Wizzard all originated in
Birmingham, as did the musicians Joan Armatrading and Steve Winwood.
In
fiction, Birmingham was gently satirized by David Lodge.
The fictional town of Rummidge and its University which feature in
several of his novels, were based on Birmingham. Judith
Cutler's crime novels are set in present-day Birmingham. The
fictitious characters in the long-running Radio 4 serial The Archers
often visit Birmingham, where the programme is in fact made.
Arthur
Conan Doyle lived in Aston from about Spring 1879 - early
1882 and many of his works include refences to people or places he knew
there. Washington
Irving lived in Birmingham for a while, during which time he
wrote stories including Rip van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Bracebridge Hall, or, The Humorists, A Medley is based on Aston Hall.
Symphony
Hall (home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) is in the City
Centre.
Sport
Birmingham
is home to two professional football teams: Aston Villa and Birmingham
City (nearby West Bromwich Albion's ground The Hawthorns used to be
divided by the Birmingham/ Smethwick border, but was moved completely
into the latter by a minor rationalisation of local government borders
in the 1960s).
Warwickshire
County Cricket Club play at Edgbaston.
Lawn Tennis was first played in Birmingham.
The first ever football league was invented by a Brimingham man in
Aston.
Learning
Birmingham
has three universities: The University of Birmingham, Aston University
and The University of Central England (UCE, formerly Birmingham
Polytechnic). The UCE has asked Aston to consider a merger.
Transport
Birmingham
is well served by a number of transport modes. Including:
Road
Birmingham is connected to London and the south, and the north-east of
England and to Scotland by the M6 motorway. The M40 also connects
Birmingham to London and to Oxford. The M5 motorway connects Birmingham
to the south-west of England. The M42 motorway connects Birmingham to
the East Midlands.
Rail
A plethora of railway lines from all over the UK go into Birmingham,
which is a central hub of the rail network. Most of which converge in
Birmingham New Street station from where regular train services to all
the major cities in the UK including London can be caught. Trains to
London can currently also be caught at Birmingham Snow Hill station, as
can trams to Wolverhampton on the Midland Metro. Although the London
services are due to be diverted into Moor Street station in 2004.
Air
Birmingham is served by Birmingham International Airport,
which has flights to all over Europe and to New York.
Water
Although it has no major river (the Rea is little more than a culverted
stream, and the Tame, which only passes through the northern suburbs,
is not navigable), Birmingham is at the hub of the country's canal
network. Major canals including the Grand Union Canal, the Birmingham
and Worcester Canal, and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal go into
Birmingham.
History - The Early years
Small
farming settlements existed in the Birmingham area since the Bronze
Age. In Roman times, the Ryknild Street Roman road passed through what
is now the Birmingham area, and a large millitary fort and marching
camp existed at Metchley in what is now southern Birmingham. Remains of
pottery kilns dating from the Roman period have also been found in the
Birmingham area.
Until
the Middle Ages, due to poor quality soil which made agriculture
unproductive, the Birmingham area was for centuries a sparsely
populated backwater. Modern Birmingham came into existence in the year
1154 when a local landowner called Peter de Birmingham obtained a
charter to hold a market, a settlement grew up around this market named
Birmingham after its founder. The market was called the
Bull Ring and was the centre of all activity in what was then
a village. Birmingham became a Borough in the early 13th century.
From the
16th century onwards Birmingham became a centre of many metalworking
industries, with a skilled population of Ironmongers. Birmingham also
became a centre of arms manufacturing, with Guns and Swords being
produced in the then town. This trade was greatly helped by the English
Civil War, Birmingham manufacturers supplied the Roundheads with much
of their armaments. Reputedly, 15,000 swords were produced in
Birmingham for Cromwell's forces.
Birmingham's
skilled workforce, and the fact that Birmingham was located near the
coalfields of Staffordshire, meant that the town grew rapidly during
the Industrial
revolution. Birmingham was then home to Matthew
Boulton, James
Watt,
William Murdoch, Joseph Priestley and others, who,
together, were known as the Lunar Society.
