Chamberlain Square

Statues and monuments

• Chamberlain Memorial – In honour of the public service Joseph Chamberlain gave to the city of Birmingham, the memorial fountain was unveiled in his presence on 10 October 1880 as the centrepiece of the new public square. The 20 m high memorial was designed by John Henry Chamberlain (no relation).
• Statue of Joseph Priestley, which was originally located in Victoria Square (then called Council House Square).
• Statue of James Watt, which was originally located on Paradise Street next to the Town Hall.
• Statue of Thomas Attwood by Sioban Coppinger and Fiona Peever, 1993. The bronze statue sits, having left his plinth, and scattered his bronze pages, on the steps.

The annual Birmingham Christmas Craft Fair is held in Chamberlain Square from the third Friday in November to 23 December. The event began in 1997 as "Winterval", held from 20 November to 31 December, with the intention of attracting business into Birmingham's newly rejuvenated city centre.

Chamberlain Square was the original site of Birmingham's BBC Big Screen, where it was situated until September 2007.

Paradise Circus development

As part of the Paradise Circus development by Argent Group the square was re-landscaped and surrounding buildings demolished including the brutalist Birmingham Central Library and Paradise Forum (beneath the former reference library). In 2014 landscape architects, Grant Associates were awarded the contract to design the new public realm. The square reopened in March 2021 as the final part of the first phase of the £700m Paradise scheme following its closure in November 2015, the square was transformed with new paving, steps and lighting. Two commercial buildings, One Chamberlain Square and Two Chamberlain Square, totalling 350,000 sq ft of space, now face onto the square and form the commercial part of Phase One of Paradise.

Photo gallery

File:Chamberlain Memorial Birmingham.jpg|Chamberlain Memorial File:Chamberlain Square Statue Priestley.jpg|Joseph Priestley File:James Watt - Statue - Birmingham - 2005-10-13.jpg|James Watt File:Thomas Attwood on the steps.jpg|Thomas Attwood, empty plinth, and scattered bronze pages on steps File:Birmingham in 1886.jpg|Chamberlain Square in 1886 File:Chamberlain Square, Birmingham April 2007.jpg|The square prior to development File:Chamberlain Square July 2016.jpg|During redevelopment, July 2016 File:One Chamberlain Square (1).jpg|One Chamberlain Square File:Chamberlain Square.jpg|Two Chamberlain Square

Sources

References

1. (2021-03-31). "Chamberlain Square re-opens at Paradise {{!}} TheBusinessDesk.com".
2. Birmingham City Council "Winterval" brochure
3. "Big Screen". [[BBC Birmingham]].
4. (13 March 2014). "Future for Paradise Circus becomes clear at MIPIM 2014". [[Birmingham Post]].