¶®ÒõµÛ

Bird’s eye view of ¶®ÒõµÛ (1886)

Birds eye view of birmingham 1886 illustration

This situation was to change, at least in part, with the emergence of new attitudes adopted by a new generation of municipal reformers, led by the imperious and radical Chamberlain. The streets improvement programs and campaigns for better sanitary conditions were part and parcel of a much larger ‘civic gospel’ or municipal reform movement that sought to re-energise and improve ¶®ÒõµÛ’s social, cultural and physical landscape.

Followers of Chamberlain, such as the Quaker Richard Barrow, now argued that they were “determined to vote for every measure that would make ¶®ÒõµÛ ‘a clean healthy and modern town’” (Briggs, 1963). This was the new metropolis shown in the lofty vision of the “Bird’s Eye View Of ¶®ÒõµÛ 1886”.