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This article is about the British city. For the U.S. city named after it, see Birmingham, Alabama. For other uses, see Birmingham (disambiguation).
| City of Birmingham | |||
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| Nickname: "Brum", "Brummagem", "Second City", "Workshop of the World", "City of a Thousand Trades" | |||
| Motto: Forward | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
| Constituent country | England | ||
| Region | West Midlands | ||
| Ceremonial county | West Midlands | ||
| Admin HQ | Birmingham City Centre | ||
| Founded | 6th century | ||
| Municipal borough | 1838 | ||
| City | 1889 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Metropolitan borough | ||
| - Governing body | Birmingham City Council | ||
| - Lord Mayor | Randal Brew | ||
| - Council Leader | Mike Whitby (C) | ||
| - Council Control | Conservative / Liberal Democrat | ||
| - MPs | Richard Burden (L) Liam Byrne (L) John Hemming (LD) Dr Lynne Jones (L) Khalid Mahmood (L) Steve McCabe (L) Andrew Mitchell (C) Clare Short (IL) Siôn Simon (L) Gisela Stuart (L) |
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| Area | |||
| - Total | 103.4 sq mi (267.77 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 459 ft (140 m) | ||
| Population (2005 est.) | |||
| - Total | 1,006,500 (Ranked 1st) | ||
| - Density | 9,684/sq mi (3,739/km²) | ||
| - Conurbation | 2,284,093 | ||
| - Ethnicity (2005 estimatesNeighbourhood Statistics) | 67.8% White 3.1% Mixed 20.4% S.Asian 6.6% Black 1.1% Chinese 1.1% Other |
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| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | British Summer Time (UTC+1) | ||
| Postcode | B | ||
| Area code(s) | 0121 | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-BIR | ||
| ONS code | 00CN | ||
| OS grid reference | SP066868 | ||
| NUTS 3 | UKG31 | ||
| Website: www.birmingham.gov.uk | |||
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The quality of this article or section may be compromised by weasel words. You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. |
(2006 estimate).Table 8 Mid-2006 Population Estimates: Selected age groups for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population (xls). Office for National Statistics. It forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census)Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas. Office for National Statistics. and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.
The city\'s reputation was forged as a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, a fact which led to Birmingham being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades".Decline of the city of a thousand trades. Birmingham Mail (2006-04-17). Although Birmingham\'s industrial importance has declined, it has developed into a national commercial centre, being named as the third best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 21st best in Europe by Cushman & Wakefield in 2007.European Cities Monitor 2007 (pdf). Cushman & Wakefield. It is also the fourth most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK.International Visitors To Friendly Manchester Up 10%. Marketing Manchester (2007-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-11-27. In 1998, Birmingham hosted the G8 summit at the International Convention Centre and remains a popular location for conventions.NEC Group - Conference City. Locate Birmingham.
People from Birmingham are known as \'Brummies\', a term derived from the city\'s nickname of Brum. This comes in turn from the city\'s dialect name, Brummagem,Brummagem. Worldwidewords.com (2003-12-13). which is derived from one of the city\'s earlier names, \'Bromwicham\'. There is a distinctive Brummie dialect (distinct vocabulary and syntax) and accent, both of which differ from the adjacent Black Country.
Contents |
Birmingham started life in the 6th century as an Anglo-Saxon farming hamlet on the banks of the River Rea.Origins of Birmingham. Birmingham.gov.uk. The name \'Birmingham\' comes from "Beorma ingas ham", meaning "home of the people of Beorma."Birmingham or Brummagem?. Birmingham.gov.uk. Birmingham was first recorded in written documents by the Domesday Book of 1086 as a small village, worth only 20 shillings. There were many variations on this name. Bermingeham is another version.
In the 12th century, Birmingham was granted a royal charter to hold a market, which in time became known as the Bull Ring, transforming Birmingham from a village to a market town. As early as the 16th century, Birmingham\'s access to supplies of iron ore and coal meant that metalworking industries became established.Hugh Miller (1851). First Impressions of England and Its People. Gould and Lincoln.
