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

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~Omnibuses.~--The first omnibus was started in 1828, by Mr. Doughty, a
fishmonger, and its route lay between the White Swan, Snow Hill, to the
Sun, in Bristol Road. In 1836 an "Omnibus Conveyance Co," was proposed,
with a magnificent capital of L5,000. The projectors would have been a
little startled if they could have seen the prospectuses of some of our
modern conveyance companies.--See "_Tramways_."

~Open Spaces.~--March 8, 1883, saw the formation of the Birmingham
Association for the Prevention of Open Spaces and Public Footpaths, the
object of which is to be the securing of the rights of the public to the
open spots, footpaths, and green places, which, for generations, have
belonged to them. There are few such left in the borough now, but the
Association may find plenty to do in the near neighbourhood, and if its
members can but save us one or two of the old country walks they will do
good service to the community.

~Orange Tree.~--This public-house was built in 1780, the neighbourhood
being then known as "Boswell Heath." A walk to the Orange Tree over the
"hilly fields," where Conybere and other streets now are, was a pleasant
Sunday morning ramble even forty years back.

~Oratory.~--See "_Places of Worship_."

~Organs.~--According to the oft-quoted extract from the Halesowen
Churchwardens' books--"1497. Paid for repeyling the organs to the organ
maker at Bromycham 10s,"--organ-building must have been one of the few
recognised trades of this town at a very early date. It is a pity the
same accounts do not give the maker's name of the instruments for which
in 1539 they "paid my lord Abbot 4 marks," or name the parties who were
then employed and paid for "mending and setting the organs up, 40s."
Whether any of the most celebrated organs in the country have, or have
not, been made here, is quite uncertain, though the Directories and
papers of all dates tell us that makers thereof have never been wanting.
In 1730, one Thomas Swarbrick made the organ for St. Mary's Church,
Warwick, and the Directory for 1836 gives the name of Isaac Craddock
(the original maker of the taper penholder), who repaired and in several
cases enlarged the instruments at many of our places of worship, as well
as supplying the beautiful organ for St. Mary's, at Coventry.--The tale
has often been told of the consternation caused by the introduction of a
barrel organ into a church, when from some catch or other it would not
stop at the finish of the first tune, and had to be carried outside,
while the remainder of its repertoire pealed forth, but such instruments
were not unknown in sacred edifices in this neighbourhood but a short
time back [see "_Northfield_"].--A splendid organ was erected in Broad
Street Music Hall when it was opened, and it was said to be the second
largest in England, costing L2,000; it was afterwards purchased for St.
Pancras' Church, London.--The organ in the Town Hall, constructed by Mr.
Hill, of London, cost nearly L4,000 and, when put up, was considered to
be one of the finest and most powerful in the world, and it cannot have
lost much of its prestige, as many improvements have since been made in
it. The outer case is 45ft. high, 40ft. wide, and 17ft. deep, and the
timber used in the construction of the organ weighed nearly 30 tons.
There are 4 keyboards, 71 draw stops, and over 4,000 pipes of various
forms and sizes, some long, some short, some trumpet-like in shape, and
others cylindrical, while in size they range from two or three inches in
length to the great pedal pipe, 32ft. high and a yard in width, with an
interior capacity of 224 cubic feet. In the "great organ" there are 18
stops, viz.: Clarion (2ft.), ditto (4ft.), posanne, trumpet, principal
(1 and 2), gamba, stopped diapason, four open diapasons, doublette,
harmonic flute, mixture sesquialtra, fifteenth, and twelfth, containing
altogether 1,338 pipes. In the "choir organ" there are nine stops, viz.:
Wald flute, fifteenth stopped flute, oboe flute, principal, stopped
diapason, hohl flute, cornopean, and open diapason, making together 486
pipes. The "swell organ" contains 10 stops, viz.: Hautbois, trumpet,
horn, fifteenth, sesquialtra, principal, stopped diapason, open
diapason, clarion, and boureon and dulciana, the whole requiring 702
pipes. In the "solo organ" the principal stops are the harmonica, krum,
horn, and flageolet, but many of the stops in the swell and choir organs
work in connection with the solo. In the "pedal organ" are 12 stops,
viz.: Open diapason 16ft. (bottom octave) wood, ditto, 16ft., metal,
ditto, 16ft. (bottom octave) metal, bourdon principal, twelfth,
fifteenth, sesquialtra, mixture, posanne, 8ft. trumpet, and 4ft.
trumpet. There are besides, three 32ft. stops, one wood, one metal, and
one trombone. There are four bellows attached to the organ, and they are
of great size, one being for the 32ft. pipes alone. The Town Hall organ
had its first public trial August 29, 1834, when the Birmingham Choral
Society went through a selection of choruses, as a kind of advance note
of the then coming Festival.

