History of Birmingham unveiled in new book

Birmingham has earned the titles ‘first industrial city’, the ‘city of a thousand trades; and ‘the youngest city in Europe’ over the years, but how did the city become what we know and love today?

A book titled ‘Birmingham – The Workshop of the World’ has pulled together a range of the region’s very best historians to give readers an insight into how the city became what it now is. Although the book has been authored by scholars, it has been written for a general readership and contains details and aspects of history that are presented for the first time outside academic publications.

The book, which has been published by Liverpool University Press, has been edited by University of Birmingham lecturers Carl Chinn and Malcolm Dick and was created to commemorate the 850th anniversary of Birmingham’s market charter. Scholars in the book have written chapters on everything from the city’s Roman past, the rise of Birmingham in Medieval and early modern times as well as economic and political themes and modern society and culture.

Prof Carl Chinn MBE, who was brought up in Moseley and now lives in Hall Green, has written more than 30 books about Birmingham, the Black Country and the working class. After being approached several years ago by Liverpool University Press, was excited to share the city’s history with people who may not have had the opportunity to have known it before.

He said: “I was really happy to take the task on of co-editing the book as Liverpool University Press are prestigious and they have already published many city history books.

“It was the perfect opportunity to bring together historians who could discuss the more recent research of Birmingham’s history. I realised that it was going to be a very big task editing a book of that scale, and therefore I asked my colleague Malcolm to get involved too.”

Carl has written two chapters of the book himself, focusing on the people of Birmingham from the Middle Ages right up until today and the future for the city and looking ahead. He hopes that people will see the city in a whole new light after reading the book.

He said: “Readers will learn a huge amount from the book, there are lots of different chapters by top class experts in their field, they will learn that Birmingham has a long history and it didn’t just suddenly emerge in the Industrial Revolution.

“The book shows that the growth of the city has been long drawn out and is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It also shows the importance of people the working class and women in the history of the city.”

The historian and writer, who holds the position of Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham, has been interested by Birmingham’s history since he was very young.

He said: “I have been engrossed with the history of the city since I was very young. My parents are from Aston and Sparkbrook and I grew up listening to family stories and that is what got me passionate about the history of not just the city, but also working class people.

“I don’t have a favourite area of the city as I love it all, but the most important area of the city is the Bullring as that is where Birmingham began. The most important moment in the city’s history was in 1166 when Birmingham gained the right to have a market charter – without the market, there could never have been a Birmingham.”

Carl also thinks that the city has a lot to be proud about, from moments in history to modern-day Birmingham.

He said: “The city has made a very positive impact on the world through everything we have created and Birmingham was also at the forefront of the democratic revolution and pushed forward for equality and the vote.

“Women have also played a crucial role in the history of Birmingham as the city’s factories could never have succeeded without them. Today Birmingham is a multicultural city, but we are united by the fact that although we might be from different backgrounds, we all belong to the city.”