Part 15

~Gas Companies.~--The first, or Birmingham Gaslight Co. was formed in 1817, incorporated in 1819, and commenced business by buying up the private adventurer who built the works in Gas Street. The Company was limited to the borough of Birmingham, and its original capital was £32,000, which, by an Act obtained in 1855, was increased to £300,000, and borrowing powers to £90,000 more, the whole of which was raised or paid up. In the year 1874 the company supplied gas through 17,000 meters, which consumed 798,000,000 cubic feet of gas. The Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Co. was established in 1825, and had powers to lay their mains in and outside the borough. The original Act was repealed in 1845, the company being remodelled and started afresh with a capital of £320,000, increased by following Acts to £670,000 (all called up by 1874), and borrowing powers to £100,000, of which, by the same year £23,000 had been raised. The consumption of gas in 1874 was 1,462,000,000 cubic feet, but how much of this was burnt by the company's 19,910 Birmingham customers, could not be told. The two companies, though rivals for the public favour, did not undersell one another, both of them charging 10/-per 1,000 feet in the year 1839, while in 1873 large consumers were only charged 2/3 per 1,000 feet, the highest charge being 2/7. The question of buying out both of the Gas Companies had been frequently mooted, but it was not until 1874 that any definite step was taken towards the desired end. On April 17th, 1874, the burgesses recorded 1219 votes in favour of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain's proposition to purchase the Gas [and the Water] Works, 683 voting against it. On Jan. 18th, 1875, the necessary Bills were introduced into the House of Commons, and on July 15th and 19th, the two Acts were passed, though not without some little opposition from the outlying parishes and townships heretofore supplied by the Birmingham and Staffordshire Co., to satisfy whom a clause was inserted, under which Walsall, West Bromwich, &c., could purchase the several mains and works in their vicinity, if desirous to do so. The Birmingham Gas Co. received from the Corporation £450,000, of which £136,890 was to be left on loan at 4%, as Debenture Stock, though £38,850 thereof has been kept in hand, as the whole was redeemable within ten years. The balance of £313,000 was borrowed from the public at 4%, and in some cases a little less. The Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Co. were paid in Perpetual Annuities, amounting to £58,290 per year, being the maximum dividends then payable on the Co.'s shares, £10,906 was returned as capital not bearing interest, £15,000 for surplus profits, £30,000 the half-year's dividend, and also £39,944 5s. 4d. the Co's Reserve Fund. The total cost was put down as £1,900,000. The Annuities are redeemable by a Sinking Fund in 85 years. For their portion of the mains, service pipes, works, &c. formerly belonging to the Birmingham and Staffordshire Company, the Walsall authorities pay the Corporation an amount equivalent to annuities valued at £1,300 per year; Oldbury paid £22,750, Tipton £34,700, and West Bromwich £70,750.

~Gas Fittings.~--Curious notions appear to have been at first entertained as to the explosive powers of the new illuminator, nothing less than copper or brass being considered strong enough for the commonest piping, and it was thought a great innovation when a local manufacturer, in 1812, took out a patent for lead pipes copper-coated. Even Murdoch himself seems to have been in dread of the burning element, for when, in after years, his house at Sycamore Hill changed owners, it was found that the smaller gas pipes therein were made of silver, possibly used to withstand the supposed corrosive effects of the gas. The copper-covered lead pipes were patented in 1819 by Mr. W. Phipson, of the Dog Pool Mills, the present compo being comparatively a modern introduction. Messengers, of Broad Street, and Cook, of Caroline Street (1810-20), were the first manufacturers of gas fittings in this town, and they appear to have had nearly a monopoly of the trade, as there were but three others in it in 1833, and only about twenty in 1863; now their name is legion, gas being used for an infinitude of purposes, not the least of which is by the gas cooking stove, the idea of which was so novel at first that the Secretary of the Gas Office in the Minories at one time introduced it to the notice of the public by having his dinner daily cooked in a stove placed in one of the office windows. An exhibition of gas apparatus of all kinds was opened at the Town Hall, June 5, 1878, and that there is still a wonderful future for development is shown by its being seriously advocated that a double set of mains will be desirable, one for lighting gas, and the other for a less pure kind to be used for heating purposes.

