Old Square is a public square

Public Square

Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...

 and road junction

Junction (road)

A road junction is a location where vehicular traffic going in different directions can proceed in a controlled manner designed to minimize accidents. In some cases, vehicles can change between different routes or directions of travel.-Origins:...

 in the Core area

City Centre Core

The City Centre Core in Birmingham, England, is the historic heart of the city roughly comprising the area within the former Birmingham Inner Ring Road....

 of Birmingham City Centre

Birmingham City Centre

Birmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...

, 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...

.

Prior to construction

The site of the square was formerly occupied the Priory of St Thomas of Canterbury

Priory of St Thomas of Canterbury, Birmingham

The Priory or Hospital of St Thomas of Canterbury was a house of Augustinian canons in medieval Birmingham. The institution is referred to in sources as either a priory or a hospital, but the two roles were often overlapping or interchangeable during the medieval period, as all monastic...

, with The Minories, Upper Priory and Lower Priory being the original entrance roads to the hospital. The land is believed to have once been the highest point in Birmingham city centre leading to the construction of the priory. In 1536, the Priory was dissolved and the structures on site were demolished in 1547.

The site remained as ruins for 150 years until it was purchased by John Pemberton in 1697. He further levelled the land for construction work to create his Priory estate.

Redevelopment

The square dates from 1713 when it was recorded as having 16 uniform two-storied houses with five-bayed fronts having angle pilasters, pedimented doorways, and dormer windows. It was created as the centrepiece to John Pemberton's Priory Estate. It was designed by William Westley who produced a print of the square's layout in 1732. From old conveyances, it is recorded that 20s. per yard frontage was paid for the site of some of the houses in the square and up to 40s. in Bull Street; the back plots, including the Friends' burial ground (once gardens to the front houses) being valued at 1s. to 2s. per yard. One of the corner houses, originally called "the Angle House", was popular in that it was sold in 1791 for £420, increasing to £970 in 1805. In 1843 the price increased £1,330 and in 1853, £2,515.

The centre of the square itself was closed off with iron railings with several pedestrian paths. Over time it became neglected and in 1832 it was the scene of a public demonstration. The stones there were used as missiles by the crowd during the parliamentary elections of that year.

The trees and railings were removed during 1836 and 1837 as a result of many accidents occurring there due to the roadways being narrow and dangerous. Following this, the Birmingham Street Commissioners

Birmingham Street Commissioners

The Birmingham Street Commissioners were created in Birmingham, England by the Birmingham Improvement Act 1769. Subsequent Improvement Acts 1773, 1801, and 1812 gave increased powers to the Street Commissioners...

 widened the roads.

Construction of Corporation Street

The square was to suffer a major demolition programme in 1882 to make way for the construction of Corporation Street

Corporation Street, Birmingham

Corporation Street is a main shopping street in Birmingham city centre, England.It runs from the law courts at its northern end to the centre of New Street at its southern.- Planning :...

. Buildings that were constructed as a result were of grand architecture, one of which was the Grand Theatre to the south of the square. Lewis's

Lewis's

Lewis's was a large department store in Liverpool city centre. It was formerly the flagship of a chain of department stores under the Lewis's name, that operated from 1856 to 1991, when the company went into administration. Several stores in the chain were bought by the company Owen Owen and...

 Department store was constructed at the western end to replace Berlin House and to build over the Minories in 1885 following personal persuasion from 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....

.

During the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

, the square became a tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 junction for trams running along Corporation Street and those coming from Upper Priory.

World War II and postwar years

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, a hole was dug next to Lewis's Department Store and above it, a bomb shelter was built. The shelter did not suffer any damage however nearby areas along Corporation Street did suffer direct hits.

The square was to become subject to more development during the post-war years when the land leases given to the builders of Corporation Street during the 1880s expired. This resulted in the demolition of many Victorian buildings. As one major part of the development of Old Square, Lower Priory to the south was converted into the Priory Queensway, which required the road to be widened and elevated. To do this, the Grand Theatre was demolished and an underground car park was constructed beneath. The Priory Queensway made it possible for the construction of Priory Square

Martineau Galleries

Martineau Galleries is an important proposed mixed-use development for Birmingham, England as it will connect the Eastside to the city centre core and is also located on the High Street, a major retail area.- Pre-1960s development :...

 by Sir Frederick Gibberd

Frederick Gibberd

Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...

 in the southwestern corner of the square. In the southeast, another development to compliment the new shopping centre was constructed. Pedestrians were relegated to subterranean subways, although these converged in an uncovered area, but below road level.

Recent history

In the early 2000s, Old Square was significantly redeveloped, to raise pedestrian routes through the square to the surface. As part of the development, the Priory Queensway was reconstructed as a sloping road following the gradient of the Birmingham city ridge as a result of the demolition of Masshouse Circus

Masshouse

Masshouse is a site within Birmingham, United Kingdom which is under development with the construction of 13 new highrise blocks intended for public services, commerce and residential purposes. When completed, the blocks will have a prominent position on the Eastside skyline.-History:The Masshouse...

. In 2006, refurbishment work on Cannon House to the northeast of the square commenced to convert it into Grade A office

Office

An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...

 space. The development by Nurton Developments, who acquired the building in June 2004, also transformed the exterior.

Proposed future work to the square includes the redevelopment of Priory Square to create Martineau Galleries

Martineau Galleries

Martineau Galleries is an important proposed mixed-use development for Birmingham, England as it will connect the Eastside to the city centre core and is also located on the High Street, a major retail area.- Pre-1960s development :...

 by the Birmingham Alliance.

In the centre of Old Square is a memorial dedicated to Tony Hancock

Tony Hancock

Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...

, who was born in the Hall Green

Hall Green

Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...

 area of the city. The memorial, by Bruce Williams, was unveiled by Sir Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe

Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...

 on May 13, 1996. The memorial was originally intended to be placed on New Street

New Street, Birmingham

New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...

 but a temporary site on the Corporation Street edge of the square was found (at the time, it stood opposite a Blood Donor clinic

National Blood Service

The National Blood Service is the organisation for England and North Wales which collects blood and other tissues, tests, processes, and supplies all the hospitals in England and North Wales...

, in a nod to Hancock's well-known sketch

The Blood Donor

"The Blood Donor" is an episode from comedy series Hancock, the final BBC series featuring British comedian Tony Hancock. First transmitted on 23 June 1961, the show was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and was produced by Duncan Wood. Supporting Hancock were Patrick Cargill, Hugh Lloyd,...

). The statue was relocated to the centre of Old Square after it was unveiled. An earlier public sculpture in Old Square is a mural named Old Square sculpted by Kenneth Budd in 1967. The mural was commissioned by the Public Works Department of Birmingham City Council and was paid for from the Capital Account. It was unveiled on April 21, 1967 by Alderman C.V. Simpson, chairman of the Public Works Department. The mural depicts the history of Old Square from the priory onwards.