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  4. Birmingham, Town Hall 1896

Birmingham, Town Hall 1896
Photo ref: 37275
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Photo ref: 37275
Photo of Birmingham, Town Hall 1896
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The competition to design a new town hall was won by J A Hansom and E Welsh; their outline plans were preferred to those submitted by leading architects such as Charles Barry and Thomas Rickman. Work began in 1832, but the project ran into problems owing to a serious underestimate by the builders, who eventually went bankrupt.As the architects had agreed to underwrite the builders, they too were declared bankrupt.Work continued slowly; it was not until 1850 that the building was ready for occupation.

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A Selection of Memories from Birmingham

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Birmingham

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Historic Memories Of Birmingham 2020
What pictures and memories will we have in the future of our beloved Birmingham as we look back to this time ? Empty streets, shops closed, pubs etc empty. Very little traffic, no children playing, no schools etc. etc. What a sad time for the human family, so many fearful of loosing loved ones, loosing jobs, and income. Wondering how we will survive, what the future holds, where can we turn ...see more
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Added 03 April 2020

All Over Brum!
I was born at home in Tottenham Crescent.....my mom and dad lived with my man as they had just got married ! I can just about remember living down summer lane a two up two down and an outside toilet as was Tottenham Crescent. My Nan then lived in Maxted road in the prefabs before moving to a brand new flat on the Walsall road. Number 3 Birchfield Tower opposite the Odeon and up from th Brummies Speedway track.
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Added 05 March 2018

Birmingham And Midland Institute
In the Francis Frith book "Did You Know? Miscellany of Birmingham", reference is made to Charles Dickens on page 12. If I may offer a small correction - Charles Dickens was not a visiting lecturer. He raised money for the establishment of the Institute by holding his first public reading ( A Christmas Carol ) in Birmingham Town Hall on 27 December 1853 before a capacity audience of some 2000 ...see more
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Added 11 February 2016

Oak Tree Lane Selly Oak
We were the Hobbis family and we lived at 54 Oak tree Lane, Selly Oak with my parents and grandmother. The house was directly opposite the old Selly Oak Hospital. I can remember the re-building of the hospital and sadly now it lays derelict ready for redevelopement into housing. Selly Oak was always a busy village with many shops and you could walk from one end of Oak tree Lane to the bottom of Selly ...see more
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Added 29 April 2015

More about Image Optimisation

All our photos are printed as optimised versions of their originals, this process can take anything from 15 minutes to several hours. This ensures that the product you get shows the true quality that Frith photos are renowned for.

Example of image retouching:

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Genealogy & Research Images

Despite over 20 years’ work on the archive, these scans have still not been individually checked and may prove to be damaged, faded, or not of sufficient quality to ever be offered in our full product range. However, if you would particularly like to buy one of these please get in touch quoting the Frith negative number,(s) the town name and size of print you would like to buy. On receipt of your enquiry our archivist will check the scan and advise you if the quality is good enough.

What is an Album?

An album is a way to save a selection of Frith photos, maps and memories that are of interest to you.

Creating an Album enables you to make short lists and then make a final selection from the album. In particular it makes ordering things like calendars much easier - simply create an Album of the 12 photos you like and then use the Album when placng your order - our order process will give you this option.

You can create as many Albums as you want, so perhaps make one for your hometown, where you live now, where your parents live now etc.