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Kingstanding Together

Birmingham history

When Birmingham lost them

Demolitions, fires, bombs and road schemes — each one a separate decision, in order.

1740s

  1. c. by 1743 — Upper Priory mill fails (lost)With John Wyatt imprisoned for debt, the Upper Priory cotton mill was almost derelict by 1743, and disappeared from the record after that year.Upper Priory Cotton Mill

1790s

  1. 15 July 1791 — Easy Hill (Baskerville House) is burned (lost)Rioters sack and burn Baskerville House at Easy Hill, by now the home of John Ryland. Baskerville’s vault in the grounds is not disturbed.John BaskervilleEasy Hill

1850s

  1. 29 April 1850 — The Soho Mint’s machinery is auctioned (lost)A year after the Soho Mint closes, its equipment is sold. Most goes to Ralph Heaton, whose Birmingham Mint carries on the trade, and to James Watt & Co., who open a new mint at Soho Foundry in 1860.Ralph Heaton IISoho MintBirmingham Mint, Icknield StreetRalph Heaton & Sons (the Birmingham Mint)

1860s

  1. c. by 1863 — The Soho Manufactory is gone (lost)After closing around 1850, Boulton’s Soho Manufactory and the old Soho Mint are demolished in stages. By 1863 nothing is left above ground; the site is later partly dug for sand and built over with housing.Matthew BoultonSoho ManufactorySoho MintBoulton & FothergillBoulton & Watt

1870s

  1. c.1871 — The Larches (rebuilt Fair Hill) demolished (lost)The Larches, rebuilt on Priestley’s Fair Hill estate and later home of William Withering and the Galtons, was demolished and the estate built over.William WitheringSamuel Galton juniorFair Hill

1880s

  1. 1882 — Old Square largely destroyed (lost)Old Square, laid out in about 1713 with sixteen near-identical brick houses, is largely destroyed for Corporation Street. Panelling from No. 1 survives at Aston Hall.

1910s

  1. 1912 — Erdington Hall demolished (lost)Erdington Hall is demolished during the construction of Tyburn Road.Erdington Hall

1920s

  1. 1927–28 — Heathfield Hall is demolished (lost)James Watt’s home at Heathfield, Handsworth, is pulled down and its grounds built over with houses. The lodge on Radnor Road survives, with a Birmingham Civic Society blue plaque.James WattHeathfield Hall
  2. c. late 1920s — Perry Hall demolished (lost)After the sale of the Perry Hall estate in 1921 and 1923, the Goughs’ moated hall is demolished. Its grounds become Perry Hall Park; the moat survives.Perry Hall, Perry Barr

1940s

  1. c. December 1940 — St Thomas’s, Bath Row, is destroyed (lost)Rickman and Hutchinson’s church of St Thomas, Bath Row, built 1826–29, is hit in an all-night raid in December 1940. Only its west front and tower survive, now in the Peace Garden.
  2. 19 November 1940 — Bombing at the BSA works (lost)Bombs bring down part of the BSA New Building at Small Heath. According to the BSA Owners’ Club and local histories, 53 employees are killed and 89 injured.BSA works, Armoury Road, Small Heath
  3. 1940 — Market Hall gutted by bombing (lost)Enemy action reduces the Market Hall to a shell. Covered stalls are put up inside the walls, and trading carries on there until the early 1960s.Birmingham Market Hall
  4. 9 April 1941 — Prince of Wales Theatre destroyed (lost)A direct hit destroys the Prince of Wales Theatre in Broad Street during the April 1941 raids.

