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

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

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50

_St. Mary's_, Acock's Green, was opened Oct. 17, 1866. The cost of
erection was L4,750, but it was enlarged in 1882, at a further cost of
L3,000. There are 720 sittings, 420 being free. The nett value of the
living, in the gift of trustees, is L147, and the present vicar is the
Rev. F.T. Swinburn, D.D.

_St. Mary's_, Aston Brook, was opened Dec. 10, 1863. It seats 750 (half
free), and cost L4,000; was the gift of Josiah Robins, Esq., and family.
Perpetual curacy, value L300. The site of the parsonage (built in 1877,
at a cost of L2,300), was the gift of Miss Robins. Present incumbent,
Rev. F. Smith, M.A.

_St. Mary's_, Moseley.--The original date of erection is uncertain, but
there are records to the effect that the tower was an addition made in
Henry VIII.'s reign, and there was doubtless a church here long prior to
1500. The chancel is a modern addition of 1873; the bells were re-cast
about same time, the commemorative peal being rung June 9, 1874; and on
June 8, 1878, the churchyard was enlarged by the taking in of 4,500
square yards of adjoining land. The living, of which the Vicar of
Bromsgrove is the patron, is worth L280, and is now held by the Rev. W.
H. Colmore, M.A. Of the 500 sittings 150 are free.

_St. Mary's_, Selly Oak, was consecrated September 12, 1861, having been
erected chiefly at the expense of G.R. Elkington and J.F. Ledsam, Esqrs.
There are 620 sittings, of which 420 are free. The living is in the gift
of the Bishop and trustee; is valued at L200, and the present vicar is
the Rev. T. Price, M.A.

_St. Mary's_, Whittall Street, was erected in 1774, and in 1857
underwent a thorough renovation, the reopening services being held
August 16. There are 1,700 sittings of which 400 are free. The living is
a vicarage, with an endowment of L172 with parsonage, in the gift of
trustees, and is now held by the Rev. J.S. Owen.

_St. Matthew's_, Great Lister Street, was consecrated October 20, 1840,
and has sittings for 1,400, 580 seats being free. The original cost of
the building was only L3,200, but nearly L1,000 was expended upon it in
1883. Five trustees have the gift of the living, value L300, which is
now held by the Rev. J. Byrchmore, vicar. The Mission Room, in Lupin
Street, is served from St. Matthew's.

_St. Matthias's_, Wheeler Street, commenced May 30th, 1855, was
consecrated June 4, 1856. Over L1,000 was spent on renovations in 1879.
The seats (1,150) are all free. The yearly value of the living is L300,
and it is in the gift of trustees. The vicar is the Rev. J.H. Haslam,
M.A.

_St. Michael's_, in the Cemetery, Warstone Lane, was opened Jan. 15,
1854, the living (nominal value, L50) being in the gift of the
directors. Will accommodate 400--180 seats being free.

_St. Michael's_, Northfield.--Of the original date of erection there is
no trace, but it cannot be later than the eleventh century, and Mr.
Allen Everett thought the chancel was built about 1189. The five old
bells were recast in 1730, by Joseph Smith of Edgbaston, and made into
six. The present building was erected in 1856-7, and has seating for
800, all free. The living, valued at L740, is held by the Rev. R. Wylde,
M.A., and connected with it is the chapel-of-ease at Bartley Green.

_St. Michael's_, Soho, Handsworth, was opened in 1861. It has 1,000
sittings, one-half of which are free. The living is valued at L370, is
in the gift of the Rector of Handsworth, and is now held by the Rev.
F.A. Macdona.

_St. Nicolas_, Lower Tower Street--The foundation stone was laid Sept.
15, 1867; the church was consecrated July 12, 1868, and it has seats for
576 persons, the whole being free. The Bishop is the patron of the
living, value L300, and the Vicar is the Rev. W.H. Connor, M.A.

_St. Nicholas_, King's Norton.--This church is another of the ancient
ones, the register dating from 1547. It was partially re-erected in
1857, and more completely so in 1872, morn than L5,000 being expended
upon it. The Dean and Chapter of Worcester are the patrons of the living
(nett value L250), and the Vicar is the Rev. D.H.C. Preedy. There are
700 sittings, 300 of which are free.

