introduced the system of lightening carriage by running the vehicles on
rail in the North of England. The first suggestion of a local tramway
came through Mr. G.F. Train, who not finding scope sufficient for his
abilities in America, paid Birmingham a visit, and after yarning us well
asked and obtained permission (Aug. 7, 1860) to lay down tram rails in
some of the principal thoroughfares, but as his glib tongue failed in
procuring the needful capital his scheme was a thorough failure. Some
ten years after the notion was taken up by a few local gentlemen, and at
a public meeting, on December 27, 1871, the Town Council were authorised
to make such tramways as they thought to be necessary, a Company being
formed to work them. This Company was rather before its time, though now
it would be considered, if anything, rather backward. The first line of
rails brought into use was laid from the buttom of Hockley Hill to
Dudley Port, and it was opened May 20, 1872; from Hockley to top of Snow
Hill the cars began to run September 7, 1873; the Bristol Road line
being first used May 30, though formally opened June 5, 1876. The
Birmingham and District Tramway Company's lines cost about £65,000, and
they paid the Corporation £910 per year rental, but in May, 1877, their
interest was bought up by the Birmingham Tramway and Omnibus Company for
the sum of £25,000, the original cost of the property thus acquired
being £115,000. The new company leased the borough lines for seven years
at £1,680 per annum, and gave up the out-district portion of the
original undertaking. That they have been tolerably successful is shown
by the fact that in 1883 the receipts from passengers amounted to
£39,859, while the owners of the £10 shares received a dividend of 15
per cent. The authorised capital of the company is £60,000, of which
£33,600 has been called up. The Aston line from Corporation Street to
the Lower Grounds was opened for traffic the day after Christmas, 1882.
The Company's capital is £50,000, of which nearly one-half was expended
on the road alone. This was the first tramway on which steam was used as
the motive power, though Doune's locomotire was tried, Jan. 8, 1876,
between Handsworth and West Bromwich, and Hughes's between Monmouth
Street and Bournbrook on July 2, 1880, the latter distance being covered
in twenty-five minutes with a car-load of passengers attached to the
engine. The next Company to be formed was tha South Staffordshire and
Birmingham District Steam Tramway Co., who "broke ground" July 26, 1882,
and opened their first section, about seven miles in length (from
Handsworth to Darlaston), June 25, 1883. This line connects Birmingham
with West Bromwich, Wednesbury, Great Bridge, Dudley, Walsall, and
intermediate places, and is worked with 40-horse power engines of
Wilkinson's make. The Birmingham and West Suburban Tramways Co.'s lines,
commencing in Station Street run, by means of branches from several
parts, to various of the suburbs:--1st, by way of Pershore Street, Moat
Row, Bradford Street, and Moseley Road, to Moseley; 2nd, by way of
Deritend, Bordesley, Camp Hill, along Stratford Road, to Sparkhill; 3rd,
leaving Stratford Road (at the Mermaid) and along Warwick Road, to
Acock's Green; 4th, striking off at Bordesley, along the Coventry Road
to the far side of Small Heath Park; 5th, from Moat Row, by way of
Smithfield Street to Park Street, Duddeston Row, Curzon Street, Vauxhall
Road, to Nechells Park Road; 6th, in the same direction, by way of Gosta
Green, Lister Street, and Great Lister Street, using "running powers"
over the Aston line where necessary on the last-named and following
routes; 7th from Corporation Street, along Aston Street, Lancaster
Street, Newtown Row, up the Birchfield Road; 8th, from Six Ways,
Birchfield, along the Lozells Road to Villa Cross, and from the Lozells
Road along Wheeler Street to Constitution Hill, forming a junction with
the original Hockley and Snow Hill line. The system of lines projected
by the Western Districts Co., include: 1st, commencing in Edmund Street,
near the Great Western Railway Station, along Congreve Street, Summer
Row, Parade, Frederick Street, and Vyse Street, to join the Hockley
line; 2nd, as before to Parade, along the Sandpits, Spring Hill to
borough boundary in Dudley Road, and along Heath Street to Smethwick;
3rd, as before to Spring Hill, thence in one direction along Monument
Road to Hagley Road, and in the opposite direction along Icknield Street
to Hockley; 4th, starting from Lower Temple Street, along Hill Street,
Hurst Street, Sherlock Street to the borough boundary in Pershore Road,
and from Sherlock Street, by way of Gooch Street, to Balsall Heath; 5th,
by way of Holloway Head, Bath Row, and Islington to the Five Ways. The
whole of the lines now in use and being constructed in the Borough are
the property of the Corporation, who lease them to the several
Companies, the latter making the lines outside the borough themselves,
and keeping them in repair. The average cost of laying down is put at
50s. per yard for single line, or £5 per yard for double lines, the cost
of the metal rail itself being about 20s. per yard.