1950s

  1. 15 December 1956 — Theatre Royal closes (lost)After a last performance of the Fol-de-Rolls, the Theatre Royal on New Street closes and is demolished. An office building, the Woolworth Building, later rises on the site.Theatre Royal, New Street
  2. 1957 — Smallbrook Street cleared for the ring road (lost)Demolition clears Smallbrook Street for Smallbrook Ringway, the first section of the Inner Ring Road, after the Minister of Transport approves funding in January 1957.Smallbrook Street
  3. c. 1959 (some accounts 1960) — Bishop’s House demolished for the Inner Ring Road (lost)Pugin’s Bishop’s House is demolished to make way for the City Council’s Inner Ring Road. A chimneypiece and two chairs go to the V&A in 1961.Bishop’s House, Bath Street

1960s

  1. c. 1950s–1960s — The Gun Quarter is cut through by the Inner Ring Road (lost)Building the Dental Hospital and the Inner Ring Road demolishes much of the Gun Quarter, leaving, in the council’s words, ‘only a fragment’.The Gun Quarter
  2. c. 1960s — Elkington’s works largely demolished (lost)Most of the former Elkington works, by then the Museum of Science and Industry, is demolished. A late 19th-century range survives at 144 Newhall Street.Elkington’s electroplating works, Newhall Street
  3. c. early 1960s — Market Hall shell demolished (lost)The walls of the bombed Market Hall, still standing in 1962, are demolished for the Bull Ring Centre.Birmingham Market Hall
  4. 13 August 1963 — Demolition begins for the new library (lost)The City Engineer and Surveyor’s Department photographs demolition beginning in Great Charles Street for the new Central Library at Paradise Circus.Mason Science College, Edmund StreetBirmingham Central Library (John Madin)
  5. 1963 — The Grove, Harborne, is demolished (lost)Attwood’s old home, rebuilt for William Kenrick in 1877–78, is pulled down and its grounds become Grove Park. One panelled room goes to the Victoria and Albert Museum.Thomas AttwoodThe Grove, Harborne
  6. 1964 — Josiah Mason’s Orphanage demolished (lost)The trustees demolished Mason’s orphanage at Erdington, judging it out of date and too costly to maintain. Mason’s remains, and those of his wife and 53 children buried in the grounds, were removed and cremated. Most of the land became housing.Sir Josiah MasonJosiah Mason’s Orphanage, ErdingtonSir Josiah Mason Trust
  7. 1964 — British Railways demolishes the Victorian New Street station (lost)The 19th-century New Street station and the Queen’s Hotel are demolished as British Railways rebuilds for West Coast Main Line electrification. The new station opens in 1967.The Victorian New Street Station
  8. 1964 — Mason College demolished (lost)The Edmund Street building of Mason College, opened in 1880 and the forerunner of the University of Birmingham, is demolished for the new Central Library. Fragments still stood in 1969.Sir Josiah MasonBirmingham Central Library (John Madin)
  9. 1965 — Midland Institute compulsorily purchased (lost)The Birmingham and Midland Institute’s Paradise Street building is compulsorily purchased so that Paradise Street can be widened for re-routed traffic. The Institute moves to Margaret Street in 1966.Birmingham and Midland Institute, Paradise Street
  10. 1969 — Tangyes leave the Cornwall Works (lost)Three years after joining the Central Wagon group, Tangyes moves from Smethwick to Greet in Birmingham, ending 105 years at the Cornwall Works. The site passes to another company and the old buildings are later cleared.Cornwall Works (Tangyes)Tangye Brothers (Tangyes Ltd)

1970s

  1. 4–6 March 1972 — Snow Hill station closes (lost)The last trains run from Snow Hill on Saturday 4 March 1972; the official closure date is 6 March. The former hotel and booking hall had been demolished from 1969.Snow Hill Station
  2. 1973 — BSA’s motorcycle business collapses (lost)After BSA’s shares collapse, its motorcycle business is sold to Norton-Villiers-Triumph. The Small Heath works are demolished later in the 1970s.BSA works, Armoury Road, Small HeathBirmingham Small Arms Company (BSA)
  3. 1974 — Victorian Central Library demolished (lost)After Madin’s new library opens, the Victorian library of 1882 in Ratcliff Place is demolished. Its Shakespeare Memorial Room is dismantled and saved.Birmingham Central Library (John Madin)
  4. 4 October 1976 — Demolition of Snow Hill station begins (lost)Demolition of the remaining Snow Hill station begins. A new, smaller station opens on the site in October 1987.Snow Hill Station
  5. c. late 1970s to early 1980s — BSA Small Heath works demolished (lost)The main BSA works at Small Heath were demolished after motorcycle production ended on Christmas Eve 1975; sources give dates from 1977 to the early 1980s. The 1915–16 extension survives.BSA works, Armoury Road, Small Heath
  6. c. 1979–82 — Curzon Street hotel wing demolished (lost)Birmingham City Council takes over the old Curzon Street station and repairs the Principal Building, demolishing Robert Benson Dockray’s hotel wing of 1841.Curzon Street Station (1838)