_St. Oswald's_, situated opposite Small Heath Park, is an iron
structure, lined with wood. It will seat about 400, cost L600, and was
opened Aug. 10, 1882, being for the present in charge of the clergyman
attached to St. Andrew's.

_St. Patrick's_, Highgate Street.--Erected in 1873, at a cost of
L2,300, as a "School-chapel" attached to St. Alban's, and ministered
unto by the Revds. J.S. and T.B. Pollock. 800 seats, all free.

_St. Paul's_, in St. Paul's Square.--The first stone was laid May 22,
1777, and the church was consecrated June 2, 1779, but remained without
its spire until 1823, and was minus a clock for a long time after that.
The east window in this church has been classed as the A1 of modern
painted windows. The subject, the "Conversion of St. Paul," was designed
by Benjamin West, and executed by Francis Eggington, in 1789-90. In May,
1876, the old discoloured varnish was removed, and the protecting
transparent window re-glazed, so that the full beauty and finish of this
exquisite work can be seen now as in its original state. Of the 1,400
sittings 900 are free. The living is worth L300, in the gift of
trustees, and is held by the Rev. R.B. Burges, M.A., Vicar.

_St. Paul's_, Lozells.--The first stone was laid July 10, 1879, and the
building consecrated September 11, 1880. The total cost was L8,700, the
number of sittings being 800, of which one half are free. Patrons,
Trustees. Vicar, Rev. E.D. Roberts, M.A.

_St. Paul's_, Moseley Road, Balsall Heath.--Foundation stone laid May
17, 1852, the building being opened that day twelvemonth. Cost L5,500
and has sittings for 1,300, of which number 465 are free. The Vicar of
King's Norton is the patron of the living (value L300), and it is held
by the Rev. W.B. Benison, M.A.

_St. Peter's_, Dale End, was begun in 1825, and consecrated Aug. 10,
1827, having cost L19,000. Considerable damage to the church was caused
by fire, Jan. 24,1831. There are 1,500 sittings, all free. The living is
valued at L260, is in the gift of the Bishop, and is held by the Rev. R.
Dell, M.A., Vicar.

_St. Philip's_.--The parish of St. Philip's was created by special Act,
7 Anne, c. 34 (1708), and it being the first division of St. Martin's
the new parish was bound to pay the Rector of St. Martin's L15 per year
and L7 to the Clerk thereof, besides other liabilities. The site for the
church (long called the "New Church") and churchyard, as near as
possible four acres, was given by Mrs. Phillips, which accounts for the
Saint's name chosen. George I. gave L600 towards the building fund, on
the application of Sir Richard Gough, whose crest of a boar's head was
put over the church, and there is now, in the form of a vane, as an
acknowledgment of his kindness. Other subscriptions came in freely, and
the L5,000, first estimated cost, was soon raised. [See "_St.
Martins_"]. The building was commenced in 1711, and consecrated on
October 4th, 1715. but the church was not completed until 1719. The
church was re-pewed in 1850, great part restored in 1859-60, and
considerably enlarged in 1883-84. The height of the tower is 140ft., and
there are ten bells, six of them dating from the year 1719 and the
others from 1761. There is accommodation for 2,000 persons, 600 of the
seats being free. The nett value of the living is L868, the Bishop being
patron. The present Rector, the Rev. H.B. Bowlby, M.A., Hon. Canon of
Worcester, and Surrogate, has been with us since 1875,

_St. Saviour's_, Saltley, was consecrated July 23, 1850. The cost of
building was L6,000; there are 810 seats, 560 being free; the living is
vnlued at L240, and is in the gift of Lord Norton; the present Vicar is
the Rev. F. Williams, B.A.

_St. Saviour's_, Villa Strest, Hockley.--Corner-stone laid April 9,
1872; consecrated May 1, 1874. Cost L5,500, and has seats for 600, all
free. The living (value L250) is in the gift of trustees, and is now
held by the Rev. M. Parker, Vicar.

_St. Silaes's_ Church Street, Lozells, was consecrated January 10, 1854,
the first stone having been laid June 2, 1852. It has since been
enlarged, and has now 1,100 sittings, 430 being free. The living (value
L450) is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of trustees, and is held by the
Rev. G. C. Baskerville, M.A. The Mission Room in Burbury Street is
served from St. Silas's.

