r 11 k v i; 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 BIRMINGHAM 
 
 By WILLIAM HUTTON, F. A. S. S. 
 
 CONl INIF.J) TO THE PRESENT TIMS, 
 
 CATHERINE HUTTON 
 
 STfce Jfourtf) (EEUttion. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. NICHOLS AND SON, RKD LION PASSAGE, 
 
 FLEET-STREET, AND '25, PARLIAMENT-STREET; 
 AND BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, PATERNOSTER-ROW 
 
 1819.
 
 I'rintctl by J. Nichols, and Son, 
 Rfd Li, ,11 1'assapr, Fleet-street, London.
 
 I ^13 
 
 advertisement. 
 
 Various circumstances delayed the pub- 
 lication of the present edition of the History 
 of Birmingham, till it was become necessary 
 to make some additions to the work of the 
 author. Almost all the information prior to 
 the year 1814 has been supplied by himself; 
 all subsequent to that period has been add- 
 ed, to the best of her power, though not to 
 the extent of her wishes, by his daughter, 
 
 CATHERINE HUTTON. 
 
 Bennett's Hill, 
 Jan. 1st, 1819. 
 

 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A PREFACE generally induces a man to 
 speak of himself, which is deemed the worst sub- 
 ject upon which he can speak. In a History we 
 become acquainted with things, but in a Preface 
 with the author ; and, for a man to treat of 
 himself, may be the most difficult task of the 
 two; for in history, facts are produced ready 
 to the hand of the Historian, which give birth 
 to thought, and it is easy to clothe that thought 
 in words: but in a Preface, an author is obliged 
 to forge from the brain, where he is sometimes 
 known to forge without fire. In one case he 
 only reduces a substance into form ; but in the 
 other, he must create that substance. 
 
 As I am not an author by profession, it is no 
 wonder if I am unacquainted with the modes of 
 authorship ; but I apprehend, the usual method 
 of conducting the pen, is to polish up a sound- 
 ing title-page, dignified with scraps of Latin, 
 and then to hammer up a work to fit it, as 
 nearly as genius, or want of genius, will allow.
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 We next turn over' a new leaf, and open upon 
 a pompous Dedication, which answers many 
 laudable purposes : if a coat of arms, correctly 
 engraven, should step first into view, we con- 
 sider it a singular advantage gained over a 
 reader, like the first blow in a combat. The 
 Dedication itself becomes a pair of stilts, which 
 advances an author something higher. 
 
 As a horse-shoe, nailed upon the threshold 
 of a cottage, prevents the influence of the 
 witch ; so a first-rate name, at the head of a 
 Dedication, is a total bar against the critic ; 
 but this great name, like a great officer, some- 
 times unfortunately stands at the head of 
 wretched troops. 
 
 When an author is too heavy to swim of 
 himself, it serves as a pair of bladders, to pre- 
 vent his sinking. 
 
 It is farther productive of a solid advantage, 
 that of a present from the patron, more valua- 
 ble than that from the bookseller, which pre- 
 vents his sinking under the pressure of famine. 
 
 But, being wholly unknown to the great 
 names of literary consequence, I shall not at- 
 tempt a Dedication, therefore must lose the be- 
 nefit of the stilt, the bladder, and the horse-shoe. 
 
 Were I to enter upon a Dedication, I should 
 certainly address myself " To the inhabitants of 
 Birmingham." For to them I not only owe 
 much, but all ; and I think, among that congre- 
 gated mass there is not one person to whom I
 
 PREFACE. VH 
 
 wish ill. I have the pleasure of calling many 
 of those inhabitants friends, and some of them 
 share my warm affections equally with myself. 
 Birmingham, like a compassionate nurse, not 
 only draws our persons, but our esteem, from 
 the place of our nativity, and fixes it upon her- 
 self: I might add, / was hungry, and she Jed 
 me ; thirsty, and she gave me drink ; a stranger, 
 and she took me in. I approached her with re- 
 luctance, because I did not know her ; I shall 
 leave her with reluctance, because I do *. 
 
 Whether it is perfectly consistent in an au- 
 thor to solicit the indulgence of the Public, 
 though it may stand first in his wishes, admits 
 a doubt; for, if his productions will not bear 
 the light, it may be said, why does he publish ? 
 but, if they will, there is no need to ask a fa- 
 vor ; the world receives one from him. Will 
 not a piece everlastingly be tried by its merit ? 
 Shall we esteem it the higher, because it was 
 written at the age of thirteen ? because it was 
 the effort of a week ? delivered extempore ? 
 hatched while the author stood upon one leg ? 
 or cobbled, while he cobbled a shoe ? or will it 
 be a recommendation, that it issues forth in gilt 
 binding ? The judicious world will not be de- 
 ceived by the tinselled purse, but will examine 
 whether the contents are sterling. 
 
 * After the riots in 1791, my father drew his pen over 
 this paragraph.
 
 VI11 \ PREFACE. 
 
 Will it augment the value of this History, or 
 cover its blunders, to say, that I have never 
 seen Oxford? That the thick fogs of penury 
 prevented the sun of science from beaming 
 upon my mind ? That necessity obliged me to 
 lay down the battledore, before I was master of 
 the letters? And that, instead of handling 
 systems of knowledge, my hands, at the early 
 age of seven, became callous with labour? 
 
 But, though a whole group of pretences 
 will have no effect upon the impartial eye, yet 
 one reason pleads strongly in my favour no 
 such thing ever appeared as a History of Bir- 
 mingham. It is remarkable, that one of the 
 most singular places in the universe is without 
 an historian : that she never manufactured an 
 history of herself, who has manufactured al- 
 most every thing else ; that so many ages 
 should elapse, and not one among her nume- 
 rous sons of industry, snatch the manners of 
 the day from oblivion, group them in design, 
 with the touches of his pen, and exhibit the 
 picture to posterity. If such a production had 
 ever seen the light, mine most certainly would 
 never have been written ; a temporary bridge, 
 therefore, may satisfy the impatient traveller, 
 till a more skilful architect shall accommodate 
 him with a complete production of elegance, of 
 use. and of duration. Although works of ge- 
 nius ouffht to come out of the mint doublv
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 refined, yet History admits a much greater lati- 
 tude to the author. The best upon the sub- 
 ject, though defective, may meet with regard. 
 
 It has long been a complaint, that Local His- 
 tory is much wanted. This will appear obvious, 
 if we examine the places we know, with the his- 
 tories that treat of them. Many an author has 
 become a cripple, by historically travelling 
 through all England, who might have made a 
 tolerable figure had he staid at home. The 
 subject is too copious for one performance, or 
 even the life of one man. The design of His- 
 tory is knowledge ; but, if simply to tell a tale 
 be all the duty of an Historian, he has no irk- 
 some task before him ; for there is nothing 
 more easy than to relate a fact; but perhaps 
 nothing more difficult than to relate it well. 
 
 Having, many years ago, entertained an idea 
 of this undertaking, I made some trifling pre- 
 parations ; but, in 177^> a circumstance of a 
 private nature occurring, which engaged my at- 
 tention for several years, I relinquished the de- 
 sign, destroyed the materials, and meant to 
 give up the thought for ever. But the inten- 
 tion revived in 1780, and the work followed. 
 
 I may be accused of quitting the regular 
 trammels of History, and sporting in the fields 
 of remark : but although our habitation justly 
 stands first in our esteem, in return for rest, 
 content, and protection ; does it follow that we
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 should never stray from it? If I happen to veer 
 a moment from the polar point of Birmingham, 
 I shall certainly vibrate again to the centre. 
 Every author has a manner peculiar to himself, 
 nor can he well forsake it. I should be ex- 
 ceedingly hurt to omit a necessary part of intel- 
 ligence, but more so to offend a reader. 
 
 If Grandeur should censure me for some- 
 times recording the men of mean life, let me 
 ask, which is preferable, he who thunders at 
 the anvil, or in the senate? The man who ear- 
 nestly wishes the significant letters Esq. spliced 
 to the end of his name, will despise the ques- 
 tion ; but the philosopher will answer, " they 
 are equal." 
 
 Lucrative views have no part in this produc- 
 tion : I cannot solicit a kind people to grant 
 what they have already granted ; but if another 
 finds that pleasure in reading, which I have 
 done in writing, I am paid. 
 
 As no History is extant, to inform me of this 
 famous nursery of the arts, perfection in mine 
 must not be expected. Though I have en- 
 deavoured to pursue the road to truth ; yet, 
 having no light to guide, or hand to direct me, 
 it is no wonder if I mistake it : but we do not 
 condemn, so much as pity, the man for losing 
 his way, who first travels an unbeaten road. 
 
 Birmingham, for want of the recording hand, 
 may be said to live but one generation ; the
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 transactions of the last age die in this; memory 
 is the sole historian, which being defective, I 
 embalm the present generation, for the inspec- 
 tion of the future. 
 
 It is unnecessary to attempt a general cha- 
 racter ; for if the attentive reader is himself of 
 Birmingham, he is equally apprized of that cha- 
 racter ; and, if a stranger, he will find a variety 
 of touches scattered through the piece, which, 
 taken in a collective view, form a picture of 
 that generous people, who merit his esteem, 
 and possess mine.
 
 XII 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 NAME 1 
 
 Situation 3 
 
 Soil 7 
 
 Water 8 
 
 Baths 9 
 
 Chalybeate Spring 11 
 
 Air 12 
 
 Longevity 13 
 
 Ancient State of Birmingham 18 
 
 Battle of Camp Hill 46 
 
 Modern State of Birmingham 57 
 
 Streets and their names 78 
 
 Trade 86 
 
 Button 105 
 
 Buckle 107 
 
 Guns 109 
 
 Leather Ill 
 
 Steel 112 
 
 Brass Works 114 
 
 Nails 117 
 
 Bellows 119 
 
 Thread 120 
 
 Printing 122 
 
 Brass Foundry 129 
 
 Brewery ib. 
 
 Hackney Coach 132 
 
 Bank 133
 
 CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 Page 
 
 Wealth 134 
 
 Government 142 
 
 Constables 150 
 
 List of Officers 152 
 
 Court of Requests 159 
 
 Lamp and Street Act 161 
 
 Gas Lights 167 
 
 Commercial Committee 169 
 
 Hay Market ib. 
 
 Public Library ib. 
 
 Religion and Politics 172 
 
 Places of Worship 178 
 
 St. John's Chapel ib. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's 180 
 
 St. Mary's 182 
 
 St. Paul's 183 
 
 Old Meeting House 184 
 
 New Meeting House 185 
 
 Carr's Lane Meeting House 186 
 
 Baptist Meeting House 187 
 
 Quaker's Meeting House 189 
 
 Methodist Meeting House 190 
 
 Oxford Street Chapel 194 
 
 Romish Chapel 195 
 
 Jewish Synagogue 198 
 
 St. James'3 Chapel, Ashsted 200 
 
 Christ Church 201 
 
 Livery Street Meeting House 202 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel 203 
 
 Theatres ib. 
 
 Amusements 208 
 
 Hotel 212 
 
 Wakes 214 
 
 Clubs 217
 
 XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Ikenield Street 222 
 
 Lords of the Manor 240 
 
 Ulwin, 1050 242 
 
 Richard, 1066 ib. 
 
 William, 1130 '. 247 
 
 Peter, 1154 ib. 
 
 William, 1216 249 
 
 William, 1246 ib. 
 
 William, 1265 250 
 
 William, 1306 251 
 
 William, 1324 252 
 
 Fouk, 1340 253 
 
 John, 1376 254 
 
 William, 1430 255 
 
 William, 1479 256 
 
 Edward, 1500 ib. 
 
 Duke of Northumberland, 1537 257 
 
 Marrow, 1555 266 
 
 Archer, 1746 ib. 
 
 Lord Archer, 1778 267 
 
 Manor House (Moat) ib. 
 
 Pudding Brook 272 
 
 The Priory ib. 
 
 Clodshale's Chantry 281 
 
 John a Dean's Hole 284 
 
 Lench's Trust 285 
 
 Fentham's Trust 288 
 
 Crowley's Trust 289 
 
 Scott's Trust 290 
 
 Free School 291 
 
 Charity School 297 
 
 Dissenting Charity School 302 
 
 Workhouse 303 
 
 Workhouse Bill 316 
 
 Old Cross 323
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Page 
 
 Welch Cross 325 
 
 Cattle Market 329 
 
 St. Martin's 330 
 
 St. Philip's 349 
 
 Births and Burials 361 
 
 General Hospital 363 
 
 Humane Society 369 
 
 Dispensary 370 
 
 Deaf and Dumb Institution ' 372 
 
 Bodily Deformity Institution 373 
 
 Fire Office 374 
 
 Deritend Bridge ib. 
 
 The Crescent 376 
 
 Barracks ib. 
 
 Prison 378 
 
 Petition for a Corporation 383 
 
 Military Association 387 
 
 Occurrences, (Earthquakes, &c.) 389 
 
 Pitmore and Hammond 393 
 
 Riots 395 
 
 The Riots in 1791 399 
 
 The Conjurors 402 
 
 Public Roads 405 
 
 Canal 410 
 
 Bilston Canal Act 414 
 
 Worcester Canal 418 
 
 Gentlemen's Seats ib. 
 
 The Moats 421 
 
 Black Greves , ib. 
 
 Ulverley or Culverley 422 
 
 Hogg's Moat 423 
 
 Yardley 426 
 
 Kent's Moat ib. 
 
 Sheldon 427 
 
 King's Hurst 42S 
 
 Colcshill 4ol
 
 XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Duddest on 433 
 
 Saltley 437 
 
 Ward End 438 
 
 Castle Bromwich 440 
 
 ParkHall 443 
 
 Brevvood 444 
 
 Erdington 445 
 
 Pipe 447 
 
 Aston 449 
 
 Witton 45? 
 
 Blakeley 454 
 
 Weoley 456 
 
 Sutton Coldfield 462 
 
 Dane's Camp 466 
 
 The Camp 467 
 
 Mortimer's Bank 469
 
 T HE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 BIRMINGHAM 
 
 NAME. 
 
 1 HE word Birmingham is too remote for 
 certain explanation. During the last four 
 centuries it has been variously written Brum- 
 wycheham, Bermyngeham, Bromwycham, Bur- 
 myngham, Bermyngham, Byrmyngham, and 
 Birmingham; nay, even so late as the seven- 
 teenth century it was written Bromicham. My 
 worthy friend William Hamper, esq. has enu- 
 merated, from different records and authors, 
 1 1 8 different ways of spelling the word Birming- 
 ham. Dugdale supposes the name to have been 
 given by the planter, or owner, in the time of 
 the Saxons; but, I suppose it much older than 
 am Saxon date : besides, it is uot so common 
 
 B
 
 l J HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 for a man to give a name to, as to take one 
 from, a place. A man seldom gives his name 
 except lie is the founder, as Petersburg from 
 Peter the Great. 
 
 Towns, as well as every thing in nature, 
 have exceedingly minute beginnings, and gene- 
 rally take a name from situation, or local cir- 
 cumstances. Would the lord of a manor think 
 it an honour to give his name to two or three 
 miserable huts? But, if in a succession of 
 ages, these huts swell into opulence, they con- 
 fer upon the lord an honour, a residence, and 
 a name. The terminations of stead, ham, and 
 hurst, are evidently Saxon, and mean the same 
 thing, a home. 
 
 The word, in later ages reduced to a cer- 
 tainty, has undergone various mutations ; but 
 the original seems to have been Bromwych ; 
 Brom perhaps from broom a shrub, for the 
 growth of which the soil is extremely favour- 
 able ; Wych, a dwelling, or a descent ; this 
 exactly corresponds with the declivity from the 
 High-street to Digbeth. Two other places in 
 the neighbourhood bear the same name, Castle- 
 Bromwich and West-Bromwich, which serves to 
 strengthen the opinion. 
 
 This infant colony, for many centuries after 
 the first buddings of existence, perhaps, had no 
 other appellation than that of Bromwych. Its 
 centre, for many reasons that might be urged.
 
 NAME. SITUATION. J 
 
 was the Old Cross, and its increase, in those 
 early ages, must have been very small. 
 
 A series of prosperity attending it, its lord 
 might assume its name, reside in it, and the 
 particle ham would naturally follow. This very 
 probably happened under the Saxon Heptar- 
 chy, and the name was no other than Brom- 
 wifcham. 
 
 SITUATION. 
 
 It lies near the centre of the kingdom, in the 
 north-west extremity of the county of Warwick, 
 in a kind of peninsula, the northern part of 
 which is bounded by Handsworth, in the county 
 of Stafford, and the southern by King's-Norton, 
 in that of Worcester. It is in the diocese of 
 Lichfield and Coventry, in the deanery of Ar- 
 den, and in the hundred of Hemlingford. 
 
 Let us perambulate the parish from the bot- 
 tom of Digbeth, thirty yards north of the 
 bridge. We will proceed south-west up the bed 
 of the old river, with Deritend, in the parish 
 of Aston, on our left. Before we come to the 
 flood-gates, 'near Vaughton's Hole, we pass by 
 the Longmores, a small part of King's-Norton. 
 Crossing the river Ilea, we enter the vestiges oi" 
 a small rivulet, yet visible, though the stream 
 has been turned, perhaps, a thousand years, to 
 
 i; '2
 
 4 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 supply the moat. At the top of the first meadow 
 from the river Ilea, we meet the little stream 
 above-mentioned, in the pursuit of which, we 
 cross the Bromsgrove road a little east of the 
 first mile stone. Leaving Banner's marlpit to 
 the left, we proceed up a narrow lane, crossing 
 the old Bromsgrove road, and up to the turn- 
 pike at the Five Ways, in the road to Hales 
 Owen. Leaving this road also to the left, we 
 proceed down the lane towards Lady-wood, 
 cross the Icknield-street, a stone's cast east of 
 the observatory, to the north extremity of Rot- 
 ten Park, which forms an acute angle, near the 
 Bear at Smethwick. From the river Rea to 
 this point, is about three miles, rather west, and 
 nearly in a straight line, with Edgbaston on the 
 left. We now bear north-east, about a mile, 
 with Smethwick on the left, till we meet Shir- 
 land brook in the Dudley road ; thence to Pig- 
 mill. We now leave Handsworth on the left, 
 following the stream through Hockley great 
 pool ; cross the Wolverhampton road, and the 
 Icknield-street at the same time, down to Aston 
 furnace, with that parish on the left. At the 
 bottom of Walmer-lane we leave the water, 
 move over the fields, nearly in a line to the post 
 by the old Peacock upon Gosty-green. We 
 now cross the Lichfield road, go down Duke- 
 street, then cross the Coleshill road at the 
 A. B. house. From thence we go along the
 
 SITUATION. 5 
 
 meadows to Cooper's mill; up the river to the 
 foot of Deritend bridge, and then turn sharp 
 to the right, keeping the course of a drain in 
 the form of a sickle, through John a Dean's 
 hole into Digbeth, from whence we set out. 
 
 This little journey, nearly of an oval form, is 
 about seven miles. The longest diameter from 
 Shirland brook to Deritend bridge, is about 
 three ; and the widest, from the bottom of Wal- 
 mer-lane to the rivulet, near the mile stone 
 upon the Bromsgrove road, more than two. 
 
 The superficial contents of the parish are 
 two thousand eight hundred and sixty-four 
 acres. Birmingham is by much the smallest 
 parish in the neighbourhood ; those of Aston 
 and Sutton are each about five times as large, 
 Yardley four, and King's-Norton eight. When 
 Alfred, that great master of legislation, pa- 
 rished out his kingdom, or rather put the finish- 
 ing hand to that important work, where he met 
 with a town, he allotted a smaller quantity of 
 land, because the inhabitants chiefly depended 
 upon commerce ; but where there was only a 
 village, lie allotted a larger, because they de- 
 pended on agriculture. This observation goes 
 far in proving the antiquity of the place, for it 
 is nine hundred years since this division was 
 effected. The buildings occupy the south-east 
 part of the parish, which, with their appen- 
 dages, are about eight hundred acres. This
 
 () HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 part being insufficient for the extraordinary 
 increase of the inhabitants, Birmingham has of 
 late extended her buildings along the Broms- 
 grove road, near the boundaries of Edgbaston ; 
 and on the other side, planted some of her 
 streets in the parish of Aston. Could the saga- 
 cious Alfred have seen into futurity, he would 
 have augmented her borders. 
 
 As no part of the town lies flat, the showers 
 promote both cleanliness and health, by re- 
 moving obstructions. Except from Hales 
 Owen, on the north-west, the approach on 
 every side is by ascent, which gives a free ac- 
 cess of air, even to the most secret recesses of 
 habitation. Thus eminently situated, the sun 
 can exercise his full powers of exhalation. 
 
 The foundation upon which this mistress of 
 the arts is erected, is one solid mass of dry red- 
 dish sand. The vapours that rise from the 
 earth are the great promoters of disease ; but 
 here, instead of the moisture ascending, to the 
 prejudice of the inhabitant, the contrary is evi- 
 dent; for the water descends through the pores 
 of the sand, so that even our very cellars are 
 habitable. Thus peculiarly favoured, this spot 
 enjoys four of the greatest benefits that can at- 
 tend human existence water, air, the sun, and 
 a situation free from damps. 
 
 All the past writers upon Birmingham have 
 viewed her as low and watery, and with reason;
 
 SOIL. 7 
 
 because Digbeth, then the chief street, bears 
 that description. But all the future writers will 
 view her on an eminence, and with as much 
 reason ; because, for one low street, we have 
 now fifty elevated. Birmingham, like the em- 
 pire to which she belongs, has been, for many 
 centuries, travelling up hill; and like that, 
 rising into consequence. 
 
 SOIL. 
 
 The soil is rather light, sandy, and weak ; 
 and though metals of various sorts are found 
 in great plenty above the surface, we know of 
 nothing below, except sand and gravel, stone 
 and water. All the riches of the place, like 
 those of an empiric in laced clothes, appear on 
 the outside. 
 
 The northern part of the parish, consisting 
 of seven hundred and eighty-seven acres, to the 
 disgrace of the age, was a shameful waste till 
 the year 1800; when it was inclosed. A small 
 part of the land near the town, is parcelled out 
 into little gardens, at ten or twenty shillings 
 each, amounting to about sixteen pounds per 
 acre. These are not intended so much for pro- 
 fit, as for health and amusement. Other parts 
 are let in detached pieces, for private use. In 
 1?82 these were about four pounds per a re ;
 
 8 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 in IS 13, about six or seven. This small parish 
 cannot boast of more than six or eight farms, 
 and these of the smaller size; they were let, in 
 1782, at about two pounds per acre ; and in 
 1813 at double that sum. Manure from the 
 sty was, at the former of these periods, about 
 sixteen shillings a waggon load ; that from the 
 stable twelve ; and that from the fire and street 
 five. In 1813 these were also double. 
 
 WATER. 
 
 There is no natural river that runs through 
 the parish, but there are three that mark its 
 boundaries, for about half its circumference, 
 described above; none of these supply family 
 use. After penetrating into a body of sand, in- 
 terspersed with small strata of soft rock, and 
 sometimes of gravel ; at the depth of about 
 twenty yards, we come to plenty of water, 
 rather hard. There are, in the lower parts of the 
 town, two excellent springs of soft water, suit- 
 able for most purposes ; one at the top of Dig- 
 beth, the other Lady Well : or rather, one 
 spring, or bed of water, with many out-lets, 
 continuing its course along the bottom of the 
 hill, parallel with Small-brook-street, Edgbas- 
 ton-street, St. Martin's-lane, and Park-street, 
 sufficiently copious to supply the whole city
 
 WATER. BATHS. 9 
 
 of London. Water is of the first consequence ; 
 it often influences disease, always the habit of 
 body : that of Birmingham is, in general, pro- 
 ductive of salutary effects. 
 
 BATHS. 
 
 At Lady Well, so called from the Virgin 
 Mary, are the most complete baths in the whole 
 island. They are seven in number ; erected at 
 the expence of 2000/. Accommodation is ever 
 ready for hot or cold bathing ; for immersion or 
 amusement, with conveniency for sweating. 
 The bath appropriated to swimming, is eighteen 
 yards by thirty-six, situated in the centre of a 
 garden, in which there are twenty-four private 
 undressing houses ; the whole surrounded by a 
 wall ten feet high. Pleasure and health are the 
 guardians of the place. The gloomy horrors of 
 a bath sometimes deter us from its use, parti- 
 cularly if aided by complaint ; but the appear- 
 ance of these is rather inviting, We read of 
 painted sepulchres, whose outsides are richly 
 ornamented, but within are full of corruption 
 ind death. The reverse is before us. No ele- 
 gance appears without, but within are the 
 springs of life ! 
 
 I do not know any author who has reckoned 
 man among the amphibious race of animals ;
 
 |0 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 neither do I know any animal that better de- 
 serves it. Man is lord of the little ball on 
 which he treads, one half of which, at least, is 
 water. If we do not allow him to be amphi- 
 bious, we deprive him of half his sovereignty. 
 He justly bears that name, who can live in the 
 water. Many of the disorders incident to the 
 human frame are prevented, and others cured, 
 both by fresh and salt bathing ; so that we may 
 properly remark, " He lives in the water, who 
 can find life, nay, even health in that friendly 
 element." 
 
 The greatest treasure on earth is health ; but 
 a treasure, of all others, the least valued by the 
 owner. Other property is best rated when in 
 possession, but this can only be rated when 
 lost. We sometimes observe a man, who, hav- 
 ing lost this inestimable jewel, seeks it with an 
 ardour equal to its worth ; but when every re- 
 search by land is eluded, he fortunately finds it 
 in the water. Like the fish, he pines away 
 upon shore, but like that, recovers again in 
 the deep. 
 
 The cure of disease among the Romans, by 
 bathing, is supported by many authorities ; 
 among others, by the number of baths fre- 
 quently discovered, in which pleasure, in that 
 warm climate, bore a part. But this practice 
 seemed to decline with Roman freedom, and 
 never after held the eminence it deserved. Can
 
 BATHS. CHALYBEATE SPRING. 11 
 
 we suppose the physician stept between the 
 disease and the bath, to hinder their junction ; 
 or, that he lawfully holds, by prescription, the 
 tenure of sickness, in fee? 
 
 The knowledge of this singular art of heal- 
 ing is at present only in infancy. How far it 
 may prevent, or conquer disease; to what mea- 
 sure it may be applied, in particular cases, and 
 the degrees of use, in different constitutions, 
 are inquiries that will be better understood by 
 a future generation. 
 
 CHALYBEATE SPRING. 
 
 One mile from Birmingham, in the manor of 
 Duddeston, and joining the turnpike road to 
 Coleshill, is a chalybeate spring, whose water 
 has but one defect it costs nothing. This ex- 
 cellent spring lies forlorn, neglected, and ex- 
 posed to every injury ; it seems daily to solicit 
 protection, and offer its friendly aid in restoring 
 health ; but being daily rejected, it seems to 
 mourn the refusal, dissolve itself in tears, and, 
 not being allowed, though designed bv nature, to 
 increase the health of man, moves weeping along 
 to increase a river. All the attention paid by 
 the traveller is, to gaze for a moment ; but in 
 the height of contemplation, instead of taking 
 out its water, deliver in his own. Had this 
 water passed through a bed of malt, instead of
 
 V2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 mineral, it would have drawn more attendants 
 than the shrine of Thomas Becket, and those 
 attendants would have stoutly disputed for every 
 rising drop. 
 
 Poverty assumes a variety of shapes : it is 
 sometimes seen in the human being ; sometimes 
 in the horse at the coal-cart; again, in the pul- 
 pit; in the furniture of a house, or a head. But 
 in whatever shape it appears, it is always de- 
 spised. The low state, and the low credit of 
 this Well, are equal. Merit is often depressed. 
 Here the afflicted might find a prescription with- 
 out expence, efficacious as if signed by the 
 whole College of Physicians. The stick and 
 the crutch would be nailed round its margin, 
 as trophies of victory over disease. The use of 
 the bottle adds to the spirits, but shortens life ; 
 this fountain is the renewer of health, the 
 protracter of age. I remark that the water will 
 lose some of its efficacy, if carried off in any 
 vessel but the stomach. 
 
 AIR. 
 
 As we have passed through the water, let us 
 now investigate her sister fluid, the air. They 
 are both necessary to life, and the purity of 
 both to the prolongation of it ; this small differ- 
 ence lies between them a man may live a day
 
 AIR. LONGEVITY. 13 
 
 without water, but not an hour without air. If a 
 man wants better water, it may be removed from 
 a distant place for his benefit ; but if he wants 
 better air, he must remove himself. The na- 
 tural air of Birmingham, perhaps, cannot be 
 excelled in this climate ; the moderate eleva- 
 tion and dry soil evince this truth ; but it re- 
 ceives an alloy from the congregated bodies of 
 eighty or ninety thousand people. Also from 
 the smoke of an extraordinary number of fires 
 used in business ; and perhaps more from the 
 various effluvia arising from particular trades. 
 It is not uncommon to see a man with green hair 
 or a yellow wig, from his constant employment 
 in brass ; if he reads, the green vestiges of his 
 occupation remain on every leaf, never to be 
 expunged. The inside of his body, no doubt, 
 receives the same tincture, but is kept clean 
 by being often washed with ale. Some of the 
 fair sex, likewise, are subject to the same in- 
 convenience, but find relief in the same re- 
 medy. 
 
 LONGF.VITY. 
 
 Man is a time-piece. He measures out a 
 certain space, then stops tor ever. We see 
 him move upon the earth, hear him click, and 
 perceive in his countenance the marks of in-
 
 14 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 telligence. His external appearance will in- 
 form us whether he is old-fashioned, in which 
 case he is less valuable upon every gambling 
 calculation. If we cast a glance upon his face, 
 we shall learn whether all be right within, 
 and what portion of time has elapsed. This 
 curious machine is filled with a complication of 
 movements, very unfit to be regulated by the 
 rough hand of ignorance, which sometimes 
 leaves a mark not to be obliterated even by the 
 hand of an artist. If the works are directed by 
 violence, destruction is not far off. If we load 
 them with the oil of luxury, it will give an addi- 
 tional vigour, but, in the end, clog and impede 
 the motion. But if the machine is under the 
 influence of prudence, it will be guided by an 
 even and a delicate hand, and perhaps the 
 piece may move on till it is fairly worn out bv 
 a long course of fourscore years. 
 
 There is a set of people who expect to find 
 that health in medicine, which possibly might 
 be found in regimen, in air, exercise, or se- 
 renity of mind. 
 
 There is another class among us, and that 
 rather numerous, whose employment is labo- 
 rious, and whose conduct is irregular. Their 
 time is divided between hard working and hard 
 drinking, and both by a fire. It is no uncom- 
 mon thing to see one of these, at forty, wear 
 the aspect of sixty, and finish a life of violence
 
 LONGEVITY. 15 
 
 at fifty, which the hand of prudence would 
 have directed to eighty. The strength of a 
 kingdom consists in the multitude of its inha- 
 bitants ; success in trade depends upon the ma- 
 nufacturer j the support and direction of a fa- 
 mily upon the head of it : when this useful 
 part of mankind, therefore, is cut off in the ac- 
 tive season of life, the community sustains a 
 loss, whether we take the matter in a national, 
 a commercial, or a private view. 
 
 We have a third class, who shun the rock 
 upon which these last fall, but wreck upon ano- 
 ther ; they run upon Scylla, though they have 
 missed Charybdis ; they escape the liquid de- 
 struction, but split upon the solid. These are 
 proficients in good eating ; adepts in culling of 
 delicacies, and the modes of dressing them. 
 Masters of the whole art of cookery, each car- 
 ries a kitchen in his head. Thus an excellent 
 constitution may be stabbed by the spit. Na- 
 ture never designed us to live well, and con- 
 tinue well ; the stomach is too weak a vessel to 
 be richly and deeply laden. Perhaps more in- 
 jury is done by eating than by drinking ; one is 
 a secret, the other an open enemy : the secret 
 is always supposed the most dangerous. Drink- 
 ing attacks by assault, but eating by sap : luxury 
 is seldom visited by old age. The best antidote 
 yet discovered against this kind of slow poison, 
 is exercise; but the advantages of elevation,
 
 l(j HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 air, and water, on one hand, and disadvan- 
 tages of crowd, smoke, and effluvia on the 
 other, are trifles compared to intemperance. 
 
 We have a fourth class, and with these I shall 
 return, and shut up the clock. If this valuable 
 machine comes finished from the hand of na- 
 ture ; if the rough blasts of fortune only attack 
 the outward case, without affecting the internal 
 works, and if reason conducts the piece, it may 
 move on with a calm, steady, and uninter- 
 rupted pace to a great extent of years, till time 
 only annihilates the motion. 
 
 I personally knew among us a Mrs. Dalla- 
 way, aged near 90; George Davis, 85; John 
 Baddely, Esq. and his two brothers, all between 
 SO and 90; Mrs. Allen, 88; Mrs. Silk, 84; 
 John Burbury, 84 ; Thomas Rutter, 88 ; Eli- 
 zabeth Bentley, 88 ; John Harrison and his 
 wife, one 86, the other 88; Mrs. Floyd, 87; 
 Elizabeth Simms, 88 ; Sarah Aston, 98 ; Abra- 
 ham Spooner, Esq. 89 ;- Joseph Scott, Esq. 94 ; 
 all, January 9, 1?80, I believe, enjoyed health 
 and capacity. This is not designed as a com- 
 plete list of the aged, but of such only as imme- 
 diately occur to memory. I also knew a John 
 England, who died at the age of 89; Hugh 
 Vincent, 94; John Pitt, 100; George Bridgens, 
 103 ; Mrs. More, 104. An old fellow assured 
 me he had kept the market 77 years: he kept it 
 for several years after, to my knowledge. At
 
 LONGEVITY. 17 
 
 90 he was attacked by an acute disorder, but, 
 fortunately for himself, being too poor to pur- 
 chase medical assistance, he was left to the care 
 of nature, who opened that door to health 
 which the physician would have locked for 
 ever. At 106 I heard him swear with all the 
 fervency of a recruit: at 107 he died. Allow 
 me, February 13, 1814, to conclude with my- 
 self, in my ninety-first year. It is easy to give 
 instances of'people who have breathed the smoke 
 of Birmingham threescore years, and yet have 
 scarcely quitted the precincts of youth. Such 
 are the happy effects of constitution, temper, 
 and conduct !
 
 18 
 
 ANCIENT STATE 
 
 OF 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 W E have now to pass through the very re- 
 mote ages of time. The way is long, dark, 
 and slippery. The credit of an historian is 
 built upon truth ; he cannot assert, without 
 giving his facts ; he cannot surmise, without 
 giving his reasons ; he must relate things as 
 they are, not as he would have them. The 
 fabrick founded in error will moulder of itself, 
 but that founded in reality will stand the age 
 and the critic. 
 
 Except half a dozen pages in Dugdale, I 
 know of no author who has professedly treated 
 of Birmingham. None of the histories which I 
 have seen bestow upon it more than a few 
 lines, in which we are sure to be treated with 
 the noise of hammers and anvils ; as if the his- 
 torian thought us a race of dealers in thunder, 
 lightning, and wind ; or infernals, puffing in 
 blast and smoke. 
 
 Suffer me to transcribe a passage from Ice- 
 land, one of our most celebrated writers, em-
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 19 
 
 ployed by Henry the VHIth, to form an Itine- 
 rary of Britain, whose works have stood the 
 test of 250 years. We shall observe how little 
 he must have been qualified to write the history 
 of a place, with only riding through it. 
 
 " I came through a pretty street as ever I 
 entered, into Birmingham town. This street, 
 as I remember, is called Dirtey (Deritend). In 
 it dwells smithes and cutlers, and there is a 
 brook that divides this street from Birmingham, 
 an hamlet, or member, belonging to the parish 
 therebye. There is at the end of Dirtey a 
 propper chappel, and mansion-house of tymber 
 (the moat) hard on the ripe (bank) as the brook 
 runneth down ; and as I went through the ford, 
 by the bridge, the water ranne down on the 
 right hand, and a few miles below goeth into 
 Tame. This brook, above Dirtey, breaketh in 
 two arms, that a little beneath the bridge close 
 again. This brook riseth, as some say, four or 
 five miles above Birmingham, towards Black- 
 hills. 
 
 " The beauty of Birmingham, a good mar- 
 ket-town in the extreme parts of Warwickshire, 
 is one street going up alonge, almost from the 
 left ripe of the brook, up a meane hill, by the 
 length of a quarter of a mile. I saw but one 
 parish-church in the town. 
 
 " There be many smithes in the town that 
 me to make knives and all manner of cutting 
 c '2
 
 :2Q HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tools, and many loriners that makes bittes, and 
 a great many naylers ; so that a great part of 
 the town is maintained by smithes, who have 
 their iron and sea-coal out of Staffordshire." 
 
 Here we find some intelligence, and more 
 mistake, clothed in the dress of antique dic- 
 tion, which plainly evinces the necessity of mo- 
 dern history. 
 
 It is matter of surprise, that none of those reli- 
 gious drones, the monks, who hived in the priory 
 for fifteen or twenty generations, ever thought of 
 indulging posterity with an history of Birming- 
 ham. They could not want opportunity, for 
 they lived a life of indolence ; nor materials, 
 for they were nearer the infancy of time, and 
 were possessed of historical facts now totally 
 lost. Besides, nearly all the little learning in 
 the kingdom was possessed by this class of peo- 
 ple ; and the place, in their day, must have en- 
 joyed an eminent degree of prosperity. 
 
 Though the town has a modern appearance, 
 there is reason to believe it of great antiquity ; 
 my Birmingham reader, therefore, must suffer 
 me to carry him back into the remote ages of 
 the ancient Britons, to visit his sable ancestors. 
 
 We have no histories of those times but what 
 are left us by the Romans, and these we ought 
 to read witli caution, because they were parties 
 in the dispute. Of two antagonists if each write 
 his own history, the discerning reader will
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 21 
 
 draw the line of justice between them ; but 
 where there is only one, partiality is expected. 
 The Romans were obliged to make the Britons 
 warlike, or there would have been no merit in 
 conquering them : they must also sound forth 
 their ignorance, or there would have been none 
 in improving them. If the Britons were that 
 wretched people they are represented by the 
 Romans, they could not be worth conquering : 
 no man subdues a people to improve them, but 
 to profit by them. Though the Romans were 
 in their meridian of splendour, they pursued 
 Britain a whole century before they reduced it; 
 which indicates that they considered it a valu- 
 able prize. Though the Britons were not mas- 
 ters of science, like the Romans ; though the 
 tine arts did not flourish as in Rome, because 
 never planted, yet by many testimonies it is 
 evident, they were masters of plain life ; that 
 many of the simple arts were practised in that 
 day, as well as in this ; that assemblages of 
 people composed cities, the same as now, but 
 in an inferior degree ; and that the country 
 was populous, is plain from the immense army 
 Boadicea brought into the field, except the 
 Romans increased that army that their merit 
 might be greater in defeating it. Nay, I be- 
 lieve we may with propriety carry them beyond 
 plain life, and charge them with a degree of 
 elegance : the Romans themselves allow the
 
 &> HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Britons were complete masters of the chariot ; 
 that when the scythe was fixed at each end of 
 the axle-tree, they drove with great dexterity 
 into the midst of the enemy, broke their ranks, 
 and mowed them down. This afterwards be- 
 came useful in peace, was a badge of high life, 
 and continues so with their descendants to this day. 
 We know the instruments of war used by the 
 Britons were a sword, spear, shield and scythe. 
 If they were not the manufacturers, how came 
 they by these instruments ? We cannot allow 
 either they or the chariots were imported, be- 
 cause that will give them a much greater con- 
 sequence. They must have been well ac- 
 quainted with the tools used in husbandry, for 
 they were masters of the field in a double sense. 
 Bad also as their houses were, a chest of car- 
 penter's tools would be necessary to complete 
 them. We cannot doubt from these evidences, 
 and others which might be adduced, that the 
 Britons understood the manufactory of iron. 
 Perhaps history cannot produce an instance of 
 any place in an improving country, like Eng- 
 gland, where the coarse manufactory of iron 
 has been carried on, that ever that laborious art 
 went to decay, except the materials failed ; 
 and as we know of no place where such mate- 
 rials have failed, there is the utmost reason 
 to believe our fore-fathers, the Britons, were 
 supplied with those necessary implements by
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 23 
 
 the black artists of the Birmingham forge. 
 Iron-stone and coal are the materials for this 
 production, both which are found in the neigh- 
 bourhood in great plenty. The two following 
 circumstances strongly evince this ancient Bri- 
 tish manufactory : 
 
 Upon the borders of the parish stands Aston 
 furnace, appropriated for melting ironstone, and 
 reducing it into pigs : this has the appearance 
 of great antiquity. From the melted ore, in 
 this subterranean region of infernal aspect, is 
 produced a calx, or cinder, of which there is 
 an enormous mountain. From an attentive 
 survey, the observer would suppose so prodi- 
 gious a heap could not accumulate in one hun- 
 dred generations ; however, it shews no per- 
 ceptible addition in the age of man. 
 
 There is also a common of vast extent, called 
 Wednesbury old field, in which are the ves- 
 tiges of many hundreds of coal-pits, long in 
 disuse, which the curious antiquary would deem 
 as long in sinking, as the mountain of cinders 
 in rising. 
 
 The minute sprig of Birmingham, no doubt 
 first took root in this black soil, and in a suc- 
 cession of ages, has grown to its present opu- 
 lence. At what time this prosperous plant was 
 set, is very uncertain, perhaps as long before 
 the days of Caesar as it is since. Thus the 
 mines of Wednesbury empty their riches into
 
 24 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the lap of Birmingham, and thus she draws nur- 
 ture from the bowels of the earth. 
 
 The chief, if not the only manufactory of 
 Birmingham, from its first existence to the res- 
 toration of Charles the Second, was in iron : of 
 this was produced instruments of war and hus- 
 bandry, furniture for the kitchen, and tools for 
 the whole system of carpentry. 
 
 The places where our athletic ancestors form- 
 ed these curious productions of art, were the 
 shops fronting the street : some small remains 
 of this very antient custom are yet visible, 
 chiefly in Digbeth, where about a dozen shops 
 still exhibit the original music of anvil and 
 hammer. 
 
 As there is the highest probability that Bir- 
 mingham produced her manufactures long be- 
 fore the landing of Caesar, it would give plea- 
 sure to the curious inquirer, could he be in- 
 formed of her size in those very early ages; but 
 this information is for ever hid from the histo- 
 rian, and the reader. Perhaps there never was 
 a period in which she saw a decline ; but that 
 her progress has been certain, though slow, 
 during the long space of two or three thousand 
 years before Charles the Second. 
 
 The very roads that proceed from Birming- 
 ham, are additional indications of her great an- 
 tiquity and commercial influence. Where any 
 of these roads led up an eminence, they were
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 25 
 
 worn by the long practice of ages into deep hol- 
 loways, some of them twelve or fourteen yards 
 below the surface of the banks, with which they 
 were once even; and so narrow as to admit only 
 one passenger. 
 
 Though modern industry, assisted by various 
 turnpike acts, has widened the upper part, and 
 rilled up the lower, yet they w r ere all visible in 
 the days of our fathers, and are traceable even 
 in ours. Some of these, no doubt, were formed 
 by the spade, to soften the fatigue of climbing 
 the hill, but many were owing to the pure ef- 
 forts of time, the horse and the showers. As 
 inland trade was small, prior to the fifteenth 
 century, the use of the waggon, that great de- 
 stroyer of the road, was but little known. The 
 horse was the chief conveyor of burdens among 
 the Britons, and for centuries after : if we con- 
 sider the great length of time it would take for 
 the rains to form these deep ravines, we must 
 place the origin of Birmingham at a very early 
 date. 
 
 One of these subterranean passages, in part 
 filled up, will convey its name to posterity in 
 that of a street, called Holloway-head, till lately, 
 the way to Bromsgrove and to Bewdley. Dale 
 End, once a deep road, has the same deriva- 
 tion. Another at Summer-hill, in the Dudlev 
 road, was altered in 1753. A remarkable one 
 is also between the Salutation and the turn-
 
 'JO HlaTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 pike, in the Wolverhampton road. A fifth at the 
 top of Walmer-lane, changed into its present 
 form in lj64>. Another between Gostagreen 
 and Aston- brook, reduced in 175*2. All the 
 way from Dale End to Duddeston, of which 
 Coleshill-street now makes a part, and Ashsted 
 another, was sunk five or six feet, though nearly 
 upon a fiat, till filled up in 1756 by act of par- 
 liament ; but the most singular is that between 
 Deritend and Camp-hill, in the way to Strat- 
 ford, which was fifty-eight feet deep, and is, 
 even now, many yards below the banks ; yet 
 the seniors of the last age took a pleasure in 
 telling us, they could remember when it would 
 have buried a waggon load of hay beneath its 
 present surface. Thus the traveller of old, 
 who came to purchase the produce of Birming- 
 ham, or to sell his own, seemed to approach 
 her by sap. 
 
 British traces arc, no doubt, discoverable in 
 the old Dudley road, down Easy-hill, under the 
 canal ; at the eight mile-stone, and at Smeth- 
 wick : also in many of the private roads near 
 Birmingham, which were never thought to 
 merit a repair, particularly at Good Knaves- 
 end, towards Harborne ; the Greenlane, lead- 
 ing to the Garrison ; and that beyond Long- 
 bridge, in the road to Yardley ; all of them 
 deep holloways, which carry evident tokens of 
 antiquity. Let the curious calculator deter
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 27 
 
 mine what an amazing length of time would 
 elapse in wearing the deep roads along Saltley- 
 field, Shaw-hill, AJlum rock, and the remainder 
 of the way to Stitchford, only a pitiful hamlet 
 of a dozen houses. 
 
 The ancient centre of Birmingham seems to 
 have been the Old Cross, from the number of 
 streets pointing towards it. Wherever the nar- 
 now end of a street enters a great thoroughfare, 
 't indicates antiquity. This is the case with 
 Philip-street, Bell-street, and Park-street ; and 
 was the case with Spicial-street, and Moor- 
 street, which have been widened within these 
 few years ; they not only incline to the centre 
 above mentioned, but their narrow ends termi- 
 nate in the grand passage. These were formed 
 with the main street at first, and were not in- 
 tended for streets themselves. As the town in- 
 creased, other blunders of the same kind were 
 committed; witness the gateway late at the 
 East end of New-street, the two ends of Wor- 
 cester-street, opened in 1808, Smalibrook-street, 
 Cannon-street, New Meeting-street, and Bull- 
 street ; it is easy to see which end of a street 
 was formed hist ; perhaps the South end of 
 Moor-street is two thousand years older than 
 the North ; the same errors are committing in 
 our day, as in Hill and Yale-streets, the two 
 Hinkleys, and Catherine-street. One genera- 
 tion, for want of foresight, forms a narrow
 
 28 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 entrance, and another widens it by act of par- 
 liament. 
 
 Every word in the English language carries 
 an idea : when a word strikes the ear, the mind 
 immediately forms a picture, which represents 
 it as faithfully as the looking-glass does the 
 face. Thus, when the word Birmingham oc- 
 curs, a superb picture instantly expands in the 
 mind, which is best explained by the other 
 words grand, populous, extensive, active, com- 
 mercial, and humane. This painting is an ex- 
 act counter-part of the word at this day; but it 
 does not correspond with its appearance in the 
 days of the ancient Britons we must, therefore, 
 for a moment, detach the idea from the word. 
 
 Let us suppose, then, this centre surrounded 
 with less than one hundred straggling huts, 
 without order, which we will dignify with the 
 name of houses; built of timber, the interstices 
 wattled with sticks, and plastered with mud ; 
 covered with thatch, boards, or sods ; none of 
 them higher than the ground story : the meaner 
 sort having only one room, which served for 
 three uses, shop, kitchen, and lodging-room ; 
 the door for two, admitting the people and the 
 light : the better sort, two rooms, and some three, 
 for work, for the kitchen, and for rest ; all three 
 in a line, and sometimes fronting the street. 
 
 If the curious reader chuses to see a picture 
 of Birmingham, in the time of the Britons, he
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 29 
 
 will find one in the turnpike road, between 
 Hales-Owen and Stourbridge, called the Lie- 
 Waste, alias Mud City. The houses standing in 
 every direction, are composed of one large and 
 ill-formed brick, scoped into tenements, burnt by 
 the sun, and often destroyed by the frost : the 
 males are naked ; the females accomplished 
 breeders. The children at the age of three 
 months, take a singular hue from the sun and 
 soil, which continues for life. The rags which 
 cover them leave no room for the observer to guess 
 at the sex. Only one person upon the premises 
 presumes to carry a prominence in front, and he 
 a landlord. We might as well look for the moon 
 in a coal-pit, as for stays or white linen in the 
 City of Mud. The principal tool in business is 
 the hammer, and the beast of burden the ass. 
 
 The extent of our little colony of artists, per- 
 haps reached nearly as high as the east end of 
 New-street, occupied the upper part of Spiceal- 
 street, and penetrated down the hill to the top 
 of Digbeth, chiefly on the east. 
 
 Success, which ever waits on industry, pro- 
 duced a gradual, but very slow increase ; per- 
 haps a thousand years elapsed without adding 
 half that number of houses. 
 
 Thus our favourite plantation having taken 
 such firm root, that she was able to stand the 
 wintry blasts of fortune, we shall digress for a 
 moment, while she wields her sparkling heat,
 
 SO HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 according to the fashion of the day, in execut- 
 ing the orders of the sturdy Briton; then of the 
 polite and heroic Roman ; afterwards of our 
 mild ancestors, the Saxons (whether she 
 raised her hammer for the plundering Dane is 
 uncertain, his reign being short) ; and, lastly, 
 for the resolute and surly Norman. 
 
 It does not appear that Birmingham, from its 
 first formation, to the present day, was ever the 
 habitation of a gentleman, the lords of the ma- 
 nor excepted. But if there are no originals 
 among us, we can produce many striking like- 
 nesses : the smoke of Birmingham has been 
 very propitious to their growth, but not to 
 their maturity. Gentlemen, as well as buttons, 
 have been stamped here ; but, like them, when 
 finished, they are moved off. They both originate 
 from a very uncouth state, without form or come- 
 liness ; and pass through various stages, uncer- 
 tain of success. Some of them, at length, re- 
 ceive the last polish, and arrive at perfection ; 
 while others, ruined by a flaw, are deemed 
 wasters. I have knowm the man of opulence 
 direct his gilt chariot out of Birmingham, w T ho 
 first approached her an helpless orphan in rags. 
 I have known the chief magistrate of eighty 
 thousand people, fall from his phaeton, and 
 humbly ask bread at a parish vestry. Fre- 
 quently the wheel of capricious fortune de- 
 scribes a circle, in the rotation of which a
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 31 
 
 family experiences alternately the height of 
 prosperity and the depth of distress ; but more 
 frequently, like a pendulum, it describes only the 
 arc of a circle, and that always at the bottom. 
 
 Many fine estates have been struck out of 
 the anvil, valuable possessions raised by the 
 tongs, and superb houses, in a two-fold sense, 
 erected by the trowel. The paternal ancestor 
 of the late Sir Charles Holte was a native of 
 this place, and purchaser in the beginning of 
 Edward the Third, of the several manors, 
 which have been the honour and the support of 
 his house to the present time. Walter Clod- 
 shale w r as another native of Birmingham, who, in 
 1332, purchased the manor of Saltley, now en- 
 joyed by his maternal descendant, Charles Bow- 
 yer Adderley, esq. Charles Colmore, esq. holds 
 a considerable estate in the parish ; his prede- 
 cessor is said to have occupied, in the reign of 
 Henry the Eighth, that house, now X. 1, in the 
 High-street, as a mercer, and general receiver 
 of the taxes. A numerous branch of this ancient 
 family flourishes in Birmingham at this day. 
 The head of it, in the reign of James I. erected 
 New-hall, and himself into a gentleman. On 
 this desirable eminence, about half a mile from 
 the buildings, they resided, till time, fashion, 
 and success, removed them, like their prede- 
 cessors, the sons of fortune, to a greater dis- 
 tance. The place was then possessed by a
 
 32 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tenant, as a farm : but Birmingham, a speedy 
 traveller, marched over the premises, and cover- 
 ed them with twelve hundred houses, on building 
 leases; the farmer was converted into a stew- 
 ard ; his brown hempen frock, which guarded 
 the outside of his waistcoat, became white Hol- 
 land, edged with ruffles, and took its station 
 within : the pitchfork was metamorphosed into 
 a pen, and his ancient practice of breeding 
 sheep, was changed into that of dressing their 
 skins. Robert Philips, esq. acquired a valu- 
 able property in the seventeenth century, now 
 possessed by his descendant, William Theodore 
 Inge, esq. A gentleman of the name of Fox-. 
 all, assured me, that the head of his family re- 
 sided upon the spot, now N. J 01, in Digbeth, 
 about four hundred years ago, in the capacity 
 of a tanner. Richard Smallbroke, Bishop of 
 Lichfield and Coventry, in the reign of George 
 II. was a native of Birmingham, as his ancestors 
 were for many ages, with reputation : he was 
 born at N. 19, in the High-street, had great 
 property in the town, now enjoyed by his de- 
 scendants, though they have left the place. 
 The families also of Weaman, Jennens, Whal- 
 ley, &c. have acquired vast property, and quit- 
 ted the meridian of Birmingham ; and some 
 others are at this day ripe for removal. Let me 
 close this bright scene of prosperity, and open 
 another, which can only be viewed with a
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 33 
 
 melancholy eye. We cannot behold the distresses 
 of man without compassion ; but that distress 
 which follows affluence, comes with double 
 effect. 
 
 We have among us a family of the name of 
 Middlemore* of great antiquity, deducible from 
 the conquest ; who held the chief possessions, 
 and the chief offices in the county, and who 
 ranked with the first families in the kingdom, 
 but fell with the interest of Charles the First ; 
 and are now at so low an ebb of fortune, that I 
 have frequently, with a gloomy pleasure, re- 
 lieved them at the common charity-board of the 
 town. Such is the totteringpoint of human great- 
 ness. We have another of the name of Brace- 
 bridge, who, for more than six hundred years, 
 figured in the first ranks of life; a third of the 
 name of Mountfort, who shone with meridian 
 splendour, through a long train of ages. As 
 genealogy was ever a favourite amusement, I 
 have often conversed with these solitary 
 remains of tarnished lustre, but find in all 
 of them, the pride of their family buried with 
 its greatness : they pay no more attention to 
 the arms of their ancestors, than to a scrap of 
 paper, with which they would light their pipe. 
 Upon consulting one of the name of Elwall, 
 said to be descended from the Britons, I found 
 him so defective, that he could not stretch his 
 pedigree even so high as his grandfather A 
 
 u
 
 31 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 fifth family among us, of the name of Arden, 
 stood upon the pinnacle of fame in the days of 
 Alfred the Great, where, perhaps they had 
 stood for ages before : they continued the ele- 
 vation about seven hundred years after ; but 
 having treasonable charges brought against 
 them, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, about 
 two hundred years ago, they were thrown from 
 this exalted eminence, and dashed to pieces in 
 the fall. In various consultations with a mem- 
 ber of this honourable house, I found the great- 
 ness of his family not only lost, but the memory 
 of it also. I assured him, that his family stood 
 higher in the scale of honour, than any private 
 one within my knowledge : that his paternal 
 ancestors, for about seven generations, were 
 successively Earls of Warwick, before the Nor- 
 man Conquest : that, though he could not boast 
 a descent from the famous Guy, he was related 
 to him, and still bore his arms, with a small 
 difference : that, though Turchell, Earl of 
 Warwick, his direct ancestor, lost the Earldom 
 at the conquest, in favour of Roger Newburgh, 
 a favourite of William's ; yet, as the Earl did 
 not appear in arms against the Conqueror, 
 at the battle of Hastings, nor oppose the new 
 interest, he was allowed to keep forty-six of 
 his manors : and that he retired upon his own 
 vast estate, which he held in dependence, and 
 on which the family resided with great opulence,
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 35 
 
 in one house, for many centuries. He received 
 the information with some degree of amaze- 
 ment, and replied with a serious face.. " Per- 
 haps there may have been something great in 
 my predecessors, for my grandfather kept se- 
 veral cows in Birmingham, and sold milk !" 
 
 The families of those ancient heroes, of Saxon 
 and Norman race, are, chiefly by the mutations 
 of time, and of the state, either become ex- 
 tinct, or as above, reduced to the lowest verge 
 of fortune. Therefore those few, whose de- 
 scent is traceable, may be carried higher than 
 that of the present nobility ; for I know none 
 of these last, who claim peerage beyond Ed- 
 ward the First, about 1 C 2 ( J5. Hence it follows, 
 that for antiquity, alliance, and blood, the ad- 
 vantage is evidently in favour of the lowest 
 class. 
 
 Could one of those illustrious shades return 
 to the earth and inspect human actions, he 
 might behold one of his descendants treading at 
 the lathe ; another, tippling with his dark bre- 
 thren of the apron ; a third, humbly soliciting 
 from other families such favours as were for- 
 merly granted by his own ; a fourth, imitating 
 modern grandeur, by contracting debts he ne- 
 ver designs to pay ; and a fifth snuff of departed 
 light, poaching, like a thief in the night, upon 
 the very manors possessed by his ancestors. 
 
 Whence is it that title, pedigree, and alli- 
 u Q
 
 36 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ance, in superior life, are esteemed of the 
 highest value ; while in the inferior, which has 
 a prior claim, they are totally neglected? The 
 grand design of every creature upon earth, is 
 to supply the wants of nature. No amusements 
 of body or mind can be adopted, till hunger is 
 served. When the appetite calls, the whole 
 attention of the animal, with all its powers, is 
 bound to answer. Hence arise those dreadful 
 contests in the brute creation, from the lion in the 
 woods, to the dog who seizes the bone. Hence 
 the ship, when her provisions are spent, and 
 she is becalmed, casts a savage eye upon hu- 
 man sacrifices ; and hence, the attention of the 
 lower ranks of men is too far engrossed for 
 mental pursuit. They see, like Esau, the ho- 
 nours of their family devoured with a ravenous 
 appetite. A man with an empty cupboard 
 Mould make but a wretched philosopher. But 
 if fortune should smile upon one of the lower 
 race, raise him a step above his present stand- 
 ing, and give him a prospect of independence, 
 he immediately begins to eye the arms upon 
 carriages, examines old records for his name, 
 and inquires where the Heralds' Office is kept. 
 Thus, when the urgency of nature is set at 
 liberty, the bird can whistle upon the branch, 
 the fish play upon the surface, the goat skip 
 upon the mountain, and even man himself, can 
 bask in the sunshine of science.
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 3J 
 
 We have several families, as the Colmores, 
 the Clarkes, the Mays, the Smallwoods, the 
 Bedfords, through whose veins flow the blood- 
 royal of England, with that of most of the Eu- 
 ropean princes. For these families being de- 
 scended from the Willoughbys, and they from 
 the Marmions, whose daughter married Rich- 
 ard, bastard son of King John, it brings up 
 our laboured pedigree to a sceptre and a crown. 
 From thence, as by a spacious turnpike road, 
 we easilv travel through the Great nam es of an- 
 tiquitv ; as William the Conqueror, Edmund 
 Ironside, the accomplished Alfred, the power- 
 ful Egbert, the beloved Cerdic, till we arrive at 
 the Saxon Deity Woden. I digress no farther. 
 
 The situation of St. Martin's church is ano- 
 ther reason for fixing the original centre of Bir- 
 mingham at the Old Cross. Christianity made 
 an early and a swift progress in this kingdom ; 
 persecution, as might be expected, followed her 
 footsteps, increased her votaries, and, as was 
 ever the case in all new religions, her prose- 
 lytes were very devout. The religious fervour 
 of the Christians displayed itself in building 
 churches. Most of those in England are of 
 Saxon original, and were erected between the 
 fourth and the tenth century; that of St. Mar- 
 tin is ancient beyond the reach of historical 
 knowledge, and probably rose in the early 
 reigns of the Saxon kings. 
 

 
 38 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 It was the custom of those times, to place 
 the church, if there was but one, out of the 
 precincts of the town ; this is visible at the pre- 
 sent day in those places which have received no 
 increase. 
 
 Perhaps it will not be an unreasonable suppo- 
 sition to fix the erection of St. Martin's in the 
 eighth century ; and if the inquisitive reader 
 chuse to traverse the town a second time, he 
 may find its boundaries something like the fol- 
 lowing;. We cannot allow its extension north- 
 w T ard beyond the east end of New-street ; or that 
 it included more than the narrow parts of Philip- 
 street, Bell-street, Spiceal-street, Moor-street, 
 and Park-street. The houses at this period 
 were more compact than heretofore ; and Dig- 
 beth and Deritend, lying in the road to Strat- 
 ford, Warwick, and Coventry, all places of an- 
 tiquity, were now formed. Thus the church 
 stood in the environs of the town, unencum- 
 bered with buildings. Possibly this famous nur- 
 sery of arts might, by this time, produce six hun- 
 dred houses. A town must increase before its 
 appendages are formed ; those appendages also 
 must increase before there is a necessity for an 
 additional chapel, and after that increase, the in- 
 habitants may wait long before that necessity is 
 removed, by building one. Deritend is an ap- 
 pendage to Birmingham ; the inhabitants of 
 this hamlet having long laboured under the
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 39 
 
 inconvenience of being remote from the parish 
 church of Aston, and being too numerous for 
 admisssion into that of Birmingham, procured 
 a grant in 1381 to erect a chapel of their own. 
 If we, therefore, allow three hundred years 
 for the infancy of Deritend, three hundred 
 more for her maturity, and four hundred since 
 the erection of her chapel, which is a very rea- 
 sonable allowance, it will bring us to the time I 
 mentioned. 
 
 It does not appear that Deritend was at- 
 tended with any considerable augmentation, 
 from the Norman Conquest to the year 1767? 
 when a turnpike road was opened to Alcester, 
 and when Henry Bradford publicly offered a 
 freehold to the man who should first build upon 
 his estate ; since which time, Deritend, only 
 one street, has made a rapid progress : and this 
 dusky offspring of Birmingham is now travel- 
 ling apace along her new formed road. 
 
 In 1791, the inhabitants of Deritend pro- 
 cured an Act for lighting and cleansing the 
 streets, to be executed by .51 Commissioners. 
 
 I must again recline upon Dugdale. In 
 1309, William de Birmingham, Lord of the 
 Manor, took a distress of the inhabitants of 
 Bromsgrove and King's-Norton, for refusing to 
 pay the customary tolls of the market. The 
 inhabitants brought their action, and recovered 
 damages, because it was said, their lands being
 
 40 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the ancient demesne of the crown, they had a 
 right to sell their produce in any market in the 
 King's dominions. It appeared in the course of 
 the trial, that the ancestors of William de Bir- 
 mingham had a market here before the Nor- 
 man Conquest ! I shall have occasion, in fu- 
 ture, to resume this remarkable expression. I 
 have also met with an old author, who ob- 
 serves, that Birmingham was governed by tw T o 
 Constables in the time of the Saxons ; small 
 places have seldom more than one. These evi- 
 dences prove much in favour of the go- 
 vernment, population, and antiquity of the 
 place. 
 
 In Domesday-book Birmingham is rated at 
 four hides of land. A hide was as much as a 
 team could conveniently plough in a year ; per- 
 haps about fifty acres : I think there are not 
 now more than two hundred ploughed in the 
 parish. It was also said to contain woods of 
 half a mile in length, and two furlongs in 
 breadth. The mile w r as reduced to its present 
 standard in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 There are not the least traces of those woods ; 
 for at this day it is difficult to find a stick that 
 deserves the name of a tree, in the whole ma- 
 nor. Timber is no part of the manufactory of 
 Birmingham. 
 
 Let us survey the town a third time, as we 
 may reasonably suppose it stood in the most
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 41 
 
 remarkable period of English history, that of 
 the conquest. 
 
 We cannot yet go farther north of the cen- 
 tre than before, that is, along the High-street, 
 till we meet the east end of New-street. We 
 shall penetrate rather farther into Moor-street, 
 none into Park-street, take in Digbeth, Deritend, 
 Edgbaston-street, as being the road to Dudley, 
 Bromsgrove, and the whole West of England ; 
 Spiceal-street, the Shambles, a larger part of 
 Bell-street, and Philip-street. 
 
 The ancient increase of the town was to- 
 wards the south ; because of the great road, 
 the convenience of water, the church, and the 
 manor-house, all which lay in that quarter; 
 but the modern extension was chiefly towards 
 the north, owing to the scions of her trades 
 being transplanted all over the country as far 
 as Wednesbury, Walsall, and Wolverhampton ; 
 but particularly her vicinity to the coal mines, 
 which were ever considered as the soul of her 
 prosperity. Perhaps by tin's time the number 
 of houses might have been augmented to seven 
 hundred : but whatever were her number, ei- 
 ther in this or any other period, we cannot 
 doubt her being populous in every a'ra of her 
 existence. 
 
 The following small extract, from the register 
 will shew a gradual increase, even before the 
 Restoration :
 
 t'J HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Year. Christenings. Weddings. Burials. 
 
 1556, - - 37, - - 15, - - 27. 
 
 1558, - - 48, - - 10, - - 47- 
 
 1603, - - 63, - - 14, - - 40. 
 
 ia>5, - - 76, - - is, - - 47. 
 
 1660, - - j6 t from April to Dec. inclusive. 
 
 In 1251, William de Birmingham, Lord of 
 the Manor, procured an additional charter from 
 Henry the Third, reviving some decayed pri- 
 vileges, and granting others ; among the last 
 was that of the Whitsuntide fair, to begin on 
 the eve of Holy Thursday, and to continue 
 four days. At the alteration of the style, in 
 1752, it was prudently changed to the Thurs- 
 day in Whitsun week, that less time might 
 be lost to the injury of work and the workman. 
 He also procured another fair, to begin on the 
 eve of St. Michael, and continue for three days, 
 both which fairs are at this day in great repute. 
 In 1813 this last fair began the first Thursday 
 after Michaelmas. 
 
 By the interest of Audomore de Valance, Earl 
 of Pembroke, a licence was obtained from the 
 crown, in 1319, to charge an additional toll upon 
 every article sold in the market for three years, 
 towards paving the town. Every quarter of 
 corn to pay one farthing, and other things in 
 proportion. But, at the expiration of the term 
 the toll was found inadequate to the expence,
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 43 
 
 and the work lay dormant for eighteen years, 
 till 1337, when a second licence was obtained, 
 equal to the first, which completed the in- 
 tention. 
 
 Those streets, thus dignified with a pave- 
 ment, or rather their sides only, to accommo- 
 date the foot passenger, probably were High- 
 street, the Bull-ring, Corn-cheaping, Digbeth, 
 St. Martin's-lane, Moat-lane, Edgbaston-street, 
 Spiceal-strect, and part of Moor-street. It was 
 the practice, in those early days, to leave the 
 centre of a street unpaved, for the easier pas- 
 sage of carriages and horses ; the consequence 
 was, that in flat streets the road became ex- 
 tremely dirty, almost impassable, and in a de- 
 scent, the soil was quickly worn away, and left 
 a causeway on each side. Many instances of 
 this ancient practice are within memory. 
 
 The streets, no doubt, in which the fairs were 
 held, mark the boundaries of the town in the thir- 
 teenth ccnturv. Though smaller wares were 
 sold upon the spot used for the market, the 
 rougher articles, such as cattle, were exposed 
 to sale in what were then the out-streets. The 
 fair for horses was held in Edgbaston-street, 
 and that for beasts in the High-street, tending 
 towards the Welch Cross. Inconvenient as 
 these streets seem for the purpose, our dark an- 
 cestors of peaceable memory, found no detri- 
 ment, during the infant state of population, in
 
 44 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 keeping them there. But we, their crowded 
 sons, for want of accommodation, wisely removed 
 both ; the horse-fair, in 1?77 to Brick-kiln- 
 lane, then the extreme part of the town ; and 
 that for cattle, in 17(>9, into the open part of Dale 
 End. Whatever veneration we may entertain 
 for ancient custom, there is sometimes a ne- 
 cessity to break it. Were we now to solicit 
 the crown for a fair, those streets would be the 
 last we should fix on. 
 
 If we survey Birmingham in the twelfth cen- 
 tury, we shall find her crowded with timber, 
 within and without ; her streets dirty and nar- 
 row, but much trodden. The inhabitant be- 
 came an early encroacher upon her narrow 
 streets, and sometimes the lord was the greatest. 
 Her houses were mean and low, but few reach- 
 ing higher than one story, perhaps none more 
 than two ; composed of wood and plaster she 
 was a stranger to brick. Pier public buildings 
 consisted solely of one, the church. If we be- 
 hold her in the fourteenth century, we shall 
 observe her private buildings multiplied more 
 than improved ; her narrow streets, by trespass 
 become narrower ; her public buildings in- 
 creased to four, two in the town, and two at a 
 distance, the Priory, of stone, founded by con- 
 tribution, at the head of which stood her lord ; 
 the Guild, now the Free School, of timber; 
 and Deritend Chapel, of the same materials,
 
 ANCIENT STATE. 45 
 
 resembling a barn, with something like an awk- 
 ward dove-cote, at the west end, by way of 
 steeple. All these will be noticed in due course. 
 If we take a view of the inhabitants, we shall 
 find them industrious, plain, and honest. In 
 curious operations, known only to a few, the 
 artist was amply paid. Nash, in his History of 
 Worcestershire, gives us a curious list of anec- 
 dotes, from the ledger, of the church-wardens 
 of Hales-Owen. I shall transcribe two, nearly 
 three hundred years old. " Paid for bread and 
 ale, to make my Lord Abbot drink, in Rogation 
 week, c 2d." What should we now think of an 
 ecclesiastical nobleman, accepting a two-penny 
 treat from a country church-warden? This dis- 
 plays an instance of moderation in a class of 
 people famous for luxury. It shews also the 
 amazing reduction of money : the same sum 
 which served my Lord Abbot four days, would 
 now be devoured by a journeyman in four mi- 
 nutes. 14-97. " paid for repairing the organs, 
 to the organ-maker at Bromicicham, 106." Bir- 
 mingham then, we find, discovered the powers 
 of genius in the finer arts, as well as in iron. 
 By " the organ-maker," we should suppose there 
 was but one. It appears that the art of acquir- 
 ing riches was as well understood by our fathers, 
 as by us ; while an artist could receive as much 
 money for tuning an organ, as would purchase 
 an acre of land, or treat near half a gross of 
 Lord Abbots.
 
 46 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 
 1643. 
 
 Clarendon reproaches with virulence our 
 spirited ancestors, for disloyalty to Charles the 
 First. The day after the King left Birming- 
 ham, on his march from Shrewsbury, in 1642, 
 they seized his carriages, containing the royal 
 plate and furniture, which they conveyed, for 
 security, to Warwick Castle, They appre- 
 hended all messengers and suspected persons ; 
 frequently attacked, and reduced small parties 
 of the royalists, whom they sent prisoners to 
 Coventry. Hence the proverbial expression re- 
 specting a refractory person, Send him to Co- 
 ventry. 
 
 In 1643, the King ordered Prince Rupert, 
 with a detachment of two thousand men, to 
 open a communication between Oxford and 
 York. In his march to Birmingham, he found 
 a company of foot, kept for the Parliament, 
 lately reinforced by a troop of horse from the 
 garrison at Lichfield : but supposing they would 
 not resist a power of ten to one, he sent his 
 quarter-master to demand lodging, and offer 
 protection. But the sturdy sons of freedom, 
 having cast up slight works at each end of the
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 47 
 
 town, and barricadoed the lesser avenues, re- 
 jected the offer and the officers. The military- 
 uniting in one small and compact body, assisted 
 by the inhabitants, were determined the King's 
 forces should not enter. Their little fire opened 
 on the Prince : but bravery itself, though pos- 
 sessed of an excellent spot of ground for de- 
 fence, was obliged to give way to numbers. 
 The Prince quickly put them to silence ; yet, 
 under the success of his own arms, he was not 
 able to enter the town ; for the inhabitants had 
 choked up, with carriages, the deep and nar- 
 row road, then between Deritend and Camp- 
 hill, which obliged the Prince to alter his route 
 to the left, and proceed towards Long-bridge. 
 The spirit of resistance was not yet broken j 
 they sustained a second attack, but to no pur- 
 pose, except that of slaughter. A running 
 fight continued through the town ; victory de- 
 clared loudly for the Prince ; the retreat be- 
 came general : part of the vanquished took the 
 way Oldbury. William Fielding, Earl of Den- 
 bigh, a volunteer under the Prince, being in 
 close pursuit of an officer in the service of the 
 Parliament, and both upon the full gallop, up 
 Shirland-lane, in the manor of Smcthwick, the 
 officer instantly turning, discharged a pistol at 
 the Karl, and mortally wounded him with a 
 random shot. The Parliament troops were ani- 
 mated in the engagement by a clergyman, who
 
 48 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 acted as governor; but being taken in the de- 
 feat, and refusing quarter, he was killed in the 
 Red Lion Inn. The Prince/provoked at the re- 
 sistance, in revenge, set fire to the town. His 
 wrath is said to have kindled in Bull-street, 
 and consumed several houses near the spot, 
 now N. 12. He obliged the inhabitants to 
 quench the flames with a heavy fine, to prevent 
 farther military execution. Part of the fine is 
 said to have been shoes and stockings for his 
 people. The Parliament forces had formed 
 their camp in that well-chosen angle, which di- 
 vides the Stratford and Warwick roads, upon 
 Camp-hill. The victorious Prince left no gar- 
 rison, because their insignificant works were 
 untenable ; but left a humbled people, and 
 marched to the reduction of Lichfield. I 
 have a cannon ball, said to have been found at 
 Camp-hill, which weighs upwards of six pounds, 
 and is 12 inches in circumference. 
 
 It is not without a smile, that I stranscribe 
 a passage from the newspapers of the day, en- 
 titled, " The barbarous and butcherly cruelty 
 of the Cavaliers at Birmingham. April 8, 164-3, 
 certain intelligence arrived of the cruel slaughtei 
 of divers inhabitants of that honest town; about 
 80 houses were burnt down by that barbarous 
 and butcherly prince of Robert; Prince Rupert, 
 and his accursed Cavaliers. But his filching 
 forces got but little of their inhuman barbarity,
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 49 
 
 for the unarmed inhabitants, mostly smiths, 
 nailors, and workers in iron, with such weapons 
 as they had, so knocked the Earl of Denbigh, 
 that he received his death wound in his furious 
 pursuit of them ; and, we are informed, that 
 arch traitor to the Commons, Lord Digby, was 
 wounded. It is however a remarkable provi- 
 dence, that in plundering and burning the 
 town, the greatest lost fell upon the malignant 
 party, for most of the honest had conveyed their 
 goods to Coventry, before the arrival of the Ca- 
 valiers.'' 
 
 Since the first publication of the above, three 
 tracts relating to the battle of Birmingham 
 written immediately after the event, have been 
 reprinted. The first of these was written by a 
 Roundhead, and is intitled, " A true Relation 
 of P. Rupert's barbarous cruelty against the 
 Towne of Brumingham." 
 
 In this it is said, that Prince Rupert's troops, 
 horse and foot, amounted to 2,000, while the 
 townsmen had only 140 musqueteers; that thirty 
 Cavaliers were killed, and many wounded; and 
 that God made a way for the townsmen to es- 
 cape, except fifteen unarmed men and two wo- 
 men, who were killed, and some two or three 
 poor fellows who were released by the soldiers 
 that took them for two pence, eight pence, and 
 a shilling each. It is further said, that the 
 Prince burnt about eighty houses, suffering no 
 
 E
 
 50 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 man to carry away his goods, or quench the fire ; 
 that the Cavaliers exulted over the inhabitants, 
 and rejoiced that the wind stood right to con- 
 sume the town. Their triumph however was 
 of short duration, for the modest Parliamenta- 
 rian adds, that, " The Lord caused the winds 
 to turn, which was a token of his notice of 
 their insultation." From the combustibles found 
 in different parts of the town, it was evident 
 that the Royalists intended to destroy the 
 whole. The plunder, in money and goods, 
 amounted to more than ^.2,000, ,.1300 be- 
 ing taken from Mr. Peake, and much from Mr. 
 Jennens. 
 
 The second tract was written by a Cavalier, 
 who leaving out the barbarous and bloody epi- 
 thets of the others, calls it simply, " A Letter 
 written from Walshall by a worthy Gentleman 
 to his Friend in Oxford concerning Burming- 
 ham." 
 
