Suburban Birmingham Tour
Suburban Birmingham Tour
Saturday 29 October 2022
Start time/Place: 10.30 am/Birmingham International Railway Station
Finish time/Place: 5pm/Birmingham New Street Station
Andy Foster, author of the Pevsner Birmingham City Guide, will lead a tour of suburban Birmingham. He will focus on 1960s housing and the stunning 1960s churches by Richard Gilbert Scott in outer Birmingham.
We start with two Roman Catholic churches both by Richard Gilbert Scott (1923-2017) of Giles Gilbert Scott & Partners. St Thomas More, Sheldon, 1968-70, listed grade II. The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Tile Cross, 1966-7, listed 1999 and upgraded to II* in 2016. Scott was the fourth generation of a famous dynasty of architects and his obituary by Gavin Stamp was in the C20 Magazine Issue 2017/2 p70. We next visit Shard End, of 1947-55, perhaps the city's most interesting estate, by a group of good local architects working as the Shard End Panel.
In the afternoon we will visit west Birmingham, to see developments of the 1960s in Edgbaston including Cala Drive and Highpoint, by John Madin. Followed by Metchley Grange, a good municipal estate in Harborne of 1964-7, and look at the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house of 1955 by Robert Townsend. We will finish at St David, Shenley Green, a Brutalist church of 1970 by Peter Carrick of Bournville Trust Architects.
Andy Foster is a building historian who was born and still lives in Birmingham. He is author of the Pevsner city guide to Birmingham (2005) and the full-size Pevsner to Birmingham and the Black Country (2022).
C20 Society Members: £ 38 Non-members: £48
Includes coach travel but not lunch - please bring a packed lunch.
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The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.
The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Above: Our Lady Help of Christians,1966-7, Richard Gilbert Scott Photograph: Barbour Product Search