_St. Stephen's_, Newtown Row, was consecrated July 23, 1844. The
building cost L3,200; there are 1,150 sittings, of which 750 are free;
the living is valued at L250, is in the gift of the Bishop and the Crown
alternately, and is now held by the Rev. P. Reynolds, Vicar, who also
provides for the Mission Room in Theodore Street.

_St. Stephen's_, Selly Hill, was consecrated August 18, 1871, the first
stone having been laid March 30, 1870. The patrons are the Bishop and
trustees; the living is valued at L200; it is a perpetual curacy, and
the incumbent is the Rev. R. Stokes M.A. Of the 300 sittings 100 are
free.

_St. Thomas's_, Holloway Head.--First stone laid Oct. 2, 1826;
consecrated Oct. 22, 1829, having cost L14,220. This is the largest
church in Birmingham, there being 2,600 sittings, of which 1,500 are
free. In the Chartist riots of 1839, the people tore up the railings
round the churchyard to use as pikes. The living (value L550) is in the
gift of trustees, and is held by the Rev. T. Halstead, Rector and
Surrogate.

_St. Thomas-in-the-Moors_, Cox Street, Balsall Heath.--The church was
commenced to be built, at the expense of the late William Sands Cox,
Esq., in the year 1868, but on account of some quibble, legal or
ecclesiastical, the building was stopped when three parts finished. By
his will Mr. Cox directed it to be completed, and left a small
endowment. This was added to by friends, and the consecration ceremony
took place Aug. 14, 1883. The church will accommodate about 600 persons.

_St. Thomas the Martyr_.--Of this church, otherwise called the "Free
Chapel," which was richly endowed in 1350 (See "Memorials of Old
Birmingham" by Toulmin Smith), and to which the Commissioners of Henry
VIII., in 1545, said the inhabitants did "muche resorte," there is not
one stone left, and its very site is not known.

_Stirchley Street_ School-Church was erected in 1863, at a cost of
L1,200, and is used on Sunday and occasional weekday evenings.

~Places Of Worship.~--_Dissenters'_.--A hundred years ago the places of
worship in Birmingham and its neighbourhood, other than the parish
churches, could have been counted on one's fingers, and even so late as
1841 not more than four dozen were found by the census enumerators in a
radius of some miles from the Bull Ring. At the present time
conventicles and tabernacles, Bethels and Bethesdas, Mission Halls and
Meeting Rooms, are so numerous that there is hardly a street away from
the centre of the town but has one or more such buildings. To give the
history of half the meeting-places of the hundred-and-one different
denominational bodies among us would fill a book, but notes of the
principal Dissenting places of worship are annexed.

_Antinomians_.--In 1810 the members of this sect had a chapel in
Bartholomew Street, which was swept away by the L. and N.W. Railway Co.,
when extending their line to New Street.