 This gentleman begins by stating the crimes 
 of the men of Birmingham which had drawn 
 upon them the royal vengeance. They had 
 sent 300 men to Coventry to assist in defending 
 that city against the King s forces ; they had 
 sent 15,000 swords to the Parliament army, 
 while they not only refused to supply the Royal 
 army with swords for their money, but impri- 
 soned the agents who attempted to purchase 
 them ; they had refused his Majesty's princely
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 51 
 
 goodness, grace, and favour, and seized some 
 of his plate and goods, which they had carried 
 to Warwick castle; they had sent out parties to 
 plunder the King's friends ; and finally they 
 had called Prince Rupert's soldiers " cursed 
 dogs, devilish Cavaliers, and popish traytors." 
 
 The Cavalier says that, on the resistance of 
 the townsmen, the Prince was forced to give 
 orders for firing a house or two ; but he imme- 
 diately gave orders for the fire being quenched; 
 that some soldiers, as yet unknown, fired the 
 town in several places after the Prince had left 
 it, but he sent the people word that it was not 
 done by his command, and they were at liberty 
 to extinguish the fire, if they could. The writer 
 however acknowledges that this was not quite 
 so soon accomplished as might have been de- 
 sired. 
 
 The gentleman professes to feel some com- 
 punction for the death of a minister of the Gos- 
 pel, who was slain by one of Prince Rupert's 
 soldiers, but he draws consolation from two 
 sources ; first, that the minister told the sol- 
 dier who killed him, that the King was a 
 perjured and papistical King, and he had 
 rather die than live under him ; second, that 
 the man was either mad, or one of the new 
 enthusiasts. 
 
 The third tract seems to be the official state- 
 ment of the suffering party. It was published 
 
 e c 2
 
 52 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 by order of the Committee at Coventry, and is 
 intitled " Prince Rupert's Burning Love to 
 England, discovered in Birmingham's Flames." 
 The title-page further announces it to be " a 
 more exact and true narration of Birmingham's 
 calamities under the barbarous and inhuman 
 cruelties of Prince Rupert's forces. Wherein 
 is related how that famous and well-affected 
 towne of Birmingham was unworthily opposed, 
 insolently invaded, notoriously robbed and 
 plundered, and most cruelly fired in cold blood, 
 the next day, by Prince Rupert's forces." 
 
 It is said in this tract " that the men of better 
 sort would have left the town, carrying the best 
 of their property with them ; but the middling 
 and inferior sort, that is, those who had little or 
 nothing to lose, could not be prevailed upon to 
 adopt that measure. None of the townsmen 
 were hurt while they maintained their ground, 
 but when they were scattered they were singled 
 out and shot. The Cavaliers rode up into the 
 towne like so many furys or bedlams, the Earl 
 of Denbigh in the front, and singing as he 
 rode. They shot at every doore or window 
 where they could espy any looking out ; they 
 hacked, hewed, or pistolled all they met with, 
 without distinction ; blaspheming, cursing and 
 damning themselves most hideously. Their 
 horse rode desperatly around the towne, leap- 
 ing hedges and ditches to catch the townesmen.
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. ,53 
 
 They slew about 14 in all ; one of whom was 
 Thomas the ostler at Swan, pistolled comming 
 officiously to take their horses, besides one Mr. 
 Whitehall, a minister, who hath long been lu- 
 natick, and was lately come out of Bedlam. 
 Supposing him to be Mr. Roberts, Minister of 
 Birmingham, they did most cruelly mangle and 
 hack him to death, and so went insulting up 
 and down the towne that they had quartered the 
 Minister, out of whose bloody hands the Lord's 
 gracious providence delivered him, a little be- 
 fore the town was assaulted. All the consider- 
 able men escaped out of their snare; some 40 
 were taken prisoners, all inferior men, most of 
 them their own favourers, and since for trifling 
 sums of money they released them all, save two 
 or three. 
 
 " Having thus possessed themselves of the 
 towne, they ran into every house, setting naked 
 swords and pistols to the breasts of the women, 
 plundering all before them, as well malignants 
 as others. It is credibly believed they took 
 from one Thomas Peake, a councellor, ^.1500, 
 or ^\1300 at least ; for he afterwards deeply 
 professed that they had left him in money but 
 C)d. They took much money to protect people's 
 houses, and afterwards betrayed them, and set 
 them on fire. It is conceived they had ^.3000 
 in money from the towne." They violated the 
 women, broke the windows, carried off the most
 
 54 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 portable goods, destroyed the rest, and, as this 
 document goes on to say, " They sate up revel- 
 ling, robbing, tyrannizing over the poore af- 
 frighted women and prisoners, drinking drunke, 
 healthing upon their knees, yea, drinking healths 
 to Prince Rupert's dog. 
 
 <l Nor did they here cease ; but when on 
 the next day they were to march forth of the 
 towne, they used all possible diligence in every 
 street to kindle fire in the towne ; and lest any 
 should save any of the goods they had left, or 
 quench the flames, they stood with their drawne 
 swords and pistols about the burning houses, 
 shooting and endeavouring to kill every one 
 that appeared to preserve goods, or quench 
 fire. The houses burned were about 87, be- 
 sides multitudes of barns, stables, and other 
 back buildings. Persons unfurnished, and 
 fallen into extreme distresse by this fire, 340 
 and upwards. 
 
 " Now, 1 ' continues the writer, " they have 
 made Birmingham a woful spectacle to behold; 
 the rich are wofully wasted and spoyled, mul- 
 titudes almost quite beggered and undone ; it 
 is thought ^.20,000 cannot repaire their losses. 
 Their minister is driven from home, debarred 
 from all imployment, and deprived of all his 
 maintenance: and all well affected people are 
 forced to be absent from their habitations, to 
 their excessive charge in this their low estate,
 
 BATTLE OF CAMP-HILL. 55 
 
 large summes being proffered to apprehend 
 them, especially those of better ranke." 
 
 In 1665, London was not only visited by the 
 plague, but many other parts of England, 
 among which Birmingham felt this dreadful 
 mark of divine judgment. The infection is 
 said to have been caught by a box of clothes, 
 brought by the carrier, and lodged at the White- 
 Hart. Depopulation ensued. The church-yard 
 was insufficient for the reception of the dead, 
 who were conveyed to Lady Wood-green, one 
 acre of waste land, thence denominated the 
 Pest Ground. 
 
 The charter for the market has evidently 
 been renewed by divers kings, both Saxon and 
 Norman, but when iirst granted is uncertain; 
 perhaps at an early Saxon date ; and the day 
 seems never to have been changed from Thurs- 
 day. 
 
 The lords were tenacious of their privileges ; 
 or, one would think, there was no need to re- 
 new their charter. Prescription, necessity, and 
 increasing numbers, would establish the right. 
 Perhaps in a Saxon period, there was room suf- 
 ficient in our circumscribed market-place, for 
 the people and their weekly supplies ; but now 
 their supplies would fill it, exclusive of the 
 people. 
 
 Thus by a steady and a persevering hand, 
 Birmingham kept a constant and uniform stroke
 
 56 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 at the anvil, through a succession of ages, ris- 
 ing superior to the frowns of fortune, establish- 
 ing a variety of productions from iron, ever 
 improving her inventive powers, and perhaps 
 changing a number of her people, equal to her 
 whole inhabitants, every sixteen years, till she 
 arrived at another important period, the end of 
 the civil wars of Charles the First.
 
 $7 
 
 MODERN STATE 
 
 OF 
 
 BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 IT is the practice of the historian to divide 
 ancient history from modern, at the fall of the 
 Roman Empire. For, during a course of about 
 seven hundred years, while the Roman name 
 beamed in meridian splendour, the lustre of her 
 arms and political conduct influenced, more or 
 less, every country in Europe. But at the fall 
 of that mighty empire, which happened in the 
 fifth century, every one of the conquered pro- 
 vinces was left to stand upon its own basis. 
 From this period the history of nations takes a 
 material turn. 
 
 The English historian divides his ancient ac- 
 count from the modern, at the extinction of the 
 house of Plantagenet, in 1485, the fall of Ri- 
 chard the Third. For, by the introduction of let- 
 ters, an extraordinary degree of light was thrown 
 upon science, and by a new system of politics, 
 adopted by Henry the Seventh, the British con- 
 stitution, occasioned by one small act of parlia-
 
 58 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ment, that of allowing the liberty to sell land, 
 took a very different, and an important course. 
 
 But the ancient and modern state of Birming- 
 ham, must divide at the restoration of Charles 
 the Second. For though she had before held 
 a considerable degree of eminence, yet at this 
 period, the curious arts began to take root, and 
 were cultivated by the hand of genius. Build- 
 ing leases also began to take effect, extension 
 followed, numbers of people crowded upon 
 each other, as into a paradise. 
 
 As a healthy tree, perfectly adapted for 
 growth, and planted in a suitable soil, draws 
 nourishment from the circumjacent ground, to 
 a great extent, and robs the neighbouring plants 
 of their support, so that nothing can thrive 
 within its influence ; so Birmingham, half whose 
 inhabitants above the age of ten, perhaps, are 
 not natives, draws her annual supply of hands, 
 and is constantly fed by the towns that surround 
 her, where her trades are not practised, pre- 
 venting every increase to those neighbours who 
 kindly contribute to her wants. This is the 
 case with Bromsgrove, Dudley, Stourbridge, 
 Sutton, Lichfield, Tamworth, Coleshill, and 
 Solihull. 
 
 We have taken a view of Birmingham in 
 several periods of existence, during the long 
 course of perhaps three thousand years ; stand- 
 ing sometimes upon presumptive ground. If
 
 MODERN STATE. 59 
 
 the prospect has been a little clouded, it only- 
 caused us to be more attentive, that we might 
 not be deceived. But, though we have at- 
 tended her through so immense a space, we have 
 only seen her in infancy ; comparatively small, 
 in her size, homely in her person, and coarse 
 in her dress. Her ornaments, wholly of iron, 
 from her own forge. But now, her growth will 
 be amazing ; her expansion rapid, perhaps not 
 to be paralleled in history. We shall see her 
 rise in all the beauty of youth, of grace, of ele- 
 gance, and attract the notice of the commer- 
 cial world. She will add to her iron orna- 
 ments, the lustre of every metal that the whole 
 earth can produce, with all their illustrious race 
 of compounds, heightened by fancy, and gar- 
 nished with jewels. She will draw from the 
 fossil, and the vegetable kingdoms ; press the 
 ocean for shell, skin, and coral ; she will tax 
 the animal, for horn, bone, and ivory, and she 
 will decorate the whole with the touches of her 
 pencil. 
 
 I have met with some remarks, published in 
 17 1-3, wherein the author observes, " That 
 Birmingham, at the restoration, probably con- 
 sisted only of three streets." But it is more 
 probable it consisted of fifteen, though not all 
 finished, and, about nine hundred houses. I 
 am sensible that when an author strings a par- 
 cel of streets together, lie furnishes but a dry
 
 CO HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 entertainment for his reader, especially to a 
 stranger. But, as necessity demands intelli- 
 gence from the historian, I must beg leave to 
 mention the streets and their supposed number 
 of houses. 
 
 House*. 
 Digbeth, nearly the same as now, except 
 the twenty-three houses between the 
 two Mill lanes, which are of a modern 
 
 date, about - - - - - 110 
 
 Moat-lane (Court-lane) 62 
 
 Corn market and Shambles * - - 50 
 
 Spiceal-street-f- ----- 50 
 
 Dudley-street ----- 50 
 
 Bell-street ------ 30 
 
 Philip-street ------ 20 
 
 St. Martin's-lane - - 15 
 
 Edgbaston-street ----- 70 
 
 Lee's-lane ------ 10 
 
 Park-street, extending from Digbeth 
 nearly to the east end of Freeman- 
 street --___ go 
 Moor-street to the bottom of Castle-street 70 
 Bull-street, not so high as the Minories - 50 
 High-street ------ 100 
 
 Deritend and Bordesley - - - - 120 
 
 * One side of the Corn Market, and the whole of the 
 Shambles are since taken down. 
 
 t One side of Spiceal-street is since taken down.
 
 MODERN STATE. 61 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Odd houses scattered round the verge of 
 the town ------ 70 
 
 907 
 The number of inhabitants, 5,472. 
 
 The author I mentioned before, observes, 
 u That from the restoration to the year 1700, 
 the streets of Birmingham were increased to 
 thirty-one." But I can make their number 
 only twenty-eight, and many of these far from 
 complete. Also, that the whole number of 
 houses were '2,504, and the inhabitants 15,032. 
 The additional streets seem to have been Castle- 
 street, Carr's-lane, Dale-end, Stafford -street, 
 Bull-lane, Pinfold-street, Colmore-street, the 
 Froggery, Old Meeting-street, Worcester-street, 
 Peck-lane, New-street (a small part) Lower 
 Mill-lane. 
 
 Dr. Thomas, in his continuation of Dugdale, 
 tells us, " The old parish contained about 900 
 houses, the new between seven and eight, De- 
 ritend 90, and Bordesley 30," but omits the 
 time ; probably about the erection of St. 
 Philip's church. 
 
 From the year 1700 to 1731, there is said to 
 have been a farther addition of twenty-five 
 streets, I know of only twenty-three : and also 
 of 1,215 houses, and <S,250 inhabitants. Their
 
 62 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 names I offer as under : Freeman-street, New 
 Meeting-street, Moor-street (the north part), 
 Wood-street, the Butts, Lichfield-street , Tho- 
 mas's-street, John's-street, London-' Prentice- 
 street, Lower Priory, The Square, Upper Priory, 
 Minories, Steelhouse-lane, Cherry- street, Can- 
 non-street, Needless-alley, Temple-street, King- 
 street, Queen-street, Old Hinkleys, Small- 
 brook-street, and the east part of Hill-street. 
 
 I first saw Birmingham, July 14, 1741, and 
 will perambulate its boundaries with my tra- 
 veller, beginning at the top of Snow-hill, keep- 
 ing the town on our left, and the fields that 
 then were, on our right. 
 
 Through Bull-lane we proceed to Temple- 
 street ; down Peck-lane, to the top of Pinfold- 
 street ; Dudley-street, the Old Hinkleys to the 
 top of Smallbrook-street, back through Edg- 
 baston-street, Digbeth, to the upper end of 
 Deritend. We shall return through Park- 
 street, Mass-house-lane, the North of Dale- 
 end, Stafford- street, Steelhouse-lane, to the 
 top of Snow-hill, from whence we set out. 
 
 If we compare this account with that of 1731, 
 we shall not find any great addition of streets ; 
 but those that were formed before, were much 
 better filled up. The new streets erected dur- 
 ing these ten years were Temple-row, except 
 about six houses. The north of Park-street, 
 and of Dale-end ; also, Slaney-street, and a 
 small part of the east side of Snow-hill.
 
 MODERN STATE. 63 
 
 We have now girt Birmingham, as the priests 
 did Jericho, seven times, but with this differ- 
 ence, they continued the same route ; we have 
 extended ours. In their march the buildings 
 fell ; in ours they rise. 
 
 From 1741, to the year 1781, Birmingham 
 seems to have acquired the amazing augmenta- 
 tion of seventy-one streets, 4172 houses, and 
 25,032 inhabitants. Thus her internal property 
 is covered with newly erected buildings, tier 
 within tier. Thus she opens annually a new 
 aspect to the traveller; and thus she pene- 
 trates along the roads that surround her, as if 
 to unite with the neighbouring towns, for their 
 improvement in commerce, in arts, and in civi- 
 lization. 
 
 I have often led my curious enquirer round 
 Birmingham, but, like the thread round the 
 swelling clue, never twice in the same track. 
 We shall again examine her boundaries. Our 
 former journey commenced at the top of Snow- 
 hill, we now set off from the bottom. 
 
 The buildings in I78I extended about forty 
 yards beyond the Salutation, near the Wolver- 
 hampton road. We turn up Lionel-street, leav- 
 ing St. Paul's, and about three new erected 
 houses, on the right ; pass close to New Hall, 
 leaving it on the left, to the top of Great 
 Charles-street, along Easy-hill : we then leave 
 the wharf to the right, go down Suffolk-street,
 
 64 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 in which are seventy houses, having two infant 
 streets also to the right, in which are about 
 twelve houses each : up to Holloway-head, 
 thence to Windmill-hill, Bow-street, Brick-kiln- 
 lane, down to Lady-well, along Pudding-brook, 
 to the Moat, Lloyd's Slitting-mill, Digbeth, 
 over Deritend-bridge, thence to the right for 
 Cheapside ; cross the top of Bradford-street, 
 return by the bridge to Floodgate- street, Park- 
 street,p3artholomew's chapel, Grosvenor-street, 
 Nova Scotia-street, Woodcock-lane, Aston- 
 street, Lancaster-street, Staniforth-street, Price's 
 street, Bath-street, to the bottom of Snow-hill. 
 
 The circle I have described is about five 
 miles. There are also beyond this crooked 
 line, five clumps of houses belonging to Bir- 
 mingham, which may be denoted hamlets. 
 
 At the Sand-pits upon the Dudley-road, 
 about three furlongs from the buildings, are 
 fourteen houses. 
 
 Four furlongs from the Navigation office, 
 upon the road to Hales-Owen, are twenty- 
 nine. 
 
 One furlong from Exeter-row, towards the 
 guide post, are thirty-four. 
 
 Upon Camp-hill, 130 yards from the junc- 
 tion of the Warwick and Coventry roads, which 
 is the extremity of the present buildings, are 
 thirty-one. 
 
 And two furlongs from the town, in Walmer- 
 Jane, are seventeen more.
 
 MODERN STATE. 65 
 
 Since my last journey round Birmingham, the 
 reader and the writer have had a respite of ten 
 years ; we shall therefore in the year 1791, make 
 exactly the same tour, and, with a critical 
 exactness, observe what streets and houses have 
 arisen on our right, out of solitary fields. The 
 cattle have been turned out of their pasture, to 
 make room for man ; and the arts are planted 
 where the daisy grew. These additions are so 
 wonderful, that even an author of veracity will 
 barely meet belief. A city has been grafted 
 upon a town ! Instead of Birmingham drawing 
 her neighbourhood only, she seems to draw the 
 world. 
 
 I shall divide my examination into eight parts, 
 according to the eight roads which proceed 
 from the town. I will omit the five hamlets, 
 for before I can mend my pen for another edi- 
 tion oi' this work, they will be united to the 
 place. 
 
 Between the Rouds to Wolverhampton and 
 Dudley, are, 
 
 Houses. 
 On the West side of Constitution Hill, 
 
 extending to the first mile stone - - 4(1 
 Falkner-street - - - -1.5 
 
 Kenyon-slreet - 70 
 
 Northwood-street - - - ]<) 
 
 < Yx-k-strecl - . . , 1
 
 (jb HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Henrietta-street - 
 
 - 
 
 60 
 
 Mary Ann-street - 
 
 - 
 
 52 
 
 North end of Livery-street 
 
 - 
 
 206 
 
 Water-street ----- 
 
 - 
 
 81 
 
 North of Church-street and Ludgate Hill 
 
 47 
 
 St. Paul's Square - 
 
 - 
 
 62 
 
 Caroline-street - 
 
 - 
 
 11 
 
 Mount-street - 
 
 - 
 
 61 
 
 Brook-street ----- 
 
 - 
 
 8 
 
 James-street - - - - - 
 
 - 
 
 7 
 
 North side of Lionel-street 
 
 - 
 
 46 
 
 North end of Newhall-street - 
 
 - 
 
 12 
 
 Fleet-street - 
 
 - 
 
 104 
 
 North side of Summer-row, between 
 
 the 
 
 
 two Canals - 
 
 - 
 
 16 
 
 March 14, 1779, there were only three 
 houses in this division : by that day twelve- 
 month they had increased to 55 ; on March 14 
 in the ensuing year they were 144: and on 
 March 14, 1791, that is ten years after, there 
 was an addition of 833, making in all the above 
 number 977- 
 
 From the Dudley to the Bewdley Road. 
 
 South side of Summer-row - - 18 
 
 Crescent ------ 5 
 
 King Edward'? Place - - - 2f)
 
 MODERN STATE. 67 
 
 Houses. 
 
 North side of the Bewdley road, extend- 
 ing to the Canal 5 
 
 57 
 
 Between the Bewdley and the Bromsgrove 
 Roads. 
 
 South side of the Road 7 
 
 Bridge-street - - - - 12 
 
 Wharf-street - - - - -122 
 
 Foredraft- street ----- 74, 
 
 Norfolk-street 41 
 
 South end of Navigation-street 49 
 
 Ditto of Cross-street - - - - 15 
 
 Gough-street 25 
 
 Suffolk-street ----- 297 
 
 Little Hill-street ------ 12 
 
 South end of Bristol-street, beyond Inge- 
 street 41 
 
 cm 
 
 Deduct for JO houses in Suffolk-street, 
 and 24, in two infant streets - - 94 
 
 Additional houses - - 601 
 
 From the Bromsgrove to the Coventry Road. 
 
 North end 01 Bristol-street, east of Inge- 
 st reel - 17 
 v 2
 
 68 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Houses - 
 Thorpe -street ----- 84 
 
 Dean-street - - -12 
 
 Inge-street ------ 55 
 
 Hurst-street - - - 14 
 
 Bromsgrove-street - -39 
 
 Balsall-street - - - 59 
 
 Rea-street ------ 44 
 
 364 
 
 From the Coventry to the Coleshill Road. 
 
 Milk-street - 71 
 
 Coventry-street - - - - - 41 
 
 Oxford-street ----- 30 
 
 Bordesley-street 88 
 
 Mountj oy-street - - - - - 41 
 
 Canal-street - - - - - -13 
 
 Fazeley-street - - - - 21 
 
 Bartholomew-street - - - - \ c >5 
 
 South side of Vauxhall-row - - 20 
 
 Watery-lane ------ 24 
 
 Great Brook-street - 27 
 
 Lawley-street - 47 
 
 Windsor-street - - - - - 55 
 
 Henry-street ----- 8 
 
 South side of Ashted - 94 
 
 705
 
 MODERN STATE. 69 
 
 Between the Road to Coleshill and that to 
 Lichfield. 
 
 Houses. 
 West side of Ashted 12 
 
 Woodcock-street - 
 
 . 
 
 - 87 
 
 Leicester-street 
 Aston Road, East - 
 
 _ 
 
 8 
 - 16 
 
 Love-lane 
 
 _ 
 
 23 
 
 Duke-street - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 47 
 
 Prospect-row 
 
 _ 
 
 - 32 
 
 225 
 Deduct for the 70 houses in Duke-street, &c. 70 
 
 Additional houses - - 1.55 
 
 From the Liclifield to the Stafford Road. 
 
 On the West of Lichfield road - 32 
 
 North end of Duke-street 8 
 
 York-street, North end 9 
 
 Addition to Staniforth-street 65 
 
 Nell-street - - - - - 11 
 
 Lancaster-street 63 
 
 188 
 
 From the Stafford to the Wolverhampton Road. 
 
 North side of Price's-street 4 
 
 Summer-lane - 58
 
 70 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Houses, 
 Hospital-street - 70 
 
 Hampton-street ----- 77 
 Bond-street - - 9 
 
 St. LukeVrow, to the Mile Stone - - 24 
 
 242 
 This great circle of streets, which has sur- 
 rounded Birmingham during the last ten years, 
 will be found to consist of 70, and the houses 
 to be 3145. There must also have been erected 
 in the internal parts of the town 600 more, so 
 that an augmentation has taken place of 374,5, 
 and 20,470 inhabitants. 
 
 The hamlets of Deritend and Bordesley, 
 which were chiefly one street in 1767, contained 
 in 1791, 
 
 
 
 
 Houses. 
 
 On the east end of Di 
 
 igbeth - 
 
 - 40 
 
 Mill-lane 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 44 
 
 The street called Deritend 
 
 - 287 
 
 Bridge-row 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 10 
 
 Birchall-street 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 77 
 
 Lombard-street 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 60 
 
 Alcester-street 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 94 
 
 Brandy-row - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 19 
 
 Warwick-street 
 
 - 
 
 _ 
 
 - 28 
 
 Bradford-street 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 112 
 
 Green-street - 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 - 2,5
 
 MODERN STATE. J I 
 
 Houses. 
 Cheapside ------ 108 
 
 Moseley-street ----- 50 
 
 954 
 
 The whole of Deritend and Bordesley, in 
 1781, consisted of five streets, 400 houses, atid 
 2125 inhabitants. In 1791 the streets were IS, 
 the houses 954, and the inhabitants 5013. Bir- 
 mingham therefore added to her dimensions, 
 during these ten years, 78 streets, 4299 houses, 
 and 23,358 people. 
 
 I shall comprise, in one view, the state of 
 Birmingham in ten different periods ; and 
 though some are imaginary, perhaps they are 
 not far from real. 
 
 In the time 
 
 of the 
 
 Streets. 
 an- 
 
 Houses. 
 
 Souls. 
 
 cient Britons, 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 80 
 
 400 
 
 A. 1). 750, 
 
 - 
 
 8 
 
 600 
 
 3000 
 
 1066, 
 
 - 
 
 9 
 
 700 
 
 3500 
 
 1650, 
 
 - 
 
 15 
 
 900 
 
 5472 
 
 1700, 
 
 - 
 
 28 
 
 2504 
 
 15032 
 
 1731, 
 
 - 
 
 51 
 
 3717 
 
 23286 
 
 1741, 
 
 - 
 
 54 
 
 4114 
 
 24660 
 
 1781, 
 
 - 
 
 125 
 
 8382 
 
 50295 
 
 1791, 
 
 - 
 
 203 
 
 12681 
 
 73653 
 
 In 1778, Birmingham, exclusive of the ap- 
 pendages, contained 8042 houses, 48252 inha- 
 bitants.
 
 72 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 At the same time Manchester consisted of 
 3402 houses, and 22,440 people. 
 
 In 1779, Nottingham contained 3191 houses, 
 and 17,711 souls. 
 
 It is easy to see, without the spirit of pro- 
 phecy, that Birmingham has not yet arrived at 
 her zenith, neither is she likely to reach it for 
 ages to come. Her increase will depend upon 
 her manufactures ; her manufactures will de- 
 pend upon the national commerce ; national 
 commerce upon a superiority at sea; and this 
 superiority may be extended to a long futurity. 
 
 Birmingham, by an unjust and unnecessary 
 war, afterwards underwent a material change. 
 Her trade stagnated, her sons entered the army, 
 their masters the gazette, and left 1600 empty 
 houses. Five of these houses were mine. The 
 tenants, instead of paying rent, decamped with 
 the keys ; the houses unoccupied, were soon 
 demolished; and tiles, timber, glass, lead, and 
 bricks, were, to the very foundation, carried 
 off. In 1801 I apprehend the population of 
 Birmingham had decreased between three and 
 four thousand. 
 
 Affairs took a turn about the year 1808. The 
 inhabitants increased more than the buildings; 
 if one house was to be let, ten persons were 
 ready to take it. I apprehend that there was at 
 this period an increase of about 200 houses, and 
 >00O people.
 
 MODERN STATE. J3 
 
 In 1811 I believe the population amounted 
 to about 80,000. 
 
 May the 2nd, 1816, there were 17)710 houses 
 in Birmingham, which, on the calculation of five 
 persons to a house, would give a population of 
 88,550. It is believed that considerably more 
 than 290 houses were added from this time to 
 the end of the year 1818; but this number 
 only, on the same calculation, would make the 
 inhabitants 90,000. 
 
 The interior parts of the town are, like those 
 of other places, parcelled out into small free- 
 holds, perhaps originally purchased of the 
 lords of the manor ; but, since its extraordi- 
 nary increase, which began about the restora- 
 tion, large tracts of land have been retailed 
 out upon building leases. Some of the first 
 that were granted, seem to have been about 
 Worcester and Colmore-streets, at the trifling 
 annual price of one farthing per yard, or under. 
 The market ran so much against the lessor, 
 that the lessee had liberty to build in what man- 
 ner he pleased; and, at the expiration of the 
 term, could remove the buildings, unless the 
 other chose to purchase them. But the mar- 
 ket has so altered, that in 1781 the lessee gave 
 six-pence per yard ; was frequently restricted 
 tied to the mode of building, and obliged to 
 leave the premises in repair.
 
 74 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 The rage for building is predominant : we 
 dip our fingers into mortar almost as soon as 
 into business. It is not wonderful that a per- 
 son should be hurt by the falling of a house ; 
 but, with us, a man sometimes breaks his back 
 by raising one. This private injury, however, 
 is attended with a public benefit of the first 
 magnitude; for every " House to be Let" 
 holds forth a kind of invitation to the stranger, 
 who being of the laborious class promotes the 
 manufactures. 
 
 If we cannot produce many houses of the 
 highest orders in architecture, we make out the 
 defect in numbers, Perhaps more are erected 
 here, in a given time, than in any place in the 
 whole island, London excepted. It is remark- 
 able, that in a town like Birmingham, where so 
 many houses are built, the art of building is 
 so little understood. The stile of architecture 
 in the inferior sort, is rather shewy than last- 
 ing. The proprietor generally contracts for a 
 house of certain dimensions, at a stipulated 
 price : this induces the artist to use some ingre- 
 dients of the cheaper kind, and sometimes to 
 try whether he can cement the materials with 
 sand, instead of lime. But a house is not the 
 only thing spoiled by the builder ; he frequently 
 spoils himself: out of many successions of 
 house-makers, I cannot recollect one who made 
 a fortune. Many of these edifices have been
 
 MODERN STATE. 75 
 
 brought forth, answered the purposes for which 
 they were created, and been buried in the dust, 
 during my short acquaintance with Birming- 
 ham. One would think, if a man can survive 
 a house, he has no great reason to complain of 
 the shortness of life. From the external gen- 
 teel appearance of a house, the stranger would 
 be induced to believe that the inhabitant was 
 possessed of at least a thousand pounds ; but, if he 
 looks within, he sees only the ensigns of beggary. 
 We have people who have an income of four or 
 live hundred pounds a year in houses, none of 
 which, perhaps, exceed six pounds per annum. 
 It may excite a smile to say, I have known two 
 houses erected, one occupied by a man, his 
 wife, and three children ; the other pair had 
 four ; and twelve guineas covered every ex- 
 pence ! Pardon, my dear reader, the omission 
 of a pompous encomium on their beauty, or 
 duration. 
 
 I am inclined to think that in 1781 three 
 fourths of the houses in Birmingham stood upon 
 first foundations, and all the places of worship, 
 except Deritend Chapel. 
 
 About the year 1730, Thomas Sherlock, late 
 Bishop of London, purchased the private estate 
 of the ladies of the manor, chiefly land, about 
 four hundred per annum. In 1758, the steward 
 told me it had increased to twice the original 
 value. The pious old bishop was frequently
 
 76 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 solicited to grant building leases, but answered, 
 " His land was valuable, and if built upon, his 
 successor, at the expiration of the term, would 
 have the rubbish to carry off:" he therefore 
 not only refused, but prohibited his successor 
 from granting such leases. But Sir Thomas 
 Gooch, who succeeded him, seeing the great 
 improvement of the neighbouring estates, and 
 wisely judging fifty pounds per acre preferable 
 to five, procured an act in about 1766, to set 
 aside the prohibiting clause in the bishop's 
 will. Since which, a considerable town may be 
 said to have been erected upon his property, 
 now about j^.2400 per annum. 
 
 An acquaintance assured me, that in 1756 he 
 could have purchased the house he then occu- 
 pied for ,=.400 but he refused. In 1770, the 
 same house was sold for ^.600, and in 1772, I 
 purchased it for eight hundred and thirty five 
 guineas, without any alteration, but what time 
 had made for the worse; and for this price I 
 had only an old house, which I was obliged to 
 take down. Such is the rapid improvement in 
 value of landed property, in a commercial 
 country. Suffer me to add, though foreign to 
 my subject, that these premises were the pro- 
 perty of an ancient family of the name of 
 Smith, now in decay. They were many centuries 
 ago one of the first inns in Birmingham, and 
 well known by the name of the Garland House,
 
 MODERN STATE. 77 
 
 perhaps from the sign ; but within memory, by 
 that of Potter's Coffee-house. Under one part 
 was a room about forty -five feet long, and fifteen 
 wide, used for the town prison. In sinking a 
 cellar we found a large quantity of tobacco- 
 pipes of a singular construction, with some very 
 antique earthen-ware, but no coin; also loads of 
 broken bottles, which refutes the complaint of 
 our pulpits against modern degeneracy, and in- 
 dicates, the vociferous arts of getting drunk and 
 breaking glasses, were well understood by our 
 ancestors. In penetrating a bed of sand, upon 
 which had stood a workshop, about two feet 
 below the surface we came to a tomb six feet 
 long, three wide, and five deep, built very 
 neatly, with tiles laid flat, but no cement. The 
 contents were mouldered wood, and pieces of 
 human bone. 
 
 In 178 1 I knew of no house in Birmingham, 
 the inns excepted, whose annual rent exceeded 
 ninety pounds. The united rents appeared to 
 be about one hundred thousand, which, if we 
 take at twenty years purchase, will compose a 
 freehold of *.% 000,000. In 1812 the rents 
 were nearly doubled. 
 
 The new erections I have described, with 
 their appendages, cover about 300 acres. If 
 we allow the content:-; of the manor to be ?900, 
 and deduct {)()() for the town, 500 more for 
 roads, water, and waste land, and rate the re-
 
 78 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 maining 1500 at the average rent of S/. per acre, 
 we shall raise an additional freehold of ^.4500 
 per annum. 
 
 This landed property, at thirty years pur- 
 chase, will produce ^.135,000, and, united with 
 the value of the buildings, the fee-simple of this 
 region of genius will amount to -.2,135,000. 
 
 STREETS, 
 
 THEIR NAMES. 
 
 W E accuse our short-sighted ancestors, and 
 with reason, for leaving us almost without a 
 church-yard and a market-place ; for forming 
 some of our streets nearly without width, and 
 without light. One would think they intended 
 a street without a passage, when they erected 
 Moor-street: and that their successors should 
 light their candles at noon *. 
 
 * This street was widened in 1807-
 
 STREETS, AND THEIR NAMES. 7<) 
 
 Something, however, may be pleaded in ex- 
 cuse, for we should ever plead the cause of the 
 absent, by observing, that the concourse of people 
 was small, therefore a little room would suffice; 
 and the buildings were low, so that light would 
 be less obstructed. Besides, as the increase of 
 the town was slow, the modern augmentation 
 could not then be discovered through the dark 
 medium of time ; but the prospect into futurity 
 is at this day rather brighter, for we plainly 
 see ; and perhaps with more reason, succeeding 
 generations will blame us for neglect. We pos- 
 sess the power to reform, without the will ; 
 why else do we suffer enormities to grow, which 
 will have taken deep root in another age ? If 
 utility and beauty can be joined together in 
 the street, why are they ever put asunder ? It 
 is easy for Birmingham to be as rapid in her 
 improvement, as in her growth. 
 
 We have more reason to accuse ourselves of 
 neglect, than our ancestors ; for we retain 
 all their blunders in street-making, and upon 
 these we graft our own. The inhabitants of 
 Birmingham may justly be stiled Masters of In- 
 vention : the arts are obedient to their will ; 
 but if Genius displays herself in the shops, she 
 is seldom seen in the streets : though we have 
 long practised the art of making streets, \v r c have 
 an art to learn ; there is not a street in the 
 whole town but might have been better con- 
 structed.
 
 80 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 When land is appropriated for a street, the 
 builders are often under no controul; the lessee 
 proceeds according to his interest, or fancy ; 
 there is no man to preserve order, or prescribe 
 bounds ; hence arise evils without a cure : such 
 as a narrowness, which scarcely admits light, 
 cleanliness, pleasure, health, or use ; unneces- 
 sary hills, like that in Bull-street ; sudden falls, 
 owing to the floor of one house being laid three 
 feet lower than the next, as in Coleshill-street; 
 one side of a street, like the deck of a ship, 
 gunwale to, several feet higher than the other, 
 as in Snow-hill, New-street, Friday-street, Pa- 
 radise-row, Lionel-street, Suffolk-street, and 
 Brick-kiln-lane. Hence also that crowd of 
 enormous bulk sashes ; steps projecting from 
 the houses and the cellars ; buildings, w T hich, 
 like men at a dog-fight, seem rudely to crowd 
 before each other; pent houses, rails, pallisades, 
 &c. which have long called for removal. 
 
 Till the year 1769, when the Lamp and Street 
 Act was obtained, there were only two powers 
 able to correct these evils; the lord of the manor 
 and the freeholders ; neither of which were ex- 
 erted. The lord was so far from preserving the 
 rights of the public, that he himself became the 
 chief trespasser. He connived at small en- 
 croachments in others, to countenance his own. 
 Others trespassed like little rogues, but he like 
 a lord. In 1728, he seized a public building.
 
 STREETS, AND THEIR NAMES. 81 
 
 called the Leather-hall, and converted it to his 
 private use. George Davis, the constable, sum- 
 moned the inhabitants to vindicate their right ; 
 but none appearing, the lord smiled at their 
 supineness, and kept the property. In about 
 1745, he took possession of the Bull-ring, their 
 little market-place, and began to build it up ; 
 but although the people did not bring their ac- 
 tion, they did not sleep as before, for they un- 
 did in the night what he did in the day. In 
 17<58, when the houses at No. 3 were erected, 
 in that extreme narrowly part of Bull-street, near 
 the Welch Cross, the proprietor, emboldened 
 by repeated neglects, chose to project half a 
 yard beyond his bounds. But a private inha- 
 bitant, who was an attorney, a bully, and a 
 freeholder, with his own hands, and a few 
 hearty curses, demolished the building, and re- 
 duced the builder to order. But though the 
 freeholders have power over all encroachments 
 within memory, yet these are the only instances 
 upon record of the exertion of that power. 
 
 In 1791 the town consisted of about 200 
 streets, some of which acquired their names 
 from a variety of causes, but some from no 
 cause, and others have not yet acquired a name. 
 Those of Bull-street, Cannon-street, and Lon- 
 don 'Prentice-street, from the signs of their re- 
 spective names. The first of these was origin- 
 allv Chapel-street, from a Chapel belonging to
 
 S l 2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the Priory, which covered that ground, now No. 
 27 ; and the place of interment extended to the 
 spot now No. 33. Some receive their names 
 from the proprietors of the land, as Smalibroke- 
 street, Freeman-street, Col more-street, Slaney- 
 strcct, Weaman -street, Bradford-street, Col- 
 more-row, Philip-street, and Bell-street. Dig- 
 beth, or Ducks Bath, from the pools for ac- 
 commodating that animal, was originally Well- 
 street, from the many springs in its neighbour- 
 hood. Other streets derive a name from caprice, 
 as Jamaica-row, John and Thomas's streets. 
 Some from a desire of imitating the metropolis, 
 as, Fleet-street, Snow-hill, Ludgate-hill, Cheap- 
 side, and Friday-street. Some again from 
 local causes, as High-street, from its elevation, 
 St. Martin's-lane, Church-street, Cherry-street, 
 originally an orchard, Chapel-street, Bartholo- 
 mew-row, Mass-house-lane, Old and New Meet- 
 ing-streets, Steelhouse-lane, Temple-row and 
 Temple-street, also Pinfold-street, from a pin- 
 fold at No. 85, removed in 1752. Moor-street, 
 anciently Mole-street, from the eminence on one 
 side, or the declivity on the other. Park-street 
 seems to have acquired its name from having been 
 appropriated to the private use of the lord of 
 the manor, and, except at the narrow end next 
 Digbeth, it contained only the corner house to 
 the south, entering Shut-lane, No. 82, lately 
 taken down, which was called the Lodge. Spi-
 
 STREETS, AND THEIR NAMES. 83 
 
 ceal-street, anciently Mercer-street, from the 
 number of Mercers shops ; and as the profes- 
 sors of that trade dealt in grocery, it was pro- 
 miscuously called Spicer-street. The present 
 name is only a corruption of the last. The spot 
 now the Old Hinkleys, was an enclosure till 
 about 1720, in which horses were shewn at the 
 fair, then held in Edgbaston-street. It was since 
 a brick-yard, and contained only one hut, in 
 which the brick-maker slept. The tincture of 
 the smoky shops, with all their black furniture, 
 for welding gun-barrels, which afterwards ap- 
 peared on the back of Smallbroke-street, might 
 occasion the original name of Inkleys; ink is well 
 known; leys, is of British derivation, and means 
 grazing ground ; so that the etymology perhaps 
 is Black pasture. The Butts, took its name 
 from a mark to shoot at, when the bow was the 
 fashionable instrument of war, which the artist 
 of Birmingham knew well how to make, and to 
 use. Gosta Green (Goosc-stead-green) a name 
 of great antiquity, now in decline ; once a 
 tract of commons, circumscribed by the Staf- 
 ford road, now Stafford-street; the roads to 
 Lichfield and Coleshill, now Aston and Coles- 
 hill-streets, and extending to Duke-street, the 
 boundary of the manor. Perhaps, many ages 
 after, it was converted into a farm, and was, 
 within memory, possessed by a person of the 
 name of Tauter, whence Tauter-street. 
 
 g 'J
 
 8i HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Sometimes a street fluctuates between two 
 name,s, as that of Catharine and Wittal, which 
 at length terminated in favour of the former. 
 Thus the names of Great George and Great 
 Charles stood candidates for one of the finest 
 streets in Birmingham, which after a contest of 
 two or three years, was carried in favour of the 
 latter. Others receive a name from the places 
 to which they direct, as Worcester-street, Edg- 
 baston-street, Dudley-street, Lichfield-street, 
 Aston-street, Stafford-street, Coleshill-street, 
 and Alcester-street. 
 
 A John Cooper, the same person who stands 
 in the list of donors in St. Martin's church, and 
 who, I apprehend, lived about two hundred and 
 fifty years ago, at the Talbot, now No. 20, in 
 the High-street, left about four acres of land 
 between Steelhouse-lane, St. Mary's chapel, 
 and Walmer-lane, to make love-days for the 
 people of Birmingham ; hence Love -day -croft. 
 Various sounds from the trowel upon the pre- 
 mises, in 17^8, produced the name of Love- 
 day-street (corrupted into Lovely-street). This 
 croft is part of an estate under the care of 
 Lench's Trust ; and, at the time of the bequest, 
 was probably worth no more than ten shillings 
 per annum. At the top of Walmer-lane, which 
 is the north-east corner of this croft, stood 
 about half a dozen old alms-houses, perhaps 
 erected in the beginning of the seventeenth
 
 STREETS, AND THEIR NAMES. 85 
 
 century, then at a considerable distance from 
 the town. These were taken down in 1764, 
 and the present alms-houses, which are thirty- 
 six, erected near the spot, at the expence of 
 the trust, to accommodate the same number of 
 poor widows, who have each a small annual sti- 
 pend, for the supply of coals ; this John Coo- 
 per, for some services rendered to the lord of 
 the manor, obtained three privileges, That of 
 regulating the goodness and price of beer; con- 
 sequently he stands in front of the whole race 
 ot^ liquid high tasters ; that he should, whenever 
 he pleased, bait a bull in the Bull-ring, whence 
 arises the name ; and, that he should be allowed 
 interment in the south porch of St. Martin's 
 church. His memory ought to be transmitted 
 with honour to posterity, for promoting the 
 harmony of his neighbourhood ; but he ought 
 to have been buried in a dunghill for punishing 
 an innocent animal. His wife seems to have 
 survived him ; she also became a benefactress, 
 is recorded in the same list, and their monu- 
 ment, in antique sculpture, is yet visible in the 
 porch.
 
 86 
 
 TRADE. 
 
 X ERHAPS there is not by nature so much 
 difference in the capacities of men, as by 
 education. The efforts of nature will pro- 
 duce a tenfold crop in the held, but those of 
 art fifty. 
 
 Perhaps too, the seeds of every virtue, vice, 
 inclination, and habit, are sown in the breast 
 of every human being, though not in an equal 
 degree. Some of these lie dormant for ever, 
 no hand inviting their cultivation. Some are 
 called into existence by their own internal 
 strength, and others by the external powers 
 that surround them. Some of these seeds flou- 
 rish more, some less, according to the aptness 
 of the soil, and the modes of assistance. We 
 are not to suppose infancy the only time in 
 which these scions spring; no part of life is 
 exempt. I knew a man who lived to the age 
 of forty, totally regardless of music. A fiddler 
 happening to have apartments near his abode, 
 attracted his ear by frequent performances, which 
 produced a growing inclination for that favour-
 
 TRADE. 87 
 
 ite science, and he became a proficient himself 1 . 
 Thus, in advanced periods, a man may fail in 
 love with a science, a woman, or a bottle. 
 Thus avarice is said to shoot up in ancient soil ; 
 and thus I myself bud forth in history at fifty- 
 six. 
 
 The cameleon is said to receive a tincture 
 from the colour of the object that is nearest 
 him ; but the human mind in reality receives a 
 bias from its connexions. Link a man to the 
 pulpit, and he cannot proceed to any great 
 lengths in profligate life. Enter him into the 
 army, and he will endeavour to swear himself 
 into consequence. Make the man of humanity 
 an overseer of the poor, and he will quickly find 
 the tender feelings of commiseration hardened. 
 Make him a surgeon, and he will amputate a 
 leg with the same indifference with which a 
 cutler saws a piece of bone for a knife handle. 
 Make him a physician, and he will be the only 
 person upon the premises, the heir excepted, 
 unconcerned at the prospect of death. You 
 commit a rascal to prison because he merits 
 transportation, but by the time he conies out 
 he merits a halter. By uniting with industry, 
 we become industrious. It is easy to give in- 
 stances of people whose distinguishing charac- 
 teristic was idleness, but when they had breathed 
 the air of Birmingham, diligence became the 
 predominant feature. The view of profit, like
 
 88 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the view of corn to the hungry horse, excites to 
 action. Thus the various seeds scattered by 
 nature into the soul at its first formation, either 
 lie neglected, are urged into increase by their 
 own powers, or are drawn towards maturity by 
 the concurring circumstances that attend them. 
 
 The late Mr. Grenville observed, in the 
 House of Commons, " That commerce tended 
 to corrupt the morals of a people." If we exa- 
 mine the expression, we shall find it true in a 
 certain degree, beyond which, it tends to im- 
 prove them. 
 
 Perhaps every tradesman can furnish out 
 numberless instances of small deceit. His con- 
 duct is marked with a littleness, which though 
 allowed by general consent, is not strictly just. 
 A person with whom I have long been con- 
 nected in business, asked, if I had dealt with 
 his relation, whom he had brought up, and who 
 had lately entered into commercial life. I an- 
 swered in the affirmative. He replied, " He is 
 a very honest fellow." I told him I saw all the 
 finesse of a tradesman about him. " Oh, re- 
 joined my friend, a man has a right to say all 
 he can in favour of his own goods." Nor is the 
 seller alone culpable. The buyer takes an equal 
 share in the deception. Though neither of 
 them speak their sentiments, they well under- 
 stand each other. Whilst a treaty is agitating, 
 the profit of the tradesman vanishes, vet the
 
 TRADE. 89 
 
 buyer pronounces against the article; but when 
 finished, the seller whispers to his friend, " It is 
 well sold," and the buyer smiles at the bargain. 
 Thus is the commercial track a line of minute 
 deceits. 
 
 But, on the other hand, it does not seem 
 possible for a man in trade to pass this line, 
 without wrecking his reputation ; which, if 
 once broken, can never be made whole. The 
 character of a tradesman is valuable; it is his 
 all ; therefore, whatever seeds of the vicious 
 kind may shoot forth in the mind, they are 
 carefully watched and nipped in the bud, that 
 they may never blossom into action. 
 
 Having stated the accounts between morality 
 and trade, I shall leave the reader to draw the 
 balance, and only ask, " Whether the people 
 in trade are more corrupt than those out?" If 
 the curious reader will lend an attentive ear to 
 a pair of farmers in the market, bartering for a 
 row, he will find as much dissimulation as at St. 
 James's, or at any other Saint's, but couched 
 in more homely phrase. The man of well- 
 bred deceit, is infinitely your friend it would 
 give him immense pleasure to serve you !" while 
 
 the man in the frock " Will be if he tells 
 
 you a word of a lie!" Deception is an innate 
 principle of the human heart, not peculiar to 
 one man, or one profession. Having occa- 
 sion for a horse, in I/'^O, I mentioned it to an
 
 <)0 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 acquaintance, and informed him the uses; he 
 assured me he had one that would exactly suit; 
 which he shewed in the stable, and held the 
 candle pretty high, for fear of affecting the 
 straw. I told him it was needless to examine 
 him, for I should rely upon his word, being 
 conscious he was too much my friend to deceive 
 me; therefore bargained, and caused him to be 
 sent home. But by the light of the sun, which 
 next morning illumined the heavens, I per- 
 ceived the horse was greased on all fours. I 
 therefore, in gentle terms, upbraided my friend 
 with duplicity, when he replied with some 
 warmth, " I would cheat my own brother in a 
 horse." Had this honourable friend stood a 
 chance of selling me a horse once a week, his 
 own interest would have prevented him from 
 deceiving me. 
 
 A man enters into business with a view of 
 acquiring a fortune a laudable motive! That 
 property, which rises from honest industry, is an 
 honour to its owner ; the repose of his age, the 
 reward of a life of attention ; but, great as the 
 advantage seems, yet, being of a private nature 
 it is one of the least in the mercantile walk. 
 For the intercourse occasioned by traffic, gives 
 a man a view of the world, and of himself; re- 
 moves the narrow limits that coniine his judg- 
 ment, expands the mind, opens his understand- 
 ing, removes his prejudices, and polishes his
 
 TRADE. <H 
 
 manners. Civility and humanity are ever the 
 companions of trade ; the man of business is 
 the man of liberal sentiment ; if he be not the 
 philosopher of nature, he is the friend of his 
 country. A barbarous and commercial people 
 is a contradiction. 
 
 It is singular that a predilection for Bir- 
 mingham is entertained by every denomination 
 of visitants, from Edward Duke of York, who 
 saw us in 176*5, down to the presuming Quack, 
 who, griped by necessity, boldly discharges 
 his filth from the stage. A paviour, of the 
 name of Obrien, assured me in 17-50, that he 
 only meant to sleep one night in Birmingham, 
 in his way from London to Dublin. But in- 
 stead of pursuing his journey next morning, as 
 intended, he had continued in the place thirty- 
 five years : and though fortune had never ele- 
 vated him above the pebbles of the street, he 
 had never repented his stay. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that I first saw 
 Birmingham in 1 7 1 1 , accidentally cast into 
 those regions of civility, equally unknown to 
 every inhabitant, and had not the least idea of 
 becoming one myself. Though the reflections 
 of an untaught youth of seventeen cannot be 
 striking, yet, as they were purely natural, per- 
 mit me to describe them. 
 
 i had been before acquainted with two oi 
 throe principal towns. The environs of all I
 
 9"2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 had seen were composed of wretched dwellings, 
 replete with dirt and poverty; but the buildings 
 in the exterior of Birmingham rose in a style of 
 elegance. Thatch, so plentiful in other towns, 
 was not to be met with in this. I was much 
 surprised at the place, but more at the people. 
 They were a species I had never seen ; they 
 possessed a vivacity I had never beheld : I had 
 been among dreamers, but now I saw men 
 awake : their very step along the street shewed 
 alacrity. I had been taught to consider the 
 whole twenty-four hours as appropriated for in- 
 action, but I found a people satisfied with only 
 half that number. My intended stay, like 
 Obriens, was one night ; but, struck with the 
 place, I was unwilling to leave it. I could not 
 avoid remarking, that if the people of Birming- 
 ham did not suffer themselves to sleep in the 
 streets, they did not suffer others to sleep in 
 their beds ; for I was each morning by three 
 odock, saluted with a circle of hammers. 
 Every man seemed to know and prosecute his 
 own affairs : the town was large, and full of 
 inhabitants, and those inhabitants full of in- 
 dustry. I mixed witli a variety of company, 
 chiefly of the lower ranks, and rather as a silent 
 spectator. I was treated with an easy freedom 
 by all, and with marks of favour by some. 
 Hospitality seemed to claim this happy people 
 for her own, though I knew not from what
 
 TRADE. 93 
 
 cause. I was not then aware that an inter- 
 course with man humanized the mind, and 
 commerce smoothed the rugged manners. 
 
 Thus it appears that characters are influ- 
 enced by professions. That the great advan- 
 tage of private fortune, and the greater to so- 
 ciety, of softening and forming the mind, are 
 the results of trade. But these are not the only 
 benefits that flow from this desirable spring. It 
 opens the hand of charity to the assistance of 
 distress ; witness the hospital and the two cha- 
 rity schools, supported by annual donation : 
 It adds to the national security, by supplying 
 the taxes for internal use, and for the prose- 
 cution of war. It adds to that security, by 
 furnishing the inhabitants with riches, which 
 they are ever anxious to preserve, even at 
 the risk of their lives ; for the preservation 
 of private wealth tends to the preservation 
 of the state. It augments the value of 
 landed property, by multiplying the number 
 of purchasers : it produces money to improve 
 that land into a higher state of cultivation, 
 which ultimately redounds to general bene- 
 fit, by affording plenty : it unites bodies of 
 men in social compact, for their mutual in- 
 terest : it adds to the credit and pleasure of 
 individuals, by enabling them to purchase en- 
 tertainment and improvement, both of the cor- 
 poreal and intellectual kind: it finds employ-
 
 94- HISTORY OF HIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ment for the hand that would otherwise be 
 found in mischief; and it elevates the character 
 of a nation in the scale of government. 
 
 Birmingham, by her commercial consequence, 
 lias, of late, justly assumed the liberty of nomi- 
 nating one of the representatives for the county; 
 and, to her honour, the elective body never re- 
 gretted her choice. In that memorable contest 
 of 1774, we were almost to a man of one mind: 
 if an odd dozen among us, of a different mould, 
 did not assimilate with the rest, they were 
 treated, as men of free judgment should ever 
 be treated, with civility, and the line of har- 
 mony was not broken. If this little treatise 
 happens to travel into some of our corporate 
 places, where the fire of contention, blown by 
 the breath of party, is kept alive during seven 
 years, let the inhabitants cast a second glance 
 over the above remark. 
 
 Some of the first words alter the creation, 
 increase and multiply, are applicable to Bir- 
 mingham; but as her own people are insufficient 
 for the manufactures, she demands assistance 
 for two or three miles round her. In our early 
 morning walks, on every road proceeding from 
 the town, we meet the sons of diligence re- 
 turning to business, and bringing in the same 
 dusky smuts, which the evening before they 
 took out. But though they appear of a dark 
 complexion, we may consider it is the property
 
 TRADE. 95 
 
 of every metal to sully the user ; money itself 
 has the same effect, and yet he who is dirtied 
 by fingering it deems it no disgrace; the dis- 
 grace lies with him who has none to finger. 
 Fashions mark all the degrees of men. This in- 
 dustrious race are distinguished by a black 
 beard on Saturday night, and a white shirt on 
 Monday morninsr. 
 
 The profits arising from labour to the lower 
 orders of men, seem to surpass those of other 
 mercantile places. This is not only visible in 
 the manufactures peculiar to Birmingham, but 
 in the more common occupations of the barber, 
 taylor, shoemaker, &c. who bask in the rays of 
 plenty. 
 
 It is entertaining to the curious observer, to 
 contemplate the variation of things. We know 
 of nothing, either in the natural or moral 
 world, that continues in the same state. From 
 a number of instances that might be adduced, 
 permit me to name one money. This, consi- 
 dered in the abstract, is of little or no value ; 
 but, by the common consent of mankind, it is 
 erected into a general arbitrator, to fix a value 
 upon all others; a medium through which everv 
 thing passes ; a balance by which they must be 
 weighed; a touchstone to which they must be ap- 
 plied to find their worth: though we can neither 
 cat nor drink it, we can neither eat nor drink 
 without it. I lethal has none best knows its use.
 
 96 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 It has long been a complaint, that the same 
 quantity of this medium, money, will not pro- 
 duce so much of the necessaries of life, particu- 
 larly food, as heretofore ; or, in other words, 
 that provisions have been gradually rising for 
 many ages, and that the shilling, which for- 
 merly supported the laborious family a whole 
 week, will not now support it one day. 
 
 In times of remarkable scarcity, such as 
 those in 17'28, 41, 56, 66, and 74, the press 
 abounded with publications on the subject ; 
 but none, which I have seen, reached the ques- 
 tion, though a short one. It is of no conse- 
 quence, whether a bushel of corn sell for six 
 pence or six shillings ; the question is what 
 time a man must labour before he can earn one? 
 If, by the moderate labour of thirty-six hours, 
 in the reign of Henry the Third, he could ac- 
 quire a groat, which would purchase a bushel 
 of wheat ; and if, in the reign of George the 
 Third, he work the same number of hours for 
 eight shillings, which will make the same pur- 
 chase, the balance is exactly even. If, by our 
 commercial concerns with the eastern and the 
 western worlds, the kingdom abound with bul- 
 lion, money must be cheaper ; therefore a 
 larger quantity is required to perforin the same 
 use. If money would go as far now as in the 
 days of Henry the Third, a journeyman in Bir- 
 mingham might amass a ministerial fortune.
 
 TRADE. 97 
 
 Whether provisions abound more or less ? 
 and whether the poor fare better or worse in 
 one period than the other ? are also questions 
 dependant upon trade, and therefore worth in- 
 vestigating. 
 
 If the necessaries of life abound more in this 
 reign, than in that of Henry the Third, we can- 
 not pronounce them dearer. Perhaps it will 
 not be absurd to suppose, that the same quan- 
 tity of land, directed by the superior hand of 
 cultivation, in the nineteenth century, will yield 
 twice the produce, as by the ignorant manage- 
 ment of the thirteenth. We may suppose also, 
 by the vast number of new inclosures which 
 have annually taken place since the Revolution* 
 that twice the quantity of land is brought into 
 cultivation: it follows, that four times the quan- 
 tity of provisions is raised from the earth, that 
 was raised under Henry the Third ; which will 
 leave a large surplus in hand, after we have de- 
 ducted for additional luxury, a greater number 
 of consumers, and for exportation. This extra- 
 ordinary stock is a security against famine, 
 which our forefathers severely felt. It will be 
 granted, that in both periods the worst of the 
 meat was used by the poor. By the improve- 
 ments in agriculture, the art of feeding cattle 
 is well understood, and much in practice ; as 
 the land improves, so will the beast that feeds 
 upon it : if the productions, therefore, of the 
 
 H
 
 98 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 slaughter-house, in this age, surpass those of 
 Henry the Third, then the fare of the poor is 
 at least as much superior now, as the worst of 
 fat meat is superior to the worst of lean. * The 
 poor inhabitants in that day found it difficult 
 to procure bread; but in this, they sometimes 
 add cream and butter. 
 
 Thus it appears, that through the variation 
 of things a balance is preserved; that provisions 
 have not advanced in price, but are more plen- 
 tiful, and that the lower class of men have found 
 in trade that intricate, but beneficial clue, which 
 guides them into the confines of luxury. 
 
 Provisions and manufactures, like a pair of 
 scales, will not preponderate together ; but as 
 weight is applied to the one, the other will ad- 
 vance. As labour is irksome to the body, a man 
 will perform no more of it than necessity 
 obliges him ; it follows, that in those times 
 when plenty preponderates, the manufactures 
 tend to decay : for if a man can support his 
 family with three days labour, he will not 
 work six. 
 
 As the generality of men will perform no 
 more w T ork than produces a maintenance, re- 
 duce that maintenance to half the price, and 
 they will perforin but half the work ; hence, 
 half the commerce of a nation is destroyed at 
 one blow, and what is lost by one kingdom will 
 be recovered by another, in rivalship. A com-
 
 TRADE. 99 
 
 mercial people, therefore, will endeavour to 
 keep provisions at a superior rate, yet within 
 reach of the poor. It follows also, that luxury 
 is no way detrimental to trade ; for we fre- 
 quently observe ability and industry exerted to 
 support it. 
 
 The practice of the Birmingham manufac- 
 turer, for, perhaps, a hundred generations, was 
 to keep within the warmth of his own forge. 
 The distant customer applied to him for the 
 execution of orders, and regularly made his ap- 
 pearance twice a year ; and though this mode 
 of business is not totally extinguished, yet a 
 very different one is adopted. The merchant 
 stands at the head of the manufacturer, pur- 
 chases his produce, and travels the whole island 
 to promote the sale ; a practice that would have 
 astonished our forefathers. The commercial 
 spirit of the age has penetrated beyond the 
 confines of Britain, and explored the whole 
 continent of Europe ; nor does it stop there ; 
 for the West-Indies and the American world 
 are intimately acquainted with the Birmingham 
 merchant ; and nothing but the exclusive com- 
 mand of the East-India Company over the Asi- 
 atic trade, prevents our travellers from tread- 
 ing upon the heels of each other in the streets at 
 Calcutta. To this modern conduct of Birming- 
 ham, in sending her sons to the foreign market, 
 I ascribe the chief cause of her rapid increase. 
 
 w2
 
 100 HISTORY Ot BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 In 1781, it appeared by the poor's books 
 there were not four thousand houses in Bir- 
 mingham that payed the parochial rates; whilst 
 there were more than seven thousandthatdidnol'. 
 Hence we see what an amazing number of the la- 
 borious part of mankind are among us. Those 
 who compose this class of the community, are the 
 prop of the remainder. They are the rise and 
 support of our commerce. From this fountain 
 we draw our luxuries and our pleasures. They 
 spread our tables, and oil the wheels of our car- 
 riages. They are the riches and the defence of 
 the country. How necessary then is it to direct 
 with prudence the rough passions of this im- 
 portant race, and make them subservient to the 
 great end of civil society. Let not the reli- 
 gious reader be surprised if I say their follies, 
 and even their vices, Under certain restrictions, 
 are beneficial. Corruption in the community, 
 as well as in the natural body, accelerates vital 
 existence. Let us survey the man, who begins 
 life at the lowest ebb, without property, or any 
 other advantage but that of his own prudence. 
 He comes, by length of time and very minute 
 degrees, from being directed himself to have 
 the direction of others. He quits the precincts 
 of servitude, and enters the dominions of com- 
 mand. He laboured for others, but now others 
 labour for him. Should the whole race pos- 
 sess the same prudence, they would all be-
 
 TRADE. 101 
 
 come masters. Where then could be found the 
 servant ? Who would perform the manual part ? 
 Who would execute the orders of the merchant ? 
 A world consisting only of masters would be 
 a monster consisting only of a head. We 
 know that the head is no more than the leading 
 power; the members are equally necessary; and 
 as one member is placed in a more elevated 
 state than another, so are the ranks of men, 
 that no void may be left. The hands and the 
 feet were designed to execute the drudgery of 
 life, the head for direction, and all are suitable 
 to their sphere. 
 
 If we turn the other side of the picture, we 
 shall see a man born in affluence, take the reins 
 of direction, but like Phaeton, not being able 
 to guide them, blunder on from mischief to 
 mischief, till he involves himself in destruction, 
 comes prone to the earth, and many are injured 
 by his fall. From directing the bridle, he 
 submits to the bit ; seeks for bread in the shops 
 the line designed him by nature ; where his 
 hands become callous with the file, and where, 
 for the first time in his life, he becomes useful 
 to an injured society. Thus, from imprudence, 
 folly, and vice, is produced poverty ; poverty 
 produces labour ; from labour arise the manu 
 factures ; and from these the riches of a coun- 
 try, with all their train of benefits.
 
 102 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Capacity is not quite so necessary to carry on 
 business, as a turn of mind suited to the occa- 
 sion. Most trades may be conducted with very 
 little brains. I have known many a pretty for- 
 tune acquired by a weak head; nay I have 
 sometimes been tempted to question whether 
 genius is not an enemy to success. It is apt to 
 soar above the low grovellings of a mechanical 
 shop. The man of genius may acquire fame, 
 but the plodder acquires money. 
 
 We have a middle class, which is one of the 
 most amiable characters among us ; a character 
 very little noticed, but very common that of a 
 faithful servant. A flower is not the less beau- 
 tiful, because it blows unheeded in the field, or 
 a diamond the less valuable, because never ex- 
 hibited to the world. In such servants the eye 
 of attention wakes for another ; the still tides 
 of ambition never disturb the mounds of con- 
 tentment. I could give a list of these silent- 
 worthies, as long as that of our chief officers. 
 He who finds one finds a hidden treasure. 
 
 It would be difficult to enumerate the great 
 variety of trades practised in Birmingham ; nei- 
 ther would it give pleasure to the reader. Some 
 of them spring up with the expedition of a blade 
 of grass, and, like that, wither in a summer. 
 If some are lasting, like the sun, others seem 
 to change with the moon. Invention is ever at 
 work. Idleness, the manufactory of scandal,
 
 TRADE. 108 
 
 with the numerous occupations connected with 
 the cotton, the linen, the silk, and the woollen 
 trades, are little known among us. 
 
 Birmingham began with the productions of 
 the anvil, and probably will end with them. 
 The sons of the hammer were once her chief in- 
 habitants ; but that great crowd of artists is 
 now lost in a greater. Genius seems to increase 
 with multitude. Part of the riches, extension, 
 and improvement of Birmingham, are owing to 
 the late John Taylor, Esq. who possessed the 
 singular power of perceiving things as they 
 really were. The spring and consequence of 
 action were open to his view. Him we may 
 justly deem the Shakespeare or the Newton of 
 his day. He rose from minute beginnings, to 
 shine in the commercial hemisphere, as theyinthe 
 poetical and philosophical. Imitation is part of 
 the human character. An example of such emi- 
 nence in himself promoted exertion in others, 
 which, when prudence guided the helm, led 
 on to fortune ; but the bold adventurer who 
 crowded sail, without ballast and without rud- 
 der, has been known to overset the vessel, and 
 sink insolvent. To this uncommon genius we 
 owe the gilt button, the japanned and gilt snuff- 
 boxes, with the numerous race of enamels. 
 From the same fountain issued the painted 
 snuff-box, at which one servant earned three 
 pounds ten shillings per week, by painting them
 
 104 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 at a farthing each. In his shops were weekly 
 manufactured, buttons to the amount of 800/. 
 exclusive of other valuable productions. One 
 of the present nobility, of distinguished taste, 
 examining the works with the master, pur- 
 chased some of the articles ; among others a 
 toy of eighty guineas value, and while paying 
 for them observed with a smile, " he plainly 
 saw he could not reside in Birmingham for less 
 than two hundred pounds a day." Mr. Taylor 
 died in 177-5} at the age of 64, after acquiring 
 a fortune of 200,000/. 
 
 The active powers of genius, the instigation 
 of profit, and the affinity of one calling to ano- 
 ther, often induce the artist to change his oc- 
 cupation. There is nothing more common 
 among us ; even the Divine and the Lawyer 
 are prone to this change. Thus the church 
 throws her dead weight into the scale of com- 
 merce, and the law gives up the cause of con- 
 tention: but there is nothing more disgraceful, 
 except thieving, in other places. " I am told," 
 says an elderly gentleman, as he amused him- 
 self in a pitiful Bookseller's shop in a wretched 
 market town, " that you are a Stocking-maker 
 by trade !" The humble Bookseller, half con- 
 fused, and wholly ashamed, could not deny the 
 charge. " Ah," cried the Senior, whose fea- 
 tures were modelled between the sneer and the 
 smile, " there is neither honour nor profit in
 
 BUTTON. 105 
 
 changing the trade you were bred to. Do not 
 attempt to sell books, but stay at home, and 
 pursue your own business. " The dejected 
 Bookseller, scarcely one step higher than a 
 Walking Stationer, lived to acquire a large 
 fortune. Had he followed the Senior's advice, 
 he might, like a common foot soldier, have 
 starved upon eight-pence a day*. 
 
 The toy trades first made their appearance 
 in Birmingham in the beginning of Charles the 
 Second's reign, in an endless variety, attended 
 with all their beauties and their graces. The 
 first in pre-eminence is the 
 
 BUTTON. 
 
 This beautiful ornament appears with infinite 
 variation ; and though the original date is rather 
 uncertain, yet we well remember the long coats 
 of our grand-fathers covered with half a gross of 
 high tops, and the cloaks of our grandmothers 
 ornamented with a horn button nearly the size 
 of a crown piece, a watch, or a John-apple, 
 curiously wrought, as having passed through 
 the Birmingham press. 
 
 * It is not nectary to inform those who have read the 
 Life of the Author that this humble and dejected Bookseller 
 was himself.
 
 106 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Though the common round button keep* on 
 with the steady pace of the day, yet we some- 
 times see the oval, the square, the pea, the con- 
 cave, and the pyramid, flash into existence. In 
 some branches of traffic the wearer calls loudly 
 for new fashions ; but in this, the fashions tread 
 upon each other, and crowd upon the wearer. 
 The consumption of this article is astonishing, 
 and the value in 1781 was from three-pence a 
 gross to one hundred and forty guineas. In 
 1818, the art of gilding buttons was arrived at 
 such a degree of refinement in Birmingham, 
 that three pennyworth of gold was made to 
 cover a gross of buttons : these were sold at a 
 price proportionably low. The experiment has 
 been tried to produce gilt buttons without any 
 gold; but it was found not to answer, the ma- 
 nufacturer losing more in the consumption than 
 he saved in the material. There seems to be 
 hidden treasures couched within this magic cir- 
 cle, known only to a few, who extract prodi- 
 gious fortunes out of this useful toy, whilst a 
 far greater number submit to a statute of bank- 
 ruptcy. Trade, like a restive horse, can rarely 
 be managed ; for, where one is carried to the 
 end of a successful journey, many are thrown 
 off by the way. The next that calls our atten- 
 tion is the
 
 107 
 
 BUCKLE. 
 
 Perhaps the shoe, in one form or other, is 
 nearly as ancient as the foot. It originally ap 
 peared under the name of sandal ; this was no 
 other than a sole without an upper-leather. 
 That fashion has since been inverted, and we 
 now sometimes see an upper-leather nearly 
 without a sole. But whatever was the cut of 
 the shoe it always demanded a fastening. Un- 
 der the house of Plantagenet, the shoe shot hori- 
 zontally from the foot, like a Dutch skate, to an 
 enormous length ; so that the extremity was fas- 
 tened to the knee, sometimes with a silver chain, 
 a silk lace, or even a pack-thread string, rather 
 than avoid genteel taste. 
 
 This thriving beak drew the attention of the 
 legislature, which determined to prune the ex- 
 orbitant shoot; for, in 1465, we find an order 
 of council, prohibiting the growth of the shoe 
 toe beyond two inches, under the penalty of a 
 dreadful curse from the priest, and, which was 
 worse, the payment of twenty shillings to the 
 king. 
 
 This fashion, like every other, gave way to 
 time, and in its stead, the rose began to bud 
 upon the foot, which, under the house of Tu- 
 dor, opened in great perfection. No shoe was
 
 108 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 fashionable, without being fastened with a full 
 blown rose. Ribbons of every colour, except 
 white, the emblem of the depressed House of 
 York, were had in esteem ; but the red, like 
 the House of Lancaster, held the pre-eminence. 
 Under the House of Stuart, the rose withered, 
 which gave rise to the shoe-string. The beaux 
 of that age ornamented their lower tier with 
 double laces of silk, tagged with silver, and the 
 extremities were beautified with a small fringe 
 of the same metal. The inferior class wore 
 laces of plain silk, linen, or even a thong of 
 leather ; which last is yet to be met with in the 
 humble plains of rural life. But I am inclined 
 to think, the artists of Birmingham had no 
 great hand in fitting out the beau of the last 
 century. 
 
 The Revolution /was remarkable for the intro- 
 duction of William, of liberty, and the minute 
 buckle, not differing much in size and shape 
 from the horse bean. 
 
 This offspring of fancy, like the clouds, is 
 ever changing. The fashion of to-day is thrown 
 into the casting pot to-morrow. 
 
 The buckle seems to have undergone every 
 figure, size, and shape of geometrical invention. 
 It has passed through every form in the whole 
 zodiac of Euclid. The large square buckle, 
 plated with silver, was the ton of 1781. The 
 ladies also adopted the reigning taste : it was
 
 BUCKLE. GUNS. 109 
 
 difficult to discover their beautiful little feet, 
 covered with au enormous shield of buckle; 
 and we wondered to see the active motion un- 
 der the massive load. Thus the British fair sup- 
 ported the manufactures of Birmingham, and 
 killed by weight of metal. 
 
 In 18 12, the whole generation of fashions, in 
 the buckle line, was extinct ; a buckle was not 
 to be found on a female foot, nor upon any foot 
 except that of old age. 
 
 GUNS. 
 
 Though the sword and the gun are equal com- 
 panions in war, it does not appear that they are 
 of the same origin. I have already observed, 
 that the sword was the manufactory of Bir- 
 mingham in the time of the Britons. But tra- 
 dition tells us, King William was once lament- 
 ing, " That guns were not manufactured in his 
 dominions, but that he was obliged to procure 
 them from Holland, at a great expence, and 
 with greater difficulty." Sir Richard Newdi- 
 gate, one of the Members for the County, be- 
 ing present, told the King, " That Genius re- 
 sided in Warwickshire, and that he thought his 
 constituents would answer his Majesty's wishes." 
 The King was pleased with the remark, and 
 the Member posted to Birmingham. Upon
 
 110 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 application to a person in Digbeth, whose name 
 I have forgotten, the pattern was executed with 
 precision, and, when presented to the royal 
 board, gave entire satisfaction. Orders were 
 immediately issued for large numbers, which 
 have been so frequently repeated, that they 
 never lost their road ; and the ingenious artists 
 have been so amply rewarded, that they have 
 rolled in their carriages to this day. Thus the 
 same instrument which is death to one man is 
 genteel life to another. 
 
 From a seventeen years war ! a period un- 
 known in history, many professors of this art 
 have acquired large fortunes, which proves that 
 destruction is the turnpike-road to riches. 
 
 It seems that the word London marked upon 
 guns is a better passport than the word Bir- 
 mingham ; and the Birmingham gun-makers 
 have long been in the habit of marking their 
 goods as being made in London. I am afraid 
 this cannot rest on any better grounds than ex- 
 pediency, as it deviates a little from the direct 
 line of right. 
 
 In 1813 some of the principal gun-makers of 
 London brought a bill into the House of Com- 
 mons to oblige every manufacturer of fire arms 
 to mark them with his real name and place of 
 abode. The Birmingham gun-makers took the 
 alarm ; petitioned the House against the bill ; 
 and thirty-two gun-makers instantly subscribed
 
 GUNS. LEATHER. Ill 
 
 ^.6.50 to defray the expence of opposing it. 
 They represented that they made the compo- 
 nent parts of the London guns, which differed 
 from theirs only in being put together, and 
 marked in the metropolis. 
 
 Government authorized the gun-makers of 
 Birmingham to erect a Proof-house of their own, 
 with Wardens and a Proof Master; and allowed 
 them to decorate their guns with the ensigns of 
 royalty. 
 
 The Proof House is erected in Banbury street. 
 
 All fire-arms manufactured in Birmingham 
 and its vicinity are subjected to the proof re- 
 quired by the Board of Ordnance: the expence 
 is not to exceed one shilling each piece ; and 
 the neglect of proving is attended with a pe- 
 nalty not exceeding twenty pounds. 
 
 LEATHER. 
 
 It may seem singular to a modern eye, to 
 view this place in the light of one vast tan-yard. 
 Though there is no appearance of that neces- 
 sary article among us, yet Birmingham was 
 once a famous market for leather. Digbeth 
 not only abounded with tanners, but large 
 numbers of hides arrived weekly for sale, and 
 here the whole country found a supply. When 
 the weather would allow, they were ranged in 
 columns in the High-street, and at other times 
 deposited in the Leather Hall, at the east end
 
 112 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 of New street, appropriated for their reception. 
 This market was of great antiquity, perhaps 
 not less than seven hundred years, and conti- 
 nued till the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. We have two officers, annually chosen, 
 who are named Leather sealers, from a power 
 given them by ancient charter, to mark the ven- 
 dible hides ; but now the Leather sealers have 
 no duty, but that of taking an elegant dinner, 
 Shops are erected on tan-vats, the Leather Hall 
 is gone to destruction, and in 1781 we were re- 
 duced to one solitary tanner. 
 
 STEEL. 
 
 The progress of the arts is equal to the pro- 
 gress of time ; they began, and will end to- 
 gether. Though some of both are lost, yet 
 they both accumulate. 
 
 The manufacture of iron, in Birmingham, is 
 ancient beyond research ; that of steel is of 
 modern date. 
 
