Timeline of Birmingham history

This article is intended to show a timeline of events in the History of Birmingham, England, with a particular focus on the events, people or places that are covered in Wikipedia articles.

Pre-Norman invasion
  • 1200 BC – Radiocarbon date of charcoal taken from the Woodlands Park Prehistoric Burnt Mounds.
  • Bronze Age – Small farming settlements constructed.
  • AD 48–Construction of Metchley Fort begins as Icknield Street is constructed by Romans through Birmingham.
  • AD 70–The Romans abandon Metchley Fort only to return a few years later.
  • AD 120–The Romans abandon Metchley Fort permanently.
  • Anglo-Saxon period – Beormingas clan present in the area.
  • 7th century – Possible creation of Birmingham as a hamlet.
  • 968 – Duddeston is first mentioned in a charter granted to Wulfget the Thane by Eadgar, King of the Angles.

1000 – 1099
  • After 1066 – Area passes into the hands of the De Birmingham family.
  • 1086 – Birmingham recorded as a village in the Domesday Book. William FitzAnsculf is recorded as having the Birmingham, Edgbaston, Aston, Erdington, Witton, Handsworth, Perry, and Little Barr manors.

1100–1199
  • 1154 – Lord of the manor Peter de Birmingham has the charter to hold a market in Birmingham on every Thursday, transforming the village into a town.
  • 1160 – The first stone church building is erected on the site of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth.
  • 1176 – A road passing through Sutton Coldfield is recorded. This is probably part of a highway leading from Birmingham to Lichfield.

1200–1299
  • 1218 – Flaxeye Farm in Stechford is mentioned.
  • 1221 – The manorial mill of King's Norton is recorded as being in the possession of Richard Clark.
  • 1231 – A manorial mill at Edgbaston is recorded.
  • 1249 – A ford over the River Cole is recorded.
  • 1250
    • William de Birmingham is granted permission to hold a four-day fair in Birmingham during Ascensiontide annually.
    • A road from Birmingham to Saltley and Castle Bromwich is recorded in a deed.
  • 1260 – Summer Lane, a road leading to Perry and Walsall, is recorded.
  • 1263 – A church is documented at the site of the modern-day St Martin in the Bull Ring.
  • 1273 – Several mills are recorded to be in existence in Northfield.
  • 1276 – Crossing of the River Rea at Deritend is reported.
  • 1282 – Two roads are mentioned as passing through Yardley and converging at Deritend Bridge.
  • 1290 – A lane crossing the River Tame at Salford Bridge leading in the direction of Erdington and Sutton Coldfield is mentioned.

1300–1399
  • 1317 – A mill in Witton and Erdington is mentioned; this is probably located on the Hawthorn Brook.
  • 1318 – A bridge named Bromford Bridge is recorded.
  • 1322 – It is recorded that merchants were selling wool in Birmingham market.
  • By 1327 – Selly Manor constructed.
  • 1333 – A mill in Erdington named Bromford Mill is recorded in a court roll.
  • 1340 – The road from Birmingham to Castle Bromwich is again mentioned in a deed.
  • 1368 – The Old Crown public house in Deritend is believed to have been constructed as a guildhall. If so, it is Birmingham's first school.
  • 1379 – A traveller records a bridge crossing the River Tame at Handsworth.
  • 1381 – Residents of Deritend and Bordesley given permission to build a chapel next to the River Rea.
  • 1381 – Sir John de Birmyneham provides the first reference to Deritend by name, written as Duryzatehende.
  • 1390 – Thomas de Birmingham is recorded as a cloth merchant.
  • 1392 – The Guild of the Holy Cross is established in Birmingham.

1400–1499
  • 1406 – A goldsmith is referred to.
  • 1435 – The last known overlordship of Erdington manor is recorded.
  • 1449 – Three roads are recorded going from Birmingham to Edgbaston.
  • 1460 – Handsworth Old Town Hall in Handsworth is constructed.
  • 1480 – The tower of Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Aston is completed
  • 1492 – The Saracen's Head in King's Norton is constructed.

1500–1599

1600–1699
  • 1612
    • A road is mentioned from Perry Bridge to Birmingham. It is named the "great way".
    • The Handsworth Bridge Trust is set up by Nicholas Hodgetts.
  • 1616 – King James grants Kings Norton the right to hold a market.
  • 1635 – Construction of Aston Hall is completed.
  • 1635–1642 – The first Birmingham Library is founded by the puritan minister Francis Roberts
  • 1642 – 17 October: English Civil War:
    • King Charles passes through Birmingham whilst travelling to the Battle of Edgehill; the townsfolk seize the Kings carriages containing the royal plate and furniture which they convey for security to Warwick Castle, a parliamentary stronghold.
    • Battle of Kings Norton: nine troops of horse and 200 foot under the command of Prince Rupert fight a skirmish with force of 800 Parliamentarians under the command of Lord Willoughby of Parham. The Parliamentarians lose about 20 men whilst the Royalists lose between 50 and 80 killed with a further 20 taken prisoner.
  • 1643
    • 3 April (Easter Monday): Battle of Camp Hill, a Royalist victory after which 80 houses in the town are torched.
    • Aston Hall is severely damaged by Parliamentary troops.
  • 1648 – A paper mill is recorded as being in use in Perry Barr.
  • c. 1687 – Father Andrew Bromwich founds a Roman Catholic mission at Old Oscott, origin of St Mary's College, Oscott.
  • 1695 – First fire engine in Birmingham.[1]
  • 1697 – John Pemberton purchases the land once the site of the Priory of St Thomas of Canterbury.

