Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Walter Showell
or 3,884,446 farthings
The same firm has had several similar contracts, the last being in hand at the present time. The bronze is composed of 95 parts copper, 4 tin, and 1 zinc.
Colleges.—See "Schools," &c.
Colmore Row, which now extends from the Council House to the Great Western Hotel (including Ann Street and Monmouth Street) is named after the Colmore family, the owners of the freehold. Great Colmore Street, Caroline and Charlotte Streets, Great and Little Charles Streets, Cregoe, Lionel, and Edmund Streets, all take their names from the same source.
Colonnade.—This very handsome and (for Birmingham) rather novel-looking building, was opened Jan. 10, 1883, being erected by Mr. A. Humpage, at a cost of about £70,000, from the designs of Mr. W.H. Ward. The Colonnade proper runs round the entire building, giving frontage to a number of shops, the upper portion of the block being partly occupied by the Midland Conservative Club, and the rest of the building, with the basement, fitted up as a Temperance Hotel and "Restaurant."
Comets.—The inhabitants were very much terrified by the appearance of a comet in December, 1680. At Michaelmas, 1811, an exceedingly brilliant comet appeared, supposed to have been the same which was seen at the birth of Jesus Christ. Donati's comet was first observed June 2, 1858, but was most brilliant in September and October. The comets of 1861 and 1883 were also visible here.
Commissioners.—The first local governing body of the town, though with but the merest shadow of power as compared with the Corporation of to-day, were the Street Commissioners appointed under an Act of Geo. III. in 1769, their duties being confined almost solely to repairing, cleansing, and "enlightening" the streets of the town, appointing watchmen, &c., their power of raising funds being limited to 1s. in the £. By succeeding Acts of 1773, 1801, 1812, and 1828, the powers of the Commissioners were considerably enlarged, and they must be credited with the introduction of the first set of local improvement schemes, including the widening of streets, clearing the Bull Ring of the houses round St. Martin's Church, making owners lay out proper streets for building, purchasing the market tolls, building of Town Hall and Market Hall, regulating carriages, and "suppressing the smoke nuisance arising from engines commonly called steam engines," &c., and, though they came in for their full share of obloquy and political rancour, it cannot be denied they did good and faithful service to the town. The Commissioners had the power of electing themselves, every vacancy being filled as it occurred by those who remained, and, as the Act of 1828 increased their number to no less than 89, perhaps some little excuse may be made for the would-be leading men of the day who were left out in the cold. Be that as it may, the Charter of Incorporation put them aside, and gave their power and authority into the hands of a popularly-elected representative body. The Commissioners, however, remained as a body in name until the last day of December, 1851, when, as a token of remembrance, they presented the town with the ornamental fountain formerly standing in the centre of the Market Hall, but which has been removed to Highgate Park. On the transfer of their powers to the Corporation, the Commissioners handed over a schedule of indebtedness, showing that there was then due on mortgage of the "lamp rate," of 4 per cent, £87,350; on the "Town Hall rate," at 4 per cent., £25,000; annuities, £947 3s. 4d.; besides £7,800, at 5 percent., borrowed by the Duddeston and Nechells Commissioners, making a total of £121,097 3s. 4d.
Commons.—Handsworth Common was enclosed in 1793. An Act was passed in 1798 for enclosing and allotting the commons and waste land in Birmingham. The commons and open fields of Erdington and Witton were enclosed and divided in 1801.
Concert Halls, &c.—The Birmingham Concert Hall, better known as "Holder's," was built in 1846, though for years previous the house was noted for its harmonic meetings; the present Hall has seats for 2,200 persons. Day's Concert Hall was erected in 1862 the opening night, September 17, being for the benefit of the Queen's Hospital, when £70 was realised therefor; the Hall will accommodate 1,500.—The Museum Concert Hall was opened Dec. 20, 1863, and will hold about 1,000 people.—A very large building intended for use as a Concert Hall, &c., will soon be opened in Snow Hill, to be conducted on temperance principles.—A series of popular Monday evening concerts was commenced in the Town Hall, Nov. 12, 1844, and was continued for nearly two years.—Twopenny weekly "Concerts for the People" were started at the Music Hall, Broad Street (now Prince of Wales' Theatre), March 25, 1847, but they did not take well.—Threepenny Saturday evening concerts in Town Hall, were begun in November, 1879.
Conferences and Congresses of all sorts of people have been held here from time to time, and a few dates are here annexed:—A Conference of Wesleyan ministers took place in 1836, in 1844, 1854, 1865, and 1879, being the 136th meeting of that body. Four hundred Congregational ministers met in Congress Oct. 5, 1862. A Social Science Congress was held Sept. 30, 1868. A Trades Union Conference Aug. 23, 1869. National Education League Conference, Oct. 12, 1869. National Republican Conference, May 12, 1873. Conference on Sanitary Reform, Jan. 14, 1875. A Co-operative Societies Conference, July 3, 1875. A Conference of Christians in Needless Alley, Oct. 27, 1875. The Midland Counties' Church Defence Associations met in the Exchange, Jan. 18, 1876, and on the 9th of Feb. the advocates for disestablishing and disendowing the Church said their say in the Masonic Hall, resolutions in favour of sharing the loaves and fishes being enthusiastically carried by the good people who covet not their neighbours' goods. A Domestic Economy Congress was held July 17, 1877. A Church Conference held sittings Nov. 7, 1877. The friends of International Arbitration met in the Town Hall, May 2, 1878, when 800 delegates were present, but the swords are not yet beaten into ploughshares. How to lessen the output of coal was discussed March 5, 1878, by a Conference of Miners, who not being then able to settle the question, met again June 17, 1879, to calmly consider the advisableness of laying idle all the coalpits in the country for a time, as the best remedy they could find for the continued reduction of wages. The 18th Annual Conference of the British Association of Gas Managers was held here June 14, 1881, when about 500 of those gentlemen attended. A considerable amount of gassy talk anent the wonderful future naturally arose, and an endowment fund of £323 was banked to provide a medal for "any originality in connection with the manufacture and application of gas," but the Gas Committee of Birmingham, without any vast improvement in the manufacture, still keep to their original idea of sharing profits with ratepayers, handing over £25,000 each year to the Borough rates. On Bank Holiday, August 6, 1883, a Conference of Bakers took place here, and at the same date the 49th "High Court" of Foresters assembled at the Town Hall, their last visit having been in 1849.
Conservative Associations have been in existence for at least fifty years, as the formation of one in December, 1834, is mentioned in the papers of the period. The present one, which is formed on a somewhat similar plan to that of the Liberal Association, and consists of 300 representatives chosen from the wards, held its first meeting May 18, 1877. Associations of a like nature have been formed in most of the wards, and in Balsall Heath, Moseley, Aston, Handsworth, and all the suburbs and places around.
Constables.—In 1776 it was necessary to have as many as 25 constables sworn in to protect the farmers coming to the weekly market.—See also "Police."
Consuls.—There are Consulates here for the following countries (for addresses see Directory):—Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chili, France, Germany, Greece, Liberia, Portugal, Spain and Italy, Turkey, United States, United States of Columbia, and Uruguay.
Convents.—See "Religious Institutions."
Co-operative Societies at one time were put in the same category as Chartist, Socialist, and Communistic Associations, all banned alike. Nevertheless, in the old "Reform days" the theory of co-operation was most enthusiastically taken up by the workers of this town, even more so than in any other place in the kingdom. As early as 1828 several attempts had been made to form such societies, but the one which appeared the most likely to succeed was the so-called "Labour Exchange," situated in the old Coach