Birmingham's cathedral is overshadowed by more modern temples: the mirrored swirls of New Street train station; the dotted bulge of the Selfridges store; the lacy blocks of the library; the pillars and pediments of the museum and art gallery.
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| Museum and town hall |
Next to all these, Birmingham Cathedral, in its square of dusty grass, isolated from the main flow of shopping and travel, seems less like a dominant building and more like a minor chapel.
It turns out the unpretentiousness is deliberate. St Philip's Church was built in 1715 when the worshipping population of Birmingham had outgrown the medieval constraints of St Martin in the Bullring. Birmingham remained part of the Diocese of Worcester until 1905, when Charles Gore pushed for the creation of a new diocese and became its first bishop. Seeing the depth of need in the city, he decided to convert St Philip's to a cathedral rather than spend money on a grand new building. Birmingham Cathedral had to be restored after it was gutted by a bomb in WWII, but apart from that has not undergone any major building works. It remains one of England's smallest cathedrals.
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| statue of Charles Gore in front of the cathedral |
Inside, it makes a fair attempt at grandeur. An array of faux-marble pillars with gilded capitals leads the eye towards the altar and the stained glass windows at the eastern end. These windows, and another at the west end, are the work of Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, who were key players in the Arts and Crafts movement and also great friends (apparently they wore matching purple trousers when they were students at Oxford).
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| admiring the windows |
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| cutest baby Jesus ever |
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| font and western window |
The helpful man on the front desk welcomed us in, found a sticker for my cathedral passport, and came over with a second leaflet when he noticed us taking an interest in the flags which hung above the balconies. We wandered around to our hearts' content.
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| cathedra |
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| floral nativity figures |
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| cross made of railway sleepers |
Re-entering the bustle of modern Birmingham, we made our way past the temple of transport and entered the temple of shopping. Both New Street Station and the Bullring shopping centre used to be 1960s concrete blocks, but have been extensively rebuilt in the 21st century, their swooping metallic facades and glass roofs a big improvement on their previous dingy appearance. There's a fascinating article about how Birmingham New Street was rebuilt while still functioning as a railway station.
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| Selfridges store and St Martin in the Bullring |
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| Birmingham New Street (Wikimedia Commons) |
Of course, Apple has to have a temple of its own - or a building that looks the part. It was built for Midland Bank, back in the Victorian era when banks occupied imposing edifices rather than glass kiosks and banking apps.
I left Graham and the boys at the F1 Arcade, where they happily passed an hour while I went to see the Library of Birmingham. The 2013 building looks like a wedding cake, with three square layers and a round one on top. And guess what? This, too, replaced a 1970s concrete block.
Inside, there are a few steps down to the "Book Browse" on a lower level, and soaring escalators up to the reference and history sections. I liked the book rotunda, whose curved shelves and black railings evoked a fantasy library (not sure about the fairy lights - maybe a step too far?).
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| looking through the lacy facade |
Unlike the cathedral, which is amongst the smallest of its kind, Birmingham's library is one of the largest in the nation. Considering that lending libraries are even more endangered than churches, to the extent that I have started to wonder if they will go extinct before I do, I was glad to see the amount of investment that has gone into this particular temple of books.
And finally, we paid a visit to our last grand building of the day, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. I had been so impressed by the few pieces of the Staffordshire Hoard at Tamworth Castle that I was keen to see the larger collection at the museum. The intricate detail on these tiny pieces of decorated gold is just incredible. Graham was interested in the Ozzy Osbourne exhibition, while Toby detoured into the room filled with colourful art by Joe Lycett - which included a giant pink furry mammoth.
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| Photo: Wikimedia Commons |
I read something that suggested a society is partly defined by what it is willing to gather large amounts of building materials for. Does it erect its grandest constructions for kings and gods, knowledge and government, commerce and trade? In Birmingham, it was interesting to see what was important in the past, and what has been rebuilt for modern times. Banks have been superseded by Apple stores, and churches overshadowed by skyscrapers, but the railway station is still a vital hub, and the library and museum encourage those who want to learn.
And, as Charles Gore's cathedral reminds us, sometimes more good is done by not having a towering edifice. A shiny facade in one place can be a way of drawing people's eyes away from problems elsewhere.
But on the whole, a city which dedicates its temples to faith, books, history and culture, shopping, and public transport isn't doing too badly, I feel. Birmingham has a lot to be proud of.
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