19th Century Expansion
In the
late 18th and early 19th century Birmingham became a centre of the
canal system, which greatly aided its industrial growth. In the 1830s
the Grand Junction Railway (linking onwards to Liverpool and
Manchester) and the London and Birmingham Railway were built and
Birmingham New Street station soon became the hub of the railway
network. During the 19th century Birmingham's population mushroomed and
by the middle of the 19th century Birmingham had become the second
largest population centre in Britain. It was also during the 19th
century that Birmingham gained its reputation (which continues to this
day amongst many of those uninformed of recent changes) as a grim
industrial city. In 1873 Joseph Chamberlain became mayor of
the city. Under his leadership, the council introduced many innovative
civic improvements, including municipal gas and water works which
improved the lighting and provided clean drinking water to the city;
and opened numerous public parks. Birmingham became a county borough in
1889, and a city in 1896.
20th Century
During
the 20th century Birmingham's population continued to rise. An
important industrial centre, the city was heavily bombed by the German
Luftwaffe during World War II, in a failed attempt to break the morale
of the city's workers. In total, 2,441 Birmingham residents were killed
by German bombs during the war. In the postwar years a massive program
of slum clearances took place, and vast areas of the city were
re-built, with overcrowded "back to back" housing being replaced by
high rise blocks of flats (the last remaining block of four back to
backs are to become a museum). The city centre was also extensively
re-built, especially the Bull Ring Shopping Centre.
Birmingham also became a centre of the national motorway network, with
Spaghetti Junction. In 1974, two city- centre pubs were bombed by the
IRA.
Diversity
In the
years following World War II a major influx of immigrants from the
British Commonwealth changed the face of Birmingham, with large
communities from Southern Asia and the Caribbean settling in the city,
turning Birmingham into one of the UK's leading multicultural cities.
As of 2001 29.7% of the city's population is made up of ethnic minority
communities. Amongst the largest minority communities: 10.6% of
Birmingham residents are Pakistani, 5.7% are Indian, 6.1% are Black
Carribean or African, and 2.9% are of mixed race.
Since
the early 1980s Birmingham has seen a new wave of migration, this time
from communities which do not have Commonwealth roots, including people
from Kosovo and Somalia. Birmingham's reputation as a city built on
migration looks to continue. If Birmingham ended the 19th century as a
Commonwealth city, the future diversity of the City is set to be
global.
Regeneration
In the
1970s, the National Exhibition Centre was
built, 10 miles southeast of the centre, close to Birmingham
International Airport. Although it is actually just inside
neighbouring Solihull,
it was instigated, and largely owned by, Birmingham Council, and is
thought by most people to be in the city. It has been expanded several
times since then.
The
International Convention Centre (ICC) opened in central Birmingham in
the early 1990s. The area around Broad Street was extensively renovated
at the turn of the Millennium, making it possible to walk beside the
canals. In September 2003, after a year long redevelopment project, the
new Bull Ring was opened. The city recently failed in its bid to become
the
European Capital of Culture in 2008, under the banner "Be in
Birmingham 2008".
Population Growth by year
1550 pop
1,500
1650 pop 5,000
1750 pop 24,000
1800 pop 75,000
1900 pop 650,000
1981 pop 1,013,431
2001 pop 977,000
In
recent years, Birmingham's population has declined slightly, from its
peak of just over one million in 1980.
Famous Residents
Sir
Michael Balcon
John Baskerville
Matthew Boulton
Jane Bunford
Edward Burne-Jones
Arthur Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sid Field
Tony Hancock
Washington Irving
Alec Issigonis
Albert William Ketèlbey
Henry Vollam Morton
William Murdoch
Bill Oddie
Ozzy Osbourne
Joseph Priestley
J. R. R. Tolkien
James
Watt
William Withering
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