By the time of the English Civil War in the 17th century Birmingham had become an important manufacturing town with a reputation for producing small arms. Arms manufacture in Birmingham became a staple trade and was concentrated in the area known as the Gun Quarter.A brief look at the heritage of the Bull\'s Head, Price Street. Virtual Brum. During the Industrial Revolution (from the mid-18th century onwards), Birmingham grew rapidly into a major industrial centre and the town prospered. During the 18th century, Birmingham was home to the Lunar Society, an important gathering of local thinkers and industrialists.History of Birmingham 2. BirminghamUK.
By the 1820s an extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources to fuel to industries. Railways arrived in Birmingham in 1837 with the arrival of the Grand Junction Railway, and a year later, the London and Birmingham Railway. During the Victorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a millionHistoric Population Of Birmingham. Birmingham.gov.uk. and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria.History of Mayoralty. Birmingham.gov.uk. The city established its own university in 1900.Inside the university. University of Birmingham.
The Victorian New Street Station
Birmingham was originally part of Warwickshire, but expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to the north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974. The people of Sutton Coldfield still consider themselves separate from Birmingham. At the same time Birmingham became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county. Up until 1986, the West Midlands County Council was based in Birmingham City Centre.
Birmingham suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II\'s "Birmingham Blitz", and the city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s.Signalling the Sixties: 1960s Architecture in Birmingham (pdf). Birmingham City Council Planning Department. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale in Erdington. The Bull Ring reconstructed and New Street station was redeveloped. In recent years, Birmingham has been transformed, with the construction of new squares like Centenary Square and Millennium Place. Old streets, buildings and canals have been restored, the pedestrian subways have been removed, and the Bull Ring shopping centre.Major Development. Birmingham.gov.uk. has been redeveloped further.
In the decades following The Second World War, the population of Birmingham changed dramatically, with immigration from the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond.Birmingham\'s Post War Black Immigrants. Birmingham.gov.uk. The population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents.
Birmingham is situated just to the west of the geographical centre of England on the Birmingham Plateau - an area of relatively high ground, ranging around 500 to 1,000 feet (150-300 m) above sea level and crossed by Britain\'s main north-south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent. To the south and west of the city lie the Lickey Hills,Lickey Hills Country Park. Birmingham.gov.uk. Clent Hills and Walton Hill, which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over the city. Birmingham is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England.
Geologically, Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston, the Bull Ring and Erdington, to Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Keuper Marl, interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of the Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole along with their tributaries.Victor Skipp (1987). The History of Greater Birmingham - down to 1830. Yardley, Birmingham: V. H. T. Skipp, 15. ISBN 0-9506998-0-2. Much of this would have been laid down during the Permian and Triassic eras.Susan Ashby (2007-12-10). The Geography of Birmingham. JPServicez Search Articles. Retrieved on 2007-12-24. To the north and west of the fault, varying from 150 to 600 feet (45-180 m) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harder Keuper Sandstone.The Growth of the City, A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham (1964), pp. 4-25. British History Online.Solid Geology - 1:250,000 scale (Source: British Geological Survey, NERC) (gif). Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden, whose former presence can still be felt in the city\'s dense oak tree-cover and in the large number of districts such as Moseley, Saltley and Hockley with names ending in "-ley": an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "woodland clearing".Forest of Arden.
The climate in Birmingham is a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 20°C (68°F); and in winter (January) is around 4.5°C (40°F). The weather is hardly extreme, however, there have been a few tornadoes in the area - the most recent being in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area.Birmingham Tornado 2005. Birmingham.gov.uk.
Global warming has affected Birmingham.[citation needed] Occasional summer heatwaves, such as the one experienced in July 2006 have become more common in recent years, and winters have become milder since the 1990s with snow becoming much less frequent. Similar to most other large cities, Birmingham has a considerable \'urban heat island\' effect.Inside Out: Living with global warming. BBC (2007-03-27). During the coldest night recorded in Birmingham (14 January, 1982), for example, the temperature fell to -20.8°C (-5.4°F) at Birmingham International Airport on the city\'s eastern edge, but just -12.9°C (8.8°F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre.Dennis Wheeler (1997). Regional Climates of the British Isles. Routledge. ISBN 0415139309. Relative to other large UK conurbations, Birmingham is a snowy city, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Snow showers often pass through the city via the Cheshire gap on North Westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North sea from North Easterly airstreams.