1700–1799

1700–1709
  • 1700 – John Pemberton begins construction of his prestigious Priory Estate on the former site of the Priory of St Thomas.
  • 1702 – The Old Cross, Birmingham's first public meeting place, is completed near the Bull Ring.
  • 1704 – 25 May: Church of the Ascension, Hall Green, consecrated as "Job Marston Chapel".
  • 1707 – The timber structure of the Guild Hall on New Street is demolished.
  • 1708
    • The vacant New Street site becomes King Edward's School and a two-storey brick building is constructed on it.
    • Parliament receives a petition for a new Anglican church as St Martin's is overcrowded.

1710–1719
  • 1713 – Old Square is constructed by John Pemberton on the former site of the Priory of St. Thomas.
  • 1714 – Mobs attack religious Dissenters.
  • 1715

1720–1729
  • 1724 – The Blue Coat School on Colmore Row is completed.
  • 1726 – The Bristol Road, which has suffered from intense traffic, is one of the first roads serving Birmingham to be turnpiked.
  • 1728
    • 3 September: Matthew Boulton is born to a toymaker in Snow Hill.
    • A building known as 'Leather Hall' on New Street is demolished "while men slept" and three houses are constructed on it which are later replaced by a prison. 'Leather Hall' contained the town's last dungeon.

1730–1739
  • 1730 – William Westley produces the first documentation of a newly constructed square named Old Square. It becomes one of the most prestigious addresses in Birmingham.
  • 1731 – The first map of Birmingham is produced by William Westley.
  • 1732 – c. 14 November: The Birmingham Journal, Birmingham's first local newspaper, is printed by Thomas Warren.
  • 1733 – The town's first workhouse is constructed on Lichfield Street near the modern-day Victoria Law Courts.
  • 1737 – John Baskerville sets up in the Bull Ring as a writing-master.
  • 1738 – March: John Wesley first visits Birmingham, shortly before his evangelical experience.

1740–1749

1750–1759
  • 1751 – Methodist meeting house attacked by Jacobites.
  • 1752 – Two theatres on Smallbrook Street and King Street open to the public.
  • 1757 – John Baskerville's Baskerville typeface is first used in a book, a luxury edition of Virgil.
  • 1758
    • Summer: Benjamin Franklin first visits Birmingham.
    • The land known as Duddeston Hall is renamed to Vauxhall Gardens after the London pleasure park and is opened to the public as an entertainment venue.
  • 1759
    • The Quaker meeting house is seriously damaged for not sufficiently celebrating the English victories in Canada.
    • 20,000 people are being employed in Birmingham's "toymaking" industry.

1760–1769
  • 1760
    • The Protestant Dissenting Charity School is established.
    • John Betts & Sons, refiners of precious metals, is established in Birmingham when Alexander Betts moves from Sheffield; the company will still be in family hands in the 21st century.
  • 1761 – Matthew Boulton acquires a five-year lease on Soho Mill.
  • 1762 – A glassworks is recorded as being in use at Snow Hill by Meyer Oppenheim.
  • 1764 – Charles Wesley's sermon at the opening of a chapel on Moor Street is disrupted by rioting.
  • 1765
  • 1766
    • Matthew Boulton moves into Soho House following completion of Soho Manufactory.
    • An infirmary wing is added to the Lichfield Street workhouse.
  • 1768
  • 1769
    • 24 March: The Birmingham Chronicle is printed for the first time.
    • 6 November: The Birmingham Canal's Wednesbury branch is opened.[4]
    • Birmingham Improvement Act creates Birmingham Street Commissioners with powers to ensure clean streets, to provide street lighting (by oil lamps) and to widen roads.[5]

1770–1779
  • 1770 – The first statues in the town[6] are erected at the front of the Blue Coat School: they depict a young boy and a young girl and have been created by Edward Grubb.
  • 1772
    • 21 September: The Birmingham Canal main line is opened, providing for through navigation to the river Severn.[4]
    • 15 November (4 am): An earthquake strikes Birmingham and is felt in Hall Green, Erdington and Yardley. No damage is sustained but a flock of sheep escapes in Yardley.
    • Royal Hotel opens, the town's first establishment to be so called.
  • 1773 – 31 August: The Birmingham Assay Office (authorised by Act of 27 May) opens for the first time at the King's Head Inn at New Street.
  • 1774
  • 1775
  • 1777
    • Construction of St Paul's Square commences.
    • A bill is presented to Parliament for a licensed theatre; however it is rejected.
    • Tailors' cooperative organized.[10]
  • 1779
    • c. 2 June: St Paul's Church is consecrated[11] as construction of St Paul's Square is completed.
    • 20 September: Birmingham General Hospital opens to the public. William Withering is physician.
    • November: The Birmingham Library is established by 19 subscribers.[12]
    • Buttonmaker John Pickard fits a crank and flywheel to his Newcomen engine to make a mill. It is adapted into a flour mill and his business increases.
    • A. E. Williams begins as a manufacturer of pewter ware; the business will still be in the hands of his family in the 21st century.

