The statue of Horatio Nelson at the Bullring

Horatio Nelson visited Birmingham in August 1802. Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, a statue was made in 1809, and unveiled at the Bull Ring in October 1809. This was the first public statue in the Town of Birmingham (it didn't become a City until 1889). The statue was moved during the 1960s and 2000s redevelopments, but once again faces St Martin's.

On the 31st August 1802, Horatio Nelson stayed in Birmingham. This was in the years when he was off duty, before he returned to the Royal Navy to help fight the Napoleonic Wars. He stayed at the Styles' Hotel (later Royal Hotel), which was on a site on Temple Row (from the 1960s this was Rackhams, but has been House of Fraser since 2000). Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, on board HMS Victory on the 21st October 1805, a statue was erected in his memory at the Bull Ring in 1809. This blue plaque was unveiled by The Birmingham Civic Society on the Trafalgar Bi-Centenary 2005, on the wall of NatWest on Temple Row (the bank closed this branch for good in September 2022).

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Four years after the death of Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar onboard HMS Victory (sniper shot from a French gunman). Birmingham became the first place in the world to erect a statue in his memory. £2500 was raised by public subscription, and it was made in 1809 by Sir Richard Westmacott. It was unveiled on the 25th October 1809, on the day that was declared to be the Golden Jubilee of King George III.

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Painting below on a Japanned Tray by Thoma Hollins, circa 1830-40. Showing a view of the Bull Ring from the High Street in Birmingham, towards the statue of Horatio Nelson and St Martin's Church (as it looked before it was rebuilt later in the century).

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Bull%20Ring%20High%20St%20Nelson%201830%20to%201840.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />1942F83 Japanned Tray - View of the Bull Ring, High Street, Birmingham, 1830-40. By: Thomas Hollins. Birmingham Museums Trust, Public Domain

 

This drawing is attributed to Thomas Allom, showing The Bull Ring and the Nelson statue in Birmingham in 1845. When the outdoor market used to be around the statue.

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/H%20Nelson%20Bull%20Ring%201820s.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />1940P901. Drawing - The Bull Ring & Nelson Statue, Birmingham, 1845. Attributed to: Thomas Allom (Previously attributed to David Cox). Birmingham Museums Trust, Public Domain

 

Nelson stands in a uniform with one arm resting on an anchor with the prow of a miniature ship: HMS Victory.

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Upon the ship is the Flag Staff Truck of the French ship Orient (1791), flagship of the French fleet sunk at the Battle of the Nile.

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The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two storey building, built in 1703 and demolished in 1784. It stood outside of the Market Hall (opened nearby in 1835, roof and interior destroyed during WW2 in 1940, exterior walls demolished in 1963).

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Nelson%20Bull%20Ring%201898.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Public Domain image of the Nelson statue at the Bull Ring, next to the Market Hall with the original plinth, lanterns and cannons, c. 1898. Unknown photographer

 

It has been Grade II* listed since 25th April 1952.

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The statue was moved in 1961 during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring and a carved plinth, cannon and lanterns were lost. The 2003 redevelopment returned the statue close to it's original location north of St Martin's Church.

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Nelson now again looks over St Martin in the Bullring.

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The railings were replaced in 2005 in time for the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations which was centred on the statue.

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In 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of the statue's unveiling, a medal was struck by St Paul's Mint of Birmingham. This floral trail piece in St Martin's Square (below) from the Birmingham City Centre Floral Trail 2009, was based on the medal Matthew Boulton had struck in 1805 after the death of Nelson, and given to all the sailors.

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As of 2022, the statue is 213 years old, making it one of the oldest surviving statues to still be on public display in Birmingham. The plinth has gotten a bit weathered since it was restored to the location facing St Martin in the Bullring in the early 2000s.

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Photography by Elliott Brown. 19th century images courtesy of the Birmingham Museums Trust.

The Crown on Station Street, where Black Sabbath rehearsed, is due to reopen in a few years time!

