History West Midlands On Air

The world of the brass makers of the industrial revolution Birmingham is as a world or powerful elites, industrial espionage, propaganda, deceit and political influence to create cartels and monopolies.

Keywords: Brass, Industrial Revolution, Watt, Boulton,  Birmingham

Learn more about the little known story of Beatrice Cadbury who was born in 1884 and heiress to the Cadbury fortune.  She grew up with all the privileges that money could buy, but her life was shaped by her families Quaker beliefs and philosophy.  She was an anti-war campaigner and Christian Socialist who believed that war was a symptom of the problems inherent in the Capitalist system, but as the daughter of a Capitalist she was inextricably bound up within this system.  In 1920 Beatrice decided to give all of her inherited shares to the Cadbury workers, not everyone held her high ideals but Beatrice pursued her vision of a fairer and more equal society.

Keywords: Cadbury, Beatrice Cadbury, Bourneville, Birmingham, Christian Socialism, Quaker, Capitalism

Well–known broadcaster and author, Professor Carl Chinn discusses how the communities of Birmingham came together to remember and honour the more than 12,000 men and women killed in the First World War.

He takes us from the horror of the Western Front, the Royal visits to the city and the inauguration of the iconic Hall of Memory by the then Prince of Wales.

Keywords: Carl Chinn, William Bloye, First World War, Second World War, Hall of Memory, Birmingham

Birmingham in the 1890s meeting the real gangs

​The dramatic BBC series 'Peaky Blinders' has captivated audiences all over the world who have followed the criminal gangs of Birmingham.

​Now well-known historian and author, Carl Chinn, tells the story of some of his ancestors who were among the petty criminals who were found in Birmingham's back streets.  It is not a story of fashionable mythology but a fascinating insight into the poverty and degradation of one of the Empire's great cities.

Keywords: Peaky Blinders, Birmingham, poverty, gangs, Carl Chinn

From the 1820s onwards the Irish have come to the region in search of work. This flow of migrants has ebbed and flowed but throughout they have played a significant part in the development of the West Midlands.

In the beginning the lives of Irish migrants in Wolverhampton and Birmingham was hard. The slums in which they lived were often some of the poorest. But today we recognise that their work in fields, factories and foundries provide the sweats and muscle on which the industrial might of the Black Country was built.

Then again after the Second World War Irish voices were prominent on the major construction sites of the region as the housing, roads and hospitals were rebuilt.

Social historian and broadcaster, Professor Carl Chinn examines how the Irish came to the West Midlands.

Keywords: Irish, navvies, Birmingham, immigration, labour

A unique research project is seeking to uncover the stories of the men, women and even children who were employed by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at the revolutionary manufacturing site in Soho, Birmingham.

Researchers are discovering new information about the relationship between these two icons of the English industrial revolution and their employees and revealing new insights into the lives of these forgotten revolutionary players.

Keywords: Soho, Industrial Revolution, Revolutionary Player, Birmingham, Matthew Boulton, James Watt

Hidden away and forgotten by most of the people of Birmingham is the world's first great Shakespeare library.

It is one of the city’s best kept secrets, known only to a few academics, here and overseas.

But when it first opened its doors to the people of Birmingham in 1868, the Shakespeare Memorial Library was the envy of the world, which looked to Birmingham as the home of a comprehensive ‘Civic Gospel’.

This was the concrete expression of the vision of George Dawson (1821-1876) – Birmingham’s forgotten philosopher-prophet.  And the Birmingham Shakespeare Memorial Library is one of its most important surviving legacies.

Dawson conceived of a library where the Bard and his works would belong to every citizen, not just a cultured elite or academia.

Paid for by public subscription, this world-class collection includes more than 40,000 volumes – among them the only Shakespeare First Folio in the world bought as part of a vision of comprehensive (including working-class) education. 

And it still belongs to the people of Birmingham.

Hear more about this wonderful fruit of George Dawson’s vision for Birmingham as a world-leading modern city in this second of two podcasts by Shakespeare scholar, Professor Ewan Fernie of the University of Birmingham, in discussion with Mike Gibbs, publisher of History West Midlands. 

In partnership with Tom Epps of Birmingham City Council and institutions across and beyond Birmingham, Fernie is now developing a Heritage Lottery Fund project to revive Birmingham's forgotten Shakespeare Library with people and communities across the city.

To learn more about the 'Everything to Everybody' Project please click below:

Keywords: Shakespeare, George Dawson, Library, Civic Gospel, The Bard, Birmingham, Professor Ewan Fernie

Birmingham‘s Jewellery Quarter is famed nationally and internationally but locally its importance can be taken for granted or even overlooked as can that of the jewellery trade itself which has a long-standing connection with our city. That lack of attention is not a new phenomenon. By the mid-nineteenth century, jewellery making was regarded as one of the four main Birmingham trades. Along with the brass trade and the manufacture of guns and buttons it flourished above the rest but very little was written about it. That is surprising for such an important industry which remains prominent in modern Birmingham and which has such a fascinating history covering more than 200 years.

Well-known historian of Birmingham, Carl Chinn click to collection explores the stories of the Quarter and the lives of the men and women whose history is created the area is unique heritage.

Keywords: Jewellery Quarter, Victorian, Carl Chinn, Industry

At the heart of the city stands the famous Town Hall – a symbol of Birmingham since 1834. For all these years its history has been interwoven with the story of the city’s rise, fall and renaissance. The venue for great cultural events including premieres of works by Mendelssohn and Elgar and the first public reading of the Pickwick Papers. It also witnessed some of the great and sometimes violent political gatherings.

But like the city itself the Town Hall fell on hard times in the mid-20th century. Unbelievably there was even talk of demolishing this Victorian Gem.

Today it has been restored to its rightful place at the heart of the vibrant city.

Keywords: Birmingham, Charles Dickens, Music, Arts, Carl Chinn

Amongst the three million men from the British Army who fought and died in the bloody Battle of the Somme some were from the South Staffs Regiment.

In this programme, well known author and community historian Professor Carl Chinn follows many of these men from the poverty-stricken homes of the Black Country towns such as Darlaston. He describes their progress through the battle and for some of them, how they died.

Keywords:  First World War, Black Country, Darlaston, South Staffs, Battle of the Somme, Carl Chinn