1780–1789
  • 1780
  • 1781
    • The Birmingham Library moves to premises in Swan Yard.
    • Birmingham New Brass and Spelter Company established.
  • 1782 – The Birmingham Old Brewery, Birmingham's first large scale brewery, opens on Moseley Street.
  • 1783
    • June: An act for the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is obtained which will connect the Birmingham Canal with the Coventry Canal.
    • The Birmingham Commercial Committee is formed.
    • A proposal for a major new workhouse is presented to Parliament; however it faces objections from William Hutton.
  • 1784
  • 1786 – The theatre on King Street is closed and converted into a Methodist chapel.
  • 1787
    • New Hall is put up for sale as demand for the area increases.
    • 'Apollo Hotel' opens in Deritend, at this time a small hamlet.
  • 1788 – A turnpike is established on the main road into Deritend.
  • 1789 – 11 August: Birmingham and Fazeley Canal opened, providing for a water route to London (via Oxford).

1790–1799
  • 1790 – Webley & Scott established as firearms manufacturers by William Davies; adopting its later name in 1897 the company will still be in business in the 21st century.
  • 1791
    • 10 June: An act for the Worcester and Birmingham Canal is obtained.[13]
    • 14–17 July: Priestley Riots against Dissenters and radical sympathisers: The Royal Hotel (scene of a banquet to celebrate the Storming of the Bastille) is attacked, chapels, business premises and Joseph Priestley's house on Easy Hill are looted and the late John Baskerville's house destroyed.
    • The Protestant Dissenting Charity School moves to a new building on Park Street.
    • Birmingham's first synagogue begins construction in the Froggary.
  • 1792 – 17 August: The Theatre Royal in New Street is seriously damaged by fire.
  • 1793
    • February: An effigy of Tom Paine is hung and burned by a crowd singing 'God Save The King.'
    • 6 March: An act for the Warwick and Birmingham Canal is obtained.[14]
    • Summer: A permanent military barracks is completed at Ashted.
  • 1794
  • 1795
    • June: Pickard's steam-powered flour mill is attacked by a mob of women after rumours he has wrongly increased the price of flour. The military arrive and break up the mob with at least one death.
    • 30 October: First section of Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened from Gas Street Basin to Selly Oak.[13]
  • 1797
    • 300 children are removed from the Lichfield Street workhouse to an Asylum for the Infant Poor on Summer Lane.
    • The Birmingham Library moves to a purpose-built building on Union Street on land formerly Corbett's Bowling Green.
    • The Anchor Inn in Digbeth opens.

1800–1899

1800–1809
  • 1800
    • 19 March: The Warwick and Birmingham Canal is completed.[14]
    • September: Another mob attacks Pickard's mill. Instead of waiting for the military, John Pickard and his workers retaliate with rifles, killing at least one rioter.
  • 1801 – 10 March: Demography of Birmingham: The first national census shows the town's population as 73,670, an estimated increase of 41% over that in 1785.
  • 1802
    • 31 August: Admiral Nelson visits Birmingham and is greeted by large crowds.
    • The lighting system of Soho Manufactory is displayed to the public. It is the first factory to be lit by gas.
    • Westley Richards established as firearms manufacturers by William Westley Richards; the company will still be in business in the 21st century.
    • Horseshoe Stables built for canal horses at Farmer's Bridge Junction.
  • 1804 – January: Joshua Toulmin appointed as a Unitarian minister.
  • 1805
    • 18 September: The foundation stone of a building complex consisting of public offices, a courtroom and prison in Moor Street is laid.
    • 23 November: A meeting is held to decide upon the creation of monument dedicated to Admiral Nelson.
  • 1806
    • 13 June: A decision is made that a statue should be created in memory of Admiral Nelson.
    • The prison on Moor Street opens.
    • Another bill is presented to Parliament for a licensed theatre and this time is granted.
  • 1807
    • October: The building complex on Moor Street is completed and opened one year after the completion of the prison.
    • Space becomes available on Park Street for the expansion of the graveyard at St. Martin's, Birmingham's only Anglican graveyard.
  • 1809

