I walked down the ‘most beautiful street’ in Birmingham and realized I was missing something

There’s a street in Birmingham that always makes me smile. It’s an unassuming road with no shops or green spaces and it’s certainly not the first place that comes to mind when you think of our city.

But if a road could tell stories, Edmund Street would be full of them. Stand here looking at the buildings and you’ll see architecture so extravagant you might imagine you’ve been transported to France, Italy or New Orleans. And yet it’s just a stone’s throw from Colmore Row, Pigeon Park and the Great Western Arcade.

Beautiful porticos, beautiful balconies, ornate balustrades and elegant tiling make many of the buildings look more like places of worship. After running up and down this road countless times to and from work I decided to stop and wander around taking photos of the building names and plaques so I could go on a treasure trail to try to discover more about this fascinating place. . I’m not a history buff so I hit some red herrings and dead ends, but what I found made me fall in love with the area all over again.

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Coming out of Snow Hill Station, see The Old Contemptibles on the corner. This classic English boozer is named after the British Expeditionary Force which supported the German advance at Mons after Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered his men to exterminate the French ‘despicable little army’ – hence the nickname which also ended up on the medal Old Contemptibles from 1914. or the Mons Star you can see hanging outside the door.

Records suggest a pub has been on the site since the late 18th century when it was known as the Adelphi Wine Vaults, then the Albion Hotel. This is where ex-servicemen set up their own branch of the Despicable Old Association and used to meet. So in 1953 Birmingham brewery Mitchells and Butlers renamed the pub in their honour.

Hotel du Vin is on the corner of Edmund Street and Church Street, housed in the old Birmingham & Midland Eye Hospital. This four-story tall building has a gorgeous portico entrance that makes you feel like you could be in Italy. Its high pediment and projecting towers add to the grandeur. It’s hard to imagine that this building, opened in 1884, was created to house 70 eye patients at a cost of around £20,000, according to The Iron Room archives at the Library of Birmingham.

Many of the buildings here are rounded, such as the one that now houses the Urban cafe, and have interesting arches, such as at tapas bar Plates by Purnell, or grand doorways, such as Chamberlain House. There is a hidden courtyard if you look through the open door at Edmund Gardens.

Look for ornate windows and dormers, Victorian-style street lamps and decorative cornices, such as those on the bright white Maddox House, now the home of Benjamin Ryan Hair, whose window houses a dinosaur skull. This building was the White Swan pub and if you look carefully you will notice swans in the cornices. The house is named after Birmingham surrealist and innovator Conroy Ronald Maddox, and there is a black plaque bearing a quote from him about Surrealism’s “exploration, journey and struggle”.

Turn 180° and you’ll discover my favorite building on this beautiful street – the old Flower & Sons brewery now painted a crisp blue. Look for the stone flower in the arch above the door as a hint of years gone by. Opposite here, on the corner of Barwick Street, is the old ear and throat hospital, with its large black and white window above street level. Dating back to 1891, when it was a ‘root of tiny, high-ceilinged rooms’, this Grade II listed building is now the headquarters of Gateley Banking and Financial Services.

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Next door is Bushwackers nightclub. Housed in a red brick Victorian building that looks more like a church, if the walls could talk, there must be a lot of stories to tell here. And now, we come to the place that makes me feel like I could be at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The Florence pub, currently closed but soon to reopen, has three rows of ornate balconies and a four-story molded tower. You can rent an apartment in this red brick property, which dates back to 1895.

The modern, glass-fronted Asha’s is a stark contrast to the historic buildings in the area. A popular celebrity hangout, the likes of Tom Cruise, Pink, Jack Black and Ed Sheeran dined behind those bright orange curtains.

I love the fact that students attending Solent University and Birmingham Midland Institute get to feel like they’re stepping onto the set of a Harry Potter movie every time they go to school. Look at the huge roundel of branches and leaves, the multi-pitched roofs, the stone columns, the narrow arched windows and the grand entrances of this institute where Charles Dickens was president.

Across from here is a row of four red phone boxes in Eden Place (more on that in another story) and then glance left to see the revolving back door of the Council House, then look down to spy the end of the old tram tracks, still visible on the red block paved walkway.

An elaborate stone bridge links the Gas Hall to the picturesque Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which dates back to 1885 and is currently closed for refurbishment. This is where Edmund Street meets Chamberlain Square. Come back to enjoy the entire road in all its glory. And, remember as you go to look up to the heavens, because the greatest beauty of this road is up – something we so often miss when we’re upside down running around town.