Birmingham’s Archaeology (Birmingham branch report)

The following post was written by Emma Roberts after attending an event with the Birmingham History Network. The report is republished here with the author's permission. The original can be found at: https://arandomenglishlife.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/birminghams-archaeology-birmingham-heritage-week/

Birmingham's Archaeology

I know very little about the early part of Birmingham’s history. I probably know more about Leicestershire’s local history than I do about my home city – which is a shame, but as part of Birmingham Heritage Week, the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society hosted a lecture about their excavations and what they have discovered and then followed this by a walk, which pinpointed the sites then talked about.

Before we get into the archaeology I have to talk about Birmingham and Midland Institute, where the talk took place…their lecture theatre has to be the best one I have ever been too. Look at the fabulous historic lecture theatre – I love the colour of the seats which I can only describe as puke green! The seats were so comfortable too, unlike most university ones.

The talk was given by Dr. Mike Hodder and Dr. Stephanie Ratkai. Dr. Mike Hodder was Birmingham Council’s planning Archeologist for twenty years and together with Dr. Stephanie Ratkai has worked on excavations of numerous sights in Birmingham, including the Bullring, Library of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The talk itself centred on the archaeological work in Digbeth, which was a historic industrial site, that was prone to flooding. The fact that it was such a damp site has undermined the legend that Beorma and his followers settled here and that is why the city is called Birmingham. If Beorma did exist, he probably didn’t settle in Digbeth.

Modern Digbeth today is actually compromised of two separate parishes, with Deritend being in the parish of Aston, which was separated by the River Rae. I have walked past the River Rae many times and always thought it was a later canal…but it turns out it was a river! Deritend was home to a pottery industry, which importantly gave it’s name to Deritend ware, which was manufactured in Deritend and in the Bullring area. The pots themselves were made by a orange local Merican mudstone and detailed with a V pattern with a white clay which came from further afield. The busy trade of other industries drew people to the Bull ring to trade, and probably either bought cookware while they were here or bought products within Deritend ware – which made for the successful distribution of Deritend ware throughout the Midlands, and it is found regularly in digs sites. During digs as well pieces of flint were found which indicate that the site was in use in the Stone Age as well. It is also home to the Old Crown Pub with a very impressive sign which claims the pub dates back to 1368, however excavations by Dr. Hodder in the beer garden have suggested that there is no evidence to support the claim that the pub is that old.

Residents in Digbeth who were actually in the parish of Aston campaigned that the needed their own church because flooding often prevented them from travelling across the river to get to their Parish church in Deritend. It is dubious whether this was true of whether villagers wanted a closer church instead of walking several miles to get to their one in Aston. Whatever the case may be the church was the site of the burning of John Rogers during the reign of Queen Mary I. He is recorded as a Martyr to the protestant faith and was involved in helping to translate the bible into English.

Just up from the Old Crown on the same side, excavations also found evidence of a man-made pool built within the medieval period, the reason behind the creation of the pool was unclear but the area was home to a significantly sized tanning industry which was probably connected in some way to the 

pool.

Finally, the bit of archaeology I did know about was located on the site of the Bullring, which was the site of the old manor house with had a moat (this is reflected in street signage with Moat Lane). During excavations they found that the medieval manor’s walls were remarkably well preserved. Just up was the corner of Moat Lane is a very tired looking building, which use to be a music hall and was frequented by the Peaky Blinders, this building is scheduled for demolition and area to be rejuvenated.

Report on Hidden Spaces (Birmingham Heritage Week)

The following report about the Birmingham History Network's visit to Hidden Spaces, an event part of Birmingham Heritage Week, was written by Emma Roberts. The original can be found at: https://arandomenglishlife.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/hidden-spaces-birmingham-heritage-week/ (report republished with the author's permission).

Hidden Spaces

I am a history fanatic and it is safe to say that the study of the past takes up a lot of my time. I am very fortunate to be a Co-organiser of the Birmingham History Network (BHN). The BHN is a meetup group which is designed to bring like minded people together and organise events. Hidden Spaces was my second organised tour for the BHN and it formed part of Birmingham Heritage Week 2015. There was so many events to pick from over the week, and it was very difficult to filter through and pick something to do. In my opinion there was too much choice. Although if I run this event next year I think from experience I will be able to plan and organise the event a little better. I decided to pick a selection of venues that are normally closed to public viewing (which the exception of a few days each year). Often I walk past their buildings and always wonder what lies behind the closed door.