_Baptists_.--Prior to 1737, the "Particular Baptists" do not appear to
have had any place of worship of their own in this town, what few of
them there were travelling backwards and forwards every Sunday to
Bromsgrove. The first home they acquired here was a little room in a
small yard at the back of 38, High Street (now covered by the Market
Hall), which was opened Aug. 24, 1737. In March of the following year a
friend left the Particulars a sum of money towards erecting a
meeting-house of their own, and this being added to a few subscriptions
from the Coventry Particulars, led to the purchase of a little bit of
the Cherry Orchard, for which L13 was paid. Hereon a small chapel was
put up, with some cottages in front, the rent of which helped to pay
chapel expenses, and these cottages formed part of Cannon Street; the
land at the back being reserved for a graveyard. The opening of the new
chapel gave occasion for attack; and the minister of the New Meeting,
Mr. Bowen, an advocate of religious freedom, charged the Baptists
(particular though they were) with reviving old Calvinistic doctrines
and spreading Antinomianism and other errors in Birmingham; with the
guileless innocence peculiar to polemical scribes, past and present. Mr.
Dissenting minister Bowen tried to do his friends in the Bull Ring a
good turn by issuing his papers as from "A Consistent Churchman." In
1763 the chapel was enlarged, and at the same time a little more land
was added to the graveyard. In 1780 a further enlargement became
necessary, which sufficed until 1805, when the original buildings,
including the cottages next the street, were taken down to make way for
the chapel so long known by the present inhabitants. During the period
of demolition and re-erection the Cannon Street congregation were
accommodated at Carr's Lane, Mr. T. Morgan and Mr. John Angell James
each occupying the pulpit alternately. The new chapel was opened July
16, 1806, and provided seats for 900, a large pew in the gallery above
the clock being allotted to the "string band," which was not replaced by
an organ until 1859. In August, 1876, the Corporation purchased the site
of the chapel, the graveyard, and the adjoining houses, in all about
1,000 square yards in extent, for the sum of L26,500, the last Sunday
service being held on October 5, 1879. The remains of departed ministers
and past members of the congregation interred in the burial-yard and
under the chapel were carefully removed, mostly to Witton Cemetery. The
exact number of interments that had taken place in Cannon Street has
never been stated, but they were considerably over 200; in one vault
alone more than forty lead coffins being found. The site is now covered
by the Central Arcade. Almost as old as Cannon Street Chapel was the one
in Freeman Street, taken down in 1856, and the next in date was "Old
Salem," built in 1791, but demolished when the Great Western Railway was
made. In 1785 a few members left Cannon Street to form a church in
Needless Alley, but soon removed to Bond Street, under Mr. E. Edmonds,
father of the well-known George Edmonds.--In the year 1870 fifty-two
members were "dismissed" to constitute a congregation at Newhall Street
Chapel, under the Rev. A. O'Neill.--In the same way a few began the
church in Graham Street in 1828.--On Emancipation Day (Aug. 1, 1838),
the first stone was laid of Heneage Street Chapel, which was opened June
10, 1841.--In 1845 a chapel was erected at Shirley; and on Oct. 24,
1849, the Circus in Bradford Street was opened as a Baptist Chapel.
Salem Chapel, Frederick Street, was opened Sept. 14, 1851.--Wycliffe
Church, Bristol Road, was commenced Nov. 8, 1859, and opened June 26,
1861.--Lombard Street Chapel was started Nov. 25, 1864.--Christ Church,
Aston, was opened April 19, 1865.--The Chapel in Balsall Heath Road was
opened in March, 1872; that in Victoria Street, Small Heath, June 24,
1873; and in Great Francis Street, May 27, 1877. When the Cannon Street
Chapel was demolished, the trustees purchased Graham Street Chapel and
schools for the sum of L14,200, other portions of the money given by the
Corporation being allotted towards the erection of new chapels
elsewhere. The Graham Street congregation divided, one portion erecting
for themselves the Church of the Redeemer, in Hagley Road, (opened May
24, 1882), while those living on the Handsworth side built a church in
Hamstead Road (opened March 1, 1883), each building costing over
L10,000. The first stone of the Stratford Road Church (the site of
which, valued at L1,200, was given by Mr. W. Middlemore) was laid on the
8th of June, 1878, and the building, which cost L7,600, was opened June
3, 1879. Mr. Middlemore also gave the site (value L2,200) for the Hagley
Road Church, L6,000 of the Cannon Street money going to it, and L3,500
to the Stratford Road Church.--The Baptists have also chapels in
Guildford Street, Hope Street, Lodge Road, Longmore Street, Great King
Street, Spring Hill, Warwick Street, Yates Street, as well as at
Erdington, Harborne, King's Heath, Selly Oak, Quinton, &c.

_Catholic Apostolic Church_, Summer Hill Terrace.--This edifice, erected
in 1877, cost about L10,000, and has seats for 400.

_Christian Brethren_.--Their head meeting-house is at the Central Hall,
Great Charles Street, other meetings being held in Bearwood Road,
Birchfield Road, Green Lanes, King Street, (Balsall Heath), New John
Street, Wenman Street, (opened in June, 1870), and at Aston and
Erdington.

_Christadelphians_ meet at the Temperance Hall, Temple Street.

_Church of the Saviour_, Edward Street.--Built for George Dawson on his
leaving the Baptists, the first turf being turned on the site July 14,
1846, and the opening taking place Aug. 8, 1847.

