Faraday statue by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi at the University of Birmingham

On the occasion of the Centenary of the University of Birmingham in the year 2000, the sculptor Sir Eduardo Paolozzi presented the University with a bronze statue called Faraday. It was placed at the West Gate of the University. Close to the School of Computer Science. It would be the first thing students, staff and visitors would see after getting off the train or bus nearby.

Faraday by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi

In the year 2000, when the University of Birmingham celebrated it's Centenary, the artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi gifted a bronze statue called Faraday. It was placed at the West Gate, on University Road West, outside of the School of Computer Science. You would see it when arriving at University Station, and walking towards University Square and Old Joe (and other parts of the campus). Even if you get off a bus, or walk from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, or Selly Oak Shopping Park (via Aston Webb Boulevard and New Fosse Way) you'd probably see it. Or it would be the last thing you see before heading into University Station, before catching a train on the Cross City Line up to Birmingham New Street.

The statue was probably inspired or named after Michael Faraday, who was an English scientist, who studied electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Various things were named after him. There is a statue of Faraday in London at Savoy Place.

 

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi CBE, RA (1924-2005) Faraday.
Bronze, 2000. West Gate, outside University Railway Station

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi said of this colossal bronze sculpture, commissioned to mark the centenary of the University of Birmingham's Royal Charter, that is was 'not of Faraday, but for him'. Faraday discovered the laws of electro-magnetic rotation and electrical induction and, among many other principles, explored the science of terrestrial magnetism. The loops of bronze between the figure's hands are a visual manifestation of natural fields of force.

Paolozzi has here articulated the achievements of all experimental scientists who unlock and transform understanding of natural phenomena, and has also created an allegorical figure representing the control of power. His figure of another great scientist, Newton (1995), stands outside the British Library (in London). Cut in the bronze around the base of the figure are lines from The Dry Salvages by T.S. Eliot. These reflect upon growth and change, and bear a valuable message for University students: 'Here between the hither and the further shore. While time is withdrawn, consider the future. And the past with an equal mind.'

 

I first photographed the Faraday statue in February 2013. There was a small bird on his head, and a tag around one of it's ankles. As a man looked on.

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Took Faraday again during January 2019. This time without any one or any objects on it. There appears to be a bench around the plinth.

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I next photographed the statue during June 2021. This time a view with 'Old Joe' the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower. At the time, the clock hands were being taken down, ahead of the clock getting repaired that year.

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In the other direction from behind Faraday, you can see part of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

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I also found a bronze plaque about Faraday by Eduardo Paolozzi (1924 - 2005). A gift from the artist to mark the Centenary of the University. 2000.

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In late August 2022, there was still Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Game wraps on the School of Computer Science, behind Faraday, including an image of the infamous Perry the Bull (remember him?) and 'Sport is just the beginning'.

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By October 2022, these had been replaced by the University of Birmingham, behind Faraday with 'Proud to be a World Top 100 University' and 'Welcome Game Changers'.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Museum of the Moon at Lichfield Cathedral

Another Luke Jerram work of public art on display. Museum of the Moon was at Lichfield Cathedral from the 21st September to 31st October 2022. Elliott got a train on the Cross City Line to Lichfield City (on the 30th October 2022), and after a Costa stop at Three Spires, walked to the cathedral. During the day the entry ticket was free (paid evening tickets were sold out).

See also Gaia at Millennium Point (February 2022)

I was first aware of Museum of the Moon after Birmingham People with Passion Damien Walmsley and later Jack Babington visited and took photos at Lichfield Cathedral.

 

Museum of the Moon is a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram.

Measuring seven metres in diameter, the moon features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface*.

Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon will be presented in a number of different ways both indoors and outdoors, so altering the experience and interpretation of the artwork. As it travels from place to place, it gathers new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science.

The installation is a fusion of lunar imagery, moonlight and surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones. Each venue also programmes their own series lunar inspired events beneath the moon.

 

It has been over six years since I last got a train from Birmingham New Street to Lichfield City. Back then I did a spire climb at St Mary's in the Market Square.

