Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham by Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

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~London 'Prentice Street,~ was called Western Street or Westley's Row on
the old maps, its continuation, the Coach Yard, being then Pemberton's
Yard. How the name of London 'Prentice Street came to be given to the
delectable thoroughfare is one of "those things no fellow can
understand." At one time there was a schoolroom there, the boys being
taught good manners upstairs, while they could learn lessons of
depravity below. With the anxious desire of putting the best face on
everything that characterises the present local "fathers of the people,"
the London 'Prentice has been sent to the right-about, and the nasty
dirty stinking thoroughfare is now called "Dalton Street."

~Loveday Street,~ from Loveday Croft, a field given in Good Queen Bess's
reign, by John Cooper, as a trysting-place for the Brummagem lads and
lasses when on wooing bent.

~Low Rents.~--A return of unassessed houses in the parish of Birmingham,
taken October 19, 1790, showed 2,000 at a rental under L5, 2,000 others
under L6, 3,000 under L7, 2,000 under L8, 500 under L9, and 500 under
L10.

~Lozells.~--In the lease of a farm of 138 acres, sold by auction, June
24, 1793, it was written "Lowcells." Possibly the name is derived from
the Saxon "lowe" (hill) and "cele" (cold or chill) making it "the cold
hill."

~Lunacy.~--Whether it arises from political heat, religious ecstacies,
intemperance, or the cares and worry of the universal hunt for wealth,
it is certainly a painful fact to chronicle that in proportion to
population insanity is far more prevalent now than it was fifty years
ago, and Birmingham has no more share in such excess than other parts of
the kingdom. Possibly, the figures show more prominently from the action
of the wise rules that enforce the gathering of the insane into public
institutions, instead of leaving the unfortunates to the care (or
carelessness) of their relatives as in past days, when the wards of the
poor-houses were the only receptacles for those who had no relatives to
shelter them. The erection of the Borough Asylum, at Winson Green, was
commenced in 1846, and it was finished in 1851. The house and grounds
covered an area of about twenty acres, the building being arranged to
accommodate 330 patients. Great as this number appeared to be, not many
years passed before the necessity of enlargement was perceived, and,
ultimately, it became evident the Winson Green establishment must either
be doubled in size or that a second Asylum must be erected on another
site. An estate of 150 acres on the south-eastern slopes of Rubery Hill,
on the right-hand side of the turnpike road from here to Bromsgrove, was
purchased by the Corporation, and a new Asylum, which will accommodate
616 patients, has there been erected. For the house and its immediate
grounds, 70 acres have been apportioned, the remainder being kept for
the purposes of a farm, where those of the inmates fit for work can be
employed, and where the sewage from the asylum will be utilised. The
cost of the land was L6,576 8s. 5d., and that of the buildings, the
furnishing, and the laying out of the grounds, L133,495 5s. 8d. The
report of the Lunatic Asylums Committee for 1882 stated that the number
of patients, including those boarded under contract at other asylums, on
the first of Jan., 1882, was 839. There were admitted to Winson Green
and Rubery Hill during the year 349. There were discharged during the
year 94, and there died 124, leaving, on the 31st Dec., 970. The whole
of the 970 were then at the borough asylums, and were chargeable as
follows:--To Birmingham parish, 644; to Birmingham borough, 8; to Aston
Union, in the borough, 168; to King's Norton, 16; to other unions under
contract, 98; the remaining 36 patients not being paupers. The income of
the asylums for the year was--from Birmingham patients L20,748 1s. 9.;
from pauper patients under contract, and from patients not paupers,
L2,989 9s. 5d.; from goods sold, L680 1s. 5d.; total, L24,417 12s. 7d.
The expenditure on maintenance account was L21,964 4s., and on building
capital account L2,966 7s. 7d.--total, L24,915 11s. 7d.; showing a
balance against the asylums of L497 19s. The nett average weekly cost
for the year was 9s. 6-1/2d. per head. Mr. E.B. Whitcombe, medical
superintendent at Winson Green, says that among the causes of insanity
in those admitted it is satisfactory to note a large decrease in the
number from intemperance, the percentage for the year being 7.7, as
compared with 18 and 21 per cent. in 1881 and 1880 respectively. The
proportion of recoveries to admissions was in the males 27.7, in the
females 36, and in the total 32.3 percent. This is below the average,
and is due to a large number of chronic and unfavourable cases admitted.
At Rubery Hill Asylum, Dr. Lyle reports that out of the first 450
admissions there were six patients discharged as recovered.--The Midland
Counties' Idiot Asylum, at Knowle, opened in 1867, also finds shelter
for some of Birmingham's unfortunate children. The Asylum provides a
home for about 50, but it is in contemplation to considerably enlarge
it. At the end of 1882 there were 28 males and 21 females, 47 being the
average number of inmates during the year, the cost per head being L41
13s. 6d. Of the limited number of inmates in the institution no fewer
than thirteen came from Birmingham, and altogether as many as
thirty-five candidates had been elected from Birmingham. The income from
all sources, exclusive of contributions to the building fund, amounted
to L2,033 3s. 8d., and the total expenditure (including L193 3s. 4d.
written off for depreciation of buildings) to L1,763 15s. 7d., leaving a
balance in hand of L269 8s. 1d. The fund which is being raised for the
enlargement of the institution then amounted to L605 15s., the sum
required being L5,000. The society's capital was then L10,850 12s. 8d.
of which L7,358 12s. 5d. had been laid out in lands and buildings. Mr.
Tait, the medical officer, was of opinion that one-fourth of the
children were capable of becoming productive workers under kindly
direction and supervision, the progress made by some of the boys in
basket-making being very marked.

