STAFFORDSHIRE HOME GUARD WEBSITE - MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION PAGE  (NON-WW2)

KING EDWARD'S SCHOOL
NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM

CHARLES BARRY'S BUILDING  (1838-1936)

 

Here are some views of Charles Barry's building in New Street which was built for and occupied by King Edward's School.

The building's life was from 30th January 1838 when the School first occupied it to March/April 1936 when it was demolished.

The School had moved out on an unspecified earlier date to its new site in Edgabston. There the permanent replacement buildings had not yet been erected and so the School was housed in temporary accommodation. One of the reasons for the move, it has been suggested, was that the Headmaster had deemed the old building to be a fire risk.

Below are some images of Barry's masterpiece, designed before he moved on to the Houses of Parliament. It is a delicious irony that on 6th May 1936, just a few weeks after the pictures of the demolition were published and certainly before the site had been cleared, it was not the risky old building which caught alight but rather the School's temporary accommodation. The latter was burned to the ground in a conflagration which exercised the attention of 70 firemen and 14 appliances. The cause was probably identified as an "an electrical fault". But it is tempting to think of it as an act of divine retribution for the act of vandalism which had been taking place in New Street. Or perhaps a case of a Birmingham resident with a sense of history, a feeling of outrage and a handy box of matches.

Had the building survived the 1930s, and it would only have had to withstand the Luftwaffe's attentions in 1940/41 and later those of the city planners of the 1950s/60s, and then we might still have had it today, restored for some 21st century use just like St. Pancras Station and a gem in Birmingham's midst.

This is where it was.


Old map showing location of King Edward's High School in New Street                               (Image courtesy of G.K.)

THE EXTERIOR   (1838 - 1936)


                                                                                                                                                                                  (Image courtesy of G.K.)

    Main Entrance and Tower                                       (images by courtesy of G.K.)

THE INTERIOR   (1838 - 1936)


     Entrance corridor                                                                                                                                            (Image courtesy of G.K.)

      
Staircase                                                                                 (Image courtesy of G.K.)


     First Assembly Hall                                                                                                                                  (image courtesy of G.K.)


 The Board Room: Governors' table and chairs  

THE END   (Spring 1936)

....AND WHAT HAD GONE BEFORE

Barry's building had itself replaced another apparently noble structure.


                                                                                                                                                          (Source: Wikipedia and "jennyann")

Acknowledgements:
The sources of this information and the images to whom grateful acknowledgement is made are: 'AW', Foundation Archivist, The Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham (for information and most of the images not otherwise acknowledged); and 'Moma P' , 'jennyann' and 'Cromwell/G.K.', members of the Birmingham History forum.

Note:
This page exists mainly for the convenience of members of the Birmingham History Forum  from one of whose threads - on the subject of King Edward's - there is a link. For anyone interested in Birmingham history, that forum is highly recommended.
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