Architecture of Birmingham — points of historical interest

Birmingham is a young city, having grown rapidly as a result of the Industrial Revolution starting in the 18th century. As of 2006, there are 1946 listed buildings in Birmingham, 13 scheduled ancient monuments and 27 conservation areas. Let’s explore some of the most evident architectural phases that contradistinguish the city.

Medieval architecture

The 15th century Old Crown

It can be found in:

• The 15th century Old Crown, originally the hall of the Guild of St John, Deritend, is the sole surviving secular building of the medieval town.
• Aston Hall, designed in a Jacobean style in 1618
• St Laurence’s Church, Northfield, 12th century
• St Nicolas’ Church, 13th century and Tudor Merchant’s House, 1492, in Kings Norton
• Hay Hall in Small Heath, 1423
• Blakesley Hall in Yardley, 1590

Georgian and Regency architecture

It can be found in:

• St Philip’sThomas Archer, 1715.
• Regency townhouses in Waterloo Street, ca. 1827
• The recently-renovated Birmingham Back to Backs on Hurst Street are the last remaining back-to-back houses in the city.
• St Paul’s Church by Roger Eykyn, 1779
• Original Georgian terraces in St. Paul’s Square, ca. 1780
• Soho House by Samuel Wyatt, 1796
• Regency villa in Edgbaston, ca. 1820
• St. Thomas’, Lee Bank, byHenry Hutchinson, 1827
• Lee Crescent in Lee Bank, ca. 1830

Victorian architecture

It can be found in:

• Curzon Street railway station by Philip Hardwick.
• Midland Bank, Waterloo Street, by Henry Hutchinson
• Old Joint Stock Theatre, byJ. A. Chatwin, 1864
• Council House, by Yeoville Thomason, 1879
• Birmingham Town Hall, by Joseph Hansom and Edward Welch, 1834.

The Gothic revival

It can be found in:

• St Chad’s Cathedral, by Augustus Pugin, 1841.
• St Augustine’s Church, Edgbaston, by J. A. Chatwin, 1868.

High Victorian architecture

It can be found in:

• The red brick and terracotta Victoria Law Courts by Sir Aston Webb and Ingress Bell, on Corporation Street.
• Birmingham School of Art, designed byJohn, Henry Chamberlain.
• The Arts and Crafts Movement
• 21 Yateley Road, Edgbaston, Grade I designed by Herbert Tudor Buckland in 1899 as his own home.
• 122–124 Colmore RowGrade I by William Lethaby, 1900
• Birmingham Guild of Handicraft by Arthur Stansfield Dixon, 1898.
• Garth House, Edgbaston, by William Henry Bidlake, 1901
• Winterbourne, by Joseph Lancaster Ball, 1903
• Bournville Junior School, by William Alexander Harvey, 1905
• Four Oaks Methodist Church by Crouch and Butler, 1908

Edwardian Architecture

It can be found in:

• The Hall of Memory in Centenary Square.
• The former Odeon Cinema in Sutton Coldfield by Harry Weedon and Cecil Clavering, 1936.
• The Birmingham Medical School and Queen Elizabeth Hospital by Henry Vaughan Lanchester and Thomas Arthur Lodge, 1938

Contemporary architecture

• Selfridges, by Future Systems, 2003
• Buildings in Brindleyplace, by CZWG, 1997 and Stanton Williams, 1999
• Millennium Point, by Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, 2002
• 10 Holloway Circus by Ian Simpson, 2006
• The Cube, by Ken Shuttleworth of MAKE Architects, 2010
• Newman University Library, by Glenn Howells Architects, 2011
• The Library of Birmingham, by Mecanoo, 2013

Abacus Architects are architects in Birmingham with decades worth of experience and a huge range of knowledge in the industry. If you are looking for architects in the Midlands, contact us for more information and take a look at our architect services.