I found out that this moon exhibit in Lichfield Cathedral was ending on the 31st October, so I got the train up on Sunday the 30th October 2022. It got in around 12:30pm, and was there around 20 minutes, including a look around the inside of the Cathedral on the ground floor.

It appears that there is other moons at other venues all around the world, same with Gaia, the Earth sculpture.

Submitted one photo to the Birmingham Post & Mail Flickr group, and it got published in the Birmingham Mail readers letters page on Tuesday 1st November 2022, you can see that photo at the end of the gallery below.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

Northfield - Take a tour with us!

Birmingham has much more to offer than its magnificent city centre. There are some fascinating places to experience out in the neighbourhoods. Here's a look at Northfield. Well worth a visit. For history, there's St Laurence's Church and the Great Stone. Victoria Common is a great open space and not far away is Manor Farm Park.

Take our article.

How to get to Northfield?

Take the no 61 or 63 bus from Birmingham and travel along Bristol Road South to Northfield High Street; catch a train on the Cross City Line to Northfield station; or take a cycle ride which will take in some great sights along the canal.

If travelling by train, we recommend you buy a ticket in advance using the West Midlands Railway app and you will get a QR code to scan at the ticket gates at Birmingham New Street. Paper tickets are still available to buy at the automatic ticket machines or at staffed ticket desks.

The train takes a scenic route via Five Ways, Birmingham University, Selly Oak and Bournville, before arriving at Northfield. Some sections of this run alongside the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

 

Northfield Station

Welcome to Northfield Station. You get off the train at Platform 4. Head towards the exit via the subway. You can either take the exit towards Station Road, or via the subway head to the station building and exit at Copse Close via Quarry Lane.

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Take the Station Road exit if you want to head to the old Northfield Village, where you will find St Laurence's Church and the Great Stone Inn.

From Station Road, walk up to Church Hill Road. Walk under the railway bridge, until you get to St Laurence's Church.

 

St Laurence's Church

St Laurence's Church has origins going back to the 12th century, with elements dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The church is part of a conservation area.

The last major change to the church took place in the year 1900, when G F Bodley built the north aisle in the 14th century style.

The major 13th century feature is the chancel. The south chancel and lower stage of the west tower also dates to the 13th Century.

A 4 bay octagonal pier arcade at the south chancel dates to the 14th Century.

The upper tower was built during the 15th Century.

The roof is most likely a 15th century replacement of an earlier 13th century nave roof.

The church has Royal Arms from the Hanoverian period. The church was built of sandstone.

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After the church, it is a short distance to the Great Stone Inn and the Village Pound, at the corner of Church Hill and Church Road.

 

The Great Stone and the Village Pound

The Great Stone Inn is an historic public house at the corner of Church Hill and Church Road.

The Inn probably dates back to the 18th century. 

It is a timber-framed building with painted brick and a tile roof.

The Inn is close to St Laurence Church in the historic old Northfield village. It is now a traditional pub with a beer garden run by Great Pubs.

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A few meters away on Church Road is The Village Pound, and the current location of the historic Great Stone which the Inn was named after.

Dating back to the 17th century, The Village Pound was a high walled structure used to keep livestock in, such as stray cattle, pigs and sheep.

The Village Pound is now the home of the Great Stone, moved by Birmingham City Council to this site in 1954. It is a glacial bolder formed in a volcanic eruption 450 - 460 million years ago. 

For generations The Great Stone was at the corner of Church Road and Church Hill in Northfield, where it protected the Inn wall. A glacial erratic bolder that was former in an explosive volcanic eruption during the Ordovician period, 450-460 million years ago. During the ice age, possibly up to 400,000 years ago, it was carried by an ice sheet from the Snowdon area of North Wales and deposited with many others around Northfield when the area was a frozen wasteland.

Birmingham City Council moved the boulder to this site in 1954 for road safety reasons.

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Next, we recommend taking a short walk up Church Road towards Great Stone Road.

Cross over the road at the traffic lights, then walk towards Northfield Library.

Walk up Meeting House Lane to get into Victoria Common Recreation Ground.

 

Victoria Common

This is a great recreation ground hidden behind Northfield Shopping Centre.

You will find playgrounds and tennis courts here plus paths for walking. There's plenty of green open spaces to enjoy.

