Council House, Handsworth

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Council House, Handsworth
South and City College, Birmingham (geograph 6722446).jpg
The building in 2013
LocationSoho Road, Handsworth
Coordinates 52°30′10″N1°55′51″W / 52.5028°N 1.9307°W / 52.5028; -1.9307
Built1879
ArchitectAlexander & Henman
Architectural style(s) Gothic Revival style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official namePublic Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit
Designated7 July 1982
Reference no.1221174
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Shown in West Midlands

The Council House is a former municipal building in Soho Road in Handsworth, West Midlands, a suburb of Birmingham in England. The building, which is currently used as a public library and college campus, is a Grade II listed building. [1]

History

Following significant population growth, largely associated with steam engine manufacturing at Soho Foundry, a local board of health was formed in Handsworth in 1877. [2] [3] The board decided to commission a municipal building for its use, to provide Local Board offices, a meeting room for the Board, committee rooms and a large public room, 'together with stables, cart and implement sheds, and other requisite accommodation'. [4] The site selected was on the north side of Soho Road. [5]

The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 30 October 1877. [6] It was designed by Alexander & Henman of Stockton-on-Tees in the Gothic Revival style, built in red brick and terracotta at a cost of £20,662 and was completed in 1879. [7] The design involved a main frontage of 16 bays facing onto Soho Road. The left-hand section of five bays formed a public library and the right-hand section of 11 bays formed the council house. A Fire Engine Station was included at the rear. [8]

The library section, which was asymmetrical, featured a polygon-shaped bay which was projected forward and surmounted by a turret, and there was an arched doorway in the right-hand bay. The library opened, 'with a collection of about 5,000 volumes' on 1 May 1880; [9] it quickly grew and the building was extended in 1891. [10]

The council house section, which was broadly symmetrical, featured a five-stage tower in the central bay, flanked by connecting sections of two bays each, and by end sections of three bays each (which were slightly projected forward and gabled); the other bays were generally fenestrated with bi-partite or tri-partite mullioned and transomed windows. [1] The tower had an arched doorway in the first stage, an oriel window in the second stage, lancet windows in the third and fourth stages, with machicolations above, and a timbered clock in the fifth stage. The clock was by the local firm of clockmakers, W. F. Evans; [11] it sounded the hours and quarters on three bells, made by a Birmingham bellfounder, James Barwell. [12]

In 1894, the board was succeeded by Handsworth Urban District Council, [13] which used the Council House as its offices, [14] but the building ceased to be the local seat of government when area was annexed by Birmingham City Council in 1911. [15]

The council house was subsequently leased to the Handsworth School of Dress Design, which was a branch of the Birmingham Government School of Design. The Birmingham Government School of Design became part of Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971. [16] In the late 1970s, the vacant building was acquired by Handsworth Technical College (later City College Birmingham), [17] which merged with South Birmingham College to form the Handsworth Campus of South and City College Birmingham in 2012. [18]

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "Public Library, Handsworth Council House and Job Preparation Unit (1221174)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Catalogue of the Reference Library, Birmingham". 1918. p. 464. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  3. ↑ Appointment Vacant. The Architect. 11 August 1877. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  4. ↑ "Handsworth Public Buildings". The Builder. XXXIV (1762): 1102. 11 November 1876.
  5. ↑ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Harvey, David (2015). Trams in West Bromwich. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445641713.
  7. ↑ Dargue, William. "Handsworth History" . Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ↑ The Post Office Directory of Birmingham. London: Kelly & Co. 1879. p. 177.
  9. ↑ Showell, Walter (1885). Dictionary of Birmingham. Oldbury: Walter Showell & Sons. p. 133.
  10. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Birmingham (41st ed.). London: Kelly's Directories Ltd. 1908. p. 329. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  11. ↑ McKenna, Joseph (2002). Clockmakers and Watchmakers of Central England. Ashbourse, Derbyshire: Mayfield Books. p. 183.
  12. ↑ Pickford, Chris. "Bells in and around Birmingham (Part 2)" (PDF). St Martin's Guild. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Handsworth UD". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  14. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Birmingham (including the Suburbs and the Boroughs of Smethwick and Aston Manor). 1908. p. 1096.
  15. ↑ Chinn, Carl Steven Alfred (1986). "The Anatomy of a Working Class Neighbourhood: West Sparkbrook 1871 to 1914" (PDF). University of Birmingham. p. 2. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "School of Art Archive". Birmingham City Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "Handsworth Council House". Library of Birmingham. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  18. ↑ "South and City College Birmingham". The University Guide. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
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