1810–1819

1820–1829
  • 1820
    • 6 January: The Theatre Royal on New Street is destroyed in a fire. Only two medallions of Shakespeare and Garrick are retrieved from the ruins.
    • A canal is extended through an area behind modern-day Centenary Square to create a wharf. The extension cuts across Baskerville's tomb where the builders find his body to be well preserved.
  • 1821 – Birmingham Society of Artists founded.
  • 1823 – The spire is added to St Paul's Church.
  • 1824 – John Cadbury opens his shop on Bull Street
  • 1825
    • The Birmingham Female Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves is established by Mary Sturge, Maria Cadbury and Mary Samuel Lloyd.
    • The title Birmingham Journal is revived for a weekly Tory newspaper by printer William Hodgetts.
  • 1826
    • 26 May: The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal is authorised; when opened in 1835 it will connect with the Birmingham Canal Navigations at Aldersley, north of Wolverhampton.
    • Company of Proprietors of the Birmingham Waterworks authorised "for the purpose of providing a sufficient and constant supply of good and wholesome water for domestic, manufacturing and other purposes".
  • 1827 – After being broken into and seriously damaged years earlier, the Severn Street synagogue receives enough funds to reopen.
  • 1828
    • 17 November: The first Birmingham Co-operative Society is formed.
    • The main road into Deritend is disturnpiked.
  • 1829

1830–1839

1840–1849

1850–1859

1860–1869

1870–1879

1880–1889

1890–1899

1900–1999

1900–1909

1910–1919
  • 1910
  • 1911
    • 18 January: Albion Street fire station opens.
    • 9 November: The Urban districts of Handsworth and Aston Manor, in Staffordshire, and the Rural district of Yardley along with the greater part of the Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield (which includes most of Bartley Reservoir), both in Worcestershire, become part of Birmingham, and thus Warwickshire.
    • Construction of an extension to the Council House, designed by Ashley & Newman, begins.
    • Cable trams in Birmingham last operate.
  • 1912
  • 1913
  • 1914
    • 30 March: An addition to Kent Street Baths consisting of a women's swimming baths and baths for women are opened in an adjoining building.
    • May: Bournville Rest House on The Green is presented by employees of Cadbury's to mark Mr and Mrs George Cadbury's silver wedding in 1913.
    • The Stechford Club moves to newly completed premises.
  • 1916
    • 29 September: The Birmingham Municipal Bank opens to the public.
    • 5 December: Station Officer William Thomas from Albion Street fire station is killed whilst attending a fire at The Parade, Spring Hill.
  • 1917
  • 1918–1919 – The Kings Norton Metal Company mints British pennies.[35]
  • 1918 – 10 June: The Birmingham Civic Society is founded at an inaugural meeting at Birmingham Council House.
  • 1919
    • 26 February: "Nechells Gas Disaster": Station Officer Henry Moon from Lingard Street fire station and Fireman Herbert Dyche from Moseley Road fire station are killed whilst attending a severe gas leak at Nechells Gas Works; two male workers are also killed.
    • City of Birmingham Orchestra, predecessor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, established, with a grant from the corporation, the first time that public funds have been used to support a symphony orchestra in Britain.
    • Construction of the extension to the Council House is completed.
    • The Birmingham Municipal Bank moves to offices in the Council House.

1920–1929

1930–1939
  • 1930
    • 4 August: The first cinema under the Odeon name in Britain is opened in Perry Barr by Balsall Heath-born Oscar Deutsch.[37]
    • 4 October: Opening of Kings Norton fire station at Pershore Road South, Cotteridge.
    • The Moor Hall Estate is put up for sale.
    • Kent Street Baths are demolished and reconstruction commences.
  • 1931
    • 14 June: "Birmingham Bertha", a whirlwind, sweeps across the city.
    • October: Fire station opens at Stafford Road, Handsworth.
  • 1932
  • 1933
  • 1934
  • 1935
    • Birmingham Corporation establish the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Trust.
    • The Alexandra Theatre is rebuilt with an Art Deco auditorium.
    • The Birmingham Municipal Bank causes controversy amongst Sutton Coldfield residents who believe Birmingham aims to absorb Sutton Coldfield when the bank outlines plans to open a branch in the town.
    • Blakesley Hall is opened as a museum owned by Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
    • 2 December: Official opening of Central fire station and headquarters at Corporation Street by the Duke of Kent.
  • 1936 – The Duddeston Barracks are demolished by the Birmingham Corporation for the construction of maisonettes.
  • 1937 – 4 October: First cremation at municipal crematorium in Lodge Hill Cemetery.
  • 1938
    • 12 February: The Aston Hippodrome is seriously damaged by fire leading to a £38,000 refurbishment.
    • Baskerville House is built as the only substantial portion of an ambitious Civic Centre plan.
    • The council approve the replacement of the Central Library.
  • 1939

