City history
Originating as an early Anglo-Saxon settlement, Birmingham evolved into a industrial powerhouse that helped drive Britain's adoption of standardized railway time.
Chapter one
Earliest documented name
"Home or settlement of Beorma's people"
Reconstructed from Old English place-name roots, referring to an Anglo-Saxon settlement established by the 7th century and later recorded in medieval survey documents.
Home or settlement of Beorma's people
Early Anglo-Saxon name denoting the estate or homestead of Beorma's clan.
Homestead of Beorma's followers
Spelling recorded in the Norman Domesday Book compiled under William the Conqueror.
Home of Beorma's people
Standardized modern spelling following the grant of a royal market charter in 1166.
Chapter two
Railways serving Birmingham switched to Greenwich Mean Time to standardize train schedules across Great Britain, replacing local solar mean time.
Greenwich Mean Time was legally established as the standard time for all legal and official purposes throughout Great Britain.
The UK implemented daylight saving time under the Summer Time Act 1916 to save fuel and maximize daylight during World War I.
Britain maintained UTC+1 year-round as British Standard Time before reverting to seasonal daylight saving changes in 1971.
The UK officially aligned national time broadcast signals with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Chapter three
The London and Birmingham Railway opened its passenger terminal at Curzon Street, helping catalyze the nation's transition toward unified railway time.
The Council House extension was completed featuring Big Brum, a 47-meter clock tower equipped with bells and mechanism gifted by Follett Osler.
An ornate cast-iron clock tower was erected in the Jewellery Quarter to mark politician Joseph Chamberlain's South Africa tour.
The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower ('Old Joe') was completed at the University of Birmingham campus in Edgbaston.