~Trees in Streets.~--Though a few trees were planted along the Bristol
Road in 1853, and a few others later in some of the outskirts, the
system cannot be fairly said to have started till the spring of 1876,
when about 100 plane trees were planted in Broad Street, 100 limes in
Bristol Street, 20 Canadian poplars in St. Martin's church-yard, a score
or so of plane trees near Central Station, and a number in Gosta Green
and the various playgrounds belonging to Board Schools, a few elms,
sycamores, and Ontario poplars being mixed with them. As a matter of
historical fact, the first were put in the ground Nov. 29, 1885, in
Stephenson Place.
~Tunnels.~--The tunnel on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, near
King's Norton, is 2,695 yards long, perfectly straight, 17-1/2-ft. wide,
and 18-ft. high. In the centre a basin is excavated sufficiently wide
for barges to pass without inconvenience; and in this underground
chamber in August, 1795, the Royal Arch Masons held a regular chapter of
their order, rather an arch way of celebrating the completion of the
undertaking. The other tunnels on this canal are 110, 120, 406, and 524
yards in length. On the old Birmingham Canal there are two, one being
2,200 yards long and the other 1,010 yards. On the London and Birmingham
Railway (now London and North Western) the Watford tunnel is 1,830 yards
long, the Kisley tunnel 2,423 yards, and Primrose Hill 1,250 yards. On
the Great Western line the longest is the Box tunnel, 3,123 yards in
length. The deepest tunnel in England pierces the hills between Great
Malvern and Herefordshire, being 600ft. from the rails to the surface;
it is 1,560 yards in length. The longest tunnels in the country run
under the range of hills between Marsden in Yorkshire and Diggle in
Lancashire, two being for railway and one canal use. One of the former
is 5,434 yards, and the other (Stanedge, on the L. & N.W.) 5,435 yards
long, while the canal tunnel is 5,451 yards.
~Turnpike Gates.~--At one time there were gates or bars on nearly every
road out of the town. Even at the bottom of Worcester Street there was a
bar across the road in 1818. There was once a gate at the junction of
Hang'sman Lane (our Great Hampton Row) and Constitution Hill, which,
baing shifted further on, to about the spot where Green and Cadbury's
Works now are, remained till 1839. The gate in Deritend was removed in
August, 1828; the one at Five Ways July 5, 1841; those at Small Heath,
at Sparkbrook, in the Moseley Road, and in the Hagley Road were all
"free'd" in 1851, and the sites of the toll houses sold in 1853. In the
"good old coaching days" the turnpike tolls paid on a coach running
daily from here to London amounted to £1,428 per year.
~Union Passage~, at first but a field path out of the yard of the Crown
Tavern to the Cherry Orchard, afterwards a narrow entry as far as
Crooked Lane, with a house only at each end, was opened up and widened
in 1823 by Mr. Jones, who built the Pantechnetheca. Near the Ball Street
end was the Old Bear Yard, the premises of a dealer in dogs, rabbits,
pigeons, and other pets, who kept a big brown bear, which was taken out
whenever the Black Country boys wanted a bear-baiting. The game was put
a stop to in 1835, but the "cage" was there in 1841, about which time
the Passage became built up on both sides throughout.
~Vaughton's Hole.~--An unfortunate soldier fell into a deep clay pit
here, in July, 1857, and was drowned; and about a month after (August 6)
a horse and cart, laden with street sweepings, was backed too near the
edge, over-turned, and sank to the bottom of sixty feet deep of water.
