The latter contains a fine church, constructed of white freestone, and dedicated to St. Michael.

THE FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, situated in New Street, is justly regarded as one of the chief architectural ornaments of Birmingham. It was founded in 1552 by Edward VI., who endowed it with the possessions of the ancient Guild of the Holy Cross, which had come to the crown at the dissolution. The first building, composed of wood and plaster, was taken down in 1707; but that by which it was displaced falling into decay, an Act of Parliament was obtained by the governors to rebuild it, and extend the usefulness of the foundation by the establishment of branch schools in various parts of the town. Accordingly the present edifice was commenced in 1834. It was erected from the plans of Mr. (now Sir Charles) Barry, in the decorated Elizabethan style, which he has since employed in the New Palace at Westminster. The cost of the building, furnishings, etc., amounted, it is said, to £67,000. It is quadrangular in form, extending 174 feet in front, and 125 in the flanks. The height is 60 feet. The material of which it is constructed is Derbyshire stone, the elaborate carvings, which it is so capable of receiving, giving it a peculiarly rich effect. The head master's salary is £400 a year; but there are additional emoluments derived from fees which may make his salary amount to £1000. The second master's fixed salary is £300. with corresponding additions; and there are under masters at lower salaries. Ten exhibitions of £50 a year each, for four years, at either of the universities, are attached to the school. About 470 boys are educated here. The late head master of the Grammar School was advanced to the bishopric of Manchester. In the branch schools on this foundation about 600 boys, and as many girls, receive an elementary education.

THE QUEEN'S COLLEGE is in Paradise Street, near the Town Hall. It somewhat resembles the Grammar School in style, but is less extensive and magnificent. It was incorporated by royal charter in 1843; and chiefly owes its origin to the munificence of two individuals, W. Sands Cox, Esq., F.R.S., and the Rev. S. Wilson Warneford, LL.D. It was founded to provide instruction for young men in medicine and surgery, civil architecture and engineering, and theology. Medical students are qualified by its lectures for becoming candidates for the medical degrees of the University of London, the diplomas of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, London

and Edinburgh, and the license of the Society of Apothecaries. Students of this college have also the privilege of presenting themselves for examination for the B.A. degree of the University of London. The theological department is under the patronage of the bishop of the diocese, and prepares students for ordination.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHOOL OF DESIGN is a very important institution, having for its object the fostering of that taste in workmen and designers, which is necessary for the blending of the beautiful with the useful in manufactures. It is situated in New Street. The style of the building is Grecian. It has in front a portico, supported by lofty fluted columns, with rich capitals. It was opened in 1843, under the auspices of Government; and now receives a public grant of £600 annually. This school is now regarded as the largest and most important of the kind in the kingdom. The number of pupils is upwards of 500.

Birmingham possesses many charitable institutions. Our space will not admit of even a simple enumeration of them. The General Hospital, finished in 1779, and enlarged in 1791, is a noble institution, established for the relief of the suffering poor of the town and neighbourhood. It is an extensive and appropriate building constructed of brick. The number of patients admitted annually is nearly 3000; while the number visited in their own dwellings is about 14,000. The triennial musical festivals in aid of this admirable institution are well known. They are held in the Town Hall, last three days, and usually bring a profit of from four to five thousand pounds. This institution is situated in Summer Lane. The Queen's Hospital, a large and elegant structure, is another institution of the same kind. It is situated in Bath Row, and receives 2000 in-patients annually, nearly 7000 out-patients being visited in the same time. Besides the above there are several institutions founded for purposes of a similarly benevolent nature.

THE CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION, in New Street, is a large and very elegant building in the Italian style, consisting of a centre and wings. The centre, which is 120 feet long, projects 20 feet from the wings, and is four storeys high. The lower storey is constructed of Derbyshire stone, the rest of the building of white brick. The lower storey is an arcade, and along with the other parts of the building exhibits much correctness and taste in its various details. The building in

cludes a hotel and fine refreshment room, as well as the usual offices. The arrangements of the interior are admirable. The roof is a triumph of art. "There stretches, from pillar to pillar, a semicircular roof, 1100 feet long, 212 feet wide, and 80 feet high, composed of iron and glass, without the slightest support except that afforded by the pillars on either side." The arches of iron that span the space from pillar to pillar weigh about 25 tons each. The glass of the roof is said to weigh 115 tons, and the iron at least 1400 tons. The roof was constructed by the well-known firm of Fox, Henderson, and Co.