 Pride is inseparable from the human cha- 
 racter ; the man without it, is the man without 
 breath. We trace it in various forms, through 
 every degree of people ; but like those objects 
 about us, it is best discovered in our own 
 sphere ; those above, and those below us, rather 
 escape our notice j envy attacks an equak
 
 STEEL. 113 
 
 Pride induced the Pope to look with contempt 
 on the European Princes, and it now induces 
 them to return the compliment ; it taught in- 
 solence to the Spaniard, selfishness to the 
 Dutch ; it teaches the rival nations of France and 
 England to contend for power. Pride induced 
 a late High Bailiff, at the proclamation of our 
 Michaelmas .fair, to hold his wand two feet 
 higher than the usual rest, that he might daz- 
 zle the crowd with a beautiful glove hanging 
 pendant, a ruffle curiously wrought, a ring set 
 with brilliants, and a hand delicately white. 
 Pride preserves a man from mean actions ; it 
 throws him upon meaner ; it whets the sword 
 for destruction ; it urges the laudable acts of 
 humanity; it is the universal hinge on which we 
 move ; it glides with the gentle stream of use- 
 fulness ; it overflows the mounds of reason, and 
 swells into a destructive flood. Like the sun, 
 in his milder rays, it animates and draws us to- 
 wards perfection ; but like him, in his fiercer 
 beams, it scorches and destroys. 
 
 Money is not the necessary attendant of 
 pride, for it abounds no where more than in 
 the lowest ranks. It adds a sprucer air to a 
 Sunday dress, casts a look of disdain upon a 
 bundle of rags ; it boasts the honour of a family, 
 while poverty unites a sole and upper leather 
 with a bandage of shop-thread. There are people 
 who even pride themselves upon humility. 
 
 i
 
 114 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 This dangerous good, this necessary evil, sup- 
 ports the female character ; without it, the 
 brightest part of the creation would degenerate. 
 It will be asked, " What portion may be al- 
 lowed ?" Prudence will answer, " As much as 
 you please, but not to disgust." It is equally 
 found in the Senate-house and the button 
 shop ; the scene of action is the scene of pride. 
 He who makes steel, prides himself in carrying 
 the art one step higher than he who makes 
 iron. 
 
 This art appeared among us in the seven- 
 teenth century, and was introduced by the family 
 of Kettle. The name of Steelhouse-lane will 
 convey to posterity the situation of the works ; 
 the commercial spirit of Birmingham will con- 
 vey the produce to the antipodes. 
 
 From this warm but dismal climate, issues 
 the button which shines on the breast, and the 
 bayonet intended to pierce it; the lancet, which 
 bleeds the man, and the rowel, the horse ; the 
 lock which preserves the beloved bottle, and 
 the screw to uncork it; the needle, equally obe- 
 dient to the thimble and the pole. 
 
 BRASS WORKS. 
 
 The manufacture of Brass was introduced by 
 the family of Turner, in about 1740. Thev
 
 BRASS WORKS. 115 
 
 erected those works at the south end of Coles- 
 hill-street ; then, near two hundred yards beyond 
 the buildings, but now the buildings extend 
 half a mile beyond them. 
 
 Under the black clouds which arose from this 
 corpulent tunnel, some of the trades collected 
 their daily supply of brass ; but the major part 
 was drawn from the Macclesfield, Cheadle, and 
 Bristol companies. 
 
 ' Causes are known by their effects ;' the 
 fine feelings of the heart are easily read in the 
 features of the face ; the still operations of the 
 mind, are discovered by the rougher operations 
 of the hand. Every creature is fond of power, 
 from that noble head of the creation man, who 
 devours man, down to that insignificant mite, 
 who devours his cheese : every man strives to 
 be free himself, and to shackle another. Where 
 there is power of any kind, whether in the hands 
 of a prince, a people, a body of men, or a pri- 
 vate person, there is a propensity to abuse it : 
 abuse of power will everlastingly seek itself a 
 remedy, and frequently find it ; nay, even this 
 remedy may in time degenerate into abuse, and 
 call loudly for another. 
 
 Brass is an object of some magnitude, in the 
 trades of Birmingham; the consumption is said 
 to be a thousand tons per annum. The manu- 
 facture of this useful article had long been in the 
 hands of few and opulent men; who, instead of
 
 Il6* HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 making the humble bow, for favours received, 
 acted with despotic sovereignty, established 
 own laws, chose their customers, directed the 
 price, and governed the market. In 1780, the 
 article rose, either through caprice, or neces- 
 sity, perhaps the former, from ^.7% a ton to 
 ^.84. The result was, an advance upon the 
 goods manufactured, followed by a number of 
 counter-orders, and a stagnation of business. 
 
 In 17S1, a person, from affection to the user, 
 or resentment to the maker, perhaps the latter, 
 harangued the public in the weekly papers ; 
 censured the arbitrary measures of the brazen 
 sovereigns, shewed their dangerous influence 
 over the trades of the town, and the easy man- 
 ner in which works of our own might be con- 
 structed- good often arises out of evil ; this 
 fiery match, dipt in brimstone, quickly kindled 
 another furnace in Birmingham. Public meet- 
 ings were advertised, a committee appointed, 
 and subscriptions opened to fill two hundred 
 shares, of ^.100 each, which was deemed a 
 sufficient capital; each proprietor of a share, 
 to purchase one ton of brass annually. Works 
 were immediately erected upon the banks of 
 the canal, for the advantage of water carriage, 
 and the whole was conducted with the true spirit 
 of Birmingham freedom. 
 
 The old companies, which we may justly 
 consider the directors of a South Sea bubble in
 
 BRASS WORKS. NAILS. 117 
 
 miniature, sunk the price from ^.84 to ^.56. 
 Two inferences arise from this measure ; that 
 their profits were once very high, or were now 
 very low ; and, that like some former monarchs, 
 in the abuse of power, they repented one day 
 too late. 
 
 NAILS. 
 
 In most occupations, the profit of the master 
 and that of the journeyman bear a proportion. 
 If the former is able to figure in genteel life, the 
 latter is able to figure in silk stockings. If the 
 master can afford to allow upon his goods ten per 
 cent, discount for money, the servant can afford 
 to squander half his wages. In a worn-down 
 trade, where the tides of profit are reduced to 
 a low ebb, and where imprudence sets her foot 
 upon the premises, the master and the man 
 starve together. Only half' this is our present 
 case. 
 
 The art of nail-making is one of the most an- 
 cient among us. We may safely charge its an- 
 tiquity with four figures. We cannot consider 
 it a trade in, so much as of Birmingham ; for we 
 have but few nail-makers left in the town; our 
 nailors are chiefly masters, and rather opulent. 
 The manufacturers are so scattered round the 
 countrv, that we cannot travel far, in any direc-
 
 118 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tion, out of the sound of the nail-hammer. 
 But Birmingham, like a powerful magnet, draws 
 the produce of the anvil to herself. 
 
 When I first approached Birmingham, from 
 Walsall, in 1741, I was surprised at the prodi- 
 gious number of blacksmiths' shops upon the 
 road ; and could not conceive how a country, 
 though populous, could support so many people 
 of the same occupation. In some of these shops 
 I observed one or more females stript of their 
 upper garment, and not overcharged with their 
 lower, wielding the hammer with all the grace 
 of the sex. The beauties of their face were ra- 
 ther eclipsed by the smut of the anvil ; or in 
 poetical phrase, the tincture of the forge had 
 taken possession of those lips which might have 
 been taken by the kiss. Struck with the novelty, 
 I inquired, " Whether the ladies in this coun- 
 try shod horses?" but was answered, with a 
 smile, " They are nailers." 
 
 A fire without heat, a nailer of a fair com- 
 plexion, or one who despises the tankard, are 
 equally rare among them. His whole system 
 of faith may be comprised in one article That 
 the slender mug, used in a public house, is de- 
 ceitful above all things, and desperated// wicked. 
 
 While the master reaps the harvest of plenty, 
 the workman submits to the scanty gleanings of 
 penury, a thin habit, an early old age, and a 
 figure bending towards the earth. Plenty comes
 
 NAILS. BELLOWS. 119 
 
 not near his dwelling, except of rags, and of 
 children. His hammer is worn into deep hol- 
 lows, fitting the fingers of a dark hand, hard as 
 the timber it wears. His face, like the moon, 
 is often seen through a cloud. 
 
 BELLOWS. 
 
 Man first catches the profession ; the profes- 
 sion afterwards moulds the man. In whatever 
 profession we engage, we assume its character, 
 become a part of it, vindicate its honour, its 
 eminence, its antiquity ; or feel a wound 
 through its sides. Though there may be no 
 more pride in a minister of state, who opens a 
 budget, than in a tinker who carries one ; yet 
 they equally contend for the honour of their 
 trade. 
 
 The bellows-maker proclaims the honour of 
 his art, by observing, he alone produces that 
 instrument which commands the winds ; his soft 
 breeze, like that of the south, counteracts the 
 chill blasts of winter ; by his efforts, like those 
 of the sun, the world receives light ; he creates 
 when he pleases, and gives breath when he 
 creates. In his caverns the winds sleep at plea- 
 sure ; and by his orders they set Europe in 
 flames. lie farther pretends, that the anti- 
 quity of his occupation will appear from the
 
 120 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 plenty of elm, once in the neighbourhood, but 
 long cut up for his use ; that the leather-market 
 in Birmingham, for many ages, furnished him 
 with sides: and though the manufacture of iron, 
 is allowed to be extremely ancient, yet the smith 
 could not procure his heat without a blast, nor 
 could that blast be raised without the bellows. 
 One inference will arise from these remarks, 
 that bellows- making is one of the oldest trades 
 in Birmingham. 
 
 THREAD. 
 
 We, who reside in the interior parts of the 
 kingdom, may observe the first traces of a river 
 when it issues from its fountain ; the current so 
 extremely small, that if a bottle of liquor, dis- 
 tilled through the urinary vessels, were dis- 
 charged into its course, it would manifestly aug- 
 ment the water, and quicken the stream : the 
 reviving bottle, having added spirits to the man, 
 would seem to add spirits to the river. If we 
 pursue this river, winding through one hundred 
 and thirty miles, we shall observe it collect 
 strength as it runs, expand its borders, swell into 
 consequence, employ multitudes of people, carry 
 wealth in its bosom, and exactly resemble thread- 
 making in Birmingham. If we represent to our 
 ideas, a man able to employ three or four people,
 
 THREAD. 121 
 
 himself in an apron, one of the number ; but 
 who being unable to write his name, shews his 
 attachment to the Christian religion by signing 
 the cross to receipts ; whose method of book- 
 keeping, like that of the publican, is a door* 
 and a lump of chalk ; producing a book 
 which none can peruse but himself; who, 
 having manufactured 40lb. weight of thread, 
 of divers colours, and rammed it into a pair 
 of leathern bags, something larger than a pair 
 of boots, which we might deem the arms of 
 his trade empaled; slung them on a horse, 
 and placed himself on the top, by way of a 
 crest ; visits an adjacent market, to starve 
 with his goods at a stall, or retail them to the 
 mercer, nor return without the money we 
 shall see a thread-maker of 1652. If we pur- 
 sue this occupation, winding through the mazes 
 of one hundred and thirty years, we shall see it 
 enlarge its boundaries, multiply its people, in- 
 crease its consequence and wealth, till in 1782, 
 we behold the master in possession of correct 
 accounts, the apron thrown aside, the stall 
 kicked over, the bags tossed into the garret, and 
 the mercer overlooked in the grand prospect of 
 exportation. We farther behold him take the 
 lead in provincial concerns, step into his own 
 carriage, and hold the king's commission as a 
 magistrate.
 
 122 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 PRINTING, 
 BY JOHN BASKE11VJLLE. 
 
 The pen of an historian rejoices in the actions 
 of the great ; the fame of the deserving, like an 
 oak tree, is of sluggish growth. The present 
 generation becomes debtor to him who excels, 
 but the future will discharge that debt with 
 more than simple interest. The still voice of 
 fame may warble in his ears towards the close 
 of life, but her trumpet seldom sounds in full 
 clarion, till those ears are stopped with the fin- 
 ger of death. 
 
 This son of genius was born at Wolverley, in 
 the county of Worcester, in 170G ; heir to a 
 paternal estate of Gol. per annum, which, fifty 
 years after, while in his own possession, had 
 increased to 90/. He was trained a stone-cut- 
 ter j but in 1726, became a writing-master in 
 Birmingham. In 1737, he taught school in the 
 Bull-ring, and is said to have written an excel- 
 lent hand. 
 
 As painting suited his talents, he entered in- 
 to the lucrative branch of japanning, and re- 
 sided at No. 22, in Moor-street. 
 
 He took, in 171-5, a building lease of eight 
 acres, two furlongs north west of the town, to
 
 PRINTING. 12S 
 
 which he gave the name of Easy-hill, converted 
 it into a little Eden, and built a house in the cen- 
 tre; but the town, as if conscious of his merit, fol- 
 lowed his retreat, and surrounded it with build- 
 ings. Here he continued the business of a 
 japanner for life ; his carriage, each pannel of 
 which was a distinct picture, might be consi- 
 dered as the pattern card of his trade, and was 
 drawn by a beautiful pair of cream-coloured 
 horses. 
 
 His inclination for letters induced him, in 
 17-50, to turn his thoughts towards the press. 
 He spent many years in the uncertain pursuit, 
 sunk 600/. before he could produce one letter to 
 please himself, and some thousands before the 
 shallow stream of profit began to flow. 
 
 His first attempt, in 17-56, was a quarto edi- 
 tion of Virgil, price one guinea, now worth se- 
 veral. He afterwards printed Paradise Lost, 
 the Bible, Common Prayer, Roman and Eng- 
 lish Classics, &c. in various sizes, with more 
 satisfaction to the literary world than emolu- 
 ment to himself. 
 
 In 1765, lie applied to his friend, Dr. Frank- 
 lin, then at Paris, and afterwards Ambassador 
 from America, tosound the literati, respectingthe 
 purchase of his types; but received for answer, 
 " That the French, reduced by the war of 17-50, 
 were so far from pursuing schemes of taste, that 
 they were unable to repair their public build-
 
 l'2if HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ings, but suffered the scaffolding to rot before 
 them." 
 
 In private life he was a humorist ; idle in 
 the extreme ; but his invention was of the true 
 Birmingham model, active. He could well de- 
 sign, but procured others to execute; wherever 
 he found merit, he caressed it. He was re- 
 markably polite to the stranger, fond of shew ; 
 a figure rather of the smaller size, and delighted 
 to adorn that figure with gold lace. During the 
 twenty-five years I knew him, though in the 
 decline of life, he retained the traces of a hand- 
 some man. If he exhibited a peevish temper, 
 we may consider that good nature and intense 
 thinking are not always found together. Taste 
 accompanied him through the different walks of 
 agriculture, architecture, and the finer arts. 
 Whatever passed through his fingers, bore the 
 lively marks of John Baskerville. His aversion 
 to Christianity would not suffer him to lie among 
 Christians ; he therefere erected a mausoleum in 
 his own grounds for his remains, and died with- 
 out issue, in 177<5, at the age of 69. Many 
 efforts were used after his death, to dispose of 
 the types ; but, to the lasting discredit of the 
 British nation, no purchaser could be found in 
 the whole commonwealth of letters. The uni- 
 versities coldly rejected the offer. The London 
 booksellers understood no science like that of 
 profit. The valuable property, therefore, lay a
 
 PRINTING. 125 
 
 dead weight, till purchased by a literary society 
 at Paris, in 1779, for 3700/. 
 
 It is an old remark, that no country abounds 
 with genius so much as Great Britain ; and it is 
 a remark nearly as old, that genius is no where 
 so little rewarded ; how else came Dryden, 
 Goldsmith, and Chatterton to want bread? Is 
 merit, like a flower of the field, too common to 
 attract notice ? or is the use of money beneath 
 the care of exalted talents ? 
 
 Invention seldom pays the inventor. If it be 
 asked, what fortune Baskerville ought to have 
 been rewarded with ? I answer " The most 
 which can be comprised in five figures/' If it be 
 farther asked, what he possessed ? " The least; 
 but none of it squeezed from the press." What 
 will the shade of this great man think, if capable 
 of thinking, that he should have spent a fortune 
 of opulence, and a life of genius, in carrying to 
 perfection the greatest of all human inventions; 
 and his productions, slighted by his country, 
 were hawked over Europe, in quest of a bid- 
 der ? His example has since taught others to 
 equal him. 
 
 We must revere, if we do not imitate, the 
 taste and economy of the French nation, which, 
 brought by the British arms, in 17(> C 2, to the 
 ver^e of ruin, rising above distress, was able 
 in 17 years, to purchase Baskerville's elegant 
 types, and expend an hundred thousand pounds 
 in printing the works of Voltaire !
 
 126* HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Twenty-eight years after the foregoing ac- 
 count of Baskerville was published, the follow- 
 ing original letter of his to Horace Walpole ap- 
 peared in the Gentleman's Magazine for De- 
 cember, 1810; it is so descriptive of his forlorn 
 situation that I shall transcribe it. 
 
 " To the Honourable Horace Walpole, 
 Esq. Member of Parliament, in Ar- 
 lington Street, London, this. 
 
 Easy Hill, Birmingham, 
 Nov. 2, 1762. 
 "SIR, 
 
 " As the Patron and Encourager of Arts, 
 and particularly that of Printing, I have taken 
 the liberty of sending you a specimen of mine, 
 begun ten years ago, at the age of forty-se- 
 ven ; and prosecuted ever since, with the ut- 
 most care and attention ; on the strongest pre- 
 sumption that if I could fairly excel in this di- 
 vine art, it would make my affairs easy, or at 
 least give me bread. But, alas ! in both I was 
 mistaken. The Booksellers do not chuse to 
 encourage me, though I have offered them as 
 low terms as I could possibly live by ; nor dare 
 I attempt an old Copy, till a Law-suit relating 
 to that affair is determined. 
 
 " The University of Cambridge have given 
 me a Grant to print their 8vo. and 12mo. Com-
 
 PRINTING. 127 
 
 mon Prayer Books ; but under such shackles as 
 greatly hurt me. I pay them for the former 
 twenty, and for the latter twelve pounds ten 
 shillings the thousand ; and to the Stationers' 
 Company thirty-two pounds for their permis- 
 sion to print one edition of the Psalms in Metre 
 to the small Prayer-book ; add to this the great 
 expence of double and treble carriage ; and the 
 inconvenience of a Printing House an hundred 
 miles off. All this summer I have had nothing 
 to print at home. My folio Bible is pretty far 
 advanced at Cambridge, which will cost me 
 near ^. c 2,000, all hired at 5 per cent. If this 
 does not sell I shall be obliged to sacrifice a 
 small patrimony, which brings me in ^.7^ a 
 year, to this business of Printing, which I am 
 heartily tired of, and repent I ever attempted. 
 It is surely a particular hardship that I should 
 not get bread in my own country, (and it is too. 
 late to go abroad,) after having acquired the 
 reputation of excelling in the most useful art 
 known to mankind ; while every one who excels 
 as a Player, Fiddler, Dancer, &c. not only 
 lives in affluence, but lias it in their power to 
 save a fortune. 
 
 " I have sent a few specimens (same as the 
 inclosed) to the Courts of Russia and Denmark, 
 and shall endeavour to do the same to most of 
 the Courts in Kurope ; in hopes of finding in 
 some one of them, a purchaser of the whole
 
 128 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 scheme, on the condition of my never attempt- 
 ing another type. I was saying this to a par- 
 ticular friend, who reproached me with not giv- 
 ing my own country the preference, as it would 
 (he was pleased to say) be a national reproach 
 to lose it : I told him, nothing but the greatest 
 necessity would put me upon it ; and even then 
 I should resign it with the utmost reluctance. 
 He observed, the Parliament had given a hand- 
 some premium for a great Medicine ; and, he 
 doubted not, if my affair was properly brought 
 before the House of Commons, but some regard 
 would be paid to it. I replied I durst not pre- 
 sume to petition the House, unless encouraged 
 by some of the Members, who might do me the 
 honour to promote it ; of which I saw not the 
 least hopes. 
 
 " Thus, Sir, I have taken the liberty of laying 
 before you my affairs, without the least aggrava- 
 tion; and humbly hope your patronage. To. whom 
 can I apply for protection, but to the Great, 
 who alone have it in their nower to serve me ? 
 
 " I rely on your candour as a Lover of the 
 Arts, to excuse this presumption in 
 
 " Your most obedient, 
 
 " and most humble servant, 
 
 " John Baskerville. 
 
 " P. S. The folding of the Specimens will 
 be taken out, by laying them a short time
 
 PRINTING. BRASS FOUNDERY. 129 
 
 between damped papers. N. B. The ink, 
 presses, chases, moulds for casting, and all the 
 apparatus for printing, were made in my own 
 shops." 
 
 BRASS FOUNDERY. 
 
 The curious art before us is perhaps less an- 
 cient than profitable, and less healthful' than 
 either. I shall not inquire whose grandfather 
 was the first brass-founder here, but shall leave 
 their grandsons to settle that important point 
 with my successor, who shall next write the 
 History of Birmingham. Whoever was the first, 
 I believe he flourished in the reign of king 
 William ; but, though he sold his productions 
 at an excessive price, he did not, like the 
 moderns, possess the art of acquiring a fortune: 
 but now the master knows the way to affluence, 
 and the servant to liquor. 
 
 BREWERY. 
 
 The two props of eating and drinking, like 
 the two legs of man, support his body. With- 
 out them he would make but a miserable shift. 
 They give equal relief, and are nearly of equal 
 standing. If the antiquary find pleasure in the 
 
 K
 
 130 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 researches of a few centuries, what will he find 
 in these two amusements ! They are the two 
 oldest fashions we know? He may readily 
 trace their origin to Adam. He may pursue, 
 with some precision, the fashions of dress, 
 through 5000 years, but the fashions of eating 
 and drinking are, at least, one day older. The 
 love of life, the desire of the sexes towards 
 each other, the fear of death, and the relish for 
 food, make a part of our nature, and are planted 
 in us for the preservation of our race. If the 
 pleasure of infusing existence, were no greater 
 than that of destroying it; if the dread of death, 
 were no more than that of sleep ; and the plea- 
 sure of taking sustenance, no greater than that 
 of discharging it, annihilation would follow. 
 The first thing we learn, is to cry for foodj the 
 last, to die when we cease to take it. Could 
 we sustain life without it, or procure it without 
 trouble, the manufactures would cease. In- 
 vention might assist us with regard to fire and 
 clothing, but there is no food without labour. 
 One would think the Israelites must have made 
 but a despicable figure in the eyes of the active, 
 philosophical, or commercial world, for spend- 
 ing forty years idle in the wilderness. It is no 
 wonder want of employment bred discontent. 
 
 In 1752, a brewery was established in the 
 Hinkleys ; but, as the practice of the inhabi- 
 tants was to brew their own beer, it fell for
 
 BREWERY. 131 
 
 want of success. In 1782, another was erected 
 in Moseley-street. 
 
 In 1784, a person from London erected a 
 brewery near the Ikenield-street ( Warston-lane) 
 to furnish the town with porter in the London 
 style. This brewery is supplied by a small ri- 
 vulet 200 yards distant ; which, in the year 
 1400, guarded a castle, inhabited by a branch 
 of the Birmingham family. Thus the humble 
 water, as if attentive to the service of man, 
 still retains its ancient use of preserving life. 
 Its former master kept it for his private be- 
 nefit ; its present, sells it for his. It then se- 
 cured the property of the owner ; it now wastes 
 that of the user. From the extensive scale upon 
 which this work is pursued, the proprietor may 
 be said " to barrel up a river;" and the inhabi- 
 tants, " to swallow a stream which ran useless 
 for ages." 
 
 The manufacture of plated hollow-ware, um- 
 brellas, &c. are of modern date. In 1817 an 
 ingenious manufacturer of the name of Turner, 
 discovered a method of plating copper with 
 gold. This plated metal exceeds in brilliancy 
 every thing except gold plate, and was then 
 sold to the manufacturers of different articles at 
 the rate of from twenty-seven to thirty-five shil- 
 lings a pound, according to the thickness of the 
 gold laid upon its surface. Gold plated buttons 
 of the best quality were afforded at one third 
 
 k 2
 
 132 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 higher price than the best gilt. This metal is 
 said now to be cheaper. It is the misfortune of 
 the artizans of Birmingham to be obliged to 
 sell their goods at so low a price that they 
 must debase the quality. Professors increase 
 with mechanics, for the medical gentlemen, 
 who, in 178 1 , were 24, were in 1791, 48. Those 
 of the law held the same proportion. 
 
 To enumerate the great variety of occupa- 
 tions among us, would be as useless, and as un- 
 entertaining to the reader, perhaps to the 
 writer, as to count the pebbles in the street. 
 
 Having therefore visited a few, by way of 
 specimen, I shall desist from further pursuit, 
 and wheel off in a 
 
 HACKNEY COACH. 
 
 Wherever the view of profit opens, the eyes 
 of a Birmingham man are open to see it. 
 
 In 1772, a person was determined to try if a 
 Hackney coach would take with the inhabitants. 
 He had not mounted the box many times be- 
 fore he inadvertently dropped the expression, 
 " Thirty shillings a day !" The word was at- 
 tended with all the powers of magic ; for in- 
 stantaneously a second rolled into the circus. 
 And these elevated sons of the lash are now aug- 
 mented to fifteen, whom we may justly deno-
 
 HACKNEY COACH. BANK. 133 
 
 minate a club of tippling deities, who preside 
 over weddings, christenings, and pleasurable 
 excursions. 
 
 It would give satisfaction to the curious cal- 
 culator, could any mode be found of discover- 
 ing the returns of trade, made by the united in- 
 habitants. But the question is complicated. 
 It only admits of surmise. From comparing 
 many instances in various ranks among us, I 
 have been led to suppose, that the weekly re- 
 turns exceed the annual rent of the buildings. 
 And as these rents were nearly ascertained in 
 1781, perhaps, we may conclude, that those re- 
 turns were then about ^2.100,000 a week, and, 
 allowing for holidays about ^.4,000,000 a year. 
 
 BANK. 
 
 Perhaps a public bank is as necessary to the 
 health of the commercial body, as exercise to 
 the natural. The circulation of the blood and 
 spirits is promoted by one, as that of cash and 
 bills by the other; and a stagnation is equally 
 detrimental to both. Few places are without : 
 yet Birmingham, famous in the annals of traffic, 
 could boast no such claim. To remedy this de- 
 fect, about every tenth trader was a banker, or 
 a retailer of cash. Ai the head of these were 
 marshalled the whole train of drapers and gro-
 
 134 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 cers, till the year 1765, when a regular bank 
 was established by Messrs. Taylor and Lloyd, 
 two opulent tradesmen, whose credit being- 
 equal to that of the bank of England, quickly 
 collected the shining rays of sterling property 
 into its focus. Wherever the earth produces 
 grass, an animal will be found to eat it. Success 
 produced a second bank, by Robert Coales, 
 esq. now Woolley, Moillet and Gordon ; and a 
 third by Spooner and Atwoods, now Atwoods, 
 Spooner, and Goddington. The other bankers 
 besides these, are Freer, Rotton and Lloyds, 
 Galtons and James, Smith, Gray and Goode. 
 
 WEALTH. 
 
 I have often taken the liberty of wandering 
 rather wide of Birmingham, in my historical re- 
 marks ; but in this visionary chapter, I must, 
 like Anson, take the liberty of compassing the 
 globe. By the laws of the quill, an author, 
 under severe penalties, is forbidden to sleep ; 
 nay, if he suffer a reader to sleep, he may, like 
 a woman guilty of petty treason, he condemned 
 to the flames : but he is no where forbidden to 
 play, or to shift his station ; he who plays, may 
 amuse another as much as himself, and we all 
 know, that he who writes is often through po- 
 verty obliged to shift hi^ station,
 
 WEALTH. 185 
 
 If we survey this little world, vast in our 
 idea, but small compared to immensity, we shall 
 find it crusted over with property, fixed and 
 moveable. Upon this crusty world, subsist ani- 
 mals of various kinds; one of which, something 
 short of six feet, moves erect, seems the only 
 one without a tail, and takes the lead in the com- 
 mand of this property. Fond of power, and 
 conscious that possessions give it, he is ever at- 
 tempting, by force, fraud, or laudable means, to 
 arrive at both. 
 
 Fixed property bears a value according to its 
 situation ; 10,000 acres in a place like London, 
 and its environs, would be an immense fortune, 
 such as no man ever possessed; while 10,000, 
 in some parts of the globe, though well covered 
 with timber, would not be worth a shilling. 
 No king to govern, no subject to submit, no 
 market to exhibit property, no property to ex- 
 hibit ; instead of striving to get possession, he 
 would, if cast on the spot, strive to get away. 
 Thus assemblages of people mark a place with 
 value. 
 
 .Moveable property is of two sorts; that 
 which arises from the earth, with the assist- 
 ance of man ; and the productions of art, which 
 wholly arise from his labour. A small degree 
 of industry supplies the wants of nature, a 
 little more furnishes the comforts of life, and 
 farther proportion, affords the luxuries.
 
 136 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 A man, by labour first removes his own wants, 
 and then, with the overplus of that labour, pur- 
 chases the labour of another. Thus, by furnish- 
 ing a hat for the barber, the hatter procures a 
 wig for himself: the taylor, by making a coat 
 for another, is enabled to buy cloth for his own. 
 It follows, that the larger the number of people, 
 the more likely to cultivate a spirit of industry ; 
 the greater that industry, the greater its pro- 
 duce; consequently, the more they supply the 
 calls of others, the more lucrative will be the 
 returns to themselves. 
 
 It may be asked, what is the meaning of the 
 word rich ? Some have termed it, a little more 
 than a man has ; others, as much as will con- 
 tent him ; others again, the possession of a 
 certain sum, not very small. Perhaps all are 
 wrong. A man may be rich, possessed only of 
 one hundred pounds ; he may be poor, pos- 
 sessed of one hundred thousand. He alone is 
 rich, whose income is more than he uses. 
 
 Industry, though excellent, will perform but 
 half the work ; she must be assisted by eco- 
 nomy ; without this, a ministerial fortune will 
 be defective. These two qualities, separated 
 from each other, like a knife from the handle, 
 are of little use ; but like these, they become 
 valuable when united. Economy without in- 
 dustry will barely appear in a whole coat ; in- 
 dustry without economy will appear in rags.
 
 WEALTH. 137 
 
 The first is detrimental to the community, by 
 preventing the circulation of property ; the last 
 is detrimental to itself. It is a singular remark, 
 that even industry is sometimes the way to po- 
 verty. Industry, like a new cast guinea, retains 
 its sterling value ; but, like that, it will not pass 
 currently till it receives a sovereign stamp: 
 economy is the stamp which gives it currency. 
 I well knew a man who began business with 
 ^.1500. Industry seemed the end for which 
 he was made, and in which he wore himself 
 out. While he laboured from four in the 
 morning till eight at night, in the making of 
 gimblets, his family consumed twice his pro- 
 duce. Had he spent less time at the anvil, and 
 more in teaching the lessons of frugality, he 
 might have lived in credit. Thus the father 
 was ruined by industry, and his children have, 
 for many years, appeared on the parish books. 
 The people of Birmingham are more apt to get 
 than to keep. 
 
 Though a man, by his labour, may treat him- 
 self with many things, yet lie seldom grows 
 rich. Riches are generally acquired by pur- 
 chasing the labour of others. He who buys 
 the labour of one hundred people, may acquire 
 ten times as much as by his own. 
 
 What then has that capricious damsel, For- 
 tune, to do in this chain of argument? Nothing. 
 He who has capacity, attention, and economy,
 
 138 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 has a fortune within himself. She does not 
 command him, he commands her. 
 
 Having explained the word riches, and point- 
 ed out the road to them, let us examine their 
 use. They enable a man with great facility to 
 shake off an old friend, once an equal j and for- 
 bid access to an inferior, except a toad-eater. 
 Sometimes they add to his name, the pretty ap- 
 pendage of Right Honourable, Bart, or Esq. 
 additions much coveted, which, should he hap- 
 pen to become an author, are an easy passport 
 through the gates of fame. His very features 
 seem to take a turn from his fortune, and a 
 curious eye may easily read in his face, the 
 word consequence. They change the tone of 
 his voice from the submissive to the command- 
 ing, in which he well knows how to throw in a 
 few graces. His style is convincing. Money 
 is of singular efficacy j, it clears his head, refines 
 his sense, points his joke. The weight of his 
 fortune adds weight to his argument. If, my 
 dear reader, you have been a silent spectator at 
 the Skakspeare tavern ; a general meeting for 
 public business ; or the Low Bailiff's feast ; you 
 may have observed many a smart thing said un- 
 heeded, by the man without money ; and many 
 a paltry one echoed with applause, from the 
 man with it. The room in silent attention hears 
 one, while the other can scarcely hear himself. 
 They direct a man to various ways of being
 
 WEALTH. 139 
 
 carried who is too idle to carry himself ; nay, 
 they invert the order of things, for we often be- 
 hold two men, who seem hungry, carry one who 
 is full fed. They add refinement to his palate, 
 prominence to his front, scarlet to his nose. 
 They frequently ward off old age. The ancient 
 rules of moderation being broken, luxury enters 
 in all her pomp, followed by a group of diseases, 
 with a physician in their train, and the rector in 
 his. Vials, prayers, tears, and galley-pots, close 
 the sad scene, and the individual has the honour 
 to rot in state, before old age can advance. 
 His place may be readily supplied with a joyful 
 mourner. 
 
 There are people among us, who manage mat- 
 ters with such address, that they pay their way 
 with credit, and live after the rate of 5 or 
 ^B.GOO a year, without a shilling of their own. 
 In doubtful prospects, the shadow may be taken 
 for the substance. A tree may nourish to the 
 sight, and be rotten at the root. There are 
 others, who have acquired ,=. 20,000, yet ap- 
 pear to the eye much in the style of journey- 
 men. He who lias been long inured to his 
 dusty shops, and whose shops have paid him, 
 deems il a sin to forsake them. 
 
 The wealth of our principal inhabitants, De- 
 cember the 10th, 17^3, might have been com- 
 prised in the following table. Perhaps we had 
 
 .] who possessed upwards of 100,000/. each.
 
 140 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 7 who possessed upwards of 50,000/. each. 
 
 8 of 30,000/. 
 
 17 of 20,000/. 
 
 80 of 10,000/. 
 
 94 of 5,000/. 
 
 Some one may ask, " How came you to know 
 what property the inhabitants are possessed of? 
 they never told you." I answer, the man long 
 accustomed to shoot with a gun, cannot be a 
 bad shooter ; he will sometimes hit the mark, 
 seldom be far from it. The man who has guess- 
 ed for thirty years, cannot be a bad guesser. 
 
 I have written an extensive chapter, consist- 
 ing of many pages, merely for the sake of a few 
 figures, which compose six crabbed lines, cut 
 short at both ends. Instead of making a little 
 cabinet to hold the treasure, I may be charged 
 with making a house! But let me observe, this 
 treasure has taken more time in ascertaining, 
 than the house in building. 
 
 A reader, fond of figures, will quickly per- 
 ceive that I have selected 209 persons who took 
 the lead among 50,000, by commanding a pro- 
 perty of 3,500,000/. 
 
 Out of the 209, 103 began the world with 
 nothing but their own prudence. 35 had for- 
 tunes added to their prudence, but too small to 
 be brought into account ; and 71 persons were 
 favoured with a larger, which, in many in- 
 stances is much improved. Hence it follows,
 
 WEALTH. 141 
 
 that the above sum was chiefly acquired by the 
 present inhabitants. Eut we are not to suppose, 
 Birmingham, during this age, has increased in 
 wealth to that amount. While these 209 for- 
 tunes have been making, twice that number, 
 of various sizes, have been spent, divided, or 
 carried off. But all the 209 are of modern date, 
 not one of them having passed through three 
 descents. 
 
 Many occasions have offered in the course of 
 ll lis work, which obliged me to pay a just com- 
 pliment to the merit of the inhabitants, and 
 which I gladly embraced ; but no occasion sur- 
 passes the present. A fortune justly gained, is 
 a credit to the man who gains it : and is gene- 
 rally considered by him who has it, and him 
 who has it not, a pretty conveniency. It is a 
 benefit to others. A man cannot acquire 
 10,000/. by fair trade, without 10,000 persons 
 being gainers by the acquirement. It confers 
 an honour on the place of his success. Pride 
 may afterwards induce him to be ashamed of the 
 place, but the place is never ashamed of him. 
 
 These observations corroborate a remark in 
 the beginning of the work, that we are well 
 able to fabricate gentlemen, but not to keep 
 them. Birmingham, a fertile field, yields 
 a copious harvest, which attracts the inha- 
 bitants fifty miles round it ; some of whom glean 
 a fortune, and retreat with the prize.
 
 142 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM, 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Have you, my dear reader, seen a sword 
 hilt, of curious, and of Birmingham manufac- 
 tory, covered with spangles of various sizes, 
 every one of which carries a separate lustre, 
 but, when united, have a dazzling effect ? Or, 
 have you seen a ring, from the same origin, set 
 with diamonds of many dimensions, the least of 
 which sparkles with beauty, but, when beheld 
 in cluster, they surprize the beholder ? Or, have 
 you, in a frosty evening, seen the heavens be- 
 spangled with refulgent splendour, each stud 
 shining with intrinsic excellence, but, viewed 
 in the aggregate, reflecting glory upon the 
 maker, and enlivening the hemisphere ? Such 
 is the British government. Such is that ex- 
 cellent system of polity, which shines, the 
 envy of the stranger, and the protector of the 
 native. 
 
 Every city, town, and village in the English 
 hemisphere, has a separate jurisdiction of its 
 own, and may justly be deemed a stud in the 
 grand lustre. 
 
 Though the British constitution is as far from 
 perfection, as the glory of the ring and the hilt 
 are from that of the sun which causes it, or the 
 stars from the day; yet perhaps it stands higher 
 in the scale of excellence, Hum that of its neigh-
 
 GOVERNMENT. 143 
 
 bours. We may, with propriety, allow that 
 body to shine with splendour, which has been 
 polishing for seventeen hundred years. Much 
 honour is due to the patriotic merit which ad- 
 vanced it to its present eminence. 
 
 Though Birmingham is but one sparkle of 
 the brilliant cluster, yet she is a sparkle of the 
 first water, and of the first magnitude. 
 
 The more perfect any system of government, 
 the happier the people. A wise government. 
 will punish for the commission of crimes, but 
 a wiser will endeavour to prevent them. Man 
 is an active animal ; if he is not employed in 
 some useful pursuit, he will employ himself in 
 mischief; example is prevalent. If one man 
 falls into error, he often draws another. Though 
 heaven, for wise purposes, sutlers a people to 
 fill the measure of their iniquities, a prudent 
 state will nip them in the bud. 
 
 It is easy to point out some places, only one 
 third the magnitude of Birmingham, whose fre- 
 quent breaches of the law, and quarrels among 
 themselves, rind employment for half a dozen 
 magistrates, and four times that number of con- 
 stables : whilst the business of this was for manv 
 years conducted by a single Justice, the late 
 John Wyrley, Esq. If the reader should think 
 I am mistaken ; and object, that parish affairs 
 cannot be conducted without a second, let mc 
 reply, he conducted that second also.
 
 144 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 As human nature is nearly the same, whether 
 in or out of Birmingham, and as enormities 
 seem more prevalent out than in, we may rea- 
 sonably ascribe the cause to the extraordinary 
 industry of the [inhabitants, not allowing time 
 to brood over, and bring forth mischief, equal 
 to places of inferior diligence. 
 
 The Magistrates in 1818, were 
 
 William Hamper, Esq. 
 William Withering, Esq. 
 Rev. Edmund Outram, D. D. 
 Isaac Spooner, Esq. 
 Rev. Benjamin Spencer, LL.D. 
 William Villers, Esq. 
 George Simcox, Esq. 
 Theodore Price, Esq. 
 William Bedford, Esq. 
 
 Many of our corporate towns received their 
 charters from that amiable but unfortunate 
 prince, Henry the Second. These were the 
 first dawnings of British liberty after the Nor- 
 man yoke. They were afterwards ratified and 
 improved by the subsequent Kings of England, 
 granting not only the manors, but many exclusive 
 privileges. But at this day, those places which 
 were so remarkably favoured with the smiles of 
 royalty, are not quite so free as those that were 
 not. The prosperity of Birmingham, of which
 
 GOVERNMENT. 145 
 
 pJace every man is free the moment he enters it, 
 proves the assertion. 
 
 We often behold a pompous corporation, 
 which sounds well in history, presiding over 
 something like a dirty village. This is a head 
 without a body. The very reverse is our case 
 we are a body without a head. For though 
 Birmingham has undergone prodigious altera- 
 tion in extension, riches, and population, yet 
 the government is nearly the same as the Saxons 
 left it. This part of my important history there- 
 fore must suffer an eclipse; this illustrious chap- 
 ter, that rose in dazzling brightness, must be 
 veiled in the thick clouds of obscurity ; I shall 
 figure with my corporation in a despicable light. 
 I am not able to bring upon the stage a mayor, 
 and a group of aldermen, dressed in antique scar- 
 let, bordered with fur, drawing a train of attend- 
 ants ; the meanest of which, even the pinder, is 
 badged with silver ; nor treat my guest with a 
 band of musicians, in scarlet cloaks with broad 
 laces. I can grace the hand of my Birmingham 
 fidler witli only a rusty instrument, and his back 
 with barely a whole coat ; neither have I mace, 
 charged with armorial bearings, for the inau- 
 guration of the chief magistrate. The reader, 
 therefore, must either quit the place, or be sa- 
 tisfied with such entertainment as that place 
 affords. 
 
 i
 
 146 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 The officers, who are annually chosen to direct 
 in this prosperous seat of fortune, are 
 
 A High Bailiff. Two High Tasters. 
 
 Low Bailiff. Two Low Tasters. 
 
 Two Constables. Two Affeirers. And 
 
 Headborough. Two Leather Sealers. 
 
 All which, the constables excepted, are no 
 more than servants to the Lord of the manor ; 
 and whose duty extends no farther than to the 
 preservation of the manorial rights. 
 
 The right of calling a public meeting of the 
 town, was formerly vested in the constables, 
 but has, of late, crept into the hands of the 
 high bailiff 
 
 The high bailiff is to inspect the market, and 
 see that justice takes place between buyer and 
 seller ; by rectifying the weights and dry mea- 
 sures used in the manor. 
 
 The low bailiff summons a jury, which 
 chooses all the other officers. But the most im- 
 portant part of his office is, to treat his friends 
 with two excellent public dinners. 
 
 The headborough is only an assistant to the 
 constables, chiefly in time of absence. 
 
 High tasters examine the goodness of beer, 
 and its measure. 
 
 Low tasters inspect the meat exposed to sale, 
 and cause that to be destroyed which is unfit 
 for use.
 
 GOVERNMENT. 147 
 
 Affeirers ratify the chief rent and amerce- 
 ments, between the lord and the inhabitant. 
 And the 
 
 Leather sealers, stamped a public seal upon 
 the hides, when Birmingham was a market for 
 leather. 
 
 These manorial servants, instituted by an- 
 cient charter, chiefly possess a name, without 
 an office. Thus order seems assisted by indus- 
 try, and thus a numerous body of inhabitants 
 are governed without a governor. 
 
 " Power is the idol of man." The choice of 
 our slender corps of officers has, during 700 
 years, been in the breast of the low bailiff. But 
 in 1792, the steward of the manor dying, his 
 successor, John Brooke, wisely concluded it 
 was vested in himself, therefore proceeded in 
 methodical error, till a court of law declared, 
 at the expence of jB.C)00, " That prescriptive 
 right could not be overturned." 
 
 Exclusive of the choice of officers, the jury 
 impannelled by the low bailiff, has the presen- 
 tation of all encroachments upon the lord's 
 waste, which lias long been neglected. The 
 duties of office are little known, except that of 
 taking a generous dinner, which is punctually 
 observed. It is too early to begin business till 
 the table is well stored with bottles, and too 
 late when the bottles are empty. 
 
 During the existence of the house of Birming- 
 l 2
 
 148 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ham, the court-leet was held at the Moat, in 
 what we should now think a large and shabby 
 room, and conducted under the eye of the low 
 bailiff, at the expence of the lord. The jury, 
 twice a year, were witnesses that the famous 
 dish of roast beef, ancient as the family which 
 gave it, demanded the head of the table. 
 
 The court was afterwards held at the Lea- 
 ther-hall, and the expence, which was trifling, 
 borne by the bailiff. Time, prosperity, and 
 emulation, are able to effect considerable 
 changes. The jury, in the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, were impannelled in the 
 Old Cross, then newly erected, from whence 
 they adjourned to the house of the bailiff", and 
 were feasted at the growing charge of two or 
 three founds. This practice continued till 
 about the year 1735, when the company, grown 
 too bulky for a private house, assembled at the 
 tavern, and the bailiff" enjoyed the privilege of 
 consuming ten pounds upon his guests. 
 
 It is easier to advance in expences than to 
 retreat. In I76O, these had increased to forty 
 pounds ; in I78I to seventy pounds. In the next 
 edition of this work I expected to see the word 
 hundred; but I believe in 1813 we might safely 
 place the word two before it. The lord was 
 anciently founder of the feast, and treated his 
 bailiff"; but now that custom is inverted, and 
 the bailiff treats his lord,
 
 GOVERNMENT. 149 
 
 The proclamation of our two fairs, is per- 
 formed by the high bailiff, in the name of the 
 lord of the manor ; this was done a century 
 ago, without the least expence. But the 
 strength of his liquor, a silver tankard, and the 
 pride of shewing it, perhaps induced him, in 
 process of time, to treat his attendants. His 
 ale, without a miracle, was, in a few years 
 converted into wine, and that of various sorts ; 
 to which was added a small collation ; and in 
 178 1 his friends were complimented with a card 
 to meet him at the Hotel, where he incurred 
 an expence of thirty pounds. While the spirit 
 of the people refines by intercourse, industry, 
 and the singular jurisdiction among us, this in- 
 significant pimple, on our head of government, 
 swells into a wen. 
 
 Habits approved are soon acquired : a third 
 entertainment has, of late years, sprung up, 
 termed the constables feast ; with this difference, 
 it is charged to the public. We may consider it 
 a wart on the political body, which merits the 
 caustic. 
 
 Deritend, being a hamlet of Birmingham, 
 sends her inhabitants to the court-leet, where 
 they perform suit and service, and where her 
 constable is chosen by the same jury. 
 
 I shall here exhibit a defective list of our 
 principal officers during the last century. If it 
 should be objected, that a petty constable, the
 
 1,50 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 lowest officer of the crown, is too insignificant 
 for admission into history I answer by what- 
 ever appellation an officer is accepted, he can- 
 not be insignificant who stands at the head of 
 80,000 people. Perhaps, therefore, the office 
 of constable may be sought for in future, and 
 the officer himself assume a superior conse- 
 quence. 
 
 The dates are the years in which they were 
 chosen, fixed by charter, within thirty days 
 after Michaelmas. 
 
 
 CONSTABLES. 
 
 1680 
 
 John Simco 
 
 John Cottrill 
 
 1681 
 
 John Wallaxall 
 
 William Guest 
 
 1682 
 
 George Abel 
 
 Samuel White 
 
 1683 
 
 Thomas Russell 
 
 Abraham Spoone 
 
 1684 
 
 Roger Machin 
 
 William Weeley 
 
 1685 
 
 Thomas Cox 
 
 John Green 
 
 1686 
 
 Henry Porter 
 
 Samuel Carless 
 
 1687 
 
 Samuel Banner 
 
 John Jesson 
 
 1690 
 
 Joseph Robinson 
 
 John Birch 
 
 1691 
 
 John Rogers 
 
 Richard Leather 
 
 1692 
 
 Thomas Robins 
 
 Corbet Bushell 
 
 1693 
 
 Joseph Rann 
 
 William Sargant 
 
 1691 
 
 Rowland Hall 
 
 John Bryerley 
 
 1695 
 
 Richard Scott 
 
 George Wills 
 
 1696 
 
 Joseph Haddock 
 
 Robert Mansell
 
 
 CONSTABLES. LC 
 
 1697 
 
 James Greir 
 
 John Foster 
 
 1698 
 
 John Baker 
 
 Henry Camden 
 
 1699 
 
 William Kettle 
 
 Thomas Gisburne 
 
 1700 
 
 John Willson 
 
 Joseph Allen 
 
 1701 
 
 Nicholas Bakewell 
 
 Richard Banner 
 
 1702 
 
 William Collins 
 
 Robert Groves 
 
 1703 
 
 Henry Parrat 
 
 Benjamin Carles 
 
 1704 
 
 William Brearley 
 
 John Hunt 
 
 1705 
 
 Jonathan Seeley 
 
 Thomas Hollowav 
 
 1706 
 
 Robert Moore 
 
 John Savage 
 
 1707 
 
 Isaac Spooner 
 
 Samuel Harvey 
 
 1708 
 
 Richard Weston 
 
 Thomas Cope 
 
 1709 
 
 Samuel Walford 
 
 Thomas Greene 
 
 1710 
 
 John Foxall 
 
 William Norton 
 
 1711 
 
 Stephen Newton 
 
 John Taylor 
 
 1712 
 
 William Russell 
 
 John Cottrell 
 
 1713 
 
 John Shaw 
 
 Thomas Halford 
 
 1714 
 
 Randall Bradburne 
 
 Joseph May 
 
 171.0 
 
 Stephen Newton 
 
 Samuel Russell 
 
 1716 
 
 Stephen Newton 
 
 Joseph Carles 
 
 1717 
 
 Abraham Foxall 
 
 William Spilsbury 
 
 1718 
 
 John Gisborn 
 
 Henry Carver 
 
 1719 
 
 Samuel Hayes 
 
 Joseph Smith 
 
 1720 
 
 John Barn si ey 
 
 John Humphrys 
 
 1721 
 
 William Bennett 
 
 Thomas Willson 
 
 1722 
 
 John Harrison 
 
 Simeon Harris.
 
 152 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 TJ CU 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 $-. 
 
 CU 
 
 O 
 
 u 
 
 cu 
 
 4-> 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 t-i 
 
 O 
 
 *G 
 
 JH 
 
 
 1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 CD 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 GO 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 03 
 
 pq 
 
 
 < 
 co 
 
 03 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 hJ 
 
 
 
 JH 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 cu 
 
 s 
 
 A 
 
 03 
 
 ,J3 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 PQ 
 <! 
 H 
 
 
 tn 
 55 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 o3 
 
 s 
 
 o3 
 >-> 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 CU 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 P^ 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 GO 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 # 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 tn 
 
 S 
 
 ri*3 
 
 
 CT 1 
 
 t/3 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 a* 
 
 CO 
 
 >-4 
 
 o 
 
 (J 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 fl 
 
 W 
 
 
 i-H 
 
 
 P-( 
 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 CU 
 
 r* 
 o 
 
 cu 
 
 o 
 
 -w 
 
 
 
 
 
 c^ 
 
 in 
 
 PQ 
 
 g 
 
 o 
 
 CJ 
 
 GO 
 
 CO 
 
 CU 
 
 
 
 -4-> 
 
 cu 
 
 $ 
 
 
 
 <1 
 
 s 
 
 
 _ 
 
 co 
 
 03 
 
 r-C! 
 
 P^ 
 
 co 
 
 03 
 
 w 
 
 ^3 
 
 ^ 
 
 H 
 
 CO , 
 
 ^ i 
 
 GO 
 
 PQ 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 
 u 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 h ( 
 
 s 
 
 1 ( 
 
 w 
 
 o 
 2 
 
 '3 
 o 
 
 P- 
 CU 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 -5 
 
 &-i 
 CD 
 ^-> 
 
 CO 
 
 ^2 
 CD 
 
 rQ 
 O 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 a 
 -t-> 
 
 CD 
 
 w 
 
 Oh 
 
 CU 
 CO 
 
 O 
 -* 
 
 Ci 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 
 S3 
 
 O 
 
 CO 
 CO 
 
 s 
 
 pq- 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 CU 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 CU 
 
 a 
 
 t r-j 
 
 O 
 
 -5 
 
 a 
 
 03 
 
 53 
 
 I t 
 
 CJ 
 
 3 
 tn 
 
 03 
 
 V 
 
 S-. 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 Cu 
 
 is 
 
 'o 
 
 o 
 
 C3 
 
 
 cu 
 
 1 
 
 Oi 
 . 1 
 
 -O 
 
 rt 
 
 m 
 fl 
 O 
 
 U 
 
 V 
 
 
 GO 
 
 O 
 H 
 
 CU 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 >-* 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 r-j 
 O 
 
 ^2 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 CO 
 l-H 
 
 -t-> 
 
 .s 
 
 
 
 P^ 
 
 w 
 K 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 ( 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "tn 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 Xi 
 
 
 
 <1 
 
 O 
 
 
 ;_, 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 4-> 
 
 o 
 
 53 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 PQ 
 
 
 "3 
 
 PQ 
 xi 
 
 CO 
 
 CD 
 
 H 
 
 CO 
 
 S-H 
 
 -d 
 
 CU 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ( 
 
 
 CO 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 H 
 
 CO 
 
 cu 
 
 ^2 
 
 o3 
 
 p3 
 
 pq 
 
 pq 
 
 CO 
 
 & 
 
 tn 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 r-j 
 
 C 
 rC 
 
 CU 
 CO 
 
 CU 
 CO 
 
 CU 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 o3 
 
 co 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -5 
 
 H-5 
 
 -S 
 
 1-5 
 
 -a 
 
 c- 
 
 tn 
 O 
 1-5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 04 
 
 GO 
 
 "S* 
 
 *o 
 
 CO 
 
 J^- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 co 
 
 00 
 
 GO 
 
 GO 
 
 GO 
 
 GO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j^- 
 
 t^ 
 
 i> 
 
 *> 
 
 i>- 
 
 i> 
 

 
 LIST OF OFFICERS. 153 
 
 
 
 
 
 S-i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 
 
 CD 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 co 
 
 T3 
 
 +-> 
 
 T3 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 O 
 
 J2 
 
 T* 
 
 13 
 
 
 CD 
 
 +J 
 
 r-< 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 c3 
 
 a 
 
 2 
 
 J2 
 
 3 
 
 
 M-i 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 3 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 < i-H 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 r P 
 
 CD 
 
 pq 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 ,p 
 
 -P 
 c3 
 
 O 
 
 p^ 
 
 CD 
 
 13 
 pq 
 
 CD 
 p^4 
 
 'co 
 
 H 
 
 Pi 
 
 CD 
 
 P^ 
 
 13 
 
 p 
 
 S 
 
 c/2 
 
 
 15 
 
 H 
 
 "-5 
 
 H 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^5 
 
 'o 
 t 5 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 -5 
 
 3 
 
 h^ 
 
 
 
 50 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -m 
 
 g 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 4-1 
 
 pq 
 
 73 
 
 r-P 
 U 
 
 s 
 
 p 
 H 
 
 13 
 
 CO 
 
 P 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 co 
 
 S-i 
 CD 
 
 IS 
 
 CD 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 4-} 
 
 
 CO 
 O 
 
 11 
 
 CO 
 
 g 
 O 
 
 ^3 
 CD 
 
 5-H 
 
 pq 
 
 -* 
 
 "p* 
 
 
 co 
 
 rt 
 
 C3 
 
 ,x< 
 
 r* 
 
 -JJ 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 
 CD 
 co 
 
 O 
 
 fl 
 
 
 a, 
 
 
 CO 
 
 Oh 
 
 CD 
 
 CO 
 
 CD 
 
 O 
 
 CD 
 
 g 
 
 . 
 
 CD 
 CD 
 
 p 
 g 
 
 ^ 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 h 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 !-5 
 
 O 
 1-5 
 
 ^ a 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 -a 
 
 
 cZ2 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 >-> 
 
 a 
 
 i-ri 
 
 13 
 co 
 
 co 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 e5 
 
 CD 
 
 S 
 
 CD 
 
 to 
 
 a 
 
 rh 
 
 -4-J 
 
 CD 
 
 p 
 
 p 
 
 CD 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 5 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 > < 
 
 c- 1 
 
 CO 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 1 H 
 
 >-> 
 
 H 
 
 >-5 
 
 
 
 
 'o 
 
 -5 
 
 a 
 
 5-1 
 
 pq 
 
 Id 
 
 s 
 
 1-; 
 cj 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 CO 
 fe-H 
 
 rp 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 -5 
 
 CD 
 > 
 
 a 
 
 13 
 P 
 g 
 
 C/3 
 
 
 CO 
 
 ^2 
 
 CO 
 
 
 CO 
 
 >-> 
 
 CO 
 CD 
 
 p 
 
 
 13 
 
 CO 
 
 'J2 
 
 CD 
 > 
 
 _J 
 
 CD 
 
 
 co 
 
 -*-> 
 
 o 
 
 * 
 
 , 
 
 .CD 
 
 ** 
 
 
 co 
 
 CD 
 
 "a 
 
 "73 
 
 3 
 
 5-1 
 
 CD 
 
 w 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 -5 
 
 P5 
 
 CO 
 
 p ( 
 
 v3 
 
 a 
 
 _CD 
 
 Q 
 
 CD 
 CO 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 CD 
 
 fee 
 
 
 
 CD 
 
 pq 
 
 C3 
 
 w 
 
 co 
 
 g 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 co 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 pq 
 
 CO 
 
 CD 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 C< 
 
 c 
 
 1 ( 
 
 0/ CO 
 
 * 
 
 *o 
 
 i> 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 * 
 
 O? 
 
 co 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 T? 
 
 -* 
 
 "7< "f 
 
 -J< 
 
 <* 
 
 -H 
 
 ^ 
 
 T* 
 
 *o 
 
 o 
 
 *o 
 
 *o 
 
 f^- 
 
 <^ 
 
 t> 
 
 <- 
 
 <^ r^ 
 
 l^ 
 
 l>> 
 
 i> <- 
 
 i> 
 
 r^ 
 
 r- 
 
 r- 
 
 <^- 
 
 i-^
 
 154 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 a 
 
 vJ 
 
 C r* g P 
 
 c 
 
 b 
 
 t3 7^ ^ ^ -? L> T <D ! ^ ~ 
 
 os 
 
 n'-'i-rtCJ , ^ .2 ,-k J? b. <*> 
 
 o .^ T3 . w n u =! rh /~\ a; < _ cs 
 
 3o1^'s^Q 
 
 5 .rt^S^^^^^S 
 
 be 
 
 a G r- t - 
 
 ,-< *3 s l-\ 
 
 J3 rG rt ^ CJL flj"'- s r'i i in - co 
 O O 
 
 -3 ^ 
 
 C 
 
 5g^S|z44o3^H 1 
 
 8 P ^ T 3 > f 
 
 * o ,2 Te-3 ^ ": o 
 
 O .h <-> >^, E -* 
 
 O 
 .3 
 
 3 ^ r? = - C*.S rt P S S -T2 C5 
 
 r^ ^ -5 C3 3 Q j -3 ^ rt 3 O a p^ 
 
 ! fa aj"! :=!"!: 1 
 
 _i . co ^3 
 
 G C-ij Q 5-, r ^ CO 5-1 fl 
 
 jg w ~ ^ Id 2 ^ ^^ ^ S 2 g 
 
 -3 * ^^jHH^WbhK^h 
 
 O < co 
 
 ^ j P > ^ -^^3 -2 
 
 ' O o a c --15 _ ^ 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 p2 
 
 CO 
 
 k* 
 
 'o 
 
 rj 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 PS 
 
 
 
 
 1EL 
 
 
 jj 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 ^ 
 
 zz; 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 -5 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 
 o -s - C ^ ^ ^ 
 
 3 ^ ^ r 2 ^ 2 1 ffi 
 
 GL, _, 2 S - - 
 
 a) 5 t - ! o 5 s 
 
 co ,-G o r- ,r: nC 
 
 o o o r2 rr o o 
 
 
 ^ ^ o n X o o h o' oo * >o w r^
 
 LIST OF OFFICERS. 155 
 
 > "t: bo Tc ts * ir "So 
 
 -> ^o , ' -h "$ r? i. _ i ' "^ _. rs 
 
 .^^g'ojti^^S.G-j g 
 
 ^5 L*" _r" 03 i ' _r- CO co /G G -G O 3 
 
 c 
 o 
 
 *5 fi 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 
 U( 
 
 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 
 +-> 
 
 
 <J1 
 
 C3 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,_G 
 
 O 
 
 
 CD 
 
 
 
 
 
 <U 
 
 
 l-G 
 
 
 g 
 
 >, 
 
 >. 
 
 
 be ,o 
 
 O 
 
 ~ 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 ^> 
 
 CO 
 
 t bJ3 
 
 
 C3 
 
 'O 
 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 3 
 
 en 
 c3 
 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 U 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 
 CD 
 
 g 
 
 # g 
 
 fcJD 
 
 O 
 
 
 3 
 U 
 
 X 
 
 1-8 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 c3 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 g 
 
 
 Co 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 J 
 
 H 
 
 2 
 O 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 "a 
 
 6" 
 
 s 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 >-8 
 
 O 
 
 -8 
 
 P3 
 
 3 
 
 -3 
 
 
 
 
 "a 
 
 u 
 03 
 
 n 
 
 .s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cS 
 
 S3 
 
 co 
 
 
 "3 
 
 5_, 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 1-^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 c3 
 
 
 
 pd 
 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 > 
 
 _^ 
 
 r ' 
 
 CO 
 
 _^ 
 
 CO 
 
 jh 
 
 +-> 
 
 CO 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 CD 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 <> 
 
 c3 
 
 IX 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 
 1 H 
 
 
 
 CD 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 o 
 
 
 g 
 
 t J C 
 
 
 
 C3 
 
 -a 
 
 c/2 
 
 
 0) , 
 
 o 
 
 6 -5 V3 
 
 ^ 
 
 2 P fl .S HH &D 
 
 w -i 1 -^ ~ ^ H ^ H ^ ^ -^ H Q ^ = 
 
 x r. c r-> -> co -f< o '-o r^ x r. o h ^ 
 
 "o ^ (-(-(-<-(-*-(-- (^ -. a: x 
 
 t^ t>- i>> t^- t^ t^ t>- i^ <^- c^ i^. t-^ i> i>
 
 156 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 C3 
 
 pq 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 o 
 
 . 43 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 > i 
 
 
 03 
 
 P* 
 
 03 
 
 S 
 
 03 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 03 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 co 
 
 & 
 
 U 
 
 PQ 
 
 13 
 
 CO 
 
 co 
 
 s 
 
 T3 
 
 
 
 03 
 
 u 
 
 03 
 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 fe* 
 
 < 
 
 43 
 
 "d 
 
 f> 
 
 U 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 
 P a> 
 
 2 I 
 43 O u 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 w 
 
 a 
 
 43 
 
 O 
 
 "a 
 
 43 
 P* 
 
 
 2 =3 
 S S 
 
 -P r-l 
 
 p 
 
 o 
 
 03 
 
 o 
 
 p 
 
 43 
 
 c 
 
 p 
 
 43 
 
 o 
 
 -a 
 
 T 3 to CO 
 
 03 
 S-* 
 
 2 ^ 
 
 B j^ 
 
 43 M P b 03 OT 
 
 CO -^ ^..rH '~S 
 
 S 3 S * * P 
 
 H pq H^ O 
 
 ^ p 
 
 & 03 
 
 PQ O 
 
 p 
 
 43 
 
 o 
 
 -a 
 
 co to to 
 
 
 o3 Si 
 
 s s s cq W <j 
 
 2 to 
 
 S B 
 
 C^ H >-a = t-a f- 
 
 03 
 
 P P 
 
 o o 
 
 in S-( 
 
 03 03 
 
 cB 6 ^ 
 
 a 
 
 03 n 
 
 03 
 
 S 
 
 03 
 
 -a 
 
 Ph Ph Ph 
 
 -P rP rP 
 P ftft- 
 
 03 03 03 S3 
 to to co --h 
 O O O > 
 
 p 
 o 
 
 to 
 
 to P 
 
 CO r^J 03 
 
 03 44 
 
 c8" 6" 9 
 
 H tf ^ 
 
 03 43 
 
 P. <U 
 
 2 to 
 
 43 o 
 
 o3 >. 
 
 P u 
 
 o o 
 
 CO >- 
 
 5-- 03 
 
 *3 H 
 
 
 Ph-P 
 03 S3 
 
 CO ..H 
 
 P .s 
 2 
 
 P-> o3 
 
 03 U 
 
 Pw P^ 
 
 T3 to 
 
 S-i 03 
 03 p 
 
 Jl 
 
 P^ H 
 
 5tt 03 
 ofl p 
 
 2 
 H 
 
 g 
 
 ^ fcJO 
 
 t> p 
 
 P3 o 
 
 03 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 03 
 
 P 
 g 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 03 
 
 03 O 
 
 P co 
 
 C" 1 H 
 P 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 
 g .03 
 
 >-, 03 
 
 o3 P 
 
 _ t-l t-l _, 
 
 Jf 03 03 03 
 
 03 ^3 P-i 44 
 ~ co 4S a o 1- 
 
 O o3 
 
 < U pq 
 
 CO CO co 
 
 03 
 
 Pw 
 
 O 
 03 03 O 
 
 p^ a 
 
 fr el .5 i 
 
 P 03 S3 O O O 
 
 03 co 'it f (- _c 
 
 o u* r" r - " FT .o 
 
 H H H ^ 
 
 CO 00 00 OO GO 00 00C0O)C)ClOQ
 
 LIST OF OFFICERS. I57 
 
 CJ (-1 
 
 n Ei s 44 2 ., CJ T 5 Vi C3 
 
 Sr^ 3 L2 > ^ Ph o ^ 2 r, j: ^ F as 
 0:3 p o o ^ fi 2 y = gj 3 ^ 3 " 
 
 -d 
 
 g 
 
 - >> - "H ^ -h - r O - r* 3 
 
 St: -^ j* S 5 ^ eg 3 I ?3 g 
 
 ^ ~ s ^ *! -g, I? * I s ^ S 1^ a 
 
 ^7? 3 ^ j2 X 3 _3 73 ^ c3 o fcfl .3 33 
 
 3 Jx 3i J? ^ 3 rt O ^ 15 p3 0^r3 
 
 Tj 
 
 "3 
 
 O 
 
 CJ 
 
 co 
 
 3 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 cj 
 
 'g 
 
 CO 
 
 Cj 
 
 a; 
 
 W3 
 
 CO 
 -4-3 
 
 c3 
 
 CO 
 
 
 O 
 )-> 
 
 3h 
 3 
 
 CO 
 
 r M 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 -J 
 
 CO 
 
 '3 i 
 
 i-H 
 
 -3 
 J5 
 
 CO 
 >- 
 
 -4-3 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 >-> 
 
 Ph- 
 
 "3 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 g 
 
 O 
 
 Ph 
 
 CO 
 
 rj 
 O 
 
 g 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 3 
 O 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 -4-J 
 
 -H> 
 
 CJ 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 .2 
 
 O 
 
 -5 
 
 co 
 
 'o 
 > s 
 
 S 
 
 
 P3 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 CO 
 
 4-> 
 
 ^ 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 
 "0 
 
 
 >~i 
 
 co 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ~l-> 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ""^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,_ 
 
 
 
 
 tC 
 
 co 
 "3 
 
 "0 
 
 r- 1 
 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 jV 
 
 
 cj 
 
 
 "o 
 
 
 O- 
 
 73 
 
 
 -H> 
 
 co 
 
 
 
 ~4-J 
 -4-3 
 
 h3 
 
 
 * 
 
 CO 
 
 H 
 
 e3 
 
 CO 
 
 'TCl 
 CJ 
 
 CO 
 
 i-H 
 
 
 
 p2 
 
 i-H 
 HH 
 
 l_ r< 
 
 K- 
 
 O 
 
 s 
 
 i-rj 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 Ph 
 
 < 
 
 rj 
 
 3 
 
 co 
 
 bC 
 
 O 
 
 . 
 
 HH 
 
 cn 
 
 V3 
 
 . 
 
 c3 
 
 3 
 
 1 t 
 
 >- 
 
 CO 
 
 (-j 
 
 r^ 
 
 * i 
 
 CJ 
 
 J 1 
 
 r- 
 
 co 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 CJ 
 
 
 
 
 Z-t 
 
 r * 
 
 -H 
 
 aj 
 
 3 
 
 CU 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 p 
 
 
 O 
 
 p 
 
 rj 
 
 CJ 
 
 cj 
 
 TZ3 
 
 
 S 
 
 r; 
 
 { 
 
 CJ 
 
 H 
 
 h3 
 
 
 "O 
 
 
 ( 
 
 h3^ 
 
 "3 
 1^3 
 
 c5 
 
 5 
 
 P* 
 
 "3 
 
 CJ 
 
 
 S* 
 
 C/2 
 
 
 
 (5 
 
 T5 w f^ CO Ci O rH 0> CO -H >0 O t^ OD C^ O 
 CTiCiCiCTiCiOOOOO OCOOOw 
 <-<^l^-<^t^CO 00 GO CO CO X CO GO GO X CO
 
 158 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 0> 
 
 g * Z o o J* % 
 
 P O X p co P _s 
 
 
 '3 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 co 
 
 
 a 
 P 
 
 3 
 
 P 'P fl 
 
 p OpplPpjpp 
 
 fl P 
 
 " S ^ 
 
 i-r! co co "^ <-i , O 
 
 e S S B .$ ^ Z. " 
 
 T3 -P ^3 P3 IT 1 -P "P F 
 
 W H H H U 
 
 o 
 
 to ^ 
 
 p . <^ S? a 
 
 o a -* o 
 
 --h _q <^ p -m - .p- 1 
 
 -P a ffi g "p -P 
 
 ra^^ a p o^^ -1 
 p co ' ' M ,_p crprp 
 
 O CD O P rp co 
 
 C Pi P B* P <3 
 
 gSg^O^Gp^o 
 
 cj} P P _CD 
 
 _9~H ^13^Fp| 
 
 h C) CO r 1 >0 'O N M 
 
 > 'r- (r-HT lr tr- It (i I 
 
 ccxocccoc<xcoao
 
 SHERIFFS. COURT OF REQUESTS. 159 
 
 Seven of the inhabitants have, since I knew 
 the place, served the office of Sheriff for the 
 County, viz. 
 
 1756. John Taylor, Esq. 
 
 17,57. Edward Jordan, Esq. 
 
 1700. Isaac Spooner, Esq. 
 
 1786. John Taylor, Esq. 
 
 1790. Henry Clay, Esq. 
 
 1792. Joseph Oughton, Esq. 
 
 1815. James Woolley, Esq. 
 
 COURT OF REQUESTS. 
 
 Law is the very basis of civil society; without 
 it man would quickly return to his original rude- 
 ness ; the result would be robbery and blood ; 
 and even laws themselves are of little moment, 
 without a due execution of them ; there is a ne- 
 cessity to annex punishment. 
 
 All wise legislators have endeavoured to -pro- 
 portion the punishment to the crime, but never 
 to exceed it. A well-conducted state holds 
 forth a scale of punishments for transgressions 
 of every dimension, beginning with the simple 
 reprimand, and proceeding downwards even to 
 death itself. 
 
 Much honour is due to that judicial luminary 
 William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, who pre-
 
 160 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 sided over the King's Bench, for introducing 
 equity into the courts of law, where she had 
 long been a stranger. 
 
 From a consideration of the prodigious inter- 
 course subsisting in so vast a body of people as 
 those of Birmingham, it was wisely judged ne- 
 cessary to establish an easy and expeditious me- 
 thod of ending dispute, and securing property. 
 The inhabitants, therefore, in 1752, procured 
 an act for the recovery of debts under forty 
 shillings ; constituting seventy-two commis- 
 sioners, three to be a quorum. They sat for 
 the dispatch of business in the chamber over 
 the Old Cross, till it was destroyed, every Fri- 
 day morning. There usually appeared before 
 them, 160 causes : their determinations are final. 
 Two clerks, constituted by the act, attend the 
 court to give judicial assistance. They are al- 
 ways of the law, chosen alternately by the lord 
 of the manor and the commissioners, and con- 
 tinue for life. Once in every two years, ten of 
 the commissioners are balloted out, and ten others 
 of the inhabitants chosen in their stead. A 
 further act has since been obtained, which ex- 
 tends to debts not exceeding five pounds, and 
 increases the expences of the suit.
 
 161 
 
 LAMP AND STREET ACT. 
 
 Order is preserved by attention. In 1769 an 
 act was obtained, and in 1773 an amendment 
 of the act, for lighting and cleaning the streets 
 of Birmingham, and for removing obstructions 
 that were prejudicial to the health or conve- 
 nience of the inhabitants. 
 
 These acts were committed to the care of 
 about seventy-six irresolute commissioners, with 
 farther powers of preventing encroachments 
 upon public ground. It was justly observed 
 that robbery was a work of darkness ; therefore 
 to introduce light would, in some measure, pro- 
 tect property : that in a town like Birmingham, 
 full of commerce and inhabitants, where neces- 
 sity leads to continual action, no part of the 
 twenty-four hours ought to be dark : that, to 
 avoid darkness, was sometimes to avoid insult ; 
 and that by the light of 700 lamps, many un- 
 fortunate accidents would be prevented. 
 
 It was also observed, that in a length of time, 
 the buildings in some of the ancient streets had 
 encroached upon the path four or five feet on 
 each side which caused an irregular line, and 
 made those streets eight or ten feet narrower, 
 that were used by 70,000 people, than they 
 
 M
 
 lG c 2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 were when used only by one sixth part of 
 that number ; and that their confined width 
 rendered the passage dangerous to children, 
 women, and feeble age, particularly on the 
 market days and Saturday evenings ; that if for- 
 mer encroachments could not be recovered, 
 future ought to be prevented : and that neces- 
 sity pleaded for a wider street now than hereto- 
 fore, not only because the inhabitants being 
 more numerous, required more room, but the 
 buildings being more elevated, obstructed the 
 light, the sun, and the air, which obstructions 
 tended to sickness and inconvenience. 
 
 Narrow streets and modern buildings are 
 generally dirty, for want of these natural helps; 
 as Digbeth, St. MartinVlane, Swan-alley, Carr's- 
 lane, kc. The narrower the street, the less it 
 can be influenced by the sun and the wind, con- 
 sequently the more the dirt will abound ; and 
 by experimental observations upon stagnate 
 water in the street, it is found extremely preju- 
 dicial to health. And also, the larger the 
 number of people, the greater the necessity to 
 watch over their interest with a guardian's eye. 
 It may further be remarked, that an act of 
 parliament ought to distribute justice with an 
 impartial hand; in which case, content and obe- 
 dience may reasonably be expected. But the 
 acts before us carry a manifest partiality ; one 
 man claims a right to an encroachment into
 
 LAMP AND STREET ACT. 163 
 
 the street of three or four feet, whilst another is 
 restricted to twelve inches. 
 
 This inactive body of seventy-six, who wisely 
 argued against the annihilation of one evil, be- 
 cause another would rem aiu, had powers to 
 borrow a thousand pounds, to purchase and re- 
 move some obstructive buildings, and to defray 
 the expence by a rate on the inhabitants, which, 
 after deducting about one hundred and twenty 
 pounds per annum for deficiencies, amounted 
 
 In 1774, - to 912/. 
 
 1775, 902/. 
 
 1776, - - 947/. 
 
 1777, - - 965/. 
 
 1778, - - 1,112/. 
 
 1779, - - 1,122/. 
 I78I, . - 1,121/. 
 
 1785, -. - 1,2561. 
 
 1786, - - 1,2531. 
 
 1787, - 1,265/. 
 
 1788, . 1,376/. 
 
 1789, - 1,315/. 
 
 1790, . _ _ 1>30 i/. 
 
 1791, 1,329/. 
 
 1792, - . 1,328/. 
 
 1793, - ],299/. 
 
 1794, - 1,306/. 
 179.5, - _ . 1,319/. 
 1796, - 1,360/. 
 
 m 2
 
 l64 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 In 1797, to - 1,382/. 
 
 1798, - 1,354/. 
 
 1799, - - 1,345/. 
 
 1801, - - 2,667/. 
 
 1802, - - 2.763/. 
 
 1803, - - 2,754/. 
 
 1804, - - 2,661/. 
 
 1806, - - 2,861/. 
 
 1807, - - 2,929/. 
 1809, - - 3,000/. 
 
 1811, - - 3,098/. 
 
 1812, - - 5,100/. 
 
 1813, - - 5,343/. 
 
 1814, - - 6,521/. 
 
 1815, - - 6,500/. 
 
 1816, - - 6,100/. 
 1818, - - 5,854/. 
 
 Though the town was averse to the measure, 
 as an innovation, it quickly saw its utility, and 
 seemed to wish a more vigorous exertion of the 
 commissioners ; but numbers sometimes pro- 
 crastinate intentions. If it be difficult to find 
 rive men of one mind, it is more difficult to find 
 a superior number. That business which would 
 run currently through the hands of five, stag- 
 nates at fifteen, the number required. 
 
