Birmingham Central Library - Chamberlain Square (10/04/2009)

With its £193m replacement being constructed a mere few hundred yards away, the present incarnation (the third in total) seen above of Birmingham’s much-maligned Central Library’s days are numbered. Designed by Moseley-born architect John Madin and completed in 1974 the structure aesthetically has somewhat divided opinion with attempts being made in recent years to have the building listed being juxtaposed with the much reported comments of Prince Charles that it resembled somewhere books would be incinerated as opposed to stored and causing the City’s Director of Planning Clive Dutton to refer to it as a “concrete monstrosity“.

With its 5,000 visitors today and plethora of books, multimedia and specialist collection resources the Central Library certainly fulfils its primary purpose and no comment as to its appearance should detract from that. However, despite recent attempts to add to its aesthetic appeal with external artwork, the building remains a relatively high flyer in various ‘Uk’s Ugliest Building’ polls. Indeed if it is to be believed that Madin’s original plans saw the building constructed in budget-busting marble it still could be argued that the somewhat brutalist shape of the structure and rather minimalist use of externally viewable windows would still have led to much discontent.

As was mentioned earlier this particular incarnation of the Birmingham Central Library is the third to grace the City with the original burning down in the 19th century which was then replaced with two separate libraries including the Gothic-styled Birmingham Reference Library which opened in 1882. It is from here that one of the principle problems with the current library stems in that it sits at the heart of what was, and to an extent still is, a Bastian of Victorian/Gothic civic buildings. The Town Hall, the Council House, The Birmingham and Midland Institute, the Stock Exchange and the Birmingham School of Art are all around the part of the City occupied by the Central Library and are architecturally grandiose and fascinating structures (as are many around Margaret Street, Edmund Street with the ‘old’ library and Reference Library also in a similarly grand style) and then, for some reason of late 1960s urban regeneration it was seen as prudent to clear the way for placing an edifice of modernity right in the middle of them (and sweeping some such buildings aside in the process). It can be argued that this is one of the principle problems with the current Birmingham Central Library; its complete conflict with the architecture of that which surrounds it.

The new Birmingham Central Library under construction 20/05/10

Recalling the Library in the 1980s it also suffered from a sense of abandonment (as did many areas of the City Centre during the late-1970s to early 1980s) with Paradise Forum, over which it sits, forming a semi-derelict ‘wind tunnel’ until the restructuring of the roadway to the rear and its enclosure with doors at either end.

Whilst repeated attempts have been made to rejuvenate the site and its surroundings (including the equally woeful Council House Extension and Fletcher’s Walk sites), it appears that as Birmingham lurches forward into another phase of ‘mass regeneration’ (this time appearing to be trying to address the flaws of the 1960s and 1970s) the redevelopment of Paradise Circus and the adjacent Arena Central development are set to see the demolition of the current library and surrounding site with 2013 seeing the opening of the new Birmingham Central Library currently under construction on Broad Street.

Tinkers Farm School

With the rapid expansion of Council housing during the inter-war years, a commensurate school building programme was set in motion in Birmingham. In South Birmingham, the children of the sprawling Allens Cross estate in Northfield were to be accommodated by schools at Trescott Road and Tinkers Farm Road, the latter of which is the subject of this article. Opening in termporary buildings in 1930 the school, at that time comprising of both primary and secondary departments, operated under the name of Tinkers Farm Road Council School until 1945 when there was a separation of the primary and boys and girls secondary departments into Tinkers Farm County Primary School, Tinkers Farm Boys’ County Modern School and Tinkers Farm Girls’ County Modern School, respectively.

Moving into permanent accommodation from a series of temporary ‘huts’ between 1932-1937 the school operated as 3 distinct units until 1957 when the primary element was disbanded and the school became a secondary school only, operating with the girls school on the first floor and boys school on the lower floor, housing circa 500 pupils in each department. As is, and was, the case with educational policy, many initiatives came and went and along with them a number of name changes until in 1969 Tinkers Farm County Modern School became Northfield Comprehensive School.

Growing up, as I did, in 1970s Northfield I remember the school having a woeful reputation and it certainly wasn’t one that appeared as the first choice selection for many parents when deciding where their children would go for secondary education. In fact I seem to recall Bournville School was the ‘Holy Grail’ at the time and following my early years’ schooling at Trescott Road Junior and Infants’ School my family moved to West Heath and I’d attended Cofton Promary School from 8 – 11 years and, living as we did, on the number 27 bus route that went to Bournville my mother put me down for that school. Birmingham City Council’s Education Department, however, had other ideas and sent a confirmation letter informing us that I was to go to Northfield Comprehensive.

