Birmingham

city in the West Midlands, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the UK city. For the US city, see Birmingham, Alabama. For other uses, see Birmingham (disambiguation).

Birmingham (/ˈbɜːrmɪŋəm/ (audio speaker iconlisten)[3] BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest metropolitan area and city in the United Kingdom.

Quick facts Sovereign state, Constituent country ...

About 1.1 million people live in Birmingham. Around 4.3 million people live in its metropolitan area.[4][5][6] Many people call it the "second city" of the United Kingdom.[7][8][9]

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History

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A Victorian building in Birmingham, faced with terracotta tiles

Birmingham began as a small town in 1166. Queen Victoria gave city status to Birmingham in 1889.

Many industries were developed in Birmingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. These included making weapons and food.

Birmingham manufacturing industry played a big role in the war effort in World War I and World War II. The WWII spitfire aeroplane was made in Birmingham. In 2000, a statue of stylised spitfires was erected next to the old factory site. The factory now makes Jaguar cars. Birmingham had a large car making industry. It has declined since the 1980s. It remains the home town for Jaguar and Land Rover cars.

In 1974, twenty-one people were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings.[10]

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Transport

Grand Union Canal

Birmingham was an important stagine-post in the Victorian industrial canal system. Today it is the northern terminus of the Grand Union Canal to London. Heavy goods (as coal surely is) are most economically moved on water. No other form of transport is so efficient.

Motorways

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Spaghetti Junction

The M40 motorway connects to London via Oxford. The M6 motorway also connects Birmingham to London (via the M1) and to the north-west of England and Scotland. Junction 6 of the M6 is also one of Birmingham's landmarks, and probably the most notable motorway junction in the UK, Spaghetti Junction, officially called the Gravelly Hill Interchange. Other motorways are:

  • The A38(M) which links Spaghetti Junction to the city centre
  • The M5, connecting Birmingham to the south-west of England
  • The M42, which connects Birmingham to Tamworth and the East Midlands
  • The M6 Toll, which enables through traffic on the M6 to bypass Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Birmingham, unlike London and Manchester, does not have a single orbital motorway. Instead, three motorways form a box which surrounds most of the city. These are:

  • The M42 to the south and east. In the middle, the M40 ends. It has priority for traffic going from the M40 to the M42 west. The M40 goes off south to Warwick, Oxford, High Wycombe, Uxbridge and London.
  • The M5 which forms the western section.
  • The M6 which forms the northern section. The M5 ends on the M6.
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The A38(M) Aston Expressway

Other major roads passing through Birmingham include:

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Famous people from Birmingham

Famous pop and rock groups from Birmingham

References

Other websites

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