 It is curious to observe a body of commis- 
 sioners, every one of whom conducts his own 
 private affairs with propriety and success,
 
 LAMP AND STREET ACT. 165 
 
 attack a question by the hour, which is as plain 
 as the simplest proposition in the mathematics, 
 when, not being able to reduce it, and their am- 
 munition being spent, they leave the matter 
 undetermined, and retreat in silence. In works 
 of manual operation a large number may be ne- 
 cessary, but in works of direction a small one 
 facilitates dispatch. 
 
 Birmingham, a capacious field, by long neg- 
 lect, is overgrown with encroaching weeds. 
 The gentle commissioners, appointed to reduce 
 them, behold it an arduous work, are divided 
 in opinion, and some withdraw the hand from 
 the plough. The manorial powers, which alone 
 could have preserved order, have slept for ages. 
 Regularity has been long extinct. The desire 
 of trespass is so prevalent, that I have been 
 tempted to question, if it were not for the 
 powers of the lamp and street act, feeble as they 
 are, whether the many - headed - public, ever 
 w r atchful of its prey, would not, in another 
 century, devour whole streets, and totally ob- 
 struct the passenger. Thus a supine jurisdiction 
 abounds with street-robbers. 
 
 If the sleepy powers of the lord made any ef- 
 forts, those efforts operated to the injury of the 
 streets, by taking encroachments into pay. If 
 simple mischief is prejudicial, what then must 
 be that mischief which is countenanced by 
 power! We learn from modern records, that
 
 5 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 166 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 per annum. 
 
 Charles Soul held a passage from the s. d. 
 
 street to a vault, at - 
 
 Andrew Adams, a flight of steps 
 Wm. Butler, for a vault and a shed - 
 Richard Lutwych, a vault and sashes 
 
 Wakefield, steps and sashes - 
 
 Isaac Baker for leave to lay down coals 
 Thomas Everet, a passage to a vault 
 
 These trespasses, with many others, were pre- 
 sented to the lord by his own jury ; but the 
 encroacher checked their proceedings by a 
 silver bar, and continued possession. 
 
 There are cases where the line of the street 
 should inviolably be preserved, as in a common 
 range of houses ; therefore all projections above 
 a given dimension infringe this rule. There are 
 other cases where taste would direct this line to 
 be broken, as in buildings of singular size or 
 construction, which should be viewed in recess. 
 Those of a public nature generally come under 
 this description, as the Free School, and the 
 Hotel, which ought to have fallen two or three 
 yards back. What pity, that so noble an edifice 
 as the Theatre in New-street, should lose any 
 of its beauty, by the prominence of its situation ! 
 
 As Birmingham abounds with new streets, 
 that were once private property, it is a question 
 often discussed, in what point of time the land 
 appropriated for such streets ceases to be pri-
 
 LAMP AND STREET ACT. 167 
 
 vate? But as this question was never deter- 
 mined, and as it naturally rises before me, and 
 is of importance, suffer me to examine it. 
 When building leases are granted, if the road 
 be narrow, as was lately the case at the west 
 end of New-street, the proprietor engages to 
 give a certain portion of land to widen it. 
 From that moment it falls to the lot of the 
 public, and is under the controul of the com- 
 missioners, as guardians of public property. I 
 allow, that if within memory the granter and 
 the lessees should agree to cancel the leases, 
 which is just as likely to happen as the powers 
 of attraction to cease, and the moon to descend 
 from the heavens, the land would revert again 
 to its original proprietor. 
 
 Though the streets of Birmingham have for 
 many ages been exposed to the hand of the en- 
 croacher, yet, by a little care, and less expence, 
 they might in about one century be reduced to 
 a considerable degree of use and beauty. In 
 what light then shall we be viewed by the fu- 
 ture eye, if we neglect the interest of posterity ? 
 
 GAS LIGHTS. 
 
 The Gas works of Birmingham were erected 
 by Mr. John Gostiing in the spring of 1818, 
 under the direction of his engineer, Mr. Samuel
 
 168 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Clegg. The apparatus is upon a large scale, 
 and a new plan. The retorts are of wrought 
 iron, some of them twelve feet in diameter, and 
 one foot deep, lying'flat upon fire tiles. One of 
 these retorts will produce a sufficient quantity of 
 gas for the supply of GOO Argand lamps during 
 the longest night. The gas-holder, which con- 
 tains 30,000 cubit feet of gas, is so constructed 
 that the expence of balance-weights, framing, 
 and house, is obviated, and the gasholder works 
 in the open air. The whole of the gas is mea- 
 sured and registered before it enters the gas- 
 holder ; and the requisite velocity of the gas 
 from the gas-holder to the main pipe is regulated 
 by means of a governor. The works, when com- 
 pleted, will be capable of supplying 4,000 lamps 
 per night. 
 
 The introduction of gas, exclusive of its 
 beauty, is of great importance, as it tends to 
 the security of the peaceable inhabitant, and 
 the detection of the thief. It has also founded 
 a new trade. Many of the shops, and some of 
 the rooms of the principal inns, are lighted with 
 gas. 
 
 The annual cost of a town lamp is three 
 guineas each burner j that of a private light 
 two, three, or four pounds. 
 
 Thus the streets of Birmingham have been 
 traced, from utter darkness, to the feeble rays 
 of an oil lamp; and the shops, from an unglazed
 
 GAS LIGHTS, ETC. l6j) 
 
 window, whose shutter, by day, formed a 
 table on which the wares were exposed to sale, 
 and at night excluded the customer, to the 
 bulk sash dimly lighted with candles ; till both 
 are illuminated by the pure, bright flame of 
 gas. 
 
 COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 A Commercial Committee, consisting of the 
 first characters, was also instituted to watch 
 over the common interests of the place, July 
 15, 1803. 
 
 HAY MARKET. 
 
 Iii 1791, Feb. 15, a market was opened 
 every Tuesday to supply the town with hay, &c. 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 
 The benefit of letters is ascertained by compar- 
 ing the practice of the fifteenth century with that 
 of the present. Then even the man of reflection, 
 for want of this valuable resource, might think
 
 170 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 himself into a cloze, by his fire-side, and slum- 
 ber away half his night's rest before bed-time. 
 No magazines for mental subsistence were pre- 
 served in that barren period. His mind, starved 
 and unemployed, sunk into inaction ; instead 
 of knowing what appertained to others, he did 
 not know himself; the past and the future were 
 hidden from his eyes, and his utmost stretch of 
 acquirement comprehended only a small part of 
 his day, aided by a narrow tradition. The re- 
 sult was darkness, slavery, ignorance, prejudice, 
 poverty of substance and of thought, bigotry, 
 and superstition. Neither could he draw intel- 
 ligence from others, for their literary fountains 
 were as dry as his own ; his manners were as 
 savage, as his judgment was erroneous. But 
 the man of the present century becomes heir to 
 immense treasures. The generations which are 
 past, as well as that present, have stored up 
 more amusement than he can grasp. The col- 
 lection of ages lies open to view ; he beholds 
 things which are past as if they were present ; 
 lights up his dark mind at a constellation of lu- 
 minaries. Before him expands a capacious gar- 
 den, rich in culture, where he can gather what 
 flowers he pleases. Here he tastes the tree of 
 knowledge without danger. Solitude no longer 
 disgusts; for should he lose his company, he 
 cannot lose himself. He commands the living 
 and the dead ; what they acquired he possesses.
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY. 171 
 
 So far from dozing away the day, he can 
 scarcely spare the night for sleep. The results 
 of the press are juster ideas, a refinement of taste 
 and judgment, an advancement in civilization, 
 the introduction of wealth, light, and freedom. 
 Anciently, the man who understood the alpha- 
 bet was reputed a conjurer, but now he may 
 understand something more, and be reputed a 
 blockhead. 
 
 The public Library of Birmingham origi- 
 nated in 1779, and, like many important things, 
 from exceedingly minute beginnings. Each 
 member paid a guinea entrance, and six shil- 
 lings per annum. Their number was so small, 
 that they could scarcely have quarrelled, had 
 they been inclined, and their whole stock might 
 have been hidden in a handkerchief. In 1781, 
 the subscription was raised to 8*. A Librarian 
 then entered the service at <^=.lO per annum. 
 The society received, from the benevolent 
 hand of Dr. Priestley, in IJ8 C 2, that stability 
 and method, without which no institution can 
 prosper. In 178(3, admission was advanced to 
 ^.1 lis. 6d. and an order made, that when the 
 subscribers amounted to 300, it should be two 
 guineas ; and when 400, three guineas. In 
 17f)0 twenty-five pounds per annum was paid 
 for a room, and thirty guineas to a Librarian 
 for superintending a stock of 1,000 volumes.
 
 172 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 In 1794 there were 437 subscribers at ten 
 shillings per annum each, and 7,000 volumes. 
 
 In 1798 a library was erected by tontine sub- 
 scription of ^.5 each share. The building cost 
 nearly ^.1,000. 
 
 In 1812 the number of subscribers amounted 
 to 560 ; the admission was four guineas, the an- 
 nual subscription fifteen shillings, and the num- 
 ber of volumes upwards of 12,000. 
 
 In 1818 the admission was ^10, the annual 
 subscription ljs. Gd. and the number of volumes 
 about 16,000. William Horn had then served 
 the institution as librarian thirty-nine years. 
 
 The Medical gentlemen, in 1790, formed 
 themselves into a Book Society, for purchasing 
 the publications of their science. 
 
 RELIGION AND POLITICS. 
 
 Although these two threads, like the warp 
 and the woof, are very distinct things, yet, 
 like them, they are usually woven together. 
 Each possesses a strength of its own, but when 
 united, they become extremely powerful, as in 
 the case of Henry the Third and the clergy. 
 This union subsisted from a very early date. 
 
 Power is the idol of man ; we not only wish
 
 RELIGION AND POLITICS. 173 
 
 to acquire it, but also to increase and preserve 
 it. If the magistrate has been too weak to exe- 
 cute his designs, he has backed his schemes 
 with the aid of the church. This occurred with 
 King Stephen and the Bishops. 
 
 If a churchman find his power ascendant in 
 the human mind, he still wishes an addition to 
 that power, by uniting another. Thus the Bi- 
 shop of Rome, being master of the spiritual 
 chair, stept also into the temporal. 
 
 Sometimes the ecclesiastical and civil gover- 
 nors appear in malign aspect, or in modern 
 phrase, like a quarrel between the squire and 
 the rector, which is seldom detrimental to the 
 people. This was the case with Henry the 
 Eighth and the church. 
 
 The curses of a priest have brought a people 
 into obedience to the king, when he was not 
 able to bring them himself. One could not re- 
 frain from smiling, to hear a bishop curse the 
 people for obeying their sovereign, and in a few 
 months after, curse them if they did not obey 
 him. This happened in the reign of King John. 
 But happy for the world, these retail dealers in 
 the wrath of heaven are become extinct, and 
 the market is over. 
 
 Birmingham, in these remote periods, does 
 not seem to have attended so much to relicrious 
 and political dispute, as to the coarse music of 
 her hammer. Peace seems to have been her cha-
 
 174 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 racteristic she paid obedience to that Prince 
 who had the good fortune to possess the throne, 
 and regularly paid divine honours in St. Mar- 
 tin's, because there was no other church. Thus, 
 through the long ages of Saxon, Danish, and 
 Norman government, we hear of no noise but 
 that of the anvil, till the reign of Henry the 
 Third, when her lord joined the Barons against 
 the crown, and drew after him some of his me- 
 chanics, to exercise the very arms they had 
 been taught to make. At the battle of Eve- 
 sham, he staked his life and his fortune, and 
 lost both. 
 
 Things quickly returning into their former 
 channel, Birmingham stood a silent spectator 
 during the dreadful contest between the two 
 roses, pursuing the tenor of still life till the 
 civil wars of Charles the First, when she took 
 part with the Parliament; some of whose troops 
 were stationed here, particularly at the Garrison 
 and Camphill ; the names of both originating in 
 that circumstance. 
 
 Prince Rupert, as related before, approach- 
 ing Birmingham in 1643 with a superior power, 
 forced the lines, and, as a punishment, set fire 
 to the town. His vengeance burned fiercely 
 in Bull-street, and the affrighted inhabitants 
 quenched the flames with a fine. 
 
 In lG(iO, Birmingham joined the wish of the 
 kingdom, in the restoration of the Stuart family.
 
 RELIGION AND POLITICS. 175 
 
 About this time, many of the curious manufac- 
 tures began to blossom in this prosperous garden 
 of the arts. 
 
 In 1688, when the nation chose to expel a 
 race of kings, though replete with good nature, 
 because they had forgotten the limits of justice, 
 our peaceable sons of art, wisely considering 
 that oppression and commerce, like oil and wa- 
 ter, could never unite, smiled, with the rest of 
 the kingdom, at the landing of the Prince of 
 Orange, and exerted their little assistance to- 
 wards effecting the Revolution, notwithstanding 
 the lessons of divine ria-ht had been taught near 
 ninety years. 
 
 In the reign of Queen Anne, when that flam- 
 ing luminary, Dr. Sacheverel, set half the king- 
 dom in a blaze, the inhabitants of this region of 
 industry caught the spark of the day, and grew 
 warm for the church. They had always been 
 inured to Jire, but now we behold them between 
 two. As the doctor rode in triumph through 
 the streets of Birmingham, this flimsy idol of 
 party snuffed up the incense of the populace, 
 though the more sensible withheld their ho- 
 mage ; and when he preached at Sutton Cold- 
 field, where he had family connexions, the peo- 
 ple of Birmingham crowded in multitudes round 
 his pulpit. It does not appear that he taught 
 his hearers to build itp Zion, but perhaps to pull 
 her down ; for they immediately went and gutted 
 a meeting-house.
 
 176 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 We should deem it a contradiction to riot 
 for that religion whose doctrines are peace. 
 One would think, the man who wishes to enjoy 
 his own, could do no less than suffer another to 
 do so. 
 
 It is easy to point out a time when it was 
 dangerous to have been of the established 
 church, and I have here pointed out one, when 
 it was dangerous to belong to any other. 
 
 We are apt to think the zeal of our fathers 
 died with them, for I have frequently beheld 
 with pleasure, the churchman, the presbyterian, 
 and the quaker, uniting their efforts, like bre- 
 thren, to carry on a work of utility. The bigot 
 of the last age cast a malicious sneer upon the 
 religion of another, but the man of this passes 
 a joke upon his own. 
 
 A sameness in religious sentiment is no more 
 to be expected, than a sameness of face. If the 
 human judgment varies in almost every subject 
 of plain knowledge, how can it be fixed in this, 
 composed of mystery? 
 
 As the true religion is ever that which a man 
 professes himself, it is necessary to enquire, 
 what means he that is right may use to convert 
 him that is wrong ? As the whole generations 
 of faggot and torture are extinct in this age 
 of light, there seems only to remain fair argu- 
 ments founded in reason; and these can only be 
 brought as evidences upon the trial : the culprit
 
 RELIGION AND POLITICS. 177 
 
 himself, by indefeasible right divine, will preside 
 as the judge. Upon a close enquiry it will be 
 found, that his sentiments are as much his pri- 
 vate property, as the coat that covers him, or 
 the life which that coat incloses. He who de- 
 stroys the religion of another, has seldom any 
 of his own. Is there not as much reason to 
 punish my neighbour for differing in opinion 
 from me, as to punish me, because I differ from 
 him ? Or, is there any to punish either ? If a 
 man's sentiments and practice in religious mat- 
 ters, appear even absurd, provided society is 
 not injured, what right has the magistrate to 
 interfere ? And if the head of power cannot 
 stand against him upon reasonable ground, none 
 of the members can. The task is as easy to 
 make the stream run upwards, as to form a na- 
 tion of one mind. We may pronounce with 
 confidence, an age of bigotry is no age of phi- 
 losophy. 
 
 The gentle hand of Brunswick had swayed 
 the British sceptre near half a century, ere the 
 sons of science in tin* meridian, were completely 
 reconciled to this fortunate line. But una- 
 nimity, with benign aspect, seems now the pre- 
 dominant star of the zenith : a friendly inter- 
 course succeeds suspicion. The difference of 
 sentiment, that once created jealousy, now ex- 
 cites a smile ; and the narrow views of our fore- 
 fathers are prudently expanded. 
 
 N
 
 178 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 PLACES OF WORSHIP. 
 
 In a town like Birmingham, unfettered with 
 charteral laws, where the stranger of every de- 
 nomination finds a freedom by birth-right, and 
 where the principles of toleration are well under- 
 stood, it is no wonder we find various modes of 
 worship. The wonder consists in finding such 
 agreement., in such variety. In 1782 we had 
 fourteen places for religious exercise, six of the 
 establishment, three dissenting meeting-houses, 
 a quaker's, baptist's, methodises, roman ca- 
 tholic's, and Jewish. Two of these only were 
 churches ; of which elsewhere. 
 
 SAINT JOHN S CHAPEL, 
 DERITEND. 
 
 This, though joining to the parish of Bir- 
 mingham, is a chapel of ease belonging to As- 
 ton, two miles distant. It was founded in the 
 fifth of Richard the Second, 1382. As soon as 
 the chapel was erected, William GerTeu, Tho- 
 mas Holden, Robert of the Green, Richard
 
 ST. JOHN S CHAPEL. 179 
 
 Bene, Thomas de Belne, and John Smith, pro- 
 cured a licence from the king, to enable them 
 to endow it with lands to the annual value of 
 gg.6 13s. 4d. to support a priest; who, with 
 his successors, seem to have exercised the usual 
 functions of office, as eating, preaching, and 
 sleeping, till 1537, when Henry the Eighth 
 seized the property, valued at ^.13 Is. 7d. per 
 annum, as chantry lands. Two priests, who 
 officiated at Aston, then possessed the pulpit, 
 and divided the income. 
 
 In I677, Humphry Lowe, of Coventry, be- 
 queathed a farm at Rowley-Regis, called the 
 Brick-house, then let at ^.35 a year, to sup- 
 port the chapel. This bequest is held, in trust, 
 by six of the inhabitants of Deritend or Bor- 
 desley. 
 
 Solicitations were made in 1707, for Queen 
 Anne's bounty ; but the return made by the 
 Governors being ^.38, they were rejected. 
 
 This chapel does not, like others in Birming- 
 ham, seem to have been erected first, and the 
 houses brought round it. It appears, by its ex- 
 treme circumscribed latitude, to have been 
 founded upon the scite of other buildings, which 
 were purchased, or rather given, by Sir John de 
 Birmingham, Lord of Deritend, and situated 
 upon the boundaries of the manor, perhaps to 
 accommodate, in some measure, the people of 
 Dlgbeth ; because the church in Birmingham 
 
 N
 
 180 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 must, for many ages, have been too small for 
 the inhabitants. 
 
 Time seems to have worn out that building 
 of 1382, in the windows of which were the arms 
 of Lord Dudley, and Dudley empaling Berke- 
 ley, both knights of the garter, descended from 
 the Somerys, Barons of Dudley Castle ; also a 
 whole length figure of Walter Arden, Esq. of 
 an ancient family, often mentioned, Lord of 
 Bordesley. The present building was erected 
 in 1735, and the steeple in 1762. In 1777, 
 eight of the most musical bells, together with 
 a clock, entered the steeple. Income ^.100. 
 
 CHAPLAINS. 
 
 , James Spilsbury, 1699- 
 
 1699, Israel Warton, 1714. 
 1714, John Hawes, 1716. 
 
 1716, Richard Gibbons, 1717- 
 
 1717, John Hausted, 1755. 
 1755, Thomas Cox, 1791. 
 1791, John Darwall. 
 
 SAINT BARTHOLOMEW S, 
 
 Built in 1749, on the east side of the town, 
 will accommodate about 800 hearers ; is neat 
 and elegant. The land was the gift of John
 
 st. Bartholomew's. 181 
 
 Jennens, Esq. possessor of a considerable estate 
 in and near Birmingham. 
 
 At the solicitation of Mrs. Weaman, Mrs. 
 Jennens gave ^. 1000, and the remainder was 
 raised by contribution to accomplish the build- 
 ing. 
 
 Wherever a chapel is erected, the houses 
 immediately, as if touched by the wand of ma- 
 gic, spring into existence. Here is a spacious 
 area for interment, amply furnished by death. 
 The infant steeple, if it will bear the name, is 
 very small, but beautiful. The chancel has 
 this singular difference from others, that it veres 
 towards the north. Whether the projector 
 committed an error, I leave to the critics. It 
 was the general practice of the Pagan churches 
 to fix their altar, upon which they sacrificed, 
 in the east, towards the rising sun, the object 
 of worship. The Christian church in the time 
 of the Romans, immediately succeeded the 
 Pagan, and scrupulously adopted the same me- 
 thod ; which has been strictly adhered to. By 
 what obligation the Christian is bound to follow 
 the Pagan, or wherein a church would be in- 
 jured by being directed to any of the thirty-two 
 points in the compass, is doubtful. Certain it 
 is, if the chancel of Bartholomew's had tended 
 due east, the eye would have been exceedingly 
 hurt, and the builder would have raised an ob- 
 ject of ridicule for ages. The ground will ad-
 
 182 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 mit of no situation but that in which the church 
 now stands. But the inconsiderate architect of 
 Deritend chapel, anxious to catch the eastern 
 point, lost the line of the street ; we may there- 
 fore justly pronounce, he sacrificed to the East. 
 The altar-piece was the gift of Basil Earl of 
 Denbigh ; and the communion plate, consist- 
 ing of 182 ounces, that of Mary Carless. In- 
 come, ^.100. 
 
 CHAPLAINS. 
 
 1750, Mudge, 1756. 
 
 1756, William Jabet. 
 
 1785, John Taylor. 
 
 1798, George Croft, D.D. 
 
 1809, John Webb. 
 
 1811, Rev. William Johnson. 
 
 SAINT MARY S. 
 
 Though the buildings for divine worship were 
 multiplied in Birmingham, yet the inhabitants 
 increased in a greater proportion ; so that in 
 1772, an act was obtained for two additional 
 chapels. St. Mary's was erected in 1774, in 
 the octagon form, not overcharged with light 
 or strength ; in an airy situation and taste. 
 The clock was seldom seen to go right, but 
 the wonder cease? if there are no works within.
 
 st. mary's. st. Paul's. 185 
 
 The land was the gift of Mary Weaman, in 
 whom is the presentation. She inducted the 
 Rev. John Ryland, who was succeeded by the 
 
 Rev. Edward Burn. 
 Income about ^. C 20Q. 
 
 SAINT PAUL S. 
 
 The act was procured for this chapel at the 
 same time as for that of St. Mary ; but it was 
 not erected till 1779, upon a spot of ground 
 given by Charles Colmore, Esq. upon the de- 
 clivity of a hill, not altogether suitable for the 
 elegant building it sustains, which is of stone 
 plain beauty unites with strength. 
 
 This roof, like that of St. Mary's, appears 
 too full. The steeple intended for this useful 
 edifice, will do honour to the modern style of 
 architecture, whenever money can be procured 
 to erect it; at present it is only delineated 
 upon paper. In 1791, a beautiful window was 
 placed over the communion table, represent- 
 ing the conversion of St. Paul ; by that ce- 
 lebrated artist, Francis Eginton ; price four 
 hundred guineas. 
 
 The Chaplain was the Rev. William Toy 
 Young, who died in 1817, and was succeeded
 
 184 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 by the Rev. Rami Kennedy. Income nearly 
 the same as that of St. Mary's. 
 
 OLD MEETING HOUSE. 
 
 After the extinction of the Stuart race, who 
 bore an invincible hatred to presbyterianism, 
 the dissenters from the establishment procured 
 a license for a meeting at the bottom of Dig- 
 beth, which yet bears the name of Meeting- 
 house-yard. Here the rigid sons of worship 
 paid a weekly attendance. The place is now a 
 work shop ; the sound of the pulpit is changed 
 into that of the bellows. Instead of an impres- 
 sion upon the heart, it is now stamped upon 
 the button. The visitants used to appear in a 
 variety of colours, but now always in black. 
 
 Another was erected in the reign of King 
 William, denominated The Old Meeting, from 
 whence the street in which it stands derives a 
 name. 
 
 This was burnt down at the riots in 1791. 
 The Trustees recovered damages at law to the 
 amount of ,^1390 7s. 5d. A new Meeting 
 House has been erected which cost gg. 5,000. 
 It is large, handsome, and much attended. 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 , Turton. 
 
 . Greenwood.
 
 OLD MEETING HOUSE. 185 
 
 1732, Maddox, 1746. 
 
 , Joseph Wilkinson, 1756. 
 
 1746, William Howel. 
 1756, Samuel Clark, 1769, 
 1771, RadclifFScholefield. 
 
 , John Coates. 
 
 1801, Rev. Robert Kell. 
 1817, Rev. John Corrie was chosen 
 co-pastor with Robert Kell. 
 
 NEW MEETING HOUSE. 
 
 Erected in the year 1730, at which time that 
 in Digbeth went into disuse, was in a plain 
 style of elegance, and had few equals. The 
 attendants, wealthy and humane, are well ac- 
 quainted with the laudable arts of acquiring 
 money, and of giving it away. 
 
 In December I78O, Mr. Hawkes declining 
 the pastoral care, the congregation judiciously 
 turned their thoughts towards the celebrated 
 Doctor Priestley, F. R. S. one of the first phi- 
 losophers of the age, whose merit seemed ob- 
 vious to every eye but his own. 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 1730, Samuel Bourn, 1754. 
 1730, Thomas Pickard, 17*7- 
 I7I7, Samuel Blyth, 171)1.
 
 186 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 1754, William Hawkes, I78O. 
 
 1780, Jos.Priestley,L.L.D.F.R.S. 1791. 
 
 1791, John Edwards, 1812. 
 
 1792, David Jones, 1795. 
 
 1803, John Kentish. 
 
 1804, Dr Joshua Toulmin, 1815. 
 1815, James Yates, M. A. 
 
 This Meeting House was also destroyed at 
 the riots in 1791, and rose again a most beau- 
 tiful structure. 
 
 CARR S LANE MEETING HOUSE, 
 
 A Scion of the Old Meeting, transplanted in 
 1748. The building cost about ^-700, was 
 afterwards beautified with <^.700 more, and in 
 1802 was taken down and rebuilt. On Christ- 
 mas day 1818, at a meeting of this congregation 
 held in the Meeting House, it was resolved 
 that the building should again be taken down, 
 and a larger be erected in its place. About 
 ^.4,000 was immediately subscribed for this 
 purpose. This society has been favoured with 
 two donations ; one, the interest of ^.800 by 
 the will of John England, in 1717; the other 
 Scott's Trust, mentioned in another part. 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 1748, Gervi* Wild, 1766.
 
 carr's lane meeting house. 187 
 
 1767, John Punfield, 1791. 
 1786, James Bass, 1791. 
 1791, Dr. Williams, 1795. 
 1796, Jehoida Brewer, 1802. 
 1803, Joseph Berry, 1803. 
 1805, Rev. John Angel James. 
 
 Assistant, Rev. John Berry. 
 
 BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE, 
 
 Founded in Cannon-street, 1738. This or- 
 der of religionists, in the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, held forth in a diminutive 
 style at the top of Rann's-yard, near the Old 
 Cross. Increasing in numbers and in conse- 
 quence, they afterwards removed their appa- 
 ratus and themselves, which were again re- 
 moved, to another room in the yard of No. 38, 
 in High-street. 
 
 Some trifling differences arising in the con- 
 gregation, to which the mind of man is ever- 
 lastingly prone, caused discontent ; individuals 
 began to sting each other, which in 17^7 pro- 
 duced a swarm. The destitute wanderers 
 erected for themselves a small cell in Freeman- 
 street, where they hived in expectation of har- 
 mony. Over this little society of separatists, 
 presided a journeyman woolcomber. What ele- 
 vation he bore in the comb-shop, during six days
 
 188 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 of the week, history does not inform us ; but 
 having the good fortune to procure a black coat, 
 and a white wig, he appeared on the seventh 
 with clerical dignity. Whether he fed his peo- 
 ple best, or they him, is uncertain ; but whe- 
 ther they starved one another, is not. Disgust, 
 which ever waits upon disappointment, arose 
 among them. Though the preacher was cer- 
 tainly warmed in the shop, with a live coal from 
 the altar, yet, unfortunately, Sunday was the 
 only day on which his fire was extinguished ; 
 then the priest and the people hit the taste of 
 the day, and slumbered together ; a privilege 
 never granted by a reader to an author. Thus 
 the boasted liberty of the press submits to that 
 of the pulpit. This exalted shepherd dwelt 
 upon the words of Paul, He that preaches the 
 gospel, ought to subsist by the gospel; and they 
 did not forget a portion in John, Feed my sheep. 
 The word, he well knew, promised both wine 
 and oil, but he was obliged to be satisfied with 
 the latter. 
 
 Although the teacher might possess some 
 shining qualities at the comb-pot, he did not 
 possess that of protecting his flock, which in 
 1752, silently retreated to the fold in Cannon- 
 street ; and the place was soon after converted 
 into a dwelling, No. 16, when, for the first 
 time, it produced profit. 
 
 The growing numbers of this prosperous
 
 BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE. 189 
 
 society induced them, in I78O, to enlarge the 
 place of worship, at the expence of about 
 ^.800, in which was observable some beauty, 
 but more convenience. 
 
 In 1806 it was rebuilt in an elegant style, 
 and cost *g.3,400. 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 1738, Cranar. 
 
 , James Tolley, 1749. 
 
 1749, James Morley, 1753. 
 17.53, James Turner, 1780. 
 1780, Henry Taylor, 1789. 
 1789, Samuel Pearce, 1799. 
 1802, Tho. Morgan, 1814. 
 1814, Rev. Burt. 
 
 QUAKER S MEETING HOUSE, 
 IN BULL-STREET. 
 
 A large convenient place, and notwithstand- 
 ing the plainness of the profession, rather ele- 
 gant. The congregation is very flourishing, 
 rich, and peaceable. Chandler tells us, to the 
 everlasting honour of the Quakers, that they 
 are the only christian sect who have never exer- 
 cised the cruel weapon of persecution.
 
 190 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 An author may assert a fact without the least 
 hazard to his reputation : the behaviour of the 
 Quakers approaches the nearest to perfection 
 of any religious society upon earth, and they 
 are the only people untaught by a hireling 
 ministry ! Many curious remarks may be drawn 
 from this short sentence ; but I shall leave them 
 to the clergy of the European churches. 
 
 METHODIST S MEETING HOUSE. 
 
 We learn from ecclesiastical history, that the 
 people in high life are always followers in reli- 
 gion. Though they are the best leaders in poli- 
 tical and social concerns, yet all religions seem 
 to originate from the lowest class. Every reli- 
 gion is first obstructed by violence, passes 
 through the insults of an age, then rests in 
 peace, and often takes up the rod against ano- 
 ther. 
 
 The first preachers of the christian faith, the 
 short-sighted apostles, were men of the mean- 
 est occupations, and their church, a wretched 
 room in a miserable tenement. The superb 
 buildings of St. Peter's in Rome, and St. Paul's 
 in London, used by their followers, were not 
 within the reach of their penetration. They were 
 also totally ignorant of triple crowns, red hats, 
 mitres, crosiers, robes, and rochets, the idols of
 
 methodist's meeting house. 191 
 
 their successors. The religion of a private 
 room, soon became the religion of a country ; 
 the church acquired affluence, for all churches 
 hate poverty; and this humble church, disturbed 
 for ages, became the church of Rome, the dis- 
 turber of Europe. 
 
 John Wickliff, in 1377, began to renew her 
 disturbance. This able theologist planted our 
 present national church, which underwent se- 
 vere persecutions from its mother church at 
 Rome ; but, rising superior to the rod, and ad- 
 vancing to maturity, she became the mother of 
 a numerous offspring, which she afterwards per- 
 secuted herself; and this offspring, like their 
 mother, were much inclined to persecution. 
 
 Puritanism, her first born, groaned under 
 the pressure of her hand. The Baptists, founded 
 by a taylor, followed, and were buffeted by both. 
 Independency appeared, ponderous as an ele- 
 phant, and trampled upon all three. 
 
 John Fox, a composition of the oddest mat- 
 ter, and of the meanest origin, formed a nu- 
 merous band of disciples, who suffered the in- 
 sults of an age, but have carried the arts of pru- 
 dence to the highest pitch. 
 
 The Muggletonians, the Prophets, the Super- 
 lapsarians, &x. like untimely births, just saw 
 the light and disappeared. 
 
 The Moravians, under the influence of Zin- 
 zendorf, rose about 17*0, but arc not in a flou-
 
 192 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 rishing state ; their circumscribed rules, like 
 those of the cloister, being too much shackled 
 to thrive in a land of freedom. 
 
 James Sandiman introduced a religion, about 
 17-50, but, thougli eclipsed himself by poverty, 
 he taught his preachers to shine ; for he allowed 
 them to grace the pulpit with ruffles, lace, and 
 a queue. Birmingham cannot produce one pro- 
 fessor of the two last churches. 
 
 The christian religion has branched into more 
 sectaries in the last two hundred years, than in 
 the fifteen hundred before the reason is ob- 
 vious. During the tedious reign of the Romish 
 priest, before the introduction of letters, know- 
 ledge was small, and he wished to confine that 
 knowledge to himself: he substituted mystery 
 for science, and led the people blindfold. But 
 the printing-press though dark in itself, and 
 surrounded with yet darker materials, diffused 
 a ray of light through the world, which enabled 
 every man to read, think, and judge for him- 
 self; hence diversity of opinion, and the absur- 
 dity of reducing a nation to one faith, vainly 
 attempted by Henry VIII. In those distant 
 ages, the priest had great influence, with little 
 knowledge ; but in these, great knowledge, 
 with little influence. He was then revered ac- 
 cording to his authority ; but now, according 
 to his merit ; he shone in a borrowed, but now 
 in a real lustre ; then he was less deserving, but
 
 Methodist's meeting house. 193 
 
 now less esteemed. The humble christian, in 
 the strictest sense, worked out his salvation 
 with fear and trembling, and with tools fur- 
 nished by the priest : he built upon his opi- 
 nions, but now he lays a foundation for his own. 
 The artillery of vengeance was pointed at 
 Methodism for thirty years ; but, fixed as a 
 rock, it could never be beaten down, and its 
 professors now enjoy their sentiments in quiet. 
 After the institution of this sect by George 
 Whitfield, in 1738, the Methodists of Birming- 
 ham were first covered by the heavens, equally 
 exposed to the rain and the rabble ; and after- 
 wards they occupied, for many years, a place 
 in Steelhouse-lane, where the wags of the age 
 observed, " they w T ere eaten out by the bugs." 
 They therefore procured a cast-off theatre in 
 Moor-street, where thev continued to exhibit 
 till 1782; when, quitting the stage, they erected 
 a meeting-house in Cherry-street, at the ex- 
 pence of ^.1,200. This was opened, July 7, 
 by John Wesley, the chief priest, whose exten- 
 sive knowledge and unblemished manners, gave 
 us a tolerable picture of apostolic purity ; who 
 believed, as if he were to be saved by faith ; and 
 who laboured, as if he were to be saved by 
 works. Thus our composite order of religion, 
 an assemblage of the Episcopalian, the Pres- 
 byterian, the Independent, and the Baptist, 
 fled from the buffetings of the vulgar, and
 
 194 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 now take peaceable shelter from the dews of 
 heaven. 
 
 OXFORD STREET CHAPEL. 
 
 NEW CONNEXION OF METHODISTS. 
 
 John Wesley established an absolute monar- 
 chy, of which he himself was the head. Be- 
 lieving no one human being worthy to succeed 
 him ; at his death he delegated his power to 
 what is called the Conference, an assembly of 
 Circuit Preachers ; thus establishing an aristo- 
 cratical form of government. The people, de- 
 sirous of emulating the mixed government of the 
 secular power, petitioned the Conference for the 
 privilege of sending a lay representative as well 
 as a preacher, from each circuit, or district, 
 who should take care of their interests. Power 
 is not easily divided. These spiritual nobles re- 
 jected the petition. 
 
 Not being allowed to mingle with their more 
 exalted brethren, the people then begged their 
 representatives might assemble in another room, 
 for the dispatch of business ; thus forming a 
 House of Commons, whose assent should be 
 necessary to all laws respecting themselves, be- 
 fore they finally passed. This also was re- 
 jected.
 
 OXFORD-STREET CHAPEL. 193 
 
 These acts of supremacy, together with 
 others of the same nature, determined some of 
 the brethren to secede from what is called Wes- 
 ley's connexion ; and to form what is called the 
 New. They differ from the old Methodists, 
 not in doctrine, but in Church government ; 
 the people having an equal voice with the 
 preachers; and the preachers equal power with 
 the people. 
 
 This connexion in 1813, boasted twenty-four 
 circuits ; forty-three circuit preachers ; two 
 hundred and ten local preachers ; one hundred 
 chapels; and two hundred and thirteen societies. 
 
 ROMISH CHAPEL. 
 
 I have already remarked, there is nothing 
 which continues in the same state : the style of 
 manners, habits of thinking, and of expression, 
 modes of living, articles of learning ; the ways 
 of acquiring wealth, or knowledge ; our dress, 
 diet, recreations, &c. change in every age. But 
 why is there a change in religion ? Truth is 
 everlastingly the same. Religion is purity, 
 which, one would think, admits of no change ; 
 if it changes, we should doubt whether it be re- 
 ligion. But a little attention to facts will in- 
 form us, there is nothing more changeable ; nor 
 need we wonder, because, man himself being 
 o 2
 
 l')b* HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 changeable, every thing committed to his care 
 will change with him. We may plead his ex- 
 cuse, by observing, his sight is defective ; he 
 may be deceived by viewing an object in one 
 light, or attitude, to-day, and another to-mor- 
 row. This propensity to change might lead us 
 to suspect the authenticity of our own senti- 
 ments. 
 
 The apostles certainly formed the church of 
 Rome ; but she having undergone the varia- 
 tions of seventeen hundred years, St. Peter him- 
 self, should he return to the earth, could not dis- 
 cover one lineament in her aspect ; but would 
 be apt to reject her as a changeling. 
 
 The church of England has not only under- 
 gone a change since the reformation, but wishes 
 a greater. 
 
 We should suppose the puritan of 1583, and 
 the dissenter of 1783, were the same ; but al- 
 though substance and shadow exactly resemble 
 each other, no two things differ more. 
 
 When pride sends a man in quest of a re- 
 ligion, if he does not discover something new, 
 lie might as well stay at home ; nothing near 
 the present standard can take. Two requisites 
 are necessary to found a religion, capacity and 
 singularity : no fool ever succeeded. If his ta- 
 lents are not above mediocrity, he will not be 
 able to draw the crowd ; and if his doctrines 
 are not singular, the crowd will not be drawn;
 
 ROMISH CHAPEL. 197 
 
 novelty pleases. Having collected and 
 brightened up a set of doctrines, wide of every 
 other church, he fixes at a distance from all. 
 But time, and unavoidable intercourse with the 
 world, promote a nearer approximation ; and, 
 mixing with men, we act Hke men. Thus the 
 Quaker under George III. shews but little of 
 the Quaker under George Fox. In a religion, 
 as well as a man. there is a time to be born^ and 
 a time to die. They both vary in aspect, ac- 
 cording to the length of their existence, carry 
 the marks of decline, and sink into obscurity. 
 We are well informed how much the Romish 
 religion has declined in this country ; three 
 hundred years ago Birmingham did not pro- 
 duce one person of another persuasion ; but 
 now, out of 80,000 people, we have not 300 of 
 this. 
 
 The Roman Catholics formerly enjoyed a 
 place for religious worship, near St. Bartholo- 
 mew's-chapel, in a street still called Masshouse- 
 lane ; but the rude hands of irreligion destroyed 
 it. There was none nearer than Edgbaston, 
 two miles distant, till the year 1789, when a 
 chapel was erected at Easy-hill. 
 
 l{ the Roman Catholics are not so powerful 
 as in the sixteenth century, they seem as quiet, 
 and as little addicted to knowledge ; perhaps 
 they have not yet learnt to see through any eyes 
 but those of the priest. There appears, how-
 
 198 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ever, as much devotion in their public worship, 
 as among any denomination of christians. 
 
 PRIESTS. 
 
 , John Nutt, 1799. 
 
 1799, William Kemble, 1801. 
 1801, Richard Sumner, 1804. 
 1804, Rev. James Hawley. 
 
 In 1809, another Romish Chapel was erected. 
 This is situated in Shadwell- street. The Priest, 
 E. Peach, by his own account, as transmitted 
 to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, pos- 
 sesses the miraculous power of restoring Demo- 
 niacs to health and reason. 
 
 JEWISH SYNAGOGUE, 
 
 We have among us a remnant of Israel. A 
 people who, when masters of their own country, 
 were scarcely ever known to travel, and who 
 are now seldom employed in any thing else. 
 But, though they are ever moving, they are 
 ever at home. They once lived the favourites 
 of heaven, and fed upon the cream of the earth; 
 but now are little regarded by either. Their 
 society is entirely confined to themselves, ex- 
 cept in the commercial line.
 
 JEWISH SYNAGOGUE. 1Q9 
 
 In a Synagogue, situated in the Froggery, 
 they still preserved the faint resemblance of the 
 ancient worship ; though their whole apparatus 
 was no more than the drooping ensigns of po- 
 verty. The place was rather small, but tole- 
 rably filled. There appears less decorum than 
 in the Christian churches. The proverbial ex- 
 pression, " as rich as a Jew," is not altogether 
 verified in Birmingham ; but perhaps time is 
 transferring it to the Quakers. It is rather sin- 
 gular, that the honesty of a Jew is seldom plead- 
 ed but by the Jew himself. 
 
 In 1810, the Jews being in want of a new Sy- 
 nagogue, procured an estimate of the expence, 
 which amounted to ^8.700; the cost was 
 ^.1000. This indicates that a Christian may 
 occasionally over-reach a Jew. In 181*! there 
 were in Birmingham about forty families, 
 amounting to two hundred and twenty persons, 
 of the Jewish people. Two Rabbis, Isaac Phil- 
 lips, and Aaron Delison, with a salary of ^.50 
 each, assisted at their public worship. 
 
 Since the first publication of this work, in 
 1782, eleven additional places of worship have 
 sprung up, exclusive of the Romish church, 
 transferred from Edgbaston. Ten of these are 
 of dissenting persuasions ! A truth that, per- 
 haps, may alarm the Clergy ; possibly the Right 
 Reverend Bench ; nay even the Throne itself. 
 Rut let me remark, for their comfort, that,
 
 UOO HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 grant the Dissenters that liberty which is the 
 right of every human being, and there will not 
 be more peaceable subjects in the British em- 
 pire. 
 
 The first of these newly erected places of wor- 
 ship, and the one belonging to the established 
 church, is 
 
 ST. JAMES S CHAPEL, ASHSTED. 
 
 Ashsted received its name from the worthy 
 Dr. Ash, who, in 1783, saved my life. He had 
 by skill and assiduity acquired ^25,000. Sir 
 Lister Holt granted him a lease for 99 years, of 
 a large plot of land on the north of Birming- 
 ham, on which he erected a sumptuous house. 
 His practice declining, it hurt his spirits, and he 
 told me he had built one house too much. He 
 afterwards disposed of the lease, and ended his 
 days in London. A cupola rose from the roof' 
 of his house ; a pulpit and pews rose within ; 
 and it became a chapel. Streets now cover his 
 fields, and Ashsted is become a hamlet to Bir- 
 mingham. 
 
 I well remember, seventy-one years ago, July 
 15th 1741, standing, with my face towards the 
 east, against Pritchett's timber yard, now the 
 carrier's warehouse, in Dale End, when all the 
 lands before me, to the Garrison, were mea-
 
 st. James's chapel, ashsted. 201 
 
 dows ; and on my left not a house was erected. 
 Now the front prospect is shut up ; and the 
 buildings extend on the left to Vauxhall, three 
 quarters of a mile. 
 
 Chaplain at Ashsted, Rev. Edward Burn. 
 
 The other ten places of worship are 
 
 Bond-street - Baptists. 
 
 New Jerusalem - Swedenburghers. 
 
 Paradise-street - Independants. 
 
 Coleshill-street - John Wesley. 
 
 Oxford-street - Independants. 
 
 Lombard-street - Baptists. 
 
 Bradford-street - John Wesley. 
 
 Peck-lane - - Lady Huntingdon. 
 
 Top of Snow-hill 
 
 Bartholomew-street Lady Huntingdon. 
 
 Since the above was written another place of 
 worship for the established religion has sprung 
 up under the name of 
 
 CHRIST CHURCH. 
 
 This was erected by voluntary contributions, 
 and was begun in 180.5. The King was expect- 
 ed to lay the first stone ; but that not being ex- 
 pedient, the Earl of Dartmouth was deputed 
 to lay it in his name ; and, by desire of the
 
 202 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Earl, that ceremony was performed by Richard 
 Pratchett, esq. High Bailiff; his Majesty gene- 
 rously giving a thousand pounds towards the 
 erection of the building. When twelve thou- 
 sand pounds had been expended, the work 
 stood still for want of money. It was supposed 
 that five thousand more would be necessary to 
 complete it. It has since been completed, 
 though in 1818 it was not yet paid for. It is 
 built with stone, and is an ornament to the town. 
 
 Christ Church was opened July 6, 1813 ; Rev. 
 J. H. Spry, Minister. 
 
 Another place of worship has followed, in 
 
 LIVERY-STREET MEETING HOUSE. 
 
 A branch from the society in Carr's Lane, 
 which has taken root, and perhaps overgrown its 
 parent, under the ministry of Jehoida Brewer ; 
 for talents will draw the people as the loadstone 
 draws iron, or John Wesley could not have as- 
 sembled such multitudes. 
 
 Jehoida Brewer died in 1817, during the 
 time that a very extensive Meeting-house was 
 erecting for him and his congregation. This is 
 situated in Steelhouse Lane, and is called
 
 EBENEZER CHAPEL. THEATRES. 203 
 
 EBENEZER CHAPEL. 
 
 The first stone of this edifice was laid by 
 Jehoida Brewer, June 4th 1816 ; and it was 
 opened for public worship December 9th 1818. 
 It contains nearly 1250 sittings, 150 of which 
 are free ; exclusive of accommodation for 350 
 children who belong to its Sunday Schools. 
 The building, witli two School rooms that are 
 to be attached to it, will cost about ,^=.7>000. 
 Minister, Rev. Timothy East. 
 
 THEATRES. 
 
 The practice of the Theatre is of great anti- 
 quity. We find it in repute among the Greeks; 
 we also find, the more nations are civilized, the 
 more they have supported the stage. It seems 
 designed for two purposes, improvement and en- 
 tertainment. There are certain exuberances 
 that naturally grow in government and private 
 life, which may with propriety be attacked by the 
 poet and the comedian, but which can scarcelv 
 be reduced by any other power. While the
 
 204- HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 stage keeps this great end in view, it answers a 
 valuable purpose to the community. The pen 
 of the poet is to reform, not to indulge a cor- 
 rupt age, as was the case in the days of Charles 
 the Second, when indecency was brought on to 
 raise the laugh. 
 
 Perhaps there is no period in which the stage 
 was less polluted, owing to the inimitable Gar- 
 rick, than the present ; notwithstanding there 
 is yet room for improvement. 
 
 Tragedy is designed to melt the heart, by 
 exhibiting the unfortunate ; to satisfy justice, 
 by punishing the tyrant ; to discard vice, and 
 to keep undue passions within bounds. 
 
 Comedy holds up folly in a ridiculous light. 
 Whatever conduct or character is found in the 
 regions of absurdity, furnishes proper materials 
 for the stage ; and from these, the pen of a 
 master will draw many useful lessons. The 
 pulpit and the stage have nearly the same use, 
 but not in the same line that of improving 
 the man. 
 
 The English stage opened about the Con- 
 quest, and was wholly confined to religion ; in 
 whose service it continued, with very little in- 
 termission, to the extinction of the Plantage- 
 nets. The playhouses were the churches, the 
 principal actors the priests, and the performances 
 taken from Scripture ; such as the Fall of Man, 
 the Story of Joseph, or Sampson, Histories of
 
 THEATRES. 20.5 
 
 the Saints, the Sufferings of Christ, Resurrec- 
 tion, Day of Judgment, &c. 
 
 Theatrical exhibition in Birmingham, is ra- 
 ther of a modern date. As far as memory can 
 penetrate, the stroller occupied, occasionally, 
 a shed of boards in the fields, now Temple- 
 street : here he acted the part of distress, in a 
 double capacity. The situation was afterwards 
 changed, but not the eminence, and the Hink- 
 leys dignified the performers' booth. 
 
 In about 1730, the amusements of the stage 
 rose in a superior style of elegance, and en- 
 tered something like a stable in Castle-street. 
 Here the comedian strutted in painted rags, 
 ornamented with tinsel. The audience raised a 
 noisy laugh, half real and half forced, at three- 
 pence a head. 
 
 In about 1740, a theatre was erected in Moor- 
 street, which rather gave a spring to the amuse- 
 ment. In the day-time the comedian beat up 
 for volunteers for the night, delivered his bills 
 of fare, and roared out an encomium on the ex- 
 cellence of the entertainment, which had not 
 always the desired effect. 
 
 In about 17-51, a company arrived, who an- 
 nounced themselves, " His Majesty's Servants, 
 from the Theatres Royal, in London ; and 
 hoped the public would excuse the ceremony 
 of the drum, as beneath the dignity of a Lon- 
 don company." The novelty had a surprising
 
 206 HISTORY Of BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 effect ; the performers had merit; the house was 
 continually crowded ; the general conversation 
 turned upon theatrical exhibition, and the town 
 was converted into one vast theatre. 
 
 In 1752, it was found necessary to erect a 
 larger theatre, that in King-street, and we 
 multiplied into two London companies. The 
 pulpits took the alarm, and in turn, roared 
 after their customers ; but the pious teachers 
 forgot that it was only the fervour of a day, 
 which would cool of itself; that the fiercer the 
 fire burns, the sooner it will burn out. This 
 declaration of war fortunately happening at the 
 latter end of summer, when the campaign was 
 over, the company retreated into winter quarters 
 without hostilities. It was afterwards found, 
 that two theatres were more than the town 
 chose to support ; therefore that in Moor-street 
 was let for a Methodist-meeting house, where, 
 it was said, though it changed its audience, it 
 kept its primeval use, continuing the theatre of 
 farce. 
 
 In 1774, the theatre in King-street was en- 
 larged, beautified, and made more convenient. 
 About the same time that in New-street was 
 erected upon a suitable spot, an extensive plan, 
 and richly ornamented with paintings and 
 scenery. Expence seemed the least object in 
 consideration. An additional and superb por- 
 tico was erected in 1780, which perhaps might
 
 THEATRES. 207 
 
 have caused it to be pronounced " One of the 
 first theatres in Europe." Two busts in relief, 
 of excellent workmanship, were elevated over 
 the attic windows ; one the father, and the 
 other the refiner of the British stage Shake- 
 speare and Garrick. 
 
 Methodism still trod upon the heels of the 
 player; for in 1786, the spirit of the stage 
 drooping, the itinerant preacher took posses- 
 sion of the vacant Theatre in King-street, 
 erected his pulpit upon the stage, and con- 
 verted pit, box, and gallery, into pews, for 
 the reception of such as chose to weep, smile, 
 or sleep. 
 
 August 7 ) 1791, while the practice of burn- 
 ing went unpunished, the elegant Theatre in 
 New-street, which in 1774, cost ^.5,G60, was 
 completely burnt down, and the incendiaries 
 were never discovered. 
 
 The proprietors willing to improve their 
 former plan, purchased several adjacent houses, 
 and in the compass of four years, erected per- 
 haps the most commodious and superb Theatre 
 in the three kingdoms, those in London ex- 
 cepted, at the expence of ^?. 14,000 in the 
 whole. The house will contain an audience of 
 2,000 people. To this is added a convenient 
 assembly room. Thus Birmingham, like the 
 phoenix, rises out of its own ashes.
 
 08 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Man seems formed for variety, whether we 
 view him in a rational or an animal light. A 
 sameness of temper, habit, diet, pursuit, or 
 pleasure, is no part of his character. The dif- 
 ferent ages of his life also produce different 
 sentiments ; that which gives us the highest re- 
 lish in one period, is totally flat in another. 
 The bauble that pleases at three, would be cast 
 into the fire at threescore ; the same hand that 
 empties the purse at twenty, would fill it at 
 fifty ; in age, he bends his knee to the same re- 
 ligion which he laughed at in youth ; the prayer- 
 book, that holds the attention of seventy, held 
 the lottery pictures of seven ; and the amoroub 
 tale that awakens the ideas of twenty-five, lulls 
 old age to sleep. Not only life is productive of 
 change, but every day of it. If a man would 
 take a minute survey of his thoughts and em- 
 ployments, for only twenty-four hours, he 
 would be astonished at their infinite variety. 
 
 Though industry be the ruling passion of th:s 
 ingenious race, yet relaxation must follow, as 
 one period to another. Society is therefore, 
 justly esteemed an everlasting fund of amuse- 
 ment, which is found at the tavern in the win-
 
 AMUSEMENTS. 09 
 
 ter evening. Intoxication is seldom met with, 
 except in the inferior ranks, where it is visible 
 in both sexes. 
 
 * 
 
 A regular concert is established, where the 
 music is allowed to excel. This harmonious 
 science, like other productions of taste, though 
 it be not the general study of the inhabitants, 
 has made a great progress during the last thirty 
 years. 
 
 Assemblies are held every fortnight during 
 the winter, which give room for beauty to 
 figure at cards, in conversation, and in the 
 dance. 
 
 The pleasures of the field claim their vota- 
 ries ; but in a populous country, like that 
 around Birmingham, plenty of game is not to 
 be expected ; for want of wild fowl, therefore, 
 the shooter has been known to attack the tame. 
 However, the farmer need not be under any 
 great concern for his property ; the sportsman 
 seldom docs any thing with his arms but 
 carry them. We are more famous for making 
 than using the gun. 
 
 A pack of hounds has sometimes been kept by 
 subscription and the subscribers havebeen termed, 
 The Birmingham Hunt; but as the sound of the 
 dogs and the anvil never harmonized together, 
 they have been long in disuse. The jocund 
 tribe, therefore, having no scent of their own, 
 
 v
 
 210 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 fall into that of the neighbouring gentry, seve- 
 ral of whom support a pack. 
 
 The man of reflection finds amusement in 
 domestic resources ; and, in his own mind, if 
 unoppressed. Here the treasures collected from 
 men, books, and observation, are laid up for 
 many years, from which he draws pleasure, 
 without diminishing the stock. The universal 
 riches of nature and of art ; the past, the pre- 
 sent, and a glimpse of the future, lie open to 
 his eye. Two obstructions only bound his 
 ideas, time and space. He steps from planet to 
 planet, and if he cannot enter immensity, he 
 can verge upon its borders. I pity the man 
 who, through poverty, cannot find warmth by 
 his own fire-side ; but I pity him more, who, 
 through poverty of thought, cannot find happi- 
 ness. 
 
 The Panorama is an entertainment that, I 
 believe, no man who ever saw repented a lost 
 shilling. 
 
 For the entertainment of summer, exclusive 
 of the theatre, there are five bowling-greens, 
 where the gentlemen are amused with bowls, 
 and the ladies with tea. 
 
 There is also a great variety of public gardens, 
 suited to every class of people, of which Duddes- 
 ton, the ancient seat of the Holt family, claims 
 the pre-eminence under the name of Vauxhal).
 
 THE PANORAMA. 211 
 
 The fishing-rod, that instrument which de- 
 stroys in peace, must find a place : other ani- 
 mals are followed with fire and tumult, but 
 the fishes are entrapped with deceit. Of all the 
 sportsmen, we charge the angler alone with hill- 
 ing in cold blood. Just as a pursuit abounds 
 with pleasures, so will it abound with votaries. 
 The pleasure of angling depends on the success 
 of the line : this art is but little practised here, 
 and less known. Our rivers are small, and thinly- 
 stored ; our pools are guarded as private pro- 
 perty; the Birmingham spirit is rather too active 
 for the sleepy amusement of fishing. Patience 
 seems the highest accomplishment of an angler. 
 We behold him fixed as a statue on the bank, 
 his head inclining towards the river, his atten- 
 tion upon the water, his eye upon the float ; he 
 often draws, and draws only his hook ! But 
 although he gets no bite, it may fairly be said 
 he is bit : of the two, the fish display the most 
 cunning. He is surprized that he has caught 
 nothing, and I, that he has kept his rod and 
 his patience. 
 
 Party excursions are held in considerable es- 
 teem, which may be taken to Enville, the seat 
 of Lord Stamford; Hagley, that of the late 
 Lord Lyttelton ; and the Leasowes, the pro- 
 perty of the late Win. Shenstone, Esq. We 
 will omit the journey to London, a tour which 
 
 p 2
 
 212 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 some of us have made all our lives without see- 
 ing it. 
 
 Cards and the visit are linked together, nor 
 is the billiard table totally forsaken. One man 
 amuses himself in amassing a fortune, and ano- 
 ther in dissolving one. 
 
 In 1780, about thirty-six of the inhabitants 
 kept carriages for their own private use ; and 
 near fifty had country houses. The relaxations 
 of the humbler class, are fives, quoits, skittles, 
 and ale. 
 
 Health and amusement are found in the pro- 
 digious number of private gardens, scattered 
 round Birmingham, from which we often be- 
 hold the father returning with a cabbage, and 
 the daughter with a nosegay. 
 
 HOTEL. 
 
 The spot where our great-grandmothers 
 smiled in the lively dance, when they possessed 
 the flower of beauty in the spring of life, is lost 
 in forgetfulness. The floor that trembled un- 
 der that foot which was covered with a leather 
 shoe, tied with a silken string, and which sup- 
 ported a stocking of dark blue worsted, not of 
 the finest texture, is now buried in oblivion.
 
 HOTEL. 213 
 
 In 1750, we had two assembly rooms ; one 
 at No. 11, in the Square, the other No. 85, in 
 Bull-street. This last was not much in use af- 
 terwards. That in the Square continued in 
 repute till in the course of that evening which 
 happened in October, I765, when Edward 
 Duke of York had the honour of leading down 
 the dance, and the ladies of Birmingham en- 
 joyed that of the Duke's hand. He remarked, 
 " That a town of such magnitude as Birming- 
 ham, and adorned with so much beauty, de- 
 served a superior accommodation ; that the 
 room itself was mean, but the entrance meaner." 
 Truth is ever the same, whether it comes from 
 a prince or a peasant ; but its effects are not. 
 Whether some secret charm attended the 
 Duke's expression, that blasted the room is 
 uncertain, but it never .after held its former 
 eminence. 
 
 In 1772* a building was erected by subscrip- 
 tion, upon the Tontine principle, at the head 
 of Temple-row, and was dignified with the 
 French name of Hotel. From a handsome en- 
 trance the ladies are now led through a spa- 
 cious saloon, at the extremity of which the eye 
 is struck with a grand flight of steps, opening 
 into an assembly-room, which would not dis- 
 grace even the royal presence of the Duke's 
 brother. 
 
 The pile itself is large, plain and elegant,
 
 214 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 but standing in the same line with the other 
 buildings, which before were very respectable, 
 it eclipses them by its superiority ; whereas, if 
 the Hotel had fallen a few feet back, it would, 
 by breaking the line, have preserved the beauty 
 of the row, without losing its own. 
 
 In 1804, at a meeting of the gentlemen of 
 Birmingham, Matthew Boulton, Esq. in the 
 chair, it was resolved to purchase a small piece 
 of land behind the Hotel, to enlarge the As- 
 sembly room ; for which they gave ^.250, after 
 the rate of ^.26,000 per acre. 
 
 WAKES. 
 
 This ancient custom was left us by the 
 Saxons. Time, that makes alteration only in 
 other customs, has totally inverted this. 
 
 When a church was erected, it was imme- 
 diately called after a saint, put under his pro- 
 tection, and the day belonging to that saint 
 kept in the church as a high festival. On the 
 evening preceding, the inhabitants, with lights, 
 approached the church, and kept up a conti- 
 nual devotion during the w T hole night; hence the 
 name, IValie. After which they entered into 
 festivity. But now the devotional part is for- 
 gotten, the church is deserted, and the festi-
 
 WAKES. 215 
 
 vity turned into riot, drunkenness, and mis- 
 chief. 
 
 Without searching into the mouldy records of 
 time, for evidence to support our assertion, we 
 may safely pronounce the wakes of Birmingham 
 the lowest of all low amusements, and com- 
 pletely suited to the lowest of tempers. 
 
 Wakes have been deemed a public concern, 
 and the legislature has been obliged to interpose 
 for the sake of that order which private conduct 
 could never boast. In the reign of Henry the 
 Sixth, every consideration, whether of a public 
 or private nature, gave way to the wake. The 
 harvest in particular was neglected. An order 
 was therefore issued, confining the wakes to the 
 first Sunday in October; consequently the whole 
 nation ran mad at once. 
 
 Wakes in Birmingham are not ancient : why 
 St. Martin's, then the only church, was neg- 
 lected, is uncertain. Although we have no 
 wakes for the town, properly so called, there 
 are three kept in its outskirts, called Deritend, 
 Chapel, and Bell wakes. The two first are in 
 the summer and spring of existence, the last in 
 the falling leaf of autumn. 
 
 Deritend wake probably took its rise at the 
 erection of her chapel, in 1383. Chapel wake, 
 in 17^0, from St. Bartholomew's chapel; it is 
 held in the meridian of ( oleshill-street, and was 
 hatched and fostered by the publicans, for the
 
 216 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 benefit of the spiggot. Among other amuse- 
 ments, was that of bull-baiting, till the year 
 J77S, when the Commissioners of Streets 
 and Lamps, in the amendment of their act, 
 wisely broke the chain, and procured a reprieve 
 for the unfortunate animal. Another was the 
 horse-race ; but a few years ago a person being 
 killed, rather slackened the entertainment. 
 What singular genius introduced the horse-race 
 into a crowded street, I am yet to learn. In 
 the evening of the wakes the passenger cannot 
 proceed without danger ; in the morning, he 
 may discover which houses are public, without 
 any other intelligence than the copious streams 
 that have issued from the wall. The blind may 
 distinguish the same thing, by the strong scent 
 of the tap. 
 
 Bell wake is the junior by one year, originat- 
 ing from the same cause, in 1751, in conse- 
 quence of ten bells being hung in St. Philip's 
 steeple. 'Till within these few years, we were 
 at this wake struck with a singular exhibition ; 
 that of a number of boys running a race through 
 the streets, naked. Some of the inhabitants 
 seeing so fair a mark for chastisement, applied 
 the rod with success, put a period to the sport, 
 and obliged the young runners to run under 
 cover.
 
 CLUBS. 217 
 
 CLUBS. 
 
 It may be expected, from the title of this 
 chapter, that I shall introduce a set of ruffians, 
 armed with missive weapons ; or, having named 
 a trump, a set of gamblers shuffling and dealing 
 out the cards. But whatever veneration I may 
 entertain for these two fag ends of our species, 
 I shall certainly introduce a class of people, 
 which, though of the lower order, is preferable 
 to both. 
 
 Social compact is a distinguishing mark of ci- 
 vilization. The whole British empire may be 
 justly considered as one grand alliance, united 
 for public and private interest, and this vast 
 body of people is subdivided into an infinity of 
 smaller fraternities, for individual benefit. 
 
 Perhaps there are hundreds of these societies 
 in Birmingham, under the name of clubs; some 
 of them boast the antiquity of a century, and 
 by prudent direction have acquired a capital, 
 at accumulating interest. Thousands of the 
 inhabitants are connected, nay, to be otherwise 
 is rather unfashionable, and some are people of 
 sentiment and property. 
 
 A variety of purposes are intended by these 
 laudable institutions : but the principal one, 
 is that, of supporting the sick. Each society is
 
 218 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 governed by a code of laws of its own making, 
 which have at least the honour of resembling 
 those of the legislature, for words without sense 
 are found in both, and we sometimes stumble 
 upon contradiction. 
 
 The poor's-rates, enormous as they appear, 
 are softened by these brotherly aids ; they tend 
 also to keep the mind at rest, for a man will en- 
 joy the day of health, with double relish, when 
 he considers he has a treasure laid up for that 
 of sickness. If a member only of a poor family 
 be sick, the head still remains to procure neces- 
 saries; but if that head be disordered, the whole 
 source of supply is dried up, which evinces the 
 utility of such institutions. 
 
 The general custom is to meet at a public 
 house every fortnight, spend a trifle, and each 
 contribute six-pence, or any stated sum, to the 
 common stock. The landlord is always trea- 
 surer, or father, and is assisted by two stewards, 
 annually or monthly chosen. 
 
 As honour and low life are not always found 
 together,we sometimes see a man who isidle, wish 
 the society may suppose him sick, that he may 
 rob them with more security ; or if a member 
 hang long upon the box, his brethren seek a 
 pretence to expel him. On the other hand, we 
 frequently observe a man silently retreat from 
 the club, if another falls upon the box, and 
 fondly suppose himself no longer a member; or
 
 CLUBS. 219 
 
 if the box be loaded with sickness, the whole 
 club has been known to dissolve, that the mem- 
 bers might rid themselves of the burthen ; but 
 the Court of Requests finds an easy remedy for 
 these evils, and at a trifling expence. 
 
 The charity of the club is often extended be- 
 yond the grave, and terminates with a present 
 to the widow. 
 
 Philosophers tell us, " There is no good with- 
 out its kindred evil." This amiable body of 
 men, marshalled to relieve disease, has one 
 small alloy, and perhaps but one. As liquor 
 and labour are inseparable, the imprudent mem- 
 ber is apt to forget to quit the club room when 
 he has spent his necessary two-pence, but con- 
 tinues there, to the injury of his family. 
 
 Another of these institutions is the rent club, 
 where, from the weekly sums deposited by the 
 members, a sop is regularly served up twice a 
 year, to prevent the growlings of a landlord. 
 
 In the breeches club every member ballots for 
 a pair, value a guinea, promised of more value 
 by the maker. This club dissolves when all the 
 members arc served. 
 
 The intentions of the book club are well known 
 to catch the productions of the press as they 
 rise. 
 
 The watch club has generally a watchmaker 
 for its president, is composed of young men, 
 and is always temporary.
 
 220 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 If a taylor be short of employment, he has 
 only to consult a landlord over a bottle, and by 
 their joint powers, they give birth to a clothes 
 club ; where every member is supplied with a 
 suit to his taste, of a stipulated price. These 
 are chiefly composed of bachelors, who wish to 
 shine in the eye of the fair. 
 
 A bricklayer stands at the head of the build- 
 ing club, where every member perhaps sub- 
 scribes two guineas per month, and each house, 
 value about one hundred pounds, is balloted 
 for as soon as erected. As a house is a weighty 
 concern, every member is obliged to produce 
 two bondsmen for the performance of cove- 
 nants. 
 
 I will venture to pronounce another the ca- 
 pital club, for when the contributions amount 
 to ^.50 the members ballot for this capital, to 
 bring into business : here also securities are 
 necessary. It is easy to conceive the two last 
 clubs are extremely beneficial to building and 
 to commerce. 
 
 The last I shall enumerate is the clock club. 
 When the weekly deposits of the members 
 amount to about 4/. they cast lots who shall be 
 first served with a clock of that value, and con- 
 tinue the same method till the whole club is 
 supplied j after which, the clock-maker and 
 landlord cast about for another set, who are 
 chiefly young housekeepers. Hence the begin-
 
 CLUBS. 21 
 
 ner ornaments his premises with furniture, the 
 artist finds employment and profit, and the 
 publican empties his barrel. 
 
 Thus we have taken a transient survey of this 
 rising colony of arts, uniting observation with 
 fact. We have seen her dark manufacturers, 
 in darker times: we have attended her through 
 her commercial, religious, political, and plea- 
 sureable walks : have viewed her in many 
 points of light, till we have now set her in the 
 fair sunshine of the present day. 
 
 Perhaps I shall not be charged with prolixity, 
 that unpardonable sin against the reader, when 
 it is considered, that three thousand years are 
 deposited in the compass of two hundred and 
 twenty-one pages. 
 
 Some other circumstances deserve attention, 
 which could not be introduced without break- 
 ing the thread of history ; but as that thread is 
 now drawn to an end, I must, before I resume 
 it, step back into the recesses of time, and slum- 
 ber through the long ages of seventeen hundred 
 years. If the active reader, therefore, lias no 
 inclination for a nod of that length, or, in sim- 
 ple phrase, no relish for antiquity, I advise him 
 to pass over the five ensuing chapters.
 
 222 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 IKENIELD STREET. 
 
 About five furlongs north of the navigation 
 bridge, in Great Charles-street, runs the lke- 
 nield-street, one of those famous pretorian roads 
 which marked the Romans with conquest, and 
 the Britons with slavery. 
 
 By the time that a century had elapsed, from 
 the first landing of Caesar in Britain, the victo- 
 rious Romans had carried their arms through 
 the southern part of the isle. They therefore 
 endeavoured to secure the conquered provinces 
 by opening four roads, which should each com- 
 mence at the shore, communicate with, and 
 cross each other, form different angles, extend 
 over the island several ways, and terminate in 
 the opposite sea. 
 
 These are the Watling-street, which rises 
 near Dover, and running north-west through 
 London, Atherstone, and Shropshire ; in the 
 neighbourhood of Chester, ends in the Irish sea. 
 
 The Foss begins in Devonshire, extends 
 north-east through Leicestershire, continuing 
 its course through Lincolnshire, to the verge of 
 the German ocean. 
 
 These two roads, crossing each other at right 
 angles, form a figure resembling the letter X,
 
 IKENIELD STREET. 223 
 
 whose centre is the High Cross, which divides 
 the counties of Warwick and Leicester. 
 
 The Ermine-street extends alonss; the south- 
 ern part of the island, near the British channel j 
 and the 
 
 Ikenield-street, which I cannot so soon quit, 
 rises near Southampton, extends nearly north, 
 through Winchester, Wallingford, and passes 
 the Isis at New-bridge ; thence to Burford, 
 crossing the Foss at Stow in the Woulds, over 
 Bitford-bridge, in the county of Warwick, to 
 Alcester ; by Studley, Ipsley, Beoly, Wethe- 
 rick-hill, Stutley-street ; crosses the road from 
 Birmingham to Bromsgrove, at Selly-oak, leav- 
 ing Harborne a mile to the left, also the Hales 
 Owen a road a mile west of Birmingham ; 
 thence by the observatory in Lady W^ood-lane, 
 where it enters the parish of Birmingham, cross- 
 ing the Dudley road at the Sand-pits ; along 
 Worstone-lane, through the little pool, and 
 Hockley- brook, where it leaves the parish: 
 thence over Handsworth-heath, entering a lit- 
 tle lane on the right of Bristle-lands-end, and 
 over the river Tame, at Offord-house (Oldford) 
 directly to Sutton Coldfield. It passes the Ilidg- 
 way i c 2Q yards east of King's standing, a little 
 artificial mount, on which Charles the First is 
 said to have stood when he harangued the troops 
 he brought out of Shropshire, at the opening of 
 the civil wars in 1642. From thence the ro:\d
 
 224 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 proceeds through Sutton -park and the re- 
 mainder of the Coldfield ; over Radley-moor, 
 from thence to Wall, a Roman station, where it 
 meets the Watling-street : leaving Lichfield a 
 mile to the left, it leads through Street-hay ; 
 over Fradley-heath : thence through Alderwas- 
 hays, crossing the river Trent, at Wichnor- 
 bridge, to Branson - turnpike ; over Branson - 
 moor, where for about 200 yards it is yet visible 
 here it appears noble in its ancient Roman 
 dress, though in tatters ; then over Burton- 
 moor, leaving the town half a mile to the right 5 
 thence to Monk's-bridge, upon the river Dove ; 
 along Eginton-heath, Littleover, the Rue-dyches, 
 Stepping-lane, Nun-green, and Darleyslade, to 
 the river Derwent, one mile above Derby, upon 
 the eastern banks of which stands Little Ches- 
 ter, built by the Romans. 
 
 If the traveller is tired with this tedious jour- 
 ney and dull description, which admits of no 
 variety, we will stop for a moment and refresh 
 in this Roman city. 
 
 In drawing the flewks of his oar along the 
 bed of the river, as he rows over it, he may 
 feel the foundations of a Roman bridge, nearly 
 level with its bottom. Joining the water are 
 the vestiges of a castle, now an orchard. Ro- 
 man coins are frequently discovered ; in 17^5, 
 I was presented with one of Vespasian's, found 
 the vear before in scourincr a ditch : but I am
 
 ICKNIELD-STREET. C 2Z5 
 
 sorry to observe, it suffered more during the fif- 
 teen years in my possession, than during the 
 fifteen hundred it lay in the earth. 
 
 The inhabitants being in want of materials to 
 form a turnpike road, attempted to pull up this 
 renowned military way, for the sake of those 
 materials, but found them too strongly ce- 
 mented to admit of an easy separation, and 
 therefore desisted when they had taken up a 
 few loads. 
 
 I saw the section of this road cut up from the 
 bottom : the Romans seem to have formed it 
 with infinite labour and expence. They took 
 out the soil for about twenty yards wide and 
 one deep, till they came to a firm bottom, and 
 filled up the whole with stones of all sizes, 
 brought from Duffield, four miles up the river, 
 and cemented them with coarse mortar. 
 
 The road here is only discoverable by its 
 barren track along the cultivated meadows. It 
 then proceeds over Morley-moor, through Scars- 
 dale, by Chesterfield, Balsover, through York- 
 shire, Northumberland, and terminates upon 
 the banks of the Tine, near Tinmouth. 
 
 There are many roads in England formed by 
 the Romans ; they were of two kinds, the mili- 
 tary, which crossed the island ; and the smaller, 
 which extended from one town to another. 
 The four I have mentioned come under the first 
 class; they rather avoided, than led through a 
 
 u
 
 226 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 town, that they might not be injured by 
 traffic. 
 
 Two of these four, the Watling-street, and 
 the Ikenield-street, are thought, by their names 
 to be British, and with some reason : neither of 
 the words are derived from the Latin : but what- 
 ever was their origin, they are certainly of Ro- 
 man construction. 
 
 These great roads were begun as soon as the 
 island was subdued, to employ the military, and 
 awe the natives, and were divided into stages ; 
 at the end of each was a fort, or station, for the 
 accommodation of the guard, the reception of 
 stores, the convenience of marching parties, 
 and to prevent the soldiers from mixing with 
 the Britons. 
 
 The stations upon the Ikenield-street, in our 
 neighbourhood, are Little Chester (Derven- 
 tione) a square fort, nearly half an acre ; join- 
 ing the road to the north, and the Derwent to 
 the west. 
 
 The next is Burton upon Trent (Ad Trivo- 
 nam) thirteen miles south. Here I find no re- 
 mains of a station. 
 
 Then Wall (Etocctum) near Lichfield, which 
 I have examined with great labour, or rather 
 with great pleasure. Here the two famous con- 
 sular roads cross each other. We should ex- 
 pect a fort in the angle, commanding both, 
 which is not the case. The Watling-street is
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. g c 27 
 
 lost for about half a mile, over a morass ; the 
 line only is faintly preserved by a blind path 
 over the inclosures. The Ikenield-street crosses 
 it in this morass, not the least traces of which 
 remain. But, by a strict attention, I could 
 point out their junction to a few yards. 
 
 Six furlongs west of this junction, and one 
 hundred yards north of the Watling-street, in a 
 field now about three acres, are the remains of 
 the Roman fortress. This building, of strength 
 and terror, is reduced to one piece of thick wall 
 visibly of Roman workmanship, from whence 
 the place derives its modern name. 
 
 " Can you," said I to an aged peasant, for I 
 love to appeal to old age, " tell the origin of that 
 building?" 
 
 "No ; but we suppose it has been a church. 
 The ruins were much larger in my memory ; 
 but they were lately destroyed, to bring the 
 land into that improved state of cultivation in 
 which you see it." " And so you reduced a 
 fortress in four years, which the Britons never 
 could in four hundred. For a trifling profit, 
 you raze the work of the ancients, and prevent 
 the wonder of the moderns. Are you apprized 
 of any old walls under the surface?" 
 
 " Yes, the field is full of them ; I have 
 broken three ploughs in one day : no tool will 
 stand against them. It has been more expen- 
 sive to bring the land into its present condition, 
 
 q 2
 
 228 history or Birmingham. 
 
 than the freehold is worth." " Why, you seem 
 more willing to destroy, than your tools ; and 
 more able than time. The works which were 
 the admiration of ages, you bury under ground. 
 What the traveller comes many miles to see, 
 you assiduously hide." 
 