To further compound matters, due to a drop in child numbers following the post-war baby boom, the Council were looking to close a number of schools and consolidate numbers in larger secondary schools in the City. Among those rumoured as earmarked for closure was Northfield Comprehensive which, on further investigation, we found was set to close in 1986 which was to be the year I finished my schooling and hence I was to be among the last group of pupils to traverse the five years of education on offer at the school.

Unfortunately for me, no one from Cofton Primary School was going to Northfield Comprehensive and so I turned up on my first morning – in my bottle green jumper with fetching red and green diagonally striped tie – not expecting to know anyone and somewhat daunted by the ‘horror stories’ that abounded in the area about the school and its pupils. As I walked up Kelby Close to the school gates I thought the school had a somewhat dilapidated and depressing air to it and its appearance, from that entrance, was dominated by the two halls on the lower and upper floors dead ahead, with the ‘outstretched arms’ of the gym blocks to the left and right with the science and art blocks underneath them, respectively.

Immediately on entering the gates there was a small car park surrounded by a playground and to the right there was a driveway through to the ‘lower school’ playground, and beyond that the craft block, and to the left a driveway to the upper school playground and beyond that the upper school and 6th form block. The school seemed vast to me and I think, at that time, there were c950 pupils in attendance. Fortunately, after a few minutes psyching myself up to enter the playground I ventured inside and was met by many ex Trescott Road School pupils who remembered me from there a few years previously which eased my trauma somewhat!

Over the years my memory has no doubt faded as to some of the characters concerned with the school, but as best as I can recall, and for those interested, the staff as I remember them were as follows:

Mr Evanson – Head
Mr Broomfield – Head (Lower School)
Mr Meyrick – Head (Upper School)
Miss Plimley – Science
Mr Nelson – Science
Mr Harding – English
Mr Hardy – Science
Mr Troman – Science
Mr Hazard – Geography
Mr Fleming – History
Mr Bartlam – Geography
Miss Alcock – French/German
Mr Slater – English
Mr Berry – English
Mr Hill – General Studies
Mrs Marshall – General Studies
Mr Barua – Maths
Mr MacDonald – Maths
Miss Patterson – Maths
Mrs Meachum – Maths
Mr Cotterill – PE
Mr Colvin – PE
Mr Charlton – Woodwork/Technical Drawing
Mr Murch – Metalwork
Mr Zielinski – Metalwork
Mr Malpass – Art
Miss Smith – Art
Mr Turner – Commerce
Mr Sturman – Can’t recall subject
Mr James – Music/RE
Mrs Beddows – Can’t recall subject
Mrs Harris – PE

Whilst there were some great staff among the above list – Dougie Fleming, Martin Berry and Bob Hill I particularly remember fondly – I have to confess that I wasn’t overly enamoured with my time at Northfield Comprehensive. Looking back, one of the fundamental problems was that the school was being ‘wound down’ to closure and so any teacher with a modicum of ability and career aspiration was clamouring to escape to pastures new . . . and many did so during my first three years at the school. The result was that what we were left with a selection of supply teachers, teachers coasting to retirement and, I would posit, some who were finding it ‘testing’ to be placed elsewhere. We certainly felt that we were getting less than a fair crack of the whip in terms of teaching quality and certainly a lack of consistence in approach as teachers were abandoning the sinking ship at an alarming rate.

Whilst some of the teaches who came in towards the end were great – John Bradney, English teacher and RSA thespian extraordinaire – some were well below par. Some of the teachers who arrived during my time at the school as I recall were:

Mrs Schneider – Head
Mr Mohammed – RE
Mr Kendall – PE
Miss Evans – PE/Maths (an immensely popular teacher with all the male pupils and staff as I recall)
Mr Oborski – Can’t recall the subject
Miss Knowles – Maths

In my final year at the school there had been no backfilling of pupils for a couple of years and we were the only year left on the site. Not only had the educational quality crumbled but so had the fabric of the school itself with cracks running from floor to roof on the outer wall of the art block/boys gym and a general air of disrepair abounded. Even careers guidance which should have been a rather important part of the final year was reduced to finding everyone Youth Training Schemes (YTS) to go on after we’d taken our clutch of CSEs (Certificates of Substandard Education as we’d dubbed them) . . . don’t ever recall the notion of progression to university being mentioned!