Birmingham Municipal Bank

First up with the old Municipal Bank, which was first suggestion by Neville Chamberlain (who is perhaps more famous for being Prime Minster during the Outbreak of World War Two) in 1915. The idea of the Bank was to courage workers to deposit their savings which would generate a 3.5% interest which would be used by the Government, predominately to help the war effort. The Bank was created by Act of Parliament in 1916. After the war the Bank survived and it moved to it’s current position in 1933. This building located on Broad Street was the headquarters of the Bank.

This is a big and very beautiful building. There are many saves behind this bank, and the building has a spooky element of being a ghost shell. I am not sure when the bank stopped being operational, but it closed because it was too big and too costly to maintain. I was fortunate enough to meet a woman who used to work here in the 1960s and she talked about the beautiful cashier’s desk that used to be in the main room as soon as you walk in…alas it has now gone and the building is just an empty shell. Another lovely bonus was that someone else in the group knew one of the people in charge of the Heritage Open Day and he very kindly gave us a tour around the other safes. The big empty vaults hold a silent history of what was once a very busy bank.

I think it’s an absolute shame that this building is not in use today. I can understand why it is too costly for a bank, but I was thinking that it is right next to the Registry Office. I think this building would be fantastic to be reused as a wedding venue…it has beautiful charm and room to be able to have a wedding and a catering/dance facility within it. Some of the former managerial offices could also be turned into Hotel rooms. Although there would be a problem with toilet and washroom facilities which are at present would be limiting. Nevertheless I think it would work really well as a wedding venue.

Curzon Street Station

I am quite clearly not a photographer, so my photos are appalling. Curzon Street Station was opened in 1838…but what is interesting is that this building was only partially built. There were meant to be two wings to the building, which appear in drawing plans but were never built. That’s why this building has the appearance that something is not quite right…almost missing. People often think that something has been removed from the building, in fact, the opposite was true – it was never added.

I was a little more disappointed with Curzon Street Station – it was lovely to see round the building…but there was no one really giving tours around and as we did not have someone in the group who knew someone to give a private tour, nor someone who worked here there wasn’t much more to do than walk around. There were a few informative boards on one wall – but it was mostly empty. I thought it would have been better to see if there were any photographs of Curzon Street within the archive and perhaps of used one of these empty rooms to display that. I loved a collection of old keys that had been left in one of the rooms, it was like it had been left there on Friday night ready for Monday morning and it never opened that Monday, the cobwebs in the place gave it a fantastic touch. There was talk that this building was going to become a Museum, but I overheard someone discussing with someone else that it would have cost millions to comply with health and safety and they just couldn’t afford to make it a museum.

Birmingham Hippodrome

 

I thought the Birmingham Hippodrome did a fantastic job for Heritage Week. I loved the two women in traditional Victorian dress singing traditional turn of the last century songs, including ‘My Old Man’, although there is a photo of me singing this song somewhere (I am praying it doesn’t end up in the Birmingham Mail of something like that…), they were brilliant and great fun. I’m sad I did not get a picture of them. There was also a lovely guide who talked a bit about the posters which you can see on the left and briefly about the origins of the Hippodrome. He suggested that often Hippodromes were created to make a loss, and I know that often venues today make a lost. I thought they would have been more popular prior to the onset of Cinemas, Radios and Tvs; but apparently even back then they were build by wealthy people as a status symbol, but not designed to be a money spinner. Another great thing about the Hippodrome was the Historical Talk, one of the guides gave, which was an hour long sit down presentation about the History of the Hippodrome. I really enjoyed it and it was very informative.

Museum Collections

This was around about 2 O’Clock and having started at 10 O’Clock, a large part of the group decided to call it a day. A few hard corers stayed on a braced themselves for a 30 minute walk across town to go to the Museum Collections building. The Museum Collections building is like a big warehouse that houses the artefacts the museum has which are currently not on, or never go on display. It waa like an Aladdin’s Cave of Historical Goodies. It also answered a question I have often wondered. I look around and see some beautiful sculptures and busts of people and sometimes during refurbishments these disappear and never come back. I often wondered where they go and if they are destroyed. Turns out a lot of them are stored in the Museum Collections and they have a fantastic collection of random things. It was great looking through them. Although it was nearing the end of the event and the building was getting ready to close, so it was rather a rushed look through.

