Architecture of Birmingham - Victorian Architecture

Victorian Architecture

The financial benefits of the Industrial Revolution provided Victorian Birmingham with an extensive building programme, with the construction of elaborate churches and public buildings. The use of neoclassical architecture was carried on into this era alongside the use of red brick and terracotta, which was pioneered during this period. Red terracotta was useful as a substitute for natural stone, which Birmingham lacked, and it also was resistant to soot and smoke which was prevalent in the city due to the heavy industrial presence. This construction period and general expansion of the urban area led to Birmingham being designated city status by Queen Victoria in 1889. Birmingham also acquired its own council which led to the construction of civic buildings.

Birmingham's importance as a growing town encouraged the construction of municipal buildings which were designed by some of the most prominent architects of the time. Sir Aston Webb and Ingress Bell's Victoria Law Courts were completed in 1891 and feature extensive use of terracotta on the exterior. The ornamentation on the exterior, which includes a statue of Queen Victoria, is carried on inside the building. Webb was not the only major architect to make an impact on Birmingham. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin designed St. Chad's Cathedral, which was completed in 1841 and granted status as a cathedral in 1850. Pugin's work in Birmingham also includes Erdington Abbey (1850), Oscott College (1838), and the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy in Hockley (1845).

Despite major architects making impacts across the country, locally-born or resident architects were the more dominant group in Birmingham. Yeoville Thomason, who was born in Edinburgh to a Birmingham family, designed many important buildings with the most significant being the Museum & Art Gallery and the Council House, which were completed in 1879. His range of designs included the Singers Hill Synagogue and a variety of offices for banks, as well as the original Lewis's Department Store, which was completed in 1889 as Birmingham's first concrete and iron building, on Corporation Street. Martin & Chamberlain were prolific architects in Birmingham during the Victorian era, having designed 41 Birmingham board schools. John Henry Chamberlain, who was not of local descent, was part of Martin & Chamberlain and his works in Birmingham include Highbury Hall and Birmingham School of Art, which was completed by his son Frederick Martin following his sudden death in 1883.

J. A. Chatwin became one of the most prolific architects involved in the construction or alteration of churches in Birmingham. Some of his most significant works include the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham, which was completed in 1873, Aston Parish Church in 1879, and St Martin in the Bull Ring in 1873. As well as designing churches, he designed the King Edward VI High School for Girls on New Street in 1866 and Bingley Hall in 1850. His son P. B. Chatwin also became an architect, designing King Edward VI Handsworth in 1911 and St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green Church and Church Hall, Acocks Green which opened around 1908.

Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 at Vauxhall station. One year later, Philip Hardwick's Curzon Street railway station opened and it remains as the world's oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture. Designed in the neoclassical style, it was built as a copy of the Euston Arch, also by Hardwick, in London. The building ceased use as a railway station in 1966 and is disused. Many other railway stations throughout the city were built of red brick and terracotta. The construction of Birmingham Snow Hill station led to the construction of the Great Western Arcade in 1876, which was designed by W. H. Ward.

Wealthy landowners saw business opportunities as a result of the arrival of the railways in Birmingham. One such land owner, Isaac Horton, commissioned Thomson Plevins to design a hotel for Colmore Row. The result was the Grand Hotel which was completed in 1875 in the French Renaissance-style. The hotel was altered and extended in 1876, 1891 and 1895 but is now empty, and was saved from demolition when it was granted Grade II listed status in May 2004. Another Plevins hotel for Isaac Horton is the Midland Hotel (now the Burlington Hotel) on New Street. Horton constructed hotels next to railway stations to maximise trade and made them attractive to visitors decorating them lavishly on the inside as well as on the exterior. Other transport improvements in the town improved the quality of life as well as the provision of commercial space in the town. The cutting of Corporation Street through slums in the city centre began in 1878 and much of the work for designing the buildings that were to line the street was given to Martin & Chamberlain. Numerous buildings, which had leases of 99 years, were demolished in the post-war period, however, the street has retained many of its fine Victorian buildings above modern ground-floor façades, providing an insight into how the city once looked.

The city has several Victorian green men (or foliate heads) which consist of unusual human heads, carved of stone with vegetation growing out of their faces. Notable Arts and Crafts buildings include 21 Yateley Road, Edgbaston, designed by the architect Herbert Tudor Buckland as his own home, and listed Grade I (neighbouring buildings are also listed, Grade II) and his Walkers Factory, in Digbeth.

In the late 19th century, James & Lister Lea became prolific designers of public houses in Birmingham. They designed The Woodman (1896-7), the Swan and Mitre (1899), The White Swan (1900), The Anchor Inn (1901) and The City Tavern (1901). Many of these pubs are now listed buildings and were built of red brick and terracotta.