The New Student's Reference Work/Birmingham (England)

Bir′mingham, an English manufacturing city in Warwickshire, famed for its metal works, is situated near the center of England. From an early period it has made all kinds of metallic articles. The chief variety is the brass-working trade, in which 10,000 people are engaged. The next in importance is the manufacture of jewelry, gold, silver and gilt; then come small arms of all sorts. Other specialties are buttons, hooks and eyes, pins, screws, nails, steel pens, electric-plating and bell making. About 20,000,000 steel pens are made every week, and Birmingham has the monopoly of the screw trade in England. There are a large number of fine buildings, such as the City Hall, where musical festivals are held every three years, and great political gatherings, for which the place is famous. Mason and Queen's Colleges are situated here, together with several art galleries and libraries. A large number of fine statues adorn the place, among them those of Lord Nelson and Sir Robert Peel. The famous Soho works, founded by Watt and Boulton, where the first engines were made, are near Birmingham. The city is divided into seven districts, each of which returns a member to Parliament. The population, 570,113.