An expected bonus

By this point it had been a long and tiring day, the group had done a lot of walking and exploring and it was safe to say we were looking forward to going home. The prospects of a long walk back into town was not appealing, however as luck would have it a man stopped me and said there were two vintage buses which were talking people back into Town. We decided to leave on the second to last bus and travelled on the London Red Bus. We were speaking to the ‘Conductor’ who was organising the stops, he said we’d turn right and stop outside Snow Hill Station, unfortunately we didn’t and the Conductor had no way of talking to the Driver, as unlike modern buses the Driver was completely isolated from the passengers on the bus. We ended up going back to Museum collections and we were about to go and get the train, when the Conductor said he was making one final trip into town and would not be coming back to Museum Collections. So we got a second trip round on the bus…which was fantastic and a perfect end to a very historical day.

The British Indian Army (Birmingham branch)

Please note: this is an external event and booking via event brite is essential. There are limited places.
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hindumuslim-sikh-soldiers-in-the-first-second-world-wars-jahan-mahmood-tickets-18345521950

Celebrating Black History Month

An illustrated talk by Jahan Mahmood of the Balsall Heath Forum on the role of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh soldiers in World War 1 and 2, with original artefacts and exhibits on display.

Place: Danford Room, 224, Second floor of the Arts Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston campus, Birmingham.

Time and date: 1730, Friday 23rd October 2015.  

Organiser: Emma Roberts.

The Weird World of Russian Orthodox Heresies, 1650-1918 (Birmingham branch)

Christianity in Russia evokes images of brightly coloured onion domes rising above Red Square, golden icons shimmering in the candle light, and bearded priests in black solemnly singing the mass. These are images of Russian Orthodoxy, the predominant religion in today's Russian Federation. However, beneath the glittering surface of church ritual lie some hidden histories, virtually unknown in the western world. These stories belong to Russia's heretics, people who sought to forge their own faiths and often met with persecution as a result. The tales tell of burnings and exiles, accommodation and resistance, sex and chastity, riches and poverty. 

No brief description can do justice to the tremendous variety of heresies in Holy Mother Russia. There were the Old Believers, who burnt themselves alive rather than submit to the soldiers of the Tsar; the flagellants, who whipped themselves into a frenzy of spiritual ecstasy; the castrates, whose grizzly practices were intended to save themselves from all sexual sin; the Pashkovites, rich aristocrats seeking spiritual redemption from an eccentric English baron; and the Tolstoyans, adherents to the famous novelist Leo Tolstoy's own personal cult. These are but a few examples of the most notorious alternative Christianities in the empire of the tsars. 

In this lecture, Dr James White will introduce the histories of these heresies in the Russian Empire. The talk will touch upon their origins, their beliefs and practices, their interactions with the state and official church, and the experiences of everyday believers. In other words, it will show how these alternative traditions of Christianity are important for Russia's past, present, and future. 

This talk will last for 50 minutes. A voluntary donation of £2 is suggested to help cover the room hire and the running costs of the Birmingham History Network's meetup page.

Location: St Luke's Church Centre,  Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, Birmingham, B15 2AT.

Date and time: Saturday 17th October 2015, 1500.

Organiser: James White.

From Racism to Islamphobia and beyond (Birmingham branch)

Please note: This is an external event and booking via Event brite is essential. Limited places are available.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-racism-to-islamophobia-beyond-the-changing-face-of-discrimination-tickets-18345210017

Celebrating Black History Month

Dr Chris Allen of the School of Social Policy explores the changing face of discrimination in the British context over the past fifty years. Using text, images and footage from popular culture – including comedy shows from the 1960s and 1970s - this accessible and engaging talk will trace how expressions of discrimination have shifted over time, from notions of ‘race’ and ‘colour’ in the wake of post-war mass migration, to ‘otherness’ and ‘difference’ in the 1970s and 1980s, to the present day focus on ‘religion’ and especially ‘Muslim-ness’. Explaining how these changes have been prompted by the introduction of policies and legislation to protect against discrimination, this talk will conclude by thinking about the future in particular the recent emergence of discourses about ‘illegal immigrants’ and the importance placed on ‘British values’.

Place:  Danford Room, 224, Second floor of the Arts Building, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston campus, Birmingham.

