Birmingham
Birmingham is a major city in England’s West Midlands. Its growth as a manufacturing center made it a significant hub of the Industrial Revolution.
Birmingham in the Middle Ages: Birmingham was a small settlement and market town in medieval England. Its medieval market and local institutions preceded the town’s later commercial expansion.
Toy industry: The historic British trade in small metal goods, ornaments, buttons, and other inexpensive manufactured items. Birmingham’s “toys” were varied metal wares, not merely children’s playthings.
Joseph Priestley: An English natural philosopher, theologian, and political writer associated with the discovery of oxygen. He lived and worked near Birmingham before the 1791 Birmingham riots forced him to leave.
Birmingham Town Hall: A concert hall and civic building opened in Birmingham in 1834. Its construction reflected a manufacturing town’s growing civic ambition.
Birmingham Canal Navigations: A network of canals connecting Birmingham with coalfields, ports, and other industrial centers. Canals reduced the cost of moving coal and goods into and out of the growing town.
Gun Quarter: A Birmingham district historically associated with the manufacture of firearms. Its specialist workshops made gunmaking one of the city’s defining industries.
Birmingham riots of 1791: A series of attacks on religious dissenters and reform supporters in Birmingham in July 1791. The riots targeted people and institutions associated with dissent and political reform.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: A public museum and art gallery in Birmingham, opened in 1885. Its collections and founding reflected the city’s industrial wealth and civic investment.
Matthew Boulton: An English manufacturer and entrepreneur who partnered with James Watt at the Soho Manufactory. His Soho works made Birmingham a center of advanced manufacturing and industrial innovation.
Birmingham Small Arms Company: A Birmingham manufacturer of firearms, bicycles, motorcycles, and other engineered products. Its varied output shows how local metalworking skills supported new industries.