1940–1949
  • 1940
    • March: Frisch–Peierls memorandum: Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls, at this time working at the University of Birmingham, calculate that an atomic bomb could be produced using very much less enriched uranium than has previously been supposed, making it a practical proposition.[40]
    • June
      • Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory turns out its first Spitfire MK II aircraft; it will produce over half of the approximately 20,000 built until ceasing aircraft production in 1945.
      • Muslim (Yemeni) community in Balsall Heath begins.
    • 9 August: Birmingham Blitz: The first German air raid on the city takes place when a single aircraft drops bombs on Erdington; one person is killed.
    • 13 August: Birmingham Blitz: Aircraft factory at Castle Bromwich bombed; 17 people are killed.
    • 25/26 August: Birmingham Blitz: First air raid on city centre; 25 people are killed and the Market Hall is destroyed.
    • 25–30 October: Birmingham Blitz: Heavy air raids on city centre.
    • 7 November: St Philip's Cathedral is bombed and gutted.
    • 19 November: Birmingham Blitz: Heavy air raids in the Birmingham area begin with 53 deaths at the Birmingham Small Arms Company factory in Small Heath alone.[41][42] Up to 28 November around 800 people are killed, 2,345 injured and 20,000 made homeless.[43]
    • 22 November: Retirement of the chief fire officer Alfred Robert Tozer jr; the brigade is placed under the temporary command of captain B. A. Westbrook. On 1 January 1941 F. Winteringham is appointed as chief fire officer.
  • 1941
  • 1942 – 27 May: Birmingham Blitz: Last major air raid on the city.
  • 1943 – 23 April: Birmingham Blitz: Last air raid on the city: 2 bombs are dropped on Bordesley Green.
  • 1944 – 2 October: The original Five Ways railway station closes.
  • 1945 – Abdul Aziz opens a cafe shop selling curry and rice in Steelhouse Lane. This later becomes The Darjeeling, the first Indian restaurant in Birmingham, owned by Afrose Miah.
  • 1946 – July: Birmingham Elmdon Airport reverts to civilian use, though still under the control of the government.
  • 1947 – Ansells Brewery purchases Penns Hall.
  • 1948
    • 1 April: Formation of the Birmingham Fire and Ambulance Service as the National Fire Service is stood down. Henry Coleman is appointed as chief fire officer.
    • The blue brick lodge gate at Warstone Lane Cemetery, designed by Hamilton & Medland, is completed.
  • 1949
    • 7 February: Leading Fireman Leslie Marsh from Central fire station is killed whilst attending a fire at Fox Street, Aston.
    • 17 December: The first Sutton Coldfield transmitting station begins transmitting BBC Television to the midlands, the first broadcasts to be seen outside the London area.[44]
    • As part of a national policy the emergency telephone 999 system is progressively brought into operation.

1950–1959
  • 1950 – Penns Hall is converted into a hotel by Ansells Brewery.
  • 1951
    • 8 April: The city's population peaks, at 1,113,000.
    • 1 June: British European Airways begins a regular scheduled helicopter passenger service from Hay Mills "Rotorstation" to Northolt and Heathrow (London); the service operates to 9 April 1952.
    • 30 June: Last trolleybuses in Birmingham operate.
    • The King Edward VII Memorial is moved to Highgate Park as Victoria Square is remodelled.
    • The Museum of Science and Industry is opened in the former Elkington electroplating works, Newhall Street, as a museum owned by Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
  • 1953
  • 1954
    • The Digbeth Institute is put up for sale.
    • Queens Tower in Duddeston is completed, becoming the city's first tower block.
    • The chapel at Warstone Lane Cemetery is demolished.
  • 1955
    • 23 January: Sutton Coldfield rail crash: A diverted express derails taking a severe curve at speed; 17 are killed.
    • 12 March: Major fire at the offices and warehouse of Halfords, Corporation Street Aston. At its peak the whole of the resources of the Birmingham Fire & Ambulance Service are mobilised to this incident.
    • September: Appointment of Albert Paramour as chief fire officer.
    • The Digbeth Institute is purchased by Birmingham City Council.
    • Shops begin to shut down in the Bull Ring for the redevelopment of the area.
  • 1956
    • 17 February: Associated Television begins broadcasting from Birmingham.
    • March: Closure of Lingard Street fire station.
    • November: Opening of Sheldon fire station; closure of Stechford fire station.
    • Tong Kung, on the Holloway Head, opens becoming Birmingham's first Chinese restaurant.
  • 1957
    • Blakesley Hall reopens as a museum following restoration conducted as a result of bomb damage during World War II.
    • John Madin produces a development plan for the Calthorpe estate (Edgbaston).
    • The fire station at Ward End is closed.
  • 1959 – October: The fire station at Bristol Road South, Northfield, is opened and that at 'The Spot Garage' Northfield is closed.