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After your walk round Victoria Common head to the path that leads to the Bristol Road South, and walk down Northfield High Street for a bit of retail therapy. 

You can alternatively walk down Sir Herbert Austin Way and pop into the Starbucks Coffee Drive Thru. Alternatively, there are many cafes and places to eat in Northfield.

If you fancy a meal in a traditional pub, in addition to the Great Stone Inn, there's The Black Horse located on Bristol Road South (near Frankley Beeches Road).

 

The Black Horse

The Black Horse opened on the 1st December1929  and was designed for the Davenport Brewery,by Francis Goldsbrough (from the local architectural practice of Bateman and Bateman).

The Black Horse is one of the largest and finest examples of a Brewer’s Tudor-style public house in the country.

It was registered a Grade II listed building in 1981. JD Wetherspoon refurbished the pub in May 2010. 

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If you are not too full, next have a walk to Ley Hill Park. Leave the Black Horse, and head past Sainsbury's via Sir Herbert Austin Way. Or if you had a toastie or panini with your coffee at Starbucks, you just have to walk up Vineyard Road, past Bellfield Junior School. The park is at the top of the hill.

 

Ley Hill Park

You can enter this park from the entrance at Merritt's Brook Lane. Take any path you want for your walk, or walk onto the grass if it's not too wet. Head up to the top of the hill for views down to the Northfield High Street.

There is a play area, plus benches to sit on.

You can exit the park at Merritt's Hill and walk down the road towards Brookside.

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Now head into Merritt's Brook Greenway, and walk along the path, following the Merritt's Brook towards Bell Hill. Cross over the road at the traffic lights near Whitehill Lane and enter Manor Farm Park.

 

Manor Farm Park

This park was once the home of George and Elizabeth Cadbury, who lived at the Northfield Manor House (until their respective deaths).

The park opened to the public in 1951.

Follow the paths around the park with a 2 kilometre walking route. See our suggested trail HERE.

You will walk past a lake. The Manor House is nearby. The park also has a play area and old farm buildings. dndimg dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Manor%20Farm%20Park%20(April%202017)%20(1)%20.jpg" />

If you exit near the lake at New House Farm Drive, perhaps have a detour up to the Northfield Manor House? Just walk until you get to Manor House Drive.

 

Northfield Manor House

The original house was built in the early 1800s.

George Cadbury purchased the property in 1890, and he moved in with his wife Elizabeth in 1894.

They named it Manor Farm.

The lived here until his death in 1922 and her's in 1951.

The University of Birmingham took it over, and converted it into a hall of residence from 1958, but it ceased this function by 2007.

Years of dereliction lead to arsonists (teenagers) burning it down in 2014.

Partial demolition in 2015, followed by a full restoration between 2019 and 2021.

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Head down Manor House Drive, back onto New House Farm Drive and onto Bristol Road South.

Leave the park at Bristol Road South. A short walk away is another property once owned by George Cadbury. This is the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

 

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

A house called The Woodlands was built on this site around 1840.

It was later to become one of George Cadbury's homes, who in 1907 gave it to the then named "Cripples Children's Union".

After various mergers, what has now become known as the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, was firmly based on this site.

At one point they had an Outpatients Department on Broad Street at Islington House (this lasted until the end of the 20th century). One of the surgeons based here was Mr Naughton Dunn (from 1913 to 1939), who was a national pioneer and Birmingham's first orthopaedic specialist.

The hospital has been part of the NHS since it's founding in 1948.

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We hope you enjoyed this tour of Northfield. 

If you have return tickets on the train, walk back to Northfield Station. Alternatively, head to a bus stop on Bristol Road South. If getting a bus, we recommend that you have a Swift card, and buy your ticket at National Express West Midlands in advance. Otherwise, you will need to pay a cash fare, or use contactless. Alternatively, you can have the NXWM app and buy your ticket on there. Bus routes include the 20, 61 and 63 from National Express West Midlands or the 144 from First Midland Red.