| Weather averages for Birmingham | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.0 (43) | 6.2 (43) | 8.9 (48) | 11.9 (53) | 15.3 (60) | 18.8 (66) | 20.6 (69) | 20.1 (68) | 17.6 (64) | 13.8 (57) | 9.2 (49) | 7.1 (45) | |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.3 (33) | 0.1 (32) | 1.5 (35) | 3.3 (38) | 6.0 (43) | 9.2 (49) | 11.1 (52) | 10.8 (51) | 8.8 (48) | 6.2 (43) | 2.9 (37) | 1.3 (34) | |
| Precipitation mm (inch) | 56 (2.2) | 48 (1.9) | 52 (2) | 48 (1.9) | 55 (2.2) | 57 (2.2) | 47 (1.9) | 67 (2.6) | 54 (2.1) | 53 (2.1) | 59 (2.3) | 66 (2.6) | |
| Source: United Nations World Meteorological OrganizationWeather Information for Birmingham (English). UN World Meteorological Organization. 2007-08-26 | |||||||||||||
See also: The Black Country.
| Religion | Percentage of population |
|---|---|
| Buddhist | 0.3% |
| Christian | 59.1% |
| Hindu | 2% |
| Jewish | 0.2% |
| Muslim | 14.3% |
| Sikh | 2.9% |
| No religion | 12.4% |
| No answer | 8.4% |
Birmingham is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. In 2005 the ONS estimated that 67.8% of the population was White (including 2.7% Irish & 2.1% Other White), 20.4% Asian or Asian British, 6.6% Black or Black British, 1.1% Chinese, 3.1% of mixed race and 1.1% of other ethnic heritage.Regional Population Estimates by Ethnic Group. ONS. 16.5% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom.
The population density is 9,451 inhabitants per square mile (3,649/km²) compared to the 976.9 inhabitants per square mile (377.2/km²) for England. Females represented 51.6% of the population whilst men represented 48.4%. More women were 70 or over.2001 Population Census: Gender Profiles (pdf). Birmingham City Council. 60.4% of the population was aged between 16 and 74, compared to 66.7% in England as a whole.2001 Census of Population: Key Findings. Birmingham.gov.uk.
60.4% of households were found to be owner occupied and 27.7% were rented from either the city council, housing association or other registered social landlord. The remaining 11.8% of households were rented privately or lived rent free.
The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is the main art gallery and museum in Birmingham. It has renowned displays of artwork that include a leading collection of work by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the world\'s largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones. The group also owns other museums in the city such as Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and Sarehole Mill, a popular attraction for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien. Thinktank in the Eastside is one of the newest museums in the city. The Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city.Back to back in Birmingham (pdf). Birmingham City Council.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is both an art gallery and concert hall. It also has one of the world\'s most detailed and largest coin collections.The Coin Room. Barber Institute. Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and the company.
There are over 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of parkland open spaces in Birmingham.Parks and Nature Conservation. Birmingham City Council. The largest of the parks is Sutton Park covering 2,400 acres (970 ha) making it the largest urban nature reserve in Europe.Introduction to Sutton Park. Birmingham City Council. Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a Victorian creation, with a conservatory and bandstand, close to the city centre. The Winterbourne Botanic Garden, maintained by the University of Birmingham, is also located close to the city centre. Woodgate Valley Country Park is in Bartley Green and Quinton.
The city centre consists of numerous public squares including Centenary Square, Chamberlain Square and Victoria Square. The historic Old Square is located on Corporation Street. Rotunda Square and St Martin\'s Square are two of the newest squares in Birmingham, being located within the Bullring Shopping Centre. Brindleyplace also consists of three squares.