1980s

  1. 1981 — Chance’s Spon Lane glassworks closes (lost)Flat-glass production at Smethwick, ended in 1976, is followed by the closure of the whole works after more than 150 years. Eight listed buildings and buried furnaces survive.Chance’s Glassworks, Spon LaneChance Brothers & Co.
  2. 1981 — Ansells’ Aston brewery closes (lost)After a series of strikes, Ansells closes its brewery at Aston Cross and moves production to Burton upon Trent. An MP told the Commons in March 1981 of 600 redundancies.
  3. 1986 — Gaumont demolished (lost)The Gaumont, closed on 29 October 1983 after a final showing of Yellowbeard, is demolished. The Wesleyan headquarters is later built on the site.Gaumont Palace, Colmore Circus
  4. 1987 — Prince of Wales Theatre site cleared (lost)The remains of the bombed Prince of Wales Theatre on Broad Street are demolished to make way for Symphony Hall, which opens in 1991.Prince of Wales Theatre, Broad Street
  5. c. by 1988 — Lucas Great King Street emptied (lost)Lucas moves ignition work to a new factory and sells or closes the rest. Nearly a million square feet at Great King Street stand empty; the blocks are demolished in the early 1990s.Lucas works, Great King Street, HockleyJoseph Lucas Ltd (Lucas Industries)

2000s

  1. 20 June 2000 — Demolition of the Bull Ring Centre begins (lost)Demolition of the 1964 Bull Ring Centre, 65,000 tonnes of concrete, begins. It is finished by March 2001.
  2. 2002 — Masshouse Circus demolished (lost)The raised Masshouse Circus section of the ring road is demolished, the first big break in the “concrete collar”. Birmingham Friends of the Earth sell chunks at 50p each.
  3. 2003 — The Birmingham Mint closes (lost)After more than 150 years of coining, the Birmingham Mint goes into administration in March 2003 and closes in May. Its listed Icknield Street front is later converted to housing.Birmingham Mint, Icknield StreetRalph Heaton & Sons (the Birmingham Mint)
  4. c. after 2003 — Most of the Witton works demolished (lost)IMI moves its headquarters to near Birmingham Airport, and most of the remaining buildings of the former Kynoch works at Witton are demolished.Kynoch’s Lion Works, Witton
  5. 8 April 2005 — MG Rover goes into administration (lost)The collapse of MG Rover ends volume car making at Longbridge and costs more than 6,000 jobs. Limited assembly under Chinese ownership ends in 2016.Austin works, Longbridge
  6. 16 March 2007 — HP Sauce leaves Aston (lost)The last shift ends at the HP Sauce factory at Aston Cross after Heinz moves production to the Netherlands. Demolition begins in July.

2010s

  1. c. 2015–16 — Central Library demolished (lost)After listing was refused in 2009 and the new Library of Birmingham opened in 2013, Madin’s Central Library is demolished for the Paradise redevelopment.Birmingham Central Library (John Madin)
  2. September 2018 — Paradise Circus closes to general traffic (lost)Paradise Circus, renamed Lyon Queensway, closes for the Metro and the Paradise redevelopment. Through traffic keeps using the A38 tunnel underneath.Paradise Circus

2020s

  1. October 2025 — Perry Barr Stadium demolished (lost)Weeks after the last races in August 2025, Perry Barr Stadium is demolished; the city council says no prior notification application was received and opens an investigation.Perry Barr Stadium (Alexander Sports Ground)