Streets of Birmingham

[Indexed road map of Birmingham and Hockley c. 1962 (200 Kb)]

A first mention of streets in Birmingham can be found in Leland's Itinerary, where he reports on his visit to the town in 1538. He refers to a street called "Dirtey", which we know of as Deritend. This and the High Street were the only two streets in existence at the time.

Within 15 years a further 16 had been built. These are mentioned in the Survey of the Borough of Birmingham, a study of land ownership 1553. The complete list in that work is as follows:

Bordesley
Chappell Street (named after St Bartholomew's Chapel)
Dale End
Dale End Barrs
Deritend
Digbeth (name derived from Old English "dyke path")
Dudwall Street (later Dudley St, now mostly gone)
Edgbaston Street (later one of the first streets to be paved)
English Market (at the junction of High St and New St)
High Street
Little Park Street (now Park St, off Digbeth)
Mercer Street (Spiceal St, now a pedestrian area between St Martin's and the Bull Ring)
Molle Street
New Street
Priors Conygree Street (now Congreve St)
Swan Alley (named after the Swan Inn. Now part of Worcester St)
Welch Market (junction of High St and Bull St. Welsh farmers sold their cattle here)
Well Street (top of Digbeth. Later also called Cock St)

As the industrial city expanded and workers flooded in from the outlying parishes and elsewhere, urban development was swift in the 17th and 18th centuries. The large estates, particularly to the north of the centre, were bought to provide quick housing for the rising population. The result was extremely poor housing and even worse roads.

Though this was a problem for many years, it was only really addressed by Joseph Chamberlain (Birmingham Councillor 1869-1873, Mayor 1873-1876, MP for Birmingham concerned with local matters 1883-1886, thereafter more concerned with national politics) who cleared many slum areas and developed the grand thoroughfare of Corporation Street though some of the worst of it. Then came the blitz in which yet more was destroyed.

The post-war years saw more clearance. Unfortunately, the so-called improvements have confirmed Birmingham's grim reputation. Now, in the 21st century, there are moves to improve the face of the city. But in the meantime many streets have been bulldozed.

Here is an A-Z map of Birmingham and Hockley from c. 1962 together with a road name index and histories of over 350 streets.

[ See also particularly Joseph Mckenna's Birmingham Street Names, Birmingham Public Libraries 1986 ]