Orphanages.--The first local establishment of the nature of an orphanage
was the so called Orphan Asylum in Summer Lane, built in 1797 for the
rearing of poor children from the Workhouse. It was a very useful
institution up to the time of its close in 1852, but like the Homes at
Marston Green, where the young unfortunates from the present Workhouse
are reared and trained to industrial habits, it was almost a misnomer to
dub it an "orphan asylum."--An Orphanage at Erdington was begun by the
late Sir Josiah Mason, in 1858, in connection with his Almshouses there,
it being his then intention to find shelter for some three score of the
aged and infantile "waifs and strays" of humanity. In 1860 he extended
his design so far as to commence the present Orphanage, the foundation
stone of which was laid by himself Sept. 19 in that year, the building
being finished and first occupied in 1863. In addition to the
expenditure of L60,000 on the buildings, the founder endowed the
institution with land and property to the value of L250,000. No
publicity was given to this munificent benevolence until the twelve
months prescribed by the statute had elapsed after the date of the deed,
when, on the 29th of July, 1869, the Orphanage and estates were handed
over to seven trustees, who, together with Sir Josiah himself, formed
the first Board of Management. At his death, as provided by the trust
deed, seven other trustees chosen by the Birmingham Town Council were
added to the Board. The inmates of the Orphanage are lodged, clothed,
fed, maintained, educated, and brought up at the exclusive cost of the
institution, there being no restriction whatever as to locality,
nationality, or religious persuasion of parents or friends. In 1874 the
building was enlarged, so as to accommodate 300 girls, 150 boys, and 50
infants, the original part being reserved for the girls and infants and
a new wing built for the boys. The two are connected by the lofty dining
hall, 200ft. long, with tables and seats for 500 children. Every part of
the establishment is on a liberal scale and fitted with the best
appliances; each child has its separate bed, and the playgrounds are
most extensive.--The Princess Alice Orphanage, of which the
foundation-stone was laid Sept. 19, 1882, has rather more than a
Birmingham interest, as it is intended in the first instance for the
reception of children from all parts of the country whose parents have
been Wesleyans. In connection with the Wesleyan Thanksgiving Fund, Mr.
Solomon Jevons, of this town, made an offer to the committee that if
from the fund they would make a grant of L10,000 towards establishing an
orphanage in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, he would supplement it by
a donation of L10,000. After due consideration the offer was accepted.
Plans were prepared by Mr. J.L. Ball for as much of the building as it
was proposed immediately to erect, and the contract was let to Messrs.
J. Wilson and Sons, of Handsworth. The sanction of her Majesty the Queen
was obtained to call the building the "Princess Alice" Orphanage, in
memory of her lamented daughter, the late Princess of Hesse. The site
chosen is about halfway between Erdington and Sutton Coldfield on the
Chester Road, and very near to the "Beggar's Bush." Facing the road,
though forty yards from it, is the central block of buildings, 250 feet
in length, including the master's house, board room and offices, store
rooms, &c., with a large hall, 90 feet by 33 feet, for use as a dining
hall, general gatherings, morning prayers, &c., the children's homes
being in cottages at varying distances, so that when the whole
twenty-four homes (twelve each for boys and girls) are erected it will
be like a miniature village, sundry farm buildings and workshops being
interspersed here and there. Each cottage is intended to be the home of
about twenty children, but at first, and until the funds for the
maintenance of the orphanage have been increased, the inmates will be
limited to the accommodation that can be provided at the central block
and the nearest two or three homes, the rest being built as occasion
offers.

~Oscott College.~--See "_Schools_," &c.

~Oxford, (Edward).~--The boy Oxford who shot at the Queen, on June 10,
1840, was born here and had worked at several shops in the town.

~Oxygen.~--It was on the first of August, 1774, that Dr. Priestley
discovered the nature of oxygen or "dephlogisticated air." If he could
visit Oxygen Street in this town in August of any year, he would
probably say that the air there to be breathed required
dephlogisticating over and over again.

~Packhorses.~--In and about the year 1750 the only method of conveying
parcels of goods from here to London was by means of packhorses, the
charge being at the rate of L7 to L9 per ton; to Liverpool and Bristol,
L5.

~Panorama.~--A circular erection in New Street, and now partly
incorporated in the Society of Artists building, where early in the
century panoramas of various kinds were exhibited.

