Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.24: Pratchett's Bull Ring (High Street)

Often described as the work of William Hollins
but Thomas Hollins originally made the drawing in mid 1811 and published
prints from it in 1812; as recorded in newspapers of the time. 

Drawing of the Bull Ring area and St. Martin's church by Thomas Hollins, 1811.

One of the most changeable sites in Birmingham is the Bull Ring, it has undergone several alterations, each with some contention. The iconic Selfridges building sits, today, just to the left of the church; if it were to be placed in the scene above it would fill the sky above the little Georgian shops, and probably leave the people dumbstruck at what their town will become. The scene today could not be more different, the church is the oldest building but was rebuilt in the 1870s. Admiral Nelson (the statue, centre) still stands watching over her as he did from the day he was first unveiled in 1809.



Mr. Parkes visits Birmingham after a period of time
and enthusiastically notes the changes to the
main market area around St. Martin's church. 1810.

I call the area in Hollins's drawing 'Pratchett's Bull Ring' as Richard Pratchett, a High Bailiff, was one of the most influencial Street Commissioners of the time and his 'fundraising had substantially assisted the Street Commissioners in their grand scheme' (Upton). This 'grand scheme' was the alterations initiated by an act of parlaiment in 1801 to the areas around Birmingham's markets including the Bull Ring which involved removing the shambles (old tightly packed butcher's shops), the Welsh Cross and a number of other buildings which opened up the area around St. Martin's in the way it is characterised by today (see left). Pratchett himself lived and ran his business near the Bull Ring (image here), which was a druggist's and grocer's, a business that he inherited from his uncle, Thomas Carless, near the Swan coaching inn. Pratchett had left his particular mark on the improvement scheme around St. Martin's when he commissioned Thomas Hollins's brother William to design a sculpture that would surround the water-pump that had become exposed after the shambles was removed.

In 1806 William Hollins put forward a proposal for the monument of Lord Nelson which the Street Commissioners had proposed, but lost out to Sir Richard Westmacott whose work can be seen above. William’s design was much more complex and expensive in comparison with the simple statue that was chosen and included a post office and dispensary. A year later Pratchett asked him to design the water conduit to surround the pump but the design proved very unpopular. William called the sculpture the 'Egyptian Conduit'; many local people named it 'Pratchett’s Folly'. It was designed as a tribute to Nelson’s victories on the Nile, and may have been an elaborate show of what William could have done with the previous Nelson monument. It was in the shape of a pyramid, combining Egyptian, Grecian and English styles, and was ornamented with papyrus, Grecian honeysuckle and a lion’s head, all with associated mythological symbolism, and crowned with an urn which was a representation of the ashes of Nelson.* It can just be seen in the image above in front of St. Martin’s, just behind the first pair of horses. It seems that the sculpture was thought of as pretentious, with too much symbolism, unlike the statue of Nelson which was a simple tribute.*

Richard Pratchett was, of course, not solely responsible for the changes to the Bull Ring of the early nineteenth century; there were other Street Commissioners, 120 in fact. Yet, in another sense, it was Pratchett's Bull Ring. He had been a major part of the changes, he lived there and saw it everyday through his window, and it probably felt like 'his place', like every other individual might feel like they belong to a place and who make a bond to their location, it is a very human thing.

In 1812 J. C. Stadler produced a coloured version of Thomas Hollins's etching. Above (right) you can see the Georgian St. Martin's church in more detail with 'Pratchett's Pump' by William Hollins tucked into the church wall. Green fields can be seen in the distance. The left imaged depicts shop windows, still looking homely and decorated with curtains; a couple of the shops seem to have small images pasted to the insides of their windows. The full image is below.   

NOTES
William Hollins was also commissioned to build the Public Office on Moor Street which was part of the Street Commissioners improvements of this time too. As High Bailiff, Richard Pratchett was the chosen representative of the Commissioners and laid the first stone on 18 Sep 1805.
* References on request

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.22: Intellectual Snobbery & Hollins's Dispensary (Union Street)

Part of the classical aedicule that topped the door to Union Street's
dispensary. Made from cement designed to look like stone, by William
Hollins c. 1808. This sculpture is the only surviving part of the building.
The text reads: 'OF THE MOST HIGH COMETH HEALING'. This sculpture
is now part of the Birmingham History exhibition at BMAG.

Self trained architect William Hollins often encountered criticism against his architectural designs. When he completed the dispensary on Union Street in 1808 some called it a handsome or attractive building though others complained of a 'plain stone building [...] devoid of all claim to architectural elegance'.* The worst criticism of the Dispensary came in 1825 when Hollins was slated for having ‘wantonly violated correctness, and [...] needlessly run into preposterous inventions’.* The study of classical architecture was an intellectual discipline as well as an aesthetic one; it was highly mathematical and required the study of classical examples from books written on the subject to get the correct proportions. To understand the language of classical architecture was to be educated; it was logical and rational representing the height of public order and civility, and not about taking flights of fancy into the realms of individual imaginations. Hollins, though, had come from humble beginnings, and  the censure was probably as much about class as technique. Perhaps William West argues best in 1830, that the great good achieved from the medical aid given at the Dispensary ‘more than compensate for any want of taste in the exercise of the chissel [sic]’.* See for yourself (image below) whether you think that Birmingham has lost out in this building being demolished.