~Lunar Society.~--So called from the meetings being held at the full of
the moon that the members might have light nights to drive home, but
from which they were nicknamed "the lunatics." Originally commenced
about 1765, it included among its members Baskerville, Boulton, Watt,
Priestley, Thomas Day, Samuel Galton, R.L. Edgeworth, Dr. Withering, Dr.
Small, Dr. Darwin, Wedgwood, Keir, and indeed almost every man of
intellectual note of the time. It died down as death took the leaders,
but it may be said to have left traces in many learned societies of
later date.

~Luncheon Bars.~--The honour of introducing the modern style of luncheon
bar must be awarded to the landlord of the Acorn, in Temple Street, who,
having seen something of the kind in one of the Channel Islands,
imported the notion to Birmingham. The lumber rooms and stables at back
of his house were cleared and fitted up as smoke rooms, and bread and
cheese, and beer, &c., dealt out over the counter. Here it was that Mr.
Hillman took his degree as popular waiter, and from the Acorn also he
took a wife to help him start "The Stores," in Paradise Street. Mr.
Thomas Hanson was not long behind Hillman before he opened up "The
Corner Stores," in Union Passage, following that with the "St. James" in
New Street, and several others in various parts of the town. The "Bars"
are now an "institution" that has become absolutely indispensable, even
for the class who prefer the semi-privacy of the "Restaurants," as the
proprietors of the more select Bars like to call their establishments.

~Magistrates.~--By direction of the Queen's Council, in 1569, all
magistrates had to send up "bonds" that they would subscribe to the then
recently passed Act for the Uniformity of Common Prayers and Services in
the Church, and the Administration of the Sacraments. The local name of
Middlemore appears among the few in this county who objected to do so,
and most likely his descendants would do the same. The first twenty-five
of our borough magistrates were appointed about nine weeks after the
date of the Charter of Incorporation, 1839. In 1841, 1849, 1856, and
1859, other gentlemen were placed on the roll, and in April, 1880, ten
more names were added to the list, having been sent up to the Lord
Chancellor a few days before he vacated office, by some knowing
gentlemen who had conceived a notion that the Conservative element was
hardly strong enough among the occupants of the Bench. There are now 52,
in addition to the Stipendiary Magistrate and the Recorder, and as
politics _must_ enter into every matter connected with public life in
Birmingham, we record the interesting fact that 31 of these gentlemen
are Liberals and 21 Conservatives. Mr. T.C.S. Kynnersley first acted as
Stipendiary, April 19, 1856.

~Magazines.~--See "_Newspapers and Periodicals_."