The place was named after a very old local family who owned considerable
property in the neighbourhood of Gooch Street, &c., though the
descendants are known as Houghtons.
~Vauxhall.~--In an old book descriptive of a tour through England, in
1766, it is mentioned that near Birmingham there "is a seat belonging to
Sir Listen Holte, Bart, but now let out for a public house (opened June
4, 1758), where are gardens, &c., with an organ and other music, in
imitation of Vauxhall, by which name it goes in the neighbourhood." The
old place, having been purchased by the Victoria Land Society, was
closed by a farewell dinner and ball, September, 16, 1850, the first
stroke of the axe to the trees being given at the finish of the ball, 6
a.m. next morning. In the days of its prime, before busy bustling
Birmingham pushed up to its walls, it ranked as one of the finest places
of amusement anywhere out of London. The following verse (one of five)
is from an "Impromptu written by Edward Farmer in one of the alcoves at
Old Vauxhall, March 6. 1850":--
"There's scarce a heart that will not start,
No matter what it's rank and station,
And heave a sigh when they destroy,
This favourite place of recreation.
If we look back on memory's track,
What joyous scenes we can recall,
Of happy hours in its gay bowers,
And friends we met at Old Vauxhall!"
~Velocipedes.~--We call them "cycles" nowadays, but in 1816-20 they were
"dandy-horses," and in the words of a street billet of the period
"The hobby-horse was all the go
In country and in town."
~Views of Birmingham.~--The earliest date "view" of the town appears to
be the one given in Dugdale's Warwickshire, of 1656, and entitled "The
Prospect of Birmingham, from Ravenhurst (neere London Road), in the
South-east part of the Towne."
~Villa Cross~ was originally built for and occupied as a school, and
known as Aston Villa School.
~Visitors of Distinction~ in the old Soho days, were not at all rare,
though they had not the advantages of travelling by rail. Every event of
the kind, however, was duly chronicled in the _Gazette_, but they must
be men of superior mark indeed, or peculiarly notorious perhaps, for
their movements to be noted nowadays. Besides the "royalties" noted
elsewhere, we were honoured with the presence of the Chinese
Commissioner Pin-ta-Jen, May 7, 1866, and his Excellency the Chinese
Minister Kus-ta Jen, January 23, 1878. Japanese Ambassadors were here
May 20, 1862, and again November 1, 1872. The Burmese Ambassadors took a
look at us August 14, 1872, and the Madagascar Ambassadors followed on
January 5, 1883.--Among the brave and gallant visitors who have noted
are General Elliott, who came August 29th, 1787. Lord Nelson, August 30,
1802, and there is an old Harborneite still living who says he can
recollect seeing the hero come out of the hotel in Temple Row. The Duke
of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel dined at Dee's Hotel, September 23,
1830. The Duke's old opponent, Marshal Soult, in July 1833, seemed
particularly interested in the work going on among our gun-shops. Lady
Havelock, her two daughters, and General Havelock, the only surviving
brother of Sir Henry, visited the town October 8, 1858. General Ulysses
Grant, American Ex-president, was soft-soaped at the Town Hall, October
19, 1877.--Politicians include Daniel O'Connell, January 20, 1832. The
Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, who visited the Small Arms Factory, August
18, 1869, was again here August 22, 1876, immediately after being raised
to the peerage as Earl of Beaconsfield. The Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone
was welcomed with a procession and a "monster meeting" at Bingley Hall.
May 31, 1877. The Right Hon. R.A. Cross, Home Secretary, honoured the
Conservatives by attending a banquet in the Town Hall, Nov. 20, 1876.
Sir Stafford Northcote, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, came here Oct.
19, 1878, and was at Aston, Oct. 13, 1884, when the Radical roughs made
themselves conspicuous. Lord Randolph Churchill was introduced to the
burgesses, April 15, 1884; and has been here many times since, as well
as the late Col. Burnaby, who commenced his candidature for the
representation of the borough July 23, 1878.--In the long list of
learned and literary visitors occur the names of John Wesley, who first
came here in March, 1738, and preached on Gosta Green in 1743. Whitfield
preached here in Oct., 1753. Benjamin Franklin was in Birmingham in
1758, and for long afterwards corresponded with Baskerville and Boulton.
