Book Reviews


Birmingham’s influence on the writings of J.R.R Tolkien

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

J.R.R Tolkien is best known as the author of The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings. It is believed that areas in Birmingham may have provided the inspiration for some of the settings in these works.

Tolkien’s parents were both from Birmingham, however, they moved to South Africa in search of a better life. Tolkien and his younger brother went to visit their grandparents in Birmingham with their mother. Unfortunately, during this visit news reached them that their father had died.

Tolkien’s mother decided not to return to South Africa and settled at 5 Gracewell, a cottage in the hamlet of Sarehole. Tolkien and his brother were known to explore this area and it is widely thought that the village is the inspiration for Hobbiton and The Shire. More specifically the Sarehole Mill was the inspiration for The Old Mill at Hobbiton and Moseley Bog (which has recently been granted £376,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund) otherwise known in LOTR as Fangorn and the Old Forest.

The Folly photographed by Si Hammond in 2005 - during the stabilisation work we carried out.

The Folly photographed by Si Hammond in 2005 - during the stabilisation work we carried out.

When Tolkien’s mother died he went to live with his aunt (for a short time) in Edgbaston. Edgbaston has two distinctive towers:  Perrott’s Folly and the tower at Edgbaston Waterworks which have been suggested to be the Two Towers of Gondor (Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith). A further tower, the clock tower of Birmingham University, has also been suggested to be Orthanc, the fortress of the corrupted wizard Saruman.

It’s a good few years ago now but one of our projects was to stabilise the Folly – at the time we started work English heritage feared it may collapse.

Work uncovered a critical problem at the point where the square base meets the main part of the hexagonal tower. The oak beams, which had supported the tower, were decayed and little was holding up the brickwork.

Money was diverted to replace the beams and stabilise the structure.

At the same time a problem was detected with the brickwork. The two skins of brick on the tower were free floating. When it was built nothing had been done to tie them together. Grouting was applied and the brickwork re-pointed.

Click on the book for Amazon

Click on the book for Amazon

The Black Country is said to have inspired Tolkien’s ideas of the dark land of Mordor from the industrial revolution which transformed the physical appearance of the area.

J.R.R. Tolkien was also influenced by other places in later life, and the horrors and joys that were to come as he matured to manhood, experienced war, and settled into happy married and academic life.

For more on J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter offers a wealth of information about the life and work of Tolkien.

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Posted in BirminghamUK, Book Reviews, Projects, birmingham | No Comments »

Rice's Architectural Primer by Matthew Rice – a review.

Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Rice's Architectural Primer

Click to view this title on Amazon

Architecture for Beginners!

For someone who is fascinated by historic buildings, I know very little of the many architectural eras and correct terminology! There are plenty of guides to historic architecture out there, such as the Pevsner guides, and whilst I recognise the brilliance of such guides, I was looking for something a little gentler to ease myself into the world of architecture.

I came across Rice’s Architectural Primer by Matthew Rice which has (among other chapters) grammar of architecture, vocabulary, and concise information about architectural eras, illustrated beautifully with Rice’s ink and wash drawings. Its very informative, but in a completely user-friendly way – especially for beginners, or those with a general interest in architecture. It was definitely a great place to start so I could build up the confidence to progress to some of those other, slightly scary looking, architecture guides.

Rice’s gorgeous, quirky drawings are very easy on the eye – this little hardback is so nicely presented that it makes a brilliant present. Father’s Day, anyone?

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Birmingham: Public Sculpture Trails by George Noszlopy and Fiona Waterhouse

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Public Sculpture Trails

Public Sculpture Trails

Birmingham’s historical features that contribute to the city’s quality and character are most obvious in its built heritage.  However, aspects of Birmingham’s heritage are represented through the associations with historical people and events, literature and with art. Birmingham is rich in the diversity of its public art, which ranges from sculptural curiosities to historical monuments and statues.

The pieces of public art range from classical to modern, including ‘Iron Man’, ‘Spirit of Enterprise’ and ‘Boulton, Watt and Murdoch’ to name a few. Many of the buildings reveal some of the finest public sculptures, such as Birmingham’s Council House with the front pediment depicting Britannia receiving the manufacturers of Birmingham.

Birmingham Sculpture Trails by George T. Noszlopy and Fiona Waterhouse is an illustrated guide to the various monuments and sculptures that can be seen throughout Birmingham which is arranged around four separate trails.

The publisher has said: “With ambitious contemporary works by internationally renowned artists standing alongside statues and monuments by some of the foremost sculptors of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Birmingham city centre offers one of the richest and most vibrant sculptural environments in the UK.”

This is an ideal guide for anyone interested in public sculpture and for those interested in Birmingham’s cultural heritage.

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Homes fit for Heroes: photographs by Bill Brandt 1939-1943. A book review

Friday, April 16th, 2010
Click for more info

Click for more info

Homes fit for Heroes is a remarkable collection of wartime photographs of domestic life in Birmingham.  Bill Brandt was commissioned by the Bournville Village Trust to record life in the cramped and often squalid Back to Backs in which so many people lived and also photograph life in newer, more modern homes.  There are also a few images taken in Camden Hill in London.