~Panoramic View.~--A peculiar view of this town was published in 1847 by
Ackermann of London, and was thus called, as it purported to give the
thoroughfares pictorially, showing the houses as they would appear from
a balloon over Moseley Street. The size was 27-1/2 in. by 14-3/4 in. As
a curiosity it is prizable, but its correctness of delineation is marred
very much by the plan adopted.

~Pantechnetheca.~--A large place of general business, opened in 1824, at
the New-street end of Union-passage. In 1817, there stood on this spot a
publichouse, known as the "Old Crown," the entrance to which was in a
large, open gateway at its side, through which a path led to the cherry
orchard. The Pantechnetheca was one of "the sights" of the town, the
exterior being ornamented with pillars and statues; while the name was
not only a puzzle to the "Black Country" visitors, but quite a subject
of dispute as to its etymology among the Greek scholars of the Grammar
School opposite.

~Paradise Street.~--The footpath on the Town Hall side used to be
several feet higher than the causeway, and was supplied with iron
railings. If the name had been given in late years, it might be supposed
to have been chosen because the doors of the Parish Offices are in the
street.

~Parish Offices.~--See "_Public Buildings_."

~Parkesine.~--A material used for knife handles and other purposes, so
named after its maker, Alexander Parkes, a well-known local
manufacturer, who said it was made from refuse vegetable fibre,
pyroxyline, oil, naphtha, and chloride of sulphur.

~Park Lane.~--From Aston Cross Tavern to the Birchfield Road, originally
being the road outside the wall of Aston Park. The first lots of land
for building that were sold were those fronting Church Lane, and they
fetched an average price of 2s. 2d. per yard, each lot being 12 yards by
60 yards. The next were the lots marked out by the side of Park Lane,
and it was at about the middle of Park Lane that the first house was
built in Aston Park in 1854 or 1855.

~Park Road.~--Leading over the hill from Aston Cross to Aston Church,
was the first laid out, and the first opened to the public (Easter
Monday, 1855) through the old grounds belonging to the Holts.

~Parks.~--Thanks to the munificence of Miss Ryland, Lord Calthorpe, Sir
Charles Adderley, and Mr. W. Middlemore, with the concurrent generosity
of the Church authorities, in whom the freehold of our churchyards was
invested, Birmingham cannot be said to be short of parks and public
grounds, though with all put together the area is nothing like that
taken from the inhabitants under the Enclosures Acts of last century.
The first movement for the acquisition of public parks took the shape of
a town's meeting, Dec. 22, 1853, when the burgesses approved the
purchase, and in 1854 an Act was obtained for the formation thereof. The
first to be opened was Adderley Park, Aug. 30, 1856, the gift of Sir
Charles Adderley. Its area is 10A. Or. 22P., and it is held nominally on
a 999 years' lease, at a rental of 5s. per year. Calthorpe Park was
opened June 1, 1857; its area being 31A. 1R. 13P., and it is held under
a grant by the Calthorpe family that is equivalent to a conveyance in
fee. Aston Park was opened Sept. 22, 1864; its area is 49A. 2R. 8P., and
it belongs to the town by purchase. Cannon Hill Park, the gift of Miss
Ryland, was opened Sept. 1, 1873; its area being 57A. 1R. 9P. In 1874,
the Town Council gave the Trustees of Holliers' Charity the sum of
L8,300 for the 8A. 8R. 28P. of land situated between the Moseley Road
and Alcester Street, and after expending over L5,400 in laying out,
fencing, and planting, opened it as Highgate Park June 2, 1876. In 1876
Summerfield House and grounds covering 12A. 0R. 20P. were purchased from
Mr. Henry Weiss for L9,000, and after fencing, &c., was thrown open as
Summerfield Park, July 29, 1876. In the following year, Mr. William
Middlemore presented to the town a plot of ground, 4A. 1R. 3p. in
extent, in Burbury Street, having spent about L3,500 in fencing and
laying it out, principally as a recreation ground for children (the
total value being over L12,000), and it was opened as Hockley Park,
December 1, 1877.--Small Heath Park, comprising 41A. 3R. 34p., is
another of the gifts of Miss Ryland, who presented it to the town June
2, 1876, and in addition provided L4,000 of the L10,000 the Town Council
expended in laying it out. The formal opening ceremony took place April
5, 1879. There are still several points of the compass directing to
suburbs which would be benefited by the appropriation of a little
breathing place or two, and possibly in due time they will be acquired.
The Nechells people have had laid out for their delectation the waste
ground near the gas works which may be called Nechells Park for the time
being. The Earl of Dartmouth in June, 1878, gave 56 acres out of
Sandwell Park to the inhabitants of West Bromwich, and they call it
Dartmouth Park.