~Manor House.~--How few of the thousands who pass Smithfield every day
know that they are treading upon ground where once the Barons of
Birmingham kept house in feudal grandeur. Whether the ancient Castle,
destroyed in the time of Stephen, pre-occupied the site of the Manor
House (or, as it was of late years called--the Moat House), is more than
antiquarians have yet found out, any more than they can tell us when the
latter building was erected, or when it was demolished. Hutton says:
"The first certain account we meet of the moat (which surrounded the
island on which the erections were built) is in the reign of Henry the
Second, 1154, when Peter de Bermingham, 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
buried in the ruins of time. Upon the spot, about fifty years ago
[1730], rose a house in the modern style, occupied by a manufacturer
(Thomas Francis); in one of the outbuildings is shown the apartment
where the ancient lords kept their court leet. 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." Moat Lane and Mill Lane are
the only names by which the memory of the old house is now retained. The
thread mill spoken of by Hutton gave place to a brass or iron foundry,
and the property being purchased by the Commissioners, the whole was
cleared off the ground in 1815 or 1816, the sale of the building
materials, &c., taking place July 5, 1815. Among the "lots" sold, the
Moat House and offices adjoining realised L290; the large gates at the
entrance with the brick pillars, L16; the bridge, L11; the timber trees,
L25; a fire engine with carriage, &c., L6 15s. (possibly some sort of
steam engine, then called fire engines); the total produce, including
counting-house, warehouse, casting, tinning, burnishing, blacking, and
blacksmiths' shops, a horse mill, scouring mill, and a quantity of wood
sheds and palisading, amounted to nearly L1,150. The prosaic minds of
the Commissioners evidently did not lead them to value "the apartments
where the ancient lords kept their court," or it had been turned into a
scouring or tinning shop, for no mention was made of it in the catalogue
of sale, and as the old Castle disappeared, so did the Manor House,
leaving not a stone behind. Mr. William Hamper took a sketch of the old
house, in May, 1814, and he then wrote of the oldest part of the
building, that it was "half-timbered," and seemingly of about Henry
VIII.'s time, or perhaps a little later, but some of the timbers had
evidently been used in a former building (probably the old Manorial
residence) as the old mortices were to be seen in several of the beams
and uprights. The house itself was cleared away in May, 1816, and the
last of the outbuildings in the following month. So perfect was the
clearance, that not even any of the foundations have been turned up
during the alterations lately effected in Smithfield Market. In 1746,
the "manorial rights" were purchased by Thomas Archer, of Umberslade,
from whose descendants they were acquired by the Commissioners, in 1812,
under an Act of Parliament obtained for the purpose, the price given for
the Manor House, meat, and ground, being L5,672, in addition to L12,500,
for "market tolls," &c.

~Manufactures.~--For a few notes respecting the manufactures carried on
in Birmingham, see "_Trades_."