 " What could be the meaning that the Romans 
 erected their station on the declivity of this hill, 
 when the summit, two hundred yards distant, 
 is much more eligible; are there no foundations 
 upon that ?" " None." 
 
 " The command is preferable : the W T atling' 
 street runs by it, and it is nearer the Ikenield- 
 street. Pray, are you acquainted with another 
 Roman road which crosses it?" " No." 
 
 " Do you know any in closure about the vil- 
 lage, where a narrow bed of gravel, which 
 runs a considerable length, has impeded the 
 plough ?" 
 
 " Yes ; there is a place half a mile distant, 
 where, when a child, I drove the plough ; we 
 penetrated a land of gravel, and my compa- 
 nion's grandfather told us it had been an old 
 road." " That is the place I want ; lead me to 
 it." Being already master of both ends of the 
 road, like a broken line, with the centre worn 
 out, the gravel bed enabled me to recover it. 
 
 The next station upon the Ikenield-street is 
 Birmingham (Bremenium). I have examined 
 this country with care, but find no vestiges of a
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. 229 
 
 station : nor shall we wonder j desolation is the 
 preserver of antiquity, nothing of which reigns 
 here ; the most likely place is Wor-ston which 
 a younger brother of the house of Birmingham 
 might afterwards convert into the fashionable 
 moat of the times, and erect a castle. The 
 next station is Alcester (Alauna). All these are 
 nearly at equal distances. 
 
 In forming these grand roads, a straight di- 
 rection seems to have been the leading maxim 
 of the Romans. Though curiosity has led me 
 to travel many hundred miles upon their roads, 
 with the eye of an enquirer, I cannot recollect 
 one instance where they ever broke the line to 
 avoid a hill, a swamp, a rock, or a river. 
 
 They Were well acquainted with the propriety 
 of an old English adage, Once well done is twice 
 done ; an idea new clothed by Lord Chester- 
 field, If a thing be worth doing at all, it is 
 worth doing well. For their roads were so du- 
 rably constructed, that, had they been appro- 
 priated only to the use intended, they might 
 have withstood the efforts of time, and bid fair 
 for eternity. Why is this useful art so lost 
 among the moderns ? 
 
 When time and intercourse had so far united 
 the Romans and the Britons, that they ap_ 
 proached nearly to one people, the Romans 
 formed, or rather improved, many of the smaller 
 roads ; placed stones of intelligence upon
 
 230 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 them; hence London Stone, Stony Stratford, 
 (the stone at the Street-ford) Atherstone (hither 
 near, or first stone from Witherly-bridge, a 
 Roman camp) and fixed their stations in the 
 places to which these roads tended. 
 
 The great roads, as observed before, were 
 chiefly appropriated to military purposes, and 
 instituted in the beginning of their govern- 
 ment ; but the smaller were of later date, and 
 designed for common use. As these came 
 more in practice, there was less occasion for 
 the military ; which, not leading to their towns, 
 were, in process of time, nearly laid aside. 
 
 Antonine, and his numerous train of com- 
 mentators, have not bestowed that attention on 
 the roads they deserve : a curious acquaintance 
 with the roads of a country, brings us acquaint- 
 ed with the manners of the people : in one, 
 like a mirror, is exactly represented the other. 
 Their state, like a master key, unlocks many 
 apartments. 
 
 The authors I have seen are all in the wrong; 
 and as my researches are confined, it is a mor- 
 tification that I am not able to set them right. 
 They have, confounded the two classes together, 
 which were very distinct in chronology, the 
 manner of making, and their use. If an au- 
 thor treats of one old road, he supposes him- 
 self bound to treat of all in the kingdom. A 
 task no man can execute. By undertaking
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. 231 
 
 much, we do nothing well; the journey of an 
 antiquary should never be rapid. If fortune 
 offer a small discovery, let him think and com- 
 pare. Neither will this venerable body ever be 
 set right, but continue to build a mouldering 
 fabric, with untempered mortar, till a number 
 of intelligent residents, by local enquiries, can 
 produce solid materials for a lasting monument. 
 
 The Romans properly termed their ways 
 streets, a name retained by many of them to 
 this day ; one of the smaller roads, issuing from 
 London, penetrates through Stratford upon 
 Avon (Street-ford) Monkspath-street, and Shir- 
 ley-street, to Birmingham, which proves the 
 town of great antiquity; and the Ikenield street 
 running by it, proves it of greater. We may 
 from hence safely conclude, Birmingham was a 
 place of note in the time of Caesar, because she 
 merited legislative regard in forming the roads ; 
 which will send us far back among the Britons, 
 to find her first existence. 
 
 Though we are certain the Ikenicld-street 
 passes about a mile in length through this parish 
 as described above ; yet as there are no Roman 
 traces to be seen, I must take the carious tra- 
 veller to that vast waste, called Sutton Cold- 
 field, about four miles distant, where he will, in 
 the same road, find the footsteps of those great 
 masters of the world, marked in lasting cha- 
 riot t-i i.
 
 232 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 He will plainly see its straight line pass over 
 the Ridgeway, through Sutton park, leaving 
 the west hedge about 200 yards to the left ; 
 and through the remainder of the Coldfield, till 
 lost in cultivation. 
 
 This track is more than three miles in length, 
 and is no where else visible in these parts. I 
 must apprise him that its highest beauty is only 
 discovered by an horizontal sun in the winter 
 months. 
 
 I first saw it in 1762, relieved by the trans- 
 verse rays, in a clear evening in November ; I 
 had a perfect view upon the Ridgeway, near 
 King's Standing, of this delightful scene. Had 
 I been attacked by the chill blasts of winter 
 upon this bleak waste, the sensation would 
 have been lost in the transport. The eye, at 
 one view, takes in more than two miles. Struck 
 with astonishment, I thought it the grandest 
 sight I had ever beheld ; and was amazed that 
 so noble a monument of antiquity should be so 
 little regarded. 
 
 The poets have long contended for the line of 
 beauty they may find it here. I was fixed as 
 by enchantment till the sun dropped, and my 
 prospect with it. I left the place with regret. 
 
 If the industrious traveller chuse to wade up 
 to the middle in furze, as I did, he may find a 
 rough journey along this famous military way.
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. 233 
 
 Perhaps this is the only road in which money 
 is of no use to the traveller; for upon this 
 barren wild he can neither spend it nor give it 
 away. 
 
 He will perceive the Coldrield, about 13,000 
 acres, to be one vast bed of gravel, covered 
 with a depth of soil of eight or ten inches : 
 During this journey of three miles, he will 
 observe all the way, on each side, a number of 
 pits, perhaps more than a thousand, out of which 
 the Romans procured the gravel to form the 
 road, none of them many yards from it. This 
 great number of pits tends to prove two points 
 That the country was full of timber, which 
 they not chusing to fall, procured the gravel in 
 the interstices ; for the road is composed of 
 nothing else and, that a great number of peo- 
 ple were employed in its formation : They would 
 also, with the trees properly disposed, which 
 the Romans must inevitably cut to procure a 
 passage, form a barrier to the road. 
 
 This noble production was designed by a 
 master, is every where straight, and executed 
 with labour and judgment. 
 
 Here the traveller perceives the date of his 
 own conquest, and of his civilization. Thus the 
 Romans humbled a warlike people. 
 
 If he chuse to measure the road, he will find 
 it exactly sixty feet wide, divided into three 
 lands, resembling those in a ploughed field.
 
 234 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 The centre land thirty-six feet, and raised from 
 one to three, according to the nature of the 
 ground. The side lands, twelve each, and 
 rising seldom more than one foot. 
 
 This centre land no doubt was appropriated 
 to the inarch of the troops, and the small one 
 on each side, to the out-guards, who preserved 
 their ranks, for fear of a surprise from the vigi- 
 lant and angry Britons. 
 
 The Romans held these roads in great esteem, 
 and were severe in their laws for their pre- 
 servation. 
 
 This famous road is visible all the way, but 
 in some parts greatly hurt, and in others com- 
 plete as on the first day the Romans made it. 
 Perhaps the inquisitive traveller may find here 
 the only monument in the whole island left us 
 by the Romans, that time has not injured. 
 
 The philosophical traveller may make some 
 curious observations in the line of agriculture, 
 yet in its infancy. The only growth upon this 
 wild, is furze and heath ; the vegetation upon 
 the road and the adjacent lands, seem equal ; 
 the pits are all covered with a tolerable turf. 
 As this road has been made about 1730 years, 
 and, as at the time of making, both that and 
 the pits must have been surfaces of neat gravel, 
 he will be led to examine what degree of soil 
 they have acquired in that long course of years, 
 and by what means. He well knows, that the
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. Q35 
 
 surface of the earth is very far from being a fixed 
 body; that there is a continual motion in every 
 part, stone excepted; that the operations of the 
 sun, the air, the frost, the dews, the winds, and 
 the rain, produce a constant agitation, which 
 changes the particles and the pores, promotes 
 vegetation, and increases the soil to a certain 
 depth. 
 
 This progress is too minute for the human 
 eye, but the effects are visible. The powers 
 above mentioned operate nearly as yeast in a 
 lump of dough, that enMvens the whole. Na- 
 ture seems to wish the foot would leave the 
 path, that she may cover it with grass. The 
 observer will find this vegetative power so 
 strong, that it even attends the small detached 
 parts of the soil wherever they go, provided 
 they are within reach of air and moisture. He 
 will not only see it in the small pots, appropriated 
 to garden use, but on the tops of houses, re- 
 mote from any road, where the wind has car- 
 ried small dust. lie will also observe it in cracks 
 of the rocks ; but in an amazing degree in the 
 thick walls of ruined castles, where, by a long 
 course of time, the decayed materials are con- 
 verted into a kind of soil, and so well covered 
 with grass, that if one of our old castle builders 
 could return to his possessions, he might mow 
 his house as well as his field, and procure a 
 tolerable crop from both.
 
 936 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 In those pits, upon an eminence, the soil will 
 be found deep enough for any mode of hus- 
 bandry. In those of the vallies, which take in 
 the small drain of the adjacent parts, it is much 
 deeper. Upon the road, which rather gives 
 than receives any addition from drain, the 
 average depth is about four inches. 
 
 The soil is not only increased by the causes 
 above, but also by the constant decay of the 
 growth upon it. The present vegetable gene- 
 ration falling to decay, adds to the soil, and 
 assists the next generation, which in a short 
 time follows the same course. 
 
 The author of the History of Sutton says, 
 " The poor inhabitants are supplied with fuel 
 from a magazine of peat, near the Roman road, 
 composed of thousands of fir trees cut down by 
 the Romans, to enable them to pass over a 
 morass. The bodies of the trees are sometimes 
 dug up sound, with the marks of the axe upon 
 them. 
 
 Are we then to suppose, by this curious his- 
 torical anecdote, that the inhabitants of Sutton 
 have run away with this celebrated piece of an- 
 tiquity ? That the cart, instead of rolling over 
 the military way, has rolled under it, and that 
 they have boiled the pot with the Roman road ? 
 
 Upon inquiry, the people seemed more in- 
 clined to credit the fact, than able to prove it ; 
 but I can find no such morass; neither is the road 
 any where broken up. Perhaps it would be as
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. 237 
 
 difficult to find the trees, as the axe that cut 
 them. Besides, the fir is not a native of Britain, 
 but of Russia ; and I believe our forefathers, 
 the Britons, were not perfect masters of the art 
 of transplanting. The park of Sutton was pro- 
 bably a bed of oaks, the natural weed of the 
 country, long before Moses wrote his history. 
 
 Whilst the political traveller is contemplating 
 this extaordinary production of antiquity, of art, 
 and of labour, his thoughts will naturally recur 
 to the authors of it. 
 
 He will rind them proficients in science, in 
 ambition, in taste. They added dominion to 
 conquest, 'till their original territory became 
 too narrow a basis to support the vast fabric ac- 
 quired by the success of their arms. The mon- 
 strous bulk fell to destruction by its own weight. 
 Man was not made for universality ; if he grasp 
 at little, he may retain it ; if at much, he may 
 lose all. The confusion, natural on such occa- 
 sions, produced anarchy. At that moment, the 
 military stept into the government, and the peo- 
 ple became slaves. 
 
 Upon the ruins of this brave race, the Bishop 
 of Rome founded an ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 
 His power increasing with his votaries, he found 
 means to link all Christendom to the triple 
 crown, and acquired an unaccountable ascen- 
 dancy over the human mind. The princes of 
 Europe were harnessed, like so many coach
 
 S38 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 horses. The pontiff held the reins. He some- 
 times used the whip, and sometimes the curse. 
 The thunder of his throne rattled through the 
 world with astonishing effect, till that most 
 useful discovery, the art of printing, in the fif- 
 teenth century, dissolved the charm, and set 
 the oppressed cattle at liberty, who began to 
 kick their driver. Henry the Eighth of En- 
 gland was the first unruly animal in the papal 
 stud, and the sagacious Cranmer assisted in 
 breaking the shackles. 
 
 We have, in our day, seen an order of priest- 
 hood in the church of Rome, annihilated by the 
 consent of ths European princes, while the 
 Pope looked on in silence. 
 
 " There is an ultimate point of exaltation 
 and reduction, beyond which human affairs can- 
 not proceed." Rome seems to have experienced 
 both ; for she is at this day one of the most 
 contemptible states in the scale of empire. 
 
 This will of course lead the traveller's 
 thoughts towards Britain, where he will find 
 her sons by nature inclined to a love of arms, 
 of liberty, and of commerce. These are the 
 strong outlines of national character, the interior 
 parts of which are finished with the softer 
 touches of humanity, of science, and of luxury. 
 He will also find, that there is a natural boun- 
 dary to every country, beyond which it is dan- 
 gerous to add dominion ; that the boundary
 
 IKENIELD-STREET. %39 
 
 of Britain is the sea; that her external strength 
 is her navy, which protects her frontiers, 
 and her commerce ; that her internal is 
 unanimity ; that when her strength is united 
 within herself, she is invincible; the balance 
 of Europe will be fixed in her hand, and she 
 ought never to let it go. He will also find 
 that if she accumulate territory, though she 
 may profit at first, she weakens her power by 
 dividing it; for the more she sends abroad, 
 the less will remain at home ; and, instead 
 of giving lav." to the tyrant, she may be 
 obliged to receive law from him : that, by a 
 multiplicity of additions, her little isles will be 
 lost in the great map of dominion : that, if she 
 attempt to draw that vast and growing empire, 
 America, she may herself be drawn to destruc- 
 tion ; for, by every Jaw of attraction, the greater 
 draws the less the mouse was never meant to 
 direct the ox : that the military and the eccle- 
 siastical powers are necessary in their places, 
 that is, subordinate to the civil. 
 
 But my companion will remember that Bir- 
 mingham is our historical mark, therefore we 
 must retreat to that abode of the arts. If he 
 has no taste for antiquity, I have detained him too 
 long upon this hungry, though delightful spot. 
 If he has, he will leave the enchanted ground 
 with reluctance ; will often turn his head to 
 repeat the view, till the prospect is totally lost.
 
 240 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 LORDS OF THE MANOR. 
 
 By the united voice of our historians, it ap- 
 pears, that as the Saxons conquered province 
 after province, which was effected in about one 
 hundred and thirty years, the unfortunate Bri- 
 tons retreated into Wales. But we are not to 
 suppose that all the inhabitants ran away, and 
 left a desolate region to the victor ; this would 
 have been of little more value to the conqueror, 
 than the possession of Sutton Coldfield or Broms- 
 grove Lickey. The mechanic and the peasant 
 were left, who are by far the greatest number 
 they are also the riches of a country; they stamp 
 a value upon property, and it becomes current. 
 As they have nothing to lose, so they have no- 
 thing to fear ; for let who will be master, they 
 must be drudges. Their safety consists in their 
 servitude ; the victor is ever conscious of their 
 utility, therefore their protection is certain. 
 
 But the danger lies with the man of sub- 
 stance, and the greater that substance, the 
 greater his anxiety to preserve it, and the more 
 danger to himself if conquered. These were 
 the people who retreated into Wales. Neither 
 must, we consider the wealth of that day to con- 
 sist of bags of cash, bills of exchange, India 
 bonds, bank stock, &c. No such things existed.
 
 LORDS OF THE MANOR. 241 
 
 Property lay in the land, and the herds and 
 flocks that fed upon it. And here I must con- 
 gratulate our Welsh neighbours, who are most 
 certainly descended from gentlemen ; and I 
 make no doubt that the Cambrian reader will 
 readily unite in the same sentiment. 
 
 The Saxons, as conquerors, were too proud 
 to follow the modes of the conquered, there- 
 fore they introduced government, laws, lan- 
 guage, customs, and habits of their own. 
 Hence we date the division of the kingdom into 
 manors. 
 
 Human nature is nearly the same in all ages. 
 Where value is marked upon property or power, 
 it will find its votaries. Whoever was the most 
 deserving, or rather could make the most in- 
 terest, procured land sufficient for an Elder- 
 man, now Earl ; the next class had a manor ; 
 and the inferior, who had borne the heat and 
 burthen of the day nothing. 
 
 I must now introduce an expression which I 
 promised not to forget. In the course of a trial 
 between William de Birmingham and the inha- 
 bitants of Broinsgrove and King's Norton, in 
 1309, concerning the right of toll age, it ap- 
 peared, That the Ancestors of the said William 
 had a market here before the Norman conquest. 
 This proves, that the family of Birmingham 
 were of Saxon race, and lords of the Manor 
 prior to that period. 
 
 it
 
 242 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Mercia was not only the largest, but also the 
 last of the seven conquered kingdoms. It was 
 bounded on the north by the Humber, on the 
 west by the Severn, on the south by the Thames, 
 and on the east by the German ocean. Bir- 
 mingham lies nearly in the centre. Cridda, a 
 Saxon, came over with a body of troops, and 
 reduced Mercia in 582 ; therefore, as no revo- 
 lution happened after that could cause Birming- 
 ham to change its owner, and as land was not 
 in a very saleable state, there is the greatest 
 reason to suppose the founder of the house of 
 Birmingham came over with Cridda, as an 
 officer in his army, and procured this little 
 flourishing dominion as a reward for his ser- 
 vice. 
 
 The succeeding generations of this illustrious 
 family are too remote for historical penetra- 
 tion, until the reign of Edward the Confessor, 
 the last of the Saxon Kings, when we find, in 
 1050, 
 
 ULWIN, 
 master of this improving spot. 
 
 RICHARD, 1066, 
 
 Seems to have succeeded him, and to have 
 lived at that unfortunate period for property, 
 the Conquest.
 
 RICHARD. 243 
 
 The time was now arrived when this ancient 
 family, with the rest of the English gentry, who 
 had lived under the benign climate of Saxon go- 
 vernment, and in the affluence of fortune, must 
 quit the happy regions of hospitality, and enter 
 the gloomy precincts of penury. From givers, 
 they were to become beggars. 
 
 The whole conduct of William seems to have 
 carried the strongest marks of conquest. Many 
 of the English lost their lives, some their liberty, 
 and nearly all their estates. The whole land of 
 the kingdom was insufficient to satisfy the hun- 
 gry Normans. 
 
 Perhaps William took the wisest method to se- 
 cure the conquered country, thatcould be devised 
 byhuman wisdom. He parcelled out thekingdom 
 among his greater barons. The whole county of 
 Chester is said to have fallen to the share 
 of Hugh Lupus ; and these were subdivided 
 into 62,000 knights' fees, which were held un- 
 der the great barons by military service. Thus 
 the sovereign, by only signifying his pleasure 
 to the barons, could instantly raise an army for 
 any purpose. We cannot produce a stronger 
 indication of arbitrary government; but, it is 
 happy for the world, that perfection is not 
 found even in human wisdom ; for this well- 
 laid scheme destroyed itself. Instead of making 
 the crown absolute, as was intended, it threw 
 the balance into the hands of the barons, who 
 r 2
 
 '241 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 became so many petty sovereigns, and a scourge 
 to" the king in after ages, until Henry the Se- 
 venth sapped their power, and raised the third 
 estate, the commons, which quickly eclipsed 
 the other two. 
 
 The English gentry suffered great distress at 
 the conquest. Their complaints rang loud in the 
 royal ear; some of them, therefore, who had been 
 peaceable, and never opposed the Normans, 
 were suffered to enjoy their estates in depend- 
 ance upon the great barons. This was the 
 case with Richard, Lord of Birmingham, who 
 held this manor by knight's-service of William 
 Fitz-Ausculf, Lord of Dudley castle, and per- 
 haps of all the land between the two places. 
 Thus Birmingham, at present rising towards 
 the meridian of opulence, was a dependant up- 
 on Dudley castle, now in ruins ; and thus an 
 honourable family, which had enjoyed a valu- 
 able freehold, perhaps near 500 years, was 
 obliged to pay rent, homage, suit, and service, 
 attend the lord's court at Dudley every three 
 weeks, be called into the field at pleasure, and 
 after all, possess a precarious tenure in vil- 
 lainage. 
 
 The blood of the ancient English was not 
 only tainted with the breath of that destructive 
 age, but their lands also. The powerful blast 
 destroyed their ancient freehold tenures, re- 
 ducing them into wretched copyholds ; and to
 
 RICHARD. 245 
 
 the disgrace of succeeding ages, many of them 
 retain this mark of Norman slavery to the pre- 
 sent day. How defective are those laws which 
 give one man power over another in neutral 
 cases ! that tend to promote quarrels, prevent 
 cultivation, and that cannot draw the line be- 
 tween property and property ! 
 
 Though a spirit of bravery is certainly a part 
 of the British character, yet there are two or 
 three periods in English history, when this no- 
 ble flame was totally extinguished. Every de- 
 gree of resolution seems to have been cut off at 
 the battle of Hastings. The English acted con- 
 trary to their usual manner: danger had often 
 made them desperate, but now it made them 
 humble. This conquest is one of the most ex- 
 traordinary held forth in history ; the flower of 
 nobility was wholly nipped off; the spirit of the 
 English depressed, and having no head to direct 
 or hand to cultivate the courage of the people 
 and lead it into action, it dwindled at the root, 
 was trampled under the foot of tyranny, and 
 according to Smollet, several generations elapsed 
 before any one of the old English stock blos- 
 somed into peerage. 
 
 It is curious to contemplate the revolution of 
 things. Though the conquering Romans stood 
 first in the annals of fame at the beginning of 
 the Christian sera, yet they were a whole cen- 
 tury in carrying their illustrious arms over the
 
 246 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 island, occupied only by a despised race of Bri- 
 tons. Though the Saxons were invited, by one 
 false step in politics, to assist the Britons in ex- 
 pelling an enemy, which gave them an oppor- 
 tunity of becoming enemies themselves ; yet it 
 was 130 years before they could complete their 
 conquest. And though the industrious Dane 
 poured incessant numbers of people into Bri- 
 tain, yet it cost him 200 years, and 150,000 
 men, before he reduced it. But William, at 
 one blow, finished the dreadful work, shackled 
 her sons to his throne, and governed them with 
 a sceptre of iron. Normandy, a petty dukedom 
 very little larger than Yorkshire, conquered a 
 mighty nation in one day. England seems to 
 have been taken by storm, and her liberties put 
 to the sword. Nor did the miseries of this ill- 
 fated kingdom end here, for the continental do- 
 minions, which William annexed to the crown, 
 proved a whirlpool for 400 years, which drew 
 the blood and treasure of the nation into its 
 vortex, until those dominions were fortunately 
 lost in the reign of Mary the First. 
 
 Thus the Romans spent one century in ac- 
 quiring a kingdom, which they governed for 
 four. The Saxons spent 130 years, and ruled 
 for 459. The Danes spent 200 and reigned 25; 
 but the Normans spent one day only, for a 
 reign of 700 years. They continue to reign 
 still.
 
 RICHARD. WILLIAM, ETC. 247 
 
 It is easy to point out some families of Nor- 
 man race, who yet enjoy the estates won by 
 their ancestors at the battle of Hastings. 
 
 WILLIAM, 1130, 
 
 Like his unfortunate father, was in a state 
 of vassalage. The male line of the Fitz-Aus- 
 culfs soon became extinct, and Gervase Paga- 
 nall marrying the heiress, became Baron of 
 Dudley Castle. 
 
 PETER DE BIRMINGHAM, 1154. 
 
 It is common in every class of life, for the 
 inferior to imitate the superior. If the real lady 
 claim a head-dress sixteen inches high, that of 
 the imaginary lady will immediately begin to 
 thrive. The family, or surname, entered with 
 William the First, and was soon the reigning taste 
 of the day. A person was thought of no conse- 
 quence without a surname ; and even the depressed 
 English crept into^the fashion, in imitation'of 
 their masters. I have already mentioned the 
 Karl of Warwick, father of a numerous race now 
 Birmingham, whose name before the conquest 
 was simply Turchill, but after, Turchill de
 
 248 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Arden (Turchill of the Woods) from his own 
 estate. Thus the family of which I speak, 
 chose to dignify themselves with the name of 
 de Birmingham. 
 
 Peter wisely consulted his own interest, kept 
 fair with Paganall his lord, and obtained from 
 him, in 1166, nine knights' fees, which he 
 held by military service. 
 
 A knight's fee, though obsolete now, was a 
 word well understood 600 years ago. It did 
 not mean, as some have imagined, fifteen 
 pounds per annum, nor any determinate sumj 
 but as much land as would support a gentle- 
 man. This Peter was sewer to Paganall (waited 
 at his table) though a man of great property. 
 
 The splendor in which the great barons of 
 that age lived, was little inferior to royalty. 
 
 The party distinctions of Saxon and Norman 
 began to die away in the twelfth century, as 
 the people became united by interest or mar- 
 riage, like that of Whig and Tory, in the eigh- 
 teenth. And perhaps there is not at present a 
 native that does not carry in his veins the blood 
 of the four nations that were grafted upon the 
 Britons. 
 
 Peter himself lived in affluence at his castle, 
 then near Birmingham, now the Moat, of which 
 in the next section. lie also obtained from 
 Henry the Second, as well as from Paganall the 
 lord paramount, several valuable privileges for
 
 PETER DE BIRMINGHAM, ETC. 049 
 
 his favourite inheritance of Birmingham. He 
 bore for his arms, Azure, a bend lozenge, of five 
 points, Or; the coat of his ancestors. 
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1216. 
 
 At the reduction of Ireland, in the reign of 
 Henry the Second, a branch of this family, and 
 perhaps uncle to William, was very instrumen- 
 tal under Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pem- 
 broke, in accomplishing that great end ; for 
 which he was rewarded with a large estate, and 
 the title of Earl of Lowth, both which continue 
 in his family. Perhaps they are the only re- 
 mains of this honourable house. 
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1246*. 
 
 By this time the male line of the Paganalls 
 was worn out, and Roger de Someri marrying 
 the heiress, became Baron of Dudley, with all 
 its dependencies ; but Someri and Birmingham 
 did not keep peace, as their fathers had done. 
 William, being very rich, forgot to ride to Dud- 
 ley every three weeks, to perforin suit and ser- 
 vice at Somen's court; whereupon a contest 
 commenced to enforce the performance. Bui,
 
 250 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 in 1262, it was agreed between the contending 
 parties That William should attend the lord's 
 court only twice a year, Easter and Michaelmas, 
 and at such other times as the lord chose to 
 command by special summons. This William, 
 having married the daughter of Thomas de 
 Astley, a man of great eminence, and both 
 joining with the barons under Simon Mount- 
 fort, Earl of Leicester, against Henry the 
 Third, William fell in 1265, at the battle of 
 Evesham ; and as the loser is ever the rebel, 
 the barons were proscribed, and their estates 
 confiscated. 
 
 The manor of Birmingham, therefore, va- 
 lued at forty pounds per annum, was seized by 
 the king, and given to his favourite, Roger de 
 Clifford. 
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1265. 
 
 By a law called the statute of Kenilworth, 
 every man who had forfeited his estate to the 
 crown, by having taken up arms, had liberty to 
 redeem his lands by a certain fine : , William 
 paid that fine, and recovered the inheritance of 
 his family. He also, in 1283, strengthened his 
 title by a charter from Edward the First, and 
 likewise to the other manors he possessed, such
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM. Q5l 
 
 as Stockton, in the county of Worcester; Shet- 
 ford, in Oxfordshire ; Maidencoat, in Berk- 
 shire ; Hoggeston, in the county of Bucks ; 
 and Christleton, in Cheshire. 
 
 In 1285, Edward brought his writ of quo 
 warranto, whereby every holder of land was 
 obliged to shew by what title he held it. The 
 consequence would have been dreadful to a 
 prince of less prudence than Edward. Some 
 shewed great unwillingness; for a dormant title 
 will not always bear examination; but William 
 producing divers charters, clearly proved his 
 right to every manorial privilege; such as mar- 
 ket, toll, tern, sack, sok, infangenthief, weyfs, 
 gallows, court-leet, and pillory, with a right to 
 fix the standard for bread and beer ; all which 
 were allowed. 
 
 William, Lord of Birmingham, being a mili- 
 tary tenant, was obliged to attend the King in- 
 to Gascoigne, 1297 where he lost his liberty 
 at the siege of Bellgard, and was carried pri- 
 soner in triumph to Paris. 
 
 WILLIA3I DE BIRMINGHAM, 1306. 
 
 This is the man who tried the right of tollage 
 with the people of Bromsgrove and King's Nor- 
 ton, lie was knighted in 1317-
 
 52 
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 
 
 LORD BIRMINGHAM, 1324- , 
 
 Was well affected to Edward the Second, for 
 whose service he raised four hundred foot. 
 Time seems to have put a period to the family 
 of Someri, Lords of Dudley ; as well as the fa- 
 milies of their predecessors, the Paganalls, and 
 the Fitz-Ausculfs. 
 
 In 1327, the first of Edward the Third, Sir 
 William was summoned to parliament, by the 
 title of William Lord Birmingham, but not 
 after. 
 
 It was not the fashion of that day to fill the 
 House of Peers by patent. The greater barons 
 held a local title from their baronies; the pos- 
 sessor of one of these claimed a seat among the 
 lords. I think they are now all extinct, except 
 Arundel, the property of the Norfolk family, 
 and whoever is proprietor of Arundel Castle, is 
 Earl thereof by ancient prescription. 
 
 The lesser barons were called up to the 
 House by writ, which did not confer an here- 
 ditary title. Of this class was the Lord of Bir- 
 mingham. 
 
 Hugh Spencer, the favourite of the weak 
 Edward the Second, had procured the custody
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM. Q53 
 
 of Dudley castle, with all its appendages, for 
 his friend William Lord Birmingham. Thus 
 the family which had travelled from Birming- 
 ham to Dudley every three weeks, to perform 
 humble suit at the lord's court, held that very 
 court by royal appointment, to receive the 
 fealty of others. 
 
 By the patent which constituted William 
 keeper of Dudley castle, he was obliged to ac- 
 count for the annual profits arising from that 
 vast estate into the king's exchequer. When 
 in 1334, he delivered in his accounts, the barons 
 refused to admit them, because the money was 
 defective. But he had interest enough with 
 the crown to cause a mandamus to be issued, 
 commanding the barons to acquiesce. 
 
 SIR FOUK DE BIRMINGHAM, 1340. 
 
 This man advanced to Sir Baldwin Freville, 
 Lord of Tamworth, forty-eight marks, upon 
 mortgage of five mills. The ancient coat of the 
 bend lozenge, was now changed for the partie 
 per pale, indented, Or and Gules. 
 
 In 1352 and 1362, he was returned a member 
 for the county of Warwick ; also, in three or 
 four succeeding parliaments.
 
 254 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 SIR JOHN DE BIRMINGHAM, 1376, 
 
 Served the office of Sheriff for the county of 
 Warwick, in 1379, and was successively return- 
 ed to serve in parliament for the counties of 
 Warwick, Bedford, and Buckingham. He mar- 
 ried the daughter of William de la Planch, by 
 whom he had no issue. She afterwards married 
 the Lord Clinton, retained the manor of Bir- 
 mingham as her dower, and lived to the year 
 1424. 
 
 It does not appear in this illustrious family, 
 that the regular line of descent, from father to 
 son, was ever broken, from the time of the 
 Saxons, till 1390. This Sir John left a brother, 
 Sir Thomas de Birmingham, heir at law, who 
 enjoyed the bulk of his brother's fortune ; but 
 was not to possess the manor of Birmingham 
 till the widow's death, which not happening till 
 after his own, he never enjoyed it. 
 
 The Lord Clinton and his Lady seem to have 
 occupied the Manor-house ; and Sir Thomas, 
 unwilling to quit the place of his affections and 
 of his nativity, erected a castle for himself at 
 Worstone, near the Sand Pits, joining the Ike- 
 nield-street ; where, though the building is to- 
 tally gOTie, the vestiges of its liquid security are
 
 SIR JOHN DE BIRMINGHAM. Q55 
 
 yet complete. This Sir Thomas enjoyed several 
 public offices, and lived in the style of his ances- 
 tors. He left a daughter, who married Thomas 
 de la Roche, and from this marriage sprang 
 two daughters ; the eldest of whom married 
 Edmund Lord Ferrers of Chartley, who, at the 
 decease of Sir John's widow, inherited the 
 manor, and occupied the manor-house. There 
 yet stands a building on the north-east side of 
 the moat, erected by this Lord Ferrers, with 
 his arms in the timbers of the ceiling, and the 
 crest, a horse-shoe. I take this house to be 
 the oldest in Birmingham, though it has not 
 that appearance, having stood about 360 years. 
 By an entail of the manor upon the male line, 
 the Lady Ferrers seems to have quitted her title 
 in favour of a second cousin, a descendant of 
 William de Birmingham, brother to Sir Fouk. 
 
 WILLIAM DE BIRMINGHAM, 1430, 
 
 In the 19th of Henry the Sixth, 1441, is said 
 to have held his manor of Birmingham, of Sir 
 John Sutton, Lord of Dudley, by military ser- 
 vice -, but instead of paying homage, fealty, es- 
 cuage, Sec. as his ancestors had done, which was 
 very troublesome to the tenant, and brought 
 only empty honour to the lord: and, as some- 
 times the lord's necessities taught him to think
 
 9,5(S HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 that money was more solid than suit and service, 
 an agreement was entered into, for money in- 
 stead of homage, between the lord and the te- 
 nant. Such agreements were now become com- 
 mon. Thus land became a kind of bastard free- 
 hold ; the tenant held a certainty while he 
 conformed to the agreement ; or, in other words, 
 the custom of the manor; and the lord still pos- 
 sessed a material controul. William died, in 
 1479, leaving a son, 
 
 SIR WILLIAM BIRMINGHAM, 14^9, 
 
 Aged thirty at the decease of his father. He 
 married Isabella, heiress of William Hilton, by 
 whom he had a son, William, who died before 
 his father, June 7? 1500, leaving a son, 
 
 EDWARD BIRMINGHAM, 1500, 
 
 Born in 1497, and succeeded his grandfather 
 at the age of three. During his minority, Henry 
 the Seventh, 1502, granted the wardship to Ed- 
 ward, Lord Dudley. 
 
 The family estate then consisted of the ma- 
 nors of Birmingham, Over Warton, Nether 
 Warton, Mock Tew, Little Tew, and Shutford
 
 EDWARD BIRMINGHAM. 257 
 
 in the county of Oxford, Hoggeston in Bucks, 
 and Billesley in the county of Worcester. Ed- 
 ward afterwards married Elizabeth, widow of 
 William Ludford, of Ansley, by whom he had 
 one daughter, who married a person of the name 
 of Atkinson. 
 
 But after the peaceable possession of a valu- 
 able estate for thirty-seven years, the time was 
 now arrived, when the mounds of justice were to 
 be broken down by the weight of power; a 
 whole deluge of destruction was to enter, and 
 overwhelm an ancient and illustrious family, in 
 the person of an innocent man. The world 
 would view the diabolical transaction with 
 amazement, none daring to lend assistance to 
 the unfortunate ; not considering that property 
 should ever be under the protection of law j 
 and, what was Edward's case to-day, might 
 be that of any other man to-morrow. But the 
 oppressor kept fair with the crown, and the 
 crown held a rod of iron over the people. Al- 
 low me to tell the mournful tale from Dugdale's 
 Antiquities of Warwickshire. 
 
 1537. 
 
 John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, 
 a man of great wealth, unbounded ambition, 
 and one of the basest characters of the age, was
 
 258 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 possessor of Dudley castle, and the fine estate 
 belonging to it. He wished to add Birming- 
 ham to his vast domain. Edward Birmingham 
 therefore was privately sounded, respecting the 
 disposal of his manor ; but as money was not 
 wanted, and as the place had been the honour 
 and the residence of his family for many cen- 
 turies, it was out of the reach of purchase. 
 
 Northumberland was determined to possess 
 it; and perhaps the manner in which he accom- 
 plished his design, cannot be paralleled in the 
 annals of infamy. 
 
 He procured two or three villains of similar 
 disposition, and rather of mean appearance, to 
 avoid suspicion, to take up their quarters for a 
 night or two in Birmingham, and gain secret 
 intelligence when Edward Birmingham should 
 ride out, and what road. This done, one of 
 the rascals was to keep before the others, but 
 all took care that Edward should easily over- 
 take them. Upon his arrival at the first class, 
 the villains joined him, entered into conversa- 
 tion, and all moved soberly together, till they 
 reached the farthest man ; when, on a sudden, 
 the strangers with Edward robbed their brother 
 villain, who no doubt lost a considerable sum 
 after a decent resistance. Edward was easily 
 known, apprehended, and committed as one of 
 the robbers; the others were not to be found. 
 
 Edward immediately saw r himself on the verge
 
 JOHN DUDLEY. 259 
 
 of destruction. He could only allege, but not 
 prove his innocence. All the proof the case 
 could admit of was against him. 
 
 Northumberland (then only Lord L'Isle) hi- 
 therto had succeeded to his wish ; nor was Ed- 
 ward long in suspense. Private hints were given 
 him, that the only way to save his life, was to 
 make Northumberland his friend; and this pro- 
 bably might be done, by resigning to him his 
 manor of Birmingham ; with which the unfor- 
 tunate Edward reluctantly complied. 
 
 Northumberland thinking a common convey- 
 ance insufficient, caused Edward to yield his es- 
 tate into the hands of the king, and had interest 
 enough in that age of injustice to procure a ra- 
 tification from a weak parliament, by which 
 means he endeavoured to cast the odium from 
 his own character, and fix it upon theirs, and 
 also obtain for himself a safer title. 
 
 An extract from that base act is as follows: 
 
 " Whereas Edward Byrmingham, late of Byr- 
 mingham in the countie of Warwick, esquire, 
 otherwise callid Edward Byrmingham, esquire, 
 ys and standyth lawfully indettid to our sove- 
 rene lord the kinge, in diverse gretc summes of 
 money ; and also standyth at the mercy of his 
 highness, for that the same Edward ys at this 
 present convected of felony: our scide soverene 
 lord the kinge ys contentid and pleasid, that for 
 and in recompence and satisfaction to his grace 
 
 s 2
 
 l 260 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 of the seyde summes of money, to accept and 
 take of the seyde Edward the mannour and lord- 
 ship of Byrmingham, otherwise callid Byrmin- 
 cham, with the appurtinances, lying and being in 
 the countie of Warwick; and all and singular 
 other lands and tenements, reversions, rents, ser- 
 vices, and hereditaments of the same Edward Byr- 
 mingham, set, lying and beying in the countie of 
 Warwick aforesaid. Be yt therefore ordeyned 
 and enacted, by the authoritie of this present 
 parliament, that our seyde soverene lord the 
 kinge shall have, hold, and enjoy, to him and his 
 heires and assignes for ever, the seyde mannour 
 and lordship of Byrmingham," &c. 
 
 In the act there is a reservation of ^.40 per 
 annum, during the lives only of the said Ed- 
 ward and his wife. 
 
 It appears also, by an expression in the act, 
 that Edward had been brought to trial and found 
 guilty. Thus innocence is depressed for want 
 of support ; property is wrested for want of the 
 protection of the law ; and a vile minister, in a 
 corrupt age, can carry an infamous point through 
 a court of justice, the two houses of parliament, 
 and complete his horrid design by the sanction 
 of a tyrant. 
 
 The place where tradition tells us this diabo- 
 lical transaction happened, is the middle of 
 Sandy-lane, in the Sutton-road. This lane be- 
 gins, at the north-east corner of Aston-park
 
 JOHN DUDLEY. 26l 
 
 wall, where a road on the left leads to the 
 church, and one on the right to Nechel's green ; 
 and ends where a lower road on the right leads 
 also to Nechel's green. The spot is about two 
 miles from the moat, then the place of Edward's 
 abode. 
 
 Except that branch which proceeded from 
 this original stem, about 600 years ago, of 
 which the Earl of Lowth is head, I know of no 
 male descendant from this honourable stock; 
 which, if we allow the founder to have come 
 over with Cridda the Saxon, in 582, must 
 have commanded this little sovereignty 955 
 years. 
 
 I met with a person some time ago of the 
 name of Birmingham, and was pleased with the 
 hope of finding a member of that ancient and 
 honourable house ; but he proved so amazingly 
 ignorant, he could not tell whether he was from 
 the clouds, the sea, or the dunghill. Instead 
 of tracing the existence of his ancestors, even 
 so high as his father, he was scarcely conscious 
 of his own. 
 
 As this house did not abound with daughters, 
 I cannot at present recollect any families among 
 us, except that of Bracebridge, who are de- 
 scended from this illustrious origin, by a female 
 line ; and that of Sir John Talbot Dillon, who 
 is descended from the ancient Earls of Lowth, 
 as he is from the De Veres, the more ancient 
 Earls of Oxford.
 
 262 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Here, then, I unwillingly extinguish that 
 long range of lights, which for many ages illu- 
 minated the house of Birmingham. But I can- 
 not extinguish the rascality of the line of Nor- 
 thumberland. This unworthy race proved a 
 scourge to the world, at least during three ge- 
 nerations. Each, in his turn, presided in the 
 British cabinet, and each seems to have possess- 
 ed the villainy of his predecessor, united with 
 his own. The first only served a throne ; but 
 the second and the third intended to Jill one. 
 A small degree of ambition warms the mind in 
 pursuit of fame through the paths of honour ; 
 while too large a portion tends to unfavourable 
 directions, kindles to a flame, consumes the 
 finer sensations of rectitude, and leaves a 
 stench behind. 
 
 Edmund Dudley, the father of this John, was 
 the voracious leech,who,withEmpson, sucked the 
 vitals of the people, to feed the avarice of Henry 
 the Seventh. It is singular that Henry, the 
 most sagacious prince since the conquest, load- 
 ed him with honours for filling the royal coffers 
 with wealth, which the penurious monarch 
 durst never enjoy; and his successor, Henry 
 the Eighth, enjoyed the pleasure of consuming 
 that wealth, and executed the man who had 
 collected it. How much are our best laid 
 schemes defective ! How little do expectation 
 and event coincide ! It is no disgrace to a man
 
 ROBERT DUDLEY. 9,3 
 
 that he died on the scaffold ; the question is 
 What brought him there ? Some of the most 
 inoffensive, and others the most exalted charac- 
 ters of the age in which they lived, have been 
 cut off by the axe, as Edward Plantagenet, 
 Earl of Warwick, for being the last male heir 
 of the Anjouvin Kings; John Fisher, Bishop 
 of Rochester, Sir Thomas Moore, Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, Algernon Sidney, William Lord 
 Russell, &c. whose blood ornamented the scaf- 
 fold on which they fell. 
 
 The son of this man, Robert Dudley, Earl 
 of Leicester, favourite of Queen Elizabeth, is 
 held up by our historians as a master-piece of 
 dissimulation, pride, and cruelty. He mar- 
 ried three wives, all of whom he is charged with 
 sending to the grave by untimely deaths ; one 
 of them, to open a passage to the Queen's bed, 
 to whicli he aspired. It is surprising that he 
 should deceive the penetrating eye of Elizabeth ; 
 but I am much inclined to think she knew him 
 better than the world ; and they knew him 
 rather too well. He ruined many of the Eng- 
 lish gentry, particularly the ancient family of 
 Arden, of Park-Hall, in this neighbourhood. 
 He afterwards ruined his own family by dis- 
 inheriting a son, more worthy than himself. 
 If he did not fall by the executioner, it is no 
 proof that he did not deserve it. We now 
 behold
 
 264 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP NORTHUMBERLAND, 1537, 
 
 Lord of the manor of Birmingham ; a man, 
 who of all others the least deserved that honour} 
 or rather, deserved the axe for possessing it. 
 
 Some have asserted, " That property acquired 
 by dishonesty cannot prosper." But I shall 
 leave the philosopher and the enthusiast to settle 
 that point, while I go on to observe, that the 
 lordship of Birmingham did not prosper with 
 the duke. Though he had, in some degree, 
 the powers of government in his hands, he had 
 also the clamours of the people in his ears. 
 What were his inward feelings, is uncertain at 
 this distance of time. Fear seems to have pre- 
 vented him from acknowledging Birmingham 
 as his property. Though he exercised every 
 act of ownership, yet he suffered the fee simple 
 to rest in the crown till nine years had elapsed, 
 and those clamours subsided, before he ven- 
 tured to accept the grant in 1546. 
 
 As the execution of this grant was one of the 
 last acts of Henry's life, we should be apt to 
 suspect the duke carried it in his pocket ready 
 for signing, but deferred the matter as long as 
 he could with safety, that distance of time 
 might annihilate reflection ; and that the king's 
 death, which happened a few weeks after,
 
 JOHN BUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND. $65 
 
 might draw the attention of the world too much 
 to suffer it to regard the duke's conduct, 
 
 The next six years, which carries us through 
 the reign of Edward the Sixth, is replete with 
 the intrigues of this illustrious knave. He 
 sought connections with the principal families ; 
 he sought honours for his own ; he procured a 
 match between his son, the Lord Guildford 
 Dudley, and the Lady Jane Grey, daughter of the 
 Duke of Suffolk, and a descendant from Henry 
 the Seventh, with the intent of fixing the crown 
 in his family ; but failing in the attempt, he 
 brought ruin upon the Suffolk family, and him- 
 self to the block, in the first of Queen Mary, 
 1553. 
 
 Though a man be guilty of many atrocious 
 acts that deserve death, yet in the hour of dis- 
 tress humanity demands the tear of compassion; 
 but the case was otherwise at the execution of 
 John, Duke of Northumberland ; for a woman 
 near the scaffold held forth a bloody handker- 
 chief, and said to him, "Behold the blood of 
 the Duke of Somerset, shed by your means, 
 which cries for vengeance against you." 
 
 Thus Northumberland kept a short and rough 
 possession of glory ; thus he fell unlamented ; 
 and thus the manor of Birmingham reverted to 
 the crown a second time, the Duke himself 
 having first taught it the way. 
 
 Birmingham continued two years in the
 
 266 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 crown, till the third of Queen Mary, when she 
 granted it to 
 
 THOMAS MARROW, 1555, 
 
 Whose family, for many descents, resided at 
 Berkeswell, in this county. 
 
 In the possession of the high bailiff is a bushel 
 measure, cast in brass, of some value ; round 
 which in relief is, SAMUEL MARROW, 
 LORD OF THE MANOR OF BIRMING. 
 HAM, 1664. 
 
 The Lordship continued in this family about 
 191 years, till the male line failing, it became 
 the joint property of four coheiresses : Ann, 
 married to Sir Arthur Kaye ; Mary, the wife 
 of John Knightley,Esq. ; Ursula, the wife of 
 Sir Robert Wilmot ; and Arabella, unmarried. 
 In about 1730, they disposed of the private 
 estate in the manor, amounting to about 400/. 
 per annum, to Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of 
 London, as before observed. 
 
 In 1790 this estate was increased to the an- 
 nual rent of ,^2,400. The manor itself was 
 sold in 1746, for 1,700 to 
 
 THOMAS ARCHER, ESQ. 
 
 Of an ancient family, which has resided at 
 Umberslade, in this county, more than 600 
 years. From him it descended to
 
 ANDREW, LORD ARCHER, ETC. QGj 
 
 ANDREW, LORD ARCHER, 
 
 Who died about 1778, leaving the manor to 
 his three daughters, one of whom marrying the 
 Earl of Plymouth, seems to be drawing after 
 her the Lordship of Birmingham. They pos- 
 sess no more in the parish than the royalty. As 
 it does not appear that the subsequent lords, 
 after the extinction of the house of Birmingham, 
 were resident upon the manor, I omit parti- 
 culars. Let me remark, this place yet gives 
 title to the present Lord Viscount Dudley and 
 Ward, as descended, by the female line, from 
 the great Norman Barons, the Fitz-Ausculfs, 
 the Paganalls, the Somerys, the Suttons, and 
 the Dudleys, successive lords paramount, whose 
 original power is reduced to a name. 
 
 manor house. 
 
 (the moat.) 
 
 The natural temper of the human mind, like 
 that of the brute, is given to plunder. This 
 temper is very apt to break forth into action. 
 In all societies of men, therefore, restraints have 
 been imposed, under the name of laws, attended
 
 268 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 with punishment, to deter people from infring- 
 ing upon each others property. Every thing 
 that a man can possess, falls under the de- 
 nomination of property ; whether it be life, 
 liberty, wealth, or character. 
 
 The less perfect the laws are, the less a peo- 
 ple are removed from the rude state of nature, 
 and the more necessity there is for a man to be 
 constantly in a state of defence, that he may be 
 able to repel any force that shall rise up against 
 him. 
 
 It is easy to discover, by the laws of a coun- 
 try, how far the people are advanced in civili- 
 zation. If the laws are defective, or the ma- 
 gistrate too weak to execute them, it is dan- 
 gerous for a man to possess property. But 
 when a nation is pretty far advanced in social 
 e xistence ; when the laws agree with reason, 
 and are executed with firmness, a man need not 
 trouble himself concerning the protection of his 
 property his country will protect it for him. 
 
 The laws of England have, for many ages, 
 been gradually refining ; and are capable of that 
 protection which private strength never was. 
 But if we penetrate back into the recesses of time, 
 we shall find the laws inadequate, the manners 
 savage, force occupying the place of justice, and 
 property unprotected. In those barbarous ages, 
 men sought security by intrenching themselves 
 from a world they could not trust. This was
 
 MANOR HOUSE. 269 
 
 done by opening a large ditch, filled with water, 
 round their habitation, which was only ap- 
 proachable by a draw-bridge. This, in some 
 degree, supplied the defect of the law, and 
 the want of power in the magistrate. It 
 also, during the iron reign of priesthood, fur- 
 nished that table in lent, which it guarded all 
 the year. 
 
 The Britons had a very slender knowledge of 
 fortification. The camps they have left us, are 
 chiefly upon eminences, girt by a shallow ditch, 
 bordered with stone, earth, or timber, but ne- 
 ver with water. The moat was introduced by 
 the Romans ; their camps are often in marshes ; 
 some wholly, and some in part, surrounded by 
 water. 
 
 These liquid barriers were begun in England 
 early in the christian aera; they were in the 
 zenith of their glory at the baron's wars, in the 
 reign of King John ; and continued to be the 
 mode of fortification till the introduction of 
 guns, in the reign of Edward the Fourth, which 
 shook their foundation ; and the civil wars of 
 Charles the First totally annihilated their use, 
 after an existence of twelve hundred years. 
 
 Perhaps few parishes that have been the an- 
 cient habitation of a gentleman, are void of 
 some traces of these fluid bulwarks. That of 
 Birmingham has three ; one of these, of a square 
 form, at Warstone, erected by a younger bro-
 
 270 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ther of the house of Birmingham, has already 
 been mentioned. 
 
 Another is the Parsonage-house belonging to 
 St. Martin's, situated in the road to Broms- 
 grove, now Smallbrook-street, of a circular 
 figure, and supplied by a neighbouring spring. 
 If we allow this watery circle to be a proof of 
 the great antiquity of the house, it is a much 
 greater with regard to the antiquity of the 
 church. 
 
 The third is what we simply denominate The 
 Moat, the residence of the ancient lords of Bir- 
 mingham, situated about sixty yards south of the 
 church, and twenty west of Digbeth. This is 
 also circular, and supplied by a small stream 
 that crosses the road to Bromsgrove, near the 
 first mile stone ; it originally ran into the river 
 Rea, near Vaughton's hole, dividing the pa- 
 rishes of Birmingham and Edgbaston all the 
 way ; but at the formation of the Moat, it was 
 diverted from its course, into which it never 
 returned. 
 
 No certain evidence remains to inform us 
 when this work was accomplished : perhaps in 
 the Saxon heptarchy, when there were few or 
 no buildings south of the church. Digbeth 
 seems to have been one of the first streets added 
 to this important school of arts ; the upper part 
 of that street must of course have been formed 
 first j but that the Moat was completed prior
 
 MANOR HOUSE. 271 
 
 to the erection of any buildings between that 
 and Digbeth, is evident, because those build- 
 ings stand upon the very soil thrown out in 
 forming the Moat. 
 
 The first certain account we meet with of 
 this guardian circle, is in the reign of Henry 
 the Second, 1154, when Peter de Birmingham, 
 then lord of the fee, had a castle here, and 
 lived in splendour. All the succeeding lords 
 resided upon the same island, till their cruel 
 expulsion by John Duke of Northumberland in 
 1537. 
 
 The old castle followed its lords, and is bu- 
 ried in the ruins of time. Upon the spot, about 
 the year 1730, rose a house in the modern style, 
 which is occupied by a manufacturer. In one 
 of the out-buildings is shewn the apartment in 
 which the ancient lords held their court leet : 
 another out-building, which stands to the east, 
 I have already observed was the work of Ed- 
 mund Lord Ferrers. 
 
 The trench being filled with water, has nearly 
 the same appearance now as perhaps a thousand 
 years ago, but not altogether the same use. It 
 then served to protect its master, but now to 
 turn a thread-mill. 
 
 In 1812 it was in contemplation to destroy 
 every vestige of the habitation of our ancient 
 lords, by taking down the buildings, filling up 
 the moat, and laying the whole open a? a market
 
 272 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 place for cattle. I have lived to witness the 
 destruction of many valuable works of antiquity, 
 and I shall be sorry to see this added to the rest*. 
 
 PUDDING BROOK. 
 
 Near the place where the small rivulet dis- 
 charges itself into the moat, another of the 
 same size is carried over it, and proceeds from 
 the town as this advances towards it, producing 
 a curiosity seldom met with ; one stream run- 
 ning south, and the other north, for half a mile, 
 yet only a path-road of three feet asunder. This 
 surprised Brindley the famous engineer. 
 
 THE PRIORY. 
 
 The site of tins ancient edifice is now the 
 Square ; some small remains of the old founda- 
 tions are yet visible in the cellars, chiefly on 
 the south-east. The out-buildings and grounds 
 
 * The historian of Birmingham lived to hear of, but not 
 to see, the destroying of the manor house, the filling up of 
 the moat, and the preparations for the reception of cattle, 
 sheep, and hogs, on the spot where the Lords of Birming- 
 ham had resided for ages. So much is present utility pre- 
 ferred to the remains of antiquity, that perhaps his were the 
 only regrets felt upon the occasion.
 
 THE PRIORY. 273 
 
 perhaps occupied the whole north-east side of 
 Bull-street, then uninhabited, and only the 
 highway to Wolverhampton. These were 
 bounded on the north-west by Steelhouse-lane, 
 on the north-east by Newton and John-streets, 
 and on the south-east by Dale End, which also 
 was no other than the highway to Lichfield. 
 The whole was about fourteen acres. 
 
 The building upon this delightful eminence, 
 which at that time commanded the beautiful 
 prospect of Bristland-fields, Rowley-hills, Old- 
 bury, Smethwick, Handsworth, Sutton Cold- 
 field, Erdington, Saltley, the Garrison, and 
 Camp-hill, and which then stood at a distance 
 from the town, though now near its centre, was 
 founded by the house of Birmingham, in the 
 early reigns of the Norman Kings, and called 
 the Hospital of Saint Thomas Becket the priest 
 being bound to pray for the souls of the founders 
 every day, to the end of the world. 
 
 In 128,5, Thomas de Madenhache, lord of 
 the manor of Aston, gave ten acres of land in 
 his manor; William de Birmingham ten, which 
 I take to be the land where the Priory stood ; 
 and Ranulph de Rakeby three acres, in Saltley. 
 About the same time, sundry others gave 
 houses and land in smaller quantities. Wil- 
 liam de Birmingham gave afterwards twenty- 
 two acres more. The same active spirit seems 
 to have existed in our ancestors .500 years ago, 
 
 r
 
 274 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 as in their descendants at this day. If a new 
 scheme strikes the fancy, it is pursued with 
 vigour. 
 
 The religious fervour of that day ran high ; it 
 was unfashionable to leave the world, and not 
 remember the Priory. Donations crowded in 
 so fast, that the prohibiting act was forgotten; 
 so that in 1311, the brotherhood was prosecuted 
 by the crown, for appropriating lands contrary 
 to the act of mortmain ; but these interested 
 priests, like their sagacious brethren, knew as 
 well how to preserve as to gain property ; for, 
 upon their humble petition to the throne, Ed- 
 ward the Second put a stop to the judicial pro- 
 ceedings, and granted a special pardon. 
 
 In 1351, Fouk de Birmingham, and Richard 
 Spencer, jointly gave to the Priory one hun- 
 dred acres of land, part lying in Aston, and 
 part in Birmingham, to maintain another priest 
 who should celebrate divine service daily at the 
 altar of the virgin Mary, in the church of the 
 hospital, for the souls of William la Mercer and 
 his wife. The church is supposed to have stood 
 upon the spot now No. 27, in Bull-street. 
 
 In the garden belonging to the Red Bull, 
 No. 83, nearly opposite, have been discovered 
 human bones, which has caused some to sup- 
 pose it the place of interment for the religious 
 belonging to the Priory, which I rather doubt. 
 The cemetery must have extended north to the
 
 THE PRIORY. 275 
 
 Minories, leading to the Square, for in the pre- 
 mises of No. 33, Bull-street, many bushels of 
 human bones were dug up in 1786, in great 
 perfection, the polish of the teeth remaining. 
 
 At the dissolution of the abbeys, in 1536, the 
 king's visitors valued the annual income at the 
 trifling sum of *g.8 Ss. 9d. 
 
 The patronage continued chiefly in the head 
 of the Birmingham family. Dugdale gives us a 
 list of some of the priors, who held dominion in 
 this little commonwealth, from 1326 till the 
 total annihilation, being 210 years. 
 
 Patrons. Priors. 
 
 D. Episcopus. Rob. Marmion. Oct. 1326. 
 
 John Nevill. Nov. 1353. 
 
 Fulco de Bir- Rob. Cappe. 1361. 
 mingham, Miles. 
 
 Tho. Edmund. Aug. 1369- 
 
 Jno. de Clinton, John Frothward. Nov. 1390. 
 Miles. 
 
 John Cheyne. Sep. 1393. 
 
 Eliz. de Clinton Henry Bradley. Oct. 1398. 
 
 Jn.Russell,Miles.Tho. Salpyn. Sep. 1403. 
 
 Eliz. Clinton. Robert Browe. Mar. 1407. 
 
 Jno. Port. Aug. 1412. 
 
 Wm. Prestwood. Oct. 1416. 
 
 I). Hen. Drayton. May 1421. 
 
 Ed. Bermyicham. D. Ed. Tofte. Jan. 1521. 
 
 Dom. Rex. Hen. Hody. Oct. 1538. 
 
 t 2
 
 4>76 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, a man of 
 much honour, more capacity, and yet more 
 spirit, was the instrument with which Henry 
 the Eighth destroyed the abbeys ; but Henry, 
 like a true politician of the house of Tudor, 
 wisely threw the blame upon the instrument, 
 held it forth to the public in an odious light, 
 and then sacrificed it to appease an angry 
 people. 
 
 This destructive measure against the religious 
 houses, originated from royal lechery, and was 
 replete with consequences. 
 
 It opened the fountains of learning, at that 
 day confined to the monastery, and the streams 
 diffused themselves through various ranks of 
 men. The revival of letters and of science 
 made a rapid progress. It soon appeared that 
 the stagnate knowledge of the priest was abun- 
 dantly mixed with error ; but now, running 
 through the laity, who had no private interest 
 to serve, it became more pure. 
 
 It removed great numbers of men, who lay 
 as a dead weight upon the community, and 
 they became useful members of society. When 
 younger sons could no longer find an asylum 
 within the gloomy walls of a convent, they 
 sought a livelihood in trade. Commerce, 
 therefore, was taught to crowd her sails, cross 
 the western ocean, fill the country with riches, 
 and change an idle spirit into that of in- 
 dustry.
 
 THE PRIORY. 277 
 
 Architecture sustained a temporary wound 
 by the destruction of religious houses. They 
 were by far the most magnificent and expensive 
 buildings in the kingdom, surpassing those of 
 the nobility. Some of these structures are yet 
 habitable, though the major part are gone to 
 decay. But modern architecture has since out- 
 done the former splendour of the abbey, in use 
 and elegance, and sometimes with the profits 
 arising from the abbey-lands. 
 
 It also shut the door of charity against the 
 impostor, the helpless, and the idle, who had 
 found here their chief supply; and gave rise to 
 one of the best laws ever invented by human 
 wisdom, that of each parish supporting its own 
 poor. 
 
 By the annihilation of abbots, the church lost 
 its weight in parliament, and the vote was 
 thrown into the hands of the temporal lords. 
 
 It prevented, in some degree, the extinction 
 of families ; for, instead of younger branches 
 becoming the votaries of a monastic life, they 
 became the votaries of Hymen : hence the king- 
 dom was enriched by population. It eased the 
 people of a set of masters, who had for ages 
 ruled them with a rod of iron. 
 
 The hands of superstition were also weakened; 
 for the important sciences of astrology, miracle, 
 and divination, supported by the cell, have been 
 losing ground ever since.
 
 278 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 It likewise recovered vast tracts of land out 
 of dead hands, and gave a vigour to agriculture, 
 unknown to former ages. The monk, who had 
 only a temporary tenancy, could not give a per- 
 manent one; therefore the lands were neglected, 
 and the produce was small ; but these lands fall- 
 ing into the hands of the gentry, acquired an 
 hereditary title. It was their interest to grant 
 leases, for a superior rent ; and it was the te- 
 nant's interest to give that rent for the sake of 
 security. Hence the produce of land is become 
 one of the most advantageous branches of Bri- 
 tish commerce. 
 
 Henry, by this seizure, had more property to 
 give away than any king of England since Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, and he generously gave 
 away that which was never his own. It is cu- 
 rious to survey the foundation of some of the 
 principal religions that have taken the lead 
 among men. 
 
 Moses founded a religion upon morals and ce- 
 remonies, one half of which continues with his 
 people to this day. 
 
 Christ founded one upon love and purity ; 
 words of the simplest import, yet we sometimes 
 mistake their meaning. 
 
 The bishop of Rome erected his upon deceit 
 and oppression ; hence the treasures of know- 
 ledge were locked up, an inundation of riches 
 and power flowed into the church, with destruc-
 
 THE PRIORT. 279 
 
 tive tendency. Henry the Eighth built his re- 
 formation upon revenge and plunder ; he de- 
 prived the head of the Romish see of an unjust 
 power, for pronouncing a just decision, and 
 robbed the members for being annexed to that 
 head. Henry wished the world to believe what 
 he believed himself, that he acted from a reli- 
 gious principle ; but his motive seems to have 
 been savage love. Had equity directed when 
 Henry divided this vast property, he would 
 have restored it to the descendants of those per- 
 sons whose mistaken zeal had injured their fa- 
 milies ; but his disposal of it was ludicrous 
 sometimes he made a free gift, at others he ex- 
 changed a better estate for a worse, and then 
 gave that worse to another. 
 
 I have met with a little anecdote which 
 says, " That Henry being on a tour in Devon- 
 shire, two men waited upon him to beg certain 
 lands in that county. While they attended in 
 the ante-room for the royal presence, a stranger 
 approached, and asked them a trifling question; 
 they answered the}' wished to be alone at this 
 moment the king entered. They fell at his feet; 
 the stranger seeing them kneel, knelt with them. 
 They asked the favour intended ; the king rea- 
 dily granted it; they bowed; the stranger bowed 
 also. By this time, the stranger perceiving there 
 was a valuable prize in the question, claimed his 
 thirds; they denied his having any tiling to do
 
 280 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 with the matter. He answered he had done as 
 much as they, for they only asked and bowed, 
 and he did the same. The dispute grew warm, 
 and both parties agreed to appeal to the king, 
 who answered, he took them for joint beggars, 
 therefore had made them a joint present. They 
 were then obliged to divide the land with the 
 stranger, whose share amounted to ^.240 per 
 annum." 
 
 The land formerly belonging to the Priory of 
 Birmingham, is now the property of many per- 
 sons. Upon that spot, whereon stood one solitary 
 house, now stand about four hundred. Upon 
 that ground where about thirty persons lived 
 upon the industry of others, about three thou- 
 sand live upon their own. The place, which 
 lay as a heavy burthen upon the community, 
 now tends to enrich it, by adding its mite to the 
 national commerce, and the national treasury. 
 
 Inl77-5, 1 took down an old house of wood and 
 plaster, which had stood 208 years, having been 
 erected in 1567, thirty-one years after the disso- 
 lution of the abbeys. The foundation of this old 
 house seemed to have been built chiefly with 
 stones from the priory ; perhaps more than twenty 
 waggon loads. These appeared in a variety of 
 forms and sizes, highly finished in the Gothic 
 taste, parts of porticos, arches, windows, ceilings, 
 &c. some fluted, some cyphered, and otherwise 
 ornamented, yet complete as in the first day they
 
 THE PRIORY. 281 
 
 were left by the chisel. The greatest part of 
 them were destroyed by the workmen ; some 
 others I used again in the fire-place of an under 
 kitchen. Perhaps they are the only perfect 
 fragments that remain of that venerable edifice, 
 which once stood the monument of ancient 
 piety, the ornament of the town, and the envy 
 of the priest out of place. 
 
 CLODSHALE S CHANTRY. 
 
 It is an ancient remark, " The world is a 
 farce." Every generation, and perhaps every 
 individual, acts a part in disguise ; but when 
 the curtain falls, the hand of the historian pulls 
 off the mask, and displays the character in its 
 native light. Every generation differs from the 
 other, yet all are right. Time, fashion, and 
 sentiment, change together. We laugh at the 
 oddity of our forefathers our successors will 
 laugh at us. 
 
 The prosperous anvil of Walter de Clodshale, 
 a native of this place, had enabled him to ac- 
 quire several estates in Birmingham, to pur- 
 chase the lordship of Saltley, commence gentle- 
 man, and reside in the manor house, now gone 
 to decay, though its traces remain, and are 
 termed by the common people, The Giant's
 
 282 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Castle, This man, having well provided for 
 the present, thought it prudent, at the close of 
 life, to provide for the future ; he therefore 
 procured a licence, in 1331, from William de 
 Birmingham, lord of the fee, and another from 
 the crown, to found a chantry at the altar in 
 St. Martin's church, for one priest, to pray for 
 his soul and that of his wife. 
 
 He gave, that he might be safely wafted into 
 felicity by the breath of a priest, four houses, 
 twenty acres of land, and eighteen pence rent, 
 issuing out of his estates in Birmingham. 
 
 The same righteous motive induced his son 
 Richard, in 1348, to grant five houses, ten 
 acres of land, and ten shillings rent, from the 
 Birmingham estates, to maintain a second priest, 
 who was to secure the souls of himself and his 
 wife. The declaration of Christ, in that pious 
 age, seems to have been inverted ; for instead 
 of its being difficult for a rich man to enter into 
 the kingdom of heaven, it was difficult for him 
 to miss it. We are not told what became of 
 him who had nothing to give ! If the profits of 
 the estate tended the right way, perhaps there 
 was no great concern which way either Walter 
 or Richard tended. 
 
 The chantorial music continued two hundred 
 and four years, till 1535, when Henry the 
 Eighth closed the book, turned out the priests, 
 who were Sir Thomas Allen and Sir John
 
 clodshale's chantry. 283 
 
 Green, and seized the property, valued at 5l, Is. 
 per annum. Permit me again to moralize upon 
 this fashionable practice of ruining the family 
 for the health of the soul. Except some lawful 
 creditor put in a claim, which justice ought to 
 allow, a son has the same right to an estate, 
 after the death of his father, as that father had 
 before him. 
 
 Had Walter and Richard taken equal care of 
 their souls and their estates, the first might have 
 been as safe as in the hands of the priest ; and 
 the last, at this day, have been the property of 
 the ancient, and once noble race of Arden, 
 long since in distress ; one of whom, in 1426, 
 married the heiress of their house. Thus a fa- 
 mily, benefited by the hammer, was injured by 
 the church. 
 
 Had the hands of these two priests ministered 
 to their wants, in the construction of tents and 
 fishing-nets, like those of their predecessors, St. 
 Paul and St. Peter, though their pride would 
 have been eclipsed, their usefulness would have 
 shone, and the world have been gainers by their 
 labour. Another lesson may be learnt from 
 this little ecclesiastical history, the astonish- 
 ing advance of landed property in Birming- 
 ham. Nine houses and thirty acres of land, 
 two hundred and fifty years ago, were valued at 
 the trifling rent of 4/. [Is. (nl. One of the acres, 
 or one of the houses, woidd at this day bring
 
 284 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 more. We may reasonably suppose they were 
 under-rated ; yet even then, the difference is 
 amazing. An acre, within a mile of Birming- 
 ham, in 1780 sold for about one hundred pounds, 
 and let from three pounds to five; some acres as 
 high as seven pounds each. 
 
 JOHN A DEAN S HOLE. 
 
 At the bottom of Digbeth, about thirty yards 
 north of the bridge, on the left, is a water course 
 that takes in a small drain from Digbeth, but 
 more from the adjacent meadows, and which 
 divides the parishes of Aston and Birmingham ; 
 it is called John a Dean's Hole, from a person 
 of that name who is said to have lost his life 
 there, and this I think is the only name of an- 
 tiquity among us. 
 
 The particle de, between the christian and 
 surname, is of French extraction, and came over 
 with William the First. It continued tolerably 
 pure for about three centuries, when it in some 
 degree assumed an English garb, in the particle 
 of; the a, therefore, is only a corruption of the 
 latter. Hence the time of this man's misfor- 
 tune may be fixed about the reign of Edward 
 the Third.
 
 285 
 
 LENCH S TRUST. 
 
 In the reign of Henry the Eighth, William 
 Lench, a native of this place, bequeathed his 
 estate for the purposes of erecting alms-houses, 
 which are those at the bottom of Steelhouse- 
 lane, for the benefit of poor widows, and of 
 repairing the streets of Birmingham. After- 
 wards, other persons granted smaller donations 
 for the same use, but all were included under 
 the name of Lench ; and I believe they did not 
 unitedly amount, at that time, to fifteen pounds 
 per annum. 
 
 Over this scattered inheritance was erected a 
 trust, consisting of gentlemen in the neighbour- 
 hood of Birmingham. 
 
 All human affairs tend to confusion. The 
 hand of care is ever necessary to keep order. 
 The gentlemen, at the head of this charity, 
 having too many modes of pleasure of their own, 
 to pay attention to this little jurisdiction, dis- 
 order crept in apace ; some of the lands were 
 lost for want of inspection ; the rents ran in 
 arrear, and were never recovered ; the streets 
 were neglected, and the people complained. 
 
 Misconduct, particularly of a public nature, 
 silently grows for years, and sometimes for 
 ages, till it becomes too bulky for support, falls
 
 286 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 in pieces by its own weight, and out of its very 
 destruction rises a remedy. An order from 
 the Court of Chancery was obtained, for vest- 
 ing the property in other hands, consisting of 
 twenty persons, all of Birmingham, who have 
 directed this valuable estate, to useful purposes. 
 The man who can guide his own private con- 
 cerns with success, stands the fairest chance of 
 guiding those of the public. In 1783 the rents 
 of this estate amounted to ^ .300 per annum ; 
 in 1812 to gg.573. 
 
 If the forme i' trust went widely astray, per- 
 haps their successors have not exactly kept the 
 line, by advancing the leases to a rack rent. It 
 is worth considering, whether the tenant of an 
 expiring lease has not in equity a kind of re- 
 versionary right, which ought to favour him with 
 the refusal of another term, at one third under 
 the value, in houses, and one fourth in land ; 
 this would give stability to the occupation, se- 
 cure the rents, and cause the lessee more cheer- 
 fully to improve the premises, which in time 
 would enhance their value, both with regard 
 to property and esteem. But where business 
 is well conducted, complaint, should cease, for 
 perfection is not to be expected on this side the 
 grave. 
 
 There is an excellent clause in the devisor's 
 will, ordering his bailiff to pay half a crown to 
 any two persons, who, having quarrelled and
 
 LENCH S TRUST. 287 
 
 enteredintolaw, should stop judicial proceedings, 
 and make peace by agreement. He might have 
 added, "And half a crown to the lawyer that will 
 suffer them." If money be reduced to one fourth 
 its value, since the days of Lench, it follows, that 
 four times the sum ought to be paid in ours ; 
 and perhaps ten shillings could not be better 
 laid out, than in the purchase of that peace 
 which tends to harmonize the community, and 
 weed a brotherhood not the most amicable 
 among us. 
 
 The members choose annually out of their 
 own body two bailiffs. The fraternity, who 
 directed this useful charity, in 1812 were, 
 
 Mark Saunders, j Bailiffg> 
 
 Thomas Lakin Hawkes, J 
 
 John Ryland. 
 
 John T. Lawrence. 
 
 Timothy Smith. 
 
 Samuel Ryland. 
 
 Samuel Rogers. 
 
 Samuel Ryland, Temple-street. 
 
 Samuel Smith. 
 
 John Ryland, New-street. 
 
 William Phipson. 
 
 William C. Russell. 
 
 Harry Hunt. 
 
 Joseph Phipson. 
 
 George Eyre Lee.
 
 88 HISTORY OF HIRMINGIIAM. 
 
 FENTHAM S TRUST. 
 
 In 1712, George Fentham, of Birmingham, 
 devised his estates by will, consisting of about 
 one hundred acres, in Erdington and Hands- 
 worth, of the value then of ^.20 per annum, 
 vesting the same in a trust, of which no person 
 could be chosen who resided more than one 
 hundred yards from the Old Cross. We should 
 be inclined to think the devisor entertained a 
 singular predilection for the Old Cross, then in 
 the pride of youth. But if we unfold this whim- 
 sical clause, we shall find it contains a shrewd 
 intention. The choice was limited within one 
 hundred yards, because the town itself, in his day 
 did not, in some directions, extend farther. Fen- 
 tham had spent a life in Birmingham, knew well 
 her inhabitants, and, like some others, had found 
 honour, as well as riches, among them. He 
 knew also, he could with safety deposit his 
 property in their hands, and was determined it 
 should never go out. The scheme will answer 
 his purpose. 
 
 The profits of this estate, which in 1781, 
 amounted to about ^.100 per annum, were in- 
 tended for teaching children to read, and for 
 clothing ten poor widows of Birmingham.
 
 FENTHAM S TRUST, ETC. ^89 
 
 Those children in green belonging to the cha- 
 rity school are upon this foundation. 
 
 The trust in 1781 were 
 
 Francis Coales, William Ward, 
 
 Ed. Wace Pattison, William Hicks, 
 James Wool] e v. 
 
 CROWLEY S TRUST. 
 
 Ann Crowley bequeathed by her last will, in 
 1733, six houses in Steelhouse-lane, amounting 
 to eighteen pounds per annum, for the purpose 
 of supporting a school, consisting of ten chil- 
 dren. From an attachment to her own sex, 
 she constituted over this infant colony of letters 
 a female teacher. Perhaps we should have 
 seen a female trust, had they been equally ca- 
 pable of defending the property. The income 
 of the estate increasing, the children were in 
 1781 augmented to twelve. 
 
 By a subsequent clause in the devisor's will, 
 twenty shillings a year for ever issues out of 
 two houses in the Lower Priory, to be disposed 
 of at the discretion of the trust. 
 
 The governors of this female charity were in 
 178 1. 
 Thomas Colmore, bailiff] 
 Samuel Colmore, William Russell, Esq. 
 
 1
 
 ?90 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 SCOTT S TRUST. 
 
 Joseph Scott, Esq. assigned, July 7, 1779, 
 certain messuages and lands in and near Wal- 
 mer-lane, in Birmingham, of the present rent 
 of gAO 18s. part of the said premises to be 
 appropriated to the interment of protestant 
 dissenters ; part of the profits to be applied to 
 the use of a religious society in Carr's-lane, at 
 the discretion of the trust ; and the remainder 
 to the institution of a school to teach the mo- 
 ther tongue. 
 
