Town Hall reopens after 11 years

Birmingham Town Hall has reopened for concerts after 11 years and a £35 million restoration that has returned the Victorian building to its former glory.

The first concert in the restored hall took place on 4 October, bringing music back to one of the most historic venues in the country.

Restored to its original look

The Town Hall closed in 1996 when the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and other performers moved to the new Symphony Hall. Since then it has stood largely silent, its future uncertain, while funds were raised to repair and restore it.

The restoration has been paid for by Birmingham City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. The building work was carried out by Wates Construction.

Inside, the hall has been returned as closely as possible to its original design. An upper gallery added in the 1920s has been removed, bringing the interior back close to how it looked when the hall first opened. New seating, lighting and facilities have been added, and the hall can now hold more than 1,000 people.

The famous organ, originally installed in 1834 with 6,000 pipes, has been cleaned and restored. It was once the largest and most advanced organ in the world. Thomas Trotter, the Birmingham City Organist, kept the organ in working order by playing it regularly during the years of closure.

A building with a proud past

The Town Hall was designed by Joseph Hansom, the inventor of the Hansom cab, and Edward Welch. Its design is based on a Roman temple, with Corinthian columns on all four sides. It opened in 1834, but the cost of building it bankrupted Hansom, who had underestimated the price.

For more than a century and a half, the hall was at the heart of the city's cultural and political life. Charles Dickens gave public readings of his works there, and famous pieces of music were first performed in the hall, including Mendelssohn's Elijah in 1846 and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius in 1900.

It was also a place for political meetings, rallies and lectures, and hosted speakers including David Lloyd George, whose visit in 1901 led to a riot outside.

A new future

The Town Hall will now be run alongside Symphony Hall, offering a wide programme of events, including classical, jazz, folk, rock and pop concerts, organ recitals, comedy and community events.

The reopening has been welcomed by music lovers and heritage campaigners, who had long called for the building to be brought back into use. Many had feared that it would never reopen.

The hall stands in Victoria Square, at the heart of the city centre, and its restoration is expected to help bring more visitors to the area.

A formal royal opening is planned for next year. For now, audiences can enjoy the chance to hear music in the historic hall once more.