~Maps of Birmingham.~--Westley's "Plan of Birmingham, surveyed in the
year 1731," is the earliest published map yet met with; Bradford's in
1750, is the next. Hanson's of 1778, was reduced for Hutton's work, in
1781. For the third edition, 1792, Pye's map was used, and it was added
to in 1795. 1800 saw Bissett's "Magnificent Directory" published, with a
map; and in 1815 Kempson's survey was taken, and, as well as Pye's, was
several times issued with slight alterations, as required. In 1825,
Pigott Smith's valuable map, with names of landowners (and a miniature
copy of Westley's in upper left-hand corner), was issued, and for many
years it was the most reliable authority that could be referred to. 1834
was prolific in maps; Arrowsmith's, Wrightson and Webb's, Guest's, and
Hunt's, appearing, the best of them being the first-named. The Useful
Knowledge Society's map, with views of public buildings, was issued in
1844, and again in 1849. In 1848, Fowler and Son published a
finely-engraved map, 68-1/4in. by 50-1/2in., of the parish of Aston,
with the Duddeston-cum-Nechells, Deritend, and Bordesley wards, and the
hamlets of Erdington, Castle Bromwich, Little Bromwich, Saltley, and
Washwood Heath, Water Orton, and Witton. The Board of Health map was
issued in 1849; Guest's reissued in 1850; Blood's "ten-mile map" in
1853; and the Post-office Directory map in 1854. In the next year, the
Town Council street map (by Pigott Smith) was published, followed by
Moody's in 1858, Cornish's and Granger's in 1860, and also a corrected
and enlarged edition of the Post-office Directory map. A variety, though
mostly of the nature of street maps, have appeared since then, the
latest, most useful, and correct (being brought down to the latest date)
being that issued to their friends, mounted for use, by Messrs. Walter
Showell and Sons, at whose head offices in Great Charles Street copies
can be obtained.--In 1882 the Corporation reproduced and issued a series
of ancient and hitherto private maps of the town and neighbourhood,
which are of great value to the historian and everyone interested in the
land on which Birmingham and its suburbs are built. The first of these
maps in point of date is that of the Manor of Edgbaston 1718, followed
by that of the Manor of Aston 1758, Little Bromwich Manor 1759,
Bordesley Manor 1760, Saltley Manor 1760, Duddeston and Nechells Manors
1778, and of Birmingham parish 1779. The last-named was the work of a
local surveyor, John Snape, and it is said that he used a camera obscura
of his own construction to enable him to make his work so perfect that
it served as correct guide to the map makers for fifty years after.

~Markets.~--Some writers have dated the existence of Birmingham as a
market town as being prior to the Norman Conquest, charters (they say)
for the holding of markets having been granted by both Saxon and Danish
Kings. That market was held here at an early period is evident from the
fact of the charter therefore being renewed by Richard I., who visited
the De Berminghams in 1189. The market day has never been changed from
Thursday, though Tuesday and Saturday besides are now not enough; in
fact, every day may be called market day, though Thursday attracts more
of our friends from the country. The opening of Smithfield (May 29,
1817) was the means of concentrating the markets for horses, pigs,
cattle, sheep, and farm produce, which for years previously had been
offered for sale in New Street, Ann Street, High Street, and Dale End.
The Market tolls, for which L12,500 was paid in 1812, produced L5,706
10s. 5d. in the year 1840.

_Cattle Market_.--Prior to 1769 cattle were sold in High Street; in that
year their standings were removed to Dale End, and in 1776 (Oct. 28.) to
Deritend. Pigs and sheep were sold in New Street up to the opening of
Smithfield. Some five-and-twenty years back a movement was set on foot
for the removal of the Cattle Market to the Old Vauxhall neighbourhood,
but the cost frightened the people, and the project was shelved. The
"town improvers" of to-day, who play with thousands of pounds as
children used to do at chuck-farthing, are not so easily baulked, and
the taxpayers will doubtless soon have to find the cash for a very much
larger Cattle Market in some other part of the borough. A site has been
fixed upon in Rupert Street by the "lords in Convention," but up to now
(March, 1885), the question is not _quite_ settled.

_Corn Market_.--The ancient market for corn, or "Corn Cheaping," formed,
part of "le Bul ryng" which at one time was almost the sole place of
traffic of our forefathers. At first an open space, as the market
granted by the early Norman Kings grew in extent, the custom arose of
setting up stalls, the right to do which was doubtless bought of the
Lords of the Manor. These grew into permanent tenements, and stallages,
"freeboards," shambles, and even houses (some with small gardens
abutting on the unfenced churchyard), gradually covered the whole
ground, and it ultimately cost the town a large sum to clear it, the
Commissioners, in 1806-7, paying nearly L25,000 for the purpose. The
farmers of a hundred years ago used to assemble with their samples of
grain round the Old Cross, or High Cross, standing nearly opposite the
present Market Hall steps, and in times of scarcity, when bread was
dear, they needed the protection of special constables.

_Fish Market_.--In April, 1851, the fishmongers' stalls were removed
from Dale End, and the sale was confined to the Market Hall, but
consequent on the increase of population, and therefore of consumption,
a separate market, at corner of Bell Street, was opened in 1870, and
that is now being enlarged.

