Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham Part 2

The fees are limited to a scale approved by the Town Council.

~Ancient History~ of Birmingham can hardly be said to exist. Its rise and progress is essentially modern, and the few notes that have come to us respecting its early history will be found briefly summarised at the commencement of this book.

~Anti-Borough-Rate Meeting.~--In 1874 the Town Council asked for power to lay a Borough-rate exceeding 2s. in the ., but after three days'

polling (ending March 30) permission was refused by a majority of 2,654 votes. The power was obtained afterwards.

~Anti-Church-Rate Meetings~ were frequent enough at one period of our history. The two most worthy of remembrance were those of Dec. 15, 1834, when the rate was refused by a majority of 4,966 votes, and Oct., 1841, when the polling showed 626 for the rate and 7,281 against.

~Anti-Corn-Law Meetings~ were also numerous. The one to recollect is that held Feb. 18, 1842.

~Anti-Papal Demonstration.~--A town's meeting took place in the Town Hall, Dec. 11, 1850, to protest against the a.s.sumption of ecclesiastical t.i.tles by the Catholic hierarchy. About 8,000 persons were present, and the "No Popery" element was strong, but Joseph Sturge moved an amendment for freedom to all parties, which so split the votes that the Mayor said the amendment was not carried and the resolution was lost.

~Anti-Slavery.~--The first Anti-Slavery meeting held here was that of Nov. 27, 1787. A local pet.i.tion to Parliament against the slave trade was presented to the House of Commons, Feb. 11, 1788. A local society was formed here in 1826, Joseph Sturge being secretary, and many meetings were held before the Day of Abolition was celebrated. The most noteworthy of these was that at Dee's a.s.sembly Room, April 16, 1833, when G.F. Muntz and the Political Union opposed the agitation; a great meeting, Oct. 14, 1835; another on Feb. 1, 1836, in which Daniel O'Connell and John Angell James took part. This last was the first large town's meeting at which the "total and immediate" abolition of slavery was demanded. Joseph Sturge following it up by going to the West Indies and reporting the hards.h.i.+ps inflicted upon the blacks under the "gradual" system then in operation. Aug. 7, 1838, the day when slavery dropped its chains on English ground, was celebrated here by a children's festival in the Town Hall, by laying the foundation-stone of "The Negro Emanc.i.p.ation Schools," Legge Street, and by a public meeting at night, at which Sir Eardley Wilmott, D. O'Connell, Dr. Lus.h.i.+ngton, Edward Baines, &c., were present.

~Anti-one-thing-or-t'other.~--True to their motto, Birmingham people are always ready to oppose the wrong and forward the right, but what is right and what wrong is only to be ascertained by public discussion, and a few dates of celebrated "talks" are here given:--

In 1719 the apprenticing of Russian youths to local trades was objected to.

In the Christmas week of 1754 public protest was made against the tax on wheel carriages.

March 12, 1824, a deputation was sent to Parliament to protest against our workmen being allowed to emigrate, for fear they should teach the foreigners.

A proposed New Improvement Bill was vetoed by the burgesses, Dec. 18, 1855. We _have_ improved a little since then!

An Anti-Confessional meeting was held Nov. 8, 1877.

An Anti-Contagious Diseases Act meeting, April 19, 1877.

An Anti-giving-up-Fugitive-Slave meeting, Jan. 1, 1876, when a certain Admiralty Circular was condemned.

An Anti-Irish-Church-Establishment meeting was held June 14, 1869.

An Anti-moving-the-Cattle Market meeting Dec. 14, 1869, Smithfield being preferred to Duddeston Hall.

An Anti-Railway-through-Sutton-Park meeting, April 15, 1872, but the railway _is_ there.

An Anti-Rotten-s.h.i.+p-and-Sailor-drowning meeting, with Mr. Plimsoll to the fore, May 14 1873. Another July 29, 1875.

An Anti-Ashantee War meeting Sept. 29, 1873.

An Anti-Turkish Atrocity meeting, Sept. 7, 1876; followed by one on Oct.

2nd, properly settling the Eastern question.

An Anti-Six-Million-War-Vote meeting was held on Jan. 28, 1878, when the Liberal majority was immense. A Tory opposition meeting, in support of the vote, was held Feb. 12, when chairs and forms were broken up to use as arguments, the result being a majority of 2 to 1 for both sides.

An Anti-War meeting, May 3, 1878.

Anti-Vivisection meetings. April 24, 1877, and May 6, 1878.