1960–1969
  • 1960
    • 4 June: All theatrical productions at the Aston Hippodrome cease and the theatre is converted into a bingo hall.
    • August: British Railways' last horse-drawn road cartage deliveries are made from Lawley Street.
    • Birmingham City Council retakes ownership of Birmingham Elmdon airport.
  • 1961
    • Summer: Construction of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre begins.
    • 25 August: Police launch a murder inquiry after the body of missing teenager Jacqueline Thomas is found on an allotment in the Alum Rock area.[45]
    • 12 October: The fire station at Brook Lane, Billesley is opened and those at Sparkhill and Kings Heath are closed.
    • October: "Temporary" Camp Hill flyover at High Street Bordesley opens; it survives until 1985.
    • New terminal, The International Building, opens at Birmingham Airport.
    • The design for the Rotunda is approved and the building begins construction.
  • 1962
    • June: The outdoor market area in the Bull Ring is opened with 150 stalls.
    • 31 August: Appointment of Albert E. Webb as chief fire officer.
    • 20 November: Last person hanged at Winson Green Prison, Oswald Grey for the murder of Thomas Bates on 3 June.
    • The Mason Science College building on Edmund Street is demolished.
  • 1963
    • The Midlands Arts Centre in Cannon Hill Park opens.
    • The old Market Hall in the Bull Ring is demolished.
    • Construction of the GPO Tower commences.
  • 1964
  • 1965
  • 1966
  • 1967
    • 28 February: Stechford rail crash: 9 are killed in a collision.
    • 6 May: British Rail officially opens the rebuilt New Street station. Construction of Stephenson Tower, above the station, is completed this year.
    • 5 October: The GPO Tower is officially opened as a microwave telecommunications hub; it is the tallest building in Birmingham.
    • Birmingham Airport main runway extended to allow international jet operations.
    • Construction of the Inner Ring Road commences.
    • A new entrance to the Alexandra Theatre is constructed and opened.
  • 1968
    • 20 March: The fire station at Monument Road, Ladywood is opened and that at Albion Street is closed.
    • 20 April: Enoch Powell makes his infamous Rivers of Blood speech at the Midland Hotel on New Street.
    • 2 October: A woman from Birmingham gives birth to the first recorded instance of live Sextuplets in the U.K.[46]
    • Work starts on the complex motorway junction at Gravelly Hill Interchange.
    • Heavy metal band Black Sabbath forms in Birmingham (originally under other names).
  • 1969

1970–1979
  • 1970
    • April–June: New Carrs Lane Church is completed.
    • 7 April: Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre is opened.
    • 9 November: BBC Radio Birmingham begins broadcasting.
    • Cleveland Tower, Birmingham's tallest tower block, is completed.
    • The fire station at Bristol Road is opened and that at Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak is closed.
  • 1971
  • 1972
  • 1973
    • 17 September: A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in Edgbaston killing Captain Ronald Wilkinson who is attempting to defuse it.
    • 7 December: The film Take Me High, starring Cliff Richard and filmed in Birmingham, is released.
    • December: A new Birmingham Central Library is completed on the same site as the previous one.
    • Construction of Alpha Tower is completed and the building is opened as part of the ATV Centre.
    • Construction of 1 Snow Hill Plaza is completed.
    • Marjorie Brown becomes the first woman to be Lord Mayor of Birmingham.
  • 1974
  • 1975
    • 1 October: Tom Lister is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
    • Construction of Centre City Tower is completed.
    • Construction of the Alexander Stadium commences.
    • Birmingham Central Mosque is officially opened, becoming the largest mosque in Western Europe at this time.
  • 1976
  • 1977
    • February: Construction of the North Stand at Villa Park commences.
    • 15 March: British Leyland managers announce their intention to dismiss 40,000 toolmakers who have gone on strike at the company's Longbridge plant, action which is costing the state-owned carmaker more than £10,000,000 a week.
    • 29 May: Fireman Ian Robert Collier from Acocks Green fire station is killed whilst attending a fire on the railway lines in Solihull.
    • 15 August: Rioting breaks out during demonstrations against the National Front.
    • The Birmingham Civic Society raises enough funds to reinstate the pools surrounding the Chamberlain Memorial.
  • 1978
  • 1979 – Construction of Five Ways Tower is completed.

1980–1989
  • 1980
  • 1981
  • 1982
  • 1983
  • 1984
  • 1985
    • 3 July: Fireman Nicholas Walker dies as a result of injuries received after an accident at Pershore Road, Stirchley whilst responding to a fire call.
    • 9–11 September: 1985 Handsworth riots.
    • 3 December: Golden Jubilee of the opening of Fire Service Headquarters at Central fire station, Corporation Street: a plaque is unveiled by the Duke of Kent.
  • 1986 – 31 March: The West Midlands County Council is abolished.
  • 1987
    • January: The foundation stone to the International Convention Centre is laid, signalling the start of construction.
    • 1 April: The ownership of Birmingham International Airport is transferred to Birmingham International Airport plc.
    • July: The city council invites developers to draw up a masterplan for 26 acres (110,000 m2) of land alongside canals, adjacent to the International Convention Centre.
    • 5 October: A rebuilt Snow Hill station is opened to the public.
    • "The People's Plan", a document containing designs and plans for the redevelopment of the Bull Ring, is published and issued by London and Edinburgh Trust but the plans are greeted with public objection.
  • 1988
    • A glass roof over Paradise Forum and a pedestrian crossing of the Inner Ring Road at this point are built.
    • London and Edinburgh Trust redesign their proposals for the Bull Ring redevelopment but again receive public criticism.
    • The Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is formed following the Faculty of Art and Design at Birmingham Polytechnic absorbing Bournville College of Art.
  • 1989
    • September: The Brindleyplace development alongside the ICC and Broad Street is granted planning permission.
    • October: The topping out ceremony of the railway tunnel for the future site of the National Indoor Arena is conducted by the council.
    • The Birmingham School of Music is renamed the Birmingham Conservatoire.
    • National Exhibition Centre expanded.

