Victoria Square and the Council House: a short history

Every city has a room where it receives its guests, and in Birmingham that room is Victoria Square. Framed by the Council House, the Town Hall and the old Post Office building, it is where the city celebrates, protests, gathers for Christmas and, on an ordinary weekday, simply passes through on the way to somewhere else. Stop for a few minutes, though, and the square has a great deal to say about how Birmingham sees itself.

A square with a new name

The space has been the civic heart of the city since the Victorian era, but it only took its present name at the very start of the twentieth century. The statue of Queen Victoria that still stands in the square was unveiled in 1901, and the square was named in her honour. It has watched over more than a century of change, from horse-drawn trams to the modern trams that now glide past the Town Hall.

The Council House

The grandest building on the square is the Council House, the home of local government in Birmingham since the late nineteenth century. It was designed by the architect Yeoville Thomason and completed in 1879, at a time when the city was growing rapidly and wanted a building that expressed its new confidence. The result is a proud, richly decorated Italianate palace in warm stone, topped with a dome that has become one of the most recognisable shapes on the city skyline.

Look up at the pediment above the main entrance and you will see a mosaic of Britannia rewarding the manufacturers of Birmingham. It is a fitting image for a city that built its fortune on making things, from buttons and buckles to guns, pens and jewellery. Birmingham was once known as the city of a thousand trades, and the Council House was designed to celebrate exactly that.

Big Brum

Rising above the extension at the back of the Council House is a clock tower that every Brummie knows by its nickname, Big Brum. The extension was built to house the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the tower gives the building a landmark that can be seen from across the city centre. Its bell still marks the hours, a reassuring sound for anyone crossing the square.

The Town Hall

Across the square stands the Town Hall, which is older than the Council House and very different in style. Opened in 1834, it was designed by Joseph Hansom, better known as the inventor of the hansom cab, together with Edward Welch. Its form was inspired by a Roman temple, and with its tall columns standing on a raised base it looks almost as if it has been transported from the Forum.

The Town Hall has a remarkable musical history. Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of his oratorio Elijah here in 1846, and over the years the hall has welcomed everyone from classical orchestras to rock bands. After a major restoration it reopened in the early 2000s and remains a working concert venue, so it is well worth checking what is on.

The River and its famous nickname

At the centre of the square, the large fountain known as The River was created by the sculptor Dhruva Mistry and unveiled in 1993 as part of a wider redesign of the square. It features a reclining female figure in a pool, and within days Birmingham had given it a nickname that has stuck ever since: the Floozie in the Jacuzzi. The water has been switched off for some years and the basin has been planted with flowers, but the figure remains one of the most photographed sights in the city.

Look around the edges of the square and you will also find a pair of sphinx-like guardians and other sculptural pieces from the same scheme, which together turned what had been a busy traffic junction into a pedestrian space designed for people.

Victoria Square is Birmingham at its most formal, but it has never taken itself too seriously. Any city that names its grandest fountain the Floozie in the Jacuzzi has a sense of humour about its own pomp.

A square for every season

Victoria Square changes character through the year. In summer it is a place to sit on the steps with a coffee and watch the city go by. In autumn it hosts events and gatherings, and from November it becomes part of the city's famous Christmas market, with wooden chalets, mulled wine and crowds that fill the square late into the evening.

It is also a place for the city's big moments. Celebrations, vigils, demonstrations and public events have all taken place here, and it is where Birmingham comes together when it has something to say.

Seeing it for yourself

• Start at the Town Hall steps for the best view of the Council House facade and dome.
• Walk round to Chamberlain Square behind the Council House to see Big Brum up close.
• Visit early in the morning for photographs without the crowds, when the low sun warms the stone.
• Come back after dark when the buildings are lit and the square takes on a completely different mood.

However you visit, take a moment to look up. The details on these buildings were made to be admired, and they tell the story of a city that was, and still is, very proud of what it makes.