~Apollo, Moseley Street.~--Opened as a public resort in 1786, the Rea being then a clear running brook. The first tenant did not prosper, for in the first week of March, 1787, the _Gazette_ contained an advertis.e.m.e.nt that the Apollo Hotel, "pleasantly situate in a new street, called Moseley Street, in the hamlet of Deritend, on the banks of the River Rea," with "a s.p.a.cious Bowling Green and Gardens," was to be let, with or without four acres of good pasture land. When closed as a licensed house, it was at first divided into two residences, but in 1816 the division walls, &c., were removed, to fit it as a residence for Mr. Hamper, the antiquary. That gentleman wrote that the prospect at the back was delightful, and was bounded only by Bromsgrove Lickey. The building was then called "Deritend House."

~Aquariums.~--The Aquarium at Aston Lower Grounds was opened July 10, 1879. The princ.i.p.al room has a length of 312 feet, the promenade being 24 feet wide by 20 feet high. The west side of this s.p.a.cious apartment is fitted with a number of large show tanks, where many rare and choice specimens of marine animals and fishes may be exhibited. On a smaller scale there is an Aquarium at the "Crystal Palace" Garden, at Sutton Coldfield, and a curiosity in the shape of an "Aquarium Bar" may be seen at the establishment of Mr. Bailey, in Moor Street.

~Arcades.~--The Arcade between Monmouth Street and Temple Row, was commenced April 26, 1875; first illuminated August 19, 1876, and opened for public use on 28th of that month. It is built over that portion of the G.W.R. line running from Monmouth Street to Temple Row, the front facing the Great Western Hotel, occupying the site once filled by the old Quaker's burial ground. It is the property of a company, and cost nearly 100,000, the architect being Mr. W.H. Ward. The shops number 38, and in addition there are 56 offices in the galleries.--The _Central Arcade_ in Corporation Street, near to New Street, and leading into Cannon Street, is from the designs of the same architect and was opened September 26, 1881. Underneath the Arcade proper is the Central Restaurant, and one side of the thoroughfare forms part of the shop of Messrs. Marris and Norton.--The _North-Western Arcade_, which was opened April 5, 1884, is like a continuation of the first-named, being also built over the G.W.R. tunnel, and runs from Temple Row to Corporation Street. The architect is Mr. W. Jenkins, and the undertakers Messrs.

Wilkinson and Riddell, who occupy the princ.i.p.al frontage. Several of the twenty-six shops into which the Arcade is divided have connection with places of business in Bull Street.--The _Imperial Arcade_, in Dale End, next to St. Peter's Church, is also a private speculation (that of Mr.

Thos. Hall), and was opened at Christmas, 1883. It contains, in addition to the frontage, thirty-two shops, with the same number of offices above, while the bas.e.m.e.nt forms a large room suitable for meetings, auctions, &c., it being 135ft. long, 55ft. wide and nearly 15ft. high.

Two of the princ.i.p.al features of the Arcade are a magnificent stained window, looking towards St. Peters, and a curious clock, said to be the second of its kind in England, life-size figures of Guy, Earl of Warwick, and his Countess, with their attendants, striking the hours and quarters on a set of musical bells, the largest of which weighs about 5cwt.--_Snow Hill Arcade_, opposite the railway station, and leading to Slaney Street, is an improvement due to Mr. C. Ede, who has adopted the designs of Mr. J.S. Davis.--The _Hen and Chickens Arcade_ has been designed by Mr. J.A. Cossins, for a company who purpose to build it, and, at the same time, enlarge the well-known New Street hotel of the same name. The portico and vestibule of the hotel will form the entrance in New Street to the Arcade, which will contain two-dozen good-sized shops, a large bas.e.m.e.nt room for restaurant, &c.; the out in Worcester Street being nearly facing the Market Hall.

~Area of Borough.~--Birmingham covers an area of 8,400 acres, with an estimated population of 400,680 (end of 1881), thus giving an average of 47.7 persons to an acre. As a means of comparison, similar figures are given for a few other large towns:--

Area in Population Persons Acres in 1881 to acres Bradford ... 7,200 203,544 28.2 Bristol ... 4,452 217,185 48.3 Leeds ... 21,572 326,158 15.1 Leicester ... 3,200 134,350 42.0 Liverpool ... 5,210 549,834 105.6 Manchester ... 4,293 364,445 84.9 Nottingham ... 9,960 177,964 77.9 Newcastle ... 5,372 151,822 28.3 Salford ... 5,170 194,077 37.5 Sheffield ... 19,651 312,943 15.9 Wolverhmptn 3,396 76,850 22.6

~Arms of the Borough.~--The Town Council, on the 6th day of August, 1867, did resolve and declare that the Arms of the Borough should be blazoned as follows: "1st and 4th _azure_, a bend lozengy _or_; 2nd and 3rd, parti per pale _or_ and _gules_."--_(See cover)_.

