There was a time when Birmingham was one of Europe's leading cities, a rapidly growing industrial powerhouse. The city became the hub for inventors, economists, scientists, authors and entrepreneurs - men & women driving what became known as the Midland's Enlightenment.
This cultural revolution was pivotal in the development of England, with leading thinkers driving industrial and scientific advancements. In Brummie fashion, the movement centred on practicality as opposed to the philosophical and cultural movements in leading European cities. Birmingham was using science and economics to drive technological advancements.
Social and mechanical advancements in the period included: improved process of printing, development of the steam engine and pressure for the abolition of slavery.
Notable contributors including: John Baskerville (typographer), the Wyatt family (architects), Joseph Wright (portrait painter), Susanna Wright (botanist, poet & US colonialist), Anna Seward (author) and members of Birmingham's Lunar Society.
The Lunar Society Birmingham
The Lunar Society were a group of intellectuals active in the West Midlands in the 18th Century (1760s to 1810s), Birmingham's peak in the Industrial Revolution. Key members included: Matthew Boulton and James Watt (engineers), Erasmus Darwin (philosopher, physician & grandfather to Charles Darwin), and Joseph Priestly (chemist & philosopher). It's thought that Benjamin Franklin played a role in initially introducing the groups founders.
The Society was named because of their tendency to meet in evenings with a full moon, the light making it easier to travel to and from informal meetings held across the West Midlands, at houses including Great Barr Hall (a now derelict mansion house) and Soho House, Birmingham. In the 1990s, nine moonstones were erected on the Aldridge Road, Great Barr to honour the members of the group.
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Priestly Riots Birmingham (1791)
In 1791 Birmingham saw rioting sparked by the French Revolution that divided the city in two. The riots targeted the city's dissenters. These religious dissenters were Protestants who didn't follow Church of England practices. Birmingham, with its fast growing middle class, had a growing community of dissenters including members of the Lunar Society, notably Joseph Priestly, whom the Priestly Riots were named after.
Dissenters were persecuted by the Test & Corporation Act, that restricted their civil rights, for example they couldn't attend Oxbridge Universities. Their focus for much of the late 18th century was the re-instatement of their civil rights and scrapping of the Act. Due to their status within the city, dissenting groups could make a lot of noise with publications of pamphlets. This created tensions in the city, between the dissenters and both the upper and lower classes.
On top of this, the French Revolution fuelled further division. Dissenters looked favourable on the revolution, revising the role of the monarchy and extending voting rights to all. On the 14th July, the anniversary of Bastille Day, tensions came to boiling point.
Dissenters had gathered to mark the occasion with a banquet at the Royal Hotel (in today's Temple Row in the city centre of Birmingham). Rioters attacked the hotel and broke up the meal, with the disorder spilling out across the city and to neighbouring villages. Numerous chapels and houses across Kings Heath, Moseley, Sparkhill and Sparkbrook were attacked, including the home and chapel of Priestly in Sparkbook. Looting and destruction continued for a further few days.
Eventually, the King sent troops to restore order. However, the Kind and Parliament were not sympathetic to the dissenters, who accused them of being slow to react.
In the aftermath, key rioters were forced to pay property damage, but the city remained divided.
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