• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Artists Who Painted Birmingham Landscapes

Thought I'd post 3 different artists showing a quite similar view of St.Phillip's Church/Cathedral. Firstly a drawing from the 'Land We Live In' of 1856. The figures in the churchyard seem vaguely formed and the churchyard seems to be shown in a very untidy state, with children playing (?) among the tombstones. The second drawing I have no information on, but given there are lamps in the churchyard may be about mid 1800s. There seems to be a low wooden fence surrounding the gravestones (not railings) something I've never seen before in views of St. Phillip's. The third view is a painting by William Albert Green, 1930, all very neat and tidy and picturesque. Viv.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360342594.629243.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360342645.574878.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360342693.900720.jpg
 
Superb pics Viv. I love this building and it's history.

Allow me to add a little about St Philips from t'net for extra flavour....The first shot is the best IMHO, showing from the right, Waterloo St and Christchurch and the Town Hall at the end, then Temple Street, then Needless Alley and New Street Station in the distance, and lastly Cherry Street and St Martins in the distance...plus magnificent views of the Back of Rackhams....(ahem)......

During 18th century Birmingham became one of most populous towns in England. At a time when national population increased by 14%, the population of Birmingham increased by 900%. In 1550 St Martin’s, Birmingham parish church could conceivably accommodate most of the population of 1500 people. But by 1750 Birmingham had 24 000 inhabitants and by 1801 some 74 000. This was particularly galling for the rich inhabitants of the town who, despite their wealth, were unable to rent pews in the parish church.

There were also problems burying the dead. The small churchyard was full almost to overflowing. William Hutton wrote: ‘A considerable hill had arisen . . . so that the dead are raised up . . . and instead of the church burying the dead, the dead would, in time, have buried the church.’ The town was expanding northwards beyond New Street and the High Street in an area that became known as High Town. In 1708 the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry obtained an Act of Parliament to set up a Commission, made up of wealthy local landowners, to build a new church. The site for the church, agricultural land known as Horse Close or Barley Close, was sold at a favourable price by members of the related Inge and Phillips families, hence the dedication. At that time the site was beyond the built-up area of the town.

St Philip's Church was designed by Thomas Archer and built between 1711 and 1725. It is one of only a few churches in the English baroque style and one of the smallest cathedrals in England. Archer had visited the great cities of Europe as a young man and was one of a small number of architects who interpreted the baroque in an English setting. Construction started in 1709 and the church was consecrated in 1715, although lack of funding meant that the tower was unfinished. The church was built in locally-made brick and faced with calcareous limestone from the Archer family's own Rowington quarries on their Umberslade estate. It is thought that much of the timber also came from the Archer estates.

Under the parliamentary act the church when consecrated became a parish church taking its parish out of that of St Martin’s.

At the suggestion of Sir Richard Gough of Edgbaston Hall, King George I donated £600 to complete the tower in 1725. The gilded boar's head weathervane derives from the Gough family crest in recognition of Sir Richard ‘s efforts to get the tower completed. At the time of its building the church was surrounded to the north and west and east by fields and orchards. These would soon make way for the elegant town houses of the wealthy were moving from the lower part of the industrial town.

William Hutton, in his 1783 History of Birmingham, wrote of his first impression of the church when he arrived in Birmingham: "When I first saw St. Philip's, in the year 1741, at a proper distance, uncrowded with houses, for there were none to the north, New-hall excepted, untarnished with smoke, and illuminated by a western sun, I was delighted with its appearance, and thought it then, what I do now, and what others will in future, the pride of the place. If we assemble the beauties of the edifice, which cover a rood of ground; the spacious area of the church-yard, occupying four acres; ornamented with walks in great perfection; shaded with trees in double and treble ranks; and surrounded with buildings in elegant taste: perhaps its equal cannot be found in the British dominions." Wonder what he'd have made of it now...after popping in for a swift half at the Old Joint Stock....