~Park Street~ takes its name from the small park or wood surrounding
Park House, once existing somewhere near to the burial ground.

~Park Street Gardens~--As they are now called, comprise the Park Street
Burial Ground and St. Bartholomew's Churchyard, the possession of which
(under a nominal lease for 999 years) was given by the Rectors of St.
Martin's and St. Bartholomew's to the Corporation according to the
provisions of the Closed Burial Grounds Act. The whole area included a
little over five acres, and the size thus given was valued at L50,000.
About half an acre was devoted to the widening of the surrounding
streets, the remainder being properly fenced in and laid out as
recreating grounds and gardens. The opening ceremony took place, June
25, 1880.

~Parliamentary Elections.~--Notwithstanding the safeguards provided by
the Ballot Act, and all the deterrent measures enacted against bribery
and intimidation, and those peculiar tactics known as "getting up
steam," the period of an election for Parliamentary representatives is a
time of great excitement even in these days. But it is comparatively
naught to what it used to be, when the art of kidnapping Tory voters, or
"bottling" Whigs, was considered as only a small part of the education
required by aspiring political agents. Leading burly prizefighters to
clear the hustings on nomination day, upsetting carriages containing
voters going to poll, and such like practical jokes were all _en regle_,
and as such "goings-on" were to be found as much on the one side as the
other, neither party's pot had a right to call the opponent's kettle
black. Prior to the enfranchisement of the borough, one of the most
exciting elections in which the Brums had been engaged was that for the
county of Warwick in 1774, when Sir Charles Holte, of Aston Hall, was
returned. The nomination took place Oct. 13, the candidates being Mr.
Shipworth (a previous member), Mr. (afterwards Lord) Mordaunt, and Sir
Charles, who for once pleased the Birmingham folks by calling himself an
"Independent." The polling, which commenced on the 20th, was continued
for ten days, closing on the 31st, and as Mr. Mordaunt had the lead for
many days the excitement was intense, and the rejoicings proportionate
at the end when the local candidate came in with flying colours. The
voting ran:--Shipwith, 2,954; Holte, 1,845; Mordaunt, 1,787.--A
Birmingham man was a candidate at the next great county contest,
forty-six years after. This was Mr. Richard Spooner, then (1820) a young
man and of rather Radical tendencies. His opponent, Mr. Francis Lawley,
was of the old-fashioned Whig party, and the treatment his supporters
received at the hands of the Birmingham and Coventry people was
disgraceful. Hundreds of special constables had to be sworn in at
Warwick during the fourteen days' polling, business being suspended for
days together, but Radical Richard's roughs failed to influence the
election, as Mr. Lawley obtained 2,153 votes against Mr. Spooner's 970.
As Mr. Spooner grew older he became more prominent in commercial
circles, and was peculiarly _au fait_ in all currency matters, but he
lost his hold on local electors by turning to the Conservative side of
politics. Of this he was more than once reminded in after years, when
speaking in the Town Hall, by individuals taking off their coats,
turning them inside out, and having put them on again, standing
prominently in front of "Yellow Dick" as they then called him.