And thus, in 1986 we all left (well, I actually finished a month early following an ‘alleged’ incident with Brasso, a cheese sandwich and a technical drawing teacher) and the school closed with the buildings being retained for several years as a training centre for various youth schemes and, in the case of the old upper school, a Neighbourhood Office until demolition. The school site is now occupied by a housing association development under the moniker ‘Scholars Green’, a name which still makes me chuckle.

I could run-off enough anecdotes and reflections to fill a website in its own right about Northfield Comprehensive but if anyone else can add any names or info to the above I’d be very interested to hear from you.

Museum Collection Racking

As you would expect, over the years Birmingham City Council has built up some ‘overspill’ from its museums that it needed to put into storage.  However, with the closure of the Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry in 1997, considerable storage space was required for a large proportion of its exhibits as only some made the transfer to the Science Museum at ThinkTank: the 1.5 hectare warehousing centre on Dollman Street, Nechells, serves this purpose.

Whilst I opine the loss of the Museum of Science and Industry elsewhere on this site it is of some comfort to know that the exhibits once displayed there are at least in good order and stored as opposed to having been sold off. However, it is not quite apparent what they are being stored for as the Centre isn’t open to the public – only on two days per year – and the Council have made it abundantly clear that a dedicated industrial museum is not a worthwhile use of taxpayer’s money: although I’m sure most of us could think of far less worthy causes that do well from the Council’s coffers!

That said, the Museum Collections Centre contains some real gems and for anyone who remembers the old Museum of Science and Industry, a good deal of memories will be jogged whilst walking around it’s rackings and viewing its vehicles collection – my particular favourite being an electric refuse truck from the 1960s (see below) which, for some reason, caught my imagination as a small boy.

It also needs to be borne in mind that whilst the overwhelming majority of items stored there are from the old Museum of Science and Industry, there are exhibits from the Art Gallery and Natural History Museum here too: a significant porcelain collection is housed here – some items dating back several thousand years BC – along with a shoe collection, a toy collection and various other items and artifacts from various historical periods.

Whilst the Centre is a fascinating Aladdin’s Cave of exhibits and industrial and scientific history, it does beggar the question as to why it’s all locked away out of the public’s view: surely its content belongs to the people of Birmingham and we pay for the Centre’s upkeep and staffing: wouldn’t it be better to make it publicly accessible – even charge a small fee for entry (as opposed to a large one at ThinkTank) – and let people enjoy what’s there? Come on Birmingham City Council, I know you seem to actively pursue a policy of erasing and hiding all traces of Birmingham’s industrial past but surely it’s what made Birmingham what it is and should be celebrated and promoted as a significant part of our regional heritage, not locked away in a warehouse!

Birmingham and Midland Institute - Margaret Street

The Birmingham and Midland Institute was founded in 1854 with a mission “for the Diffusion and Advancement of Science, Literature and Art amongst all Classes of Persons resident in Birmingham and the Midland Counties” and operated from a purpose built building in Paradise Street – a short distance from its present-day location – which was swept away with the redevelopment of the City Centre in 1965.

The Instituter’s present-day home on the corner of Margaret Street and Cornwall Street, as seen above, was built in 1889 and designed by Jethro Cossins, F. B. Peacock & Ernest Bewley (the former two also designing the nearby Birmingham and Midland Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital).

The work of the Institute is varied but basically falls into the educational category of providing lectures, seminar rooms for hire and maintaining a 100,000+ book and 300,000+ record library for the use of its members.  It also publishes a BMI Journal containing educational and scientific articles periodically. For those of you wishing to find out more about the working of Institute itself, please visit the Birmingham and Midland Institute website.

The building is now Grade II listed which, as can be seen elsewhere in the City, isn’t a cast-iron guarantee that it won’t be majorly reconstructed – or have it’s guts ripped out to leave just a facade into which something far more bland will be built – but with the BMI still in residence and their appreciation for the history of the City along with their stated aims it is fairly certain that as long as they are there, the building will remain in the great condition it is in today.

Birmingham School of Art - Margaret Street

A striking and impressive structure, the Birmingham School of Art building in Margaret Street was commissioned in 1877 to house the then-independent School in a purpose built environment designed, with typical Gothic overtones, by John Henry Chamberlain (a contemporary of, but no relation to, celebrated Mayor Joseph Chamberlain).

During the 1970s the building became co-opted by Birmingham Polytechnic’s Faculty of Art and Design and later encompassed BOurnville Art College too however, the building – following the abandonment of polytechnics and the more recent name change of the former UCE – the building is now home to the Birmingham City University School of Art and is quite rightly Grade I Listed.