_Congregational_.--How the Independents sprang from the Presbyterians,
and the Congregationalists from them, is hardly matter of local history,
though Carr's Line Chapel has sheltered them all in rotation. The first
building was put up in 1747-48, and, with occasional repairs lasted full
fifty years, being rebuilt in 1802, when the congregation numbered
nearly 900. Soon after the advent of the Rev. John Angell James, it
became necessary to provide accommodation for at least 2,000, and in
1819 the chapel was again rebuilt in the form so well known to the
present generation. The rapidity with which this was accomplished was so
startling that the record inscribed on the last late affixed to the roof
is worth quoting, as well on account of its being somewhat of a novel
innovation upon the usual custom of foundation-stone memorial stone, and
first-stone laying and fixing:--

"Memoranda. On the 30th day of July, 1819, the first stone of this
building was laid by the Rev. John Angell James, the minister. On the
30th day of October, in the same year, this the last slate was laid by
Henry Leneve Holland, the builder, in the presence of Stedman Thomas
Whitwell, the Architect.--_Laus Deo_."

In 1875-76 the chapel was enlarged, refronted, and in many ways
strengthened and improved, at a cost of nearly L5,000, and it now has
seats for 2,250 persons.--Ebenezer Chapel, Steelhouse Lane, which will
seat 1,200, was opened Dec. 9, 1818. Its first pastor, the Rev. Jehoida
Brewer, was the first to be buried there.--The first stone of Highbury
Chapel, which seats 1,300, was laid May 1, 1844, and it was opened by
Dr. Raffles in the following October.--Palmer Street Chapel was erected
in 1845.--The first stone of the Congregational Church in Francis Road
was laid Sept. 11, 1855, the opening taking place Oct. 8, 1856.--The
first stone of the Moseley Road building was laid July 30, 1861, and of
that in the Lozells, March 17, 1862.--The chapel at Small Heath was
commenced Sept. 19, 1867, and opened June 21, 1868; that at Saltley was
began June 30, 1868, and opened Jan. 26, 1869.--The chapel in Park Road,
Aston, was began Oct. 7, 1873; the church on Soho Hill, which cost
L15,000, was commenced April 9, 1878, and opened July 16, 1879.--The
memorial-stones of the church at Sutton Coldfield, which cost L5,500,
and will seat 640, were laid July 14, 1879, the opening taking place
April 5, 1880; the Westminster Road (Birchfield) Church was commenced
Oct. 21, 1878, was opened Sept. 23, 1879, cost L5,500, and will seat
900; both of these buildings have spires 100ft. high.--The
foundation-stone of a chapel at Solihull, to accommodate 420, was laid
May 23, 1883.--Besides the above, there is the Tabernacle Chapel,
Parade, chapels in Bordesley Street, Gooch Street, and St. Andrew's
Road, and others at Acock's Green, Erdington, Handsworth, Olton,
Yardley, &c.

_Disciples of Christ_ erected a chapel in Charles Henry Street in 1864;
in Geach Street in 1865; in Great Francis Street in 1873.

_Free Christian Church_, Fazeley Street--Schoolrooms were opened here in
1865 by the Birmingham Free Christian Society, which were enlarged in
1868 at a cost of about L800. Funds to build a church were gathered in
succeeding years and the present edifice was opened April 1, 1877, the
cost being L1,300.

_Jews_.--The Hebrew Synagogue in Blucher Street was erected in 1856, at
a cost of L10,000.

_Methodists_.--The Primitive Methodists for some time after their first
appearance here held, their meetings in the open air or in hired rooms,
the first chapel they used being that in Bordesley Street (opened March
16, 1823, by the Wesleyans) which they entered upon in 1826. Other
chapels they had at various times in Allison Street, Balloon Street,
Inge Street, &c. Gooch Street Chapel was erected by them at a cost of
over L2,000 (the first stone being laid August 23, 1852) and is now
their principal place of worship, their services being also conducted in
Chapels and Mission Rooms in Aston New Town, Garrison Lane, Long Acre,
Lord Street, Morville Street, Wells Street, Whitmore Street, The Cape,
Selly Oak, Perry Barr, Sparkbrook, and Stirchley Street.--_The Methodist
New Connexion_ have chapels in Heath Street, Kyrwick's Lane, Ladywood
Lane, Moseley Street, and Unett Street--The first stone of a chapel for
the _Methodist New Congregational_ body was placed July 13, 1873, in
Icknield Street West.--The _Methodist Reformers_ commenced to build a
chapel in Bishop Street, November 15, 1852.--The _Methodist Free Church_
has places of worship in Bath Street, Cuckoo Road, Muntz Street, Rocky
Lane, and at Washwood Heath.