 That part of the demise designed for the re- 
 ception of the dead, is about three acres, upon 
 which stands one messuage, now the Golden 
 Fleece, joining Summer-lane on the west, and 
 Walmer-lane on the east ; the other, which has 
 Aston-street on the south, and Walmer-lane on 
 the west, contains about four acres, upon which 
 stood in 1780, ninety-one houses. A building- 
 lease, in 1778, was granted of these last pre- 
 mises for 120 years, at ^.30 per annum ; at 
 the expiration of which the rents may probably 
 amount to twenty times the present income. 
 The trust, to whose direction this charity was 
 committed, were
 
 SCOTT'S TRUST. FREE SCHOOL. 291 
 
 John Allen, bailiff. 
 
 Joseph Rogers, William Hutton, 
 
 Thomas Cock, Thomas Cheek Lea, 
 
 John Berry, Samuel Tutin. 
 
 FREE SCHOOL. 
 
 It is entertaining to contemplate the genera- 
 tions of fashion, which not only influences our 
 dress and manner of living, but most of the 
 common actions of life, and even the modes of 
 thinking. Some of these fashions not meeting 
 with the taste of the day, are of short duration, 
 and retreat out of life as soon as they are well 
 brought in ; others take a longer space ; but 
 whatever fashions predominate, though ever so 
 absurd, they carry an imaginary beauty, which 
 pleases the fancy, till they become ridiculous 
 with age, and are succeeded by others ; when 
 their very memory becomes disgusting. 
 
 Custom gives a sanction to fashion, and re- 
 conciles us even to its inconvenience. There 
 are fashions of every date, from five hundred 
 years even to one day ; of the first, was that of 
 erecting religious houses ; of the last, was that 
 of destroying them. 
 
 Our ancestors, the Saxons, after their con- 
 version to Christianity, displayed their zeal in
 
 292 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 building churches. Though the kingdom in a 
 few centuries was amply supplied, yet that zeal 
 was no way abated ; it therefore exerted itself 
 on the abbey. When a man of fortune had 
 nearly done with time, he began to peep into 
 eternity through the windows of an abbey ; or 
 if a villain had committed a piece of butchery, 
 or had cheated the world for sixty years, there 
 was no doubt that he could burrow his way to 
 glory through the foundations of an abbey. 
 
 In 1383, the sixth of Richard the Second, 
 before the religious fervour subsided that had 
 erected Deritend Chapel, Thomas de Sheldon, 
 John Coleshill, John Goldsmith, and William 
 att Slowe, all of Birmingham, obtained a patent 
 from the crown to erect a building upon the 
 spot where the Free School now stands in New- 
 street, to be called The Gild of the Holy Cross; 
 to endow it with lands in Birmingham and Edg- 
 baston, of the annual value of twenty marks, 
 for the maintenance of two priests, who were 
 to perform divine service to the honour of God, 
 our blessed Lady his Mother, the Holy Cross, 
 St. Thomas, and St. Catharine. 
 
 The fashion seemed to take with the inhabi- 
 tants, many of whom wished to join the four 
 happy men, who had obtained the patent for so 
 pious a work ; so that in 1393, a second patent 
 was procured by the bailiff and inhabitants of 
 Birmingham, for confirming the gild, and mak-
 
 FREE SCHOOL. 29S 
 
 ing the addition of a brotherhood in honour of 
 the holy cross, consisting of both sexes, with 
 power to constitute a master and wardens, and 
 also to erect a chantry of priests to celebrate 
 divine service in the chapel of the gild, for the 
 souls of the founders, and all the fraternity j 
 for whose support there were given, by divers 
 persons, eighteen messuages, three tofts (pieces 
 of ground) six acres of land, and forty shillings 
 rent, lying in Birmingham and Edgbaston afore- 
 said. 
 
 But in the 27th of Henry the Eighth, 1536, 
 when it was the fashion of the day to hurl de- 
 struction against the religious and their habi- 
 tations, the annual income of the gild was 
 valued, by the king's random visitors, at the 
 sum of 31/. 2s. lOd. out of which three priests 
 who sung mass, had 5l. 6s. 8d. each; an orga- 
 nist, 31. 13s. 4<7. the common midwife, 4*. the 
 bellman, 6s. ttd. for informing the brotherhood 
 when the spit ceased to turn, with other salaries 
 of inferior note. 
 
 These lands continued in the crown till 1,552, 
 the fifth of Edward the Sixth, when, at the 
 humble suit of the inhabitants, they were assign- 
 ed to 
 
 William Symmons, gent. 
 Richard Smallbrook, bai/ijfof the town. 
 
 John Shilton, Henry Foxall, 
 
 William Col more, William Bogee,
 
 2JH HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Thomas Cooper, Thomas Marshall, 
 
 John Wylles, John Veysy, 
 
 William Paynton, John King, 
 
 William Aschrig, John Eyliat, 
 
 Robert Rastall, William Colmore,jun. 
 Thomas Snowden, and 
 
 Richard Swifte, William Mychell, 
 
 all inhabitants of Birmingham, and their suc- 
 cessors, to be chosen upon death or removal, 
 by the appellation of the Bailiff and Governors 
 of the Free Grammar School of King Edward 
 the Sixth, for the instruction of children in 
 grammar : to be held of the crown in common 
 soccage, paying for ever twenty shillings per 
 annum. Over this seminary of learning were 
 to preside a master and usher, whose united in- 
 come seems to have been only twenty pounds 
 per annum. Both were of the clergy. The 
 hall of the gild was used for a school room. In 
 the glass of the windows was painted the figure 
 of Edmund lord Ferrers, who marrying about 
 360 years ago, the heiress of the house of Bir- 
 mingham, resided upon the manor, and seems 
 to have been a benefactor to the gild, with his 
 arms, impaling Belknap ; and also those of 
 Stafford, of Grafton, of Birmingham, and Bryon. 
 The gild stood at that time at a distance from 
 the town, surrounded with enclosures; the high- 
 way to Hales Owen, now New-street, running
 
 FREE SCHOOL. 2Q5 
 
 by the north. No house could be nearer than 
 those in the High-street. 
 
 The first erection, wood and plaster, which 
 had stood about 320 years, was taken down in 
 1707, to make way for the present flat building. 
 In 17-56, a set of urns was placed upon the 
 parapet, which gives relief to that stiff air so 
 hurtful to the view ; at the same time the front 
 was intended to have been decorated, by erect- 
 ing half a dozen dreadful pillars, which like so 
 many overgrown giants, marshalled in battalia, 
 guarded the entrance that the boys wish to shun ; 
 and being sufficiently tarnished with Birming- 
 ham smoke, they might have become dangerous 
 to pregnancy. These are removed. Had the 
 wings of this building fallen two or three yards 
 back, and the line of the street been preserved 
 by a light palisade, it would have risen in the 
 scale of beauty, and removed the gloomy aspect 
 of the area. 
 
 The tower is in a good taste, except being 
 rather too narrow at the base, and is orna- 
 mented with a sleepy figure of the donor, Ed- 
 ward the Sixth, dressed in a royal mantle, de- 
 corated with the ensigns of the Garter, and 
 holding a bible and sceptre. 
 
 The lands that support this foundation, and 
 which were in the reign of Henry the Eighth 
 valued at thirty-one pounds per annum, were 
 in* 1791, by the advance of landed property,
 
 296 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the reduction of money, and the increase of 
 commerce, about ^1,200 and in 1812 ,=2,100. 
 The governors of this royal donation in 1813 
 were 
 
 Mr. Henry Perkins, bailiff. 
 
 William Villers, Esq. Mr. Michael Goodall. 
 
 William Hicks, Esq. Mr. John Ward. 
 
 George Simcox, Esq. Walter William Cap- 
 Theodore Price, Esq. per, Esq. 
 
 William Hamper, Esq. Mr. James Alston. 
 
 Rev. Ed. Outram, D. D. William Walker, Esq. 
 
 Edward Palmer, Esq. Mr. Ric. Pratchett. 
 
 Mr. John Cope. Wm. Anderton, Esq. 
 
 William Smith, Esq. Mr. Edward Bower. 
 
 James Woolley, Esq. Mr. George Freer. 
 
 Over this nursery of science preside, 
 
 s. d. 
 A Head Master, whose salary in per ami. 
 
 181? was - 400 
 
 Second Master - - 300 
 
 Head Master's Usher - - 200 
 
 Second Master's Usher - - 200 
 
 Drawing Master - - - 60 O 
 
 Ten Exhibitions, of twenty-five pounds each, 
 are given to ten boys who have each been edu- 
 cated ten years at the school ; and eight in- 
 ferior schools, in various parts of the town, 
 which teach the first rudiments of learning,
 
 FREE SCHOOL, ETC. 
 
 297 
 
 with salaries for the masters, of from forty to a 
 hundred pounds each, are constituted and fed 
 by this grand reservoir. 
 
 HEAD MASTERS. 
 
 John Brooksby 
 
 Tonkinson. 
 
 II ev. John Husted. 
 Rev. Edward Mainwaring 
 Rev. John Wilkinson 
 Rev. Thomas Green 
 Rev. William Brail sford - 
 Rev. Thomas Price - 
 Rev. John Cook 
 
 J 685. 
 
 1730. 
 1746. 
 1759. 
 1766. 
 1776. 
 1797. 
 
 CHARITY SCHOOL, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED, 
 THE BLUE SCHOOL. 
 
 There seem to be three classes of people, 
 which demand the care of society ; infancy, 
 old age, and casual infirmity. When a man 
 cannot assist himself, it is necessary he should 
 be assisted. The first of these only is before 
 us. The direction of youth seems one of the 
 greatest concerns in moral life, and one that is 
 the least understood: to form the generation to
 
 Sy8 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAIVf. 
 
 come, is of the last importance. If an inge- 
 nious master has flogged the ABC into an in- 
 nocent child, he thinks himself worthy of praise. 
 A lad is too much terrified to march that path 
 which is marked out by the rod. If the way 
 to learning abounds with punishment, he will 
 quickly detest it ; if we make his duty a task, 
 we lay a stumbling-block before him that he 
 cannot surmount. We rarely know a tutor who 
 is a friend to harsh treatment succeed in train- 
 ing up youth. 
 
 Whence is it, that we so seldom find affection 
 subsisting between master and scholar? From 
 the moment they unite, to the end of their 
 lives, disgust, like a cloud, rises in the mind, 
 which reason herself can never dispel. The 
 boy may pass the precincts of childhood, and 
 tread the stage of life upon an equality with 
 every man in it, except his old schoolmaster ; 
 the dread of him seldom wears off; the name 
 of Busby sounded with horror for half a cen- 
 tury after he had laid down the rod. I have 
 often been delighted when I have seen a school 
 of boys break up ; the joy that diffuses itself 
 over every face and action, shews infant nature 
 in her gayest form the only care remaining is 
 to forget on one side of the walls what was 
 taught on the other. One would think, if 
 coming out gives so much' satisfaction, there 
 must be something very detestable within.
 
 CHARITY SCHOOL. ^99 
 
 If the master thinks he has performed his task 
 when he has taught the boy a few words, he as 
 much mistakes his duty as he does the road to 
 learning. This is only the first stage of his 
 journey. He has the man to form for society 
 with ten thousand sentiments. 
 
 It is curious toenterone of these prisons of sci- 
 ence, and observe the children not under the 
 least government ; the master without authority, 
 the children without order ; the master scold- 
 ing, the children riotous. We never harden the 
 wax to receive the impression. They act in a 
 natural sphere, but he in opposition: he seems 
 the only person in the school who merits correc- 
 tion ; he, unfit to teach, is making them unfit 
 to be taught. 
 
 A man does not consider whether his talents 
 are adapted for teaching, so much, as whether 
 he can profit by teaching. Thus, when a man 
 has taught for twenty years, he may be only fit 
 to go to school. 
 
 To that vast group of instructors, therefore, 
 whether in or out of petticoats, who teach 
 without having been taught ; who take the tail 
 for the seat of learning, instead of the head; 
 who can neither direct the passions of others nor 
 their own ; it may be said, " Quit the trade, if 
 bread can be procured out of it. It is useless to 
 pursue a work of error ; the ingenious architect 
 must take up your rotten foundation before he 
 can lav one that i* solid."
 
 300 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 But to the discerning few, who can penetrate 
 the secret windings of the heart; who know 
 that nature may be directed, but can never be 
 inverted ; that instruction should ever coincide 
 with the temper of the instructed, or we sail 
 against the wind ; that it is necessary the pupil 
 should relish both the teacher and the lesson ; 
 which, if presented like a bitter draught, may 
 easily be sweetened to his taste. To these 
 valuable few, who, like the prudent florist, 
 possessed of a choice root, cultivate it with 
 care, adding improvement to every generation; 
 it may be said, " Banish tyranny out of the lit- 
 tle dominions over which you are absolute sove- 
 reigns ; introduce in its stead two of the high- 
 est ornaments of humanity, love and reason." 
 Through the medium of the first maxim, the 
 master and the lesson may be viewed without 
 horror. When the teacher and the learner are 
 upon friendly terms, the scholar will rather 
 invite than repel the assistance of the master. 
 By the second, reason, the teacher will sup- 
 port his full authority. Every period of life 
 in which a human being is capable of attending 
 to instruction, he is capable of attending to rea- 
 son. This will answer every end of punish- 
 ment, and something more. Thus, an irksome 
 task will be changed into a friendly intercourse. 
 
 This charity school, as appears by a date in 
 the front, was erected in 1724 ; it is situated in
 
 CHARITY SCHOOL. 30l 
 
 St. Philip's church-yard ; is a plain, airy, and 
 useful building, ornamented over the door with 
 the figures of a boy and a girl in the uniform of 
 the school, executed with a degree of elegance, 
 that a Roman statuary would not have blushed 
 to own. 
 
 This artificial family in 178 6 2 consisted of 
 about ninety scholars of both sexes, over whom 
 preside a governor and governess, both unmar- 
 ried. Behind the apartments is a large area, 
 appropriated for the amusement of the infant 
 race, necessary as their food. Great decorum 
 is preserved in this little society, which is sup- 
 ported by annual contribution, and by a col- 
 lection made after sermon twice a year. 
 
 At twelve or fourteen, the children are re- 
 moved into the commercial world, and often 
 acquire an affluence that enables them to sup- 
 port that foundation which formerly supported 
 them. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that those institutions 
 which are immediately upheld by the temporary 
 hand of the giver, flourish in continual spring, 
 and become real benefits to society ; while 
 those; which enjoy a perpetual income, are often 
 tinctured with supineness, and sink into ob- 
 scurity. The first usually answers the purpose 
 of the living, the last seldom thai of the dead. 
 This monument of a generous pcoplc\ was 
 elevated to its present magnitude in 1794 ; at
 
 302 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the expence of ^.2,500. The income in 1810 
 was ^.1,327 17*- 7d. t and the number of chil- 
 dren, 150 boys and 40 girls ; a number suffi- 
 cient to make the next generation wiser than 
 this. In 1818 the number of boys was 100, the 
 number of girls .50. 
 
 DISSENTING CHARITY SCHOOL. 
 
 About the year 1760, the Dissenters esta- 
 blished a school upon nearly the same plan as 
 the former, consisting of about eighteen boys 
 and eight girls ; with this improvement, that 
 the boys are inured to moderate labour, and 
 the girls to household-work. 
 
 The annual subscriptions seem to be willingly 
 paid, thankfully received, and judiciously ex- 
 pended. 
 
 In 1791, a building was purchased in Park 
 Street, for the accommodation of this charity, 
 and improved at the expence of ^.1,200. In 
 this 36 boys and 18 girls were then taught 
 and fed. 
 
 In 1818 the children consisted of girls only, 
 and the number was 36.
 
 SOS 
 
 WORKHOUSE. 
 
 During the long reign of the Plantagenets in 
 England, there were not many laws in the code 
 then existing for the regulation of the poor ; 
 distress was obliged to wander for a temporary 
 and uncertain relief: idleness usually mixed 
 with it. 
 
 The nobility then kept plain and hospitable 
 houses, where want frequently procured a sup- 
 ply ; but as these were thinly scattered, they 
 were inadequate to the purpose. 
 
 As the abbey was much more frequent, and 
 a great part of the riches of the kingdom passed 
 through the hands of the monks ; and as charity 
 was consonant to the profession of that order ; 
 the weight of the poor chiefly lay upon the re- 
 ligious houses. These were the general resource 
 of the indigent, the idle, and the impostor, 
 who carried meanness in their aspect, and the 
 words Christ Jesus in their mouth. Hence 
 arose the epithets of stroller, vagrant, and 
 sturdy beggar, with which modern law is in- 
 timately acquainted. It was frequently ob- 
 served, that there was but a slender barrier be- 
 tween begging and stealing, that necessity sel- 
 dom marked the limits of honestv, and that a
 
 304 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 country abounding with beggars, abounded also 
 with plunderers. A remnant of this urgent 
 race, so justly complained of, which disgraces 
 society, and lays the country under contribu- 
 tion, is still suffered, by the supineness of the 
 magistrate. 
 
 When the religious houses, and all their pro- 
 perty, in 1536, fell a sacrifice to the vindictive 
 wrath of Henry the Eighth, the poor lost their 
 dependence; and, as want acknowledges no law, 
 robbery became frequent ; justice called loudly 
 for punishment, and the hungry for bread ; which 
 gave rise, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to 
 that most excellent institution, of erecting every 
 parish into a distinct fraternity, and obliging it 
 to support its own members ; therefore it is 
 difficult to assign a reason, why the blind should 
 go abroad to see fresh countries, or the man 
 without feet to travel. 
 
 Though the poor were supported by parochial 
 law, yet workhouses did not become general 
 till 1730. That of Birmingham was erected in 
 1733, at the expence of ^.1,173. 3s. 5d. It 
 is a commodious and creditable residence for 
 paupers. The left wing, called the infirmary, was 
 added in 1766, at the charge of ^.400, and the 
 right, a place for labour, in 1779, at the ex- 
 pence of ^.700 more. 
 
 Let us a second time consider the people who
 
 WORKHOUSE. 305 
 
 occupy this grand toy-shop of Europe * as one 
 great family, where, though the property of 
 individuals is ascertained and secured, yet a 
 close and beneficial compact subsists. We be- 
 hold the members of this vast family marked 
 with every style of character. Forlorn infancy, 
 accidental calamity, casual sickness, old age, 
 and even inadvertent distress, all find support 
 from that charitable fund erected by industry. 
 No part of the family is neglected; he that can- 
 not find bread for himself, finds a ready supply; 
 he that can, ought. By cultivating the young 
 suckers of infancy, we prudently establish the 
 ensuing generation, which will, in the com- 
 mercial walk, abundantly repay the expence. 
 Temporary affliction of every kind also merits 
 pity ; even those distresses which arise from 
 folly, ought not to be neglected. The parish 
 has done well to many a man, who would not 
 do well to himself. If imprudence cannot be 
 banished out of the world, compassion ought 
 not ; he that cannot direct himself, must be 
 under the direction of another. If the parish 
 supported none but the prudent, it would 
 have few to support. The last stage of human 
 life demands, as well as the first, the help of 
 the family. The care of infancy arises from an 
 expectation of a return, that of old age from 
 benefits already received. Though a man may 
 
 BUKKK. 
 X
 
 306 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 have passed through a life without growing 
 rich, he may, by his labour, have contributed 
 to make others so ; though he could not pursue 
 the road to affluence himself, he may have been 
 the means of directing others to find it. 
 
 The number of persons depending upon this 
 weekly charity in Birmingham were, April 14, 
 1781, about 5,240, and at Easter 1817, 22,448. 
 
 Whether the mode of distributing the bounty 
 of the community is agreeable to the intentions 
 of legislature, or the ideas of humanity, is a 
 doubt ; for in some parishes the unfortunate 
 paupers have the additional misery of being 
 sold to a mercenary wretch to starve upon 
 twelve-pence a head. It is matter of surprise 
 that the magistrate should wink at this cruelty ; 
 but it is a matter of pleasure, that no accusation 
 comes within the verge of my historical remarks; 
 for the wretched of Birmingham are not made 
 more so by ill treatment, but meet with a kind- 
 ness acceptable to distress. One would think 
 that situation could not be despicable, which is 
 often wished for, and often sought, that of be- 
 coming one of the poor of Birmingham. 
 
 We cannot be conversant in parochial busi- 
 ness, without observing a littleness predomi- 
 nant in most parishes, that of using every 
 finesse to relieve themselves of paupers, and 
 throw them upon others. Thus the oppressed, 
 like the child between two fathers, is supported 
 by neither.
 
 WORKHOUSE. 307 
 
 There is also an enormity, which, though 
 agreeable to law, can never be justified by the 
 rules of equity That a man should spend the 
 principal part of his life in a parish ; add wealth 
 to it by his labour ; form connexions in it ; 
 bring up a family, which all belong to it ; but, 
 having never gained a settlement himself, should 
 in old age be removed by an order, to perish 
 among strangers. In I768, a small property 
 fell into my hands, situated in a neighbouring 
 village ; I found the tenant had entered upon 
 the premises at the age of twenty-two ; that he 
 had resided upon them, with poverty and a fair 
 character, during the long space of forty-six 
 years. I told him he was welcome to spend the 
 residue of his life upon the spot gratis. He 
 continued there ten years after, when finding 
 an inability to procure support from labour, 
 and meeting with no assistance from the parish 
 in which he had been resident for an age, he 
 resigned the place with tears, after an occupa- 
 tion of fifty-six years, and was obliged to recoil 
 upon his own parish, about twelve miles dis- 
 tant, to be farmed with the rest of the poor; 
 and where, he afterwards assured me, " They 
 were murdering him by inches." Hut no com- 
 plaint of this ungrateful kind lies against that 
 people whose character I draw. 
 
 Perhaps it may be a wise measure, in a place 
 like Birmingham, where the manufactures flou- 
 
 x 2
 
 S08 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 rish in continual sunshine, not to be over strict 
 with regard to removals. Though it may be 
 burdensome to support the poor of another 
 parish, yet perhaps it is the least of two evils. 
 To remove old age which has spent a life 
 amongst us, is ungenerous ; to remove tem- 
 porary sickness, is injurious to trade ; and to 
 remove infancy is impolitic, being upon the 
 verge of accommodating the town with a life of 
 labour. It may be more prudent to remove a 
 rascal than a pauper. Forty pounds has been 
 spent in removing a family, which would not 
 otherwise have cost forty shillings, and whose 
 future industry might have added many times 
 that sum to the common capital. The highest 
 pitch of charity is that of directing inability 
 to support itself. Idleness suits no part of a 
 people, neither does it find a place here ; every 
 individual ought to contribute to the general 
 benefit, by his head or his hands. If he have 
 arrived at the western verge of life, when the 
 powers of usefulness decline, let him repose 
 upon his fortune ; if no such thing exist, let 
 him rest upon his friends; and if this prop fail, 
 let the public nurse him with a tenderness be- 
 coming humanity. 
 
 We may observe, that the manufactures, the 
 laborious part of mankind, the poor's rates, and 
 the number of paupers, will everlastingly go 
 hand in hand; they will increase and decrease
 
 WORKHOUSE. 30{) 
 
 together ; we cannot annihilate one, but the 
 others will follow, and, odd as the expression 
 may sound, we become rich by payment and 
 poverty. If we discharge the poor, who shall 
 act the laborious part ? Stop the going out of 
 one shilling, and it will prevent the coming 
 in of two. 
 
 At the introduction of the poor's laws, under 
 Elizabeth, two-pence halfpenny in the pound 
 rent was collected every fortnight, for future 
 support. Time has since made an alteration 
 in the system, which is now six-pence in the 
 pound, and collected as often as found necessary. 
 
 As the overseers are generally people of pro- 
 perty, payment in advance is not scrupulously 
 observed. It was customary at the beginning 
 of this admirable system of jurisprudence, to 
 constitute two overseers in each parish ; but 
 the magnitude of Birmingham pleaded for four, 
 which continued till the year 17-0, when a fifth 
 was established. In 17^9 they were augmented 
 to half a dozen ; the wishes of some, who are 
 frighted at office, rise to the word dozeji, a 
 number very familiar in the Birmingham art 
 of reckoning ; but let it be remembered, that a 
 vestry rilled with overseers, is not calculated 
 for the meridian of business ; that the larger 
 the body, the slower the motion ; and that the 
 time and the necessities of the poor demand 
 dispatch.
 
 3l0 HISTORY Or BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 From the annual disbursements in assisting 
 the poor, which I shall here exhibit from un- 
 doubted evidence, the curious will draw some 
 useful lessons respecting the increase of manu- 
 factures, of population, and of property. 
 
 No memoirs are found prior to I676. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Disbursed. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Disbursed. 
 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 A 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 1676 
 
 338 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 1697 
 
 447 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 1677 
 
 347 
 
 9 
 
 10| 
 
 1698 
 
 512 
 
 18 
 
 Gi- 
 
 I678 
 
 398 
 
 8 
 
 04- 
 
 1699 
 
 594 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 1679 
 
 308 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 1700 
 
 664 
 
 2 
 
 4i 
 
 *2 
 
 168O 
 
 349 
 
 19 
 
 * 
 
 1701 
 
 495 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 1681 
 
 364 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1702 
 
 413 
 
 14 
 
 i 
 
 1682 
 
 337 
 
 2 
 
 K 
 
 1703 
 
 476 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 
 1683 
 
 410 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 1704 
 
 555 
 
 11 
 
 ni 
 
 1684 
 
 451 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1705 
 
 510 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 1685 
 
 324 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 1706 
 
 544 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 1686 
 
 338 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 1707 
 
 609 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 1687 
 
 343 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 17O8 
 
 651 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 1688 
 
 309 
 
 3 
 
 7- 
 
 '4 
 
 1709 
 
 758 
 
 15 
 
 2^ 
 
 -*2 
 
 1689 
 
 395 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 1710 
 
 960 
 
 8 
 
 i 
 
 1690 
 
 399 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 1711 
 
 1059 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1691 
 
 354 
 
 4 
 
 10J 
 
 1712 
 
 739 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 1692 
 
 360 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1713 
 
 686 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 1693 
 
 381 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 *2 
 
 1714 
 
 740 
 
 9 
 
 0| 
 
 1694 
 
 431 
 
 1 
 
 7-L 
 
 '2 
 
 1715 
 
 718 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1695 
 
 456 
 
 
 
 7* 
 
 1716 
 
 786 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 1696 
 
 402 
 
 3 
 
 6* 
 
 1717 
 
 770 
 
 7 
 
 H
 
 
 
 
 WORKHOUSE, 
 
 
 
 311 
 
 Year. 
 
 Dis 
 
 ibursed. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Dis 
 
 bursed 
 
 
 A 
 
 S. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 <. 
 
 S. 
 
 d. 
 
 1718 
 
 765 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 1766 
 
 4716 
 
 2 
 
 io| 
 
 1719 
 
 1094 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 1767 
 
 4940 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1720 
 
 950 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 1768 
 
 4798' 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 17^1 
 
 1036 
 
 1 
 
 5i 
 
 1769 
 
 5082 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 1722. 
 
 941 
 
 6 
 
 si 
 
 1770 
 
 5125 
 
 13 
 
 2-^ 
 ^4 
 
 1739 
 
 678 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 1771 
 
 6132 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 1740 
 
 938 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 1772 
 
 6139 
 
 6 
 
 5i 
 
 1742 
 
 888 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 1773 
 
 5584 
 
 18 
 
 8i 
 
 1743 
 
 799 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 1774 
 
 6115 
 
 17 
 
 11 
 
 1744 
 
 851 
 
 12 
 
 5 X 
 
 1775 
 
 6509 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 1745 
 
 746 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 1776 
 
 5203 
 
 4 
 
 94 
 
 1746 
 
 1003 
 
 14 
 
 ox 
 
 < ; 2 
 
 1777 
 
 6012 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 1747 
 
 1071 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 1778 
 
 6866 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 1748 
 
 1175 
 
 8 
 
 '2 
 
 1779 
 
 8081 
 
 19 
 
 7i 
 
 1749 
 
 1132 
 
 11 
 
 n 
 
 178O 
 
 9910 
 
 4 
 
 nj 
 
 1750 
 
 1167 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 1781 
 
 11605 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 1751 
 
 1352 
 
 
 
 8* 
 
 1782 
 
 10943 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 1752 
 
 1355 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 1783 
 
 13744 
 
 5 
 
 *i 
 
 1756 
 
 3255 
 
 18 
 
 3* 
 
 1784 
 
 13103 
 
 2 
 
 ^i 
 
 1757 
 
 3402 
 
 7 
 
 n 
 
 1785 
 
 11569 
 
 11 
 
 5J 
 
 1758 
 
 3306 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 1786 
 
 11860 
 
 17 
 
 2| 
 
 1759 
 
 2708 
 
 9 
 
 54 
 
 1787 
 
 11132 
 
 16 
 
 9i 
 
 1760 
 
 3221 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 1788 
 
 11823 
 
 17 
 
 H 
 
 1761 
 
 2935 
 
 4 
 
 'i 
 
 1789 
 
 14714 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 1762 
 
 3078 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 1790 
 
 16035 
 
 15 
 
 n| 
 
 1763 
 
 3330 
 
 13 
 
 Hi 
 
 1791 
 
 1601O 
 
 13 
 
 * 
 
 1764 
 
 3963 
 
 11 
 
 oi 
 
 1792 
 
 12976 
 
 2 
 
 3i 
 
 17C5 3884 18 9 1793 14067 7 2 J
 
 312 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Disbursed. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Disbursed. 
 
 
 A . 
 
 d. 
 
 
 A s. 
 
 d. 
 
 1794 
 
 2l46l 16 
 
 ~4 
 
 1811 
 
 20957 12 
 
 5 
 
 1795 
 
 20732 9 
 
 ~2 
 
 1812 
 
 33026 17 
 
 5 
 
 1796 
 
 24050 14 
 
 ii 
 
 I8l3 
 
 41957 10 
 
 H 
 
 1806 
 
 19136 18 
 
 2 
 
 1814 
 
 36943 19 
 
 ui 
 
 1807 
 
 22632 7 
 
 1 
 
 1815 
 
 55674 17 
 
 n 
 
 1808 
 
 21758 10 
 
 10 
 
 1816 
 
 41418 17 
 
 10 
 
 1809 
 
 18606 1 
 
 1 
 
 1817 
 
 52735 19 
 
 4 
 
 1810 
 
 21856 8 
 
 9 
 
 1818* 
 
 61928 3 
 
 n 
 
 On the 11 th of April 1817, the weekly pay- 
 ment to the out poor amounted to ^.851 17*. 
 \0d. In the following month there were 941 
 paupers in the workhouse. 
 
 In the year 1817 was collected for the poor 
 of Birmingham, 
 
 & *. d. 
 
 Parish rate, as above - 52,735 19 4 
 
 Subscription for soup, &c. 5,500 
 
 * This was a state of the town of Birmingham, which the 
 author of its history had not in contemplation, when he said 
 that the manufactures and the poor's rates would increase 
 and decrease together. When this observation was made, 
 the poor had always found employment ; and in proportion 
 to the number employed must have been the demands of in- 
 fancy, sickness and age. The state of Birmingham in the 
 year 1817 could not have been anticipated 3 nearly all its 
 artizans destitute of employment, and compelled to throw 
 themselves and their families, an insupportable burthen on 
 the parish. In 1818, Birmingham contained about 18,000 
 houses, and only about 4,000 of these paid the various paro- 
 chial rates.
 
 WORKHOUSE. 313 
 
 ,. s. d. 
 
 Subscription for Hospital - 1,450 1 
 
 Profits of the Musical Fes- 
 tival - - - 4,296 10 10 
 
 Subscriptions and dona- 
 tions for Dispensary - 888 13 10 
 
 Subscriptions for Deaf and 
 
 Dumb - 668 
 
 Subscriptions for Bodily 
 
 Deformitv. - - 250 19 
 
 ^.65,790 4 
 
 In this sum are not included the donations to 
 the hospital, nor to the institutions for the in- 
 struction of the Deaf and Dumb, and relief of 
 Bodily Deformity ; and in addition to these, 
 10,470 persons, of whom 970 were children, 
 and 500 adults, received gratuitous instruction 
 in the different schools supported by the Esta- 
 blished Church, the Dissenters, and the Me- 
 thodists. A great proportion of these were of 
 the last denomination. 
 
 We cannot pass through this spacious edifice, 
 the workhouse, without being pleased with its 
 internal (economy ; order influences the whole, 
 nor can the cleanliness be exceeded ; but I am 
 extremely concerned that I cannot pass through 
 without complaint. There are evils in common
 
 314 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 life which admit of no remedy; but there are 
 very few which may not be lessened by prudence. 
 The modes of nursing infancy in this little do- 
 minion of poverty are truly defective. It is to 
 be feared the method intended to train up inha- 
 bitants for the earth, annually supplies the re- 
 gions of the grave. Why is so little attention 
 paid to the generation which is to tread the 
 stage after us? as if we suffered it to be cut off 
 that we might keep possession for ever. The 
 unfortunate orphan whom none will own, none 
 will regard distress, in whatever form it ap- 
 pears, should excite compassion, but particu- 
 larly in the helpless. Whoever puts an infant 
 into the arms of decrepid old age, passes upon it 
 a sentence of death, and fortunate is that infant 
 who finds a reprieve. The tender sprig is not 
 likely to prosper under the influence of the tree 
 which attracts its nurture, and applies that nur- 
 ture to itself, where the calls occasioned by de- 
 cay are the most powerful. An old woman and 
 a sprightly nurse are characters as opposite 
 as the antipodes. If we could but exercise 
 a proper care during the first two years, the 
 child would afterwards nurse itself; there is not 
 a more active animal in the creation ; no part 
 of its time, while awake, is unemployed. Why 
 then do we invert nature, and confine an ani- 
 mal which is designed for action to still life, in 
 what is called a school ? We cannot with indif-
 
 WORKHOUSE. 315 
 
 ference behold infants crowded into a room by 
 the hundred, commanded perhaps by some dis- 
 banded soldier, termed a school-master, who 
 having changed the sword for the rod, conti- 
 nues much inclined to draw blood with his 
 arms ; where every individual not only re- 
 breathes his own air, but that of another. The 
 whole assembly is composed of the feeble, the 
 afflicted, the maimed, and the orphan ; the re- 
 sult of whose confinement is a sallow aspect, 
 and a sickly frame ; but the paltry grains of 
 knowledge gleaned up by the child in this bar- 
 ren field of learning, will never profit him two- 
 pence in future ; whereas, if we could introduce 
 a robust habit, he would one day be a treasure 
 to the community, and a greater to himself. 
 Till he is initiated into labour, a good founda- 
 tion for health may be laid in air and exercise. 
 Whenever I see half a dozen of these forlorn in- 
 nocents quartered upon a farm house, a group 
 of them taking the air under the conduct of an 
 aged man, or marshalled in rank and file to 
 attend public worship, 1 consider the overseer 
 who directed it, as possessed of tender feelings. 
 Their orderly attire and simplicity of manners, 
 convey a degree of pleasure to the mind, and I 
 behold in them the future support, of that com- 
 mercial interest, upon which they now lie as a 
 burthen. 
 
 If I have dwelt long upon the little part of
 
 3l() HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 our species, let it plead my excuse to say, I 
 cannot view a human being, however diminutive 
 in stature, or oppressed in fortune, without 
 considering that / view an equal. 
 
 WORKHOUSE BILL. 
 
 I have often mentioned an active spirit as the 
 characteristic of the inhabitants of Birmingham. 
 The spirit never forsakes them. It displays it- 
 self in industry, commerce, invention, and in- 
 ternal government. A singular vivacity attends 
 every pursuit till completed, or discarded for a 
 second. The bubble of the day, like that at 
 the end of a tobacco-pipe, dances in air, ex- 
 hibits divers beauties, pleases the eye, bursts in 
 a moment, and is followed by another. 
 
 There is no place in the British dominions 
 easier to be governed than Birmingham, and 
 yet we are fond of forging acts of parliament to 
 govern her. 
 
 There is seldom a point of time in which an 
 act is not in agitation ; we fabricate them with 
 such expedition, that we could employ a par- 
 liament of our own to pass them. But, to the 
 honour of our ladies, not one of these acts is 
 directed against them. Neither is there an in- 
 stance upon record, that the torch of Hymen
 
 WORKHOUSE BILL. 3 17 
 
 was ever extinguished by the breath of Doctors 
 Commons. 
 
 In the spring of 1783, we had four acts upon 
 the anvil. Every man of the least consequence 
 becomes a legislator, and wishes to lend his as- 
 sistance in framing an act ; so that instead of 
 one lord, as formerly, we now, like the Philis- 
 tines, have three thousand. 
 
 An act of parliament, abstractedly consi- 
 dered, is a dead matter ; it cannot operate of 
 itself. Like a plaster, it must be applied to the 
 evil, or that evil will remain. We vainly ex- 
 pect a law to perform the intended work ; if it 
 does not, we procure another to make it. Thus 
 the canal, by one act in 17^7> hobbled on, like 
 a man with one leg ; but a second, in 1770, 
 furnished a pair. The lamp and street act, 
 procured in 17^9, was worn to rags, and mended 
 with another in 1?7^; this was patched with a 
 third in l80l, which having been long out of 
 repair, in 1812 was botched by a fourth. 
 
 We carry the same spirit into our bye-laws, 
 and with the same success. Schemes have been 
 devised, to oblige every man to pay levies ; but 
 it was found difficult to extract money from him 
 who had none. 
 
 In 17<54, we brought the manufacture of 
 packthread into the workhouse, to reduce the 
 levies; the levies increased. A spirited over- 
 seer afterwards, for the same reason, as if po-
 
 3lS HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 verty were not a sufficient stigma, badged the 
 poor. The levies increased. 
 
 The advance of bread in 17<56, induced the 
 officers to step out of the common track, per- 
 haps out of their knowledge ; and, at the ex- 
 pence of half a levy, to fit up an apparatus for 
 grinding corn in the house. Thus, by sacri- 
 ficing half one levy, many would be saved. 
 However, in the pursuit, many happened to be 
 lost. In 17^1? the apparatus was sold at a far- 
 ther loss, and the overseers sheltered them- 
 selves under the charge of idleness against the 
 paupers. 
 
 In 1766, the spinning of mop-yarn was 
 introduced, which might, with attention, have 
 turned to account ; but unfortunately the yarn 
 proved of less value than the wool. 
 
 Others, with equal wisdom, were to ease the 
 levies by feeding a drove of pigs, which, agree- 
 able to their own nature, ran backwards ; rent- 
 ing a piece of ground, by way of garden, which 
 supplied the house with a pennyworth of vege- 
 tables for two-pence, adding a few cows and a 
 pasture ; but as the end of all was loss, the levies 
 increased. 
 
 In 1780, two collectors were appointed, at 
 fifty guineas each, which would save the town 
 many hundreds ; still the levies increased. 
 
 A petition was presented in 1790, for an act 
 to overturn the whole pauper system (for our
 
 WORKHOUSE BILL. 3l9 
 
 heads are as fond of new fashions in parochial 
 government, as in the hats which cover them) 
 to erect a superb workhouse, at the expence of 
 ^.10,000, with powers to borrow ^.15,000, 
 which grand design was to reduce the levies one 
 third. The levies will increase. 
 
 The reasons openly alleged were, " That 
 the out-pensioners, which cost ,^.7,000 a year, 
 were the chief foundation of our public griev- 
 ances ; that the poor ought to be employed in 
 the house, lest their morals become injured by 
 the shops, which would prevent them from be- 
 ing taken into family service ; and the crowded 
 
 state of the workhouse/' But is not the 
 
 pride of an overseer, in perpetuating his name, 
 the pendulum which set the machine in mo- 
 tion ? and may not a man, as well as a spider, 
 create a place, and, like that -Jill it with him- 
 self? 
 
 The bill directs, That the inhabitants shall 
 choose a number of guardians by ballot, who 
 shall erect a workhouse on Birmingham Heath ; 
 a spot as airy as the scheme ; conduct a ma- 
 nufacture, and the poor ; dispose of the present 
 workhouse ; seize and confine idle or disorderly 
 persons, and keep them to labour till they have 
 reimbursed the parish all expences. 
 
 But it may be asked, whether spending 
 jg.15,000 is likely to reduce the levies? Whe-
 
 320 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ther we shall be laughed at for throwing by 
 a building, the last wing of which cost a 
 thousand pounds, after using it only three 
 years ? 
 
 Our commerce is carried on by reciprocal 
 obligation. Every overseer has his friends, 
 whom he cannot refuse to serve ; nay, whom 
 he may even wish to serve, if that service cost 
 him nothing. Hence that overgrown monster 
 so justly complained of, The Weekly Ticket^ 
 entitling the holder to a certain sum. It may 
 be asked whether sixty guardians are not likely 
 to have more friends to serve than six overseers ? 
 Whether the trades of the town, by a consi- 
 derable manufacture established at the work- 
 house, will not be deprived of their most useful 
 hands? Whether it be not a maxim of the wisest 
 men who have filled the office, " to endeavour to 
 keep the poor out of the house ?" for if they are 
 admitted, they become more chargeable ; nor 
 will they leave it without clothing. 
 
 A workhouse is a kind of prison, and a dread- 
 ful one to those of tender feelings. Would not 
 the health of an individual, the ideas of recti- 
 tude, or the natural right of our species, be in- 
 fringed by a cruel imprisonment ? 
 
 If a man has followed an occupation forty 
 years, and necessity sends him to the parish, 
 is it preferable to teach him a new trade, or
 
 WORKHOUSE BILL. 321 
 
 suffer him to earn what he can at his old ? If 
 we decide for the latter, had he better walk 
 four hundred yards to business, or four miles? 
 His own infirmity will determine this question. 
 
 If a young widow be left with two children, 
 shall she pay a girl sixpence a week to attend 
 them, while she earns five shillings at the shops, 
 and be allowed two by the parish ? or shall all 
 three reside in the house, at the weekly ex- 
 pence of six, and she be employed in nursing 
 them ? If we declare for the former, it follows, 
 that the parish will not only save four shillings 
 a week, but the community may gain three 
 shillings by her labour. 
 
 Are the morals of the children more likely to 
 be injured by the shops, than the morals of half 
 the children in town ; many of whom labour to 
 procure levies for the workhouse ? 
 
 Will the morals of a child be more corrupted 
 in a small shop, consisting of a few persons, or 
 in a large one at the workhouse, consisting of 
 hundreds ? Will the grand shop at Birming- 
 ham Heath train girls for service preferable to 
 others? Shall we, because the house has been 
 crowded a few weeks, throw away ^.15,000, fol- 
 lowed by a train of evils? A few months ago I 
 saw in it a large number of vacant beds. Be- 
 sides, at a small expence, and without impeding 
 the circulation of air, convenience maybe made 
 for one hundred more. 
 
 v
 
 8S2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Did a manufacture ever prosper under a mul- 
 titude of inspectors, not one of whom was to 
 derive the least benefit from it ? 
 
 As public business, which admits no profit, 
 such as vestry assemblies, commissions of streets 
 and lamps, turnpike meetings, &c. are thinly 
 attended, even in the town, is there reason to 
 expect a board two miles in the country? 
 
 The workhouse may be deemed The Nursery 
 of Birmingham, in which she deposits her in- 
 fants for future service : the unfortunate and 
 the idle, till they can be set upon their own 
 basis; and the decrepid, during the few remain- 
 ing sands in their glass. If we therefore carry 
 the workhouse to a distance, shall we not inter- 
 rupt that necessary intercourse which ought to 
 subsist between a mother and her offspring? 
 As sudden sickness, indications of child-birth, 
 Sec. require immediate assistance, a life in ex- 
 treme danger may chance to be lost by the 
 length of the road. 
 
 If we keep the disorderly till they have reim- 
 bursed the parish, do we not acquire an inheri- 
 tance for life. 
 
 We censure the officer who pursues a phan- 
 tom at the expence of others ; we praise him 
 who teaches the poor to live. 
 
 All the evils complained of, may be removed 
 by attention in the man ; the remedy is not in 
 an act. He therefore accuses his own want of
 
 WORKHOUSE BILL. 323 
 
 application, in soliciting government to do what 
 he might do himself. Expences are saved by 
 private acts of economy, not by public acts of 
 parliament. 
 
 It has long been said, think and act; but as 
 our internal legislators chuse to reverse the 
 maxim by fitting up an extensive shop ; and 
 then seeking a trade to bring in, perhaps they 
 may place over the grand entrance, act and 
 think. 
 
 One remark should never be lost sight of, 
 the more ire tax the inhabitants, the sooner tlvey 
 will leave us. and carry off the trades. 
 
 OLD CROSs. 
 
 So called, because prior to the Welsh cross ; 
 tion of this last, it was simply 
 called, :ross. 
 
 The u; : the market cross is very ancient, 
 thou: i ..-.-.. : - this began 
 
 ith .'-..' ' 
 
 Christianitv first a Britain under 
 
 the Romans: but - t sixth century, under 
 
 Sa> _ imment. it ;de such an 
 
 man seemed to be 
 it a christian, but it was uni 
 v to have been a zealou> one. The
 
 S24 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 cross of Christ was frequently mentioned in 
 conversation, and afterwards became an oath. 
 It was hackneyed about the streets, sometimes 
 in the pocket, or about the neck ; sometimes it 
 was fixed upon the church, which we see at this 
 day, and always hoisted to the top of the steeple. 
 The rudiments of learning began with the cross; 
 hence it stands to this moment as a frontispiece 
 to the battledore, and the alphabet bears its 
 name. 
 
 This important article of religion was thought 
 to answer two valuable purposes, that of collect- 
 ing the people, and containing a charm against 
 ghosts, evil spirits, &c. with the idea of which 
 that age was much infested. To accomplish 
 these desirable ends, it was blended with the 
 common actions of life, and at that period it 
 entered the market place. A few circular 
 steps, from the centre of which issued an ele- 
 vated pillar, terminating in a cross, was the 
 general fashion throughout the kingdom ; and 
 perhaps our Vulcanian ancestors knew no other 
 for twelve hundred years, this being renewed 
 about once every century, till the year 1702, 
 when the old cross was erected, at the expence 
 of 80/. 9*. Id. This was the first upon that 
 spot ever honoured with a roof: the under part 
 was found a useful shelter for the market people. 
 The room over it was designed for the court 
 leet, and other public business, which, during
 
 OLD CROSS. 325 
 
 the residence of the lords upon the manor, 
 had been transacted in one of their detached 
 apartments ; but after the removal of the lords, 
 in 1537, the business was done in the Leather- 
 hall, which occupied the whole east end of 
 New-street, (a covered gateway of twelve feet 
 excepted,) and afterwards it was done in the 
 Old cross. 
 
 This building was taken down in August 
 1784, and the inhabitants had the pleasure of 
 sleeping over public business in a private bed- 
 chamber. 
 
 The materials were sold for ^.60, and the 
 clock for ^g.10. 
 
 WELCH CROSS. 
 
 If a reader, fond of antiquity, should object 
 to my having comprised the Ancient state of 
 Birmingham in too small a compass, and think 
 I ought to have extended it beyond the 239th 
 page I answer, when a man has not much to 
 say, he ought to be hissed out of authorship, if 
 he picks the pocket of his friend by saying 
 much ; but antiquity does not end with that 
 page ; for in some of the chapters I have led 
 him through the mazes of time, to present him 
 with a modern prospect.
 
 326 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 In erecting a new building, we generally use 
 the few materials of the old as far as they will 
 extend. Birmingham may be considered as one 
 vast and modern edifice, of which the ancient 
 materials make but a very small part ; the ex T 
 tensive new seems to surround the minute old, 
 as if to protect it. 
 
 Upon the spot where the Welch Cross now 
 stands, probably stood a guide post, to direct 
 the stranger that could read (for there were not 
 many) the roads to Wolverhampton and Lich- 
 field. 
 
 Though the ancient post and the modern 
 cross, might succeed each other, yet this diffe- 
 rence was between them, one stood at a dis- 
 tance from the town, the other stands near 
 its centre. 
 
 By some antique writings it appears, that 200 
 years ago this spot bore the name of the Welch 
 End, perhaps from the number of Welch in its 
 neighbourhood, or rather from its being the 
 great road to that principality, and it was at that 
 time the extremity of the town, a few houses 
 excepted. This is corroborated by a circum- 
 stance I have twice mentioned already, that 
 when Birmingham unfortunately fell under the 
 frowns of Prince Rupert, and he determined to 
 reduce it to ashes, for succouring an enemy, it 
 is reasonable to suppose he began at the ex- 
 terior, which was then in Bull-street, about 
 twelve houses above the cross.
 
 WELCH CROSS. 327 
 
 If we were ignorant of the date of this cross, 
 the style of the building itself would inform us 
 that it rose in the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century, and was designed, as population in- 
 creased, for a Saturday market : yet, although 
 it was used in some degree for that purpose, 
 the people never heartily adopted the measure. 
 
 In a town like Birmingham, a commodious 
 market-place, for we have nothing that bears 
 the name, would be extremely useful. Efforts 
 were used to make one, of a large area, late a 
 bowling-green, in Corbet's-alley ; and some 
 other places have been mentioned ; but I am 
 persuaded the market people would surfer the 
 grass to grow in it as peaceably as in their own 
 fields. We are not easily drawn from ancient 
 custom, except by interest. 
 
 For want of a convenient place where the 
 sellers may be collected into one point, they 
 are scattered in various parts of the town. 
 Corn is sold by sample in the Bull-ring; and 
 the eatable productions of the garden, in the 
 same place. Butchers' stalls occupied Spiceal- 
 street ; one would think a narrow street was 
 preferred, that no customer should be suffered 
 to pass by: flowers, shrubs, kc. the ends of 
 Philip-street and Moor-street; beds of earthen- 
 ware lay in the middle of the foot-ways ; and a 
 double range of insignificant stalls, in the front 
 of the shambles, choked up the passage. The
 
 328 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 cattle-market was kept in Dale-end ; that for 
 pigs, sheep, and horses, in New-street ; cheese 
 issued from one of our principal inns, and after- 
 wards from an open yard in Dale-end; fruit, 
 fowls, and butter, were sold at the Old Cross ; 
 nay, it is difficult to mention a place where they 
 were not. We may observe, if a man has an 
 article to sell which another wants to buy, they 
 will quickly find each other out. 
 
 Though the market-inconveniences are great, 
 a man seldom brings a commodity for the sup- 
 port of life, or of luxury, and returns without 
 a customer. Yet even this crowded state of the 
 market, dangerous to the feeble, has its advan- 
 tages. Much business is transacted in a little 
 time j the first customer is obliged to use dis- 
 patch, before he is jostled out by a second. 
 To stand all the day idle in the Market place, is 
 not known among us. 
 
 An attempt has been made to remedy this 
 inconvenience. The whole range of shambles, 
 with all the houses on the north of Spiceal- 
 street, the west side of the Bull-ring and Corn- 
 cheaping, about thirty in number, have been 
 swept away. In 1809 the statue of the hero 
 Nelson, in bronze, was placed in the centre. 
 It is surprising the square was not fixed upon ; 
 as the figure might have been viewed to greater 
 advantage there than on the side of a steep hill, 
 and surrounded with nocturnal filth. This
 
 WELCH CROSS. CATTLE-MARKET. 329 
 
 statue was raised by voluntary contribution, and 
 executed by Westmacott, who was paid ^.^500. 
 The pedestal, palisades, lamps, &c. cost five 
 hundred more. 
 
 The upper room of the Welch Cross was ap- 
 propriated for a military guard-house. We find, 
 December 16, 1723, an order made at a public 
 meeting, that " A guard-house should be erect- 
 ed in a convenient part of the town, because 
 neither of the crosses were eligible." But this 
 old order, like some of the new, was never car- 
 ried into execution. As no complaint lay against 
 the cross in our time, we may suppose it suit- 
 able for the purpose ; and I knew none but its 
 prisoners that would pronounce against it. This 
 cross was taken down in 1803. 
 
 CATTLE MARKET. 
 
 At the Whitsuntide fair 181 r / the site of the 
 ancient manor-house and moat was first opened 
 as a market for cattle. It is spacious and con- 
 venient ; so well laid out and executed that the 
 architect received the thanks of his employers, 
 the commissioners of the Street act. 
 
 The land and premises cost ,.3223, and the 
 building and paving j.24<i-9.
 
 330 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 SAINT MARTIN S. 
 
 It has been remarked, that the antiquity of 
 this church is too remote for historical light. 
 The curious records of those dark ages, not be- 
 ing multiplied and preserved by the art of print- 
 ing, have fallen a prey to time and the revolu- 
 tion of things. There is reason for fixing the 
 foundation in the eighth century, perhaps rather 
 sooner, and it then was at a small distance from 
 the buildings. The town stood upon the hill ; 
 its centre was the Old Cross ; consequently the 
 ring of houses that now surrounds the church, 
 from the bottom of Edgbaston-street, part of 
 Spiceal-street, the Bull-ring, Corn-cheaping, 
 and St. Martin's-lane, could not exist. 
 
 I am inclined to think that the precincts of St. 
 Martin's have undergone a mutilation, and that 
 the place which has obtained the modern name 
 of Bull-ring, and which is used as a market for 
 corn and vegetables, was once an appropriation 
 of the church, though not used for interment ; 
 because the church is evidently calculated for a 
 town of some size, to which the present church- 
 yard no way agrees, being so extremely small 
 that the ancient dead must have been continu- 
 ally disturbed, to make way for the modern ;
 
 ST. MARTIN S. 331 
 
 that little spot having been their only receptacle 
 for 900 years. A son not only succeeded his 
 father in the possession of his property and ha- 
 bitation, but also in the grave, where he could 
 scarcely enter without expelling half a dozen of 
 his ancestors. 
 
 The antiquity of St. Martin's will appear by 
 surveying the adjacent ground. From the emi- 
 nence upon which the High-street stands, pro- 
 ceeds a steep and regular descent into Moor- 
 street, Digbetli, down Spiceal-street, Lee's-lane, 
 and Worcester-street. This descent is broken 
 only by the church-yard, which, through a long 
 course of interment for ages, is augmented into 
 a considerable hill, chiefly composed of the re- 
 fuse of life. We may, therefore, safely remark, 
 in this place, the dead are raised up. Nor shall 
 we be surprised at the rapid growth of the hill, 
 when we consider this little point of land was 
 alone that hungry grave which devoured the 
 whole inhabitants, during the long ages of exis- 
 tence, till the year 1715, when St. Philip's was 
 opened. The curious observer will easily dis- 
 cover that the fabric has lost the symmetry 
 which should ever attend architecture, by the 
 growth of the soil about it, causing a low ap- 
 appearance in the building, so that instead of 
 the church burying the dead, the dead would, 
 in Lime, have buried the church, it is reason- 
 able to allow, that the original approach into
 
 332 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 this edifice was by a flight of steps, not by de- 
 scent, as is the present case; and that the 
 church-yard was surrounded by a low wall. As 
 the ground swelled by the accumulation of the 
 dead, wall after wall was added to support the 
 growing soil. Thus the fence and the hill sprang 
 up together. This was demonstrated, August 
 27, 1781, when, in removing two or three old 
 houses to widen St. Martin's-lane, the workmen 
 took down the church-yard wall, which was 
 fifteen feet high without, and three within. 
 This proved to be only an outward case that 
 covered another wall twelve feet high ; in the 
 front of which was a stone, elevated eight feet, 
 and inscribed, " Robert Dallaway, Francis 
 Burton, Church-wardens, anno dom. (supposed) 
 1310." As there is certain evidence that the 
 church is much older than the above date, we 
 should have suspected there had been another 
 fence many ages prior to this. But it was put 
 beyond a doubt, when the workmen came to a 
 third wall, four feet high, covered with antique 
 coping, probably erected with the fabric itself, 
 which would lead us far back into the Saxon 
 times. 
 
 The removal of the buildings to accommodate 
 the street, the construction of the wall, beauti- 
 fied with palisades, was half an elegant plan, 
 well executed. The whole has since been 
 accomplished. An Act of Parliament was ob-
 
 saint martin's. 333 
 
 tained in 1807 to remove the remainder of the 
 buildings, to continue the line to the bottom of 
 the steps in Spiceal Street, and enlarge the 
 cemetery ; the expence to be paid by an annual 
 levy. To the burying ground was added two 
 acres and a half of land adjoining Park Street, 
 and extending to Bartholomew's Chapel yard. 
 The improvements near the Church cost 
 ^6,000 ; the new cemetery g\,600. 
 
 In the south-east part of the Church-yard 
 wall, covered by the engine-house, upon ano- 
 ther stone, nearly obliterated, is inscribed, John 
 Enser, Richard Higginson, Church-wardens, 
 1709. 
 
 The present church is of stone ; the first upon 
 the premises, and perhaps the oldest building 
 in these parts. 
 
 As the country does not produce stone of a 
 lasting texture, and as the rough blasts of 900 
 years had made inroads upon the fabric, it was 
 thought necessary, in 16*90, to case both church 
 and steeple with brick, except the spire, which 
 is an elegant one. The bricks and the work- 
 manship are excellent. 
 
 The steeple has, within memory, been three 
 times injured by lightning. Forty feet of the 
 spire, in a decayed state, wis taken down and 
 rebuilt in 1^81, with stone from Attleborough, 
 near Nuneaton ; and strengthened by a spindle 
 of iron, running up its centre 105 feet long,
 
 3S& HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 secured to the side walls every ten feet by 
 braces the expence, 16,5/. 16s. 
 
 Inclosed is a ring of twelve musical bells, and 
 though I am not master of the bob-major and 
 triple-grandsire, yet I am well informed the 
 ringers are masters of the bell-rope ; but to 
 excel in Birmingham is not new. 
 
 The pews in the church would have disgraced 
 a meaner parish than that of Birmingham ; one 
 would have been tempted to think, they were 
 the first ever erected upon the spot, without 
 taste or order ; the timber was become hard 
 with age, and to the honour of the inhabitants, 
 bright with use. Each sitting was a private 
 freehold, and was disgraced, like the coffin of 
 a pauper, with the paltry initials of the owner's 
 name. These divine abodes were secured by 
 the coarse padlocks of a field gate. 
 
 By an attentive survey of the seats, we plainly 
 discovered the increasing population of Bir- 
 mingham. When the church was erected, 
 there was doubtless sufficient room for the in- 
 habitants, and it was probably the only place 
 for public worship during 800 years. As the 
 town increased, gallery after gallery was erected, 
 till no space was found for more. Invention 
 was afterwards exerted to augment the number 
 of sittings ; every recess capable only of admit- 
 ting the body of an infant, was converted into 
 a seat, which indicates the continual increase of
 
 SAINT MARTIN'S. 
 
 335 
 
 people, and that a spirit of devotion was preva- 
 lent among them. 
 
 The floor of the church was greatly injured 
 by interment, and the light, by the near ap- 
 proach of the buildings, notwithstanding, in 
 1733, the middle roof of the chancel had been 
 taken off, and the side walls raised about nine 
 feet, to admit a double range of windows. 
 
 Dugdale, who wrote in 1640, gives us twenty- 
 two drawings of arms, in the windows, of those 
 gentry who had connexion with Birmingham. 
 
 10. Freville. 
 
 1. Astley. 
 
 2. Someri. 
 
 3. Ancient Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 4. Ancient Birming- 
 ham, the 2d house. 
 
 5. Seagrcve. 
 
 6. Modern Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 7. Ancient and mo- 
 dern Birminghan, 
 quartered. 
 
 8. Peshale quartering 
 
 Bottetort. 
 
 9. Birmingham im- 
 paling Wyrley. 
 
 These twenty-two coats were in 1781 reduced 
 to three, which were, 
 
 11. Ancient Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 12. Knell. 
 
 13. Fitz- Warren. 
 
 14. Montalt. 
 
 15. Modern Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 l(j. Hampden. 
 17- Burdet. 
 18. Montalt. 
 1<J. Modern Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 20. Beauchamp. 
 
 21. Ferrers. 
 
 22. Latimere.
 
 386 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Number two, in the east window of the chan- 
 cel, Or, two lions passant Azure, the arms of 
 the family of Someri, Lords of Dudley Castle, 
 and superior Lords of Birmingham ; which 
 having been extinct about 480 years, the coat 
 of arms must have been there at least during 
 that period. 
 
 Number three, in the south window of the 
 chancel, Azure, a bend lozenge of Jive points. Or, 
 the ancient arms of the family of Birmingham, 
 which perhaps was 500 years old, as that coat 
 was not used after the days of Edward the First, 
 except in quarterings. 
 
 And number ten, in the north window, Or, 
 a cross indented Gules ; also, Jive Jleurs de lis, 
 the ancient arms of Freville, Lords of Tam- 
 worth, whose ancestor, Mann ion, received a 
 grant of that castle from William the Conqueror, 
 and whose descendant, Lord Viscount Towns- 
 hend, is the present proprietor. Perhaps this 
 coat had been there 400 years ; for the male 
 line of the Freville family was extinct in the 
 reign of Henry the Fourth. 
 
 Under the south window of the chancel, by 
 the door, were two monuments a-breast, of white 
 marble, much injured by the hand of rude time, 
 and more by that of the ruder boys. The left 
 figure, which is very ancient, I take to be 
 William de Birmingham, who was made pri- 
 soner by the French at the siege of Bellegard,
 
 saint martin's. 337 
 
 in the 25th of Edward the First, 1297. He 
 wears a short mantle, w r hich was the dress of 
 that time, and a sword, expressive of the mili- 
 tary order; he also bears a shield with the bend 
 lozenge, which seems never to have been borne 
 after the above date. The right hand figure, 
 which was next the wall, is visibly marked with 
 a much older date, perhaps about the conquest. 
 The effigy does not appear in a military cha- 
 racter, neither did the lords of that period. 
 The value of these ancient relics long claimed 
 the care of the wardens, to preserve them from 
 the injurious hand of the boys, and the foot of 
 the window cleaner, by securing them with a 
 palisade. Even Westminster abbey, famous 
 for departed glory, cannot produce a monu- 
 ment of equal antiquity. 
 
 At the foot of these was another of the same 
 materials, belonging to one of the Marrows, 
 Lords of Birmingham. 
 
 Under the north-east window, was a monu- 
 ment of white marble, belonging to one of the 
 lords of the house of Birmingham ; but this is 
 of modern date compared with the others, per- 
 haps not more than 300 years ; he bearing the 
 parte per pale indented, Or, and Gules. 
 
 This church underwent a thorough alteration 
 in 1786, at the expence of upwards of ^.4,000- 
 The vast number of grave-stones which nearly 
 covered the floor, and the names of the defunct,
 
 3X8 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 with their concise funeral memoirs, were com- 
 mitted to the same oblivion as themselves. The 
 arms, monuments, pews, pulpit, roof, and 
 charities, fell in one general ruin. Nothing 
 was left of this venerable edifice but part of the 
 walls. Even the fine old monuments of the 
 ancient lords, the pride of the church, could 
 barely find a place above ground, and that in 
 the last stage of preservation, the hole under 
 the stairs. With all my powers, I pleaded for 
 the lords and for their arms ; but, although I 
 pleaded without a fee, I was no more regarded 
 than some who plead with one. It is easy to 
 destroy that which can never be restored. 
 
 Upon one of the centre pillars was inscribed : 
 " Here lieth the bodies of William Colmore, 
 gent, who died in 1GO7, and Ann his wife, in 
 1591 : also the body of Henry Willoughby, Esq. 
 father to Frances, wife of William Colmore, 
 now living ; he died 1609." 
 
 NORTH GALLERY. 
 
 John Crowley, in 1709, gave twenty shillings 
 per annum, payable out of the lowermost house 
 in the Priory, to be distributed in bread, in the 
 church, on St. JohnVday, to housekeepers in 
 Birmingham, who receive no pay. 
 
 Joseph Hopkins died in 168S, who gave 
 ^. C 20Q with which an estate was purchased in
 
 saint martin's. 339 
 
 Sutton Coldfield ; the rents to be laid out in 
 coats, gowns, and other relief for the poor of 
 Birmingham ; he also gave <g.200 for the poor 
 of Wednesbury ; ^.200 to distressed quakers ; 
 ^.5 10s. to the poor of Birmingham, and the 
 same sum to those of Wednesbury, at his death. 
 
 SAME GALLERY. 
 
 Whereas the church of St. Martin's, in Bir- 
 mingham, had only 52 ounces of plate in 17OS, 
 for the use of the communion table, it was, by 
 a voluntary subscription of the inhabitants, in- 
 creased to 275 Two flaggons, two cups, two 
 covers and pattens, with cases ; the whole 
 ,.80 l().v. 6d. 
 
 Richard Banner ordered one hundred pounds 
 to be laid out in lands within ten miles of Bir- 
 mingham ; which sum, lying at interest, and 
 other small donations being added, amounted 
 to ^.170 with which an estate at Erdington, 
 value ^.8 10s. per annum, was purchased for 
 the poor of Birmingham. 
 
 Richard Kilcup gave a house and garden at 
 Spark-brook, for the church and poor. 
 
 John Cooper gave a croft for making of love- 
 days (merriments) among Birmingham men. 
 
 William Rixam gave a house in Spiceal-street, 
 No. 20, for the use of the poor, in l.5()8. 
 
 John Ward, in 1.0') l, gave a house and lands 
 in Marston Culey. 
 
 z 2
 
 340 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 William Colmore gave ten shillings per annum, 
 payable out of the house, No. 1, High-street. 
 
 John Shelton gave ten shillings per annum, 
 issuing out of a house occupied by Martin Day. 
 
 Several of the above donations are included in 
 Lench's trust. 
 
 John Peak gave a chest bound with iron for 
 the use of the church ; seemingly about 200 
 years old, and of 200lb. weight. 
 
 Edward Smith gave ^.20 per ann. to the 
 poor in l6l2, and also erected a pulpit. 
 
 John Billingsley, in 1629, gave 26 shillings 
 yearly, chargeable upon a house in Dale End, 
 to be given in bread, by six-pence every Sunday. 
 
 One croft to find bell-ropes. 
 
 Richard Dukesale, in 1630, gave the uten- 
 sils belong to the communion table. 
 
 Barnaby Smith, l633, gave ..20 to be lent 
 to ten poor tradesmen, at the discretion of the 
 church-wardens for two or three years. 
 
 Catharine Roberts, wife of Barnaby Smith, 
 in 1642, gave ,^.20, the interest of which was 
 to be given to the poor the first Friday in 
 Lent. 
 
 John Jennens, 16.51, gave ^.2 10*. for the 
 use of the poor born and living in Birmingham; 
 and also 20s. on St. Thomas's day. 
 
 John Milward gave ^.26 per annum, lying 
 in Bordesley ; one third to the school-master of 
 Birmingham (Free-school); one third to the
 
 SAINT MARTIN'S. t ?41 
 
 Principal of Brazen-nose College, Oxford, for 
 the maintenance of one scholar from Birming- 
 ham or Haverfordwest, and the remainder to 
 the poor. 
 
 Joseph Pemberton gave 40s. per annum, pay- 
 able out of an estate at Tanworth, and 20s. out 
 of an estate in Harbourne. 
 
 Richard Smallbrook gave to the poor of Bir- 
 mingham 10s. per annum, arising out of a salt 
 vat in Droit vvich. 
 
 Robert Whittall gave the pall, or bier cloth. 
 
 Widow Cooper, of the Talbot, No. 20, in 
 High-street, gave one towel and one sheet, to 
 wrap the poor in the grave. 
 
 Mrs. Jennens gave ^.10 per annum to sup- 
 port a lecture, the second and third Thursday 
 in every month. 
 
 The following offspring of charity seems to 
 have expired at its birth, but rose from the 
 dead in 1782, after an interment of fifty-four 
 years. 
 
 The numerous family of Piddock flourished 
 in great opulence for many ages, and though 
 they were not lords of a manor, they were as 
 rich as those who were ; they yet boast, that 
 their ancestors could walk seven miles upon 
 their own land. It sometimes may be prudent, 
 however, to believe only //"//'what a man says; 
 besides, a person with tolerable vigour of limb, 
 might contrive to walk seven miles upon his
 
 342 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 own land, if he had but one acre a lawyer is 
 not the only man who can double. 
 
 Perhaps they were possessed of the northern 
 part of this parish, from Birmingham Heath to 
 Shirland brook, exclusive of many estates in the 
 manors of Smethwick and Oldbury. 
 
 Their decline continued many years, till one 
 of them, in 1771> extinguished their greatness 
 by a single dash of his pen, in selling the last 
 foot of land. I know some of them now in 
 distress. 
 
 William Piddock, in 1728, devised his farm 
 at Winson-green, about nine acres, to his wife 
 Sarah, during life, and at her death, to his ne- 
 phews and executors, William and John Rid- 
 dall, their heirs and assigns for ever, in trust, 
 for educating and putting out poor boys of Bir- 
 mingham ; or other discretional charities in the 
 same parish. 
 
 But William and John wisely considered, that 
 they could not put the money into any pocket 
 sooner than their own ; that as the estate was 
 in the family, it was needless to disturb it; that 
 as the will was not known to the world, there 
 was no necessity to publish it ; and, as it gave 
 them a discretional power of disposal, they 
 might as well consider themselves the poor, for 
 they were both in the parish. 
 
 Matters continued in this torpid state till 
 1782, when a quarrel between the brothers and
 
 saint martin's. 343 
 
 a tenant broke the enchantment, and shewed 
 the actors in real view. 
 
 The officers, in behalf of the town, filed a 
 bill in Chancery, and recovered the dormant 
 property, which was committed in trust to the 
 constables, churchwardens, and overseers of 
 the day. 
 
 In the church is an excellent organ, and in 
 the steeple a set of chimes, which treat us with a 
 fresh tune every day of the week. 
 
 The presentation of St. Martin's was vested 
 in the family of Birmingham until the year 
 1537 ; since which it has passed through 
 the Dudleys, the Crown, the Marrows, the 
 Smiths, and the Tennants. It has lately been 
 purchased by Mr. Ilawkes, who is since dead, 
 and has bequeathed it to his nephews. 
 
 RECTORS. 
 
 1300 Thomas de Hinckley. 
 
 1304- Stephen de Segrave. 
 
 1304 John de Ayleston. 
 
 1330" Robert de Shuteibrd. 
 
 131-9 William de Seggeley. 
 
 13.54 Thomas de Dumbleton. 
 
 1309 Hugh de Wolvcsey. 
 
 1396 Thomas Darnall. 
 
 1412 William Thomas. 
 
 14 14 Richard Slovvthei.
 
 344 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 1428 John Waryn. 
 
 1432 William Hyde. 
 
 1433 John Armstrong. 
 1433 John Wardale. 
 1436 Henry Cymon. 
 1444 Humphrey Jurdan. 
 1504 Richard Sutton. 
 1536 Richard Myddlemore. 
 1544 William Wrixam. 
 1578 Luke Smith. 
 
 Thus Jar Dugdale. 
 
 Smith. 
 
 1641 Samuel Wills. 
 
 1654 Slater. 
 
 1660 John Riland. 
 
 1672 Henry Grove. 
 
 William Daggett. 
 
 Green. 
 
 Thomas Tyrer. 
 
 1732 Richard Dovey. 
 
 1771 Chase. 
 
 1772 John Parsons. 
 
 1779 William Hinton, D.D. 
 1781 Charles Curtis. 
 
 During Cromwell's government, Slater, 
 
 a broken apothecary of this place, having been 
 unsuccessful in curing the body, resolved to 
 attempt curing the soul. He therefore, to re-
 
 saint martin's. 345 
 
 pair his misfortunes, assumed the clerical cha- 
 racter, and cast an eye on the rectory of St. 
 Martin's ; but he had many powerful oppo- 
 nents ; among others were Jennens, an iron- 
 master, possessor of Aston furnace ; Small- 
 broke, another wealthy inhabitant ; and Sir 
 Thomas Holt. However he, with difficulty, 
 triumphed over his enemies, stept into the pul- 
 pit, and held the rectory till the restoration. 
 
 Being determined, in his first sermon, to lash 
 his enemies with the whip of those times, he 
 told his people, " The Lord had carried him 
 through many troubles ; for he had passed, like 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, through 
 the fiery furnace. And as the Lord had ena- 
 bled the children of Israel to pass over the Red 
 Sea, so he had enabled him to pass over the 
 Small-brooks, and to overcome the strong Holts 
 of sin and satan." 
 
 At the restoration, suspecting the approach 
 of the proper officers to expel him from the 
 Parsonage house, he crept into a hiding-place 
 under the stairs; but, being discovered, he was 
 drawn out by force, and the place ever after 
 bore the name of Slater's Hole. 
 
 John Kiland, who was celebrated for piety, 
 learning, and a steady adherence to the interest 
 of Charles the First, succeeded him. In the 
 king's cause he seems to have lost every thing- 
 he possessed but his life. He was remarkable
 
 J46 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 for compromising quarrels among his neigh- 
 bours, often at an expence to himself ; also for 
 constantly carrying a charity-box, to relieve the 
 the distress of others ; and, though robbed of 
 all himself, he never thought he was poor, except 
 when his box was empty. He died in 1672, 
 aged 53. 
 
 A succeeding rector, William Daggett, is 
 said to have understood the art of boxing bet- 
 ter than that of preaching : his clerk often felt 
 the weightier argument of his hand. Meeting a 
 quaker, whose profession, then in infancy, did 
 not stand high in esteem, he offered some in- 
 sults, which the other resenting, told him, " If 
 he was not protected by his cloth, he would 
 make him repent the indignity." Daggett im- 
 mediately stripped, " There, now I have thrown 
 off my protection." They fought ; but the spi- 
 ritual bruiser proved too hard for the injured 
 quaker. 
 
 Among the rectors we sometimes behold a 
 magistrate ; at others, those who for miscon- 
 duct ought to have been taken before one. 
 
 The rectory, in the king's books, was valued 
 in 1291, at ^.5 per annum ; and, in 1536, at 
 ^.19 3s. 6d.
 
 saint martin's. 347 
 
 A Terrier of the Rectory, written by the Rector, 
 about 1680. 
 
 A house wherein the present rector, Mr. 
 Daggett, resides. [Parsonage-house. J 
 
 Two other houses in Birmingham [now three, 
 at No. 15, Spiceal-street.] 
 
 Three pieces of glebe land, nineteen acres, 
 between the school land and Sheepcoat-lane. 
 
 Three pieces, called the Five-way closes, 
 twenty-one acres, bounded by the lands of Sa- 
 muel Smallbroke, Esq. and Josiah Porter. 
 
 One close, two acres, bounded by Lady- 
 wood-lane. 
 
 Parson's meadow, two acres, bounded by the 
 lands of Thomas Smith, Sir Richard Gough, 
 and Sir Arthur Kaye. 
 
 Horse-pool croft, half an acre, bounded by 
 Bell's barn-lane [Brickiln-lane] the lands of .Ro- 
 bert Phillips and Samuel Smallbroke, Esqrs. 
 
 Tythe of all kinds of grain ; but instead of 
 hay, wool, and lamb, a due of V2d. in 
 the pound rent, called herbage, in all the 
 parish ; except foreign, wherein the custom 
 is Yd. per acre for meadow land, 3d. per 
 acre for leas, 3d. for each lamb, l^d. for a 
 cow and calf; and except part of the estate of 
 William Colmore, Esq. with the Hall-ring, Tan-
 
 348 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 terbutts, BellVbarns [No. 1, Exeter-row], and 
 Rings ; for the herbage of which is paid annually 
 13*. 4d. ; and also except part of the estate of 
 Samuel Smallbrook, Esq. for which he pays 8*. 
 per annum ; and except the estate of Thomas 
 Weaman, called Whittall's farm [Catherine- 
 street], for which he pays 2s. 8d. 
 
 All the above estates pay the customary mo- 
 dus, whether in or out of tillage. 
 
 SURPLICE FEES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rector. 
 
 Clerk. 
 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 For burying in the church 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Ditto church-yard - 
 
 - 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Churching a woman 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Marrying by licence 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 2 6 
 
 Ditto without - 
 
 - 
 
 2 6 
 
 1 
 
 Tythe pig, if seven or upwa; 
 
 rds- 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Easter dues, man and wife 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 six- 
 
 
 
 CclCIl pel oUIl a.U\Jv\i 
 
 
 teen- - 
 
 - 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Clerk's salary 20s. paid by the wardens ; also 
 Qd. from each house-keeper at Easter. 
 
 From the above terrier, I am inclined to va- 
 lue the income at about ,^.90 per annum. 
 
 The benefice in 177 1 was about ^.350 per 
 ann. The late rector, John Parsons, procured
 
 st. martin's, st. Philip's. 349 
 
 an act in 1773, to enable the incumbent to grant 
 building leases ; the grant of a single lease in 
 1777 brought the annual addition of about 
 ^.170. The income in 1790 was about 
 ,.1000, and is expected, at the expiration of 
 the leases, to exceed ,.2000. 
 