The Crown on Station Street, the corner of Hill Street, has been closed since 2014 (a Japanese developer bought the pub and car park behind). It has remained unused ever since. But in October 2022, it was announced that Birmingham Open Media will have the pub fully restored. This will take a couple of years. It will be the site of a new live music venue and digital centre. 

The Crown on Station Street - history

The public house at the corner of Station Street and Hill Street was built in 1881 opposite Birmingham New Street Station, to the designs of Thomson Plevins (1825 - 1897). The same architect who designed the Grand Hotel in 1875. He was a Scottish architect who practised in Birmingham.

The likes of Black Sabbath was first hosted at The Crown back in 1968. The pub later hosted the likes of Status Quo, Led Zeppelin, and UB40, until at least the 1980s.

The pub was still open in 2014, but closed in the middle of the 2014 FIFA World Cup (in Brazil),  when it was bought by Japanese development company Toyoko. Unfortunately, in the years since then, nothing has happened to the pub, and it's been left to rot, and get covered in graffiti.

Jez Collins, the creator of the Birmingham Music Archive has been looking to refurbish the pub for a number of years now. He will be working with Birmingham Open Media (BOM). The work could start in 2023, and it is hoped it could be completed by the end of 2024.

More information from Thomas Cramp at Birmingham Live here: Pub venue of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's first gig to be restored after lying derelict

 

The Crown - gallery of photos

During the early years of the rebuilding of Birmingham New Street Station, I took a series of photos of The Crown from Hill Street and Station Street. At the time it was externally painted in black and white, as can be seen during January 2011.

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Another photo of The Crown during April 2011, when new bollards had been installed in the middle of Hill Street, at the Station Street junction. Behind the pub is the Centre City Tower, and is a short walk down to Smallbrook Queensway and Hurst Street in Southside.

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In September 2015, Birmingham New Street Station, was completely reopened to the public. This half had closed in 2013 at Half Time Switch Over. From the newly opened Southside Steps (our Spanish Steps), you can see The Crown to the left. By this point it had been closed down for more than a year.

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I went into John Lewis Birmingham store for a look around during October 2015. On the upper floors there was views to The Crown, and other buildings on Station Street and Hill Street, but view was slightly obscured by the patterns in the windows. So was a bit hard to see. Sadly during the pandemic in 2020, this John Lewis store closed down, never to reopen. But the store was used for filming of the Tom Cruise movie, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I (during the summer of 2021). Then known as Mission: Impossible 7. It is due for release in cinemas by June 2023. But it won't feature The Crown in the movie. It was transformed into Abu  Dhabi Airport (including Grand Central).

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In April 2017, I got views of The Crown for the first time from the balconies at the Southside end of Birmingham New Street Station. The lower half of the former pub had been repainted, but was looking graffiti free at this point. The pub was a short distance away from the Electric Cinema and The Old REP Theatre.

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The Cricket World Cup was on in Birmingham during June 2019, as could be seen by these banners located on Station Street outside of The Crown. A no 16 NXWM Platinum bus in orange livery, was about to turn from Hill Street onto Station Street, for the journey towards Handsworth and Hamstead.

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In November 2019, for the festive season, the Southside BID put fairy lights up along the buildings on Station Street, including on The Crown. It looked good after dark, once the clocks had gone back.

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During the pandemic, local graffiti and street artists were pasting their art on the windows and walls of The Crown, as could be seen on Station Street during August 2020. The art here was a dissected cat by Tempo 33.

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Even more graffiti art and vandalism on The Crown during October 2020, as I spotted a Ariel Atom car turning from Hill Street onto Station Street. Traffic gets busy around here at weekends.

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By April 2021, as lockdown restrictions were beginning to ease, you could now hire Voi e-Scooter's and West Midlands Cycle Hire bikes outside the Southside entrance to Birmingham New Street Station. Meanwhile the graffiti was still all over The Crown, and wouldn't be cleaned off until before the Commonwealth Games began a year later.