View from St Philips Tower 1851



St Philips Church North Prospect



St Philips Westley's East Prospect



Temple Row 1858




Birmingham 1731
 
Interesting Dennis. I sometimes find it hard to grasp that St. Phillip's is 300+ years old. Your first drawing shows an awful lot of railings lining the walkways around and inside the churchyard. This must have been pre the lime tree avenues. Always thought how lovely the lime tree lined walkways, stretching around the church, would have been, especially as the view from there must have, at one time, been well worth seeing. This watercolour by Paul Braddon (b.1864, d.1938) must be a retrospective view of St. Phillip's, I guess sometime after 1880. It's a view of St. Phillip's from New Street (and shows the old post office directly ahead). Don't know if the scaffolding around St. Phillip's is intended to show the building of or later completion of the church (for the weather vane maybe? Although that looks like a lot of scaffolding for erecting a weather vane!). Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360408391.017088.jpg
 
Great picture Post #113 (they all are) but 113 new here I think and compliments a similar painting view posted earlier by you. Looking up the hill from the front of the Theater Royal. Bennetts Hill not there yet. I think that St. Phillips may be a bit more imposing than it actually is from there and your previous painting view may be a little more perspective in this respect. Anyway I may be wrong. Still this picture shows more detail. Roof trussing seems to have been a challenge back then.
 
PICT0180.jpgPICT0181.jpgPICT0182.jpg

I posted these recently in a thread about Ladypool Road. It's a painting by D B Wilson. The 1st road on the left is Alfred St. Click on them for full screen.
 
This is a new one to me. Nathaniel Sparks etcher and printer (not a local, 1880 - 1956). View of the Town Hall, looks bout 1930s/40s? Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1374739329.931856.jpg
 
Rather "boxy" looking AEC Regent buses new c1930. I would date this before the famous Birmingham one way system which I think was 1933
 
Thanks for that David. Wasn't too sure how accurately the vehicles were portrayed in the picture as the cars look a bit squat and dumpy. But maybe side views of the cars did look like that in the 30s. Viv.
 
Not a very flattering view of 'Beautiful Birmingham' although I do like the painting - well I assume this pc was based on a painting. Sorry, no idea of artist and no idea of date. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375438365.558127.jpg
 
Great QUEENS sTREET 1765.jpgGreat Queen Street 1854 by Alfred Freeman Smith view is from the steps of the market hall across Worcester Street straight down Great Queens Street as it was then known
 
I always enjoy looking at that picture and must have caught the Worcester Midland Red by the wall on the right many times.
 
Sorry Vivienne, don't think much of that 'chimney painting', find it 'muddy' and overworked and far too many chimneys and hardly a compliment to Brum, just my opinion of course. Love the painting by Alfred Freeman Smith post 141, that's my kind of painting, would certainly give that house room. Particularly like the figures. Eric
 
This Margaret Noble 1920s watercolour poster is much different. I think it's Hill Street from Navigation Street. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1375464190.464289.jpg
 
I think the buildings on the left (post 141) were still around in our time and the wall is very familiar too but...I think the distance between the two was greater than appears in the painting though... but that is what painting is about...creating a scene. The flavour of the location was still the same many years later even though there were cars and busses about. The market hall stairs were more expansive at that end. Pretty easy to paint today I suspect.
Yeah, the chimneys are pretty much an outsiders impression of the seemingly forgettable place that powered an empire...for what?
 
Vivienne, love that poster, clean, simple and great draughtsmanship/composition, particularly like the figures. Had ambitions of being a commercial artist myself when young, influenced by the 'Guinness' and the 'Ah Bisto' posters of the day, and the wonderful sea side posters you would see in railway carriages. Went to the Art school in Albert Road , Aston but dropped out and joined the RAF instead, such is the way of youth. No regrets. Eric
 
Bit of a modern view, but I saw this picture in the Navigation inn in Wootton Wawen, of Gas Street Basin



Compare to an old photo of mine



Don't know who the artist was though!
 
Back
Top