This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2016) |
St. Thomas' Peace Garden | |
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Location | Birmingham, England |
Coordinates | 52°28′24″N1°54′22″W / 52.4734°N 1.906°W Coordinates: 52°28′24″N1°54′22″W / 52.4734°N 1.906°W |
Created | 1995 |
Operated by | Birmingham City Council |
St Thomas' Peace Garden (aka the Peace Gardens) is a small public park in Birmingham, England, [1] designated as a monument to peace and a memorial to all those killed in armed conflict.
The Peace Gardens were designed around the tower and west porticos of St Thomas's Church, Bath Row, which was half demolished in the Birmingham Blitz in 1940 and never restored.[ citation needed ] The grounds were laid out in 1955 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. They were redesigned in 1995 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II. When the world leaders came to Birmingham for the G8 summit in 1998, each planted a tree of a type representing their respective country.
Following victory in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Parliament set up a Commission that was given £1 million to build so called 'Waterloo Churches' in an act of national thanksgiving in 1818.[ citation needed ] Two of the Commissioners' churches in Birmingham were designed in a neo-classical style by Thomas Rickman, St. Thomas' and St. Peter's, Dale End in 1825 (now demolished).
St Thomas' was described at the time as 'of great simplicity, and in every respect consistent with the sacred purpose to which it is dedicated.'[ citation needed ] The neo-classical rather than gothic designs may have been the result of a rumour in the Quarterly Review , later denied, that the Commissioners wanted no more gothic churches.
The reason may have been economic, however; Commission Minute Books indicate that Rickman produced two Early English designs which would have been more expensive than the neo-classical designs which were finally accepted.[ citation needed ] The foundation stone of the church was laid by the Bishop of Worcester on 22 October 1826 and three years afterwards the building was completed, being consecrated on 22 October 1829.
On the night of 11 December 1940, all but the fine tower of St Thomas' and classical west portico was destroyed by German bombs.[ citation needed ] The church was never rebuilt. The grounds were laid out for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 when the gravestones were removed and the dead reinterred at Warstone Lane Cemetery.
The gardens were re-designed as the Peace Garden in 1995 in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II.[ citation needed ] The First World War Memorial colonnade, which had been built as part of the Hall of Memory to designs by S. N. Cooke and W. N. Twist, in 1925, was relocated here when Centenary Square was laid out 1989. Railings with doves of peace were erected, sculpted by Anuradha Patel.
Within the Peace Garden is a memorial to British service personnel who were killed or injured as a result of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean.[ citation needed ]
When the world leaders came to Birmingham for the G8 summit in 1998, each planted a tree here.[ citation needed ] Each premier choose a tree that most represented their respective countries and they are now a living symbol of peace.
The spire of St Thomas' Church is in need of extensive repair work[ citation needed ], its stonework is deteriorating rapidly and the golden ball and cross from the top was lost some years ago. St. Thomas' Peace Garden forms the centre of a square bound by part of Washington and Granville Streets, Bath Row and Ridley Street. Following the major development of Lee Bank in the 1960s, the square was surrounded by many poor quality buildings including a large bingo hall, however a regeneration plan for the area has begun[ when? ] and there are a number of new apartments and offices surrounding the square.
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, George III, and George IV—who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830. The so-called great Georgian cities of the British Isles were Edinburgh, Bath, pre-independence Dublin, and London, and to a lesser extent York and Bristol. The style was revived in the late 19th century in the United States as Colonial Revival architecture and in the early 20th century in Great Britain as Neo-Georgian architecture; in both it is also called Georgian Revival architecture. In the United States the term "Georgian" is generally used to describe all buildings from the period, regardless of style; in Britain it is generally restricted to buildings that are "architectural in intention", and have stylistic characteristics that are typical of the period, though that covers a wide range.
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