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The Crown as it is, now in October 2022. The rainbow colours from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are still up. Signs on the former pub point to Smithfield (where beach volleyball and basketball was played) and to Edgbaston (cricket). Only graffiti now says "Ozzy woz here". These views were taken from the Southside balconies at Birmingham New Street Station. I took these photos after hearing that the pub might reopen in a few years time.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Cathedral Square from above: Views from 103 Colmore Row

Key to the City gave you the chance to see Cathedral Square from above, from the 18th floor balcony at 103 Colmore Row, between June and August 2022. From October 2022, you can go up to the 24th floor, at Orelle Restaurant for an even higher view! Best to go during the day, and not at night. Photography by Elliott Brown.

Key to the City - June to August 2022

View from the 18th floor balcony at 103 Colmore Row

11th June 2022

The first opportunity to see Birmingham Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of St Philip) and Cathedral Square, along with the Colmore BID from this vantage point.

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16th July 2022

An attempt to zoom down to Cofton Nursery's floral piece for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which won Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show.

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The House of Fraser and 43 Temple Row. Sadly, Lloyds Bank closed down in this building in September 2022. The nearby NatWest branch also closed down at the opposite corner. Horatio Nelson once stayed in a hotel on this site back in 1802, it is marked by a Birmingham Civic Society blue plaque on the former NatWest building (1 St Philip's Place).

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6th August 2022

The last weekend of Key to the City, so one last opportunity to see Cathedral Square from the 18th floor balcony of 103 Colmore Row. The grass was a bit dry at the time, due to the summer heatwave.

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Orelle Restaurant

Views from the 24th floor of 103 Colmore Row

8th October 2022

Much higher vantage point here, but as was inside of Orelle Restaurant, there was glass windows in the way, so sometimes a bit of glare from the lights inside and out. This is a month after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II. And around a month befor the return of the Christmas Market here.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Diwali on the Square in Victoria Square

I've only really passed through Victoria Square while Diwali on the Square was on, just stopping to get my photos in the middle of my photo walk. These are my photos of the event from October 2018, October 2019 and October 2022. It was held by the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Indian Consulate General of Birmingham.

Diwali is usually celebrated by the Indian community in Birmingham every October. In the last couple of years of the 2010s, the Indian Consulate General of Birmingham organised an event along with the West Midlands Combined Authority, and taking place in Victoria Square. Due to the Pandemic, there was no event in the square during 2020 and 2021, but it returned in 2022. There is usually a stage with music and dancing on it. Various stands with food and drink, hand and face painting etc.

 

Diwali on the Square - 20th October 2018

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Diwali on the Square - 19th October 2019

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Diwali on the Square - 15th October 2022

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Photography by Elliott Brown

The Proclamation of King Charles III outside of the Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square - Sunday 11th September 2022

Queen Elizabeth II sadly died aged 96 on the 8th September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Her son automatically became King, taking the regnal title of Charles III. After the Accession Council at St James's Palace on the 10th September, and Proclamation, a day later in Birmingham, the Lord Mayor read it out at 1pm in front of the Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square.

Sunday 11th September 2022

Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on Thursday 8th September 2022, after a 70 year reign as Queen of the United Kingdom. Charles, Prince of Wales automatically became King. Taking the title of King Charles III.

The Accession Council met at St James' Palace on the morning of Saturday 10th September 2022 to officially proclaim King Charles III. And the Proclamation was read out there.

The following day, Sunday 11th September 2022, the Proclamation was read out in Town's and Cities across the UK and the Commonwealth. Including here in Birmingham.

The venue was outside of the Library of Birmingham in Centenary Square. In the 20th Century, Victoria Square outside of the Council House was used, but was obviously unavailable due to PoliNations.

The City of Birmingham Brass Band was playing around 12:30pm, and by 1pm the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and other dignitaries came out. Including the Bishop of Birmingham and Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council Brigid Jones. Lawrence Barton from Southside was also there to introduce the proceedings.

 

Westside BID has posted and article with a link to a video HERE.

 

11 photos below taken by Elliott Brown. Full gallery of 30 photos on his Facebook page HERE.

 

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Photography by Elliott Brown