Back to the centre of Brum

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 09:00

City Centre Living on the BCN

One advantage of being moored in the centre of a city is that it is easy to read the weather map on TV! Rather than guessing our location, we just look at the "blob" or "square" that is appropriately labeled!

We have explored some of the city centre, but it will look very different now the German Market has packed up and gone home - I hope we don't get lost!

The following photos were taken whilst the market was still in "residence"

Who are these famous engineers - a memorial to Birmingham industrialists?

The "Golden Boys" outside the Registry Office

The statue has an amusing alternative title - "The Carpet Boys" - actually, they are examining a scroll which is a plan of a steam engine.

Bolton, Watt and Murdoch have close connections with our old home and our present one - Bolton and Watt engines powered the mines in Cornwall (overseen by Murdoch) and also many of the engines at pumping stations on the canal system. One of the most well known is the Bolton and Watt engine at Crofton Pumping Station on the Kennet and Avon Canal, which has seen service in the mines and on the canal!

Seen here for Epiphany's videos of Crofton Pumping Station 

From the statue in Broad Street we continued into Chamberlain and Victoria Squares, which house some of the principal city buildings.

The Town Hall and Chamberlain Memorial over the Market

The Town Hall was built as a concert hall and is modelled on the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome. Major musical works have premiered here and Charles Dickens gave readings too. It has recently been refurbished and is extensively used for many events.

Hall of Memory with Baskerville House behind

The Hall of Memory is a memorial to the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died in the First World War. The planting in front looked pretty with their coating of snow.

Flowers and snow

Museum and Art Gallery

The Council House with modern fountain

The first stone was laid by the Mayor Joseph Chamberlain (he of "Big Jo" at the University!) in 1874. The water feature in front was built in 1994, designed by Dhruvra Mistry and opened by Diana, Princess of Wales.

So where shall we go next? It is decision time!