17 & 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham
Encyclopedia
17 & 19 Newhall Street is a red brick and Architectural terracotta
Grade I listed building on the corner of Newhall Street
and Edmund Street
in the city centre of Birmingham
, England
.
(NTC) and is popularly known as the Bell Edison Telephone Building - the NTC logo behind the wrought iron gates to the main entrance includes those names. It was also known as Telephone Buildings within the organisation. The Central exchange had 5,000 subscribers and was the largest of its type in the country. The ground floor was let out to shops. The NTC was taken over by the Postmaster General
in 1912 and the ownership transferred to the GPO. During World War I
, it was the Midland headquarters of the air raid warning system.
Whereas Telephone House housed the telex automatic exchange, this building held a TAS exchange which was used by the GPO to route telegrams around the UK. It also housed the Birmingham office of the Post Office Engineering Union
(basement floor in Edmund Street).
It is now occupied by Associated Architects
, and Phoenix Beard (a firm of property consultants). It currently uses the address The Exchange, 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3PJ, but the property occupies 17 & 19 Newhall Street and 103 Edmund Street. The basement, and entrance on Edmund Street, is occupied by a bar called Bushwackers.
The building was designed in 1896 by Frederick Martin of the firm Martin & Chamberlain
.
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
Grade I listed building on the corner of Newhall Street
Newhall Street
Newhall Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.Newhall Street stretches from Colmore Row in the city centre by St Phillip's Cathedral in a north-westerly direction towards the Jewellery Quarter. Originally the road was the driveway to New Hall occupied by the Colmore family...
and Edmund Street
Edmund Street
__notoc__Edmund Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.Edmund Street is one of a series of roads on the old Colmore Estate which originally stretched from Temple Row in the city centre, around St Phillip's Cathedral, to the northern end of Newhall Street. Originally the estate surrounded...
in the city centre of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Overview
Originally having the postal address of 19 Newhall Street, it was built as the new Central Telephone Exchange and offices for the National Telephone CompanyNational Telephone Company
The National Telephone Company was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone...
(NTC) and is popularly known as the Bell Edison Telephone Building - the NTC logo behind the wrought iron gates to the main entrance includes those names. It was also known as Telephone Buildings within the organisation. The Central exchange had 5,000 subscribers and was the largest of its type in the country. The ground floor was let out to shops. The NTC was taken over by the Postmaster General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
in 1912 and the ownership transferred to the GPO. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, it was the Midland headquarters of the air raid warning system.
Whereas Telephone House housed the telex automatic exchange, this building held a TAS exchange which was used by the GPO to route telegrams around the UK. It also housed the Birmingham office of the Post Office Engineering Union
Post Office Engineering Union
The Post Office Engineering Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented engineering staff in the Post Office, mostly working in telecommunications....
(basement floor in Edmund Street).
Relocation
The Central Telephone Exchange relocated down Newhall Street to new premises (Telephone House) in 1936.It is now occupied by Associated Architects
Associated Architects
thumb|right|Associated Architects' Offices at [[The Mailbox]], Birminghamthumb|right|RIBA Award Winner 2009, David Wilson LibraryAssociated Architects is a leading architectural firm based in Birmingham, England. The practice has a broad portfolio of work including arts, commercial offices, housing...
, and Phoenix Beard (a firm of property consultants). It currently uses the address The Exchange, 19 Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3PJ, but the property occupies 17 & 19 Newhall Street and 103 Edmund Street. The basement, and entrance on Edmund Street, is occupied by a bar called Bushwackers.
The building was designed in 1896 by Frederick Martin of the firm Martin & Chamberlain
Martin & Chamberlain
John Henry Chamberlain, William Martin, and Frederick Martin were architects in Victorian Birmingham, England. Their names are attributed singly or pairs to many red brick and terracotta buildings, particularly 41 of the forty-odd Birmingham board schools made necessary by the Elementary Education...
.
See also
- Timeline of telephone companies in Birmingham, EnglandTimeline of telephone companies in Birmingham, EnglandThis article shows the development timeline of telephone companies in Birmingham, England.Exchange names are in italics.Following the granting of a patent to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, and the creation of the Bell Telephone Company, USA:...