Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham. Walter Showell
all his retinue pay toll. He died here in November, 1804, when the following appeared in print:—
"On Wednesday last, old Robert Sleath
Passed thro' the turnpike gate of Death,
To him Death would no toll abate
Who stopped the King at Wor'ster-gate."
Eclipses, more or less partial, are of periodical occurrence, though many are not observed in this country. Malmesbury wrote of one in 1410, when people were so frightened that they ran out of their houses. Jan. 12, 1679, there was an eclipse so complete that none could read at noonday when it occurred. May 3, 1715, gave another instance, it being stated that the stars could be seen, and that the birds went to roost at mid-day. The last total eclipse of the sun observed by our local astronomers (if Birmingham had such "plants") occurred on May 22, 1724. An account of the next one will be found in the Daily Mail, of August 12, 1999. On August 17, 1868, there was an eclipse of the sun (though not noticeable here) so perfect that its light was hidden for six minutes, almost the maximum possible interval, and it may be centuries before it occurs again.
Economy.—Our grandfathers, and their fathers, practised economy in every way possible, even to hiring out the able-bodied poor who had to earn the cost of their keep by spinning worsted, &c., and they thought so much of the bright moonlight that they warehoused the oil lamps intended for lighting the streets for a week at a time when the moon was at its full, and never left them burning after eleven o'clock at other times.
Edgbaston.—The name as written in the earliest known deeds, was at first Celbaldston, altered as time went on to Eggebaldston, Eggebaston, and Edgbaston. How long the family held the manor before the Conquest is unknown; but when Domesday Book was written (1086), the occupying tenant was one Drogo, who had two hides of land and half a mile of wood, worth 20s.; 325 acres were set down as being cultivated, though there were only ten residents. The Edgbastons held it from the lords of Birmingham, and they, in turn, from the lords of Dudley. Further than the family records the place has no history, only 100 years ago Calthorpe Road being nothing but a fieldpath, and Church Road, Vicarage Road, and Westbourne Road merely narrow lanes. After the opening up of these and other roads, building sites were eagerly sought by the more moneyed class of our local magnates, and the number of inhabitants now are sufficient to people a fair-sized town. In 1801 the population was under 1,000; in 1811, just over that number; in 1851, it was 9,269; in 1861, 12,900; in 1871, 17,442, and on last census day, 29,951; showing an increase of more than 1,000 a year at the present time; while what the rentals may amount to is only known inside "the estate office." Some writers say that the parish church dates from about the year 775. The earliest register book is that for 1635, which escaped the notice of Cromwell's soldiers, who nearly destroyed the church in 1648; and from an entry in the register of St. Sepulchre's Church, Northampton, for 1659, it would appear that there were collections made towards repairing the damage done by those worthies. This entry quaintly states that "seven shillings and sixpence" was received towards the repairs of the church of Edge Barston, in the county of Warwick, adding also that there was "never a minister in the said parish."
Edgbaston Hall.—The last of the Edgbastons was a lady by whose marriage the Middlemores came into possession, and for nearly three hundred years the old house echoed the footsteps of their descendants. In the troublous times of the Commonwealth, Edgbaston House and Church were seized by Colonel John Fox, the latter building being used as a stable for his horses, and the former garrisoned by the soldiers kept there to over-awe the gentry and loyal subjects of the country, to whom "Tinker Fox," as he was dubbed, was a continual terror. This worthy carried on so roughly that even the "Committee of Safety" (never particularly noted for kindness or even honesty) were ashamed of him, and restored the place to its owner, Robert Middlemore, the last of the name. By the marriages of his two grand-daughters the estate was divided, but the portion including the manor of Edgbaston was afterwards purchased by Sir Richard Gough, Knight, who gave £25,000 for it. In the meantime the old house had been destroyed by those peace-loving Brums, who, in December, 1688, razed to the ground the newly-built Catholic Church and Convent in Masshouse Lane, their excuse being that they feared the hated Papists would find refuge at Edgbaston. Sir Richard (who died February 9, 1727) rebuilt the Manor House and the Church in 1717–18, and enclosed the Park. His son Henry was created a Baronet, and had for his second wife the only daughter of Reginald Calthorpe, Esq., of Elvetham, in Hampshire. Sir Henry Gough died June 8, 1774, and his widow on the 13th of April, 1782, and on the latter event taking place, their son, who succeeded to the estates of both his parents, took his mother's family name of Calthorpe, and in 1796 was created a peer under the title of Baron Calthorpe, of Calthorpe, county Norfolk. Edgbaston Hall has not been occupied by any of the owners since the decease of Lady Gough, 1782.
Edgbaston Pool covers an area of twenty-two acres, three roods, and thirty-six poles.
Edgbaston Street.—One of the most ancient streets in the Borough, having been the original road from the parish church and the Manor-house of the Lords de Bermingham to their neighbours at Edgbaston. It was the first paved street of the town, and the chosen residence of the principal and most wealthy burgesses, a fact proved by its being known in King John's reign as "Egebaston Strete," the worde "strete" in those days meaning a paved way in cities or towns. This is further shown by the small plots into which the land was divided and the number of owners named from time to time in ancient deeds, the yearly rentals, even in Henry VIII's time being from 3s. to 5s. per year. At the back of the lower side of Edgbaston Street, were several tanneries, there being a stream of water running from the moat round the Parsonage-house to the Manor-house moat, the watercourse being now known as Dean Street and Smithfield Passage.
Electric Light.—The light of the future. The first public exhibition of lighting by electricity, was introduced by Maccabe, a ventriloquial entertainer of the public, at the entrance of Curzon Hall, September 30, 1878. On the 28th of the following month, the novelty appeared at the Lower Grounds, on the occasion of a football match at night, the kick-off and lighting-up taking place at seven o'clock. At the last Musical Festival, the Town Hall was lit up by Messrs. Whitfield, of Cambridge-street, and the novelty is no longer a rarity, a company having been formed to supply the houses, shops, and public buildings in the centre of the town.
Electro Plate.—As early as 1838, Messrs. Elkington were in the habit of coating ornaments with gold and silver by dipping them in various solutions of those metals, and the first patent taken out for the electro process appears to be that of July 6, 1838, for covering copper and brass with zinc. Mr. John Wright, a surgeon, of this town, was the first to use the alkaline cyanides, and the process was included in Elkington's patent of March 25, 1840. The use of electricity from magnets instead of the voltaic battery was patented by J.S. Wolrich, in August, 1842. His father was probably the first person who deposited metals for any practical purpose by means of the galvanic battery. Mr. Elkington applied the electro-deposit process to gilding and silverplating in 1840.—See "Trades," &c.
Electoral Returns.—See "Parliamentary."
Emigration.—In August, 1794, Mr. Russell, of Moor Green, and a magistrate for the counties of Warwick and Worcester, with his two brothers and their families, Mr. Humphries, of Camp Hill Villa, with a number of his relatives, and over a hundred other Birmingham families emigrated to America. Previous to this date we have no record of anything like an emigration movement from this town, though it is a matter of history how strenuously Matthew Boulton and other manufacturers exerted themselves to prevent the emigration of artisans and workpeople, fearing that our colonies would be enriched at the expense of the mother country. How sadly the times were changed in 1840, may be imagined from the fact that when free passages to Australia were first being offered, no less than 10,000 persons applied unsuccessfully from this town and neighbourhood alone. At the present time it is calculated that passages to America, Canada, Australia, &c., are being taken up here at an average of 3,000 a year.
Erdington.—Another of the ancient places (named in the Domesday Book as Hardingtone) surrounding Birmingham and which ranked as high in those days of old, though now but like one of our suburbs, four miles on the road