Birmingham, like Manchester, was transformed by the industrial revolution from a small town to one of the largest cities in England.

At the centre of the city, Chamberlain Square was a dignified Victorian public space surrounding Hansom's 1834 town hall (based on the Temple Of Castor And Pollux, Rome). Unfortunately, it has been damaged twice - once in the lamentable 1960s (when buildings like the Mason Science College were lost), and again in recent years.