St Philip\'s Cathedral from the rear
Due to Birmingham\'s diverse population, there is a diverse variety of religious buildings in the city. St Philip\'s was upgraded from church to cathedral status in 1905. Another cathedral in the city is St Chad\'s, which is the seat of the Roman Catholic Province of Birmingham. St Martin in the Bull Ring is a Grade II* listed church. There is also a variety of non-Christian religions in the city. In the 1960s, Birmingham Central Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Europe, was constructed for the Muslim community of the city.Birmingham Central Mosque. BBC Birmingham Faith. However, during the late 1990s a mosque in the Sparkhill area close to the city centre was re-developed in partnership with the Birmingham City Council to supersede the Birmingham Central Mosque as the largest Mosque in the city. It holds a larger capacity and a fully functional segregated women\'s section. As its centrepiece is a dome. The new mosque is generally home to the Kashmiri-Pakistani population which made Birmingham its home during the late 1960s.
See also: Religion in Birmingham.
Colmore Row in Birmingham\'s Business District.
Although Birmingham grew to prominence as a manufacturing and engineering centre, its economy today is dominated by the service sector, which in 2003 accounted for 78% of the city\'s economic output and 97% of its economic growth.NUTS3 Gross Value Added (GVA) (1995-2003) Tables (xls). Office for National Statistics.
Data on sheet NUTS34, line 339
Two of Britain\'s "big four" banks were founded in Birmingham - Lloyds Bank (now Lloyds TSB) in 1765The History of Lloyds Bank. Lloyd\'s TSB. and the Midland Bank (now HSBC Bank plc) in 1836HSBC History (The HSBC Group in Europe) (pdf). HSBC. - and today the city employs 108,000 in banking, finance and insurance.Local Authority Profile: Birmingham. Office for National Statistics, Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics (Annual Business Inquiry Employee Analysis 2004). In 2007, Cushman & Wakefield stated that Birmingham was the third best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 21st best in Europe.
Tourism is also an increasingly important part of the local economy. With major facilities such as the International Convention Centre and National Exhibition Centre the Birmingham area accounts for 42% of the UK conference and exhibition trade. The city\'s sporting and cultural venues attract large numbers of visitors.
The Jaguar XF, made by Jaguar Cars at Castle Bromwich.
With an annual turnover of £2.2bn, Birmingham city centre is the UK\'s second largest retail centre,Comparison Expenditure CACI Retail Footprint 2005. CACI. with the country\'s busiest shopping centre - the Bullring"UK\'s busiest shopping centre", Birmingham Post, Birmingham Post and Mail Ltd, 2004-09-03. Retrieved on 2008-02-03. - and the largest department store outside London - House of Fraser on Corporation Street.The 10 largest UK Stores, 1998. Corporate Intelligence on Retailing - Other - Tesco Overtakes Sainsburys Overall. propertymall.com (1998-05-05). Retrieved on 2008-02-03. The City also has one of only four Selfridges department stores, and the second largest branch of Debenhams in the country.
Despite the decline of manufacturing in the city several significant industrial plants remain, including Jaguar Cars in Castle Bromwich and Cadbury Trebor Bassett in Bournville, also the Aston Martin headquarters and manafacturing estate is just outside the city. Birmingham is also home of the Brylcreem boys of the seventies and Brylcreem is a number of many large or multinational companies founded or based in Birmingham.
Although the city has seen economic growth greater than the national average in the 21st centuryNUTS3 Gross Value Added (GVA) (1995-2003) Tables (xls). Office for National Statistics.
Data on sheet NUTS33, line 102 the benefits have been uneven, with commuters from the surrounding area obtaining many of the more skilled jobs. The two parliamentary constituencies with the highest unemployment rates in the UK - Ladywood and Sparkbrook and Small Heath - are both in inner-city Birmingham.Local area labour markets: statistical indicators - Parliamentary Constituency tables (Unemployment Rate January 2005 to December 2005) (xls). Office for National Statistics. Growth has also added to stresses on the city\'s transport. Many major roads and the central New Street railway station operate over capacity at peak times.
Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in the UK and the largest council in Europe.Birmingham City Council. Business Objects Customers.
Statement under "Local Service Management Devolved to the Districts" It has 120 councillors representing 40 wards.Constituencies and Wards. Birmingham.gov.uk. No single party is in overall control and the council is run by a Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition. Birmingham\'s eleven parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons by one Conservative, one Liberal Democrat, one Independent Labour and eight Labour MPs.Members of Parliament. Birmingham.gov.uk.
Birmingham City Council operates all aspects of the city\'s workings through it planning and leisure services. The council deals with all planning applications as well as adding designations for locally listed buildings.What is a locally listed building?. Birmingham.gov.uk.