Fulton, the American engineer, (originally a painter) studied here in
1795. Washington Irving, whose sister was married to Mr. Henry Van Wart,
spent a long visit here, during the course of which he wrote the series
of charming tales comprised in his "Sketch Book." His "Bracebridge
Hall," if not written, was conceived here, our Aston Hall being the
prototype of the Hall, and the Bracebridge family of Atherstone found
some of the characters. Thomas Carlyle was here in 1824; Mr. and Mrs.
Beecher Stowe ("Uncle Tom's Cabin"), in May, 1853; Sir W. Crofton, Oct.
9, 1862; M. Chevalier, April 28, 1875; Mr. Ruskin, July 14, 1877; Rev.
Dr. Punshon, March 19, and J.A. Froude, M.A., March 18, 1878; Mr.
Archibald Forbes, April 29, 1878; H.M. Stanley, Nov. 6, 1878; Bret
Harte, April 7, 1879; the Rev. T. de Wilt Talmage, an American preacher
of great note, lectured in Town Hall June 9 and July 7, 1879, on "The
Bright side of Things," and on "Big Blunders;" but, taking the brightest
view he could, he afterwards acknowledged that his coming here was the
biggest blunder he had ever made. Oscar Wilde, March 13, 1884. Lola
Montes lectured here March 2-4, 1859. Dr. Kenealy was here June 26,
1875. The Tichborne Claimant showed himself at the Town Hall, August 26,
1872, and again, "after his exile," at the Birmingham Concert Hall, Jan.
12, 1885.
~Volunteers in the Olden Time.~--A meeting was held October 5, 1745, for
the raising of a regiment of volunteers to oppose the Scotch rebels, but
history does not chronicle any daring exploits by this regiment. Playing
at soldiers would seem to have been formerly a more popular (or shall we
say patriotic) amusement than of late years; for it is recorded that a
local corps was organised in August, 1782, but we suppose it was
disbanded soon after, as in 1797, when the threatening times of
revolution alarmed our peaceful sires, there were formed in Birmingham
two companies, one of horse and one of foot, each 500 strong, under the
commands of Capt. Pearson and Lord Brooke. They were called the
Birmingham Loyal Association of Volunteers, and held their first parade
in Coleshill Street, August 15, 1797. On the 4th of June following a
grand review was held on Birmingham Heath (then unenclosed) to the
delight of the local belles, who knew not which the most to admire, the
scarlet horse or the blue foot. Over 100,000 spectators were said to
have been present, and, strangest thing of all, the Volunteers were
armed with muskets brought from Prussia. The corps had the honour of
escorting Lord Nelson when, with Lady Hamilton, he visited the town in
1802. At a review on August 2, 1804, the regiment were presented with
its colours, and for years the "Loyals" were the most popular men of the
period. Our neighbours do not seem to have been more backward than the
locals, though why it was necessary that the services of the Handsworth
Volunteer Cavalry should be required to charge and put to flight the
rioters in Snow Hill (May 29, 1810) is not very clear.--See also "_Train
Bands_."
~Volunteers of the Present Day.~--The first official enrolment of
Volunteers of the present corps, was dated Nov. 25, 1859, though a list
of names was on paper some three months earlier. Unlike sundry other
movements which are now of a national character, that for the formation
of a volunteer army was so far from having a local origin, that for a
long time it was viewed with anything but favour in Birmingham; and,
though it is not pleasant to record the fact, it was not until the
little parish of Handsworth had raised its corps of the First
Staffordshire, that the Brums really stepped into the ranks. Properly
the natal day should be reckoned as the 14th of December, 1859, when a
town's meeting was held "for the purpose of adopting such measures as
might seem desirable for placing Birmingham in its proper position with
regard to the great national rifle movement." The Hon. Charles Granvllle
Scott had been previously selected by Lord Leigh (the Lord-Lieutenant of
the County) as Colonel, Major Sanders had accepted the Captaincy, Mr.