 The repairs of the chancel belong to the rec- 
 tor ; those of the remainder of the building: to 
 the parish. 
 
 SAINT PHILIP S. 
 
 We have touched upon various objects in our 
 peregrinations through Birmingham, which 
 meet with approbation, though viewed through 
 the medium of smoke. Some of these, being 
 covered with the rust of time, command our 
 veneration ; but the prospect before us is wholly 
 modern. We have mounted, by imperceptible 
 gradations, from beauty to beauty, till we have 
 now arrived at the summit. 
 
 If an historian had written in the seventeenth 
 century, he would have recorded but two places 
 of worship; I am now recording the fourteenth; 
 but my successor, if not prevented by our own 
 imprudence, in driving away the spirit of com- 
 merce, may record the four and twentieth *. 
 
 * Twenty-tight are now mentioned in this work
 
 850 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 The artist who carries the manufactures among 
 foreigners, or the man who wantonly loads the 
 people with burdens, draws the wrath of the 
 place upon his own head. 
 
 The church of St. Philip, the steeple of which 
 is erected after the model of St. Paul's in JLon- 
 don, but without its weight, does honour to the 
 age that raised it, and to the place that contains 
 it. Perhaps the eye of the critic cannot point 
 out a fault which the hand of the artist can 
 mend ; perhaps too, the attentive eye cannot 
 survey this pile of building, without communi- 
 cating to the mind a small degree of pleasure. 
 If the materials are not proof against time, it is 
 rather a misfortune to be lamented, than an er- 
 ror to be complained of, the country producing 
 no better. 
 
 Yet, amidst all the excellencies we boast, I 
 am sorry to charge this chief ornament with an 
 evil which admits no cure, that of not ranging 
 with its own cemetery, or the adjacent buildings; 
 out of seven streets, with which it is connected, 
 it is in a line with none. Like Deritend chapel, 
 of which I have already complained, from a 
 strong attachment to a point of religion, or of 
 the compass, it appears twisted out of its place. 
 We may be delighted with , a human figure, 
 complete in stature, exactly moulded with 
 symmetry, and set off with the graces of dress ; 
 but we should be disgusted, if its right side 
 seemed to attempt to out-walk the left.
 
 SAINT PHILIPS. 35 1' 
 
 This defect in religious architecture arises 
 from a strict adherence to the custom of the 
 ancients, who fixed their altars towards the 
 east. Even weakness itself, by long practice, 
 becomes canonical ; it gains credit by its age 
 and its company. Hence Sternhold and Hop- 
 kins, by being long bound up with scripture, 
 acquired a kind of scripture authority. 
 
 The ground, originally, was part of a farm, 
 and bore the name of the Horse close ; after- 
 wards Bar ley close. Thus a benign spot of 
 earth gave additional spirits to a man when 
 living, and kindly covered him in its bosom 
 
 when dead. This well chosen spot is the 
 
 summit of the highest eminence in Birming- 
 ham, with a descent every way ; and, when 
 the church was erected, there were not any 
 buildings nearer than those in Bull-street. The 
 land was the gift of Robert Phillips, Esquire, 
 ancestor to William Theodore Inge, Esquire ; 
 and from the giver the church received its 
 name. 
 
 Among all degrees of people, from the bishop 
 to the beadle, there seems a propensity in the 
 mind to arrive at the honours of sainthood. By 
 joining our names in partnership with a saint, 
 we share with him a red letter in the almanack. 
 Out of six churches in Birmingham, three bear 
 the names of the donors. St. Bartholomew's 
 would probably have taken that of its founder,
 
 352 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 John Jennens, Esq. but that name happened to 
 be anticipated by Sir John de Birmingham, 
 who conferred it upon Deritend chapel. St. 
 Mary's could readily perpetuate the name of its 
 benefactress, because we had no place of wor- 
 ship that bore it. But as neither the popish 
 nor the protestant calendar produced a St. 
 Charles, the founder of St. Paul's was unfor- 
 tunately excluded. 
 
 The gifts, which the benefactor himself be- 
 lieves are charitable, and expects the world to 
 believe the same, if scrutinized, will be found 
 to originate from various causes ; counterfeits 
 are apt to be offered in currency for sterling. 
 Perhaps ostentation has brought forth more acts 
 of beneficence than charity herself; but, like an 
 unkind parent, she disowns her offspring, and 
 charges it upon charity. Ostentation is the 
 root of charity ; why else are we told, in capital 
 letters, by a large stone in the front of a building 
 " This hospital was erected by William Bilby, 
 in the sixty-third year of his age, 1709." Or, 
 that " John Moore, yeoman, of Worley Wigorn, 
 built this school in 1730." Nay, pride even 
 tempts us to strut in a second-hand robe of cha- 
 rity, left by another ; or why do we read 
 " These alms-houses were erected by Lench's 
 trust in 1764, W. WALSINGHAM, Bailiff." 
 Another utters the word charity, and we rejoice 
 in the echo. If we miss the substance, we grasp 
 at the shadow.
 
 SAINT PHILIP S. 353 
 
 Sometimes we assign our property for reli- 
 gious uses late in the evening of life, when en- 
 joyment is over, and almost possession. Thus 
 we bequeath to piety what we can keep no lon- 
 ger. We convey our name to posterity at the 
 expence of our successor, and scaffold our way 
 towards heaven up the walls of a steeple. Will 
 charity chalk up one additional score in our 
 favour, because we grant a small portion of our 
 land to found a church, which enables us to 
 augment the remainder to treble its value, by 
 granting building leases ? A man seldom makes 
 a bargain for heaven, and forgets himself. Cha- 
 rity and self-interest, like the apple and the 
 rind, are closely connected, and, like them, we 
 cannot separate the one without trespassing on 
 the other. 
 
 In contributions of the lesser kind, the giver 
 examines the quantum given by those of his own 
 station ; pride will not suffer him to appear less 
 than his neighbour. Sometimes he surrenders 
 merely through importunity, which indicates 
 as much charity as the garrison docs merit 
 which surrenders when closely besieged. Nei- 
 ther do we fear our left hand knowing what our 
 right hand doeth; our only fear is, lest the world 
 should not know it. 
 
 St. Philip's Church was begun by act of Par- 
 liament in 1711, under a commission, consist- 
 ing of twenty of the neighbouring gentry, ap- 
 
 k \
 
 354 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 pointed by the bishop of the diocese, under his 
 episcopal seal. Their commission was to end 
 twelve months after the erection of the church. 
 
 Though Birmingham ever was, and perhaps 
 ever will be, considered as one parish, yet a 
 portion of land, about one hundred acres, nearly 
 triangular, and about three fourths built up, 
 was taken out of the centre of St. Martin's, 
 like a shred of cloth out of a great coat to make 
 a less, and constituted a separate parish, by the 
 appellation of St. Philip's. We shall describe 
 this new boundary by an imaginary journey, for 
 a real one perhaps was never taken since the 
 land was first laid out, nor ever will be, to the 
 end of time. 
 
 We include the warehouse, then, of John Jen- 
 nens, Esq. and joining my premises, now No. 
 27, in High-street, penetrate through the build- 
 ings, till we come within twenty yards of Moor- 
 street, turn short to the left, cross the lower 
 part of Castle-street, Carr's-lane, and New 
 Meeting-street ; pass close by the front of the 
 Meeting-house, through Bank-alley, into Hen's 
 walk, havingkept Moor-street about twenty yards 
 to the right all the way ; we now enter that street 
 at the bottom of Hen's-walk, pass through the 
 east part of Dale End, through Stafford-street, 
 Steelhouse-lane (then called Whittal-lane) Bull 
 lane (then Newhall-lane) and Mount-pleasant. 
 Our journey now leads us on the west of Pinfold-
 
 saint Philip's. 355 
 
 street, keeping it about twenty yards on our 
 left ; up Peck-lane, till we come near the top, 
 when we turn to the right, keeping the build- 
 ings, with the Free-school in New-street, on 
 our left, into Swan-alley. We now turn up the 
 Alley into New-street, then to the right, which 
 leads us to the party-wall between No. 27 and 
 28 in High-street, late Jenens's, where we 
 began. 
 
 In the new parish I have described, there 
 seem to have been, at passing the act, twelve 
 fields, all which are filled with buildings, except 
 the land between New-street and Mount-plea- 
 sant, which only waits a word from the owner 
 to speak the houses into being. 
 
 The church was consecrated in 171-5, and 
 finished in 1719, the work of eight years ; at 
 which time the commissioners resigned their 
 powers into the hands of the diocesan, in whom 
 is the presentation, after having paid, it is said, 
 the trifling sum of ,-.5012 but perhaps such 
 a work could not have been completed for 
 ^.20,000. Three reasons may be assigned 
 why so small a sum was expended ; many of 
 the materials were given ; more of the carriage, 
 and some heavy debts were contracted. 
 
 The urns upon the parapet of the church, 
 which are highly ornamental, were fixed at tho 
 same time with those of the school, in about 
 1 756. 
 
 A A 2
 
 366 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 When I first saw St. Fhilip's, in the year 
 1741, at a proper distance, uncrowded with 
 houses, for there were none to the north, New- 
 hall excepted, untarnished with smoke, and il- 
 luminated by a western sun, I was delighted 
 with its appearance, and thought it then, what 
 I do now, and what others will in future, the 
 pride of the place. If we assemble the beauties 
 of the edifice, which cover a rood of ground 
 the spacious area of the church-yard, occupying 
 four acres, ornamented with walks, shaded with 
 trees, in double and treble ranks, and surround- 
 ed with buildings in elegant taste perhaps its 
 equal cannot be found in the British dominions. 
 
 The steeple, till the year 1751, contained a 
 peal of six bells, which were then augmented to 
 ten; at which time St. Martin's, the mother 
 church, having only eight, she could not bear 
 to be out-numbered by a junior, though of su- 
 perior elegance, therefore ordered twelve into 
 her own steeple ; but as room was insufficient 
 for the admission of bells by the dozen, means 
 were found to hoist them tier over tier. Though 
 the round dozen is a complete number in the 
 counting-house, it is not altogether so in the 
 belfry ; the octave is the most perfect concord 
 in music, but diminishes by rising to an octave 
 and a half; neither can that dozen well be 
 crowded into the peal. But perhaps the artist. 
 had another grand scheme in view, that of ac-
 
 SAINT PHILIPS. 357 
 
 commodating the town with the additional har- 
 mony of the chimes ; for only a few tunes can 
 be played on the octave, whilst the dozen will 
 compass nearly all. Whether we are entertain- 
 ed even by this exalted style of music, admits a 
 doubt ; for instead of the curious ear being 
 charmed with distinct notes, we only hear a 
 bustle of confused sounds, which baffle the at- 
 tention too much to keep pace with the tune. 
 
 These two steeples are our public band of 
 music; they are the only standing waits of the 
 place. Two thousand people may be accommo- 
 dated in the church, but it has contained near 
 three thousand. 
 
 In the vestry is a theological library, be- 
 queathed by the first rector, William Higg?, 
 for the use of the clergy in Birmingham and its 
 neighbourhood. He left ^/200 for future pur- 
 chase, which was afterwards made, and an ele- 
 gant library erected adjoining the parsonage 
 house, by the Rev. Spencer Madan, in 1/92. 
 
 Under the centre aisle runs a vault, the whole 
 length of the church, tor the reception of those 
 whose friends choose to pay an additional gui- 
 nea. The entrance to it is from the outside. 
 
 The organ excels ; the paintings, mouldings, 
 and gildings are superb: whether the stranger 
 takes an external or an internal survey of this 
 editice, the eye is struck with delight, and he 
 pronounces the whole the work of a master.
 
 358 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 IN THE FRONT GALLERY. 
 
 Upon application of Sir Richard Gough to 
 Sir Robert Walpole, (then in power,) George the 
 First gave ^.600 in 1725 towards finishing 
 this church. Three remarks naturally arise 
 from this declaration : That the sums expend- 
 ed upon this pious undertaking, were beyond 
 the ability of the inhabitants ; that the debts 
 contracted were many years in discharging ; 
 and that one of the best of kings, the head of 
 the Brunswick line, bestowed a liberal benefac- 
 tion upon a people not completely reconciled to 
 his house. 
 
 Whether monumental decoration adds beauty 
 to a place already beautiful, is a question. 
 There are three very small and very elegant 
 monuments in this church. Upon one of the 
 south pillars, is that of the above William 
 Higgs, who died in 1733. Upon another is 
 that of William Vyse, the second rector, who 
 died in 1770, at the age of 61. And, upon a 
 north pillar, that of Girton Peak, a humane ma- 
 gistrate, who died in 1770* 
 
 Interment in the church is wisely prohibited; 
 an indecency incompatible w r ith a civilized peo- 
 ple. The foreigner will be apt to hold forth 
 the barbarity of the English nation, by observ- 
 ing, " they introduce corruption into their very 
 churches, and pay divine adoration upon the
 
 SAINT PHILIP K. S5g 
 
 grave of their ancestors." Places of worship 
 were designed for the living; the dead give uj 
 their title with their life : besides, even small 
 degrees of putrefaction, confined in a room 
 where the air cannot circulate, may become 
 prejudicial to health ; it also ruins the pave- 
 ment, as was done at St. Martin's. Our princi- 
 pal inhabitants, therefore, lie contented in the 
 church-yard, by their unfortunate equals hav- 
 ing private sepulchres appropriated for family 
 use. Perhaps at the last day, no inquiry will 
 be made whether they lay on the inside or the 
 outside of the walls. 
 
 It is difficult to traverse the elegant walks 
 that surround this gulph of death without con- 
 templating, that time is drawing us towards the 
 same focus, and that we shall shortly fall into 
 the centre ; that this irregular circle contains 
 what was once generous and beautiful, opulent 
 and humane. The arts took their rise in this 
 fruitful soil ; this is the grave of invention and 
 of industry ; here those who appeared upon the 
 stage are fallen, to make way for others, who 
 must follow. Though multitudes unite with the 
 dead, the numbers of the living increase ; the 
 inhabitants change, while the genius improves. 
 We cannot pass on without reading upon the 
 stones the short existence of our departed 
 friends, perusing the end of a life with which 
 we were well acquainted. The active motion
 
 360 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 that veered with the rude blasts of seventy 
 years, stops in this point for ever. 
 
 The benefice is something like the following : 
 A prebendai stall in the cathedral gg. s. d. 
 
 church of Lichfield - - -600 
 Eight acres and a half of glebe land, 
 
 at Long-bridge, near Birmingham 32 
 Emoluments arising from the seats 
 
 of the church - 
 Surplice fees - 
 Easter offerings - 
 An estate at Sawley, in the county 
 
 of Derby, under lease for three 
 
 lives, renewable by fine, at the 
 
 annual rent of - - - 66 lS 4 
 
 140 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 304 13 4 
 
 Out of which is paid to the rector 
 of St. Martin's, in consideration 
 of fees and offerings once appro- 
 priated to that church - 15 
 
 289 13 
 The lives having been suffered to drop, with- 
 out a renewal, the estate at Sawley, which is very 
 considerable, became the property of the Rev. 
 Spencer Madan, the late Rector paying the 
 above rent to the church.
 
 saint Philip's. 86 1 
 
 RECTORS. 
 
 William Higgs,1715. 
 William Vyse, 1733. 
 Charles Newling, 1770. 
 Spencer Madan, 1787. 
 Edmund Outram, D. D. 1809. 
 
 BIRTHS AND BURIALS. 
 
 There are many inducements for an author 
 to take up the pen, but the leading motives, 
 however disguised, seem to be vanity and po- 
 verty; hence, two of the most despicable things 
 among men furnish the world with knowledge. 
 
 One would think, however, there could be no 
 great inducement for a man to write what he 
 is conscious will never be read. Under this 
 class may be comprehended alphabetical collec- 
 tions, chronological tables, books of figures, oc- 
 casional devotions, &c. Here also I range the 
 lists of officers in Birmingham, the annual sums 
 expended upon the poor, and the present chap- 
 ter of numbers. These arc intended for occa- 
 sional inspection, rather than for regular perusal: 
 we may consider them as desserts served up for 
 a taste only, not a dinner ; yet even this rule 
 may be broken by a resolute reader, for the late 
 Joseph Scott, esq. founder of the trust before 
 mentioned, assured me, in 17<57> that he had pe- 
 rused Bailey's Dictionary as methodically a,
 
 362 history or Birmingham. 
 
 he had done Tom Jones ; and, though a dis- 
 senter, he continued to read the Common Prayer 
 Book from end to end about twice a year; 
 which is more than, perhaps, the greatest lover 
 of that excellent composition can boast. 
 
 I shall, to avoid prolixity in a barren chapter 
 of the two extremes of life, select about every 
 tenth year from the register. Those years at 
 the time of the plague make no addition to the 
 burials, because the unhappy victims were con- 
 veyed to Lady-wood for interment. 
 
 These lists inform us, that the number of 
 streets, houses, inhabitants, births, burials, 
 poor's rates, and commercial productions, in- 
 crease with equal rapidity. It appears also from 
 the register, that there were more christenings 
 lately at St. Martin's, in one day, than the 
 whole town produced in a year, in the ]6th 
 century The same may be found in that of 
 St. Philip's. 
 
 The deaths in Deritend are omitted, being 
 involved in those of Aston. 
 
 Year. Births. Burials. Year. Births. Burials. 
 
 1555 37 27 
 
 1560 37 
 
 1571 48 26 
 
 1580 37 25 
 1590 52 47 
 
 1600 62 32 1665 109 
 
 1610 70 45 
 
 1623 81 66 
 
 1628 100 96 
 
 1653 47 
 
 1660 15
 
 
 
 SAINT 
 
 PHILIPS. 
 
 
 363 
 
 Year. 
 
 Births. 
 
 Burials. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Births. 
 
 Burials. 
 
 1666 
 
 144 
 
 121 
 
 1750 
 
 860 
 
 1020 
 
 1667 
 
 149 
 
 140 
 
 1760 
 
 984 
 
 1143 
 
 1668 
 
 113 
 
 102 
 
 1770 
 
 1329 
 
 899 
 
 1681 
 
 251 
 
 139 
 
 1780 
 
 1636 
 
 1340 
 
 1690 
 
 127 
 
 150 
 
 1785 
 
 2034 
 
 2506 
 
 1700 
 
 172 
 
 171 
 
 1791 
 
 2310 
 
 3280 
 
 1719 
 
 334 
 
 270 
 
 1800 
 
 1881 
 
 1838 
 
 1720 
 
 423 
 
 355 
 
 1810 
 
 2264 
 
 2786 
 
 1730 
 
 449 
 
 415 
 
 1818 
 
 2447 
 
 2627 
 
 1740 
 
 520 
 
 573 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 GENERAL HOSPITAL. 
 
 Though charity is one of the most amiable 
 qualities of humanity, yet, like Cupid, she 
 ought to be represented blind ; or, like Justice, 
 hoodwinked. None of the virtues have been so 
 much misapplied ; giving to the hungry, is 
 sometimes only another word for giving to the 
 idle. We know of but two ways in which this 
 excellence can exert itself ; improving the mind, 
 and nourishing the body. To help him who 
 will not help himself, or indiscriminately to 
 relieve those that want, is totally to mistake the 
 end; for want is often met with ; but to supply 
 those who cannot supply themselves, becomes 
 real charity. Some worthy Christians have 
 taken it into their heads to relieve all, for fear
 
 364 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 of omitting the right. What should we think 
 of the constable who seized every person he met 
 with, for fear of missing the thief? Between 
 the simple words, therefore, of will not and 
 cannot, runs the fine barrier of real and mistaken 
 charity. 
 
 This virtue, so strongly inculcated by the 
 christian system, has, during the last seventeen 
 centuries, appeared in a variety of forms, and 
 some of them have been detrimental to the in- 
 terest they were meant to serve : Such ivas the 
 cloister. Man is not born altogether to serve 
 himself, but the community ; if he cannot exist 
 without the assistance of others, it follows that 
 others ought to be assisted by him ; but if con- 
 demned to obscurity in the cell, he is then fed 
 by the aid of the public, while that public de- 
 rives no aid from him. 
 
 Estates have sometimes been devised in trust 
 for particular uses, meant as charities by the 
 giver, but have, in a few years, been diverted 
 from their original [channel to other purposes. 
 The trustees themselves, like so many contend- 
 ing princes, ardently struggle for sovereignty ; 
 hence, legacy and discord are intimate com- 
 panions. 
 
 The plantation of many of our English schools 
 sprang up from the will of the dead ; but it is 
 observable, that sterility quickly takes place ; 
 the establishment of the master being properly
 
 GENERAL HOSPITAL. 365 
 
 secured, supineness enters, and the young scions 
 of learning are retarded in their growth. It 
 therefore admits a doubt, whether charitable 
 donation is beneficial to the world; nay, the 
 estate itself becomes blasted when bequeathed 
 to public use, for, being the freehold of none, 
 none will improve it ; besides, the more dead 
 land, the less scope for industry. 
 
 At the reformation, under Queen Elizabeth, 
 charity seemed to take a different appearance ; 
 employment was found for the idle ; he that 
 was able, was obliged to labour, and the parish 
 was obliged to assist him who could not. Hence 
 the kingdom became replete with workhouses. 
 These are the laudable repositories of distress. 
 
 It has already been observed, that three 
 classes of people merit the care of society ; for- 
 lorn infancy, which is too weak for its own sup- 
 port ; old age, which has served the community, 
 without serving itself; and accidental calamity: 
 the two first fall under the eye of the parish, the 
 last under the modern institution, the General 
 Hospital. 
 
 The shell of this plain but noble edifice was 
 erected in IjCA), upon a situation very unsuit- 
 able for its elegant front, in a narrow dirty lane, 
 with an aspect directing up the hill, which 
 should ever be avoided. 
 
 The amiable desire of doing good in the inha- 
 bitants, seemed to have exceeded their ability ;
 
 366 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 and, to the grief of many, it lay dormant for 
 twelve years. In 1778, the matter was revived 
 with vigour ; subscriptions filled apace, and by 
 the next year the hospital was finished, at the 
 expence of ^-7,137 10*. Though the bene- 
 factions might not amount to this enormous sum, 
 yet they were noble, and truly characteristic of 
 a generous people. The annual subscriptions, 
 as they stood at Michaelmas 1779, were ^.901 
 19*. and, at Midsummer 1780, ^.932 8*. 
 During these nine months, 529 patients were 
 admitted, of whom 303 were cured, 93 relieved, 
 Il2 remained on the books, only 5 died, and 
 but one was discharged as incurable ; an incon- 
 testible proof of the skill of the faculty, which 
 is at least equalled by their humanity, in giving 
 their attendance gratis. 
 
 Benevolent donations increasing, brought on 
 an increase of patients, which demanded an in- 
 crease of room ; two wings were therefore added 
 in 1791, at the charge of ,3016 10*. lOd. 
 state of the hospital was as follows : 
 
 From Midsummer 1792 to Midsummer 1793. 
 
 In patients, Out patients. Subscriptions. 
 
 766 - 6*44 - ^.1293 10 10. 
 
 From Midsummer 1811 to Midsummer 1812. 
 
 In patients. Out patients. Subscriptions. 
 
 1012 - 1513 - .=.1.590 15 0.
 
 GENERAL HOSPITAL. 3Qj 
 
 Of these patients 1276 were cured, 317 re- 
 lieved, and 9 were incurable. 
 
 From Midsummer 1816 to Midsummer 1817. 
 
 In patients. Out patients. Subscriptions. 
 
 1197 - 2497 - sg.1450 1 0. 
 Of these patients 1947 were cured, 602 re- 
 lieved, 188 were incurable, and 59 died. 597 
 children were vaccinated, and all did well. 
 
 From Midsummer 1817 to Midsummer 1818. 
 
 In patients. Out patients. Subscriptions. 
 
 1167 - 2541 - ^.1507 4 0. 
 
 Of these patients 1374 were cured, 234 re- 
 lieved, and 76G children were inoculated for 
 the cow-pock, and all did well. 
 
 From the first opening of the hospital in 1779 
 to Midsummer 1818. 
 
 Total number of In patients 30,536. 
 Out patients 35,34^1. 
 
 A Triennial Music Meeting has long been 
 established, in aid of this institution, which 
 has been raised to such a degree of eminence 
 under the direction of an able and disinterested 
 inhabitant of Birmingham, Mr. Joseph Moore, 
 that on Friday, April 3, IS 12, a splendid silver 
 vase and stand, and four silver dishes with 
 covers, provided by a subscription of the gen-
 
 368 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tlemen of the town and neighbourhood, were 
 presented to him by the Rev. Dr. Outram, 
 Rector of St. Philip's, who addressed him to 
 the following effect : 
 
 " Mr. Joseph Moore, It is a gratification to 
 me that it has fallen to my lot to present to you, 
 in the name of a very numerous and respectable 
 body of gentlemen, these beautiful memorials 
 of the high sense they entertain of your services 
 to this excellent Institution. They know that 
 the flourishing state of that important branch of 
 its revenues, which is derived from our Trien- 
 nial Musical Festival, is to be attributed to you. 
 Without any selfish end in view ; without any 
 other motive than compassion for the afflicted ; 
 you have combined repeatedly the first musical 
 talents of the empire, and harmonized the jar- 
 ring interests, perhaps inseparable from such 
 combinations. You have raised the Birming- 
 ham Festivals from the state of respectable 
 County Meetings, to unrivalled, and even na- 
 tional grandeur and celebrity. About thirteen 
 years ago, before you stepped forward in our cause, 
 the gross receipts of any one of our festivals did 
 not exceed ,^.S,0i3. They have, since that time, 
 progressively and rapidly increased ; till, at the 
 Festival of last October, there was received 
 within three days the unprecedented sum of 
 ,^6,680. It is, Sir, in acknowledgment of 
 such benefits that I now present to you what I
 
 GENERAL HOSPITAL. 369 
 
 have in charge. And though you have ge- 
 nerously declined receiving any remunera- 
 tion from the funds of this charitable Institu- 
 tion, yet these memorials, provided, as they 
 have been, in a manner so highly creditable 
 both to them that give, and to him that takes, 
 you will not, I trust, hesitate to accept ; and 
 long may you live in health and happiness to 
 view them." 
 
 The receipts at the Musical Festival, Oct. 
 1814, were ig-7171 12*. 
 
 Those of the Musical Festival of IS 17 
 amounted to ^.8426" 11*. 3d. of which the net 
 produce to the Hospital was ,^.4296 10*. l()d. 
 
 The rules by which this excellent charity is 
 conducted, are worthy of its authors ; success 
 has fully answered expectation, and the build- 
 ing will probably stand for ages, to tell pos- 
 terity a favourable tale of the present genera- 
 tion. 
 
 HUMANE SOCIETY. 
 
 The benevolent spirit of the inhabitants esta- 
 blished, in 171)0, the Humane Society for the 
 recovery of persons apparently drowned. This, 
 in 1803, was attached to the General Hospital. 
 
 H K
 
 SJO HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 DISPENSARY. 
 
 This charitable Institution was established in 
 1793, and is supported by voluntary contribu- 
 tions. The first stone of the present building 
 was laid December 23, 1S06, and the whole 
 was completed July 1808, at the expence of 
 nearly ^3,000. It is plain and elegant, and is 
 ornamented with two figures executed by Wil- 
 liam Hollins. 
 
 In 1818 the President was 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Dartmouth. 
 
 The Committee of Governors were, 
 
 Mr. John Turner, Rev. Edward Burn, 
 
 Mr. John Cope, Rev. John Kentish, 
 
 Mr. Richard Pratchett, Mr. William Chance, 
 Mr. Thomas Potts, Mr. William Blakeway, 
 Mr. John Dickenson, Mr. Thomas Clark. 
 
 
 Donations. 
 
 Annual Subscriptions. 
 
 
 A *. d. 
 
 . s. d. 
 
 1813 
 
 1291 1 4 
 
 .590 2 
 
 1814 
 
 389 4 10 
 
 579 12 
 
 1817 
 
 296 9 10 
 
 592 4 
 
 1818 
 
 412 13 4 
 
 599 11
 
 DISPENSARY. 37 1 
 
 Number of Patients admitted to the Dispen- 
 sary in the following years. 
 
 
 Sick. 
 
 Midwifery. 
 
 Inoculation. 
 
 1794 
 
 212 
 
 40 
 
 28 
 
 Small pox 
 
 1796 
 
 875 
 
 137 
 
 14 
 
 Do. 
 
 i?98 
 
 864 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 1800 
 
 958 
 
 154 
 
 
 
 1802 
 
 1028 
 
 139 
 
 303 
 
 Vaccine. 
 
 1804 
 
 1145 
 
 180 
 
 675 
 
 Do. 
 
 1806 
 
 1502 
 
 206 
 
 887 
 
 Do. 
 
 1808 
 
 1725 
 
 250 
 
 889 
 
 Do. 
 
 1810 
 
 2205 
 
 336 
 
 1756 
 
 Do. 
 
 1812 
 
 2086 
 
 361 
 
 1273 
 
 Do. 
 
 1814 
 
 2051 
 
 355 
 
 767 
 
 Do. 
 
 1816 
 
 2108 
 
 131 
 
 201 
 
 Do. 
 
 1818 
 
 2523 
 
 387 
 
 434 
 
 Do. 
 
 Total number of Patients. 
 
 Sick. Midwifery. Vaccine Inoculation 
 
 37,139 6,223 - 13,964. 
 
 It is painful to observe, in the above list, the 
 revival of prejudice in the decline of vaccine 
 inoculation. That it will, in the end, rise su- 
 perior to prejudice, cannot be doubted. 
 
 P 15
 
 3J2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 INSTITUTION FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF 
 THE DEAF AND DUMB. 
 
 The building erected for the use of this 
 Institution is situated at Edgbaston, and is 
 capable of containing forty pupils. It was 
 opened January 4, 1815, when nineteen chil- 
 dren were admitted ; the present number is 
 thirty. The lowest charge for the lodging, 
 board, and instruction of each is four shillings 
 a week ; the rest of the expence is defrayed by 
 voluntary donations and annual subscriptions. 
 In 18 17 the former of these amounted to up- 
 wards of ^.1500, the latter to about ^.668. 
 
 The President of this noble charity, which 
 supplies the means of information that nature 
 has denied, is His Grace the Duke of Devon- 
 shire ; the Patrons are twenty-two Noblemen ; 
 the Instructor is Mr. Thomas Braidwood, of the 
 family so distinguished for this art of instruction ; 
 and the children are assembled from different 
 parts of the kingdom, from Northumberland to 
 Bristol, and from Holyhead to Huntingdon.
 
 373 
 
 GENERAL INSTITUTION FOR THE RELIEF 
 OF PERSONS LABOURING UNDER BODILY 
 DEFORMITY. 
 
 This institution was established June 24, 
 1817, under the patronage of the Earl of Dart- 
 mouth. The Committee were, 
 
 Heneage Legge, Esq. Timothy Smith, Esq. 
 F. B. Hacket, Esq. David Lloyd, Esq. 
 
 A. S. Lillingston, Esq. Mr. J. Pearson, 
 Rev. J. H. Spry. Francis Lawley, Esq. 
 
 R. Spooner, Esq. 
 Dr. John Johnstone. 
 Dr. Booth. 
 Dr. De Lys. 
 
 Rev. E. A. Bagot. 
 Charles Lloyd, Esq. 
 
 Isaac Spooner, Esq. 
 
 Rev. T. L. Freer. 
 
 John Rotton, Esq. 
 
 James Taylor, Esq. 
 
 James Lloyd, Esq. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Potts. 
 Tertius Galton, Esq.. Mr. Paul Moon James. 
 Rev. J. Kentish. Mr. J. Scholefield. 
 
 Theodore Price, Esq. 
 
 The donations amounted to gg.266 2s. 0d-> 
 the annual subscriptions to ,^.2.50 19*. 0d. 
 
 From the time of the institution of this cha- 
 rity, June 21, L8I7, to June 2<1<, 1818, 182 
 cases had been relieved and supplied with in- 
 struments ; but the funds were said to be in- 
 adequate to this expenditure.
 
 3J4< HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 FIRE OFFICE. 
 
 The Birmingham Fire Office was established 
 March 2.5, 1805. The capital for which the 
 proprietors are responsible is ^.300,000, being 
 300 shares of g. 1,000- each. The capital ad- 
 vanced is ^.220 each share, which has been 
 suffered to accumulate to ,.100,000 before any 
 dividend or interest was paid ; and it is never 
 to be below this sum. The price of a share in 
 1818 was ^.350. 
 
 The Office is in Union-street, and was erected 
 in 1808, at the expence of nearly ^.4,000, in- 
 cluding the engine house, fire-men's houses, 
 and stable. Two engines are stationed there, 
 ten fire-men are appointed to work them, and 
 horses are kept in the stable to convey them to 
 any place in the town and neighbourhood, on 
 an alarm of fire. 
 
 DERITENP BRIDGE. 
 
 Cooper's Mill, situated upon the extremity 
 of the parishes of Aston and Birmingham, 400 
 yards below this bridge, was probably first 
 erected in the peaceable ages of Saxon influence,
 
 DERITEND BRIDGE. 3J5 
 
 and continued a part of the manorial estate till 
 the disposal of it in 1730. 
 
 Before the water was dammed up to supply 
 the mill, it must have been so shallow, as to 
 admit a passage between Digbeth and Deritend, 
 over a few stepping stones ; and a gate seems to 
 have been placed upon the verge of the river 
 to prevent the encroachments of the cattle. The 
 original name, Dugdale tells us, was Derry- 
 yate-end. My worthy friend, William Hamper, 
 Esq. from what he has observed in ancient wri- 
 tings, believes it to have been The Rea-gate-end, 
 from the river, which is called the Ilea ; and 
 this is doubtless the true etymology. 
 
 The mill afterwards causing the water to be 
 dammed up, gave rise to a succession of paltry 
 bridges, chiefly of timber, to preserve a com- 
 munication between the two streets. But in 
 later ages, the passage was dignified with those 
 of stone. In 17^0, a wretched one was taken 
 down, and another erected by Henry Bradford 
 and John Collins, overseers of the highway, 
 consisting of five arches ; but the homely style, 
 the steep ascent, and the circumscribed width, 
 prevented encomium. 
 
 This bridge was demolished in 1789, for one 
 a verv little more 1 useful, but less handsome.
 
 37^ HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 THE CRESCENT 
 
 Will consist, when finished, of a handsome range 
 of 23 houses of stone, elevated upon a terrace 
 1,182 feet long, and 17 high. The centre front 
 is 622 feet, and each wing 140, exclusive of a 
 return in each, towards Cambridge-street, 
 which is 14 1 more. Only 12 houses are finished, 
 chiefly in the wings, which cost ^.10,500. The 
 remainder, which are to cost ^.200,500, are at 
 a stand, owing to a ruinous war with France, 
 which has been the destruction of our commerce, 
 caused 500 of our tradesmen to fail, stagnated 
 currency, and thinned the inhabitants. 
 
 BARRACKS, 
 
 The fashionable productions of the day. 
 Perhaps this military nursery was intended to 
 preserve the chastity of the soldier, long in jeo- 
 pardy ; or, to separate him from the inhabitant, 
 which tends to make two interests, when, in 
 reality, there is but one ; or, perhaps, from a 
 principle of economy, the cry of every man in 
 power who runs into debt. 
 
 Government took a lease of five acres of land 
 adjoining the north side of the town (late the
 
 BARRACKS. SJJ 
 
 property of the Holt family, afterwards that of 
 Legge) at a penny a yard ; and in 1793 erected 
 the barracks, at the charge of gg. 13,0( X). They 
 will accommodate l()2 men. 
 
 As the man who loves his country will rejoice 
 at every saving system to lighten the load of 
 three hundred millions, I shall state the account 
 with precision. 
 
 Annual rent - - - ,^.100 o o 
 Interest upon ^.13,000 - - 600 
 Loss of principal per annum on 
 
 the average during the lease 
 
 of 80 years - - - - i6 c 2 10 
 
 Perhaps there will not, at a medium, be more 
 than two thirds of lo' c 2 men, or 10S accommo- 
 dated. 
 
 We may reasonably suppose ^.6,000 will be 
 expended, at ieast, during the term, in wear 
 and tear of furniture, alterations and repairs of 
 buildings. This principal also of cj.(),000, and 
 half the interest, which is ---,. 1.50 per ann. must 
 be sunk. When all these numbers are added 
 together, it will appear that every man's lodg- 
 ing stands the country in about eleven pence a 
 night, or six shillings and five pence a week. 
 Half this sum, united to the slender pay of the 
 private soldier, would recruit the army with 
 men instead of old age and children, and that 
 without pressing or purchase: the landlord
 
 ,378 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 would then welcome with a smile the soldier, 
 whom he now receives with a frown. 
 
 PRISON. 
 
 If the subject be little, but little can be said 
 upon it ; I shall shine as dimly in this chapter 
 on confinement, as in that on government. 
 The traveller who sets out lame, will probably 
 limp through the journey. 
 
 Many of my friends have assured me, " that 
 I must have experienced much trouble in writing 
 the history of Birmingham." But I assure 
 them in return, that I rank those hours among 
 the happiest of my life ; and part of that hap- 
 piness may consist in delineating the bright side 
 of human nature. Pictures of deformity, whe- 
 ther of body or of mind, disgust the more 
 they approach towards beauty, the more they 
 charm. 
 
 All the chapters which compose this work 
 were formed with pleasure, except the latter 
 part of that upon births and burials ; there, 
 being forced to apply to the parish books, I 
 figured with some obstruction. Poor Allsop, 
 the Parish Clerk, full of good-nature and afflic- 
 tion, fearful lest I should sap the church, could 
 not receive me with kindness. When a man's 
 resources lie within himself, he draws at plea-
 
 PRISON. 379 
 
 sure ; but when necessity throws him upon the 
 parish, he draws in small sums, and with dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 I either have, or shall remark, for I know not 
 in what nich I shall exhibit this posthumous 
 chapter, drawn like one of our sluggish bills, 
 three months after date, " that Birmingham 
 does not abound in villainy, equal to some other 
 places ; that the hand employed in business 
 has less time, and less temptation, to be em- 
 ployed in mischief; and that one magistrate 
 alone corrected the enormities of this numerous 
 people, many years before I knew them, and 
 twenty-five after." I add, that the ancient, 
 lords of Birmingham, among their manorial pri- 
 vileges, had the grant of a gallows, for capital 
 punishment ; but as there are no traces even of 
 the name in the whole manor, I am persuaded 
 no such thing was ever erected, and perhaps the 
 anvil prevented it. 
 
 Many of the rogues among us are not of our 
 own growth, but are drawn hither, as in Lon- 
 don, to shelter in a crowd, and the easier in 
 that crowd to pursue their game. Some of 
 them fortunately catch, from example, the arts 
 of industry, and become useful; others con- 
 tinue to cheat for one or two years, till frighten- 
 ed by the grim aspect of justice, they decamp. 
 Our vile and obscure prison, termed The 
 Dungeon, is a farther proof how little that pri-
 
 380 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 son has been an object of notice, consequently 
 of use. 
 
 Anciently the lord of a manor exercised a 
 sovereign power in his little dominion ; held a 
 tribunal on his premises, to which was annexed 
 a prison, furnished with implements for punish- 
 ment ; these were claimed by the lords of Bir- 
 mingham. This crippled species of jurispru- 
 dence, which sometimes made a man judge in 
 his own cause, from which there was no appeal, 
 prevailed in the highlands of Scotland so late 
 as the rebellion in 1745, when the peasantry, 
 by act of parliament, were restored to freedom. 
 
 Early perhaps in the sixteenth century, when 
 the house of Birmingham, whose lords had been 
 chief gaolers, was extinguished, a building was 
 erected, which covered the east end of New-street, 
 called the Leather-hall; the upper part consisted 
 of a room about fifty feet long, where the public 
 business of the manor was transacted ; the under 
 part was divided into several ; one of these 
 small rooms was used for a prison ; but about 
 the year 1728, while men slept an enemy came, a 
 private agent of the lord of the manor, and rased 
 the Leather-hall and the Dungeon, erected three 
 houses on the spot, and received their rents till 
 1776, when the town purchased them for ^.500 
 to open the way. A narrow passage on the 
 south will be remembered for half a century to 
 come, bv the name of the Dim neon- entry.
 
 PRISON. 381 
 
 A dry cellar, opposite the demolished hall, 
 and now a part of my premises, was then appro- 
 priated to a prison ; till the town, of all bad 
 places, chose the worst, the bottom of Peck- 
 lane ; dark, narrow, and unwholesome within ; 
 crowded with dwellings, filth and distress with- 
 out, and the circulation of air prevented. 
 
 As a growing taste for public buildings has 
 for some time appeared among us, we might, in 
 the construction of a prison, unite elegance and 
 use ; and the west angle of that land between 
 New-street and Mount-pleasant, might be suit- 
 able for the purpose ; an airy spot in the junc- 
 tion of six streets *. The proprietor of the land 
 from his known attachment to Birmingham, 
 would, I doubt not, be much inclined to grant 
 a favour. Thus, I have expended ten score 
 ords, to tell the world what another would 
 have told them in ten " That our prison is 
 wretched, and we want a better." 
 
 In the year 1795 the town agreed in this opi- 
 nion, and erected, at the expence of between 1() 
 and 11,000/, a very handsome building in Moor- 
 street, containing a prison, and public office, in 
 which the magistrates and commissioners of the 
 Street Acts assemble in different apartments, to 
 transact business. This edifice is erected on 
 hind held under lease from the Free School ; 
 
 * ( >n ihi.^ Mint Chri-jt (.'huivh \\a afterwards fretted
 
 ^>8^ HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 and if it survive the term of ninety-nine years, 
 will be subject to a rent equal to its value. The 
 present ground-rent is sB.QO per annum. 
 
 If the small prison were sufficient for the 
 number of offenders, the large one is not too 
 capacious. Birmingham is not disgraced by 
 capital crimes. Murder and violence are sel- 
 dom heard of, and when they occur, suspicion 
 falls upon those who are not inhabitants of the 
 town ; but the manufacture of money is a trade 
 as notorious as that of buttons ; orders are re- 
 gularly received and executed, and the imita- 
 tions of silver and Bank-notes are distinguished 
 by the names of hard and soft goods. Constant 
 depredations are committed on the poultry, 
 turnips, and potatoes of the neighbouring far- 
 mers ; and every building in the vicinity, that 
 has not an inhabitant sleeping immediately un- 
 der its roof, is stripped of its lead. Shoemakers 
 sit ready to convert the housings of waggon 
 horses into shoes; and furnaces are kept heated, 
 night and day, to melt the lead into masses. 
 
 From the first of January to 
 
 the 31st of December 
 
 1807, confined in the prison 812 persons. 
 From the 1st of January to 
 
 the 31st of December 
 
 1818, confined in the prison lfiSO persons.
 
 PRISON, ETC. 383 
 
 PETITION FOR A CORPORATION. 
 
 Every man seems fond of two things, riches 
 and power ; this fondness necessarily springs 
 from the heart, otherwise order would cease. 
 Without the desire of riches, a man would not 
 preserve what he has, or provide for the future. 
 " My thoughts (says a worthy christian) are 
 not of this world ; I desire but one guinea to 
 carry me through it." Supply him with that 
 guinea, and he wishes another, lest the first 
 should be defective. 
 
 If it be necessary a man should possess pro- 
 perty, it is just as necessary he should possess a 
 power to protect it, or the world would quickly 
 bully him out of it ; this power is founded on 
 the laws of his country, to which he adds, by way 
 of supplement, bye-laws founded upon his own 
 prudence. Those who possess riches, well 
 know they are furnished with wings, and can 
 scarcely be kept from flying. 
 
 The man who has power to secure his wealth 
 seldom stops there; n< -> m turn, is apt to 
 triumph over him who has less. Riches and 
 power are often seen to go hand in hand. In- 
 dustry produces property ; which, when a little 
 matured, looks out for command; thus the in- 
 habitants of Birmingham, who have generally
 
 381< HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 something upon the anvil besides iron, having 
 derived wealth from diligence, wished to derive 
 power from charter ; and about a century ago 
 petitioned the crown, that Birmingham might 
 be erected into a corporation. Pleased with the 
 title of alderman, dazzled with the splendour of 
 a silver mace, a furred gown, and a magisterial 
 chair, they could not see the interest of the 
 place. Had they succeeded, that growth would 
 have been crippled, which has since astonished 
 the world, and those trades have been fettered 
 which have proved of the greatest benefit. 
 
 When a man loudly pleads for public good, 
 we shrewdly suspect a private emolument lurk- 
 ing beneath. There is nothing more detrimen- 
 tal to good neighbourhood than men in power, 
 where power is unnecessary ; free as the air we 
 breathe, we subsist by our freedom ; no com- 
 mand is exercised among us, but that of the 
 laws, to which every discreet citizen pays atten- 
 tion, The magistrate who distributes justice 
 tinctured with mercy, merits the thanks of so- 
 ciety. A train of attendants, a white wand, 
 and a few fiddles, are only the fringe, lace, and 
 trappings of charteral office. 
 
 Birmingham, exclusive of her market, ranks 
 among the very lowest order of townships; every 
 petty village claims the honour of being a con- 
 stablewick -we are no more. Our immunities
 
 PETITION FOR A CORPORATION. 3S5 
 
 are only the trifling privileges anciently granted 
 to the lords ; and two thirds of these are lost. 
 But, notwithstanding this seemingly forlorn 
 state, perhaps there is not a place in the British 
 dominions, where so many people are governed 
 by so few officers; pride, therefore, must have 
 dictated the humble petition before us. 
 
 I have seen a copy of this petition, signed by 
 eighty- four of the inhabitants ; and though with- 
 out a date, it seems to have been addressed to 
 King George the First, about 1716. It sets 
 forth, " That Birmingham is, of late years, be- 
 come very populous, from its great increase of 
 trade ; is much superior to any town in the 
 county, and but little inferior to any inland 
 town in the kingdom ; that it is governed only 
 by a constable, and enjoys no more privileges 
 than a village ; that there is no Justice of the 
 peace in the town, nor any in the neighbour- 
 hood, who dare act with vigour; that the coun- 
 try abounds with rioters, who, knowing the place 
 to be void of magistrates, assemble in it, pull 
 down the meeting-houses, defy the king, openly 
 avow the pretender, threaten the inhabitants, 
 and oblige them to keep watch in their own 
 houses ; that the trade decays, and will stag- 
 nate, if not relieved. To remedy these evils, 
 they beseech his majesty to incorporate the 
 town, and grant such privileges as will enable 
 them to support their trade, the king's interest, 
 c c
 
 386 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 and destroy the villainous attempts of the Jaco- 
 bites. In consideration of the requested charter, 
 they make the usual offering of lives and for- 
 tunes" 
 
 A petition and the petitioner, like Janus with 
 his two faces, look different ways ; it is often 
 treated as if it said one thing, and meant ano- 
 ther ; or as if it said any thing but truth. Its 
 use, in some places, is to lie on the table. Our 
 humble petition, by some means, met with the 
 fate it deserved. 
 
 We may remark, a town without a charter, is 
 a town without a shackle. If there was then a 
 necessity to erect a corporation, because the 
 town was large, there is none now, though 
 larger ; the place was governed a thousand years 
 ago, when only a twentieth of its present mag- 
 nitude ; it may also be governed as well a thou- 
 sand years hence, if it should swell to ten times 
 its size. 
 
 The pride of our ancestors was hurt by a petty 
 constable ; the interest of us, their successors, 
 would be hurt by a mayor ; a more simple go- 
 vernment cannot be instituted, or one more 
 efficacious ; that of some places is designed for 
 parade, ours for use ; and both answer their 
 end. A town governed by a multitude of 
 masters is the most likely to be ill-governed.
 
 387 
 
 MILITARY ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The use of arms is necessary to every man 
 who has something to lose, or something to 
 gain. No property will protect itself. The 
 English have liberty and property to lose, but 
 nothing to win : the West-Indian slaves have 
 liberty to gain, but nothing to lose. If an 
 African prince attempt to sell his people, he 
 ought to be first sold himself; and the buyer, 
 who acts so daringly opposite to the Christian 
 precept, is yet more blameable. He ought to 
 have the first whip, often mended, worn out 
 upon his own back. 
 
 Upon a change of Lord North's ministry, in 
 1782, the new premier, in a circular letter, ad- 
 vised the nation to arm, as the dangers of in- 
 vasion threatened us with dreadful aspect. In- 
 telligence from a quarter so authentic, locked 
 up the door of private judgment, or we might 
 have considered, that even without alliance, 
 and with four principal powers upon our hands, 
 we were rather gaining ground ; that the Ame- 
 ricans were so far from attacking us, that they 
 wished us to run ourselves out of breath to attack 
 them ; that Spain had slumbered over a seven 
 years war; that the Dutch, provoked at their 
 governors, for the loss of their commerce, were 
 
 c c 2
 
 3S8 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 more inclinable to invade themselves than us ; 
 and that as France bore the weight of the con- 
 test, we found employment for her arms with- 
 out invasion ; but, perhaps, the letter was only 
 an artifice of the new state doctor, to represent 
 his patient in a most deplorable state, as a 
 compliment to his own merit in recovering her. 
 
 Whatever was the cause, nothing could be 
 more agreeable than this letter to the active 
 spirit of Birmingham. Public meetings were 
 held. The rockets of war were squibbed off in 
 the newspapers. The plodding tradesman and 
 the lively hero assembled together in arms, and 
 many a trophy was won in thought. 
 
 Each man purchased a genteel blue uniform, 
 decorated with epaulets of gold, which, toge- 
 ther with his accoutrements, cost about gAJ. 
 The gentleman, the apprentice, &c. to the 
 number of seventy, united in a body, termed 
 by themselves, The Birmingham Association ; 
 by the wag, the brazen ivalls of the town. Each 
 was to be officer and private by ballot, which 
 gives an idea of equality. They were called to 
 exercise once a week. 
 
 The high price of provisions, and the 17th of 
 October, brought a dangerous mob into Bir- 
 mingham. They wanted bread; so did we. 
 But little conference passed between them and 
 the inhabitants. They were quiet ; we were 
 pleased ; and, after an hour or two's stay, they 
 retreated in peace.
 
 MILITARY ASSOCIATION, ETC. 389 
 
 In the evening, after the enemy was fled, 
 our champions beat to arms, breathing ven- 
 geance against the hungry crew; and, had they 
 returned, some people verily thought our va- 
 liant heroes would have discharged at them. 
 
 However laudable a system, if built upon 
 a false basis it will not stand. Equality and 
 command, in the same person, are incompati- 
 ble ; therefore cannot exist together. Subordi- 
 nation is necessary in every class of life, but 
 particularly in the military. Nothing but se- 
 vere discipline can regulate the boisterous spirit 
 of an army. 
 
 A man may be bound to another, but if he 
 command the bandage, lie will quickly set him- 
 self free. This was the case with the military 
 association. As their uniform resembled that 
 of a commander, so did their temper. There 
 were none to submit. The result was, the farce 
 ended, and the curtain dropt in December, by 
 a quarrel with each other; and, like John and 
 Lilborn, almost with themselves. 
 
 OCCURRENCES. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES, ETC. 
 
 It is a doctrine singular and barbarous, but 
 it is nevertheless true, that destruction is neces-
 
 890 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 sary. Every species of animals would multiply 
 beyond its bounds in the creation, were not 
 means devised to thin the race. 
 
 I perused an author in 1738, who asserts, 
 " the world might maintain sixty times the num- 
 ber of its present inhabitants." Two able dis- 
 putants, like those in religion, might maintain 
 sixty arguments on the subject, and like them, 
 leave the matter where they found it. But if 
 restraint were removed, the present number 
 would be multiplied into sixty, in much less 
 than one century. 
 
 Those animals appropriated for use, are suf- 
 fered, or rather invited, to multiply without li- 
 mitation. But luxury cuts off the heifer, the 
 pig, the sheep, and the fowl, and ill treatment 
 the horse ; noxious animals of every kind, from 
 the lion to the louse, are hunted to death ; a 
 perpetual contest seems to exist between them 
 and us ; on their side for their preservation, on 
 ours for their extinction. The kitten and the 
 puppy are cast into the water to end their lives; 
 out of which the fishes are drawn to end theirs 
 animals are every where devoured by animals. 
 Their grand governor, man himself, is under 
 controul by religious or by interested motives. 
 Even the fond parent seldom wishes to increase 
 the number of those objects, which of all others 
 he values most ! In civilized nations the supe- 
 rior classes are restrained by the laws of honour,
 
 EARTHQUAKES, ETC. 391 
 
 the inferior by those of bastardy ; but, notwith- 
 standing these restraints, the human race would 
 increase beyond measure, were they not taken 
 off by casualties. It is in our species alone, 
 that we often behold the infant flame extin- 
 guished by the wretched nurse. 
 
 Three dreadful calamities attending exis- 
 tence, are inundations, fires, and earthquakes ; 
 devastation follows their footsteps. But one 
 calamity, more destructive than them all, rises 
 from man himself, nwr. 
 
 Birmingham, from its elevation, is nearly ex- 
 empt from the flood; our inundations, instead 
 of sweeping away life and fortune, sweep away 
 the filth from the kennel. 
 
 It is amazing, in a place crowded with people, 
 that so much business, and so little mischief is 
 done by fire; we abound more with party walls, 
 than with timber buildings. Engines are ever 
 ready to extinguish the flames, and a generous 
 spirit to use them. I am not certain that a con- 
 flagration of ^.50 damage has happened within 
 memory, except with design. 
 
 I have only two earthquakes to record, one 
 felt Nov. 15, 1772, at four in the morning ; it 
 extended about eight miles in length, from 
 Hall-green to Erdington, and four in breadth, 
 of which Birmingham was part. The shaking 
 of the earth continued about five seconds, with 
 unequal vibration, sufficient to awake a gentle
 
 3 ( J2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 sleeper, throw down a knife carelessly reared 
 up, or rattle the brass handles of a chest of 
 drawers. A flock of sheep, in a field near Yard- 
 ley, frightened at the trembling, ran away. No 
 damage was sustained. The other happened 
 Nov. 18, 1795 ; a noise was heard resembling 
 the rolling of a cask in the cellar, and the chairs 
 vibrated under those who sat upon them. 
 
 SUBSCRIPTION, AND SHIP-MONEY. 
 
 At the Spanish invasion, in 1588, the following 
 gentlemen in and near Birmingham subscribed 
 ..25 each, for the service of the queen : 
 
 William Kinge. 
 
 William Colmore. 
 
 John Warde. 
 
 Richard Midlemore. 
 
 Edward Deverux. 
 In 1636, when Charles the First imposed the 
 tax of Ship-money upon his subjects, the coun- 
 ty of Warwick was charged with ^.4060 to 
 furnish a vessel of 400 tons and 160 men. 
 
 Birmingham paid - - - - 100 
 
 Coventry _-.-__ qQQ 
 
 Warwick - - - - - 100 
 
 Sutton Coldiield - - 80 
 
 Stratford - 50
 
 393 
 
 TITMORE AND HAMMOND. 
 
 Thomas Pitmore, a native of Cheshire, after 
 consuming a fortune of ^p.7O0, was a corporal 
 in the second regiment of foot; and John Ham- 
 mond, an American by birth, was drummer in 
 the thirty-sixth ; both of recruiting parties in 
 Birmingham. 
 
 Having procured a brace of pistols, they com- 
 mitted several robberies in the dark, on the 
 highways. 
 
 At eight in the evening of November 22, 
 1780, about five hundred yards short of the 
 four mile stone on the Coleshill road, they met 
 three butchers of Birmingham, who closely fol- 
 lowed each other, in their return from Rugby 
 fair. One of the robbers attempted the bridle 
 of the first man, but his horse being young, 
 started out of the road, and ran away. The 
 drummer then attacked the second, Wilfred 
 Barwick, with " stop your horse," and that 
 moment, through the agitation of a timorous 
 mind, he discharged a pistol, and lodged a brace 
 of slugs in the bowels of the unfortunate Bar- 
 wick, who exclaimed, " 1 am a dead man!" and 
 fell. 
 
 The corporal instantly disappeared, and was 
 afterwards, by the light of the snow upon the
 
 394 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 ground, seen retreating to Birmingham. The 
 drummer ran forwards about forty yards, and 
 went over a stile into Ward-end field. A fourth 
 butcher of their company, and a lad, by this 
 time came up, who having heard the report of a 
 pistol, seen the flash, and the drummer enter the 
 field, leaped over the hedge in pursuit of the 
 murderer. A fray ensued, in which the drum- 
 mer was seized, who desired them not to take 
 his life, but leave him to the laws of his country. 
 
 Within half an hour, the deceased and the 
 captive appeared together in the same room, at 
 the horse-shoe. What must then be the feelings 
 of a mind, susceptible of impression by nature, 
 but weakly calloused over by art ? This is one 
 instance, among many, which shows that a life 
 of innocence is alone a life of happiness. 
 
 The drummer impeached his companion, 
 who was perhaps the most guilty of the two, 
 and they were both that night lodged in the 
 dungeon. 
 
 Upon the trial, March 31, 1781, the matter 
 was too plain to be controverted. The crimi- 
 nals were executed, and hung in chains at 
 Wash wood-heath, April 2 ; the corporal at the 
 age of 25, and the drummer 22.
 
 395 
 
 RIOTS. 
 
 Three principal causes of riot are, the low state 
 of wages, the difference in political or religious 
 sentiment, and the scarcity of provisions: these 
 causes, like inundations, produce dreadful ef- 
 fects, and like them, return at uncertain periods. 
 
 The journeyman in Birmingham is under no 
 temptation to demand an additional price for 
 his labour, which is already higher than the 
 usual mark. 
 
 There is no nation fonder of its king than 
 England ; which is a proof that monarchy 
 suits the genius of the people ; there is no na- 
 tion more jealous of its power, which proves 
 that liberty is a favourite maxim. Though the 
 laws have complimented him with much, yet he 
 well knows, a prerogative upon the stretch, is 
 a prerogative in a dangerous state. The more 
 a people value their prince, the more willing 
 are they to contend in his favour. 
 
 The people of England revered the memory 
 of their beloved Saxon kings, and doubly la- 
 mented their fall, with that of their liberties. 
 They taxed themselves into beggary, to raise 
 the amazing sum of ,.100,000, to release Ri- 
 chard the First, unjustly taken captive by Leo 
 pold. They protected Henry the Fifth from
 
 390 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 death, at Agincourt, and received that death 
 themselves. They covered the extreme weak- 
 ness of Henry the Sixth, who never said a good 
 thing, or did a bad one, with the mantle of roy- 
 alty; when a character like his, without a crown, 
 would have been hunted through life ; they 
 gave him the title of good king Henry, which 
 would well have suited, had the word king been 
 omitted ; they sought him a place in the calen- 
 dar of saints, and made him perform the mira- 
 cles of an angel when dead, who could never 
 perform the works of a man when living. The 
 people shewed their attachment to Henry the 
 Eighth, by submitting to the faggot and the 
 block, at his command ; and with their last 
 breath praying for their butcher. Affection for 
 Charles the First, induced four of his friends to 
 offer their own heads to save his. The wrath 
 and the tears of the people succeeded his me- 
 lancholy exit. When James the Second eloped 
 from the throne, and was casually picked up 
 at Feversham, by his injured subjects, they re- 
 membered he was their king. The church and 
 queen Anne, like a joyous copartnership, were 
 toasted together. The barrel was willingly 
 emptied to honour the queen, and the toaster 
 lamented he could honour her no more. The 
 nation displayed its love to Charles the Second, 
 by dismantling the forests. His climbing the 
 oak at Boscobe), has been the destruction of
 
 riots. 397 
 
 more timber than would have filled the harbour 
 of Portsmouth ; the tree which flourished in the 
 field, was brought to die in the street. Bir- 
 mingham, for ninety years, honoured him with 
 her vengeance against the woods ; and she is, 
 at this day, surrounded with mutilated oaks, 
 which stand as martyrs to royalty. 
 
 It is singular that the oak, which assisted the 
 devotion of the Britons, composed habitations 
 for the people, and furniture for those habita- 
 tions that, while standing, was an ornament to 
 the country that bore it, and afterwards guard- 
 ed the land which nursed it, should be the cause 
 of continual riots in the reign of George the 
 First. We could not readily accede to a line 
 of strangers, in preference to our ancient 
 race of kings, though loudly charged with op- 
 pression. 
 
 Clubs and tumults supported the spirit of 
 contention till 1745, when, as our last act of 
 animosity, we crowned an ass with turnips, in 
 derision of one of the worthiest families that 
 ever ate them. 
 
 Power in the hand of ignorance, is an edge- 
 tool of the most dangerous kind. The scarcity 
 of provisions in 17o'G, excited the murmurs of 
 the poor. They began to breathe vengeance 
 against the farmer, miller, and baker, for doing 
 what they do themselves, procuring the greatest 
 price for their property. On a market day a
 
 398 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 common labourer, like Massenello of Naples, 
 formed the resolution to lead a mob. He there- 
 fore erected his standard, which was a mop in- 
 verted, assembled the crowd, and roared out the 
 old note, " Redress of grievances." The colliers, 
 with all their dark retinue, were to bring destruc- 
 tion from Wednesbury. Amazement seized the 
 town ; the people of fortune trembled ; John 
 Wyrley, an able magistrate, for the first time 
 frightened in office, with quivering lips and a 
 pale aspect, swore in about eighty constables, 
 to oppose the rising storm, armed each of them 
 with a staff of authority, warm from the turn- 
 ing lathe, and applied to the war-office for a mi- 
 litary force. 
 
 The lime-powdered monarch began to fa- 
 bricate his own laws, and direct the price of 
 every article, and he was punctually obeyed. 
 
 Port, or power, soon overcomes a weak head; 
 the more copious the draught, the more quick 
 intoxication ; the chief entered many of the 
 shops, and was every where treated with the ut- 
 most reverence ; took what goods he pleased, 
 and distributed them among i his followers ; 
 till one of the inhabitants, provoked beyond 
 measure at his insolence, gave him a hearty 
 kick on the posteriors, when the hero and his 
 consequence, like that of Wat Tyler, fell to- 
 gether. Thus ended a reign of seven hours ; 
 the sovereign was committed to prison, as
 
 riots. 399 
 
 sovereigns ought, in the abuse of power, and 
 harmony was restored without blood. 
 
 THE RIOTS IN 1791. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IT is uncommon to Jind two Prefaces to one 
 book, written by the same author, which con- 
 tradict each other, and yet are both true. I 
 have celebrated, in the former preface, and in 
 the work, that industry, civility, and peace- 
 able turn, which do honour to a people all 
 founded in fact. But now ice enter upon 
 bigotry, licentiousness, disorder, insult, ra- 
 pine, burnings, and murder. I am exceed- 
 ingly sorry that this is also true. 
 
 These unhappy riots, which began on Thurs- 
 day, July 14, 1791, have astonished all Eu- 
 rope, as a shameful attack upon private pro- 
 perty, which, in all civilized nations, is held 
 sacred. They were a disgrace to humanity, 
 and a lasting stigma on the place. About 
 eighty-one persons of various denominations 
 having met at the Hotel to celebrate the anni-
 
 400 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 versary of the French Revolution, the mob col- 
 lected, and broke the windows. They went 
 afterwards to the New Meeting House (Dr. 
 Priestley's) which they burnt ; then to the Old 
 Meeting House, which also they left in ashes. 
 From thence they marched to the Doctor's 
 house, about a mile from the town. Here his 
 valuable furniture, with a more valuable library, 
 and, what is most to be regretted, his philo- 
 sophical apparatus, and manuscripts, together 
 with the extensive buildings, ended in flames. 
 
 Friday July 15, began with the conflagration 
 of the mansion of John Ryland, Esq. at Easy 
 Hill. And while one mob was consuming 
 Bordesley Hall, the elegant and costly resi- 
 dence of John Taylor, Esq. another was de- 
 stroying my house, stock in trade, books, and 
 furniture. 
 
 Saturday the 16th, began with burning my 
 other house and furniture at Bennett's Hill, 
 two miles distant. The beautiful residence of 
 George Humphrys, Esq. then fell a prey to 
 rapine. That of William Russell, Esq. of 
 Showel Green, likewise ended in a blaze. 
 Moseley Hall, the property of John Taylor, 
 Esq. next felt the vengeance of the mob. 
 This was occupied by Lady Carhampton, mo- 
 ther to the Duchess of Cumberland. But nei- 
 ther the years of this lady, being blind with 
 age, nor her alliance to the king, could protect
 
 RIOTS. 401 
 
 it. She was ordered to remove her furniture, 
 and told by the rioters that if she wanted help 
 they would assist her. She was, therefore, like 
 Lot, hastened away before the flames arose, 
 but not by angels. They next carried the fag- 
 got to the Rev. Mr. Hobson's, and burnt his 
 all ; then to Mr. Harwood's, whose house was 
 licensed for public worship ; they then plun- 
 dered that of the Rev. Mr. Coates ; and those 
 of Mr. Hawkes, and Thomas Russell, Esq. 
 
 Sunday the l?th, was ushered in with the 
 burning of Kings-wood meeting-house, the par- 
 sonage-house, with that of Mr. Cox, licensed 
 for divine service. Returning nearer Birming- 
 ham, they plundered Edgbaston Hall, the resi- 
 dence of Dr. Withering ; and attacked that of 
 Mr. Male. But hearing in the evening that a 
 troop of light horse was near, they silently 
 mouldered away. 
 
 The damage done by this outrage, was more 
 than ,3^. 60,000. An order was obtained in 
 1793 to reimburse the sufferers. 
 
 They recovered, in their various trials, which 
 were conducted at the expence of ^.13,000, 
 the sum of ^.26,<J(il 2s. 3d. The trustees of 
 the New Meeting House, having lost their li- 
 cence, were not able to sue, but the king was 
 pleased, upon the application of Mr. Russell 
 to Mr. Pitt, to grant a warrant upon the trea- 
 sury for =g.2,O00. 
 
 i) n
 
 402 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 THE CONJURERS. 
 
 No head is a vacuum. Some, like a paltry 
 cottage, are ill accommodated, dark, and cir- 
 cumscribed ; others are capacious as West- 
 minster Hall. Though none are immense, yet 
 they are capable of immense furniture. The 
 more room is taken up by knowledge, the less 
 remains for credulity. The more a man is ac- 
 quainted with things, the more willing to give 
 up the ghost. Every town and village, within 
 my knowledge, has been pestered with spirits j 
 which appear in horrid forms to the imagina- 
 tion in the winter night but the spirits which 
 haunt Birmingham, are those of industry and 
 luxury. 
 
 If wc examine the whole parish, we cannot 
 produce one old witch ; but we have numbers 
 of young, who exercise a powerful influence 
 over us. Should the ladies accuse the harsh 
 epithet, they will please to consider, I allow 
 them, what of all things they most wish for, 
 poiver* therefore the balance is in my favour. 
 
 If we pass through the planetary worlds, we 
 shall be able to muster two conjurers, who en- 
 deavoured to shine with the stars. The first, 
 John Walton, who was so busy in casting the 
 nativity of others, that he forgot his own. Con- 
 scious of an application to himself, for the dis-
 
 THE CONJURERS. 403 
 
 covery of stolen goods, he employed his people 
 to steal them. And though, for many years 
 confined to his bed by infirmity, he could con- 
 jure away the property of others, and, for a re- 
 ward, conjure it back again. 
 
 The prevalence of this evil, induced the le- 
 gislature, in 1725, to make the reception of 
 stolen goods capital. The first sacrifice to this 
 law was the noted Jonathan Wild. 
 
 The officers of justice, in 1732, pulled Wal- 
 ton out of his bed, in an obscure cottage, one 
 furlong from the town, now Brickiln-lane, car- 
 ried him to prison, and from thence to the gal- 
 lows they had better have carried him to the 
 workhouse, and his followers to the anvil. 
 
 To him succeeded Francis Kimberley, the 
 only reasoning animal, who resided at No. 60, 
 in Dale End, from his early youth to extreme 
 asre. A hermit in a crowd ! The windows of 
 his house were strangers to light. The shutters 
 forgot to open ; the chimney to smoke. His 
 cellar, though amply furnished, never knew 
 moisture. 
 
 He spent threescore years in filling six rooms 
 with such trumpery as was just too good to be 
 thrown away, and too bad to be kept. His life 
 was as inoffensive as long. Instead of stealing 
 the goods which other people used, he pur- 
 chased what he could not use himself. He was 
 not difficult in his choice of the property that 
 
 UD l 2
 
 404 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 entered his house j if there was bulk, he was sa- 
 tisfied. 
 
 His dark house, and his dark figure, corre- 
 sponded with each other. The apartments, 
 choked up with lumber, scarcely admitted his 
 . body, though of the skeleton order. Perhaps 
 leanness is an appendage to the science, for I ne- 
 ver knew a corpulent conjurer. His diet, regular, 
 plain, and slender, shewed at how little expence 
 life might be sustained. His library consisted 
 of several thousand volumes, not one of which, 
 I believe, he ever read ; having written, in cha- 
 racters unknown to all but himself, his name, 
 the price, and the date, in the title-page, he 
 laid them by for ever. The highest pitch of 
 his erudition was the annual almanack. 
 
 He never wished to approach a woman, or 
 be approached by one. Should the rest of men, 
 for half a century, pay no more attention to the 
 fair, some angelic hand might stick up a note 
 like the arctic circle over one of our continents, 
 this world to be let. 
 
 If he did not cultivate the acquaintance of 
 the human species, the spiders, more nume- 
 rous than his books, enjoyed an uninterrupted 
 reign of quiet. The silence of the place was 
 not broken ; the broom, the book, the dust, or the 
 web, was not disturbed. Mercury and his shirt 
 performed their revolutions together ; and Sa- 
 turn changed his with his coat. He died in 
 \75G, as conjurers usually die, unlamented.
 
 405 
 
 PUBLIC ROADS. 
 
 Man is evidently formed for society ; the in- 
 tercourse of one with another, like two blocks 
 of marble in friction, reduces the rough pro- 
 minences of behaviour, and gives a polish to the 
 manners. 
 
 Whatever tends to promote social connexion, 
 improve commerce, or stamp an additional va- 
 lue upon property, is worthy of attention. 
 
 Perhaps, there is not a circumstance that 
 points more favourably towards these great 
 designs, than commodious roads. According 
 as a country is improved in her roads, so will 
 she stand in the scale of civilization. It is 
 a characteristic by which we may judge with 
 safety. The manners and the roads of the En- 
 glish have been refining together for about 
 1700 years. If any period of time is distin- 
 guished with a more rapid improvement in one, 
 it is also in the other. 
 
 Our Saxon ancestors, of dusky memory, sel- 
 dom stepped from under the smoke of Birming- 
 ham. We have a common observation among us, 
 that even so late as William the Third, the roads 
 were in so dangerous a state, that a man usually 
 made his will, and took a formal farewell of his
 
 406 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 friends, before he durst venture upon a journey 
 to London ; which, perhaps, was thought then 
 of as much consequence as a voyage to America 
 now. A dangerous road is unfavourable both 
 to commerce and to friendship ; a man is un- 
 willing to venture his neck to sell his produc- 
 tions, or visit his friend. If a dreadful road lie 
 between them, it will be apt to annihilate 
 friendship. 
 
 Landed property, in particular, improves with 
 the road. If a farmer cannot bring his produce 
 to market, he cannot give much for his land, 
 neither can that land well be improved, or the 
 market properly supplied. Upon a well-formed 
 road, therefore, might, with propriety, be placed 
 the figures of commerce, of friendship, and of 
 agriculture, as presiding over it. 
 
 There are but very few considerations necessary 
 in forming a road, and those few are very sim- 
 ple ; to expel whatever is hurtful, and invite 
 whatever is beneficial. The breaking up of a 
 long frost, by loosening the foundations, is in- 
 jurious, and very heavy carriages ought to be 
 prevented from using it, till the weather unite 
 the disjointed particles, which will soon happen. 
 But the grand enemy is water ; and as this will 
 inevitably fall, every means should be used to 
 discharge it ; drains ought to be frequent, that 
 the water may not lie upon the road. 
 
 The great benefits are the sun and the wind;
 
 PUBLIC ROADS. 40/ 
 
 the surveyor should use every method for the 
 admission of these friendly aids, that they may 
 dispel the moisture which cannot run oft*. For 
 this purpose, all public roads ought to be sixty 
 feet wide ; all trees and hedges within thirty 
 feet of the centre, be under the controul of the 
 commissioners, with full liberty of drawing oft* 
 the water in what manner they may judge ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 The Romans were the most accomplished 
 masters we know of in this useful art ; yet even 
 they seem to have forgot the under drain; ibr it 
 is evident at this day, where their road runs 
 along the declivity of a hill, the water dams up, 
 flows over, and injures the road. Care should 
 be taken, in properly forming a road at first, 
 otherwise you may botch it for a whole century, 
 and at the end of that long period, it will be 
 only a botch itself. A wide road will put the 
 unoffending traveller out of fear of the waggon- 
 ers, who are not the most civilized of the hu- 
 man race. 
 
 From Birmingham, as from a grand centre, 
 issue twelve roads, that point to as many towns; 
 some of these, within memory, have scarcely 
 been passable ; all are mended, but though 
 much is done, more is wanted. In an upland 
 country, like that about Birmingham, where 
 there is no river of consequence, and where the 
 heads only of the streams shew themselves, the
 
 408 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 stranger would be surprised to hear, that 
 through most of these twelve roads he cannot 
 travel in a flood with safety. For want of cause- 
 ways and bridges, the water is suffered to flow 
 over the road, higher than the stirrup ; every 
 stream, though only the size of a tobacco-pipe, 
 ought to be carried through an under drain; 
 never to run over the road. 
 
 At Saltley, in the way to Coleshill, which is 
 ten miles, for want of a causeway, with an arch 
 or two, every flood annoys the passenger and 
 the road. At Coleshill Hall, till the year 1779, 
 he had to pass a dangerous river. 
 
 One mile from Birmingham, upon the Lich- 
 field road, which is sixteen miles, to the disgrace 
 of the community, was a river without a bridge 
 till 1792. Inl777the country was inclined to so- 
 licit Parliament for a turnpike act, but the mat- 
 ter fell to the ground through private views : 
 one would think that a penny can never be ill laid 
 out, which carries a man ten miles with pleasure 
 and safety. The hand of nature has been more 
 beneficent, both to this and the Stafford road, 
 which is twenty-eight miles, than that of art. 
 
 The road to Walsall, ten miles, is lately made 
 good. 
 
 That to Wolverhampton, thirteen miles, is 
 much improved since the coal teams left it. 
 
 The road to Dudley, ten miles, is despicable 
 beyond description. The unwilling traveller is
 
 PUBLIC ROADS. 409 
 
 obliged to go two miles about, through a bad 
 road, to avoid a worse. 
 
 That to Hales-Owen, eight miles, like the 
 life of man, is chequered with good and evil ; 
 chiefly the latter. 
 
 To Bromsgrove thirteen miles, made ex- 
 tremely commodious, under the patronage of 
 John Kettle, esq. 
 
 To Alcester, about twenty, formed in I767, 
 upon a tolerable plan, but rather too narrow, 
 through a desolate country, which at present 
 scarcely defrays the expence ; but that country 
 seems to improve with the road. 
 
 Those to Stratford and Warwick, about 
 twenty miles each, are much used and much 
 neglected. 
 
 That to Coventry, about the same distance, 
 could only be equalled by the Dudley road, but 
 it has been much improved. 
 
 The genius of the age has forgotten, in some 
 of these roads, to accommodate the foot passen- 
 ger with a causeway. 
 
 The surveyor of the road will be inclined to 
 ask, how can a capital be raised to defray this 
 enormous expence ? Suffer me to reply with 
 an expression I met with in the life of Oliver 
 Cromwell, " lie that lays out money when ne- 
 cessary, and only then, will accomplish matters 
 beyond the reach of imagination."
 
 410 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Government Jong practised the impolitic 
 mode of transporting vast numbers of her peo- 
 ple to America, under the character of felons ; 
 these, who are generally in the prime of life, 
 might be made extremely useful to that country 
 which they formerly robbed, and against which 
 they often carry arms. It would be easy to re- 
 duce this ferocious race under a kind of martial 
 discipline; to badge them with a mark only re- 
 moveable by the governors, for hope should 
 ever be left for repentance, and to employ them 
 in the rougher arts of life, according to the na- 
 ture of the crime, and the ability of the body; 
 such as working the coal mines in Northumber- 
 land, the lead mines in Derbyshire, the tin 
 mines in Cornwall, cultivating waste lands, 
 banking after inundations, forming canals, 
 cleansing the beds of rivers, assisting in har- 
 vest, and in forming and mending the roads : 
 these hewers of wood and drawers of water 
 would be a corps of reserve against any emer- 
 gency. From this magazine of villainy, the 
 British navy might be recruited with conside- 
 rable advantage. 
 