~Gas Works.~--See "_Public Buildings_."

~Gavazzi.~--Father Gavazzi first orated here in the Town Hall, October 20, 1851.

~Geographical.~--According to the Ordnance Survey, Birmingham is situated in latitude 52° 29', and longitude 1° 54' west.

~Gillott.~--See "_Noteworthy Men_."

~Girls' Home.~--Eighteen years ago several kind-hearted ladies opened a house in Bath Row, for the reception of servant girls of the poorest class, who, through their poverty and juvenility, could not be sheltered in the "Servants' Home," and that such an establishment was needed, is proved by the fact that no less than 334 inmates were sheltered for a time during 1883, while 232 others received help in clothing &c., suited to their wants. The Midland Railway having taken Bath House, the Home has lately been removed to a larger house near the Queen's Hospital, where the managers will be glad to receive any little aid that can be rendered towards carrying on their charitable operations.

~Glass.~--In the reign of Henry VI. the commonest kind of glass was sold at 2s. the foot, a shilling in those days being of as much value as a crown of today. The earliest note we can find of glass being made here is the year 1785, when Isaac Hawker built a small glasshouse behind his shop at Edgbaston Street. His son built at Birmingham Heath on the site now occupied by Lloyd and Summerfield. In 1798 Messrs. Shakespeare and Johnston had a glasshouse in Walmer Lane. Pressed glass seems to have been the introduction of Rice Harris about 1832, though glass "pinchers" (eleven of them) are named in the Directory of 1780. In 1827 plate-glass sold at 12s. per foot and in 1840 at 6s., ordinary sheet-glass being then 1s. 2d. per foot. There was a duty on plate-glass prior to April 5, 1845, of 2s. 10-1/2d. per foot. The "patent plate" was the invention of Mr. James Chance, and Chance Brothers (of whose works a notice will be found in another part of this book) are the only manufacturers in this country of glass for lighthouse purposes--See also "_Trades_," &c.

~Godwillings.~--In olden days when our factors started on their tours for orders, it was customary to send a circular in advance announcing that "God willing" they would call upon their customers on certain specified dates. In the language of the counting-house the printed circulars were called "Godwillings."

~Goldschmidt.~--Notes of the various visits of Madame Goldschmidt, better known by her maiden name of Jenny Lind, will be found under the heading of "_Musical Celebrities_."

~Good Templars.~--The Independent Order of Good Templars, in this town, introduced themselves in 1868, and they now claim to have 90,000 adult members in the "Grand Lodge of England."

~Gordon.~--Lord George Gordon, whose intemperate actions caused the London Anti-Papist Riots of 1780, was arrested in this town December 7, 1787, but not for anything connected with those disgraceful proceedings. He had been found guilty of a libel, and was arrested on a judge's warrant, and taken from here to London, for contempt of the Court of King's Bench in not appearing when called upon to do so. It has been more than once averred that Lord George was circumcised here, before being admitted to the Jewish community, whose rites and ceremonies, dress and manners, he strictly observed and followed; but he first became a Jew while residing in Holland, some time before he took lodgings in such a classic locality as our old Dudley-street, where he lay hidden for nearly four months, a long beard and flowing gaberdine helping to conceal his identity.

~Gough.~--Gough Road, Gough Street, and a number of other thoroughfares have been named after the family, from whom the present Lord Calthorpe, inherits his property.--See "_Edgbaston Hall_."

~Grammar School.~--See "_Schools_."

~Great Brooke Street~ takes its name from Mr. Brookes, an attorney of the olden time.