In many ways these images make the ordinary striking.  Brandt wrote that he found:

atmosphere to be the spell that charged the commonplace with beauty

and these images certainly reflect that.

They were taken around the time of BVT was preapring When We Build Again, a book arguing for quality homes for families after the war  and published in 1941 by Allen and Unwin.  It was also the name of a remarkable documentary shot in Birmingham and released in 1943.

The book contains a detailed introduction by Peter James (head of photography at Birmingham Library) and Richard Sadler (who was head photography at Derby University at the time)  which not only explains the history of the images but also the story of how they were lost and then re-found.

At then end is a postscript by Dr Mike Beazley of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham on some work being carried out in 2004 to put these photos in the wider historical context.

If you are a lover of the domestic history of Birmingham and great documentary photography treat yourself – buy this book!

Some of the images may also appear in Birmingham Back to Backs from National Trust Guidebooks.

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Posted in BirminghamUK, Book Reviews, Pictures | 1 Comment »

Pevsner Architectural Guides, Birmingham by Andy Foster – a review.

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Click the image to go to Amazon

Click the image to go to Amazon

If you are interested in the Buildings of Birmingham then the Pevsner Architectural Guide to Birmingham by Andy Foster is THE book you need.

I’ve already bought two – one to give to a friend.  I sometimes wish I’d bought a third: one for friend, one for the house and one for the glove compartment of the car. In fact come to think of it it would also make a perfect companion for bus journeys and is ideal for cyclists because is is almost pocket sized.

Why so effusive? It’s simply because it’s comprehensive. It tells you just enough about all of the cities interesting buildings.  If you’re standing by something of merit Andy Foster – with some help from George Demodwowicz, Ian Dungavell, Oliver Fairclough and Elain harwood – will have written about it.

The publishers description is

English Baroque cathedral, the pioneering Neo-Roman town hall, and the mighty and still controversial Central Library of the 1970s. Streets of rich and varied Victorian and Edwardian architecture bear witness to the era when Birmingham’s civic initiatives were the admiration of the country. More recently, the city has been rejuvenated with new architecture on a giant scale: the iconoclastic Selfridges, and the canalside precinct of Brindleyplace, where modernism and Classical Revival are excitingly juxtaposed. Outer districts and suburbs of extraordinary variety are explored in a series of tours. The famous Jewellery Quarter is a treasure-trove of quirky and resourceful historic buildings of every size and style. Stucco villas to match any in England can be found in Edgbaston, which also boasts educational buildings of outstanding quality. Cadburys’ celebrated Garden Suburb at Bournville combines enlightened architecture with picturesque charm. A connecting theme is provided by the local Arts and Crafts school, which flourished well into the twentieth century. A narrative introduction sets the buildings in context. Birmingham and Leeds are the latest volumes in the acclaimed Pevsner City Guide series. Illustrated in colour throughout, including many specially-taken photographs, historical images, and numerous maps, they are both essential works of reference and indispensable visitors’ companions.

Chris Upton’s review included “…indispensable… Comprehensive…and beautifully illustrated… I find myself dipping in it all the time.”

You can usually pick one up for less than £10. I already have done just that, twice. Go on – you know you want to!

Find this book on Amazon.

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Posted in Architecture, BirminghamUK, Book Reviews, Buildings, birmingham | No Comments »

Victorian Buildings of Birmingham by Roy Thornton, a book review

Sunday, March 28th, 2010
Click here to see the book on Amazon

Click here to see the book on Amazon

I really can’t resist a book laden with old photographs of Birmingham – which is why I bought Victorian Buildings of Birmingham by Roy Thornton.  I’m sure we’ll end up reviewing, or perhaps describing, many more like it.

The publishers descriptions says:

Birmingham’s Victorian heritage is still surprisingly well preserved, despite much demolition during the twentieth century, and major redevelopment in the last few months and years. In this book Roy Thornton looks at a selection of the city’s Victorian architecture, some of the lost buildings as well as the survivors to illustrate the range of building that took place during Birmingham’s most prosperous decades. A wide range of old and new photographs, maps, plans, drawings and paintings are also included. Public buildings, churches, houses, industrial buildings, schools and hospitals are all discussed, together with a special study of Corporation Street – arguably the city centre’s best-preserved Victorian thoroughfare.”Victorian Buildings of Birmingham” will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Britain’s second city.

Roy Thornton was born and brought up in Birmingham and has lived and worked in the West Midlands ever since. He trained as an architect and ran his own architectural practice for over thirty years. Roy has now retired but is still an active member of many local groups, clubs and societies.

My favourite with these books is rootling through to find places I know.  This book organises the images in the following chapters:

  1. Martin & Chamberlain
  2. Public Buildings
  3. The Colmore Estate
  4. Colmore Row and Victoria Square
  5. The Original Buildings of Corporation Street
  6. New Street and the Rest
  7. Board Schools & Others
  8. Hospitals
  9. Residential Buildings
  10. Religious Buildings
  11. The Jewellery Quarter & Surrounds
  12. Public Houses
  13. A Miscellany

Despite the grandeur of most Public buildings and the commercial streets I enjoy the domestic buildings.  Detail after detail of Victorian Houses in Edgbaston, Moseley, Sutton Coldfield, Sparkbrook, Highgate and Handsworth.

