Town Hall Birmingham

Town Hall, Birmingham

Birmingham Town Hall

Jake Davies

The Town Hall in the centre of Birmingham is an iconic historical landmark. It was designed and built in 1832 as a site for concerts, readings, and other kinds of public assemblies, and is still used for that purpose today.

You might be forgiven for thinking you are in Rome or Greece as it was modeled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome.

The building is a classic example of Corinthian architecture, the third and last style of ancient architecture from Greece and Rome. The Town Hall is considered an excellent example of, and the first major piece of, Roman Revival style architecture in the UK.

Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham, England, UK. — Birmingham Town Hall is a classic example of Roman Revival architecture

History

The architects were Edward Welch and Joseph Hansom, the latter being famous as the inventor of the Hansom Cab.

They both seriously under-estimated construction costs and went bankrupt. The building is constructed out of local brick faced with marble. The column topped with capitals divide the exterior into 14 bays north to south and eight bays east to west.

The most striking feature of the interior is the magnificent pipe organ with 6,000 pipes. When it was installed in 1832 it was the largest and most technologically advanced organ in the world.

It was the home of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1918 to 1991. Several major compositions premiered here.

Between 1996 and 2007 it was closed for major refurbishments that removed some later features and restored the structure to its original condition.

The Town Hall in Birmingham is a major cultural venue. — Modeled on the ancient Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome, the Town Hall in Birmingham is a major cultural venue

Events

Throughout its history the Town Hall has hosted major cultural events from readings by Charles Dickens to performances by the Rolling Stones.

It continues to host a wide range of public events and performances of all types of music as well as sporting events.

Information

Birmingham Town Hall
Victoria Square,
Birmingham B3 3DQ
Tel: 0121 780 3333
www: thsh.co.uk/town-hall

There are tram stops nearby and the Town Hall is less than a 10 minute walk from New Street Station or Snow Hill Station.

Access - Getting to Birmingham

Birmingham New Street Station, right in the city centre, is Birmingham's main station with trains to Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.

There are local train services from Snow Hill and Moor Street stations to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Worcester and Malvern.

Long distance National Express buses run nationwide from the bus station in Digbeth.

City transport in Birmingham is good and getting better with the Midland Metro a light rail system connecting Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich, Bilston and Wednesbury.

Centro organizes and co-ordinates the transport network in the West Midlands which includes the Midland Metro, buses and trains. Eventually the SWIFT smart card will be valid over the whole network.

Birmingham Airport, formerly Birmingham International Airport, is just over 5 miles south east of the city centre and offers both domestic and international flights.

Birmingham International Station serves the airport and is just 10-15 minutes from New Street. There are buses to the airport from Birmingham city centre, Coventry, Erdington and Solihull.