That the inhabitants of Birmingham, so rapidly increasing in numbers and
wealth, should be desirous of direct representation in the House of
Commons, could be no wonder even to the most bigoted politicians of the
last and early part of the present century. Possibly, had there been '91
Riots, nor quite so much "tall talk," the Legislature might have
vouchsafed us a share in the manufacture of our country's laws a little
earlier than they did, and the attempt to _force_ a member through the
doors of the House could not have added to any desire that may have
existed in the minds of the gentlemen inside to admit the representative
of Birmingham. The Newhall Hill meeting of July 12th, 1819, may be
reckoned as the first pitched battle between the invaders and defenders
of the then existing Parliamentary Constitution. The appointment of Sir
Charles Wolesey as "Legislatorial Attorney and Representative," with
instructions to take his seat as M.P. for the town (and many so styled
him), even though made at a meeting of 20,000 would-be electors, does
not appear to have been the wisest way to have gone to work,
notwithstanding the fact that Sir Charles himself said _he_ had no doubt
of their right to send him up as their Member. Prosecution of the
leaders followed, as a matter of course, and if the
twenty-and-odd-thousands of the local Conservative electors of to-day
were thus to try to obtain _their_ due share of representation in the
House, most likely the leaders of such a movement would be as liberally
dealt with. The "battle of freedom," as the great Reform movement came
to be called, has often been described, and honour been given to all who
took part in it. The old soldiers of the campaign should be allowed, if
they choose, to "fight their battles o'er again," as long as they live,
but it is about time that the hatchet of party spite, (hitherto so
freely used in local political warfare) was buried out of sight, and all
sides be as willing to give equal rights as their fathers were to fight
for theirs. Birmingham, however, was not without _some_ friends in
Parliament, and on the occasion of the disfranchisement of the borough
of East Retford in 1827, it was proposed by Mr. Charles Tennyson that
the two seats thus voided should be given to Birmingham. Mr. George
Attwood was High Bailiff at the time, and he at once called a public
meeting to support Mr. Tennyson's proposition by petition. The Public
Office was not large enough for those who attended the meeting (June 22,
1827) and they adjourned to Beardsworth's Repository, where speeches
were delivered by the leading men of all parties. Petitions to both
Houses were drawn up and signed, the county members, Dugdale Stratford
Dugdale and Francis Lawley, Esqrs., being asked to introduce the one to
the House of Commons, and Lord Dudley and Ward (Baron of Birmingham) and
Lord Calthorpe to support the petitioners' prayer in the Upper House.
Mr. Tennyson (who afterwards took the name of D'Eyncourt) brought in his
Bill, but notwithstanding all that could be said or done by the friends
of the town they were outvoted (March 21, 1828), and the Bill was thrown
out. The next four years were full of trouble, and the news of the
passing of the Reform Bill (June 7, 1832), which at last gave Birmingham
its long-sought political rights was most welcome indeed. The first
election day was fixed for December 12, and for some time it was
rumoured that Mr. Richard Spooner would stand in opposition to Messrs.
Thomas Attwood and Joshua Scholefield, the chosen representatives of the
Liberals; but the Conservative party, deeming it but right that those
who had borne the brunt of the constitutional fight should be allowed
the first honours of the local victory, declined to oppose those
gentlemen, and they were accordingly returned without opposition. The
hustings had been erected on a plot of land opposite the Public Offices
and here the nominations took place at the early hour of 8 a.m. The
proceedings were over by nine o'clock, but the "victory," as the popular
party chose to consider it, did not satisfy them, and as there was an
election on at Walsall the same day it was determined that the
Birmingham Liberals should go there to help Mr. Bosco Attwood in his
contest with Mr. Foster. A procession of some thousands, with bands and
banners, according marched the whole of the distance so Walsall, and if
their behaviour there represented what they were prepared to do at home
had they not been allowed to have their own way, it was well for
Birmingham they were not opposed. Long before evening this town was in
the most fearful excitement, the passengers and guards of the various
coaches which had passed through Walsall bringing the direst news of
fire and riot, mixed with reports of the military being called out and
firing on the people, numbers being killed, &c. Fortunately there was
much exaggeration in these tales, and by degrees most of the Birmingham
men found their way home, though many were in sad plight through the
outrageous behaviour of themselves and the "victorious" crew who went
off so gaily with them in the morning. The elections in after years may
be briefly chronicled.

1835.--At the general election, which occurred this year, the Town Hall
was first used as the place of nomination (Jan. 7th). During the
proceedings the front of the great gallery gave way and precipitated
those sitting there on to the heads of the people below, but
providentially, the injuries received were not of a serious character.
Mr. R. Spooner was most impatiently heard, and the show of hands was
decidedly against him. The state of the poll showed:--

Thomas Attwood 1,718 votes }
Joshua Scholefidd 1,660 " } Returned.
Richard Spooner 915 "

1837, August.--At this election the
late sitting members were opposed
by Mr. A. G. Stapleton, but unsuccessfully,
the voting being

Thomas Attwood .. 2,145 }
Joshua Scholefield .. 2,114 }Returned.
A.G. Stapleton .. 1,046

1840, January.--Mr. Attwood having resigned, Sir Charles Wetherell
appeared in the Conservative interest against Mr. G.F. Muntz. Mr. Joseph
Sturge, who also issued an address to the electors, retiring on the
solicitation of his friends, on the understanding that the whole Liberal
party would support him at the next vacancy. The result was in favour of
Mr. Muntz, thus--

Geo. Fred. Muntz .. 1,454--Returned.
Sir C. Wetherell .. 915

1841, July.--Mr. Richard Spooner, who opposed Messrs. Muntz and
Scholefield, was again defeated, through receiving the suffrages of
double the number of electors who voted for him in 1835. The returns
were--