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Wendy I hadn't intended to participate in this thread but I did a couple of quick searches and realised that there is a bigger and extremely sad story to be told here. Obviously JD Rippingille had a very untimely death - there may be more to learn there. But it seems his father came to...

I always thought Sunday Schools was purely a Church thing - just like the services. So I was quite surprised to read that the concept originated from a layman - Robert Raikes. The start date is generally agreed on as 1781. Here is a bit about RR on Wikipedia...

In this instalment we get to the laying of the foundation stone in April 1841. The first image is a copy of a letter from the B'ham Journal. Once again the folks at the People's Hall were "washing their dirty linen in public". This is one of a sequence of letters criticising the men who had...

In the latest episode of this story here are 2 examples of the discord which attached itself to the People's Hall even before the foundation stone was laid. 1. The committee originally allowed the open ground on which the Hall was to be built to be used for public meetings. However, as you see...

Phil Like you I thought this one would go very quickly. As no other answers I will go for the Welch Cross. Can get a bit confusing as there were 2 such crosses in the central Birmingham area. The Old Cross which was demolished when the open Bull Ring area was created. And the Welch Cross...

Bobby I think that's a key point here as I think one of the driving reasons behind this building being set up was that it would be not only used by, but also owned by and run by, the ordinary working people. I didn't know much about the Chartists until I was doing some research on the Bull...

Thanks Mike. Yes. I should say that is our man. Interesting to see that a Birmingham architect was used here. I have seen that there was a bit of bickering going on that too many outsiders (non-Birmingham men) were becoming involved. Hansom I believe was a Northerner (York/Preston) and when...

Peter Some very interesting information there. Intriguing to see that an unruly meeting occured at the Hall in 1848. In fact the earliest similar example I have found was on the open ground even before the Hall was built!! More of that in a later post. It certainly wasn't one of the more...

There is still a bit of mileage in this thread. I had another session in the Central Library. Unfortunately no more pictures of the building, but I tracked down some more infomation in the Archive and the Birmingham Journal. Here from the Journal (7th September 1839) is the original prospectus...

Lyn Based on this - and comments above - my vote is for Edmund Street. T

Lyn I think I am close to an answer here. There is a copy of the book that this comes from - Our Own Country - on Google Books. It only has "snippet view" and at first I couldn't get to the detail of this print. But I finally tricked it into giving me what I wanted. It reads: . . . the...

Just throwing in an idea - but is this possibly an inn called the Old Ship which has been converted for manufacturing use. The ship weathervane seems indicative of that. And the archway could be the entrance to the yard of a coaching inn. Can anyone check for an inn called the Old Ship in...

Alan Thanks for that. It's got me a bit confused as i was talking to a guy last night who says he remembers the old building. I showed him Lyn's photo and he recognised it immediately. He said he thinks he took a photograph that he might still have. I thought we were talking last 10 years or...

Rupert That's very well spotted. I would never have noticed that. So allowing for the lack of columns to the front, a bit of shortening, and a generous helping of artistic license the completed building is not so HUGELY different from the drawing. I think we should all be applying for jobs on...

Wendy Can't claim to be an expert in architecture but I believe these are examples of the neo-Classical style i.e. copied from or inspired by classical Greek and Roman buildings. All came about when the gentry started doing the Grand Tour which took in Greece and Italy. The style remained...

Peter Lovely choice of words - decayed elegance! And thanks for reminding me of that word pilaster. I knew there was a word for those mock columns but couldn't for the life of me remember what it was. Regarding the original group that set up the building it would not surprise me if there were...

Max Unfortunately the whole building has now gone so no chance of finding the foundation stone. Maybe there is some photo out there somewhere that shows it??!! I believe the building was only demolished in the last few (10?) years. That is so frustrating! Lyn I always like it when...

Here's a little challenge. On the "triangular bit" of the roof there appears to be some writing. I think!! Does anyone agree? Or is it just discolouration? If you agree can you make out what it says. I thought I could see the letters OF and I wondered if it said People's Hall of Science. But...

Lyn Late night opening in the Archive Dept tomorrow so I will most likely take advantage of that. One thing struck me as funny earlier. I think I have only been down Loveday Street about twice in the last 35 years. Now been there twice in two days!! And another thing. Despite carrying the...

Lyn Well done! I bet that was a great surprise!! I will attach another map (from 1880) at the bottom of this post - with added notes. It doesn't add a great deal to what has already been posted but just adds a slightly different perspective. It makes it quite clear that the KEATLEY...