ThePullenCount.com

Herbert Manzoni isn’t exactly a household name—unless your nan's house was knocked down to make way for a ring road. But there’s no denying the mark he left on the city.  Born in 1899, Manzoni trained as a civil engineer before becoming Birmingham’s City Engineer in 1935 and Planning Officer in 1938. With war damage, traffic chaos, and outdated housing pressing down on the city, he saw a rare opportunity to start over. “ Herbert always had a ruler in one hand and the future in the other.” — Charles Bird, Assistant Engineer, Birmingham City Council (1971) Manzoni believed in mobility, efficiency, and clean modern living. Victorian Birmingham, with its cramped back-to-backs and narrow streets, didn’t meet his brief. During his tenure as Birmingham City Engineer and Surveyor (1935–1963), and with housing a major focus of urban redevelopment, he spearheaded some of the most significant and controversial projects in Birmingham’s modern history. His belief that "The slum cannot be...

Strolled down to Highbury Hall: This grade II listed Gothic manor house was the home and political power base of one of modern Birmingham's founding fathers; Joseph Chamberlain, the politician, industrialist (instrumental in the founding of industrial giant GKN), mayor of Birmingham, father of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Austen, and the only Tory (well, he was until this death, after splitting both of the major parties) that I have (grudging) respect for, apart from one time Moseley resident Kenneth Clarke (jazz, cigars) and John Major (Maastricht, boning Edwina Currie).  The house, built in 1880, was his home until his death in 1914. During that time, he held positions including President of The Board Of Trade under Gladstone, Colonial Secretary under Balfour; a period in which he became dominant in British politics, supported the founding of the London School of Tropical Medicine in 1899, and instigated the Boer War....

I've just returned home from visiting my parents, and amongst the random items my mum gave me was a piece of work written by me in 1989 to commemorate the Centenary of Birmingham.  Here it is, in complete form.

Moseley Prefabs. Craig's Birmz History chat. The Moseley prefabs in Wake Green Road. Although they may not look much by today's standards, the pre-fabricated house represented an improvement in living conditions for their inhabitants, many of whom had been housed in crumbling, unsanitary Victorian tenements, or left homeless when the Luftwaffe dropped bare bombs all over Birmz.  The Temporary Housing Act, designed to address the chronic post-war housing shortage, saw some 4,000 prefabs built in Birmz, along with many other thousands across the UK.  The style here is known as The Phoenix; each prefab was heated, with indoor plumbing and bathrooms, and fitted with the latest labour saving devices.  More often than not, the labour to build them was provided by German and Italian prisoners of war. 16 of the 17 in Wake Green Rd prefabs are Grade II listed; some are still occupied, and there is an ongoing project to restore them.