_Hide and Skin Market_.--The sale of these not particularly
sweet-smelling animal products was formerly carried on in the open at
Smithfield, but a special market for them and for tallow was opened May
25, 1850; the same building being utilised as a wool market July 29,
1851.

_Vegetable Market_, so long held in the Bull Ring, is now principally
held in the covered portion of Smithfield, which promises to be soon a
huge wholesale market.

~Marriages.~--This is the style in which these interesting events used
to chronicled:--

"Sept. 30, 1751. On Monday last, the Rev. Mr. Willes, a relation of the
Lord Chief Justice Willes, was married to Miss Wilkins, daughter of an
eminent grocer of this town, a young lady of great merit, and handsome
fortune."

"Nov. 23, 1751. On Tuesday last, was married at St. Mary-le-Bow, in
Cheapside, Mr. W. Welch, an eminent hardware man of Birmingham, to Miss
Nancy Morton, of Sheffield, an agreeable young lady, with a handsome
fortune."

"June 4, 1772 (and not before as mentioned by mistake) at St. Philip's
Church in this town, Mr. Thomas Smallwood, an eminent wine merchant, to
Miss Harris, a young lady of distinguished accomplishments, with a
fortune of L1,500."

~Masshouse Lane.~--Takes its name from the Roman Catholic Church (or
Mass House, as such edifices were then called) erected in 1687, and
dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen and St. Francis. The foundation stone was
laid March 23, in the above year, and on 16th August, 1688, the first
stone of a Franciscan Convent was laid adjoining to the Church, which
latter was consecrated Sept. 4. The Church was 95ft long by 33ft. wide,
and towards the building of it and the Convent, James II. gave 125 "tuns
of timber," which were sold for L180; Sir John Gage gave timber valued
at L140; the Dowager Queen Catherine gave L10 15s.; and a Mrs. Anne
Gregg, L250. This would appear to have been the first place of worship
put up here by the Romish Church since the time of Henry VIII., and it
was not allowed to stand long, for the Church and what part of the
Convent was built (in the words of the Franciscan priest who laid the
first stone) "was first defaced, and most of it burrent within to near
ye vallue of 400lb., by ye Lord Dellamer's order upon ye 26 of November,
1688, and ye day sevennight following ye rabble of Birmingham begon to
pul ye Church and Convent down, and saesed not until they had pulled up
ye fundations. They sold ye materials, of which many houses and parts of
houses are built in ye town of Birmingham, ye townsmen of ye better sort
not resisting ye rabble, but quietly permitting, if not prompting them
to doe itt." The poor priests found shelter at Harborne, where there is
another Masshouse Lane, their "Masshouse" being a little further on in
Pritchett's Lane, where for nearly a century the double work of
conducting a school and ministering to their scattered Catholic flock
was carried on, the next local place of worship built here being "St.
Peters's Chapel," off Broad Street, erected about 1786. It is believed
that St. Bartholomew's Church covers the site of the short-lived "Mass
House."

