Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square

Town square

A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...

 in central Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 , named after Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....

.

Its features include:

• Birmingham Central Library
  Birmingham Central Library
  Birmingham Central Library is the main public library in Birmingham, England, and the largest non-national library in Europe. It is managed by Birmingham City Council...
  
  
• Paradise Forum (beneath the reference library)
• Birmingham Council House (side elevation)
• Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
  Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
  Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...
  
  
• Birmingham Town Hall
  Birmingham Town Hall
  Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed concert and meeting venue in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It was created as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival established in 1784, the purpose of which was to raise funds for the General Hospital, after St Philip's Church became...
  
   (rear elevation)
• Big Brum
  Big Brum
  Big Brum is the local name for the clock tower on the Council House, Birmingham, England. The clock tower is sufficiently important in the public consciousness of Birmingham people that it has a name. Brum is the local term for the town, the people and the dialect. The name refers to the clock and...
  
  
• The Chamberlain Memorial
  Chamberlain Memorial, Birmingham
  The Chamberlain Memorial was erected in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England on October 20, 1880, to commemorate the public service of Joseph Chamberlain, who was present at the inauguration ceremony. Joseph Chamberlain was a Birmingham businessmen, councillor, mayor and Member of Parliament...
  
   (a grade II listed monument)
• Connection to Victoria Square
  Victoria Square, Birmingham
  Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....
  
  .

and statues of:

• Joseph Priestley
  Joseph Priestley
  Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
  
  
• James Watt
  James Watt
  James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
  
  
• Thomas Attwood
  Thomas Attwood
  Thomas Attwood was a British economist, the leading figure of the underconsumptionist Birmingham School of economists, and, as the founder of the Birmingham Political Union, a leading figure in the public campaign for the Great Reform Act of 1832.He was born in Halesowen, and attended Halesowen...
  
   by Sioban Coppinger and Fiona Peever, 1993. The bronze statue sits, having left his plinth
  Plinth
  In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
  
  , and scattered his bronze pages, on the steps.

The statue of James Watt was originally located on Paradise Street

Paradise Street

Paradise Street is a short street in the Core area of Birmingham City Centre in England. Paradise Street runs roughly from Victoria Square to Suffolk Street and Broad Street...

 next to the Town Hall. The Joseph Priestley statue was originally located in Victoria Square (then called Council House Square).

The sweeping curve of the steps of the library forms an amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

, and so the square is used for public events.

The annual Birmingham Christmas Craft Fair is held in Chamberlain Square from the 3rd Friday in November to the 23rd of December. The event began as 'Winterval' in 1997/8 (20 November - 31 December ) – with the intention of driving business into Birmingham's newly rejuvenated town centre.

Chamberlain Square was the original site of Birmingham's BBC Big Screen

BBC Big Screen

The Big Screens are a project involving the BBC, LOCOG , and local councils. 25m LED screens with sound systems are situated in prominent locations in city centres...

, where it was situated until September 2007. The current Big Screen is located in Victoria Square

Victoria Square, Birmingham

Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....

.

Sources

• Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster, 2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5
• BIRMINGHAM CHAMBERLAIN PLACE AND BIG BRUM