PARKS.-There are few, if any, of our great manufacturing towns which stand more in need of parks than Birmingham-the metropolis of labour, where smoke is indigenous, and all vegetation exotic and rare. A short time since, Mr. Adderley, M.P., made the borough a present of about thirty acres of ground, situated at the north side of the town. This was the first step towards ventilating the growing manufacturing centre, with its streets of clanging workshops, and firmament of smoke, amid which even the innumerable chimney tops are lost in obscurity. The example has been followed by Lord Calthorpe, who, in furnishing the town with its new lung on the south side, bas outdone even Mr. Adderley. The piece of ground which his Lordship presented, though not larger than the first gift, is on the whole a better piece of land, and one which, from its local position, is more likely to be popular and frequented. To the gift was attached a condition which none can object to, namely, if the park be not used by the people after a fair lapse of time, the property will remain under his Lordship's control; if, on the other hand, it become, as it undoubtedly will become, a source of amusement and healthy recreation to the townspeople, the land will be the property of the borough totally and for evermore. To inaugurate this liberal gift the Duke of Cambridge visited the hardware metropolis on the 1st of June 1857, and went through a ceremony which had long been looked forward to by the townspeople.*

Among other public buildings of interest may be mentioned The Theatre in New Street, unsurpassed by any provincial establishment, and the Music Hall, Broad Street, recently opened. Ample provision is further made for amusement and instruction in the Vauxhall and Botanical Gardens, and in the various public Libraries, News Rooms, and Museums. *This notice of the Parks is taken from The Times, June 2, 1857.

Six newspapers are published in Birmingham- Aris's Gazette, established 1741, weekly; the Birmingham Journal, 1825, twice a week; Midland Counties Herald, 1836, weekly; Mercury, 1848, daily and weekly; and the Press, daily.

THE MANUFACTORIES of Birmingham form its great attraction. These are so numerous and extensive that it would require an entire handbook to do them justice. Our space will not allow of more than a brief reference to some of the most important of them. The manufactures of Birming ham date from a very early period: for we find Leland, who wrote in the reign of Henry VIII., saying, "There be many smithes in the towne, that use to make knives and all manner of cuttinge tooles, and many lorimers that make bittes, and a great many naylours; so that a great part of the town is maintained by smithes, who have their iron and sea coal out of Staffordshire." Hutton is even of opinion that the Britons were supplied with their implements of war and husbandry from the black artists of the Birmingham forge, long before the landing of Cæsar;" but this, though not improbable, is necessarily only a matter of conjecture. Swords were manufactured in great numbers in the reign of Charles I. We have already stated that the manufacture of gilded ornaments originated at the Restoration, and that of guns in the reign of William III. From that period the manufactures of Birmingham increased in number and extent; and at the present moment its manufactures, whether for variety, or value, or quantity, are unequalled in the world. The excellence of the manufactures of Birmingham was sufficiently shown at the local Exposition of 1849, and again at the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was the Birmingham Exposition of 1849 which suggested to Prince Albert the idea of an exhibition of the products of the industry of all nations. The Crystal Palace, in which the latter exhibition was held, and many of its most prominent ornaments and articles of usefulness and elegance, were the production of Birmingham.

We believe there is on the part of most of the manufacturers a readiness to oblige tourists by affording them liberty to inspect their establishments.

BUTTON MAKING is one of the earliest manufactures; at least it is that which in earlier times contributed most to the prosperity of the town. Immense fortunes have been made in the button trade, one eminent manufacturer having acknowledged that by a single improvement he realized £40,000. Buttons are made of brass, copper, steel, pewter,

cloth, glass, pearl, horn, shell, bone, wood, and porcelain. The gilt button has gone almost entirely out of use. Formerly it employed thousands of persons; and it is stated that John Taylor, who was the first to embark largely in its manufacture, and died in 1775, acquired a fortune of £200,000. This trade is still carried on at the manufactory of Hammond, Turner, and Co., Snow Hill, where other varieties of buttons, of great beauty, are produced. Allen and Moore, Great Hampton Row, produce metal buttons of beautiful designs in great quantities. Their medals, too, of which they produce considerable numbers, are finely executed. The extensive manufactory of Elliott and Sons, Regent Street, sends forth millions of the Florentine or cloth button annually. There also are produced linen buttons, military and sporting buttons, etc. Among other establishments, the following deserve to be noticed:-William Kirby, Whitby Place, Summer Lane (hooks, eyes, and buttons); Banks and Hammond, Summer Row (pearl and bone buttons); and Mr. Brisband, Howard Street (pearl and bone buttons).

SWORD AND GUN MAKING. This is an important branch of the trade of Birmingham. Swords were made here from a very early period-as early as the time of the Britons Hutton thinks. It has been already mentioned that Birmingham supplied Cromwell's soldiers with 15,000 swords. In the various wars in which the country has been engaged, Birmingham has always had to supply swords and bayonets in immense numbers to carry on the work of death. The sword manufacture of Birmingham is, we believe, carried on in its greatest excellence and extent in the manufactory of Charles Reeves and Co., Toledo Works, Charlotte Street. Other important manufactories of this kind are those of Harvey, Albert Works, Glover Street; Male, Broad Street; and Sargent, Edmund Street.

Guns and pistols are made in great quantities; and there are numerous establishments engaged in their manufacture. Every description of guns and pistols seems to be made at the establishment of J. Townsend, Sand Street. Other extensive producers of fire-arms are Cooper and Co., Woodcock Street; Bentley and Playfair, Summer Lane; Swinburn and Son, Russell Street; and Holles and Sheath, St. Mary's Square. The sporting guns of Westley, Richards, and Co., High Street, are universally known and appreciated. It is stated that Birmingham produces 3000 Minie rifles weekly.

In connection with the gun trade, the Gun Barrel Proof House, in Banbury Street, Digbeth, deserves to be noticed.