Designed in 1883 by J.H. Chamberlain of Martin & Chamberlain, the main architects for the Birmingham School Board, it has been St Chad's Roman Catholic Annexe and is now an Ashram Centre. Standard VII classes for girls began in 1885. However, these classes closed in 1898 at the opening of the George Dixon Higher Grade Board School. In 1886, it was expanded and again so in 1894. It converted into a modern secondary school in 1945 and by 1960, it had 950 pupils.
The Chamberlain schools were designed for hygiene, light, fresh air and beauty. Typically in red brick and terracotta, gabled, with steep roofs, free planning and towered to provide ventilation. The tower was typically placed over the staircase to draw air through the school. There were terracotta plaques, glazed tiles, ornamental ironwork, tall windows, and stained glass. The arched roof-supporting ironwork of this school was visible when the roof was missing following a fire. The roof has since been repaired.
It is a Grade II* listed building.[2] The headmaster's house (303 Icknield Street), on the site, is separately Grade II* listed. Both are on the English Heritage Heritage at Risk Register, and in December 2021, the pair were included on the Victorian Society's annual "Top Ten Endangered Buildings" list.[1]
Although Birmingham in England has existed as a settlement for over a thousand years, today's city is overwhelmingly a product of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, with little surviving from its early history. As it has expanded, it has acquired a variety of architectural styles. Buildings of most modern architectural styles in the United Kingdom are located in Birmingham. In recent years, Birmingham was one of the first cities to exhibit the blobitecture style with the construction of the Selfridges store at the Bullring Shopping Centre.
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 Act 1870.
The Methodist Central Hall, 196–224 Corporation Street, Birmingham, England, is a three-storey red brick and terracotta Grade II* listed building with a distinctive tower at the northern end of Corporation Street. The design complements the Victoria Law Courts opposite, also in terracotta, and includes eclectic details such as the corner turrets resembling Indian chattris. It is located within the Steelhouse Conservation Area.
The Birmingham board schools were set up very rapidly after the Forster Elementary Education Act 1870 was enacted, covering England and Wales. Over forty were created in Birmingham.
The Church of St Agatha is a parish church in the Church of England in Sparkbrook in Birmingham, England.
The Public Library and Baths on Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, form one of many pairings of baths and libraries in Birmingham, England.
The Trocadero, 17 Temple Street, Birmingham, England, currently a pub, is a dazzling demonstration of the use of coloured glazed tile and terracotta in the post-Victorian era of architecture.
Ladypool Primary School is a 3–11 mixed, community primary school in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, and stands next to St Agatha's Church.
Small Heath Leadership Academy is a co-educational secondary school and used to also include a sixth form located in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, England. The school serves an inner-city area of Birmingham.
The Victoria Law Courts is a red brick and terracotta judicial building, which accommodates Birmingham Magistrates' Court, on Corporation Street, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building.
The Great Western Arcade is a covered Grade II listed Victorian shopping arcade lying between Colmore Row and Temple Row in Birmingham City Centre, England.
Edmund Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.
Spring Hill Library is a red brick and terracotta Victorian building in Ladywood, Birmingham, England.
John Henry Price was a British architect. He was the first person to hold the office of 'City Architect' in Manchester Corporation's newly created City Architect's Department of 1902. He was responsible for a number of well-known Manchester landmarks, and is credited with influencing the design of other buildings constructed during his tenure, such as Manchester Fire Station.
Oozells Street Board School was a Victorian board school in Oozells Street, off Broad Street in Birmingham, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
Thomas Lainson, FRIBA was a British architect. He is best known for his work in the East Sussex coastal towns of Brighton and Hove, where several of his eclectic range of residential, commercial and religious buildings have been awarded listed status by English Heritage. Working alone or in partnership with two sons as Lainson & Sons, he designed buildings in a wide range of styles, from Neo-Byzantine to High Victorian Gothic; his work is described as having a "solid style, typical of the time".
The Icknield Port Loop is a 0.6-mile (1 km) loop of the eighteenth-century-built Old BCN Main Line canal in Birmingham, England, about 2 miles (3 km) west of the city centre, which opened to traffic on 6 November 1769 and in some definitions includes its straighter bypass built in September 1827, a 550-yard (500 m) section of the New BCN Main Line. Most of the 56 acres (23 ha) of land thereby enclosed is derelict meaning the canal serves the Canal & River Trust maintenance depot at Icknield Port and conveys water from Edgbaston Reservoir to the BCN Main Line. The enclosed land has no pedestrian or vehicular access. Icknield Port (Loop) takes its name from the Roman Icknield Street which passed nearby, the exact route of which is unknown.
The Grand Hotel is a Grade II* listed Victorian five star hotel in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The hotel occupies the greater part of a block bounded by Colmore Row, Church Street, Barwick Street and Livery Street and overlooks St Philip's Cathedral and churchyard. Designed by architect Thomson Plevins, construction began in 1875 and the hotel opened in 1879. Extensions and extensive interior renovations were undertaken by prominent Birmingham architecture firm Martin & Chamberlain from 1890 to 1895. Interior renovations included the building of the Grosvenor Room with Louis XIV style decoration.
Summerfield is an area of Birmingham, England, two miles west of the city centre. It is also the name of an ecclesiastical parish. The area takes its name from Summerfield House, owned by members of the Chance family, local industrialists. Neighbouring areas are Cape Hill, Edgbaston, Ladywood, Rotton Park and Winson Green. Edgbaston Reservoir is immediately to the south.
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