~Art and Artists.~--An "Academy of Arts" was organised in 1814, and an exhibition of paintings took place in Union Pa.s.sage that year, but the experiment was not repeated. A School of Design, or "Society of Arts,"

was started Feb. 7, 1821; Sir Robert Lawley (the first Lord Wenlock) presenting a valuable collection of casts from Grecian sculpture. The first exhibition was held in 1826, at The Panorama, an erection then standing on the site of the present building in New Street, the opening being inaugurated by a conversazione on September 10. In 1858, the School of Design was removed to the Midland Inst.i.tute. The "Society of Artists" may be said to have commenced in 1826, when several gentlemen withdrew from the School of Design. Their number greatly increased by 1842, when they took possession of the Athenaeum, in which building their exhibitions were annually held until 1858. In that year they returned to New Street, acquiring the t.i.tle of "Royal" in 1864. The Art Students'

Literary a.s.sociation was formed in September, 1869.

~Art Gallery and School of Art.~--In connection with the Central Free Library a small gallery of pictures, works of Art, &c., loaned or presented to the town, was opened to the public August 1, 1867, and from time to time was further enriched. Fortunately they were all removed previous to the disastrous fire of Jan. 11, 1879. A portion of the new Reference Library is at present devoted to the same purpose, pending the completion of the handsome edifice being erected by the Gas Committee at the back of the Munic.i.p.al Buildings, and of which it will form a part, extending from Congreve Street along Edmund Street to Eden Place. The whole of the upper portion of the building will be devoted to the purposes of a Museum and Art Gallery, and already there has been gathered the nucleus of what promises to be one of the finest collections in the kingdom, more particularly in respect to works of Art relating more or less to some of the princ.i.p.al manufactures of Birmingham. There are a large number of valuable paintings, including many good specimens of David c.o.x and other local artists; quite a gallery of portraits of gentlemen connected with the town, and other worthies; a choice collection of gems and precious stones of all kinds; a number of rare specimens of j.a.panese and Chinese cloisonne enamels; nearly a complete set of the celebrated Soho coins and medals, with many additions of a general character; many cases of ancient Roman, Greek, and Byzantine coins; more than an hundred almost priceless examples of old Italian carvings, in marble and stone, with some dozens of ancient articles of decorative furniture; reproductions of delicately-wrought articles of Persian Art work, plate belonging to the old City Companies, the Universities, and from Amsterdam and the Hague; a collection of Wedgwood and other ceramic ware, the gift of Messrs. R. and G. Tangye, with thousands of other rare, costly, and beautiful things. In connection with the Art Gallery is the "Public Picture Gallery Fund,"

the founder of which was the late Mr. Clarkson Osler, who gave 3,000 towards it. From this fund, which at present amounts to about 450 per year, choice pictures are purchased as occasion offers, many others being presented by friends to the town, notably the works of David c.o.x, which were given by the late Mr. Joseph Nettlefold.--The _School of Art_, which is being built in Edmund Street, close to the Art Gallery, is so intimately connected therewith that it may well be noticed with it. The ground, about 1,000 square yards, has been given by Mr. Cregoe Colmore, the cost of election being paid out of 10,000 given by Miss Ryland, and 10,000 contributed by Messrs. Tangye. The latter firm have also given 5,000 towards the Art Gallery; Mr. Joseph Chamberlain has contributed liberally in paintings and in cash; other friends have subscribed about 8,000; Mr. Nettlefold's gift was valued at 14,000, and altogether not less than 40,000 has been presented to the town in connection with the Art Gallery, in addition to the whole cost of the School of Art.

~Art Union.~--The first Ballot for pictures to be chosen from the Annual Exhibition of Local Artists took place in 1835, the Rev. Hugh Hutton having the honour of originating it. The tickets were 21s. each, subscribers receiving an engraving.

~Ash, John, M.D.~--Born in 1723, was an eminent physician who practised in Birmingham for some years, but afterwards removed to London. He devoted much attention to the a.n.a.lysis of mineral waters, delivered the Harveian oration in 1790, and was president of a club which numbered among its members some of the most learned and eminent men of the time.

Died in 1798.

