University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Edward Elgar

"Sir Edward Elgar, composer, became the University's first Professor of Music in 1905"

University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Charles Lapworth

"University of Birmingham. Charles Lapworth, undertook pioneering work into the formation of mountain belts, 1882-1883"

He also went crazy doing so.

The Earth Sciences student society is named LapSoc (Lapworth Society) in his honour, though this is routinely changed with some sort of pun for their socials (Lashworth, Lapizza, Lapsausage etc.) The Museum is also named after him.

This plaque can be seen on the wall of the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham, main campus.

University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Fred Shotton

"University of Birmingham. Frederick Shotton. Furthered understanding of climate change 1949-1974"

On the wall outside the Lapworth Museum of Geology, on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.

Fred Shotton was also key to the D-Day Landings. Read more here and here.

Walking for Heritage; The Custard Factory

The Custard Factory is the next location on the Walking for Heritage route. To get here, continue walking down Digbeth High Street, away from the city centre. The Custard Factory will be on your left. This blog follows on from the previous WfH post.

The Custard Factory is sometimes called the Devonshire Works, and was built in 1902 as a… custard factory! This was the home of Alfred Bird and his eggless custard powder. This grand building is now a complex of offices, galleries, independent shops and I believe a TV studio. It is also the home of my favourite bead shop!

Bird’s also produced baking powder and blancmange, and their custard powder is still used today.

The Custard Factory is the place to be for creative, arty types. The atmosphere there is very chilled out; people can wonder around, walk through it, browse the shops and get a bite to eat. The building exterior has been preserved (the letter box still exists in the wall!) and it is very grand and imposing.

The exterior of the Custard Factory, taken from an open top buz! 

Birmingham Blue Plaque; Lord Nelson

"Trafalgar Bi-Centenary 2005. Admiral Lord Nelson, 1758 - 1805, Whilst visiting Birmingham in August 1802, Vice Admiral Viscount Nelson stayed at Styles' (later the Royal) Hotel, which stood  on the site opposite. Such was the impression that Nelson made during his stay, that after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, Birmingham was the first place in the kingdom to erect a statue to his memory. This foremost statue still stands in the Bull Ring today. The Birmingham Civic Society"

On the wall of Natwest bank, on Temple Row.

Birmingham Blue Plaque; William Hutton

City of Birmingham

"William Hutton, Bookseller, the first historian of Birmingham lived on this site from 1772 until 1791"

On the wall outside Waterstones on High St, near the Rotunda.

Birmingham Blue Plaque; Oxygen

Birmingham Civic Society

"On this site, in the former New Meeting House, Joseph Priestley, L.L.D., F.R.S, Scholar, Scientist, Theologian and Discoverer of Oxygen, ministered to his congregation from 1780 - 1791"

Royal Society of Chemistry 1980

On the side of the Meeting House, by the 900 bus stop on Moor St Queensway, Birmingham City Centre.

The Old Grammar School, King's Norton

The Old Grammar School in King’s Norton is another of those places that I knew about, and went to find, but never saw it (much like Ironbridge, but that’s a different story). I decided to go back and hunt it down, and have a proper look at it, instead of just reading about it.

What I found, tucked away behind Saint Nicolas Church in a corner of the graveyard, is a beautiful little building, two storeys high, brick built with stone detail around the doors and windows on the ground floor, and timber framework for the upstairs. According to this page on the University of Birmingham website, the brick part may have been underbuilt as it was tailored to fit the upstairs. It looks no bigger than a modern detached house, and it’s quite hard to imagine that this was once a school!

This delightful little building is part of Saint Nicolas Place on King’s Norton Green, and as a collective, this forms the “largest complex of medieval buildings in Birmingham”. The Saracen’s Head and the Old Grammar School date from the 15th century.

There is a notice board in front of the Grammar School, which doesn’t give much information but is better than nothing. I have of course over looked that this area won the BBC Restoration prize back in 2004.

The plaque above the door says, “Thomas Hall B.D. Schoolmaster, Preacher, Bibliophile taught here from 1629 to 1662. Birmingham Civic Society”.

I will write posts about the Saracen’s Head and King’s Norton Green separately and then add the links here.

This area is accessible to all. There are bins, and the Saracen's Head has a café and toilets. Parking is limited around the Green - but it is easily accessible by bus. More information can be read here. All pics were taken by me on June 9th 2012.

L x

University of Birmingham Blue Plaque; Physics

"John Henry Poynting. First Professor of Physics; determined the mass of the earth in Birmingham in 1890"