{"title":"Medieval Birmingham. People and places, 1070–1553","authors":"C. Dyer","doi":"10.1080/0047729x.2023.2182517","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"extensive survey of post-war architecture that reflects recent redevelopment of the West Midlands. Pointedly, the entire volume is dedicated to the memory of Birmingham Central Library (John Madin Design Group, 1969–74) ‘destroyed’ in 2016. Will the new library (Mecanoo, 2010–13) be similarly demolished when it too falls out of favour? The inclusion of the Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple in Rowley Regis (Adam Hardy, V. Rao, and Associates, 1997–2006) is a welcome recognition of the region’s diverse religious landscape. The entire volume is considerably enhanced by James O. Davies’s sensitive and versatile photography. Whilst the first editions of the Buildings of England suffered from grainy black and white images, the revised version published by Yale University Press does not. Pictures are a powerful medium for dispelling popular misconceptions of places such as Wolverhampton, Bilston, Solihull, or Walsall enabling Birmingham and the Black Country to celebrate some of England’s least known and underappreciated urban areas. Foster’s epitaph for Wolverhampton – ‘unjustly neglected’ – could be applied to the West Midlands more generally. Thus, this new edition partakes in two traditions. First, Foster treads in the footsteps of many proud local historians, such as N. W. Tildesley and his History of Willenhall (1952). Second, in examining the West Midlands in their own context and terms, Foster builds upon the underestimated role of the Buildings of England in promoting the value of regional architecture. As Foster passionately argues, the Black Country and Birmingham contain as rich a variety of architecture – whether timber-framed, brick, ashlar, steel, or concrete – as anywhere else. It is a real pleasure to read a book that lauds neither north nor south, but the often-forgotten Midlands who have their own abundant history too. Let us hope that city councillors and urban planners, in whose hands the future of this built heritage rests, are listening carefully.","PeriodicalId":41013,"journal":{"name":"Midland History","volume":"48 1","pages":"114 - 115"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Midland History","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0047729x.2023.2182517","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
extensive survey of post-war architecture that reflects recent redevelopment of the West Midlands. Pointedly, the entire volume is dedicated to the memory of Birmingham Central Library (John Madin Design Group, 1969–74) ‘destroyed’ in 2016. Will the new library (Mecanoo, 2010–13) be similarly demolished when it too falls out of favour? The inclusion of the Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple in Rowley Regis (Adam Hardy, V. Rao, and Associates, 1997–2006) is a welcome recognition of the region’s diverse religious landscape. The entire volume is considerably enhanced by James O. Davies’s sensitive and versatile photography. Whilst the first editions of the Buildings of England suffered from grainy black and white images, the revised version published by Yale University Press does not. Pictures are a powerful medium for dispelling popular misconceptions of places such as Wolverhampton, Bilston, Solihull, or Walsall enabling Birmingham and the Black Country to celebrate some of England’s least known and underappreciated urban areas. Foster’s epitaph for Wolverhampton – ‘unjustly neglected’ – could be applied to the West Midlands more generally. Thus, this new edition partakes in two traditions. First, Foster treads in the footsteps of many proud local historians, such as N. W. Tildesley and his History of Willenhall (1952). Second, in examining the West Midlands in their own context and terms, Foster builds upon the underestimated role of the Buildings of England in promoting the value of regional architecture. As Foster passionately argues, the Black Country and Birmingham contain as rich a variety of architecture – whether timber-framed, brick, ashlar, steel, or concrete – as anywhere else. It is a real pleasure to read a book that lauds neither north nor south, but the often-forgotten Midlands who have their own abundant history too. Let us hope that city councillors and urban planners, in whose hands the future of this built heritage rests, are listening carefully.