The Birmingham Civic Society
The Birmingham Civic Society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10th June 1918 in
The Council House,
Birmingham,
England. The first President of the Society, the
Earl of Plymouth, addressed the assembled Aldermen, Councillors, Architects and other city worthies at the first meeting of the newly formed Civic Society. His Lordship stated the aims of the Society, which were:
"to bring public interest to bear upon all proposals put forward by public bodies and private owners for building , upon the laying out of open spaces and parks, and generally upon all matters concerned with the outward amenities of the city and district. It will insist that taste is a thing that matters, and if any offence against taste is challenged at the outset, great good will be done, and converting of mean and unlovely parts of the City will gradually follow"Sir Gilbert Barling
Bt CBE was the Society's first Chairman and
William Haywood was the first Secretary. Its principal objectives were the stimulation of historical interest in the city, the preservation of buildings and monuments of historic worth, the prevention of vandalism and the promotion of a sense of beauty and civic pride in the lives of citizens.
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Kings Norton Park - a gift from the Society to the City of Birmingham |
Immediately upon its foundation the Society received from an anonymous trust the sum of £15,000 (around £540,000 in today's terms) to buy land for open spaces, the land later to be vested in the Birmingham Corporation. As a result several areas of land were purchased, transformed into parks and handed over to the City authorities. In most cases the Civic Society has retained until the present the right to be consulted about the management of these parks. Two notable parks in this gift were
Kings Norton Park (25½ acres in October 1920) and Highbury Park (42 acres in 1923).
From its earliest days the Society has taken a prominent role in advising on and lobbying for improvements to the physical development of the city. This has progressed from 1919 when it lobbied for improvements to the (then) village of
Northfield right up to the present when it is playing a leading role in the debate about the replacement of the
Birmingham Central Library. Often, the Society has commissioned its own plans for developments either at the request of the City Council or on its own initiative. In some cases, such as the refurbishment of the
Chamberlain Memorial Fountain in 1978 and the creation of formal gardens in some city parks, it has provided the funding needed to bring about the developments in question.
The Society has also taken a number of publishing initiatives. The first of these in 1919 was an illustrated pamphlet on the right use of the City-owned portion of the
Lickey Hills, followed by a Guide to
Sutton Park, containing a selection of articles and a picture map of the whole park. The Society's most recent publication is its Heritage Buildings Guide, published in 2003 with a distribution of over 400,000 to date.
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Canopy of Honour designed for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005 |
The Society has also taken an active part in the cultural life of the city. On its recommendation, the City Council set up an Advisory Art Committee in 1922; it played a critical role in saving the
Repertory Theatre from closure in 1924, and again in 1934-5. The link with the Repertory Theatre continues through ex officio membership of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust which holds the shares of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Ltd. During the Second World War the Society played a pivotal role in saving the
stained glass windows of
Birmingham Cathedral, designed by
Edward Burne-Jones, from exposure to bomb damage by having them removed and later reinstalled. In the interim, most of the other windows were blown out by heavy bombing. It has worked successfully with the City Council in organising major events; in the 1920's it organised the city's
Armistice Day commemorations and more recently this involved being the Council's principal partner in celebrating the Trafalgar bi-centenary and the 80th Birthday of Her Majesty The Queen.
In the matter of our sculpted heritage, the Society has played a leading role in preserving the city's statues, especially in the 1950's when many were in danger of being scrapped. Subjects that have been preserved in total or in part (the head being cast as a bust) by the action of the Society are Queen Victoria's statue, the busts of
Josiah Mason,
George Dawson and
John Skirrow Wright. More recently the Society has been involved in raising money for the restoration of the
Joseph Sturge statue at
Five Ways and is now focusing on saving and restoring the
Edward VII statue, currently isolated in Highgate Park.
Within the wider community, the Society has taken a number of significant initiatives. It played a key role in establishing the Consultative Committee (later the Birmingham Council for Community Associations), to foster the development of local community associations and the building of Community Halls. Currently, it runs two programmes aimed at promoting active citizenship among young people, noting in particular the growing ethnic diversity of the population. The first rewards children who have contributed directly to the improvement of their own local environments. The second this year involves 1000 children aged 11 to 14 projecting their lives forward by 20 years, and proposing plans for developments they consider most important for their lives and for those of their children.
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One of 76 Blue Plaques around Birmingham |
Finally, a number of awards are made in recognition of contributions to the city. The Forward Prize is awarded annually in recognition of the most important development project and a Gold Medal is awarded occasionally to an individual who has made an outstanding personal contribution to some aspect of the life and development of the city. The preservation of the city's best old buildings has long been a priority, and is encouraged by the annual presentation of Renaissance Awards to restoration projects of outstanding merit. In addition to this, the Society operates the city's
Blue Plaque scheme, erecting a number each year to former
eminent citizens. There are currently 76 around the city.
In 2005 the Society adopted a new constitution retaining the spirit of its original objectives, but reflecting the current needs and aspirations of the City.
*
"The Work of The Birmingham Civic Society 1918-34", William Haywood, Published by Kynoch Press 1934
* "The Work of The Birmingham Civic Society 1918-46", William Haywood, Published by Kynoch Press 1946
* "''A Birmingham Treasure Chest", Tudor Edwards, Published by The Birmingham Civic Society 1955
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The Birmingham Civic Society*
Birmingham's Blue Plaques*
2005 Renaissance Award to Chiltern Railways et al
