ethanedwards
Brummie Muso
Birmingham Town Hall
****
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert
and meeting venue in Victoria Square England.
It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the
General Hospital, after St Philip's Church (later to become a Cathedral)
became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings.
Between 2002 and 2008, it was refurbished into a concert hall
and is now used for performances as diverse as
organ recitals, rock, pop and classical concerts and events
such as graduation ceremonies for Aston University.
Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame,
and Edward Welch were chosen as the architects
and they expressed that they expected the construction cost to be .£8,000.
Hill of London was hired to build the 6,000 pipe organ for .£6,000.
Construction began on April 27, 1832
with an expected completion date of 1833.
However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction,
having tendered too low.
The contractors were also losing money.
Three guarantors donated money for the building;
W. P. Lloyd, John Welch and Edward Tench.
With the injection of this money, the building
was successfully opened for the delayed Music Festival
on October 7,1834,
despite the building still being unfinished.
During construction, on January 26, 1833,
two workers were killed when a 70 foot crane constructed
to install the roof trusses broke and the pulley block failed.
John Heap died instantly and Win.
Badger died a few days later from his injuries.
They were buried in St Philip's churchyard and a memorial,
consisting of a pillar base made by one of the workmen
for the Town Hall,
was dedicated to them.
Architect Charles Edge was commissioned in 1835
to repair weaknesses to the design of the building.
He was also commissioned for the extension of the building
in 1837 and again in 1850.
Built in brick, created in Selly Oak,
and faced with Penmon Anglesey Marble
presented to the town by Sir R. Bulkeley,
proprietor of the Penmon quarries,
the hall is modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome.
Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of plants
and animals are visible. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
the front arches were glazed to create an entrance foyer.
Charles Dickens gave public readings here to raise money for the
Birmingham and Midland Institute,
and Mendelssohn's Elijah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius
were both premiered.
Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Overture di Ballo" was also premi.¨red
here in August 1870, as part of the Triennial Musical Festival
which commissioned new works for every season.
The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.
In November 1880, the Hall was filled to capacity
for a Birmingham public protest meeting in support of Revd.
Richard Enraght, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley,
who was imprisoned in Warwick Prison under the Disraeli Government's
Public Worship Regulation Act.
On August 9, 1902, the town hall, along with the council house,
was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII.
It was illuminated again on June 22, 1911 for the coronation of King
George V. In 1901, it was the scene of rioting on the occasion
of a visit by Lloyd George.
It featured prominently in the 1967 Peter Watkins
film Privilege and doubled for the Royal Albert Hall in 1996s Brassed Off.
In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI,
the Town Hall was regaled in the various Arms of the
Lord of the Manor of Birmingham since 1166 and each column
festooned with garlands. The pediment also had images of Britannia,
supported by mermaids, which were sculpted by William Bloye.
This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city
was devised by William Haywood,
Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society.
The Hall closed in 1996 for a .£35 million refurbishment,
undertaken by Wates Construction, that has seen the
Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its
6,000-pipe organ still in place.
The Hall was used for many pop shows,
and unlike the Odeon and The Hippodrome,
it tnded to steer toward a headline acts and just
a couple of support acts.
Many great stars appeared here,
in the 1960s and 1970s, such as
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd,
The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan
I saw many shows here, including,
Traffic and Buffy Saint Marie.
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert
and meeting venue in Victoria Square England.
It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the
General Hospital, after St Philip's Church (later to become a Cathedral)
became too small to hold the festival, and for public meetings.
Between 2002 and 2008, it was refurbished into a concert hall
and is now used for performances as diverse as
organ recitals, rock, pop and classical concerts and events
such as graduation ceremonies for Aston University.
Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame,
and Edward Welch were chosen as the architects
and they expressed that they expected the construction cost to be .£8,000.
Hill of London was hired to build the 6,000 pipe organ for .£6,000.
Construction began on April 27, 1832
with an expected completion date of 1833.
However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction,
having tendered too low.
The contractors were also losing money.
Three guarantors donated money for the building;
W. P. Lloyd, John Welch and Edward Tench.
With the injection of this money, the building
was successfully opened for the delayed Music Festival
on October 7,1834,
despite the building still being unfinished.
During construction, on January 26, 1833,
two workers were killed when a 70 foot crane constructed
to install the roof trusses broke and the pulley block failed.
John Heap died instantly and Win.
Badger died a few days later from his injuries.
They were buried in St Philip's churchyard and a memorial,
consisting of a pillar base made by one of the workmen
for the Town Hall,
was dedicated to them.
Architect Charles Edge was commissioned in 1835
to repair weaknesses to the design of the building.
He was also commissioned for the extension of the building
in 1837 and again in 1850.
Built in brick, created in Selly Oak,
and faced with Penmon Anglesey Marble
presented to the town by Sir R. Bulkeley,
proprietor of the Penmon quarries,
the hall is modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome.
Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of plants
and animals are visible. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
the front arches were glazed to create an entrance foyer.
Charles Dickens gave public readings here to raise money for the
Birmingham and Midland Institute,
and Mendelssohn's Elijah and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius
were both premiered.
Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Overture di Ballo" was also premi.¨red
here in August 1870, as part of the Triennial Musical Festival
which commissioned new works for every season.
The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.
In November 1880, the Hall was filled to capacity
for a Birmingham public protest meeting in support of Revd.
Richard Enraght, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley,
who was imprisoned in Warwick Prison under the Disraeli Government's
Public Worship Regulation Act.
On August 9, 1902, the town hall, along with the council house,
was illuminated in celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII.
It was illuminated again on June 22, 1911 for the coronation of King
George V. In 1901, it was the scene of rioting on the occasion
of a visit by Lloyd George.
It featured prominently in the 1967 Peter Watkins
film Privilege and doubled for the Royal Albert Hall in 1996s Brassed Off.
In 1937, as part of the celebrations for the Coronation of George VI,
the Town Hall was regaled in the various Arms of the
Lord of the Manor of Birmingham since 1166 and each column
festooned with garlands. The pediment also had images of Britannia,
supported by mermaids, which were sculpted by William Bloye.
This decorative scheme for the Town Hall and the whole of the city
was devised by William Haywood,
Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society.
The Hall closed in 1996 for a .£35 million refurbishment,
undertaken by Wates Construction, that has seen the
Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its
6,000-pipe organ still in place.
The Hall was used for many pop shows,
and unlike the Odeon and The Hippodrome,
it tnded to steer toward a headline acts and just
a couple of support acts.
Many great stars appeared here,
in the 1960s and 1970s, such as
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd,
The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan
I saw many shows here, including,
Traffic and Buffy Saint Marie.