1990–1999

2000s

2000–2009
  • 2000
    • 9 August: The Rotunda is granted Grade II listed status.
    • December: The Mailbox, an upmarket shopping centre, opens to the public.
    • Demolition of the 1960s Bull Ring shopping centre commences.
    • The parish of New Frankley is established and becomes Birmingham's only surviving civil parish.
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2003
    • 2 January: Murder of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare: 2 innocent teenagers are shot in a gang-related drive-by machine-gunning in Aston.
    • 17 March: Firefighter Andrew Edmund Clinton of Bournbrook fire station dies following an injury whilst on duty.
    • 3 April: The planning application for a 122 metre tall tower at 10 Holloway Circus is approved by Birmingham City Council.
    • 27 July: Frank Sheehan is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
    • August: The refurbishment of Baskerville House commences.
    • 4 September: The new Bull Ring shopping centre opens, including the Selfridges Building designed by Jan Kaplický of Future Systems.
    • Quayside Tower is extensively refurbished.
    • The BT Tower is repainted and a lighting scheme is added.
    • Plans to redevelop New Street station in a project called Birmingham Gateway are approved by the city council.
  • 2004
    • 5 April: Responsibility and budgets for a number of council services are devolved to 11 district committees (later reorganised as 10 council constituencies).
    • 10 June: The Sutton Trinity Birmingham City Council ward comes into existence.
    • 18 December: The première of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti ("Dishonour") at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre is cancelled as a result of violent protests by members of the local Sikh community.
    • Refurbishment of The Rotunda commences.
    • Construction of the Orion Building commences.
    • Centenary Plaza, the first phase of the £500 million Arena Central development, is completed and opened.
    • BBC Birmingham moves into new offices in The Mailbox.
    • The plans for the City of Birmingham Stadium, the stadium to replace St Andrews, develop to include a sports village.
  • 2005
  • 2006
    • January–June: 10 Holloway Circus (Beetham Tower) is completed, becoming Birmingham's second tallest building at 130 metres (430 ft).
    • 2–4 March: The National Indoor Arena hosts the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
    • 16 March: The last HP Sauce to be made in Aston is produced; production is moved to the Netherlands.
    • 1 November: Central fire station closes
    • Construction of the Orion Building, a 90-metre (295 ft) tall high rise residential tower on Navigation Street, is completed.
  • 2007
    • November: Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies becomes University College Birmingham.
    • The refurbishment of Baskerville House is completed.
  • 2008
    • 9 March: Calthorpe House at Five Ways is demolished by controlled explosion to make way for Edgbaston Galleries.
    • 13 May: The Rotunda building is reopened as apartments, after extensive refurbishment.
    • August
    • Colmore Plaza, on the site of the Post and Mail building, is completed.
    • Construction of The Cube commences.
    • Construction of Snowhill commences.
  • 2009
    • 17 March: Vijith Randeniya is appointed as chief fire officer of the West Midlands Fire Service.
    • 18 December: New Birmingham Coach Station opened in Digbeth.