~Great Eastern Steamship.~--The engines for working the screw propeller, 4 cylinders and 8,500 horse-power (nominal 1,700) were sent out from the Soho Foundry.

~Green's Village.~--Part of the old [**]ookeries in the neighbourhood of the [**]nkleys.

~Grub Street.~--The upper part of Old Meeting Street was so called until late years.

~Guardians.~--See "_Poor Law_."

~Guildhall.~--The operative builders commenced to put up an edifice in 1833 which they intended to call "The Guildhall," but it was only half finished when the ground was cleared for the railway. Some of the local antiquaries strongly advocated the adoption of the name "Guildhall" for the block of municipal buildings and Council House, if only in remembrance of the ancient building on whose site, in New Street, the Grammar School now stands.

~Guild of the Holy Cross.~--Founded in the year 1392 by the "Bailiffs and Commonalty" of the town of Birmingham (answering to our aldermen and councillors), and licensed by the Crown, for which the town paid £50, the purpose being to "make and found a gild and perpetual fraternity of brethren and sustern (sisters), in honour of the Holy Cross," and "to undertake all works of charity, &c., according to the appointment and pleasure of the said bailiffs and commonalty." In course of time the Guild became possessed of all the powers then exercised by the local corporate authorities, taking upon themselves the building of almshouses, the relief and maintenance of the poor, the making and keeping in repair of the highways used by "the King's Majestie's subjects passing to and from the marches of Wales," looking to the preservation of sundry bridges and lords, as well as repair of "two greate stone brydges," &c., &c. The Guild owned considerable portion of the land on which the present town is built, when Henry VIII., after confiscating the revenues and possessions of the monastic institutions, laid hands on the property of such semi-religious establishments as the Guild of the Holy Cross. It has never appeared that our local Guild had done anything to offend the King, and possibly it was but the name that he disliked. Be that as it may, his son, Edward VI., in 1552, at the petition of the inhabitants, returned somewhat more than half of the property, then valued at £21 per annum, for the support and maintenance of a Free Grammar School, and it is this property from which the income of the present King Edward VI.'s Grammar Schools is now derived, amounting to nearly twice as many thousands as pounds were first granted. The Guild Hall or Town's Hall in New Street (then only a bye street), was not _quite_ so large as either our present Town Hall or the Council House, but was doubtless considered at the time a very fine building, with its antique carvings and stained glass windows emblazoned with figures and armorial bearings of the Lords right Ferrers and others. As the Guild had an organist in its pay, it may be presumed that such an instrument was also there, and that alone goes far to prove the fraternity were tolerably well off, as organs in those times were costly and scarce. The old building, for more than a century after King Edward's grant, was used as the school, but even when rebuilt it retained its name as the Guild Hall.

~Guns.~--Handguns, as they were once termed, were first introduced into this country by the Flemings whom Edward IV. brought over in 1471, but (though doubtless occasional specimens were made by our townsmen before then) the manufacture of small arms at Birmingham does not date further back than 1689, when inquiries were made through Sir Richard Newdigate as to the possibility of getting them made here as good as those coming from abroad. A trial order given by Government in March, 1692, led to the first contract (Jan. 5, 1693) made between the "Officers of Ordnance" and five local manufacturers, for the supply of 200 "snaphance musquets" every month for one year at 17/-each, an additional 3/-per cwt. being allowed for carriage to London. The history of the trade since then would form a volume of itself, but a few facts of special note and interest will be given in its place among "_Trades_."

~Gutta Percha~ was not known in Europe prior to 1844, and the first specimens were brought here in the following year. Speaking tubes made of gutta percha were introduced early in 1849.

~Gymnasium.~--At a meeting held Dec. 18, 1865, under the presidency of the Mayor, it was resolved to establish a public gymnasium on a large scale, but an present it is non-existent, the only gymnasium open being that of the Athletic Club at Bingley Hall.