Law enforcement in Birmingham is carried out by the West Midlands Police, fire and rescue by the West Midlands Fire Service and ambulatory care by the West Midlands Ambulance Service. Birmingham is also the seat of the Government Office for the West Midlands region.Birmingham And Regional Planning. Birmingham.gov.uk.
Due in part to its inland central location, Birmingham is a major transport hub on the motorway, rail, and canal networks.Canals in Birmingham - Birmingham.gov.uk The city is served by a number of major motorways and probably the most famous motorway junction in the UK: Spaghetti Junction.Spaghetti Junction. Birmingham.gov.uk.
Over the coming months, National Express will be moving their UK headquarters to the City, alongside the newly developed Digbeth Coach Station, which forms the national hub of the company\'s coach network.
Birmingham International Airport, located in the Borough of Solihull to the east of Birmingham, is the UK\'s sixth largest airport, third largest for charter traffic and has the second highest proportion of business traffic, behind London Heathrow.About Birmingham International Airport. Birmingham International Airport.
Local public transport is by bus, local train and tram. The number 11A and 11C outer circle bus routes are the longest urban bus routes in Europe. Bus routes are mainly operated by Travel West Midlands, which accounts for over 80% of all bus journeys in Birmingham, however, there are around 50 other, smaller registered bus companies.Bus Services. Centro. The extensive bus network allows passengers to travel to and from various districts of the city, while there are longer bus routes which take passengers to areas further afield such as Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Halesowen, Stourbridge and the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The only towns in the West Midlands conurbation that currently lack a direct bus link with Birmingham are Tipton, Sedgley, Kingswinford, Wednesfield and Willenhall.
The city\'s main railway station, Birmingham New Street, is at the centre of the national railway network. Birmingham Snow Hill station, another major railway station in the city centre, is also a terminus for the Midland Metro which operates between the station and Wolverhampton, also serving the nearby towns of Bilston, Wednesbury and West Bromwich.Travelmetro.co.uk. Centro. There are plans to extend the Midland Metro route further into Birmingham city centre.The Midland Metro (Birmingham City Centre Extension, etc.) Order 2005. Office of Public Sector Information (2005). Birmingham has a large rail-based park and ride network that feeds the city centre.
Birmingham is also notable for its expansive canal system which fed the industry in the city during the Industrial Revolution.
The city council is England\'s largest local education authority, directly or indirectly responsible for 25 nursery schools, 328 primary schools, 77 secondary schoolsBirmingham City Council Primary and Secondary. Birmingham Grid for Learning (BGfL). and 29 special schools.Birmingham City Council Special Needs Schools. Birmingham Grid for Learning (BGfL). It also runs the library service, with 4 million visitors annually,Facts about Birmingham Library Service. Birmingham.gov.uk. and provides around 4,000 adult education courses throughout the year.Birmingham Adult Education Service. Birmingham.gov.uk. The main library is Central Library and there are 41 local libraries in Birmingham, plus a regular mobile library service.Birmingham Mobile Library Service. Birminghamm.gov.uk.
Most of Birmingham\'s state schools are community schools run directly by Birmingham City Council in its role as local education authority (LEA). However, there are a large number of voluntary aided schools within the state system. King Edward\'s School is perhaps the most prestigious independent school in the city. The seven schools of The King Edward VI Foundation are known nationally for setting very high academic standards and all the schools consistently achieve top positions in national league tables.Grammar Schools of King Edward the Sixth. The Grammar Schools of King Edward the Sixth in Birmingham.
Sutton Coldfield College merged with North Birmingham College in 2003 and Josiah Mason College in 2006 to form one of the largest further education colleges in the country.Sutton Coldfield College. Matthew Boulton College is also located in the city and in 2005, the Eastside branch of the college was completed and opened. Joseph Chamberlain College is the only sixth form college in Birmingham and Solihull to have been awarded both Beacon Status and an overall OFSTED grade 1 (Outstanding).Joseph Chamberlain College.