Time and date: 1730, 16th October 2015. 

Organiser: Emma Roberts.

The Art and Science of the Lunar Society (Lecture by Dr Sally Hoban) (Birmingham branch)

The Lunar Society of Birmingham members’ legacy of experimentation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries helped give us the modern industrial world we know today. Dr Sally Hoban’s lecture explores some familiar names but also discusses the virtually unknown women connected with the Lunar Circle, including early photographer Elizabeth Stockdale Wilkinson (1799 – 1871) and the poet Anna Seward (1747 – 1809). This lecture is organised by Birmingham Evening DFAS - non-members pay £10 on the door. Gallery opens at 6.00 pm for a glass of white wine or soft drink with private viewing of the Barber's outstanding collection of art until 7.00 pm when the lecture starts.

Location: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham B15 2TS, Birmingham.

Time and date: 1900, 19th November 2015. 

Organiser: Lesley Peat. 

Archaeology and the History of Birmingham (A talk and walk) (Birmingham branch)

There are a range of activities in Birmingham as part of Heritage Week, it has been difficult to pick which ones to attend. However it would be a shame to pass up the opportunity to explore some of the archaeology of Birmingham. Sadly the talk and tour are on a Tuesday afternoon which I know is not ideal for everyone, however if you are free and interested in coming along please do.

The talk begins at 1pm at the John Lee Theatre at the Birmingham and Midland Institute. The walk will follow at 2:30pm. The walk will last for about one and a half hours and cover about two miles. It will finish back at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, but there is an opportunity to leave at the Bullring for travel convenience.

The event is free of charge.

Details can be seen here:
https://heritageweek.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/archaeology-and-the-history-of-birmingham/

Location:  Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BS, Birmingham.

Time and date: 1300, Tuesday 15th September 2015.

Organiser: Emma Roberts.  

Hidden Spaces (Birmingham Heritage) (Birmingham branch)

I think we have come up with a great compromise that allows us to see a good number of events that Birmingham Heritage Weekend has to offer, whilst sadly making a few sacrifices, because we cannot see everything.

The event will be for the whole Saturday (10:00-16:30) and we'll try and see as much of the events below as we can. If you cannot make the whole event but want to try to meet the group up in the afternoon. I will keep people updated on the comment - I'll tell you where the group is and what we're up to. I will give my mobile number before the event so you can meet up with us.

09:45 - Meetup outside the Municipal Bank on Broad Street - I am advising the slightly earlier time to allow everyone to get there so we can start when the event opens at 10.

10:00 Birmingham Municipal Bank on Broad Street 

11:00 (approx.) after that we'll head to Big Brum in the Council Houses.

12:30 (approx.) following that we'll head to Cuzon Street Train Station

2:00 (approx.) Birmingham Hippodrome or Birmingham Museums Collections Centre Open Day - whichever proves more popular.

I would advise maybe packing a drink and some snacks to keep you going throughout the day. We could possibly stop at a pub at the end of the events and get a drink, a much needed sit down and some food. People can break away from the group for lunch if they would prefer as well.  

 

Location:  Birmingham Municipal Bank, Broad Street, B1 2JZ, Birmingham.

 

Time and date: 0945, Saturday 12th September 2015.  

Organiser: Emma Roberts.

History Social Afternoon (Birmingham branch)

We thought it would be a good idea to have a bit of a social afternoon, but to keep the history theme going we picked a historic pub; The Old Joint Stock.

This pub was originally designed as a library and was built in 1862. Later reincarnations of the building saw in become a bank, first as the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank and later as Lloyd's Bank. Today it retains some of the original features in what is now a very beautiful and atmospheric pub. As the Birmingham History Network moves forward into a new chapter with a new committee organising events we thought it would be a good idea to talk to our members and find out what events you would like to see from this group.

Have you got any suggestions of places you have always wanted to visit? Been somewhere fantastic and want to share it with others? It doesn't have to be Birmingham based and we are open to all suggestions!

In addition, would you like to see other events from the group? Lectures? Discussions over a pint? Perhaps you would like to visit archives and research some local documents about Birmingham? The committee would love to hear your suggestions so please bring them with you (and any leaflets if you've collected any).

Location: The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham.

Time and date: Saturday 5th September, 1500.

Organisers: Lars Kabel and Emma Roberts.