~Ashford, Mary.~--Sensational trials for murder have of late years been numerous enough, indeed, though few of them have had much local interest, if we except that of the poisoner Palmer. The death of the unfortunate Mary Ashford, however, with the peculiar circ.u.mstance attending the trial of the supposed murderer, and the latter's appeal to the right then existing under an old English law of a criminal's claim to a "Trial of Battel," invested the case with an interest which even at this date can hardly be said to have ceased. Few people can be found to give credence to the possibility of the innocence of Abraham Thornton, yet a careful perusal of a history of the world-known but last "Wager of Battel" case, as written by the late Mr. Toulmin Smith, must lead to the belief that the poor fellow was as much sinned against as sinning, local prejudices and indignant misrepresentations notwithstanding. So far from the appeal to the "Wager of Battel" being the desperate remedy of a convicted felon to escape the doom justly imposed upon him for such heinous offence as the murder of an innocent girl, it was simply the attempt of a clever attorney to remove the stigma attached to an unfortunate and much-maligned client. The dead body of Mary Ashford was found in a pit of water in Sutton Coldfield, on the 27th of May, 1817, she having been seen alive on the morning of the same day. Circ.u.mstances instantly, and most naturally, fastened suspicion of foul play upon Abraham Thornton. He was tried at Warwick, at the Autumn a.s.sizes of the same year, and acquitted. The trial was a very remarkable one. Facts were proved with unusual clearness and precision, which put it beyond the bounds of physical possibility that he could have murdered Mary Ashford. Those facts hinged on the time shown by several different clocks, compared with the standard time kept at Birmingham. But the public feeling on the matter was intense. An engraving of the scene of the alleged murder, with a stimulating letter-press description, was published at the time, and the general sense undoubtedly was, that the perpetrator of a very foul murder had escaped his just doom. Hoping to do away with this impression, a well-known local lawyer bethought himself of the long-forgotten "Appeal of Murder," trusting that by a second acquittal Thornton's innocence would be acknowledged by all.

Though the condition of all the parties was but humble, friends soon came forward with funds and good advice, so that within the year and a day which the law allowed, proceedings were taken in the name of William Ashford (Mary's brother, who, as next heir, according to the old law, had the sole power of pardon in such a case) for an "Appeal of Murder"

against Abraham Thornton. What followed is here given in Mr. Toulmin Smith's own words:--"I have seen it stated, hot indignation colouring imagination, that here was a weak stripling n.o.bly aroused to avenge the death of his sister, by tendering himself to do battle against the tall strong man who was charged with her murder. The facts, as they stand are truly striking enough; but this melodramatic spectacle does not formally true part of them." A writ of "Appeal of Murder" was soon issued. It bears the date of 1st October, 1817. Under that writ Thornton was again arrested by the Sheriff of Warwick. On the first day of Michaelmas Term, in the same year, William Ashford appeared in the Court of King's Bench at Westminster, as _appellant_, and Abraham Thornton, brought up on writ of _habeas corpus_, appeared as _appellee_. The charge of murder was formally made by the appellant; and time to plead to this charge was granted to the appellee until Monday, 16th November.--It must have been a strange and startling scene, on the morning of that Monday, 16th November, 1817, when Abraham Thornton stood at the bar of the Court of King's Bench in Westminster Hall; a scene which that ancient Hall had not witnessed within the memory of any living man, but which must have then roused the attention of even its drowsiest haunter. "The appellee being brought into Court and placed at the bar" (I am quoting the original dry technical record of the transaction), "and the appellant being also in court, the count [charge] was again read over to him, and he [Thornton] was called upon to plead. He pleaded as follows;--'Not Guilty; and I am ready to defend the same by my body.' And thereupon, taking his glove off, he threw it on the floor of the Court." That is to say, Ashford having "appealed" Thornton of the murder, Thornton claimed the right to maintain his own innocence by "Trial of Battel;" and so his answer to the charge was a "Wager of Battel." And now the din of fight seemed near, with the Court of King's Bench at Westminster for the arena, and the grave Judges of that Court for the umpires. But the case was destined to add but another ill.u.s.tration to what Cicero tells us of how, oftentimes, arms yield to argument, and the swordsman's looked-for laurel vanishes before the pleader's tongue. William Ashford, of course, acting under the advice of those who really promoted the appeal, declined to accept Thornton's wager of battel. Instead of accepting it, his counsel disputed the right of Thornton to wage his battel in this case; alleging, in a very long plea, that there were presumptions of guilt so strong as to deprive him of that right. Thornton answered this plea by another, in which all the facts that had been proved on the trial at Warwick were set forth at great length. And then the case was very elaborately argued, for three days, by two eminent and able counsel, one of whom will be well remembered by most readers as the late Chief-Justice Tindal. Tindal was Thornton's counsel. Of course I cannot go here into the argument. The result was, that, on 16th April, 1881, the full Court (Lord Ellenborough, and Justices Bayley, Abbott, and Holroyd) declared themselves _unanimously_ of opinion that the appellee (Thornton) was ent.i.tled to, wage his battel, no presumptions of guilt having been shown clear enough or strong enough to deprive him of that right. Upon this, Ashford, not having accepted the wager of battel, the "appeal" was stayed, and Thornton was discharged. Thus no reversal took place of the previous acquittal of Thornton by the Jury at Warwick a.s.sizes. But that acquittal had nothing whatever to do with any "trial by battel;" for I have shown that the "wager of battel" arose out of a proceeding later than and consequent upon that acquittal, and that this "wager of battel" never reached the stage of a "trial by battel."