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Photography by Elliott Brown

The statue of Horatio Nelson at the Bullring

Horatio Nelson visited Birmingham in August 1802. Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, a statue was made in 1809, and unveiled at the Bull Ring in October 1809. This was the first public statue in the Town of Birmingham (it didn't become a City until 1889). The statue was moved during the 1960s and 2000s redevelopments, but once again faces St Martin's.

On the 31st August 1802, Horatio Nelson stayed in Birmingham. This was in the years when he was off duty, before he returned to the Royal Navy to help fight the Napoleonic Wars. He stayed at the Styles' Hotel (later Royal Hotel), which was on a site on Temple Row (from the 1960s this was Rackhams, but has been House of Fraser since 2000). Following his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, on board HMS Victory on the 21st October 1805, a statue was erected in his memory at the Bull Ring in 1809. This blue plaque was unveiled by The Birmingham Civic Society on the Trafalgar Bi-Centenary 2005, on the wall of NatWest on Temple Row (the bank closed this branch for good in September 2022).

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Four years after the death of Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar onboard HMS Victory (sniper shot from a French gunman). Birmingham became the first place in the world to erect a statue in his memory. £2500 was raised by public subscription, and it was made in 1809 by Sir Richard Westmacott. It was unveiled on the 25th October 1809, on the day that was declared to be the Golden Jubilee of King George III.

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Painting below on a Japanned Tray by Thoma Hollins, circa 1830-40. Showing a view of the Bull Ring from the High Street in Birmingham, towards the statue of Horatio Nelson and St Martin's Church (as it looked before it was rebuilt later in the century).

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Bull%20Ring%20High%20St%20Nelson%201830%20to%201840.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />1942F83 Japanned Tray - View of the Bull Ring, High Street, Birmingham, 1830-40. By: Thomas Hollins. Birmingham Museums Trust, Public Domain

 

This drawing is attributed to Thomas Allom, showing The Bull Ring and the Nelson statue in Birmingham in 1845. When the outdoor market used to be around the statue.

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/H%20Nelson%20Bull%20Ring%201820s.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />1940P901. Drawing - The Bull Ring & Nelson Statue, Birmingham, 1845. Attributed to: Thomas Allom (Previously attributed to David Cox). Birmingham Museums Trust, Public Domain

 

Nelson stands in a uniform with one arm resting on an anchor with the prow of a miniature ship: HMS Victory.

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Upon the ship is the Flag Staff Truck of the French ship Orient (1791), flagship of the French fleet sunk at the Battle of the Nile.

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The statue was originally erected on the site of the Old Cross, a two storey building, built in 1703 and demolished in 1784. It stood outside of the Market Hall (opened nearby in 1835, roof and interior destroyed during WW2 in 1940, exterior walls demolished in 1963).

dndimg alt="Horatio Nelson" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/Nelson%20Bull%20Ring%201898.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Public Domain image of the Nelson statue at the Bull Ring, next to the Market Hall with the original plinth, lanterns and cannons, c. 1898. Unknown photographer

 

It has been Grade II* listed since 25th April 1952.

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The statue was moved in 1961 during the first redevelopment of the Bull Ring and a carved plinth, cannon and lanterns were lost. The 2003 redevelopment returned the statue close to it's original location north of St Martin's Church.

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Nelson now again looks over St Martin in the Bullring.

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The railings were replaced in 2005 in time for the Trafalgar Bicentenary celebrations which was centred on the statue.

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In 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of the statue's unveiling, a medal was struck by St Paul's Mint of Birmingham. This floral trail piece in St Martin's Square (below) from the Birmingham City Centre Floral Trail 2009, was based on the medal Matthew Boulton had struck in 1805 after the death of Nelson, and given to all the sailors.

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As of 2022, the statue is 213 years old, making it one of the oldest surviving statues to still be on public display in Birmingham. The plinth has gotten a bit weathered since it was restored to the location facing St Martin in the Bullring in the early 2000s.

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Photography by Elliott Brown. 19th century images courtesy of the Birmingham Museums Trust.

The Crown on Station Street, where Black Sabbath rehearsed, is due to reopen in a few years time!

The Crown on Station Street, the corner of Hill Street, has been closed since 2014 (a Japanese developer bought the pub and car park behind). It has remained unused ever since. But in October 2022, it was announced that Birmingham Open Media will have the pub fully restored. This will take a couple of years. It will be the site of a new live music venue and digital centre. 