 CANAL. 
 
 An act was obtained in 17^7, to make a ca- 
 nal between Birmingham and the coal mines
 
 CANAL. 411 
 
 about Wednesbury. The necessary article coal, 
 before this act, was brought by land, at about 
 thirteen shillings per ton. It was then brought 
 by water at 6s. 8d. ; but in 1813 it had gradually 
 risen to 14s. It had been common to see a 
 train of carriages for miles, to the great destruc- 
 tion of the road, and the annoyance of travel- 
 lers. 
 
 This duct is extended in the whole to about 
 twenty-two miles in length, till it unites with 
 what we may justly term the grand artery, or 
 Staffordshire canal ; which, crossing the island, 
 communicates with Hull, Bristol, and Liver- 
 pool. The expence was about ,^=.70,000, and 
 was divided into shares of ^?.140 each, of 
 which no man should purchase more than ten. 
 In 1782 a share sold for about ^S.3J0 ; and in 
 1792, for ,=.1,110. In 1811 an act passed by 
 which the shares were divided; and in 1813 the 
 half share sold at from gg.550 to gg.580. 
 
 The proprietors took a perpetual lease of six 
 acres of land of Sir Thomas Gooch, at dB-^1 
 per annum, and converted it into a wharf, upon 
 the front of which is erected a handsome office 
 for the dispatch of business. 
 
 This watery passage, exclusive of loading the 
 proprietors with wealth, tends greatly to the 
 improvement of some branches of trade, by in- 
 troducing heavy materials at a small expence, 
 such as pig-iron for the founderies, lime-stone,
 
 il2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 articles for the manufacture of brass and steel, 
 stone, brick, slate, timber, &c. It is happy for 
 the world, that public interest is grafted upon 
 private, and that both flourish together. 
 
 This grand work, like other productions ot 
 Birmingham birth, was rather hasty ; the ma- 
 nagers, not being able to find patience to worm 
 round the hill at Smethwick, or cut through it, 
 wisely travelled over it by the help of twelve 
 locks ; with six they mount the summit, and 
 with six more descend to the former level; 
 forgetting the great waste of water, and the 
 small supply from the rivulets, and also the loss 
 of time in climbing this curious ladder, consist- 
 ing of twelve liquid steps. It is worthy of re- 
 mark, that the level of the earth is nearly the 
 same at Birmingham as at the pits. What be- 
 nefit would accrue to commerce, could the 
 boats travel a dead flat of fourteen miles with- 
 out interruption ! The use of the canal would 
 increase, great variety of goods be brought 
 which are now excluded, and these delivered 
 with more expedition, with less expence, and 
 the waste of water never felt ; but, by the in- 
 troduction of twelve unnecessary locks, the 
 company may experience five plagues more than 
 fell on Egypt *. 
 
 The boats are nearlyalike, and are constructed 
 
 * This evil is now removed.
 
 CANAL. 41 S' 
 
 to fit the locks, they carry about twenty-five 
 tons, and are each drawn by something like the 
 skeleton of a horse, covered with skin ; whether 
 he subsists upon the scent of the water is a 
 doubt ; but whether his life is a scene of afflic- 
 tion is not; for the unfeeling driver has no em- 
 ployment but to w r hip him from one end of the 
 canal to the other. While the teams practised 
 the turnpike road, the lash was divided among 
 five unfortunate animals, but now the whole 
 wrath of the driver falls upon one. We can 
 scarcely view a boat travelling this liquid road, 
 without raising opposite sensations pleased to 
 think of its great benefit to the community, and 
 grieved to behold wanton punishment. I see a 
 large field of cruelty expanding before me, which 
 I could easily prevail with myself to enter ; in 
 which we behold the child plucking a wing and 
 a leg off a fly, to try how the poor insect can 
 perform with half its limbs ; or running a pin 
 through the posteriors of a locust, to observe it 
 spinning through the air, like a comet, drawing 
 a tail of thread. If we allow that man has a 
 right to destroy noxious animals, we cannot al- 
 low he has a right to protract their pain by a 
 lingering death. By fine gradations, the modes 
 of cruelty improve with years, in pinching the 
 tail of a cat for the music of her voice, kicking 
 a dog because we have trodden on his foot; or 
 hanging him for fun; till we arrive at the priests
 
 414 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 of the church of Rome, who burnt people for 
 opinion ; or to the painter, who begged the life 
 of a criminal, that he might torture him to death 
 with the severest pangs, to catch the agonizing 
 feature, and transfer it into his favourite piece, 
 of a dying Saviour. But did that Saviour teach 
 such doctrine? Humanity would wish rather to 
 have lost the piece, than have heard of the 
 cruelty. What, if the injured ghost of the cri- 
 minal is at this moment torturing that of the 
 painter ? But as this capacious field is beyond 
 the line I profess, and, as I have no direct accu- 
 sation against the people of my regard, I shall 
 not enter it. 
 
 BILSTON CANAL ACT. 
 
 Envy, like a dark shadow, follows closely the 
 footsteps of prosperity ; success in any under- 
 taking out of the circle of genius, produces a 
 rival. This I have instanced in our hackney 
 coaches. Profits, like a round-bellied bottle, 
 may seem bulky, which, like that, will not bear 
 dividing. Thus orator Jones, in 1774, opened 
 a debating society at the Red Lion ; he quickly 
 filled a large room with customers, and his 
 pockets with money ; but he had not prudence 
 to keep either. His success opened a rival so-
 
 BILSTON CANAL ACT. 4 15 
 
 ciety at the King's-head, which in a few weeks 
 annihilated both. 
 
 The growing profits of our canal company, as 
 already mentioned, having increased the shares 
 from ^.140 in 1768, to nearly ,^.400 in 1782, 
 and these emoluments being thought enor- 
 mous, a rival company sprang up, which in 
 1783, petitioned Parliament to partake of those 
 emoluments, by opening a parallel cut from 
 some of the neighbouring coal-pits, to proceed 
 along the lower level, and terminate in Dig- 
 beth. 
 
 A stranger might ask, " How the water in 
 our upland country, which had never supplied 
 one canal, could supply two? Whether the se- 
 cond canal were not likely to rob the first ? 
 Whether one able canal were not preferable to 
 two lame ones ? If a man sell me an article 
 cheaper than I can purchase it elsewhere, whe- 
 ther it be of consequence to me what are his 
 profits? And whether two companies in rival- 
 ship would not destroy that harmony which had 
 long subsisted in Birmingham." 
 
 The new company urged " the necessity of 
 another canal, lest the old should not perform 
 the business of the town ; that twenty per cent 
 was an unreasonable profit ; that they could af- 
 ford coals under the present price ; that the 
 south country teams would procure a readier 
 supply from Digbeth, than from the present
 
 41 G HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 wharf, and not passing through the streets, 
 would be prevented from injuring the pave- 
 ment; and that the goods from the Trent would 
 come to their wharf by a run of eighteen miles 
 nearer than to the other." 
 
 The old company alleged, " that they ven- 
 tured their property in an uncertain pursuit, 
 which, had it not succeeded, would have ruined 
 many individuals ; therefore the present gains 
 were only a rccompence for former hazard ; 
 that this property was expended upon the faith 
 of Parliament, which was obliged in honour to 
 protect it, otherwise no man would risk his for- 
 tune upon a public undertaking; for should a 
 second canal be allowed, why not a third? 
 which would become a wanton destruction of 
 right, without benefit ; that although the profit 
 of the original subscribers might seem large, 
 those subscribers were but few. Many had 
 bought at a subsequent price, which barely paid 
 common interest, and this was all their support ; 
 therefore a reduction would be barbarous on 
 one side, and sensibly felt on the other ; and, 
 as the present canal amply supplied the town 
 and country, it would be ridiculous to cut away 
 good land to make another, which would ruin 
 both." 
 
 I shall not examine the reasons of either, but 
 leave the disinterested reader to weigh both in 
 his own balance. When two opponents have
 
 BILSTON CANAL COMPANY. 417 
 
 said all that is true, they generally say some- 
 thing more : rancour holds the place of argu- 
 ment. 
 
 Both parties beat up for volunteers in the 
 town, to strengthen their forces ; from words of 
 acrimony, they came to those of virulence ; then 
 the powerful batteries of hand bills and news- 
 papers were opened. Every town within fifty 
 miles, interested on either side, was moved to 
 petition, and both confident of victory, prepared 
 for a grand attack. Perhaps a contest among 
 friends, in matters of property, will remove 
 that peace of mind which twenty per cent will 
 not replace. Each party possessed that activity 
 of spirit for which Birmingham is famous, and 
 seemed to divide between them the legislative 
 strength of the nation ; every corner of the two 
 houses was ransacked for a vote ; the throne 
 was the only power unsolicited. Perhaps at 
 the reading, when both parties had marshalled 
 their forces, there was the fullest house of Com- 
 mons ever remembered on a private bill. 
 
 The new company promised much ; for be- 
 sides the cut from Wednesbury to Digbeth, 
 they would open another to join the two canals 
 of Stafford and Coventry, by which a large tract 
 of country was interested. 
 
 As the old company were the first adventu- 
 rers, the house gave them the option to perform 
 this Herculean labour, which they accepted. 
 
 E K
 
 418 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Thus the new proprietors, by losing, will save 
 50,000/. and the old, by winning, become suf- 
 ferers. 
 
 WORCESTER CANAL. 
 
 The act for this was obtained in 1791, and 
 the expence was to have been ^.45,000. The 
 canal begins at Birmingham, and terminates at 
 Worcester, a length of about thirty miles, and 
 in 1812 it was opening at the additional cost of 
 ^.220,000, 
 
 The act for the Warwick canal was obtained 
 in 1793, as was the Stratford, which pays no- 
 thing. 
 
 GENTLEMEN S SEATS. 
 
 This neighbourhood may justly be deemed 
 the seat of the arts, but not the seat of the 
 gentry. None of the nobility are near us, ex- 
 cept William Legge Earl of Dartmouth, at 
 Sandwell, four miles from Birmingham. The 
 principal houses in our environs, are those of 
 the late Sir Charles Holt, who was member for 
 the county, at Aston ; afterwards of Heneage
 
 gentlemen's seats. 419 
 
 Legge, esq. who has quitted the place ; Sir 
 Henry Gough Calthorpe, member for Bramber, 
 at Edgbaston, afterwards lord Calthorpe, who 
 has quitted the place ; John Wyrley Birch, esq. 
 at Handsworth, who lias quitted the place, and 
 sold it to the Earl of Dartmouth ; John Gough, 
 Esq. at Perry ; and John Taylor, Esq. at Mose- 
 ley ; all joining to the manor of Birmingham. 
 Exclusive of these, are many elegant retreats of 
 our first inhabitants, acquired by commercial 
 success. 
 
 Eull fed with vanity is an author, when two 
 readers strive to catch up his work, for the plea- 
 sure of perusing it: but, perchance, if two 
 readers dip into this chapter, they may strive to 
 lay it down. 
 
 I have hitherto written to the world, but I 
 now write to a small part, the antiquaries ; nay, 
 a small part of the sensible part ; for a tool and 
 an antiquary is a contradiction ; they are, to a 
 man, people of letters and penetration. Iftheir 
 judgment be sometimes erroneous, we may consi- 
 der, that man was never designed for perfection ; 
 there is also less light, to guide in this, than in 
 other researches. W the traveller slip upon 
 common ground, how will he fare if he tread 
 upon ice ? Besides, in dark questions, as in 
 intricate journeys, there are many erroneous 
 ways lor one light . If, like the mathematician, 
 the antiquary can establish one point, it ascer- 
 k i; l i
 
 420 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tains another. We may deem his pursuit one 
 of the most arduous, and attended with the least 
 profit ; his emoluments consist in the returns of 
 pleasure to his own mind. The historian only 
 collects the matter of the day, and hands it to 
 posterity ; but the antiquary brings his treasures 
 from remote ages, and presents them to this ; 
 he examines forgotten repositories, calls things 
 back into existence ; counteracts the effects of 
 time, and of death ; possesses something like a 
 re-creative power ; collects the dust of departed 
 matter, moulds it into its pristine state, exhibits 
 the figure to view, and impresses it with a kind 
 of immortality. 
 
 Every thing has its day, whether it be a na- 
 tion, a city, a castle, a man, or an insect; the 
 difference is, one is a winter's day, the other 
 may be extended to the length of a summer's 
 an end waits upon all : but we cannot contem- 
 plate the end of grandeur without gloomy ideas. 
 
 Birmingham is surrounded by the melan- 
 choly remains of extinguished greatness. The 
 decayed habitations of decayed gentry fill the 
 mind with sorrowful reflections. Here the feet 
 of those marked the ground whose actions 
 marked the page of history. Their arms glis- 
 tened in the field ; their eloquence moved the 
 senate. Born to command, their influence was 
 extensive ; they now rest in peace among the 
 paupers, fed with the crumbs of their table.
 
 gentlemen's seats, etc. 421 
 
 The very land which, for ages, was witness to 
 the hospitality of its master, is itself doomed to 
 sterility. The spot which drew the adjacent 
 country, is neglected by all ; is often in a wretch- 
 ed state of cultivation, and lets for a trifle ; 
 the glory is departed ; it demands a tear from 
 the traveller, and the winds seem to sigh over it. 
 
 THE MOATS. 
 
 In the parish of King's Norton, four miles 
 south west of Birmingham, is The Moats, upon 
 which long resided the ancient family of Field. 
 The numerous buildings, which almost formed 
 a village, are totally erased, and barley grows 
 where the beer was drunk. 
 
 BLACK GREVES. 
 
 Eight miles south west of Birmingham, in the 
 same parish, near Withal Chapel, is Black 
 Greves (Black Groves) another seat of the 
 Fields ; which, though a family of opulence, 
 were so far from being lords of the manor, that 
 they were in vassalage to them. 
 
 The whole of the extensive parish of King's 
 Norton is in the crown, which holds the detes- 
 table badge of ancient slavery, of demanding
 
 422 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 on the death of every tenant, under the name 
 of herriot, the best moveable he was possessed 
 of Thus death and the bailiff make their in- 
 roads together ; they rob the family in a double 
 capacity, each taking the best moveable. 
 
 As the human body descends into the regions 
 of sickness much sooner than it can return into 
 health ; so a family can decline into poverty by 
 hastier steps than rise into affluence. One gene- 
 ration of extravagance puts a period to many of 
 greatness. A descendant of the Fields, in 1777* 
 finished their ancient grandeur by signing away 
 the last estate of his family. Thus he blotted 
 out the name of his ancestors by writing his own. 
 
 ULVERLEY, OR CULVERLEY. 
 
 Four miles from Birmingham, upon the War- 
 wick road, entering the parish of Solihull, in 
 Castle-lane, is Ulverle, in Doomsday Ulverlei. 
 Trifling as this place now seems, it must have 
 been the manor-house of Solihull, under the 
 Saxon heptarchy ; but it went to decay so long 
 ago as the conquest. 
 
 I shall transcribe a passage from Doomsday 
 book : " Christina holds of the King eight hides 
 in Uluerli. The land would employ twenty 
 ploughs, there is one kept in the lordship ; 
 and 3 servants, and 22 villains, with a priest.
 
 ULVERLEY, OR CULVERLEY. 423 
 
 and 4 bordars have 7 ploughs. There are 12 
 acres of meadow, and a wood 4 miles long, 
 and half a mile broad ; which, when it is 
 charged, is valued at 12 shillings. It was 
 valued at 10 pounds, and is now worth 4 
 pounds." 
 
 The manor was the property of the Earls of 
 Mercia, but whetner their residence is uncer- 
 tain. The traces of a moat yet remain, which 
 are triangular, and encircle a wretched farm 
 house of no note ; one of the angles of this 
 moat is filled up, and become part of Castle-lane, 
 which proves that Ulverley went into disuse 
 when Hogg's moat was erected ; it also proves 
 that the lane terminated here, which is about 
 two hundred yards from the turnpike road. 
 The great width of the lane, from the road to 
 Ulverley, and the singular narrowness from 
 thence to Hogg's moat, is another proof of its 
 prior antiquity. 
 
 If we pursue our journey half a mile further 
 along this lane, which by the way is scarcely 
 passable, it will bring us to 
 
 hogg's moat, 
 
 Originally Odingsell's moat, now Hobb's 
 moat, at Oltenend (Old town end), which was 
 the ancient manor-house of Solihull, after it had 
 changed its lords at the conquest ; the property,
 
 424 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 as before observed, of Edwin Earl of Mercia, 
 in the reign of Edward the Confessor. 
 
 William the first granted the manor to a fa- 
 vourite lady, named Christina, probably a hand- 
 some lass, of the same complexion as his mo- 
 ther ; thus we err when we say William gave all 
 the land in the kingdom to his followers some 
 little was given to those he followed. 
 
 This lady, like many of her successors, having 
 tired the arms of royalty, was conveyed into those 
 of a humble favourite, Ralph de Limesie, who 
 married her, and became lord of the place, but 
 despising Ulverley, he erected this castle. The 
 line of Limesie continued proprietors four de- 
 scents ; when, in the reign of King John, it 
 became the property of Hugh de Odingsells, by 
 marrying a co-heiress. The last of the Oding- 
 sells, in 1294, left four daughters, one of whom, 
 with the lordship, fell into the hands of John de 
 Clinton : but it is probable the castle was not 
 inhabited after the above date, therefore it 
 would quickly fall to decay. 
 
 The moat is upon a much larger plan than 
 that of Ulverley ; it takes in a compass of five 
 acres, and had two trenches ; the outer is nearly 
 obliterated, but the inner is marked with the 
 strongest lines we meet with. This trench is 
 about twenty feet deep, and about thirty yards 
 from the crown of one bank to that of the other. 
 When Dugdale saw it about a hundred and
 
 HOGGS MOAT. 425 
 
 ninety years ago, the centre where the castle 
 stood, which is about two acres, was covered 
 with old oaks ; round this centre are now some 
 thousands, the oldest of which is not more than 
 a century old ; so that the timber is changed 
 since the days of Dugdale, but not the appear- 
 ance of the land. The centre is bare of timber, 
 and exhibits the marks of the plough. The late 
 Benjamin Palmer, Esq. a few years ago planted 
 it with trees, which are in that dwindling state 
 that they are not likely to grow so tall as their 
 master *. 
 
 A place of such desolation, one would think, 
 was a place of silence just the reverse. When 
 I saw it, Feb. 23, 1783, the trees were tall, the 
 winds high, and the roar tremendous. 
 
 Exclusive of Ulverley and Hogg's moat, 
 there are many old foundations in Solihull, 
 once the residence of gentry now extinct ; as 
 Solihull Hall, the Moat house, and Kynton, 
 
 * He measured about six feet five inches, but was singu- 
 larly short in the lower parts. His step was not larger than a 
 child's of ten years old. Ilis carriage, from his extraordinary 
 height, looked at a distance like a moving steeple : he sat as 
 high in a common chair, a.-i a man of the middle size stands : 
 he was as immoderately heavy as he was tall, and as remark- 
 able for good-nature as for bulk or weight. As a man, he 
 shone by his bulk ; as a magistrate, in a dull but honest light ; 
 his decisions were intended to be just. He seemingly doaed 
 as he walked ; but if his own eyes were half shut, those of 
 every other person were open to see him.
 
 4>%6 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the property of the Botolers ; Bury Hall, that 
 of the Warings, (these both came over with 
 William) ; Henwood,belonging to the Hugfords; 
 Hillfield Hall, the ancient seat of the Greswolds, 
 as Malvern was their modern. 
 
 YARDLEY. 
 
 At Yardley church, four miles east of Bir- 
 mingham, is The Moat, now a pasture ; the 
 trench still retains its water, as a remembrance 
 of its former use. This was anciently the pro- 
 perty of the Allestrees, lords pf Witton ; but 
 about the middle of the eighteenth century, the 
 building and the family expired together. 
 
 KENT S MOAT. 
 
 One mile farther east is Kent's moat, in which 
 no noise is heard but the singing of birds, as if 
 for joy that their enemy is fled, and they have 
 regained their former habitation. 
 
 This is situate on an eminence, like that of 
 Park Hall, is capacious, has but one trench, 
 supplied by its own springs ; and, like that, as 
 complete as earth and water can make it. 
 
 This was part of Coleshill, and vested in the 
 crown before the conquest, but soon after
 
 kent's moat, etc. 427 
 
 granted with that to Clinton, who gave it with 
 a daughter to Verdon ; and he, with another, 
 to Anselm de Scheldon, who kept it till the 
 reign of Edward the Third. It afterwards 
 passed through several families, till the reign of 
 Henry the Seventh, when it came into that of 
 De Grey, Earl of Kent, whence the name ; 
 though, perhaps, the works were erected hy 
 Scheldon. 
 
 It is now, with Coleshill, the property of 
 Lord Digby ; but the building has been so long 
 gone, that tradition herself has lost it. 
 
 SHELDON. 
 
 One mile cast is Sheldon Hall, which an- 
 ciently bore the name of East Hall, in contra- 
 diction to Kent's moat, which was West Hall. 
 This, in 137l)> was the property of Sir Hugh le 
 Despenser, afterwards of the family of Deve- 
 reux, ancestors of the present Viscount Here- 
 ford, who resided here till about 1710. In 
 17->1, it was purchased by John Taylor, Esq. 
 and is now occupied by his tenant. 
 
 The moat, like others on an eminence, has 
 but one trench, fed by thej land springs; it is 
 filled up in the front of the hall, as there is not 
 much need of water protection. The house, 
 which gives an idea of former gentility, seems
 
 428 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the first erected on the spot ; is irregular, 
 agreeable to the taste of the times, and must 
 have been built many centuries. All the an- 
 cient furniture fled with its owners, except an 
 hatchment in the hall, with sixteen coats of 
 arms, specifying the families into which they 
 married. 
 
 KING S HURST. 
 
 Two furlongs east of Sheldon Hall, and one 
 mile south of Castle Eromwich, is King's Hurst ; 
 which, though now a dwelling in tenancy, was 
 once the capital of a large tract of land, con- 
 sisting of its own manor, Coleshill, and Sheldon; 
 the demesne of the crown, under Saxon kings, 
 from whom we trace the name. 
 
 The Conqueror, or his son William, granted 
 it to Mountfort ; but whether for money, ser- 
 vice, caprice, or favour, is uncertain ; for he 
 who wears a crown acts as whimsically as he who 
 does not. 
 
 Mountfort came over with William, as a 
 knight, and an officer of rank ; but, perhaps, 
 did not immediately receive the grant, for the 
 king would still act much like other people, 
 give away their property, before he would give 
 away his own. 
 
 If this unfortunate family were not the first
 
 king's hurst. 429 
 
 grantees, they were lords, and probably resi- 
 dents of King's Hurst, long before their pos- 
 session of Coleshill in 1332, and by a younger 
 branch, long after the attainder of Sir Simon in 
 1497- 
 
 Sir William Mountfort, in 1390, augmented 
 the buildings, erected a chapel, and inclosed 
 the manor. His grandson, Sir Edmund, in 
 1447, paled in some of the land, and dignified 
 it with the fashionable name of park. 
 
 This prevailing humour of imparking was un- 
 known to the Saxons ; it crept in with the Nor- 
 mans ; some of the first we meet with are those 
 of Nottingham, Wedgnock, and Woodstock 
 Nottingham, by William Peveral, illegitimate 
 son of the Conqueror; Wedgnock, by Newburg 
 the first Norman Earl of Warwick ; and Wood- 
 stock, by Henry the First. So that the Duke 
 of Marlborough perhaps may congratulate him- 
 self upon possessing the oldest park now used 
 as such. 
 
 Modern parks are worth attention ; some 
 are delightful in the extreme; they are the beau- 
 ties of creation, terrestrial paradises ; they are 
 nature cautiously assisted by invisible art. We 
 envy the little being who presides over one 
 but why should we envy him ? the pleasure con- 
 sists in seeing, and one man may see as well as 
 another; nay, the stranger holds a privilege be- 
 yond him ; for the proprietor, by often seeing,
 
 430 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 loses the beauties, while he who looks but sel- 
 dom, sees with full effect. Besides, one is lia- 
 ble to be irritated by the mischievous hand of 
 injury; the other seldom sees it: the stranger 
 looks for excellence, the owner for defect, and 
 they both find. 
 
 These proud inclosures, guarded by the 
 growth within, first appeared under the dimen- 
 sion of one or two hundred acres ; but fashion, 
 emulation, and the park, grew up together, 
 till the last swelled into one or two thousand. 
 
 If religions rise from the lowest ranks, the 
 fashions generally descend from the higher, 
 who are at once blamed and imitated by their 
 inferiors. The highest orders of men lead up a 
 fashion, the next class treads upon their heels, 
 the third quickly follows, then the fourth, fifth, 
 &c. immediately pursue them. But as a man 
 who had an inclination for a park, could not 
 always spare a thousand acres, he must, some- 
 times, submit to less, for a park must be had ; 
 thus Bond, of Ward End, set up with thirty ; 
 others with one half, till the very word became 
 a burlesque upon the idea. The design was a 
 display of lawns, hills, water, clumps, &c. as 
 if ordered by the voice of nature ; and fur- 
 nished with herds of deer. But some of our 
 modern parks contain none of these beauties, 
 nor scarcely land enough to support a rabbit. 
 
 I am possessed of one of these jokes of a park
 
 king's hurst, coleshill. 431 
 
 something less than an acre; he that has none 
 might think it a good joke, and wish it his own; 
 he that has more would despise it ; that King's 
 Hurst, for that is its name, never was larger, 
 appears from its being surrounded by Sutton 
 Coldfield ; and that it has retained the name 
 for ages, appears from the old timber upon it. 
 
 The manor of King's Hurst was disposed of 
 by the Mountforts, about two hundred years 
 ago, to the Digbys, with whom it remains. 
 
 COLESHILL. 
 
 One mile farther east is Coleshill Hall, vested 
 in the crown before and after the conquest ; pur- 
 chased perhaps, of William Ilufus, by Geoffrey 
 dc Clinton, ancestor to the present Duke of 
 Newcastle. In 1352, an heiress of the house 
 of Clinton gave it, with herself) to Sir John dc 
 Mountfort, of the same family with Simon, the 
 great Karl of Leicester, who fell, in lsioV), at 
 Evesham, in the remarkable contest with Henry 
 the Third. 
 
 With them it continued till 1497, when Sir 
 Simon Mountfort, charged, but perhaps un- 
 justly, with assisting Perkin Warbcck with 
 e^.30, was brought to trial at Guildhall, con- 
 demned as a traitor, executed at Tyburn, his
 
 452 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 large fortune confiscated, and his family ruined. 
 Some of his descendants I well know in Bir- 
 mingham ; and they are well known to poverty 
 and the hammer. 
 
 In the reign of Henry the Seventh, it was 
 almost dangerous, particularly for a rich man, 
 even to think against a crafty and avaricious 
 monarch. What is singular, the man who ac- 
 cused Sir Simon at the bar, succeeded him in 
 his estate. 
 
 Simon Digby procured a grant of the place, 
 in whose line it still continues. The hall was 
 deserted by the family about the middle of the 
 eighteenth century, and was taken down about 
 the beginning of the nineteenth. It was pro- 
 bably erected by the Mountforts, was extensive, 
 and its antique aspect without gave a venera- 
 ble pleasure to the beholder, like the half ad- 
 mitted light diffused within. Every spot of the 
 park is delightful, except that in which the hall 
 stood j our ancestors built in the valleys, for the 
 sake of water ; their successors on the hills, for 
 the sake of air. 
 
 From this uncouth swamp sprang the philo- 
 sopher, the statesman, and, tradition says, the 
 gunpowder plot.
 
 4SS 
 
 DUDDESTON. 
 
 Four furlongs north-east of Birmingham is 
 Duddeston (Dud's Town) from Dud, the Saxon 
 proprietor, Lord of Dudley, who probably had 
 a seat here. This was once a considerable vil- 
 lage, but was long reduced to the manor-house 
 till Birmingham, swelling beyond its bounds, in 
 176*4 verged upon this lordship ; and in 1?S3, 
 we beheld about eighty houses, under the names 
 of Duke-street, Prospect-row, and Woodcock- 
 lane. From which time to May 20, 1793, was 
 the following increase : Behnont-row, (Watery- 
 lane) 26 houses, St. George's-street 5, Lawley- 
 street 73, Windsor-street 63, Henry-street 7> 
 Great Brook-street 4.';, Vauxhall-row (the turn- 
 pike road) 92, exclusive of a Methodist Meet- 
 ing House, Barracks for the Military, and Ash- 
 tei Chapel, for episcopal worship. 
 
 Duddeston afterwards descended to the Pa- 
 gan alls, the Someris, the Bottetourts, and was, 
 in 1323, enjoyed by Joan Bottetourt, lady of 
 Weoley Castle, a daughter of the house of 
 Someri. 
 
 Sir Thomas de Erdington held it of this lady, 
 by a chief rent, which was a pair of gilt spurs. 
 or sixpence, at the option of the tenant.
 
 434 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Erdington sold it, in 1397, to Thomas de 
 Maiden hache, by whose daughter, Sibell, it 
 came in marriage to Adam de Grymsorwe, 
 whose posterity in 1363, conveyed it for ^.26 
 13s. 4d. to John atte Holt ; and his successors 
 made it their residence till the erection of As- 
 ton Hall, in the reign of James I. 
 
 Duddeston is now converted into beautiful 
 gardens, as a public resort of pleasure, and dig- 
 nified with the London name of Vauxhall. The 
 demolished fish-ponds, and the old foundations 
 which repel the spade, declare its former gran- 
 deur. 
 
 In 1782, by one of the most unaccountable 
 assignments that ever resulted from human 
 weakness, it quitted the ancient family of Holt, 
 its masters during four hundred and nineteen 
 years, for that of Legge. 
 
 Could the ghost of Sir Lister Holt re-visit his 
 departed property, one might ask, What recep- 
 tion might you meet with, Sir Lister, in 1770 5 
 among your venerable ancestors in the shades, 
 for barring, unprovoked, an infant heiress, of 
 ^7000 a year, and giving it, unsolicited, to 
 a stranger ? Perhaps you experience repeated 
 buffeting ; a sturdy figure, with iron aspect, 
 would be apt to accost you " I, with ner- 
 vous arm, and many a bended back, drew <^.40 
 from the Birmingham forge, with which, in 
 1330, I purchased the park and manor of Ne-
 
 DUDDESTON. 435 
 
 chels, now worth four hundred times that sum. 
 I planted that family which you have plucked 
 up by the roots ; in the sweat of my brow, I 
 laid a foundation for greatness ; many of my 
 successors built on that foundation but you, 
 by starving your brother, Sir Charles, into com- 
 pliance, wantonly cut off' the entail, and gave 
 away the estate, after passing through seven- 
 teen descents, merely to shew you had a power 
 to give it. We concluded here, that a son of 
 his daughter, the last hope of the family, would 
 change his own name to preserve ours, and not 
 the estate change its possessor." " I (another 
 would be apt to say) with frugal hand, and lu- 
 crative employments under the crown, added, 
 in 1363, the manor of Duddeston ; and, in 
 1367, that of Aston. But for what purpose did 
 I add them ? To display the folly of a succes- 
 sor." A dejected spectre would seem to step 
 forward, whose face carried the wrinkles of 
 eighty-four, and the shadow of a tear; <; I, in 
 lOll, brought the title of Baronet among us, 
 first tarnished by you ; which if your own im- 
 becility could not procure issue to support, you 
 ought to have supported by purchase. I also, 
 in 1620, erected the mansion at Aston, then, 
 and even now, the most superb in that neigh- 
 bourhood, fit to grace the leading title of no- 
 bility ; but you forbad my successors to enter. 
 I joined, in 164'/, to our vast fortune, thr ma
 
 436 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 nor of Erdington. Thus the fabric we have 
 been rearing for ages, you overthrew in one 
 fatal moment." The last angry spectre would 
 appear in the bloom of life. " I left you an es- 
 tate which you did not deserve ; you had no 
 more right to leave it from your successor, than 
 I to leave it from you; one man may ruin the fa- 
 mily of another, but he seldom ruins his own. 
 We blame him who wrongs his neighbour, but 
 what does he deserve who wrongs himself ? You 
 have done both ; for by cutting off the succes- 
 sion, your name will be lost. The ungenerous 
 attorney, instead of making your absurd will, 
 ought to have apprized you of our sentiments, 
 which exactly coincide with those of the world, 
 or how could the tale affect a stranger ? Why did 
 not some generous friend guide your crazy vessel, 
 and save a sinking family ? Degenerate son ! 
 he who destroys the peace of another, should 
 forfeit his own we leave you to remorse ; may 
 she quickly jind> and weep over you!" 
 
 This ancient and worthy family, that sprang 
 from the anvil, sported upon an estate worth 
 <. 12,000 a year, but is now sunk into its pris- 
 tine obscurity ; for its head Thomas Holt, (per- 
 haps Sill Thomas) at this day [1812] thumps 
 at the anvil for bread, in the fabrication of 
 spades. A most amiable man as any of his race, 
 and the only Baronet that ever shaped a shovel, 
 may take a melancholy ramble for many miles
 
 DUDDESTON. SALTLEY. 437 
 
 upon the land of his ancestors, but cannot call 
 one foot his own *. 
 
 SALTLEY. 
 
 A mile east of Duddeston is Salt ley Hall, 
 which, with an extensive tract of ground, was, 
 in the Saxon times, the freehold of Edwin Earl 
 of Mercia. But at the conquest, when justice 
 was laid asleep, and property possessed by him 
 who could seize it, this manor, with many 
 others, fell into the hands of William Fitz- 
 Ausculf, Baron of Dudley Castle, who granted it 
 in knight's service to Henry de Rokeby. 
 
 A daughter of Rokeby carried it by marriage 
 to Sir John Goband, whose descendants in 
 1332, sold it to Walter de Clodshale ; an heiress 
 ofClodshale, in 1426, brought it into the an- 
 cient family of Arden, and a daughter of this 
 house, into that of Adderley, where it now 
 rests. 
 
 The castle, in which all the lords resided till 
 
 * Tlie historian of the Holts lias lamented the alienation 
 of their estate, and the extinction of their greatness. Had 
 he lived to the beginning of the year 1818, he would have 
 seen the venerable mansion and park of Aston, with 150O 
 aeres of land, advertized for sale ; and had he lived to the 
 end of that year, he would have seen a part of it in the pos- 
 session of hi 1 own familv.
 
 438 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 the extinction of the Clodshales, I have rea- 
 son to think, was erected by Ilokeby. It has 
 been gone to ruin about three hundred years, 
 and the solitary platform seems to mourn its 
 loss. 
 
 WARD END. 
 
 Three miles from Birmingham, in the same 
 direction, is Ward End, anciently Little Brom- 
 wich> a name which was derived from the 
 plenty of broom, and which is retained to this 
 day by part of the precincts, Broomford (Brom- 
 ford). 
 
 This manor was claimed by that favourite of 
 the Conqueror, Fitz-Ausculf, and granted by 
 him to a second-hand favourite, who took its 
 name. 
 
 The old castle has been gone about a cen- 
 tury : the works are nearly complete ; they co- 
 ver about nine acres, and are the most capa- 
 cious in this neighbourhood, those of Weoley 
 Castle excepted. The central area is now an 
 orchard, and the water, which guarded the 
 castle, guards the fruit. This is surrounded 
 with three mounds, and three trenches, one of 
 them fifty yards over, which, having lost its 
 master, guards the fish.
 
 WARD END. 439 
 
 The place afterwards passed through several 
 families, till the reign of Henry the Seventh. 
 One of them bearing the name of Ward, 
 changed the name to Ward End. 
 
 In 151Q, it was the property of John Bond, 
 who, fond of his little hamlet, inclosed a park 
 of 30 acres, as mentioned before, and stocked it 
 with deer. In 1517, he erected a chapel for the 
 conveniency of his tenants, being two miles 
 from the parish church of Aston. The skele- 
 ton of this chapel, in the form of a cross, the 
 fashion of the times, is yet standing on the out- 
 ward mound ; its floor is the only religious one 
 I have seen laid with horse-dung ; the pulpit is 
 converted into a manger it formerly furnished 
 husks for the man, but now corn for the horse. 
 Like the first christian church, it has expe- 
 rienced a double use, a church and a stable > 
 but with this difference, that in Bethlehem was 
 a stable advanced into a church ; this, on the 
 contrary, is reduced to a stable. 
 
 The manor, by a female, passed through the 
 Kinardsleys, was possessed by the Brandwoods, 
 and is now by the Wards; but the hall, elected 
 in 17'10, and its environs, are the property of 
 Isaac Spooner, Esq.
 
 440 HlsTOltY Or BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 CASTJLE BROMWICH. 
 
 Simply Bromwich, because the soil is pro- 
 ductive of broom. 
 
 My subject often leads me back to the con- 
 quest, an enterprize wild without parallel ; we are 
 astonished at the undertaking, because William 
 was certainly a man of sense, and a politician. 
 Harold, his competitor, was a prince much su- 
 perior in power, a consummate general, and 
 beloved by his people. The odds were so much 
 against the invader, that out of one hundred 
 such imprudent attempts, ninety-nine would 
 miscarry ; all the excuse in his favour is, it 
 succeeded. Many causes concurred in this suc- 
 cess, such as his own ambition, aided by his 
 valour ; the desperate fortune of his followers, 
 very few of whom were men of property, for to 
 the appearance of gentlemen, they added the 
 realities of want, a situation to which any 
 change is thought preferable ; but, above all, 
 chance. A man may dispute for religion, he 
 may contend for liberty, he may run for his 
 life, but he wiWJight for property. 
 
 By the contest between William and Harold, 
 the unhappy English lost all they had to lose; 
 and though this all centered in the Normans, 
 
 - -id not acquire sufficient to content them.
 
 CASTLE BROMWICH. 441 
 
 History does not inform us who was then the 
 proprietor of Castle Bromwich, but that it be- 
 longed to the Mercian Earls scarcely admits a 
 doubt; as Edwin owned some adjoining manors, 
 he probably owned this. Fitz-Ausculf was his 
 fortunate successor, who procured many lord- 
 ships in the neighbourhood of Birmingham ; 
 Castle Bromwich was one. He granted it to 
 an inferior Norman, in military tenure, who, 
 agreeable to the fashion of those times, took the 
 surname of Bromwich. 
 
 Henry de Castel was a subsequent proprietor. 
 Dtigdale supposes the village took its name 
 from a castle, once on the premises. 
 
 A mount called the Castle Hill yet remains ; 
 but I have been informed that the site of the 
 castle is discernible by the side of the river, 
 and surrounded by a moat, once filled by it, 
 about a quarter of a mile distant. I did not 
 learn this circumstance till I was too infirm to 
 visit the spot. 
 
 Castle might be added by the family of that 
 name, lords of the place, to distinguish it from 
 ivoodi/, and little Bromwich. They bore for 
 their arms, three castles and a chevron. 
 
 Lord Ferrers of Chartley, who was pro- 
 prietor of Birmingham in the reign of Henry 
 the Sixth, enjoyed it by marriage ; and his 
 grand-daughter brought it, by the same chan- 
 nel, into the familv of Devereux, lords of
 
 442 history or Birmingham. 
 
 Sheldon. Edward Devereux, about the latter 
 end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, erected the 
 present building, which is capacious. It is in a 
 stile between ancient and modern, and has a 
 pleasing appearance. 
 
 The Bridgeman family, the head of which 
 is now Earl of Bradford, acceded to possession 
 about the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
 by purchase, and made it their residence till 
 about I768. We should naturally enquire, Why 
 Sir Harry Bridgeman quitted a place so delight- 
 fully situated ? Perhaps it is not excelled in 
 this country, in the junction of three great 
 roads, a desirable neighbourhood, the river 
 Tame at its back, and within five miles of the 
 plentiful market of Birmingham but, alas, 
 it has no park. Lord Viscount Newport, eldest 
 son of Lord Bradford, made this place his resi- 
 dence in 1818. 
 
 The gentry seem to have resided in our vici- 
 nity, when there was the greatest inducement 
 to leave it, impassable roads ; they seem also to 
 have quitted the country, now there is the 
 greatest inducement to reside there roads 
 which improve their estates, and may be tra- 
 velled with pleasure. It may be objected, that 
 " the buildings become ancient." But there is 
 no more disgrace in an old house than in an 
 old man ; they may both be dressed in character, 
 and look well. A gentleman, by residing in the 
 family seat, pay? a compliment to his ancestor?.
 
 443 
 
 PARK HALL. 
 
 Six miles north-east of Birmingham, and one 
 from Castle Bromwich chapel, is a spacious 
 moat, with one trench, which, for many cen- 
 turies, guarded Park Hall. This is another of 
 those desolate islands, from which every crea- 
 ture is fled, and every sound, except that of the 
 winds ; nay, even the very clouds seem to la- 
 ment the desolation with tears. 
 
 This was possessed by none but the Ardens, 
 being part of their vast estate long before the 
 conquest, and five hundred years after. It is a 
 delightful situation on the banks of the Tame ; 
 to which we are led by a dirty road. 
 
 We may consider this island the treasury into 
 which forty-six lordships paid their tribute. 
 The riches of the country were drawn to this 
 centre, and commands were issued from it. The 
 growth of these manors supplied that spot, 
 which now grows for another. The lordships 
 are in forty-six hands; the country is in silence; 
 the island ploughed up, and the family dis- 
 tressed. At the remembrance of their name, 
 the smile quits the face of history ; she records 
 their sad talc with a sigh ; while their arms are 
 yet displayed in some of the old halls in the 
 neighbourhood.
 
 444 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 BERWOOD. 
 
 Crossing the river one mile farther east, is 
 Berwood Hall, where the forsaken moat, at 
 this day, guards nothing. This, with the ma- 
 nor to which it belongs, was also the property 
 of the Ardens ; one of whom, in the reign of 
 Henry the Second, granted it to the canons of 
 Leicester, who added a chapel which went to 
 decay four hundred years ago. After the grant 
 the Ardens seem to have become tenants to the 
 canons for the land, once their own ; we fre- 
 quently observe a man pay rent for what he sells, 
 but seldom for what he gives. 
 
 At the dissolution of abbeys in 1537, Tho- 
 mas Arden, the head of the family, purchased 
 it of Henry the Eighth, for ^.272 10$. uniting 
 it again to his estate, after a separation of three 
 hundred and fifty years ; in his posterity it con- 
 tinued till their fall. Thus the father first 
 bought what the son gave away, and his off- 
 spring purchased it again. The father lays a 
 tax on his successor, or climbs to heaven at the 
 expence of the son. In one age it is merito- 
 rious to give to the church, in another, to take 
 from her.
 
 445 
 
 ERDINGTON. 
 
 Three miles north east of Birmingham, is Er- 
 db/gton Hall, which boasts a long antiquity. 
 The manor was the property of the old Earls of 
 Mercia ; Edwin possessed it at the conquest, 
 but lost it in favour of William Fitz-Ausculf, 
 who no doubt granted it in knight's service to 
 his friend and relation, of Norman race ; he 
 erected the hall and formed the moat ; took his 
 residence in, and his name, Erdington, from 
 the place. His descendants seem to have re- 
 sided here with great opulence near 400 years. 
 
 Dugdale mentions a circumstance of Sir 
 Thomas de Erdington, little noticed by our his- 
 torians. He was a faithful adherent to King 
 John, who conferred on him many valuable fa- 
 vours. Harassed by the Pope on one side, 
 and his angry barons on the other, he privately 
 sent Sir Thomas to Murmeli, the powerful King 
 of Africa, Morocco, and Spain, witli offers to 
 forsake the Christian faith, turn Mohammedan, 
 deliver up his kingdom, and hold it of him in 
 tribute, for his assistance against his enemies. 
 But it does not appear that the ambassador suc- 
 ceeded ; the Moorish monarch did not chuse to 
 unite his prosperous fortune with that of a ran- 
 dom prince ; he might also consider, the man
 
 446 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 who could destroy his nephew and his sovereign, 
 could not be an honour to any religion. 
 
 The manor left the Erdington family in 1472, 
 and, during a course of 175 years, acknowledged 
 for its owners, George Plantagenet, Duke of 
 Clarence, Sir William Harcourt, Robert Wright, 
 Sir Reginald Bray, Francis Englefield, Hum- 
 phry Dimock, Walter Earl, Sir Walter Deve- 
 reux ; it was, in 1647, purchased by Sir Tho- 
 mas Holt, in whose family it continued till 
 1782, when Heneage Legge, Esq. became pos- 
 sessed of the manor. 
 
 As none of the lords seem to have resided 
 upon the premises since the departure of the 
 Erdingtons, it must be expected they have gra- 
 dually tended to decay. 
 
 We may with some reason conclude, that as 
 Erdington was the freehold of the Earls of Mer- 
 cia, it was not the residence of its owners, there- 
 fore could not derive its name from them : that 
 as the word Arden signifies a wood, the etymo- 
 logy of that populous village is, a town in the 
 wood ; that one of the first proprietors, after the 
 conquest, struck with the security offered by 
 the river, erected the present fortifications, 
 which cover three parts of the hall, and the river 
 itself the fourth. Hence it follows, that the 
 neighbouring work, which we now call Brom- 
 ford-forge, was a mill prior to the conquest, 
 because the stream is evidently turned out of its
 
 ERDINGTON, ETC. 447 
 
 bed to feed it ; that the present hall is the second 
 on the premises, and was erected by the Erding- 
 tons, with some later additions. 
 
 PIPE. 
 
 One mile north east of Erdington, is Pipe 
 Hall, which, with its manor, like the neigh- 
 bouring land, became at the conquest the pro- 
 perty of Fitz-Ausculf, and afterwards of his de- 
 scendants, Paganall, Someri, Bottetort, and 
 St. Leger. 
 
 It was common at that fatal period, for one of 
 these great barons, or rather great robbers, to 
 procure a large quantity of land for himself; 
 some of them two or three hundred thousand 
 acres too much for one man to grasp. He 
 therefore kept what he pleased for his pri- 
 vate use, and granted the other in knight's ser- 
 vice, reserving annually a rent. These rents 
 were generally small, so as never to hurt the 
 tenant; however, the lord could order him to 
 arms whenever he pleased. 
 
 A few of the grants were procured by the dis- 
 inherited English, but chiefly by the officers of 
 William's army, being more respected, and 
 more proper to be trusted ; they were often 
 relations, or favourites of the great barons. 
 The lord could not conveniently sell without the
 
 448 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 consent of the crown, but he could let at what 
 price he pleased. Time made this chief-rent 
 permanent, and gave' the tenant a stability of 
 title. 
 
 The manor of Pipe, with some others, was 
 granted to William Mansell, who resided in the 
 hall, and executed some of the chief offices of 
 the count} 7 . 
 
 The last of the name, in the reign of Henry 
 the Third, left a daughter, who married Henry 
 de Harcourt ; and his daughter married John de 
 Pipe, who seems to have taken its name. 
 
 Henry, his descendant, had many children, 
 all of whom, with this lady, died of the plague, 
 except a daughter, named Margery. He after- 
 wards married, in 1363, Matilda, the daughter 
 of George de Castell, of Castle Bromwich ; but 
 soon after the happy wedding, he perceived his 
 bride was pregnant, which proved, on enquiry, 
 the effect of an intrigue with her father's 
 menial servant ; a striking instance of female 
 treachery, which can only be equalled by . 
 male. 
 
 The shock proving too great for his constitu- 
 tion, brought on a decline, and sent him to the 
 grave, before the birth of the child. 
 
 John was the fruit of this unlawful amour j 
 his guardian, to prevent his inheriting the es- 
 tate, made him a canon of Ouston, in Leices- 
 tershire ; and afterwards persuaded the unfortu-
 
 PIPE. ASTON. 449 
 
 nate Margery to grant the manor of Pipe to the 
 Abbot of Stonely. 
 
 Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, af- 
 terwards purchased it for ^.133 6s. 8d. It 
 came to the crown by attainder, in the reign of 
 Henry the Seventh ; then to Sir William Staun- 
 ford, one of his judges, John Buttler, Edward 
 Holte in 1568, Erancis Dimock, whose daugh- 
 ter married Walter Earl ; then to Walter Deve- 
 reux, by marrying Earl's daughter ; afterwards 
 to Sir Thomas Holte, by purchase ; and is now 
 in the family of Bagot. 
 
 Though the hall is antique, its front is covered 
 in the modern barbarous style, by a clump of 
 venerable trees ; which would become any 
 situation but that in which they stand. 
 
 ASTON. 
 
 Two miles north of Birmingham, is Aston 
 (East Town) being east of Westbury (Wednes- 
 bury) it lies on a steep descent towards the river 
 Tame. 
 
 This place, like Erdington, belonged to the 
 Earls of Mercia in the Saxon times; and, 
 at the conquest, was the property of the un- 
 fortunate Edwin. Fitz-Ausculf became his suc- 
 cessor in this, as in other lauds ; the survey 
 calls it eight hides, valued at j.5 per annum ; 
 
 G G
 
 450 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 a mill 3s. and a wood three miles long, and 
 half a mile broad. The mill, I make no doubt, 
 stood where a mill now stands, near Sawford- 
 bridge ; but neither the hides, nor the wood, 
 could be confined within the boundary of Aston ; 
 the manor is too little for either. The lordship 
 extends about a square mile, and that part 
 which is now the park, I have reason to think, 
 was then a common, and for ages after. 
 
 A Saxon, of the name of Godmund, held it 
 under the Mercian Earls, and found means, at 
 the conquest, to hold it under the Norman. 
 
 One hundred yards north of the church, in a 
 perfect swamp, stood the hall ; probably erected 
 by Godmund, or his family ; the situation shews 
 the extreme of bad taste one would think, he 
 endeavoured to lay his house under water. The 
 trenches are obliterated by the floods, so as to 
 render the place unobserved by the stranger ; 
 it is difficult to chuse a worse, except he had 
 put his house under the earth. I believe there 
 never was more than one house erected on the 
 spot, and that was one too many. 
 
 Whether this Saxon family of Godmund be- 
 came extinct, or had lost its right, is uncer- 
 tain ; but Someri, Fitz-Ausculf's successor, 
 about 1203, granted the manor to Sir Thomas 
 de Erdington, ambassador of king John, men- 
 tioned before, who had married his sister ; pay- 
 ing annually a pair of spurs, or six-pence, as a
 
 ASTON. 4,51 
 
 nominal rent; but the grant was meant, in 
 reality, as a portion for the lady. 
 
 The family of Erdington, about 1275, sold it 
 to Thomas de Maidenhache, who did not live 
 upon friendly terms with his neighbour, Wil- 
 liam de Birmingham ; for, in 1290, he brought 
 an action against him for fishing in his water, 
 called Moysich (Dead branch) leading into 
 Tame, towards Shawford-bridge, dividing As- 
 ton manor from that of Erdington. This im- 
 plies a degree of unkindness ; because William 
 could not amuse himself in his own manor of 
 Birmingham, for he might have as well angled 
 in one of his streets, as in the river Rea. The 
 two lords had, probably, four years before been 
 on friendly terms, when they jointly lent their 
 assistance to the hospital of St. Thomas, in Bir- 
 mingham. 
 
 Maidenhache left four daughters; Sibel mar- 
 ried Adam de Grymsorwe, who took with her 
 the manor of Aston ; a daughter of this house, 
 in 1367, sold it to John atte Holt, of Birming- 
 ham, in whose family it continued 115 years, 
 till 17<S2, when Heneage Legge, esq. acceded 
 to possession. 
 
 This wretched bog was the habitation of all 
 the lords, from Godmund to the Holts, the Er- 
 dington's excepted ; for Maud Grymsorwe ex- 
 ecuting the conveyance at Aston, indicates 
 that she resided there ; and Thomas Holt being 
 c g 2
 
 45 l 2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 possessed of Duddeston, proves that lie did not; 
 therefore I conclude, that the building, as it 
 ought, went to decay soon after ; so that deso- 
 lation has claimed the place for her own near 
 four hundred years. This is corroborated by 
 some old trees, which have long occupied the 
 spot where the building stood. 
 
 The extensive parish of Aston takes in the 
 two extremes of Birmingham, and supplies her 
 with more weddings, christenings, and burials, 
 than were, a few years ago, supplied by the 
 whole parish of Birmingham. 
 
 WITTON. 
 
 Three miles north of Birmingham, and one 
 from Aston, is IVitton (Wicton) from the bend 
 of the river, according to Dugdale; the property 
 of a person at the conquest whose name was 
 Staunchel. Fitz-Ausculf seized it, and Staun- 
 chel, more fortunate than the generality of his 
 countrymen, became his tenant. It was valued 
 in the conqueror's survey at 20s. per annum. 
 
 It was afterwards vested in the crown ; in 
 1210, Henry the Third granted it to Andrew de 
 Wicton, who took his name from the place, for 
 in Domesday it is Witone ; therefore the name 
 being prior, proves the remark.
 
 WITTON. 453 
 
 Andrew, anxious tor the boundary of his 
 new purchase, brought an action against his 
 neighbour, William de Pyrie (Perry) for in- 
 fringing upon his property. Great disputes 
 arise from small beginnings ; perhaps a lawyer 
 blew the flame. 
 
 The king issued his precept to the sheriff of 
 Staffordshire, in which county Perry is situated, 
 to bring with him twelve lawful and discreet 
 knights ; and the same to the sheriff of War- 
 wickshire, of which Witton is a part, to ascer- 
 tain the bounds between them. Which was the 
 aggressor, is hard to determine, but I should 
 rather suppose 'squire Perry, because man is 
 ever apt to trespass; he resided on the pre- 
 mises, and the crown is but a sleepy landlord ; 
 not so likely to rob, as to be robbed. 
 
 There is a road where foot seldom treads, 
 mounded on each side, leading over the Cold_ 
 field, from Perry-bridge towards the Xewlands, 
 undoubtedly the work of this venerable band 
 of discreet knights. 
 
 The stranger, of course, would deem the pro- 
 perty between the contending parties of great 
 value, which twenty-four of the principal cha- 
 racters of the age, the flower of two counties, 
 marshalled by two chief officers, were to deter- 
 mine. Hut what will lie think of the quarrel- 
 some spirit of the times, when I tell him, it 
 was onlv a few acres, which is. even at this
 
 454 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 day, waste land, and scarcely worth owning by 
 either. 
 
 In 1290, Witton was the property of William 
 Dixley ; in 1340, that of Richard de Pyrie, de- 
 scendant of him who, a hundred years before, 
 held the contest. In 1426, Thomas East, of 
 Hay Hall, in Yardley, was owner ; he sold it 
 to John Bond, of Ward End, of whose descend- 
 ants William Booth purchased it in 1620 ; an 
 heiress of Booth brought it by marriage to Alle- 
 stree, of Yardley, who enjoyed it in our days ; 
 it was sold to John Wyrley, possessed by George 
 Birch, esq. of Hampstead, and in 1813 by his 
 son, John Wyrley Birch, esq. 
 
 The house, left by its owners, is in the low, 
 or rather boggy situation, suitable to the fashion 
 of those times. I can discover no traces of a 
 moat, though there is every convenience for 
 one 5 we are doubly hurt by seeing a house in 
 a miserable hole, when joining an eligible spot. 
 
 BLAKELEY. 
 
 Five miles north west of Birmingham, is 
 Blakeley Hall, the manor house of Oldbury, 
 surrounded by a moat. If we see a venerable 
 edifice without a moat, we cannot from thence 
 conclude it was never the residence of a gentle
 
 BLAKELEY. 455 
 
 man ; but wherever we find one, we may con- 
 clude it was. 
 
 Anciently, this manor, with those of Smeth- 
 wick and Harborne, belonged to the family of 
 Cornwallis, whose habitation was Blakeley Hall. 
 The present building seems about 300 years 
 old. 
 
 The extinction of the male line threw the 
 property into the hands of two co-heiresses, one 
 of whom married into the family of Grimshaw, 
 the other into that of Wright; these jointly 
 held it. The family of Grimshaw failing, 
 Wright became then, and is now, possessed of 
 the whole. 
 
 I am unacquainted with the principal charac- 
 ters who acted the farce of life on this island, 
 but it had long been in the tenancy of a poor 
 farmer, who, the proprietor assured me, was 
 best able to stock the place with children. In 
 17 n 9, the Birmingham canal passing over the 
 premises, robbed the trench of its water. 
 Whether it endangered the safety is a doubt ; 
 for poverty is the best, security against violence. 
 House, land, and moat, are now swept into 
 the canal.
 
 456 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 WEOLEY. 
 
 Four miles west of Birmingham, in the parish 
 of Northtield, are the low but extensive ruins of 
 Weoley Castle, whose appendages command a 
 tract of seventeen acres, situate in a park of 
 eighteen hundred. 
 
 Moats usually inclose from half an acre to 
 two acres, and are generally square, the trenches 
 being from eight yards broad to twenty. 
 
 This castle is large, the walls are massive ; 
 they form the alleys of a garden, and the rooms 
 the beds ; they display the remains of excellent 
 workmanship. One may nearly guess at a 
 man's consequence, even after a lapse of 500 
 years, by the ruins of his house. 
 
 The steward told me, they pulled down the 
 walls as they wanted the stone. Unfeeling pro- 
 jectors ! there is not now much to pull down. 
 Does not time bring destruction fast enough 
 without assistance ? The head which cannot 
 contemplate, offers its hand to destroy. The 
 insensible taste, unable itself to relish the dry 
 fruits of antiquity, throws them away to pre- 
 vent another from tasting them. May the fin- 
 gers smart which injure the venerable walls of 
 Dudley, or of Kenil worth. Noble remains of 
 ancient grandeur ! copious indexes, that point
 
 WEOLEY. k'57 
 
 to former usage ! We survey them with awful 
 pleasure. The mouldering walls, as if ashamed 
 of their humble state, hide themselves under 
 the ivy ; the generous ivy, as if conscious of 
 the precious relics, covers them from the inju- 
 ries of time. 
 
 When land frequently undergoes a convey- 
 ance, necessity, we suppose, is the lot of the 
 owner, but the lawyer fattens. To have and to 
 hold are words of mighty import ; they charm 
 beyond music ; are the quintessence of lan- 
 guage ; the leading figure in rhetoric. But 
 how would he fare if land was never conveyed? 
 He must starve upon quarrels. 
 
 Instances may be given of land which knows 
 no title, except those of conquest and descent ; 
 Weoley Castle comes nearly under this descrip- 
 tion. To sign, seal, and deliver, were wholly 
 unknown to our ancestors. Could a Saxon free- 
 holder rise from the dead, and visit the land 
 once his own, now held by as many writings as 
 would half spread over it, he might exclaim, 
 " Evil increases with time, and parchment with 
 both. You deprive the poor of their breeches; 
 I covered the ground with sheep, you with 
 their skins ; I thought, as you were at variance 
 with France, Spain, Holland, and America, 
 those numerous deeds were a heap of drum heads, 
 and the internal writing the articles of war. In 
 one instance, however, there is a similarity be-
 
 458 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 tween us ; we unjustly took this land from the 
 Britons, you as unjustly took it from us ; and a 
 time may come, when another will take it from 
 you. Thus the Spaniards founded the Peruvian 
 empire in butchery; it is now tottering towards 
 a fall ; you, following their example, seized the 
 northern coast of America; you neither bought 
 it nor begged it, you took it from the natives ; 
 and thus your children, the Americans, with 
 equal violence, have taken it from you : no law 
 binds like that of arms. The question has been, 
 whether they should pay taxes ? which, after a 
 dispute of eight years was lost in another, to 
 whom they should pay taxes ? The result, in a 
 future day, will be, domestic struggles for sove- 
 reignty which will stain the ground with blood." 
 
 When the proud Norman cut his way to the 
 throne, his imperious followers seized the lands, 
 kicked out the rightful possessors, and treated 
 them with a dignity rather beneath that practised 
 to a dog. This is the most summary title yet 
 discovered. 
 
 Northfield was the fee-simple of Alwold ; but 
 at the conquest Fitz-Ausculf seized it, with a 
 multitude of other manors. It does not appear 
 that he granted it in knight's service to the in- 
 jured Alwold, but kept it for his private use. 
 Paganall married his heiress, and Someri mar- 
 ried Paganall's. Someri, in the beginning of 
 the 13th century, erected the castle. In 132'2 
 the line expired.
 
 WEOLKY. 159 
 
 Bottetourt, one of the needy squires, who, 
 like Sancho Panza, attended William his master, 
 in his mad but fortunate enterprize, procured 
 lands which enabled him to live in England, 
 which was preferable to starving in Normandy. 
 His descendant became, in right of his wife, 
 co-heiress of the house of Someri, vested in 
 Weoley castle. He had, in i307, sprung into 
 peerage, and was one of our powerful barons 
 till 1385, when the male line dropped. The 
 vast estate of Bottetourt was then divided 
 among females ; Thomas Berkeley married the 
 eldest, and this ancient barony was, in I76I, re- 
 vived in his descendant, Norborne Berkeley, 
 the present Lord Bottetourt ; Sir Hugh Bnrnel 
 married another, and Sir John St. Leger, a 
 third. 
 
 Weoley Castle was, for many years, the undi- 
 vided estate of the three families ; but Edward 
 Sutton, Lord Dudley, having married a daughter 
 of Berkeley, became possessed of that castle, 
 which was erected by Someri, their common an- 
 cestor, about nine generations before. 
 
 In 1551, he sold it to William Jervoise, of 
 London, mercer, whose descendant, Jervoise 
 Clark Jervoise, esq. now enjoys it. 
 
 Eond of ranging, I have travelled a circuit 
 round Birmingham, without being many miles 
 from it. T wish to penetrate farther from the 
 centre, but mv subject forbids. Having there-
 
 460 
 
 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 fore finished my discourse, 1 shall, like my friends 
 thepulpitarians, (many of whom, and of several 
 denominations, are characters I revere,) apply 
 ivhat has been said. 
 
 We learn that the land I have gone over, with 
 the land I have not, changed its owners at the 
 conquest ; this shuts the door of inquiry into 
 pedigree ; the old families chiefly became ex- 
 tinct, and few of the present can be traced 
 higher. Destruction then overspread the king- 
 dom. 
 
 The seniors of every age exclaim against the 
 growing corruption of the times ; my father, 
 and perhaps every father, dwelt on the propriety 
 of his conduct in younger life, and placed it in 
 counterview with that of the following genera- 
 tion. However, while I knew him, it was 
 much like other people's But I could tell him, 
 that he gave us the bright side of his character; 
 and that he was probably a piece of human na- 
 ture as well as his son. Nature varies but little, 
 and the age of William the Conqueror was the 
 most rascally in the British annals. One age 
 may be marked for the golden, another for the 
 iron, but this for plunder. 
 
 We farther learn, there is not one instance in 
 this neighbourhood, where an estate has conti- 
 nued till now in the male line, and very few in 
 the female. I am acquainted with only one fa- 
 mily near Birmingham, whose ancestor entered
 
 WITTON. 461 
 
 with William, and which yet enjoys the land 
 granted at that period ; the male line has been 
 once broken perhaps this land was never con- 
 veyed. They shone with splendour near six 
 hundred years. In the sixteenth century their 
 estate was about 3^. 1,400 a year; great for that 
 time ; but it is now, exclusive of a few pepper- 
 corns and red roses long since withered, reduced 
 to one little farm, tilled for bread by the owner. 
 This setting glimpse of a shining family, is as in- 
 different about the matter, and almost as igno- 
 rant, as the team he drives. 
 
 Lastly, we learn that none of the lords, as 
 formerly, reside on the above premises ; that in 
 four instances out of twenty-one, the buildings 
 are now as left by the lords, Sheldon, Coleshill, 
 Pipe, and Blakeley* ; two have undergone some 
 alteration, as Duddeston and Erdington ; five 
 others are re-erected, as Black Greves, Ulver- 
 ley, King's Hurst, Castle Bromwich, and Wit- 
 ton ; which, with all the above, are held in te- 
 nancv ; in eight others all the buildings are 
 swept away, and their moats left naked, as 
 IIo<2<>'s moat, Vardlcy, Kent's moat, Saltley, 
 Ward End, Park Hall, Berwood, and Weoley ; 
 and in two instances the moats themselves have 
 vanished; that of King's Norton is rilled up to 
 make way for the plough, and that of Aston de- 
 
 * Two of these, Coleshill and Blakelev, arc i-inee destroyed.
 
 4>C) C 2 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 molished by the floods. Thus the scenes of hos- 
 pitality and grandeur become the scenes of an- 
 tiquity, and then disappear. 
 
 SUTTON COLDFIELD. 
 
 Though the topographical historian, who re- 
 sides upon the premises, is most likely to be 
 correct ; yet if he, with all his care, is apt to be 
 mistaken, what can be expected from him who 
 trots his horse over the scenes of antiquity ? 
 
 I have visited, for thirty years, some singu- 
 lar places in this neighbourhood, yet without 
 being master of their history ; thus a man may 
 spend an age in conning his lesson, and never 
 learn it. 
 
 When the farmer observes me on his territo- 
 ries, he eyes me askance; suspecting a design to 
 purchase his farm, or take it out of his hands. 
 I endeavour to remove his apprehensions, by 
 approaching him ; and introduce a conversation 
 tending to my pursuit, which he understands as 
 well as if, like the sons of Jacob, I addressed 
 him in Hebrew ; yet, notwithstanding his total 
 ignorance of the matter, he has sometimes dropt 
 an accidental word, which has thrown more 
 light on the subject, than all my researches for 
 a twelvemonth. If an honest farmer, in future, 
 should see upon his premises a plumpish figure,
 
 SUTTON COLDFIELD. 4S3 
 
 five feet six, with one third of his hair on, a 
 cane in his left hand, a glove upon each, and a 
 Pomeranian dog at his heels, let him fear no 
 evil; his farm will not be additionally tithed, 
 his sheep worried, or his hedges broken it is 
 only a solitary animal, in quest of a Roman 
 phantom. 
 
 Upon the north-west extremity of Sutton 
 Coldfield, joining the Chester road, is The Bowen 
 Pool; at the tail of which, one hundred yards 
 west of the road, on a small eminence, or swell 
 of the earth, are the remains of a fortification, 
 called Loaches Banks ; but of what use or ori- 
 gin is uncertain, no author having mentioned 
 it. 
 
 The ground-plot, in the centre of the fort at 
 Loaches Banks, is about two acres, surrounded 
 by three mounds, which are large, and three 
 trenches, which are small ; the whole forming 
 a square of four acres. Each corner directs to 
 a cardinal point, but perhaps not with design ; 
 for the situation of the ground would invite the 
 operator to chuse the present form. The north 
 west joins to, and is secured by the pool. 
 
 As the works are not much in the Roman 
 taste, I might, at first view, deem it the resi- 
 dence of an opulent lord of* the manor; but the 
 adjacent lands carrying no marks of cultivation, 
 destroys the argument; it is also too large for 
 the fashion. Besides, all these manorial foun-
 
 454 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 dations have been in use since the conquest ; 
 therefore tradition assists the historian ; but 
 here, tradition being lost proves the place of 
 greater antiquity. 
 
 One might judge it of Danish extraction, but 
 here again tradition will generally lend her as- 
 sistance ; neither are the trenches large enough 
 for that people ; of themselves they are no se- 
 curity, whether full or empty ; for an active 
 young fellow might easily skip from one bank 
 to another. Nor can we view it as the work of 
 some whimsical lord, to excite the wonder of 
 the moderns; it could never pay for the trouble. 
 We must, therefore, travel back among the an- 
 cient Britons for a solution, and here we shall 
 travel over solid ground. 
 
 It is probably the remains of a British 
 camp ; for near these premises are Drude-heath 
 (Druid's-heath) and Drude-fields, which we 
 may reasonably suppose was the residence of a 
 British priest ; the military would naturally 
 shelter themselves under the wing of the church, 
 and the priest wish the protection of the mili- 
 tary. The narrowness of the trenches is ano- 
 ther proof of its being British ; they exactly 
 correspond with the style of that people. The 
 name of the pool, Boiven, is of British derivation, 
 which is a farther proof that the work originated 
 from the Britons. They did not place their se- 
 curity so much in the trenches, as in the mounds,
 
 SUTTON COLDFIELD. 4f)5 
 
 which they barricaded with timber. This camp 
 is secured on three sides by a morass, and is 
 only approachable on the fourth, that from the 
 Coldfield. The first mound on this weak side 
 is twenty-four yards over, twice the size of any 
 other ; which allowing an ample security, is a 
 farther evidence of its being British, and tradi- 
 tion being silent is another. 
 
 Four hundred yards farther west, in the same 
 flat, is a hill of some magnitude, deemed, by the 
 curious, a tumulus it is a common thing for 
 an historian to be lost, but not quite so common 
 to acknowledge it. In attempting to visit this 
 tumulus, I soon found myself in the centre of a 
 morass ; and here, my dear reader might have 
 seen the historian set fast in a double sense. I 
 was obliged, for that evening, February 16, 
 1783, to retreat, as the sun had just done be- 
 fore me. I made my approaches from another 
 quarter, April 13, when the hill appeared the 
 work of nature, upon too broad a base for a tu- 
 mulus ; covering about three acres, perfectly 
 round, rising gradually to the centre, which is 
 about sixteen feet above the level, surrounded 
 by a ditch, perhaps made for some private pur- 
 pose by the owner. 
 
 The Roman tumuli were of two sorts, the 
 
 small for the reception of a general, or great 
 
 man, as that at Claudsley bush, near the High 
 
 Cross, the tomb of Claudius ; and the large, as 
 
 u ii
 
 4(36 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 at Seckington, near Tamworth, for the recep- 
 tion of the dead, after a battle ; they are both 
 of the same shape, rather high than broad. 
 That before us comes under the description of 
 neither ; nor could the dead well be conveyed 
 over the morass. 
 
 DANES CAMP : 
 
 DANES BANK, OR, BURY FIELDS. 
 
 About five miles south of Birmingham, and 
 five furlongs from Solihull Lodge, is a place 
 called The Danes Camp. But although neither 
 history nor tradition speak of this particular 
 event, it probably was raised in the ninth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 The situation is well chosen ; it is upon an 
 eminence, about nine acres, nearly triangular, 
 and yet in tolerable perfection ; the ditch is about 
 twenty feet wide ; the base of the bank about 
 the same ; it admits but of one entrance, and is 
 capable of being secured by water. From the 
 bottom of the ditch, to the top of the mound 
 was, when made, about twenty feet. It is a 
 production of great labour.
 
 46/ 
 
 THE CAMP. 
 
 I have already remarked, that a spirit of bra- 
 very is part of the British character. The per- 
 petual contests for power, among the Britons ; 
 the many roads formed by the Romans, to con- 
 vey their military force ; the prodigious number 
 of camps, moats, and broken castles, left us by 
 the Saxons, Danes, and Normans, our common 
 ancestors ; indicate a martial temper. The 
 names of those heroic sovereigns, Edward the 
 Third, and Henry the Fifth, who brought their 
 people totiie fields of conquest, descend to pos- 
 terity with the highest applause, though they 
 brought their kingdom to the brink of ruin ; 
 while those quiet princes, Henry the Seventh, 
 and James the First, who cultivated the arts of 
 peace, are but little esteemed, though under 
 their sceptre England experienced the greatest 
 improvement. The man who dares face an 
 enemy, is the most likely to gain a friend. A na- 
 tion versed in arms, stands the fairest chance to 
 protect its property, and secure its peace : war 
 itself may be hurtful, the knowledge of it useful. 
 
 In Mitchley Park, three miles west of Bir- 
 mingham, in the parish of Edgbaston, is The 
 Camp ; which might be ascribed to the Romans, 
 lying within two or three stones cast of their
 
 468 HISTORY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Ikenield-street, where it divides the counties of 
 Warwick and Worcester ; but that it is too ex- 
 tensive for that people, being about thirty acres; 
 I know none of their camps more than four, 
 some much less ; it must, therefore, have been 
 the work of those pilfering vermin the Danes, 
 better acquainted with the property of other 
 people than their own ; who first swarmed on 
 the shores, then over-ran the interior parts of 
 the kingdom, and in two hundred years de- 
 voured the whole. 
 
 No part of this fortification is wholly oblite- 
 rated, though in many places it is nearly level- 
 led by modern cultivation that dreadful enemy 
 to the antiquary. Pieces of armour are fre- 
 quently ploughed up, particularly parts of the 
 sword and the battle-axe, instruments much 
 used by those destructive sons of the Raven. 
 
 The platform is quadrangular, every side 
 nearly four hundred yards ; the centre is about 
 six acres, surrounded by three ditches, each 
 about eight yards broad, at unequal distances ; 
 though upon a descent, it is amply furnished 
 with water. An undertaking of such immense 
 labour, could not have been designed for tem- 
 porary use. 
 
 The propriety of the spot, and the rage of 
 the day for fortification, seem to have induced 
 the Middlemores, lords of the place for many 
 centuries, and celebrated for riches, but in the
 
 THE CAMP, ETC. 469 
 
 beginning of this work for poverty, to erect a 
 park, and a lodge ; nothing of either exists, but 
 the name. 
 
 MORTIMER S BANK. 
 
 The traveller who undertakes an extensive 
 journey cannot chose his road or his weather ; 
 sometimes the prospect brightens, with a serene 
 sky, a smooth path, and a smiling sun ; all 
 within and without him is cheerful. Anon he is 
 assailed by tempests, stumbles over ridges, is 
 bemired in hollows, the sun hides his face, and 
 his own is sorrowful this is the lot of the histo- 
 rian ; he has no choice of subject, cheerful or 
 mournful, he must submit to the changes which 
 offer ; delighted with the prosperous tale, de- 
 pressed with the gloomy. 
 
 I am told, this work has often drawn a smile 
 from the reader it has often drawn a sigh from 
 me. A celebrated painter fell in love with the 
 picture he had drawn I have wept at mine : 
 such are the chapters of the lords, and the 
 workhouse. We are not always proof against a 
 melancholy or a tender sentiment. Having 
 pursued our several stages, with various fortune, 
 through the preceding chapters, at the close of 
 this last tragic scene, emotion and the journey 
 cease together.
 
 470 HISTQRY OF BIRMINGHAM. 
 
 Upon Jing's-wood, five miles from Birming- 
 ham, and two hundred yards east of the Alcester 
 road, runs a bank for. near a mile in length, 
 unless obliterated by the new inclosure ; for I 
 saw it complete in 177^. This was raised by 
 the famous Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, 
 about 1324", to inclose a wood, from whence 
 the place derives its name. At that time the 
 feeble monarch, Edward the Second, governed 
 the kingdom ; the amorous Isabella, his wife, 
 governed the king, and the gallant Mortimer 
 governed the queen. 
 
 The parishes of King's Norton, Solihull, and 
 Yardley, uniting in this wood, and the inhabi- 
 tants enjoying a right of commons, they con- 
 ceived themselves injured by the inclosure, as- 
 sembled in a body, threw down the fence, and 
 murdered the Earl's bailiff. Mortimer, in re- 
 venge, procured a special writ from the Court 
 of Common Pleas, and caused the matter to be 
 tried at Bromsgrove, where the affrighted inha- 
 bitants, overawed with power, durst not appear 
 in their own vindication. The Earl, therefore, 
 recovered a verdict, and the enormous sum of 
 =.300 damage. A sum nearly equal, at that 
 time, to the fee-simple of the three parishes. 
 
 The confusion of the times, and the poverty 
 of the people, protracted payment, till Morti- 
 mer, overpowered by his enemies, was seized as 
 a criminal in Nottingham Castle ; and, without 
 being heard, executed at Tyburn in 1328.
 
 MORTIMERS BANK. 471 
 
 The distressed inhabitants of the three, parishes 
 humbly petitioned the crown for a reduction of 
 the fine ; when Edward the Third was pleased 
 to remit about ^.260. 
 
 We can assign no reason for this imprudent 
 step of inclosing the wood, unless the Earl in- 
 tended to procure a grant of the manor, then in 
 the crown, for his family. But what he could 
 not accomplish by finesse, was accomplished by 
 fortune; for George the Third, King of Great 
 Britain, is lord of the manor of King's Norton, 
 and a descendant from the house of Mortimer. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 it,.<| l,v I Ni. I. >li aii'l -..i
 
 t>
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 to 
 
 
 OISCHFARGa-l 
 
 30 
 
 ADO 
 
 "Af*ft 1)6 1$o? 
 
 -j 
 
 1\ 
 
 ] <i 
 
 Form L9-50m-4,'61(B8994s4)444
 
 3 1158 00668 2628 
 
 DA 
 690 
 
 B6H9 
 
 1819 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000 098 634 9