_New Church_.--The denomination of professing Christians, who style
themselves the "New Church," sometimes known as "The New Jerusalem
Church," and more commonly as "Swedenborgians," as early as 1774 had a
meeting room in Great Charles Street, from whence they removed to a
larger one in Temple Row. Here they remained until 1791, when they took
possession of Zion Chapel, Newhall Street, the ceremony of consecration
taking place on the 19 of June. This event was of more than usual
interest, inasmuch as this edifice was the first ever erected in the
world for New Church worship. The rioters of 1791, who professed to
support the National Church by demolishing the Dissenting places of
worship, paid Zion Chapel a visit and threatened to burn it, but the
eloquence of the minister, the Rev. J. Proud, aided by a judicious
distribution of what cash he had in his pocket, prevailed over their
burning desires, and they carried their torches elsewhere. On the 10th
of March, 1793, however, another incendiary attempt was made to suppress
the New Church, but the fire was put out before much damage was done.
What fire and popular enmity could not do, however, was accomplished by
a financial crisis, and the congregation had to leave their Zion, and
put up with a less pretentious place of worship opposite the Wharf in
Newhall Street. Here they remained till 1830, when they removed to
Summer Lane, where a commodious church, large schools, and minister's
house had been erected for them. In 1875 the congregation removed to
their present location in Wretham Road, where a handsome church has been
built, at a cost of nearly L8,000, to accommodate 500 persons, with
schools in the rear for as many children. The old chapel in Summer Lane
has been turned into a Clubhouse, and the schools attached to it made
over to the School Board. The New Church's new church, like many other
modern-built places for Dissenting worship, has tower and spire, the
height being 116ft.

_Presbyterians_.--It took a long time for all the nice distinctive
differences of dissenting belief to manifest themselves before the
public got used to Unitarianism, Congregationalism, and all the other
isms into which Nonconformity has divided itself. When Birmingham was as
a city of refuge for the many clergymen who would not accept the Act of
Uniformity, it was deemed right to issue unto them licenses for
preaching, and before the first Baptist chapel, or the New Meeting, or
the Old Meeting, or the old Old Meeting (erected in 1689), were built,
we find (1672) that one Samuel Willis, styling himself a minister of the
Presbyterian persuasion, applied for preaching licenses for the
school-house, and for the houses of John Wall, and Joseph Robinson, and
Samuel Taylor, and Samuel Dooley, and John Hunt, all the same being in
Birmingham; and William Fincher, another "minister of the Presbyterian
persuasion," asked for licenses to preach in the house of Richard
Yarnald, in Birmingham, his own house, and in the houses of Thomas
Gisboon, William Wheeley, John Pemberton, and Richard Careless, in
Birmingham, and in the house of Mrs. Yarrington, on Bowdswell Heath. In
Bradford's map (1751) Carr's Lane chapel is put as a "Presbiterian
chapel," the New Meeting Street building close by being called
"Presbiterian Meeting." It was of this "Presbiterian Chapel" in Carr's
Lane that Hutton wrote when he said it _was_ the road to heaven, but
that its surroundings indicated a very different route. Perhaps it was
due to these surroundings that the attendants at Carr's Lane came by
degrees to be called Independents and the New Meeting Street folks
Unitarians, for both after a time ceased to be known as Presbyterians.
The Scotch Church, or, as it is sometimes styled, the Presbyterian
Church of England, is not a large body in Birmingham, having but three
places of worship. The first Presbytery held in this town was on July 6,
1847; the foundation-stone of the Church in Broad Street was laid July
24, 1848; the Church at Camp Hill was opened June 3, 1869; and the one
in New John Street West was began July 4, 1856, and opened June 19,
1857.