Birmingham is home to three universities and two university colleges: Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Newman University CollegeNaqvi, Shahid (September 7 2007). City college wins right to grant degrees. Birmingham Post. and University College Birmingham.A New Year and a new name for the College.. University College Birmingham. Retrieved on 2008-01-07. The Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting, both now part of Birmingham City University, offer higher education in specific arts subjects. BCU opened the New Technology Institute facility in the Eastside area in 2006.College gets new bite of Apple. Birmingham Post (2006-03-21).
West Midlands Police serves Birmingham and the West Midlands county. The headquarters are located at Lloyd House in the city centre of Birmingham. Birmingham has been the location for many high profile incidents such as the 31 January 2007 Birmingham raid, New Year Murders and more historically, the Birmingham pub bombings.
Crime figures for 2006/ 2007 showed that Birmingham was above the English average in all fields.Crime figures for Birmingham. UpMyStreet. Of the eight major cities in the country (Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol), Birmingham has the lowest crime rate.Crime in Birmingham. United Streets of Birmingham.
In an attempt to reduce crime in the city, a Crime and Disorder Partnership has been established in the city, the largest of its kind in the country.Birmingham\'s Crime & Disorder Audit - Summary for Consultation 2005 (pdf). Birmingham Crime Safety Partnership. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. The partnerships work in developing five neighbourhood based community safety projects in Birmingham was recognised when it was awarded first prize at the European Community Safety Awards in December 2004. Crime rates are particularly high in areas such as Aston, Handsworth, Small Heath and Bordesley Green.
| Crime | Birmingham average (per 1,000 of the population) | Manchester average (per 1,000 of the population) | Bristol average (per 1,000 of the population) | English average (per 1,000 of the population) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence against a person | 26.3 | 32.7 | 32.0 | 16.7 |
| Robbery offences | 5.0 | 8.3 | 3.8 | 1.2 |
| Theft of vehicle offences | 5.3 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 2.9 |
| Theft from vehicles | 11.1 | 25.5 | 21.4 | 7.6 |
| Sexual offences | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 |
| Burglary | 7.9 | 16.5 | 10.4 | 4.3 |
The NIA has hosted many national and international sporting championships.
The city has played an important part in the history of sport. It was the first city to be named National City of Sport by the Sports Council.Birmingham - \'The National City of Sport\'. BBC Where I Live.
Birmingham: European City Of Sport. Concept2. It is home to two of the country\'s oldest professional football teams: Aston Villa (1874) and Birmingham City (1875). Aston Villa won club football\'s most coveted prize, the European Cup, in 1982. The Birmingham derby is an event in which the two football clubs play against each other. Aston Villa have won 41 matches as opposed to Birmingham City\'s 36 match wins.
Birmingham is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, whose Edgbaston ground also hosts test matches. The venue was the scene of the highest ever score by a batsman, when Brian Lara scored 501 not out for Warwickshire.Alumni - Brian Lara. Warwickshire County Cricket Club. International track and field meetings take place at Alexander Stadium, the home of Birchfield Harriers which has many international athletes amongst its members. The National Indoor Arena (NIA), opened in 1991The NIA., is a major indoor athletics venue, hosting the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships and 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships as well as many WWE wrestling events.
The first ever game of lawn tennis was played by Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera in Edgbaston between 1859 and 1865Lawn Tennis and Major T. H. Gem. Birmingham Civic Society. and ATP international tennis is still played at Edgbaston\'s Priory Club.Steve Beauchampe (2006). Played in Birmingham. Malavan Media. ISBN 0-9547445-1-9.
Birmingham\'s Sporting Heritage. Birmingham.gov.uk. Birmingham also has a professional Rugby Union side, Moseley RFC, who play at Billesley Common, and there is professional basketball team, Birmingham Panthers, as well as professional boxing, hockey, skateboarding, stock-car racing, greyhound racing and speedway in the city.
Birmingham based breweries included Ansells, Davenports and Mitchells & Butlers.Birmingham Breweries. Midlands Pubs.co.uk. Aston Manor Brewery is currently the only brewery of any significant size. Many fine Victorian pubs and bars can still be found across the city. The oldest inn in Birmingham is the Old Crown in Deritend (circa 1450). The city has a plethora of nightclubs and bars, notably along Broad Street.BID Broad Street.
The Wing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its
