Colmore Row
55 Colmore Row
|
|
| Former name(s) | New Hall Lane |
|---|---|
| Length | 0.3 mi (0.5 km) |
| Postal code | B3 |
| northeast end | Colmore Circus 52°28′58″N 1°53′50″W / 52.4827°N 1.8972°W |
| southwest end | Victoria Square 52°28′49″N 1°54′08″W / 52.48025°N 1.9021°W |
Colmore Row is a street in the centre of Birmingham, England, running from Victoria Square to just beyond Snow Hill station. It is traditionally the city's most prestigious business address.
Colmore Row and its environs were designated a conservation area in 1971, which was extended twice in 1985. Colmore Row itself has 23 listed buildings, two listed at Grade I and two at Grade II*.
Before this area of Birmingham was developed in the 18th century, Colmore Row was a country lane called New Hall Lane, connecting the roads from City centre to Dudley and West Bromwich and separating the farmlands of the New Hall Estate to the north from those of the Inge Estate to the south. Development of the south of the lane started with the building of St Philip's Church (now St Philip's Cathedral) in 1708. In 1746 a private Act of Parliament opened up the New Hall Estate to the north for development, with the first plots being let and developed from 1747 onwards.
The road was renamed at this point, but initially only the stretch between Newhall Street and Livery Street was named Colmore Row (after the Colmore family, owners of the New Hall Estate). The stretch between Newhall Street and New Street was named Ann Street, after head of the family Ann Colmore, while the stretch north of Livery Street, originally called Bull Lane, became known as Monmouth Street.
Ann Street disappeared as a name when the street was divided between Colmore Row and Victoria Square, when the latter was created (initially as Council House Square) in 1879.
The original buildings of Colmore Row were the brick and stucco Georgian houses typical of the late 18th century. The 120 year leases on these properties started to expire in the 1840s and 1850s, and between 1869 and 1900 all were replaced by the late Victorian commercial premises that still give the street its predominant character.
After the Second World War, Colmore Row was to have formed part of the extensive Inner Ring Road system planned by City Engineer Herbert Manzoni. This would have necessitated demolishing all of the buildings between Colmore Row and Waterloo Street, but fell victim to increasing land values and awareness of conservation issues in the 1970s. The plans for the street included widening it to a width of 112 ft (34 m) with a central reservation of 14 ft (4.3 m) in width. Ironically, the likelihood of forthcoming comprehensive redevelopment protected many of the buildings from being demolished to make way for office developments (see Colmore Business District), and today Colmore Row and the surrounding area has one of the most consistent 19th century streetscapes in Central Birmingham.
...
Wikipedia