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Where is This? 180

Hope I'm not spoiling everyone's fun here.

Had to do a bit of digging myself - never heard of this building before.

But it must have been the "Peoples's Hall".

This description from Showell's Dictionary:

People's Hall.—The foundation stone of the People's Hall, corner of Loveday and Princip Streets, was laid on Easter Monday, 1841, by General (then Colonel) Perronet Thompson. The cost of the building was £2,400, and, as its name implies, it was intended, and for a short time used, as a place for assemblies, balls, and other public purposes. Like a number of other "institutions for the people," it came to grief, and has long been nothing more than a warehouse.

T
 
Well done Tacitus

It is indeed the Peoples Hall of Science opened in 1842 complete with baths, club, exhibition and lecture rooms and there was also a library. It didn't last long at the purpose it was built for, The reason given was "the excessive distance from the town centre"

It was used as a place of worship by followers of George Dawson until the completion of the Church of the Saviour. It then fell into use as a warehouse & manufactory and became known as The Peoples Hall Works.

This information and photo came from the very good and interesting book by Roy Thornton called The Lost Buildings of Birmingham published by History Press. It is well worth a look.

Phil
 
As you say Phil quite a way from town something else i now know shouldn,t think it would have been used by the cultured people of Summer Lane though. Dek
 
Hi All,

Thank you Phil for a very interesting thread. Surely Hansom (The architect for the Town Hall) must have copied the design or, perhaps, he did both./

Old Boy
 
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A realy tough one this. It looks like it became a very fancy storage shed for brass rods. Far cry from what was intended. Well done.
 
phew...thank goodness for that...thanks phil..ive just learnt something else...i am just going to post one now....

lyn
 
pmc1947;304754 This information and photo came from the very good and interesting book by Roy Thornton called The Lost Buildings of Birmingham published by History Press. It is well worth a look. Phil[/QUOTE said:
Well done tacitus! I thought no one was ever going to get it.
When I was using google to try and find what this building was - this book kept coming up on the search results - if only I could have looked inside!
Polly
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The thing about this forum is, we can all learn something new every time we log on. It also encourages one to learn more about our wonderful city. This latest building was something I had never heard or seen until I read through Roy Thornton's book.

Old Boy,

The author states in the book "It does not surprise me that in discussions concerning the obtaining designs for the building the name of Mr Hansom was mentioned". But he makes no comment on who the designer actually was.

Phil
 
Marie same here. Well done Tacitus. Jean. Oh and of course Phil for starting the thread. Keeps our grey matter alive.
 
I wasn't really looking for a new research project at the moment but this building has got me quite intrigued.

The early 1840's was of course the time when the Chartist movement was in the ascendancy.

William Lovett was one of the chartist leaders and he espoused the cause of universal education.

Lovett and Collins called for the creation of 'Public Halls or Schools for the People'. In the daytime these would be used for infant, primary and secondary education, and in the evenings by adults, 'for public lectures on physical, moral and political science; for readings, discussions, musical entertainments, dancing' and other forms of recreation (quoted in Kelly 1970: 141). Each hall was to include baths, a small museum, and a laboratory or workshop. The plan also involved the establishment of district circulating libraries of 100-200 volumes, 'containing the most useful works on politics, morals, the sciences, history and such instructing and entertaining works as may be generally approved of', to be sent in rotation to the various towns and villages (Kelly 1970: 141).
Click to expand...
So it looks as if Birmingham's People's Hall was inspired by Lovett's principles.

But I wonder who put up the money to build it and why it seems to have failed so miserably.

I feel a visit to Floor 6 of the Central Library coming on . . . . . . !!

T
 
Tacitus

I have scanned the whole page from the book for you, it might at least start you on your way. If you are unable to read it direct from the forum you may be able to download it and enlarge it.

As you will see there is mention of the Chartist movement and it also states that the finance for the building was raised by donation and 3000 shares @ £1.

Phil

PeoplesHall.jpg
 
Phil

Thanks - I can read that really clearly.

It's interesting that the author wasn't aware of this building - because I certainly wasn't.

At the very least I will check out the indices in the Central Library and have a quick mooch in Aris's Gazette.

I feel sure that there will have been an official opening ceremony etc. etc.

There might be some interesting little snippets of information to be found there.

I will be surprised if they didn't report who the architect was. I generally find that the standard of journalism from 150+ years ago was vastly superior to what we get nowadays.