~Masonic.~--That the Freemasons are many among us is proved by the
number of their Lodges, but the writer has no record throwing light on
their past local history, though mention is found now and then in old
newspapers of their taking part in the ceremonies attending the erection
of more than one of our public buildings. Of their local acts of
benevolence they sayeth naught, though, as is well-known, their charity
is never found wanting. The three Masonic charitable institutions which
are supported by the voluntary contributions of the craft during 1883
realised a total income of L55,994 14s. 3d. Of this sum the boys' school
received L24,895 7s. 1d.; the Benevolent Institution, L18,449 6s.; and
the girls' school, L12,650 1s. 2d. The largest total attained previous
to 1883 was in 1880, when the sum amounted to L49,763. The boys' school,
which is now at the head of the list, is boarding, housing clothing, and
educating 221 boys; the Benevolent Institution, the second on the list,
is granting annuities of L40 each to 172 men and L32 each to 167 widows;
and the girls' school houses, boards, clothes, and educates 239 girls,
between the ages of seven and sixteen. The boys leave school at fifteen.
During the year L8,675 has been granted to 334 cases of distress from
the Fund of Benevolence, which is composed of 4s. a year taken from
every London Mason's subscription to his lodge and 2s. a year from every
country Mason's subscription. The local lodges meet as follows:--_At the
Masonic Hall, New Street_: St. Paul's Lodge, No. 43; the Faithful Lodge,
No. 473; the Howe Lodge, No. 587; the Howe R.A. Chapter; the Howe Mark
Master's Lodge; the Howe Preceptory of Knight Templars; the Temperance
Lodge, No. 739; the Leigh Lodge, No. 887; the Bedford Lodge, No. 925;
the Bedford R.A. Chapter; the Grosvenor Lodge, No. 938; the Grosvenor
R.A. Chapter; the Elkington Lodge, No 1,016; the Elkington R.A. Chapter;
the Fletcher Lodge, No. 1,031; the Fletcher R.A. Chapter; the Lodge of
Emulation, No. 1,163; the Forward Lodge, No. 1,180; the Lodge of
Charity, No. 1,551; and the Alma Mater Lodge, No. 1,644. _At the Masonic
Hall, Severn Street_: The Athol Lodge, No. 74; the Athol R.A. Chapter;
the Athol Mark Master's Lodge; and the Lodge of Israel, No. 1,474. _At
the Great Western Hotel_: The Lodge of Light, No. 468; the R.A. Chapter
of Fortitude; and the Vernon Chapter of S.P.R.C. of H.R.D.M., No. 5. _At
the Holte Hotel, Aston_: The Holte Lodge, No. 1,246.

~Matches.~--Baker's are best, the maker says. Lucifer matches were the
invention of a young German patriot, named Kammerer, who beguiled his
time in prison (in 1832) with chemical experiments, though a North of
England apothecary, Walker, lays claim to the invention. They were first
made in Birmingham in 1852, but they have not, as yet, completely driven
the old-fashioned, and now-despised tinder-box out of the world, as many
of the latter are still manufactured in this town for sundry foreign
parts.

~Mecca.~--The late Mr. J.H. Chamberlain, shortly before his death, said
that he looked upon Birmingham, "perhaps with a foolish pride," as the
Holy City, the Mecca of England; where life was fuller of possibilities
of utility--happier, broader, wiser, and a thousand times better than it
was in any other town in the United Kingdom.

~Mechanical Engineers.~--The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was
organised in this town, in October 1847, but its headquarters were
removed to London, in 1877.

~Mechanics' Institute.~--The proposal to form a local institution of a
popular nature, for the encouragement of learning among our workers,
like unto others which had been established in several large places
elsewhere, was published in June, 1825, and several meetings were held
before December 27, when officers were chosen, and entry made of nearly
200 members, to start with, the subscription being 5/-per quarter. The
formal opening took place March 21, 1826, the members assembling in
Mount Zion Chapel, to hear an address from Mr. B. Cook, the
vice-president. The class-rooms, library, and reading-rooms, were at the
school attached to the Old Meeting House, and here the Institution, so
far as the conduct of classes, and the imparting of knowledge went,
thrived and prospered. Financially, however, though at one time there
were nearly 500 members, it was never successful, possibly through lack
of assistance that might have been expected from the manufacturers and
large employers, for, hide it as we may, with a few honourable
exceptions, that class, fifty years ago, preferred strong men to wise
ones, and rather set their banks against opening the doors of knowledge
to their workpeople, or their children. It was a dozen years before the
Institution was able to remove to a home of its own in Newhall Street,
but it rapidly got into a hopeless state of debt. To lessen this
incubus, and provide funds for some needed alterations, the committee
decided to hold an exhibition of "manufactures, the fine arts, and
objects illustrative of experimental philosophy, &c." The exhibition was
opened Dec. 19, 1839, and in all ways was a splendid success, a
fairly-large sum of money being realised. Unfortunately, a second
exhibition was held in the following years, when all the profits of the
former were not only lost, but so heavy an addition made to the debt,
that it may be said to have ruined the institution completely. Creditors
took possession of the premises in January, 1842, and in June operations
were suspended, and, notwithstanding several attempts to revive the
institution, it died out altogether. As the only popular educational
establishment open to the young men of the time, it did good work, many
of its pupils having made their mark in the paths of literature, art,
and science.