Hollins's Dispensary building had opened in 1808 to accommodate the highly successful venture that had begun in Temple Row, growing from strength to strength since its beginnings in 1794 (visit the Temple Row Dispensary here). The Dispensary served poorer patients who paid voluntary subscriptions of, in 1825, one or two guineas a year; one guinea receiving four sick tickets and one for midwifery.* Patients in great need but without financial means could get treatment as well, often on the recommendation of a subscriber; and some free services were offered, for example, in 1836 patients could receive free inoculations on Monday's and Thursday's* (a table containing some of the numbers helped is below). The Dispensary was also supported by donations from the wealthy, and many of the physicians and surgeons offered their services free of charge.


The Dispensary on Union Street by William Hollins, built 1806-1808.

Entrance to the building after it had closed as a dispensary.
Held at Birmingham Archive

NOTES
* References on request.
Patients Treated 1814, 1824, 1828 & 1829.
1814: SICK-2051. MIDWIFERY-355. INOCULATION-767
1824: SICK-2042. MIDWIFERY-558. INOCULATION-1118
1828: SICK-3545. MIDWIFERY-798. INOCULATION-1614
1829: SICK-3097. MIDWIFERY-810. INOCULATION-2068
Some physicians at the Union Street Dispensary
c. 1814-1821: Dr. John BOOTH (and the Birmingham Infirmary)
1822-1833: Dr. John DARWALL (Detailed information on Darwall here.)
Oct 1835-?: Dr. Thomas Ogier WARD (previously at Wolverhampton dispensary and studied the cholera there in 1832).

Architects Nᵒ.3: William Hollins (1763-1843) and Family

1763-1843. Sculptor and architect working in Birmingham all his life.

William Hollins as sculpted by his son Peter.
The bust is part of a memorial to many of the
Hollins family which is found inside St. Paul's
church in Birmingham.

Find all posts concerning William Hollins : Thomas Hollins

Many of the Hollins family were artistic with varying talents. Thomas, William's brother, was a glass painter, engraver and artist and his (Thomas's) son John moved to London and became a well known artist. Of all of William's sons, the third eldest, Peter, became the most renowned.

It has been suggested that William Hollins was Birmingham’s first architect, he was of the generation of ‘builder-architects’ of the time,* and previous names had come from outside the town, but William lived and worked in Birmingham for most of his life. According to his burial monument in St. Paul's churchyard he was born in 1763 in Shiffnal (Shropshire), his parents being John and Mary. The family moved to Birmingham when William was a boy,* and some sources state that the family originally had come from Moseley.* He trained as a stonemason and sculpted throughout his career producing a number of monuments that still survive inside several standing churches. He was very much self-taught as an architect, reading Vitruvius who he claimed as his favourite author; his obituary stating that ‘he boldly forged a key to the temple of knowledge’.*

Relatively early in his career William assisted George Saunders (a London architect) in the 1793 rebuilding of the interior of New Street’s Theatre Royal, after fire. Following this he received a number of commissions for buildings in and around Birmingham,* his work being mostly in the Greek Revival style, he was also commissioned for work on what is now Alton Towers. He was known outside the UK as Catherine the Great invited him to work in Russia, though he declined the offer.

In 1806 he put forward a proposal for a tributary monument to Lord Nelson which Birmingham was commissioning, but lost out to Sir Richard Westmacott whose work still stands in the Bull Ring. William’s design was much more complex and expensive in comparison with the simple statue that was chosen and included a post office and dispensary. A year later he designed a water conduit to surround the existing pump in the newly cleared Bull Ring which proved very unpopular. The sculpture had been personally commissioned by Richard Pratchett who lived on High Street, in order to conceal the pump that was now exposed after the clearing of the Shambles (old tightly packed buildings that had filled the wide space in the Bull Ring). William called the sculpture the 'Egyptian Conduit', the local people named it 'Pratchett’s Folly'. It was designed as a tribute to Nelson’s victories on the Nile, and may have been an elaborate show of what William could have done with the previous Nelson monument. It was in the shape of a pyramid, combining Egyptian, Grecian and English styles, and was ornamented with papyrus, Grecian honeysuckle and a lion’s head, all with associated mythological symbolism, and crowned with an urn (which was a representation of the ashes of Nelson).* It can just be seen in the image above in front of St. Martin’s, just behind the first pair of horses. It seems that the sculpture was thought of as pretentious, with too much symbolism, unlike the statue of Nelson that was straight forward and to the point.*
Hollins' commissions seems to lessen after 1807, but it is not clear whether the negative reaction to his Bull Ring sculpture is responsible for this, or whether it is simply a gap in the knowledge of his work.

