page_title: Bull Ring, Birmingham
section_title: Markets in the Bull Ring
hierarchical_section_title: Bull Ring, Birmingham / History / Markets in the Bull Ring
caption_attribution_description: English: Destruction in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, following Luftwaffe air raid. Firemen damp down the remaining fire.
context_page_description: The Bull Ring is a major shopping centre in central Birmingham. When combined with Grand Central it is the United Kingdom's largest city centre based shopping centre and has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages, when its market was first held. Two shopping centres have been built in the area; in the 1960s, and then in 2003; the latter is styled as one word, Bullring.
  The site is located on the edge of the sandstone city ridge which results in the steep gradient towards Digbeth. The slope drops approximately 15 metres from New Street to St Martin's Church which is very visible near the church.
  The current shopping centre was the busiest in the United Kingdom in 2004 with 36.5 million visitors. It houses one of only four Selfridges department stores and the fourth largest Debenhams in the UK.
context_section_description: In the late 18th century, street commissioners were authorised to buy and demolish houses in the town centre, including houses surrounding the Bull Ring, and to centre all market activity in the area. This was a result of new markets being established across the city in scattered locations creating severe congestion. Demolition of these properties began slowly; however, after the Act of 1801, the speed of demolition increased and by 1810 all properties in the area had been cleared as according to the 1810 Map of Birmingham by Kempson. During the clearance, small streets such as The Shambles, Cock (or Well) Street and Corn Cheaping, which had existed before the Bull Ring, were removed. The Shambles was originally a row of butchers' stores, situated close to the road leading from the location where bulls were slaughtered.
  A wide area fronting St Martin's Church formed the marketplace. The Street Commissioners decided that a sheltered market hall was needed. They bought the market rights from the lord of the manor and, by 1832, all properties on site had been purchased, with exception of two, whose owners demanded a higher price. To fund the purchase of these properties, two buildings were constructed either side of the market hall and the leases sold at auction. Construction of the Market Hall, designed by Charles Edge (an architect of Birmingham Town Hall), began in February 1833. It was completed by Dewsbury and Walthews at a cost of £20,000 (£44,800 if the price of acquiring the land is included) and opened on 12 February 1835 and contained 600 market stalls. The building was grand and the façade consisted of stone mined from Bath, Somerset. Two grand Doric columns supported both wide entrances. At the end of the market day, metal gates were pulled in front of the entrances.
  In the centre of the 365-foot (111 m) long, 180-foot (55 m) wide and 60-foot (18 m) tall hall was an ornate bronze fountain, given by the Street Commissioners upon their retirement in 1851. The base was made from Yorkshire sandstone and was 460 centimetres (180 in) in diameter. It was in the form of a Greek tazza and cost £900. On the inside of the bowl were eight lions' heads from which water was ejected. The entire fountain was 640 centimetres (250 in) tall and in the centre was a 150 centimetres (59 in) tall statue called the Messenger and Sons. The statue consisted of four children representative of each of Birmingham's main four industries; gun making, glass-blowing, bronzing and engineering. The fountain was inaugurated by the Chairman of the Market Committee, John Cadbury, on 24 December 1851. The fountain was removed in 1880 with the intention of re-erecting it in Highgate Park later that year but this did not happen and it was destroyed in 1923.
  Gas lighting was introduced to the building, which extended the business hours for the market. Installations to the market hall included a clock crafted by William Potts and Sons of Leeds consisting of figures of Guy, Earl of Warwick, the Countess, a retainer and a Saracen. It was moved from the Imperial Arcade at Dale End to the market hall in 1936; however, this was destroyed, along with the rest of the Market Hall, on 25 August 1940 by an incendiary attack.
  In 1869, the fish market was completed on the site of the Nelson Hotel (formerly the Dog Inn). The Dog Inn was located at the top end of Spiceal Street and the land above was owned by the Cowper family. The fish market was built upon Cowper Street, named after the family, on Summer Lane. In 1884, a sheltered vegetable market in Jamaica Row was also completed.
  The trade of horses prospered in the area with over 3,000 horses for sale at its peak during the 1880s. However this fell into rapid decline; the last horse trading fair took place in 1911 with only eleven horses and one donkey in attendance.
  A large amount of the area survived World War II; however, nearby New Street was heavily bombed. Shops sold tax-free products to encourage shoppers to buy them as it was difficult for the public to buy goods even a decade after the end of the war. Wo
caption: Destruction of the Bull Ring in the Birmingham Blitz in 1940
exif: {}