J.O. Mason been appointed Lieutenant, and 111 names entered on the roll
of members of the 1st Company, but it was not till the above-named day
that the movement really made progress, the Mayor (Mr. Thos. Lloyd), Sir
John Ratcliff, Mr. A. Dixon, and Mr. J. Lloyd each then promising to
equip his twenty men apiece, and sundry other gentlemen aiding to dress
up others of the rank and file. The money thus being found the men were
soon forthcoming too, the end of the year showing 320 names on the roll
call, a number increased to 1,080 by the close of 1860. The latter year
saw the first parade in Calthorpe Park, the opening of the range at
Bournebrook, and the formation of the twelve companies forming the first
battalion, but, notwithstanding many liberal donations (the gunmakers
giving £850), and the proceeds of the first annual ball, it closed with
the corps being in debt over £1,000. On the formation of the 2nd county
battalion, Col. Scott took command thereof, Major Sanders being
promoted. He was followed by Lieut.-Col. Mason, on whose resignation, in
February, 1867, Major Ratcliff succeeded, the battalion being then 1,161
strong. Col. Ratcliff retired in June, 1871, and was replaced by
Major-General Hinde, C.B., who held command until his death, March 1,
1881. Major Gem who temporarily acted as commander, also died the
following Nov. 4, Major Burt filling the post till the appointment of
Col. W. Swynfen Jervis. The first adjutant (appointed in 1860) was
Captain McInnis, who retired in 1870, having received bodily injuries
through being thrown from his horse; he was succeeded by the present
Adjutant-Colonel Tarte. The first uniform of the corps was a grey tunic
with green facings, and a peaked cap with cock's feathers; in 1863 this
was changed for a green uniform with red facings, similar to that worn
by the 60th Rifles, with the exception of a broad red stripe on the
trousers. The trouser stripe was done away with in 1875, when also the
cap and feathers gave place to the busby and glengarry, the latter in
1884 being exchanged for the regulation army helmet, and soon perhaps
our boys will all be seen in scarlet like their brothers of the
Staffordshire battalions. At no date since its enrolment has the
battalion been free from debt, and it now owes about £1,300, a state of
affairs hardly creditable to the town which sends out yearly, some
half-million firearms from its manufactories. The annual balls did not
become popular, the last taking place in 1864; bazaars were held October
14-17, 1863, and October 24-27, 1876; athletic displays have been given
(the first in May, 1865), and the cap has been sent round more than
once, but the debt--it still remains. At the Volunteer Review, July 24,
1861, before the Duke of Cambridge; at the Hyde Park Review, June, 1865,
before the Prince of Wales; at the Midland Counties' Review at Derby,
June, 1867; at the Royal Review at Windsor in 1868; and at every
inspection since, the Birmingham corps has merited and received the
highest praise for general smartness and efficiency; it is one of the
crack corps of the kingdom, and at the present time (end of 1884) has
not one inefficient member out of its 1,200 rank and file, but yet the
town is not Liberal enough to support it properly. The first march-out
of 720 to Sutton took place June 21, 1875, others joining at the camp,
making over 800 being under canvas, 744 attending the review. The
camping-out at Streetly Wood has annually recurred since that date; the
first sham fight took place June 20, 1877. The "coming-of-age" was
celebrated by a dinner at the Midland Hotel, January 29, 1881, up to
which time the Government grants had amounted to £26,568 14s., the local
subscriptions to £8,780, and the donations to £1,956 1s. 3d. The
Birmingham Rifle Corps is now known as the First Volunteer Battalion of
the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, having been linked to the "Saucy
Sixth," under the army scheme of 1873.--See "_Public Buildings_--_Drill
Hall_."
~Von Beck.~--The Baroness Von Beck was a lady intimately connected with
the chiefs of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and appears to have been
employed by them in various patriotic services. In 1851 she visited
Birmingham and was a welcome guest until "someone blundered" and charged
her with being an impostor. On the evening of August 29, she and her
copatriot, Constant Derra de Moroda, were arrested at the house of Mr.
Tyndall and locked up on suspicion of fraud. Her sudden death in the
police-court next morning put a stop to the case; but an action
resulted, in which George Dawson and some friends were cast for heavy
damages as a salve for the injured honour of M. de Moroda.
