Birmingham Town Hall
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Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England.
It was not created as an administrative building but as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival (established 1784), and for public meetings. The hall was designed by Joseph Hansom, of Hansom cab fame, and Edward Welch. Construction began in 1832. However, Hansom went bankrupt during construction, having tendered too low. However, despite this major setback, the building was successfully opened for the Music Festival of 1834. It was extended in 1837 and again in 1850 by architect Charles Edge.
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. The hall was the home venue for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1918 until 1991 when they moved to Symphony Hall.
Popular music has also featured, and in the 1960s and 70s, headline acts such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd appeared.
Built with Anglesey Marble, the hall is modelled on the temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome. Some limestone was used in its construction and fossils of flora and fauna are visible.
It was also the scene of rioting on the occasion of a visit by Lloyd George in 1901, and doubled for the Albert Hall in the film Brassed Off.
The Hall closed in 1996, due to re-open later in early 2007, for a £31 million refurbishment that will see the Town Hall brought back to its original glory with its 6,000-pipe organ still in place. The town hall's organist performed a piece of music to a group of school children in 2005 after the majority of the organ had been cleaned. However, the organist and the children all had to wear hard hats as the risk of falling debris remained.
A Big Screen has been fitted to the side of the building facing into Chamberlain Square. It has featured concerts such as Live 8 and football matches of national importance.
Sources
- All About Victoria Square, Joe Holyoak, The Victorian Society Birmingham Group, ISBN 0-901657-14-X
- Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
External links
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