The Crown on Station Street - history

The public house at the corner of Station Street and Hill Street was built in 1881 opposite Birmingham New Street Station, to the designs of Thomson Plevins (1825 - 1897). The same architect who designed the Grand Hotel in 1875. He was a Scottish architect who practised in Birmingham.

The likes of Black Sabbath was first hosted at The Crown back in 1968. The pub later hosted the likes of Status Quo, Led Zeppelin, and UB40, until at least the 1980s.

The pub was still open in 2014, but closed in the middle of the 2014 FIFA World Cup (in Brazil),  when it was bought by Japanese development company Toyoko. Unfortunately, in the years since then, nothing has happened to the pub, and it's been left to rot, and get covered in graffiti.

Jez Collins, the creator of the Birmingham Music Archive has been looking to refurbish the pub for a number of years now. He will be working with Birmingham Open Media (BOM). The work could start in 2023, and it is hoped it could be completed by the end of 2024.

More information from Thomas Cramp at Birmingham Live here: Pub venue of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's first gig to be restored after lying derelict

 

The Crown - gallery of photos

During the early years of the rebuilding of Birmingham New Street Station, I took a series of photos of The Crown from Hill Street and Station Street. At the time it was externally painted in black and white, as can be seen during January 2011.

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Another photo of The Crown during April 2011, when new bollards had been installed in the middle of Hill Street, at the Station Street junction. Behind the pub is the Centre City Tower, and is a short walk down to Smallbrook Queensway and Hurst Street in Southside.

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In September 2015, Birmingham New Street Station, was completely reopened to the public. This half had closed in 2013 at Half Time Switch Over. From the newly opened Southside Steps (our Spanish Steps), you can see The Crown to the left. By this point it had been closed down for more than a year.

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I went into John Lewis Birmingham store for a look around during October 2015. On the upper floors there was views to The Crown, and other buildings on Station Street and Hill Street, but view was slightly obscured by the patterns in the windows. So was a bit hard to see. Sadly during the pandemic in 2020, this John Lewis store closed down, never to reopen. But the store was used for filming of the Tom Cruise movie, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I (during the summer of 2021). Then known as Mission: Impossible 7. It is due for release in cinemas by June 2023. But it won't feature The Crown in the movie. It was transformed into Abu  Dhabi Airport (including Grand Central).

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In April 2017, I got views of The Crown for the first time from the balconies at the Southside end of Birmingham New Street Station. The lower half of the former pub had been repainted, but was looking graffiti free at this point. The pub was a short distance away from the Electric Cinema and The Old REP Theatre.

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The Cricket World Cup was on in Birmingham during June 2019, as could be seen by these banners located on Station Street outside of The Crown. A no 16 NXWM Platinum bus in orange livery, was about to turn from Hill Street onto Station Street, for the journey towards Handsworth and Hamstead.

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In November 2019, for the festive season, the Southside BID put fairy lights up along the buildings on Station Street, including on The Crown. It looked good after dark, once the clocks had gone back.

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During the pandemic, local graffiti and street artists were pasting their art on the windows and walls of The Crown, as could be seen on Station Street during August 2020. The art here was a dissected cat by Tempo 33.

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Even more graffiti art and vandalism on The Crown during October 2020, as I spotted a Ariel Atom car turning from Hill Street onto Station Street. Traffic gets busy around here at weekends.

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By April 2021, as lockdown restrictions were beginning to ease, you could now hire Voi e-Scooter's and West Midlands Cycle Hire bikes outside the Southside entrance to Birmingham New Street Station. Meanwhile the graffiti was still all over The Crown, and wouldn't be cleaned off until before the Commonwealth Games began a year later.

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The Crown as it is, now in October 2022. The rainbow colours from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are still up. Signs on the former pub point to Smithfield (where beach volleyball and basketball was played) and to Edgbaston (cricket). Only graffiti now says "Ozzy woz here". These views were taken from the Southside balconies at Birmingham New Street Station. I took these photos after hearing that the pub might reopen in a few years time.

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Photography by Elliott Brown