Sir William Barber, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
who made his fortune expanding 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...
's sprawling suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, when the rapid industrial development of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
Capital in the Gründerzeit
Gründerzeit
' refers to the economic phase in 19th century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. At this time in Central Europe the age of industrialisation was taking place, whose beginnings were found in the 1840s...
took place.
He married Martha Constance Hattie Barber. Martha was an heiress, daughter of Simon Brookes Onions, who was a descendant of the Birmingham family of bellowsmakers, J.C. Onions and later, Alldays and Onions Engineering Company. By his mid-thirties the couple retired but their connections with the city remained strong. In 1924 Barber was created a Baronet, of Culham Court in the County of Berkshire, for 'Political Services to Birmingham'. He died in July 1927, aged 66, when the baronetcy became extinct on his death.
He donated the original marble statue to Queen Victoria in Victoria Square, Birmingham
Victoria Square, Birmingham
Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....
in 1897. Designed by Thomas Brock
Thomas Brock
Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA was an English sculptor.- Life :Brock was born in Worcester, attended the School of Design in Worcester and then undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley. He married in 1869,...
it was unveiled on 10 January 1901, twelve days before the death of the Queen.
After his death, his widow Lady Barber founded the famous Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham....
in memory of her husband. It was bequeathed to the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
for the study and encouragement of art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Lady Barber's inheritance was also dedicated to the Institute and was used to expand the collection and fund the construction of a new building: the Grade II listed building of art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture was designed by Robert Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (architect)
Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
and opened in 1939 by Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
.