Birmingham
Handsworth 1981 and 1985: Two Riots, Two Different Causes, One Neighbourhood
Handsworth was hit by serious disorder in both 1981 and 1985. The two events had different immediate causes, different targets, and different…
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Birmingham Stories
Independent recommendations, neighbourhood knowledge and the stories shaping the city.
Features
Birmingham’s Canal Network: More Miles Than Venice
Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice. Here's the history, the reality, and how to explore the network.
Birmingham
The Bull Ring: From Medieval Market to the Selfridges Blob
The Bull Ring has been the commercial heart of Birmingham since the twelfth century. The medieval market, the 1960s brutalist Rotunda, and…
Birmingham
The Birmingham Pub Bombings: 1974, the Injustice, and the Long Aftermath
On 21 November 1974, bombs in the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town killed 21 people and injured 182. The six…
Birmingham
New Street and Grand Central: What Birmingham’s Heart Looked Like Before
Birmingham's city centre has been rebuilt more comprehensively than almost any other British city. The opening of Grand Central in 2015 completed…
Birmingham
Lenny Henry: Dudley, the Black Country, and a Career That Changed British Comedy
Lenny Henry was born in Dudley in 1958, the son of Jamaican immigrants. He won New Faces at 16, became a national…
Birmingham
Cadbury and Bournville: The Quaker Factory and the Model Village
George Cadbury moved his chocolate factory to open farmland south of Birmingham in 1879 and built a model village for his workers.…
Birmingham
Carl Chinn and the Working-Class History of Birmingham
Professor Carl Chinn MBE has spent his career preserving the working-class history of Birmingham - the people, the places, and the communities…
Birmingham
The Balti Triangle: Why Birmingham Owns a Dish
Birmingham's claim on the balti is robust and extensively documented. The dish was developed in the restaurants of the Balti Triangle in…
Birmingham
Black Sabbath: How Aston Built the Architecture of Heavy Metal
Four men from Aston, Birmingham formed Earth in 1968, renamed themselves Black Sabbath, and invented a genre. The connection between heavy industry,…
Features
Moving to Birmingham: The Honest Guide
Thinking about moving to Birmingham? Here's the guide that doesn't sugarcoat it.
Features
Black Sabbath, Duran Duran, UB40: Birmingham’s Musical Legacy
Birmingham created heavy metal, gave the world reggae-pop fusion, and produced some of the most distinctive voices in British music. Here's the…
Culture
Digbeth: How Birmingham’s Industrial Quarter Became Its Creative Heart
Digbeth didn't become Birmingham's creative quarter by accident. Here's the story of how an industrial heartland reinvented itself.
Birmingham
The Jewellery Quarter: 700 Businesses and a Two-Century Tradition
At its peak, the Jewellery Quarter in Hockley produced 40 percent of all jewellery made in Britain. The workshops, the trade, and…
Birmingham
Peaky Blinders: The Real Gang Behind the TV Show
Before the TV show, the Peaky Blinders were a real Small Heath gang active in the 1880s and 1890s. The real history…
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