~Hackney Coaches~ were introduced here in 1775. Hutton says the drivers of the first few earned 30s. per day; those of the present day say they do not get half the sum now. Hansom Cabs, the invention, in 1836, of the architect and designer of our Town Hall, were first put on the stands in 1842.

~Half-Holiday.~--Ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week, used to be the stint for workpeople here and elsewhere. A Saturday Half-holiday movement was begun in 1851, the first employers to adopt the system being Mr. John Frearson, of Gas Street (late of the Waverley Hotel, Crescent), and Mr. Richard Tangye. Wingfields, Brown, Marshall & Co., and many other large firms began with the year 1853, when it maybe said the plan became general.

~Handsworth.~--Till within the last thirty or forty years, Handsworth was little more than a pleasant country village, though now a well-populated suburb of Birmingham. The name is to be found in the "Domesday Book," but the ancient history of the parish is meagre indeed, and confined almost solely to the families of the lords of the manor, the Wyrleys, Stanfords, &c., their marriages and intermarriages, their fancies and feuds, and all those petty trifles chroniclers of old were so fond of recording. After the erection of the once world-known, but now vanished Soho Works, by Matthew Boulton, a gradual change came o'er the scene; cultivated enclosures taking the place of the commons, enclosed in 1793; Boulton's park laid out, good roads made, water-courses cleared, and houses and mansions springing up on all sides, and so continuing on until now, when the parish (which includes Birchfield and Perry Barr, an area of 7,680 acres in all) is nearly half covered with streets and houses, churches and chapels, alms-houses and stations, shops, offices, schools, and all the other necessary adjuncts to a populous and thriving community. The Local Board Offices and Free Library, situate in Soho Road, were built in 1878 (first stone laid October 30th, 1877), at a cost of £20,662, and it is a handsome pile of buildings. The library contains about 7,000 volumes. There is talk of erecting public swimming and other baths, and a faint whisper that recreation grounds are not far from view. The 1st Volunteer Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment have their head-quarters here. Old Handsworth Church, which contained several carved effigies and tombs of the old lords, monuments of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, with bust of William Murdoch, &c., has been rebuilt and enlarged, the first stone of the new building being laid in Aug, 1876. Five of the bells in the tower were cast in 1701, by Joseph Smith, of Edgbaston, and were the first peal sent out of his foundry; the tenor is much older. The very appropriate inscription on the fourth bell is, "God preserve the Church of England as by law established."

~Harborne~ is another of our near neighbours which a thousand years or so ago had a name if nothing else, but that name has come down to present time with less change than is usual, and, possibly through the Calthorpe estate blocking the way, the parish itself has changed but very slowly, considering its close proximity to busy, bustling Birmingham. This apparent stagnation, however, has endeared it to us Brums not a little, on account of the many pleasant glades and sunny spots in and around it. Harborne gardeners have long been famous for growing gooseberries, the annual dinner of the Gooseberry Growers' Society having been held at the Green Man ever since 1815. But Harborne has plucked up heart latterly, and will not much longer be "out of the running." With its little area of 1,412 acres, and only a population of 6,600, it has built itself an Institute (a miniature model of the Midland), with class rooms and reading rooms, with library and with lecture halls, to seat a thousand, at a cost of £6,500, and got Henry Irving to lay the foundation-stone, in 1879. A Masonic Hall followed in 1880, and a Fire Brigade Station soon after. It has also a local railway as well as a newspaper. In the parish church, which was nearly all rebuilt in 1867, there are several monuments of olden date, one being in remembrance of a member of the Hinckley family, from whose name that of our Inkleys is deducible; there is also a stained window to the memory of David Cox. The practice of giving a Christmas treat, comprising a good dinner, some small presents, and an enjoyable entertainment to the aged poor, was begun in 1865, and is still kept up.