What became of Thornton is unknown, but he is supposed to have died in America, where he fled to escape the obloquoy showered upon him by an unforgiving public. The adage that "murder will out" has frequently proved correct, but in this case it has not, and the charge against Thornton is reiterated in every account of this celebrated trial that has been published, though his innocence cannot now be doubted.

~Ashted,~ now a populous part of the town, takes its name from Dr. Ash, whose residence was transformed into Ashted Church, the estate being laid out for building in 1788.

~a.s.say Marks.~--These consist of the initials of the maker, the Queen's head for the duty (17/-on gold, 1/6 on silver, per oz.), a letter (changed yearly) for date, an anchor for the Birmingham office mark, and the standard or value mark, which is given in figures, thus:--for gold of 22-carat fineness (in oz. of 24) a crown and 22; 18-carat, a crown and 18; 15-carat, 15.625; 12-carat, 12.5; 9-carat, 9.375. The value mark for silver of 11 oz. 10 dwts. (in lb. of 12 oz.) is the figure of Britannia; for 11 oz. 2 dwts. a lion pa.s.sant. The date letter is changed in July. At present it is k. The lower standards of 15, 12, and 9-carat gold (which are not liable to duty), were authorised by an Order in Council, of December 22, 1854, since which date an immense increase has taken place in the quant.i.ty a.s.sayed in Birmingham.

~a.s.say Office.~--There are seven a.s.say Offices in the country, the Birmingham one being established by special Act in 1773, for the convenience of silversmiths and plateworkers. A few hours per week was sufficient for the business at that time, and it was conducted at the King's Head in New Street; afterwards, in 1782, in Bull Lane, in 1800 at a house in Little Colmore Street, and from 1816 at the old Baptist Chapel in Little Cannon Street. In 1824 the Act 5, George IV., cap 52, incorporated the a.s.say of gold, the guardians being 36 in number, from whom are chosen the wardens. On July 14, 1877, the foundation stone was laid of the New a.s.say Office in Newhall Street, and it was opened for business June 24, 1878.

~a.s.sizes.~--Birmingham was "proclaimed" an a.s.size town January 14, 1859, but the first a.s.sizes were held in July, 1884.

~Aston.~--Eight hundred years ago, Aston filled a small s.p.a.ce in the Domesday book of history, wherein it is stated that the estate consisted of eight hides of land, and three miles of wood, worth 5, with 44 residents (one being a priest), and 1,200 acres in cultivation. The present area of Aston Manor is 943 acres, on which are built about 14,000 houses, having a population of some 60,000 persons, and a rateable value of 140,000. In the first ten years of the existence of the Local Board (1869 to 1878) 30,000 was spent on main drainage works, 10,000 in public improvements, and 53,000 in street improvements.

Aston has now its Public Buildings, Free Library, &c., as well as an energetic School Board, and, though unsuccessful in its attempt in 1876 to obtain a charter of incorporation, there can be little doubt but that it will ultimately bloom forth in all the glories of a Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses. Aston parish, which extends in several directions into the borough of Birmingham, has an area of 13,786 acres.

~Aston Almshouses~ were built in 1655, according to the provisions made by Sir Thomas Holte previous to his decease.

~Aston Church~ was probably built about the year 1170, the nave and part of chancel being added in 1231, the east end and arch of chancel in 1310, and the tower and spire in 1440. The old building, which contained an interesting collection of monuments in memory of the Holtes, the Ardens, the Erdingtons, and other county families, has been lately enlarged by the extension of the nave and aisles eastward, and widening the chancel so as to accommodate about 1,200 people, instead of 500. The whole of the monuments have been replaced in their relative positions.