Enjoy, I did.

Click here to buy this book on Amazon.

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Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter

Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Image of one of the buildings in the Jewellery Quarter, the Argent Centre

Image of one of the buildings in the Jewellery Quarter, the Argent Centre - - image by kate&drew on flickr

For over 200 years the Jewellery Quarter has been synonymous with jewellery and silverware production. The jewellery industry emerged from the decline of the buckle, toys and button trades which provided skilled labour that could easily be employed in the jewellery trade, along with the gold rushes from California and Australia.

Today, many of the traditional trades are still being carried out using 19th century tools and machinery within Victorian premises, which include houses converted into industrial use, purpose built workshops and factories.

For three years English Heritage undertook an in depth survey into the Jewellery Quarter and produced The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter: An Architectural Survey of the Manufactories by John Cattell, Sheila Ely and Barry Jones which identified the Jewellery Quarter as one of the last surviving industrial quarters in Europe. The book provides an excellent insight into the Jewellery Quarter, detailing through the use of photographs, historic plans and maps the evolution of the quarter, the transformation of domestic premises into industrial use, the processes involved in making jewellery, as well as how the quarter looks today and a gazetteer of the most important buildings in the area which includes the Newman Brothers factory.

This is an ideal book for anyone with an interest in understanding the industrial past of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

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Lost Buildings of Birmingham by Roy Thornton

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Click above to view this title on Amazon
Click above to view this title on Amazon
I was able to go to The Victorian Society‘s Saving a Century exhibition at the Central Library just before it moved on to the next city. It was completely engrossing with some fantastic photography and stories both dispiriting and uplifting.
It made me realise that I know little of the buildings that Birmingham itself has lost, because much of them were lost before my time. I remembered Roy Thornton’s Lost Buildings of Birmingham being published a year or so ago, treated myself to a copy and found a great book full of atmospheric photographs and illustrations under various different catagories – public buildings, religious buildings, etc. I was suddenly nostalgic for buildings I had never known!
While brief, the text accompanying the images is informative, and interestingly, for the most part doesn’t include the reason for a building’s demolition – maybe this information wasn’t always available to the author, but rather than have us puzzle and rage over the politics and unfairness of city planning, Thornton allows us to appreciate the former glories of Birmingham for what they were.  And quite right too.

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Posted in Architecture, Book Reviews, Buildings, Pictures, birmingham | 2 Comments »

Birmingham: A History in Maps by Paul Leslie Line

Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Westley's 1731 plan of Birmingham. Photo courtesy of mapseeker.co.uk
Westley’s 1731 plan of Birmingham. Photo courtesy of mapseeker.co.uk
A friend and I were visiting Berrington Hall in Herefordshire a while ago and saw a framed old map of Birmingham from the mid 1700′s hanging on the wall of the study. We studied it for quite some time and both found it completely absorbing. I remember thinking ‘I’d like to see similar maps, but I really don’t want to have to trawl the internet to find them.’ With Birmingham: A History in Maps, Paul Leslie Line has done the work for me.
From the early 1600′s to the present day and beyond, this hardback book encompasses various town plans and maps, some of which are so beautiful they’re works of art in their own right. Informative text and photographs of the city accompany the maps but Line rightly lets the maps take centre stage. One of the best things about the book is that the maps are reproduced in their entirety but also in enlarged sections which makes map reading much less of a strain on the eyes. It’s fascinating to see the town grow and the effect that urbanisation has had on the landscape over the centuries.
Definitely one for anyone interested in a visual history of Birmingham’s development.  Find it here on Amazon.

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Posted in Birmingham News, BirminghamUK, Book Reviews, Other sites, birmingham | 1 Comment »

Birmingham: Then and Now

Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Photo by D.J. Norton

Photo by D.J. Norton

Looking through his late father’s photograph collection in early 2005, Mark Norton had a brainwave:

With more careful study of the pictures I was able to work out exactly where many of them had been taken.  Subtle clues from one would help in locating another.  A magnifying glass and old and new maps helped in the investigation.  As the jigsaw came together, two things hit me.  One was that my father had carefully recorded Birmingham prior to the inner ring road development.  The other was that the city had lost a huge number of beautiful old buildings in the name of ‘progress’.

The resulting project is an exciting and striking record of Birmingham’s past and present, offering comparative views of the city centre in the 1950s and 60s, juxtaposted with modern day images of the same locations.

Bull St, Dale End High Street, 1962

Bull St, Dale End High Street, 1962

Bull St, Dale End High Street: Now

Bull St, Dale End High Street: Now

Photo by D.J. Norton is a rich and informative website, bristling with historical information, interesting images of Birmingham and information about our exciting and varied architectural history.

Mark Norton also has a book, Birmingham Past and Present: In My Father’s Footsteps,  which is available online, with at least 20% of the royalties donated to Asthma UK.

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Posted in Architecture, BirminghamUK, Book Reviews, Buildings, Other sites, Pictures, Websites, birmingham | 1 Comment »