Bingley Hall
Encyclopedia
Bingley Hall in Birmingham
was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain
. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre
now stands on the site.
The precursor of Bingley Hall was an "Exhibition of the Manufactures of Birmingham and the Midland Counties" in a temporary wooden hall built in the grounds of, and attached to, Bingley House on Broad Street
in central Birmingham (which once belonged to banker Charles Lloyd
and was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
) and opened on 3 September 1849 for visitors to the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
. This exhibition was visited by Charles Darwin
, and also on 12 November by Prince Albert and may have contributed to his ideas for the Great Exhibition
of 1851 at the Crystal Palace
.
Bingley House was built about 1760 as Byngas Hall and was the home of James Farmer, whose daughter married Charles Lloyd. The house and its land were bought by a railway company in order to build the railway tunnel for the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway. The house was demolished.
In December 1849, the first Birmingham annual cattle show and poultry show were held in a temporary hall on the corner of Lower Essex Street and Kent Street, but the following year the 2nd shows were held in the new Bingley Hall.
Bingley Hall was built by Messrs Branson and Gwyther (architect J. A. Chatwin
), for £6,000 in six weeks in 1850, using steel columns surplus to the construction of Euston railway station
. It was built in the Roman Doric style using red and blue bricks (the Staffordshire blue brick
s being diverted from building the Oxford Street viaduct). Covering one and a quarter acres internally, it measured 224 feet (68.3 m) by 221 feet (67.4 m), used 11700 feet (3,566.2 m) of 21 inches (533.4 mm) glass, and had ten entrance doors.
During its life, it was used as a venue for the Birmingham Dog Show, cattle shows, chrysanthemum shows, circus, boxing, cinema, and in its later days for popular music concerts. It had a cycle track used for competitions. It was used as a huge meeting space. Gladstone
held a political meeting in November 1888, following Joseph Chamberlain
's split from the Liberal Party
over Irish Home Rule
, and spoke for two hours. The speech was recorded by the journal Political World on an Edison phonograph
shipped from New York – the first political speech recorded. Chamberlain himself spoke there before an audience of some 10,000 people in November 1903, during his campaign for fiscal reform. The hall was used repeatedly for meetings and conversions by various non-conformist religions, including the Elim Pentecostal Church
in 1930, led by George Jeffreys
.
The hall was damaged by fire at the Midland Caravan, Camping and Leisure Exhibition in January 1984 and demolished, its functionality having been replaced by the National Exhibition Centre
(NEC) just outside the city in Solihull
. The International Convention Centre
and Symphony Hall
now stand in its place.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre
International Convention Centre, Birmingham
The International Convention Centre is a major conference venue in central Birmingham, England. The centre includes Symphony Hall and it faces Centenary Square. The building has another entrance leading to the canals of Birmingham. The Convention Quarter area, which includes Brindleyplace, is...
now stands on the site.
The precursor of Bingley Hall was an "Exhibition of the Manufactures of Birmingham and the Midland Counties" in a temporary wooden hall built in the grounds of, and attached to, Bingley House on Broad Street
Broad Street, Birmingham
Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into...
in central Birmingham (which once belonged to banker Charles Lloyd
Sampson Lloyd
There are three generations of Sampson Lloyd in the Lloyd family of Birmingham, England. The second co-founded Lloyds Bank.Sampson Lloyd I and Mary , Quakers of Welsh origin, moved from their Leominster, Herefordshire farm in 1698 to Edgbaston Street in Birmingham.After the death of Sampson I in...
and was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
) and opened on 3 September 1849 for visitors to the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. Its last performance was in 1912.-History:...
. This exhibition was visited by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, and also on 12 November by Prince Albert and may have contributed to his ideas for the Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
of 1851 at the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
.
Bingley House was built about 1760 as Byngas Hall and was the home of James Farmer, whose daughter married Charles Lloyd. The house and its land were bought by a railway company in order to build the railway tunnel for the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway. The house was demolished.
In December 1849, the first Birmingham annual cattle show and poultry show were held in a temporary hall on the corner of Lower Essex Street and Kent Street, but the following year the 2nd shows were held in the new Bingley Hall.
Bingley Hall was built by Messrs Branson and Gwyther (architect J. A. Chatwin
J. A. Chatwin
J. A. Chatwin FRIBA, RBS, FSAScot , was a designer of buildings and the most prolific architect involved with the building and modification of churches in Birmingham, England, building or altering many of the parish churches in the city. He used both the Gothic and Classical styles...
), for £6,000 in six weeks in 1850, using steel columns surplus to the construction of Euston railway station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
. It was built in the Roman Doric style using red and blue bricks (the Staffordshire blue brick
Staffordshire blue brick
Staffordshire blue brick is a strong type of construction brick, originally made in Staffordshire, England.The brick is made from the local red clay, Etruria marl, which when fired at a high temperature in a low-oxygen reducing atmosphere takes on a deep blue colour and attains a very hard,...
s being diverted from building the Oxford Street viaduct). Covering one and a quarter acres internally, it measured 224 feet (68.3 m) by 221 feet (67.4 m), used 11700 feet (3,566.2 m) of 21 inches (533.4 mm) glass, and had ten entrance doors.
During its life, it was used as a venue for the Birmingham Dog Show, cattle shows, chrysanthemum shows, circus, boxing, cinema, and in its later days for popular music concerts. It had a cycle track used for competitions. It was used as a huge meeting space. Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
held a political meeting in November 1888, following Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
's split from the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
over Irish Home Rule
Irish Government Bill 1886
The Government of Ireland Bill 1886, commonly known as the First Home Rule Bill, was the first major attempt made by a British government to enact a law creating home rule for part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, and spoke for two hours. The speech was recorded by the journal Political World on an Edison phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
shipped from New York – the first political speech recorded. Chamberlain himself spoke there before an audience of some 10,000 people in November 1903, during his campaign for fiscal reform. The hall was used repeatedly for meetings and conversions by various non-conformist religions, including the Elim Pentecostal Church
Elim Pentecostal Church
The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination.-History:George Jeffreys , a Welshman, founded the Elim Pentecostal Church in Monaghan, Ireland in 1915. Jeffreys was an evangelist with a Welsh Congregational church background. He was converted at age 15 during the...
in 1930, led by George Jeffreys
George Jeffreys (pastor)
George Jeffreys was a Welsh minister who founded the Elim Pentecostal Church, one of the first Pentecostal organisations.As a fifteen-year-old from Nantyffylon, Maesteg, Wales, George became a Christian during the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival, along with his older brother Stephen...
.
The hall was damaged by fire at the Midland Caravan, Camping and Leisure Exhibition in January 1984 and demolished, its functionality having been replaced by the National Exhibition Centre
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...
(NEC) just outside the city in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
. The International Convention Centre
International Convention Centre, Birmingham
The International Convention Centre is a major conference venue in central Birmingham, England. The centre includes Symphony Hall and it faces Centenary Square. The building has another entrance leading to the canals of Birmingham. The Convention Quarter area, which includes Brindleyplace, is...
and Symphony Hall
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by the Queen in June 1991, although had been opened on April 15, 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events...
now stand in its place.