William built up his business and lived at 17 Great Hampton Street. He had many children with his wife Catherine and most of his sons followed his trade, Peter becoming the most well known. William can be found at Great Hampton Street on the 1841 census with his son George Hollins (organist at St. Paul's from 1838, and at the Town Hall from 1837-1841) living next door at number 18, and another son Thomas, a 'mason', living in the court behind the house. Thomas is the only resident of court 5, and the whole area was probably used for the family’s stonemasonry. William Hollins died at his house on 12th January 1843 aged 80 and was buried at St. Paul’s, where his wife and many other members of the Hollins family were buried. A granite monument marks William's grave at the rear of the church, and there is a memorial bust inside. His son Peter, who took over the business after his father’s death, designed a memorial window in St. Paul’s dedicated to his father’s memory.

Find out about how some of William Hollins' memorial monument work that still sits in St. Philip's was recieved by contemporaries here.

Work of William Hollins
Follow the links for visit these buildings.
1796-1797: Revisions to Soho House.
1798-1799: Library in Union Street (demolished)
1805-1813: Christ Church (excluding spire and portico) on the corner of New Street and Ann Street (generally believed, demolished)
1805-1807: Public Offices and prison in Moor Street (demolished)
1806-1808: General Dispensary in Union Street (demolished, though an ornament by Hollins depicting Hygeia (goddess of health) that was above the door still survives)
1807: Sculpture surrounding the pump in the Bull Ring (demolished)
1808-1809: St. Austin’s church.....
1813: Union Mill on Grosvenor Street West (attributed as a possibility by Andy Foster)
1813: Polychrome trophy of ancient and modern arms over the door to the Gun Barrel Proof House in Banbury Street (proof house designed by John Horton of Deritend*)
1820: Restoration of St. Mary’s church, Handsworth (in the Gothic style, with his son Peter)
1831: Almshouses in Warner Street, Bordesley (demolished, decorated panels survive, which may be his son Peter’s work)
(Additional to this list is the Athenaeum, which I am researching at present as there is disparity in the sources.)
NOTES
David Owen was a timber merchant living in Selly Grove in the parish of Northfield.
*References available on request
To find out more, click the labels below.
Any questions? Please add them to the comments section below.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.1: The Unloved Church - Christ Church (Victoria Square As It Was)

Held at Birmingham Archive.

Christ Church stood from 1805 to 1899, but why was it demolished?.

The photograph pictures (what is today) Victoria Square in the 1890s, with the now demolished Christ Church dominating the scene. I am often asked how it is that some of the beautiful buildings that once lined Birmingham's streets were ever demolished, and with many, that is a hard question to answer. Many buildings simply outlived their use, they were too small, inconvenient or outdated. Christ Church was one such building that was no longer fit for use; it had originally served a thriving community, and had been the first free church in Birmingham, offering free seats to the poor. Towards the last quarter of the nineteenth century though, those people that had lived near the church began moving out to the newly formed suburbs. Between the years of 1871 and 1896, the population of Christ Church's parish decreased from 6,636 to 2,500,* and the area became filled with more and more uninhabited shops and offices. The church had served a community, but now that the community was leaving, the church was obsolete. It is not a co-incidence that many churches were built at the same time in the suburbs, as were being demolished in the centre of town, in fact, the proceeds of the sale of Christ Church went to building St. Agatha’s in Sparkbrook, which still stands.* The land that Christ Church sat on was just more valuable as an office and retail complex, which it became, than as a church.

But there is more to the story of Christ Church's demolition. The church was never particularly liked, it was described by one observer as 'ungraceful in its form' and in general 'bad in its whole effect'.* Eliezer Edwards did not hold back, calling the edifice an 'excrescence' which 'disfigures the very finest site in the town'.* Building had begun in 1805, but the church was not completed until 1815 due to difficulty in finding funds. The original design was probably by William Hollins, and had been for the church to have a dome and cupola, similar to St. Philip’s, but he only completed the base (without the portico), sometime in 1813. In 1815 the £1500 Gothic spire** with a single bell was added by John Richardson*, a stone mason from Handsworth, which for some sat unhappily on Hollins's Neoclassical base. In the same year the £1200 classical front portico with its four Doric columns was also added, again by Richardson.* This hodge-podge of styles from different builders and architects arising from the slow process of its building did not set it out as an architectural beauty, and no-one seemed to mourn its demolition in 1899.



NOTES
* References on request.
**  The clock was added by Samuel Allport in 1816.*
Illustration copyright Jenni Dixon 2012