~Wages and Work.~--In 1272 the wages of a labouring man was just 1-1/2
d. per day. In Henry VIII.'s reign labourers' wages averaged 4d. per
day; skilled workmen 5-1/2d. per day. The penny at that time was equal
to a shilling of the present day, and would, relatively, purchase as
much. In 1682, the Justices of the Peace assembled in Quarter Sessions
at Warwick fixed the rates of wages to be paid to the several classes of
artificers, labourers, and others, as enjoined by a statue of Elizabeth.
From their order then made, we find that a master carpenter, his
servants, and journeymen, were to receive 1s each per day; a master
bricklayer, a mason, a cartwright, a thatcher, a tyler, a mower, and a
reaper also 1s. per day, other workmen and labourers averaging from 4d.
to 8d. per day, but none of them to receive more than half these rates
if their meat and drink was found them. The hours of work to be from
five in the morning till half-past seven at night. Any person refusing
to work upon these terms was to be imprisoned, and anyone paying more to
forfeit £5 in addition to ten days' imprisonment, the unfortunate
individual receiving such extra wages to suffer in like manner for
twenty-one days. In 1777, there was a row among the tailors, which led
to what may be called the first local strike. The unfortunate "knights
of the thimble" only got 12s. to 14s. per week.
~Warstone Lane~ takes its name from the Hoarstone, supposed to have been
an ancient boundary mark, which formerly stood at the corner of the lane
and Icknield Street, and which is now preserved within the gateway
entrance to the Church of England cemetery. Hutton says that in 1400
there was a castle, with a moat round it, in Warstone Lane. The lane has
also been called Deadman's Lane, and considering the proximity of the
cemetery that name might even now be applicable.
~Warwick House~, as it now stands was began in 1839 or 1840; formerly it
was composted of two cottages, one with a bit of garden ground in front,
which underwent the usual transformation scene of being first covered in
then built upon.
~Warwickshire~, the county in which Birmingham is situated, has a total
area of 566,458 acres, of which 283,946 acres are permanent pasture
lands, and 210,944 acres under crops or arable land. In 1882 the live
stock in the country, as returned by the occupiers of land, included
29,508 horses, 5,503 being kept solely for breeding; 93,334 cattle;
218,355 sheep; and 41,832 pigs.
~Warwick Castle~ is open to visitors every day, except Sunday; when the
family are absent from home, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but if they are at
home, from 9 to 10 a.m. only.
~Warwick Vase.~--The bronze copy in Aston Hall was cast by Sir Richard
Thomason.
~Warwickshire Regiment.~--The 6th Foot recruited in this county in 1778
so successfully that it was called "The Warwickshire," Birmingham
supplying the largest proportion of the men, and raising by public
subscription £2,000 towards their equipment. Under Lord Cardwell's army
localisation plan of 1873, the regiment is now called the 1st Royal
Warwickshire, and, with the Warwickshire Militia and Volunteers, forms
the 28th Brigade.
~Watch House.~--On the right hand side of Crooked Lane from High Street,
may still be seen the old Watch House, where, fifty years ago, the
"Charleys," or night watchmen, took any drunken or disorderly
characters, or night prowlers, they happened to meet with, or whom they
dare tackle.
~Waterloo Veterans.~--John McKay was born in November, 1792, and entered
the army as a drummerboy in 1803; he died here in July, 1879. He served
41 years, and was for the last 25 years of his life office keeper of the
Royal Engineers' Office in this town. Another "Waterloo man," George
Taylor, died here, November 6, 1880, aged 98.
~Water Pipes.~--In 1810 Mr. Murdoch started a Company for manufacturing
stone pipes for water-works, and they made a large quantity, which were
laid down in London and Manchester, but they had to come up again, as
the pipes split--and the Company burst.
~Waterspouts and Whirlwinds~ are not of common occurrence hereabouts.
One of the former burst over the Lickey Hills, April 13, 1792, the
resulting flood reaching to Bromsgrove. A whirlwind at Coleshill, April
4, 1877, played havoc with some hay-ricks, hedges, trees, &c.
~Water Street~, formerly Water Lane, had a brook running down one side
of it when houses were first built there.