The Birmingham Civic Society
Encyclopedia
Council House, Birmingham
Birmingham City Council House in Birmingham, England is the home of Birmingham City Council. It provides office accommodation for both employed council officers, including the Chief Executive, and elected council members, plus the council chamber, Lord Mayor's Suite, committee rooms and a large and...
, 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...
and is registered with The Civic Trust. The first President of the Society, the Earl of Plymouth
Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth
Robert George Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth GBE, CB, PC , known as The Lord Windsor between 1869 and 1905, was a British nobleman and Conservative politician.-Background:...
, addressed the assembled Aldermen, Councillors, Architects and other city worthies at the first meeting of the newly formed Civic Society. His Lordship stated the aims of the Society, which were:
to bring public interest to bear upon all proposals put forward by public bodies and private owners for building, upon the laying out of open spaces and parks, and generally upon all matters concerned with the outward amenities of the city and district. It will insist that taste is a thing that matters, and if any offence against taste is challenged at the outset, great good will be done, and converting of mean and unlovely parts of the City will gradually follow.
Sir Gilbert Barling Bt
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
was the Society's first Chairman and William Haywood was the first Secretary. Its principal objectives were the stimulation of historical interest in the city, the preservation of buildings and monuments of historic worth, the prevention of vandalism and the promotion of a sense of beauty and civic pride in the lives of citizens.
Kings Norton
Kings Norton is an area of Birmingham, England. It is also a Birmingham City Council ward within the formal district of Northfield.-History:...
(25½ acres in October 1920) and Highbury Park (42 acres in 1923).
From its earliest days the Society has taken a prominent role in advising on and lobbying for improvements to the physical development of the city. This has progressed from 1919 when it lobbied for improvements to the (then) village of Northfield
Northfield, West Midlands
Northfield is a residential area on the southern outskirts of metropolitan Birmingham, England and near the boundary with Worcestershire. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
right up to the present when it is playing a leading role in the debate about the replacement of the Birmingham Central Library
Birmingham Central Library
Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...
. Often, the Society has commissioned its own plans for developments either at the request of the City Council or on its own initiative. In some cases, such as the refurbishment of the Chamberlain Memorial Fountain
Chamberlain Memorial, Birmingham
The Chamberlain Memorial was erected in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England on October 20, 1880, to commemorate the public service of Joseph Chamberlain, who was present at the inauguration ceremony. Joseph Chamberlain was a Birmingham businessmen, councillor, mayor and Member of Parliament...
in 1978 and the creation of formal gardens in some city parks, it has provided the funding needed to bring about the developments in question.
The Society has also taken a number of publishing initiatives. The first of these in 1919 was an illustrated pamphlet on the right use of the City-owned portion of the Lickey Hills
Lickey Hills
The Lickey Hills are a range of hills in Worcestershire, England, eleven miles to the south-west of the centre of Birmingham near the villages of Lickey and Barnt Green...
, followed by a Guide to Sutton Park
Sutton Park
Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London....
, containing a selection of articles and a picture map of the whole park. The Society’s most recent publication is its Heritage Buildings Guide, published in 2003 with a distribution of over 500,000 to date.
The cultural life of the city has also benefitted from the Society's attentions. On its recommendation, the City Council set up an Advisory Art Committee in 1922; it played a critical role in saving the Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
from closure in 1924, and again in 1934-5. The link with the Repertory Theatre continues through ex officio membership of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust which holds the shares of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Ltd. The Centenary Concert for the Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
in 1934 was organised in the manner and form suggested by the Society jointly with the City of Birmingham Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
.
During the Second World War the Society played a pivotal role in saving the stained glass windows of Birmingham Cathedral
St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham
The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip is the Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church and consecrated in 1715, St Philip's became the cathedral of the newly formed Diocese of Birmingham in the West Midlands in 1905...
from exposure to bomb damage. Designed by Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
, the Society had them removed and later reinstalled, whilst during the interim, most of the other windows were blown out by heavy bombing. It has worked successfully with the City Council in organising major events; in the 1920s it organised the city's Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
commemorations and more recently this involved being the Council’s principal partner in celebrating the Trafalgar bi-centenary and the 80th Birthday of Her Majesty The Queen.
In the matter of our sculpted heritage, the Society has played a leading role in preserving the city's statues, especially in the 1950s when many were in danger of being scrapped. Subjects that have been preserved in total or in part (the head being cast as a bust) by the action of the Society are Queen Victoria's statue, which was cast in bronze and placed upon a new plinth paid for by the Society for the Festival of Britain in 1951; the busts of Josiah Mason
Josiah Mason
Sir Josiah Mason was an English pen-manufacturer.Mason was born in Mill Street, Kidderminster, the son of a carpet-weaver. He began life as a street hawker of cakes, fruits and vegetables. After trying his hand in his native town at shoemaking, baking, carpentering, blacksmithing, house-painting...
; George Dawson
George Dawson (preacher)
George Dawson was an English nonconformist minister.-Ministry:He was born in London and educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and the University of Glasgow....
and John Skirrow Wright
John Skirrow Wright
John Skirrow Wright was one of the prominent pioneers and social improvers of the 19th century in Birmingham, England. He was involved in many aspects of Birmingham's mid-Victorian life that were for the benefit of its citizens including the General Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce, The School of...
. More recently the Society has been involved in raising half of the £30,000 needed for the restoration of the Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge
Joseph Sturge , son of a farmer in Gloucestershire, was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist. He founded the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society . He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions supporting pacifism, working-class rights, and the universal emancipation of...
statue at Five Ways
Five Ways, Birmingham
Five Ways is an area of Birmingham, England. It takes its name from a major road junction, now a busy roundabout to the south-west of the city centre which lies at the outward end of Broad Street, where the Birmingham Middle ring road crosses the start of the A456 .-History:The name of Five Ways...
and is now focusing on saving and restoring the Edward VII statue, currently isolated in Highgate Park. The Society mounted a four-year campaign to move this fine statue to "a place of civic prominence in the city centre core" and is in discussions with the city council where to locate the fine statue by a Birmingham sculptor (Albert Toft
Albert Toft
Albert Toft was a British sculptor.Toft trained in Wedgwood's pottery and studied sculpture at the South Kensington Schools under Professor Edouard Lanteri.-Notable works:...
).
The first rewards children who have contributed directly to the improvement of their own local environments. The second this year involves 1000 children aged 11 to 14 projecting their lives forward by 20 years, and proposing plans for developments they consider most important for their lives and for those of their children.
In addition to this, the Society operates the city's Blue Plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
scheme, erecting a number each year to former eminent citizens. There are currently 89 around the city.
In 2005 the Society adopted a new constitution retaining the spirit of its original objectives, but reflecting the current needs and aspirations of the City and in 2008 the Society became the first Civic Society in the United Kingdom to receive a Grant of Arms.
Awards
The Society makes a number of awards each year in recognition of contributions to the city. These are:- The Forward Prize is awarded annually in recognition of the most important development project
- The Renaissance Award to restoration projects of outstanding merit
- Gold Medal is awarded occasionally to an individual who has made an outstanding personal contribution to some aspect of the life and development of the city
- Silver Medal acknowledges long and dedicated service to the Society by its members
Further reading
- "The Work of The Birmingham Civic Society 1918-34", William Haywood, Published by Kynoch Press 1934
- "The Work of The Birmingham Civic Society 1918-46", William Haywood, Published by Kynoch Press 1946
- "A Birmingham Treasure Chest", Tudor Edwards, Published by The Birmingham Civic Society 1955