~Hard Times.~--Food was so dear and trade so bad in 1757 that Lord Dartmouth for a long time relieved 500 a week out of his own pocket. In 1782 bread was sold to the poor at one-third under its market value. On the 1st of July, 1795, the lessee of the Theatre Royal, Mr. McCready, gave the proceeds of the night's performance (£161 8s.) for the benefit of the poor. The money was expended in wheat, which was sold free of carriage. Meat was also very scarce on the tables of the poor, and a public subscription was opened by the High Bailiff to enable meat to be sold at 1d. per lb. under the market price, which then ruled at 3d. to 6d. per lb. In November, 1799, wheat was 15s. per bushel. In May, 1800, the distressed poor were supplied with wheat at the "reduced price" of 15s. per bushel, and potatoes at 8s. per peck. Soup kitchens for the poor were opened November 30, 1816, when 3,000 quarts were sold the first day. The poor-rates, levied in 1817, amounted to £61,928, and it was computed that out of a population of 84,000 at least 27,000 were in receipt of parish relief. In 1819 £5,500 was collected to relieve the distressed poor. The button makers were numbered at 17,000 in 1813, two-thirds of them being out of work. 1825 and 1836 were terrible years of poverty and privation in this town and neighbourhood. In 1838, 380,000 doles were made to poor people from a fund raised by public subscription. In the summer of 1840, local trade was so bad that we have been told as many as 10,000 persons applied at one office alone for free passages to Australia, and all unsuccessfully. Empty houses could be counted by the hundred. There was great distress in the winter of 1853-4, considerable amounts being subscribed for charitable relief. In the first three months of 1855, there were distributed among the poor 11,745 loaves of bread, 175,500 pints of soup, and £725 in cash. The sum of £10,328 was subscribed for and expended in the relief of the unemployed in the winter of 1878-79--the number of families receiving the same being calculated at 195,165, with a total of 494,731 persons.

~Harmonies.~--See "_Musical Societies_."

~Hats and Hatters.~--In 1820 there was but one hatter in the town, Harry Evans, and his price for best "beavers" was a guinea and a half, "silks," which first appeared in 1812, not being popular and "felts" unknown. Strangers have noted one peculiarity of the native Brums, and that is their innate dislike to "top hats," few of which are worn here (in comparison to population) except on Sunday, when respectable mechanics churchward-bound mount the chimney pot. In the revolutionary days of 1848, &c., when local political feeling ran high in favour of Pole and Hungarian, soft broad-brimmed felt hats, with flowing black feathers were _en regle_, and most of the advanced leaders of the day thus adorned themselves. Now, the ladies monopolise the feathers and the glories thereof. According to the scale measure used by hatters, the average size of hats worn is that called 6-7/8, representing one-half of the length and breadth of a man's head, but it has been noted by "S.D.R." that several local worthies have had much larger craniums, George Dawson requiring a 7-1/2 sized hat, Mr. Charles Geach a 7-3/4, and Sir Josiah Mason a little over an 8. An old Soho man once told the writer that Matthew Boulton's head-gear had to be specially made for him, and, to judge from a bust of M.B., now in his possession, the hat required must have been extra size indeed.

~Hearth Duty.~--In 1663, an Act was passed for the better ordering and collecting the revenue derived from "Hearth Money," and we gather a few figures from a return then made, as showing the comparative number of the larger mansions whose owners were liable to the tax. The return for Birmingham gives a total of 414 hearths and stoves, the account including as well those which are liable to pay as of those which are not liable. Of this number 360 were charged with duty, the house of the celebrated Humphrey Jennens being credited with 25. From Aston the return was but 47, but of these 40 were counted in the Hall and 7 in the Parsonage, Edgbaston showed 37, of which 22 were in the Hall. Erdington was booked for 27, and Sutton Coldfield for 67, of which 23 were in two houses belonging to the Willoughby family. Coleshill would appear to have been a rather warmer place of abode, as there are 125 hearths charged for duty, 30 being in the house of Dame Mary Digby.