2010–2019

References
  1. Lambert, Tim. "A Timeline of the History of Birmingham". Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. Handford, Margaret. "Birmingham". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  3. Baren, Maurice (1996). How It All Began Up the High Street. London: Michael O'Mara Books. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-85479-667-7.
  4. Hadfield, Charles (1969). The Canals of the West Midlands (2nd ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4660-0.
  5. An Act for the laying open and widening certain ways and passages within the Town of Birmingham, and for cleansing and lighting the streets, ways, lanes, and passages there, and for removing and preventing nuisances and obstructions therein. Dent, Robert Kirkup (1894). The Making of Birmingham: Being a History of the Rise and Growth of the Midland Metropolis. J. L. Allday. pp. 133ff. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  6. Discounting monuments in the parish churchyard.
  7. Scherer, F. M. (1965). "Invention and Innovation in the Watt-Boulton Steam-Engine Venture". Technology and Culture. 6 (2): 165–87. doi:10.2307/3101072. JSTOR 3101072.
  8. "The Invention of the Steam Engine: The Life of James Watt. Part 4: The Steam Engine Gains Popularity". About.com Inventors. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  9. Rex, Simon (20 April 2010). "The History of Building Societies". Building Societies Association. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  10. Docherty, James C.; Lamb, Peter (2006). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Socialism (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6477-1.
  11. Sawkill, John (11 September 2014). "The Building of St Paul's Church, Birmingham in the 1770s". jsprints-ink. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  12. Timmins, Samuel (1879). Centenary of the Birmingham Library, 1779–1879. Birmingham: Herald Printing Office. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  13. White, Alan (2005). The Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Studley: Brewin Books. ISBN 978-1-85858-261-0.
  14. Faulkner, Alan (1985). The Warwick Canals. Oakham: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-39-1.
  15. Dent, Robert Kirkup (1880). Old and New Birmingham: a history of the town and its people. Houghton and Hammond. p. 364.
  16. Norris, Gerald (1981). A Musical Gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 145–55. ISBN 978-0-7153-7845-8.
  17. Gill, Conrad (1952). History of Birmingham. 1. Birmingham City Council.
  18. Quick, Michael (2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5.
  19. "Directory". UK: Association of Independent Libraries. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  20. Tyzack, Anna (22 June 2005). "The True Home of Tennis". Country Life. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  21. "Lawn Tennis and Major T. H. Gem". Birmingham Civic Society. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008.
  22. Foster, Andy (2005). Birmingham. Pevsner Architectural Guides. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10731-9.
  23. "The Early Years 1875–1904" (PDF). When Football Was Football. Haynes. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  24. Anonymously in Chambers's Journal on 6 September 1879.
  25. "Thorpe Street". The drill hall project. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  26. Designed by Morris & Co.
  27. Local Government Board Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 13) Act, 54 & 55 Vic. c. 161 (local act).
  28. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 978-0-14-102715-9.
  29. By royal letters patent. "No. 26746". The London Gazette. 4 June 1896. p. 3314.
  30. "1897". The FA Cup. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  31. Russell, Phil (2011). "1897 – Aston Villa 3-2 Everton". Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  32. Shill, Ray (2002). Birmingham's Industrial Heritage 1900–2000. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-2593-8.
  33. WSPU Hunger Strike Medal with Fed by Force bar 17.9.09.
  34. "Electric cinema celebrates its centenary". BBC News. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  35. "GB & Ireland – Pennies Struck by the King's Norton Mint". The Old Currency Exchange. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  36. Morris, Sylvia (13 January 2012). "Innovating in Birmingham: Barry Jackson and modern dress Shakespeare". The Shakespeare blog. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  37. "Odeon Perry Barr". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  38. "Birmingham has built 77,000 houses during King's reign". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 2 May 1935. p. 25.
  39. Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7126-5616-0.
  40. Gowing, Margaret (1964). Britain and Atomic Energy, 1935–1945. London: Macmillan Publishing. pp. 40–43. OCLC 3195209.
  41. "53 killed at BSA works – 19th November 1940". The Birmingham Press. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  42. Day, J. M. (25 November 2005). "West Bromwich at War – Part 2". WW2 People's War. BBC. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  43. Ray, John (1996). The Night Blitz. London: Cassell. p. 166. ISBN 0-304-35676-X.
  44. Kynaston, David (2007). Austerity Britain 1945–51. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-7985-4.
  45. Cowan, Mark (3 June 2010). "Did this man escape justice for Jackie's murder?". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  46. "1968: Birth of sextuplets stuns Britain". BBC News. 2 October 1968. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
  47. "1974: Six charged over Birmingham pub bombs". BBC News. 24 November 1974. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.

Further reading

Published in the 19th century
1800s–1840s
  • John Britton; et al. (1814), "Birmingham", Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Westmoreland, and Worcestershire, Beauties of England and Wales, 15, London: J. Harris, hdl:2027/nyp.33433075909105
  • "Birmingham". Commercial Directory for 1818-19-20. Manchester: James Pigot. 1818.
  • David Brewster, ed. (1830). "Birmingham". Edinburgh Encyclopædia. Edinburgh: William Blackwood.
  • "Birmingham", Pigot and Co.'s National Commercial Directory for the Whole of Scotland and of the Isle of Man, London, J. Pigot & Co., 1837
  • Francis Coghlan (1838). "Birmingham". Iron Road Book and Railway Companion from London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool. London: A.H. Baily & Co. hdl:2027/wu.89089014146.
  • Arthur Freeling (1838), "Birmingham Guide", Freeling's Grand Junction Railway Companion to Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, H. Lacey
  • "Birmingham", Osborne's Guide to the Grand Junction, Or Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester Railway, Birmingham: E.C. & W. Osborne, 1838
  • John Thomson (1845), "Birmingham", New Universal Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary, London: H.G. Bohn
  • "Birmingham and its Vicinity". Slater's National Commercial Directory of Ireland; including ... English Towns of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol, and in Scotland, those of Glasgow and Paisley. Manchester: I. Slater. 1846. hdl:2027/njp.32101045358296.
  • Birmingham, Sheffield: Francis White & Co., 1849, OL 13996594M
1850s–1890s

Published in the 20th century
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.