In Showells Dictionary a "Hen and Chickens Arcade" is mentioned. It was connected to the H&C hotel in New Street and exited onto Worcester Street. Would this later become the Burlington Arcade ? Viv.
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Hen And Chickens Arcade
- Thread starter Vivienne14
- Start date
This is the extract from Showell's Dictionary describing the Arcade
Viv.
Viv.
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pjmburns
master brummie
Hen and Chickens Hotel was further down New Street than Burlington Passage. This map is dated 1890 shows Burlington Passage and also the Hen and Chickens marked as Hotel next to King Edwards School. Burlington Arcade is where the word "Burlington" is on the map.
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Thanks Janice. Wonder if the proposal in Showell's Dictionary never came to fruition then. It would have been a reasonably sized arcade with 24 shop units. So I would expect it to have shown up on maps. The plans must have been for an 'L' shaped arcade if it was to exit onto Worcester Street. Viv.
Looking at this map that Mossg originally posted on the Great Western Arcade thread, my guess is perhaps it was planned as a continuation of (although not joined to) the Midland arcade that exited on the other side of New Street. Birmngham seems to have gone through a period of arcade mania in the 1800s ! Viv.
Map below originally posted by Mossg.
Map below originally posted by Mossg.
That's interesting Janice. Wonder if they started building the arcade but never completed it. Viv.
I don't think any buildings around 1910 will have any relevance, as the c1889 map shows a blank, and the 1890s Goad insurance map is marked "Ruins". However the Pigott Smith map c 1828 does seem to show some sort of arcade. The Hotel name is marked, though is not very easy to read as the hotel seems to have large open spaces, presumably the arcade.
You are right Janice. I had thought it was a bit earlier, and did not read the whole extract. Not sure what is shown on the c1828 map. It looks very complicated. There is another reference in Showell that says an aquarium was to hav ebeen built behind it , but was not, an arcade replacing it . there is a little mor ein the newspaper archives from the birmingham post on 11.2.1884 & 3.4.1884. there seems no other mentions come up, so I suspect that it was never built. Possibly the company either could not raise all the money, or , once it got control of the site, thought of a more profitable use
Yes Janice, that's an impressive plan for the arcade. Pity it didn't go ahead. Can we pinpoint exactly where it would have been on a later map please ? Would it have been where the Arden Hotel was ? Viv.
pjmburns
master brummie
Out of curiosity I checked out the architect and he designed quite a number of buildings in Birmingham. According to "Wikipedia" the following are notable.
- Mason Science College, Edmund Street, 1880, demolished in 1964
- The Dell, No.15 Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, 1880, Grade II
- Gun Barrel Proof House (curators house, entrance range and forecourt), 1883, Grade II*
- Old Liberal Club, Edmund Street, 1883, demolished 1964
- American Fountain, Rother Street, Stratford upon Avon, 1886-7, Grade II*
- Cromwell Junior and Infant School, 1888, Grade II
- Bloomsbury Library, Nechells, 1890, Grade II
- Birmingham Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Edmund Street, 1890-1, Grade II
- Balsall Heath Library, 1895, Grade II*
pjmburns
master brummie
I didn't realise how grand the Hen and Chickens was - that explains the grandeur of the proposed arcade, I assume it was still the same by 1885. https://www.revolutionaryplayers.or...d-hen-and-chickens-inn-new-street-birmingham/ I think this link is probably on another thread.
Looking at the plans suggested in Mike's post #16 it seems the 'monstrous' entrance would have actually formed part of the arcade ("an approach to the arcade") along with the vestibule just inside the building. The plan was to widen the porch. So you do wonder if it would have looked even more out of proportion with the rest of the Georgian building if the arcade had gone ahead !!
Viv.
Viv.
