Bull ring centre
Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham
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| Location | Birmingham, England, UK |
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| Coordinates | 52°28′39.72″N 1°53′39.04″W / 52.4777000°N 1.8941778°WCoordinates: 52°28′39.72″N 1°53′39.04″W / 52.4777000°N 1.8941778°W |
| Opening date | 4 September 2003 |
| Developer | The Birmingham Alliance |
| Management | Tim Walley |
| Owner | |
| Architect | Benoy |
| No. of stores and services | 140 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 (Selfridges, Debenhams, TK Maxx) |
| Total retail floor area | 125,300 square metres (1,349,000 sq ft) |
| No. of floors | 4 (3 accessible from outside) |
| Parking | 3,100 |
| Website | http://www.bullring.co.uk/ |
The Bullring is a major commercial area of central Birmingham. It 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 (49 ft) 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, the fourth largest Debenhams and Forever 21.
The market legally began in 1154 when Peter de Bermingham, a local landowner, obtained a Charter of Marketing Rights from King Henry II. Initially, a textile trade began developing in the area and it was first mentioned in 1232 in a document, in which one merchant is described as a business partner to William de Bermingham and being in the ownership of four weavers, a smith, a tailor and a purveyor. Seven years later, another document described another mercer in the area. Within the next ten years, the area developed into a leading market town and a major cloth trade was established.
The name Mercer Street is first mentioned in the Survey of Birmingham of 1553. This was a result of the prominence of the area in the cloth trade. In the 16th century and 17th century, Mercer Street rapidly developed and became cramped. In the early 18th century Mercer Street was known as Spicer Street, reflecting the growing grocery and meat trade that had begun to take over from the cloth trade. By the end of the century the street was known as Spiceal Street. Despite being overcrowded and cramped, many houses on the street had gardens as indicated by an advertisement for a residential property in 1798. Houses were constructed close to St Martin's Church, eventually encircling it. These became known as the Roundabout Houses.
On a map produced by Westley in 1731, other markets had developed nearby including food, cattle and corn markets with other markets located nearby on the High Street. This corn market was moved to the Corn Exchange on Carrs Lane in 1848. The Bull Ring developed into the main retail market area for Birmingham as the town grew into a modern industrial city.
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Wikipedia