Chamberlain Memorial, Birmingham
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The Chamberlain Memorial was erected in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England in 1880, to commemorate Joseph Chamberlain's mayoralty. Joseph Chamberlain was a Birmingham businessmen, councillor, mayor, Member of Parliament, and then Prime Minister. He died in 1914.
The monument was designed by John Henry Chamberlain (no relation), a personal friend and municipal architect. It is reminiscent of the Albert Memorial. It bears a portrait medallion of Chamberlain by Thomas Woolner. It is Grade II listed.
The plaque on the monument reads:
- This memorial is erected in gratitude for public service given to this town by Joseph Chamberlain who was elected Town Councillor in November 1869, Mayor in November 1873, and resigned that office in June 1876 on being returned as one of the representatives of the Borough of Birmingham in Parliament. And during whose Mayoralty many great public works were notably advanced. And mainly by whose ability & devotion the Gas & Water Undertakings were acquired for the town to the great and lasting benefit of the inhabitants.
The Chamberlain Memorial and the Chamberlain Clock in the centre of the Jewellery Quarter were both erected during Chamberlain's lifetime.
In the late 1960's the pools around the fountain were removed, but in 1978, to celebrate their Diamond Jubilee, The Birmingham Civic Society designed and paid for the pools to be re-instated.
[edit] Sources
- Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
- Images of England - photograph and details from listed building text
Buildings in Birmingham, England Highrise (In height order): BT Tower | Beetham Tower | Chamberlain Clock Tower | Alpha Tower | Orion Building | The Rotunda | NatWest Tower | Five Ways Tower | Centre City Tower | Hyatt Regency Hotel | 1 Snow Hill Plaza | Quayside Tower | Colmore Gate | The McLaren Building | Metropolitan House | Edgbaston House | Post & Mail Building | Jury's Inn Birmingham Notable lowrise: Birmingham Assay Office | | Central Library | Council House | Curzon Street railway station | Great Western Arcade | ICC | The Mailbox | | Millennium Point | The Old Crown | Paradise Forum | Birmingham Proof House | Sarehole Mill | Symphony Hall | Town Hall | |