Anyway will let you know . . . .

T
 
pollypops said:
Tacitus
you may find this interesting - about 19 paragraphs down. It sounds as if there was an opening ceremony as it was opened by William Scholefield (first mayor?)

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22967

Polly
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How interesting. Thanks very much for that.

That answers quite a few of the questions.

But I'll still see if I can get back to some contemporary reports. At least see if they say who the architect was.

It seems that Nottingham had their own People's Hall - built about 10 years later.

But the building is still there - now a snooker club!!

https://www.thepeopleshall.co.uk/

T
 
What a shame the Birmingham hall is still not there.
I wonder why they are so secretive about the architect? Please let us know what you find out.
Polly
 
Through most of the 1800's a firm named Greenway, Clive, Vale & Co. was trading from the People's Hall. I think they were lock makers.

Then in 1912 I see a printing company named J W Gill trading from that address.

I wonder when I was demolished? You would think that would have been remarked on in the local press. Especially as it was so similar in design to the Town Hall.

What an intriguing little story!!

T
 
There was another building similar in design - The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists on New Street.
Designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson - completed in 1829.
It was demolished around 1911 and the New Street Chambers were built -offices and shops.

There is a picture and information on here
https://wapedia.mobi/en/Royal_Birmingham_Society_of_Artists

What a shame it was demolished!
Polly
 
Hi Pollypops,

It was only the portico on the New Street RBSA building that resembled the Town Hall. I agree that it was a crime to demolish the building. I think you will find that the RBSA are now firmly established in Brook St just off St Paul's Square.

Phil

CityNewStRBSA.jpg
 
The architect lived before Christ I think. This building was just a scale copy of a very inefficient pre-arch technique that sort of looks heavy and ugly, to me anyway, when used out of context. Anyway I have seen somewhere reference to an architect who "also built a hall near Gosta Green" somewhere on the web. Have not been able to find it again. If you look on the 1890 map the place where it was is marked as a brass and iron manufacturer. 50 ft x 70 ft is a bit small for much especially if these dimensions are to the outside of the collumns. I wonder if there were floors in it. I read somewhere that baths were a feature...maybe they meant bathrooms.
 
QUOTE People's Hall.—The foundation stone of the People's Hall, corner of Loveday and Princip Streets, was laid on Easter Monday, 1841, by General (then Colonel) Perronet Thompson. The cost of the building was £2,400, and, as its name implies, it was intended, and for a short time used, as a place for assemblies, balls, and other public purposes. Like a number of other "institutions for the people," it came to grief, and has long been nothing more than a warehouse.

The " People's Hall " Now that brings to mind the " People's Palace " in Glasgow, this is a museum to working class people and their way of life. Such a pity that Birmingham has not got something like that. I had often thought that the old gasworks offices in Windsor street may have done for that but then I am not a planner and maybe it needs a lot more in that area to attract that kind of development.
 
I managed a quick look on Floor 6 of the Central Library today.

The People's Hall is mentioned in the Local Studies index and it appears that in the Archive they have some correspondence from the original establishment of the Hall in 1840 AND a rule book. There is mention of something called the People's Hall and Public Baths Society.

I looked in the Birmingham Journal for 1846 which I thought had a report of the official opening of the Hall - but the report in March 1846 is just for a "Tea Party" which took place in the Hall.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to track down a report of the laying of the Foundation Stone.

I took a look in the Trade Directories and the People's Hall has an entry (Lower Loveday Street) in 1845. I didn't find many entries in the period shortly after that and it is hard to tell exactly when the original use was abandoned. But then by the mid-1860's it had definitely been taken over for industrial use.

The first name I found was just Greenway, which later became Greenway, Clive, Vale & Co. They were Brass founders, also Lock makers etc.

Then in the early 20th century the printers/cardboard box makers named Gill took the building over. Later they became Jenner & Gill.

I found that name until at least the mid 1960's - so it would seem that the building was still there untill at least that date.

Assuming I am right in that there should be plenty of people around who still remember it??!!

Very interesting really. Unfortunately no time at present to dig any deeper but if I can I will come back to it at some later date.

T
 
thanks tacitus...thats a lot of info to find in the short time you had....and yes you would think someone remembers the building if it was there until the 60s...

many thanks...

lyn
 
Thanks for letting us know tacitus. As you say, if it was there untill the 60's there should be people who remember it.
Polly
 
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