Overview

The latest revised volume in the Pevsner Architectural Guides, covering Birmingham and the towns and settlements of the Black Country This fully revised account of the buildings of the City of Birmingham, its suburbs and outskirts, and the adjacent Black Country explores an area rich in Victorian and Edwardian architecture. Even the small towns of the Black Country supported local architects with their own distinctive styles, such as C. W. D. Joynson in Darlaston and A. T. Butler in Cradley Heath. Much West Midlands industry was organized in small to medium-sized firms, resulting in a rich and diverse streetscape and canalscape.   The Arts and Crafts tradition also established deep roots in the area, resulting in masterpieces such as Lethaby’s Eagle Insurance in Birmingham and Wolverhampton’s Wightwick Manor, as well as a host of fine villas and churches. Older buildings of national significance include the grand Jacobean mansion of Aston Hall, Thomas Archer’s Birmingham Cathedral, and such unexpected delights as the neoclassical barn in Solihull by Sir John Soane. Featuring new color photography and numerous maps and text illustrations, this volume will transform understanding and enjoyment of the architecture of this key English region.

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9780300223910

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Reviews

Each revision of the Pevsner architectural guides - with their copious additional details and superb colour photography - opens readers' eyes to what should have been obvious...Seldom has this been more evident than with the latest volume, Birmingham and the Black Country. -Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph A tirelessly comprehensive book...[This is] a city of rich oddities and pleasingly bewildering contrasts. -Jonathan Meades, The Oldie

Each revision of the Pevsner architectural guides - with their copious additional details and superb colour photography - opens readers' eyes to what should have been obvious...Seldom has this been more evident than with the latest volume, Birmingham and the Black Country. -Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph A tirelessly comprehensive book...[This is] a city of rich oddities and pleasingly bewildering contrasts. -Jonathan Meades, The Oldie The updated Buildings of England series get better and better, but Andy Foster's Birmingham and the Black Country is especially worthy of celebration...It is fair to say that it is a region that has rarely been the focus of sustained admiration, so much of the contents are revelatory...The book is a triumph. -Otto Saumarez Smith, Friends of Friendless Churches

A tirelessly comprehensive book...[This is] a city of rich oddities and pleasingly bewildering contrasts. -Jonathan Meades, The Oldie

"“Each revision of the Pevsner architectural guides — with their copious additional details and superb colour photography — opens readers' eyes to what should have been obvious...Seldom has this been more evident than with the latest volume, Birmingham and the Black Country.”—Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph “A tirelessly comprehensive book…[This is] a city of rich oddities and pleasingly bewildering contrasts.”—Jonathan Meades, The Oldie   ""The updated Buildings of England series get better and better, but Andy Foster's Birmingham and the Black Country is especially worthy of celebration...It is fair to say that it is a region that has rarely been the focus of sustained admiration, so much of the contents are revelatory...The book is a triumph.""—Otto Saumarez Smith, Friends of Friendless Churches"

Author Information

Andy Foster is an independent architectural historian based in Birmingham.

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