As a part of our university experience we – three University of Birmingham final-year students – were given the opportunity of a placement module to gain work experience and acquire skills which could help us find jobs upon graduating.
During the last three months, we’ve got involved in the life of BPHA. We helped with cataloguing and scanning archival materials, but also supported events in which BPHA took part.
For one event, the Midland Ancestors Local and Family History Fair, we chose objects as representative of the archive. One of them, Our Birmingham: The Birmingham of Our Forefathers and the Birmingham of Our Grandsons dated 1943 particularly interested me.
Our Birmingham… is a rare book which describes the history and development of Birmingham starting from the Middle Ages, focusing particularly on the period between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. It is a great introduction to the history of the city itself, to the processes of growth and expansion of the city’s borders, and to the lives of Birmingham’s inhabitants. The book provides a clear overview of the most important historical events and processes. It deals with subjects such as education, the industrial revolution, housing, and urban planning.
Personally, what I like most is not only the book’s simplicity and brevity, but also its maps and illustrations. A map that particularly caught my attention was one demonstrating how Birmingham grew, showing its borders and built-up areas from 1650 to 1939. For a UoB student living in Selly Oak, it’s fascinating to discover that it wasn’t until 1880–1911 that areas such as Selly Oak were incorporated into the city boundaries.
Another illustration worth viewing is a graphic print showing the 1886 Birmingham city centre with a view of Chamberlain Square. In the background, hundreds of factory chimneys recall the industrial revolution and the developments and changes which have formed today’s Birmingham.
Karolina M., November 2022
Birmingham People's History Archive 
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