The market has been an important feature of
Birmingham since the
Middle Ages . The market began in the year
1154 when
Peter De Birmingham a local landowner, obtained a royal charter. Initially a cattle and food market, it developed into the main retail market area for Birmingham as the town grew into a modern industrial city.
In
1809 , a statue was erected to the memory of
Lord Nelson . It was sculpted by
Richard Westmacott and still stands, near to its original site, albeit on a
1960s plinth.
In
1964 the 'new' Birmingham Bull Ring Centre was constructed, a mixture of traditional open-air market stalls and a new indoor shopping centre, one of the first of its kind in the UK. The 1960s Bull Ring Centre was very much a product of its time. At the time of its opening it was considered the height of modernity, but unfortunately it did not age well and soon became generally regarded as an unfortunate example of
1960s Brutalist architecture, with its boxy grey
Concrete design and lack of
Air Conditioning , and its isolation within ringroads connected only by dangerous subways. It was, in later days, much disliked by the public.
The
1960s Bull Ring Centre was demolished in
2000 , and has been replaced by a new design, mixing both traditional market activity with up-to-the-minute retail units. A new indoor
Shopping Centre , the "Bullring" (as the commercial entity is branded) opened in September
2003 and features a dramatic new landmark building, a branch of
Selfridges department store. The latter is a novel, futuristic design from the
Future Systems architectural practice, clad in 15,000 shiny aluminium discs.
It is part of the
Birmingham Redevelopment Plan .
One surviving component of the 1960s development is the adjacent
Rotunda .
In the new Bullring's first year in service, it recorded 36.5 million visitors, making it the most visited shopping centre outside the
West End Of London . This exceeded even the most optimistic predictions, and for the Bullring's supporters has justified the £530 million cost of building it. The new Bullring is now one of Europe's largest city centre shopping centres.
