Spirit of Birmingham in William Hutton

The spirit of place is one of the recurring themes of this blog, & I am gratified to discover that the first historian of Birmingham, the ever-quotable William Hutton, refers to the spirit of the city in many places, of which I've selected a few here. He accurately picks up on the friendliness of Birmingham, its welcoming nature. He evene comments on the city's mania for demolishing as well as building...this is something that has actually been going on for centuries, not just in the post-Second World War period. He goes so far as - almost - to dedicate the book to the inhabitants:

'Were I to enter upon a dedication, I should certainly address myself, "To the Inhabitants of Birmingham." For to them I not only owe much, but all; and I think, among that congregated mass, there is not one person to whom I wish ill. I have the pleasure of calling many of those inhabitants Friends, and some of them share my warm affections equally with myself. Birmingham, like a compassionate nurse, not only draws our persons, but our esteem, from the place of our nativity, and fixes it upon herself: I might add, I was hungry, and she fed me; thirsty, and she gave me drink; a stranger, and she took me in. I approached her with reluctance, because I did not know her; I shall leave her with reluctance, because I do.' (From his History of Birmingham, 'Preface', http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13926/13926-h/13926-h.htm)

He even comments on how the apparently unprepossessing town takes hold of people & it can be quite difficult to leave afterwards:

'It is singular, that a predilection for Birmingham, is entertained by every denomination of visitants, from Edward Duke of York, who saw us in 1765, down to the presuming quack, who, griped with necessity, boldly discharges his filth from the stage. A paviour, of the name of Obrien, assured me in 1750, that he only meant to sleep one night in Birmingham, in his way from London to Dublin. But instead of pursuing his journey next morning, as intended, he had continued in the place thirty-five years: and though fortune had never elevated him above the pebbles of the street, yet he had never repented his stay.

'It has already been remarked that I first saw Birmingham in 1741, accidentally cast into those regions of civility; equally unknown to every inhabitant, nor having the least idea of becoming one myself. Though the reflections of an untaught youth of seventeen cannot be striking, yet, as they were purely natural, permit me to describe them.

'I had been before acquainted with two or three principal towns. The environs of all I had seen were composed of wretched dwellings, replete with dirt and poverty; but the buildings in the exterior of Birmingham rose in a style of elegance. Thatch, so plentiful in other towns, was not to be met with in this. I was surprised at the place, but more so at the people: They were a species I had never seen: They possessed a vivacity I had never beheld: I had been among dreamers, but now I saw men awake: Their very step along the street showed alacrity: Every man seemed to know and prosecute his own affairs: The town was large, and full of inhabitants, and those inhabitants full of industry. I had seen faces elsewhere tinctured with an idle gloom void of meaning, but here, with a pleasing alertness: Their appearance was strongly marked with the modes of civil life: I mixed a variety of company, chiefly of the lower ranks, and rather as a silent spectator: I was treated with an easy freedom by all, and with marks of favour by some: Hospitality seemed to claim this happy people for her own, though I knew not at that time from what cause.

'I did not meet with this treatment in 1770, twenty nine years after, at Bosworth, where I accompanied a gentleman, with no other intent, than to view the field celebrated for the fall of Richard the third. The inhabitants enjoyed the cruel satisfaction of setting their dogs at us in the street, merely because we were strangers. Human figures, not their own, are seldom seen in those inhospitable regions: Surrounded with impassable roads, no intercourse with man to humanise the mind, no commerce to smooth their rugged manners, they continue the boors of nature.

'Thus it appears, that characters are influenced by profession. That the great advantage of private fortune, and the greater to society, of softening and forming the mind, are the result of trade. But these are not the only benefits that flow from this desirable spring. It opens the hand of charity to the assistance of distress; witness the Hospital and the two Charity Schools, supported by annual donation: It adds to the national security, by supplying the taxes for internal use, and, for the prosecution of war. It adds to that security, by furnishing the inhabitants with riches, which they are ever anxious to preserve, even at the risk of their lives; for the preservation of private wealth, tends to the preservation of the state.

'It augments the value of landed property, by multiplying the number of purchasers: It produces money to improve that land into a higher state of cultivation, which ultimately redounds to the general benefit, by affording plenty.

'It unites bodies of men in social compact, for their mutual interest: It adds to the credit and pleasure of individuals, by enabling them to purchase entertainment and improvement, both of the corporeal and intellectual kind.

'It finds employment for the hand that would otherwise be found in mischief: And it elevates the character of a nation in the scale of government.' (From his History of Birmingham, 'Trade', http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13926/13926-h/13926-h.htm#TRADE.)

He did, however, see the other side of the spirit of Birmingham during the Priestley Riots of 1791, in the townspeople's treatment of his house (pictured) & person:

'The 14th of July 1791 was the day of the King and Country Riots, it�all boiled up�after a few men met at the Hotel to celebrate the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the ideals of the French Revolution. Here, a few windows got smashed, but the riot�soon spread across Birmingham and most�houses did not get off so lightly, many were burnt to the ground, though William Hutton's house�on High Street was saved that fate as the neighbours protested in fear that�it may spread to their own homes.'

'Dissenter Meeting Houses had already been burnt to the ground, as well as Joseph Priestley's, John�Ryland's and John Taylor's�houses.�William Hutton had not been at the dinner at the Hotel, but he�was a Unitarian (dissenter), and as well as that,�he was also a Commissioner at the Court of Requests, dealing with those who owed�debts. Hutton stated�himself, that 'armed with [this] power, I have put a period to thousands of quarrels, have softened the rugged tempers of�devouring�antagonists, and, without expense to themselves, sent them away friends. But the fatal rock upon which I�split was, I never could find a way to let both parties win. If ninety-nine were content, and one was not, that one would be more solicitous to injure me than the ninety-nine to serve me'. Hutton was known, when dealing with litigations,�for his statement 'thee pay sixpence, and come again next Friday' (Friday was when the court was held); as the mob threw his possessions out of the windows of his house it was recorded that they shouted 'who bids for this?' to which the reply came 'thee pay sixpence, and come again next Friday'.'

'When�the�mob gathered before William Hutton's shop** on High Street�on the afternoon�of the 15th�he tried to�buy them off with money, even borrowing from neighbours to continue paying; they demanded alcohol and�gave them all he could, but when he could give them no more they took him to a local tavern (against his will)�and drank 329 gallons on his credit. The destruction of the house began by first only smashing windows and knocking loudly on the doors.'

'Once the soldiers were employed to restore some order to Birmingham�on the 17th the family returned from their exile. On High Street, the rioters had 'demolished all the doors, windows, chimney-pieces, wainscotts, skirting boards, and banisters, together with the roof of the house'. They had also attempted to remove the staircase, but had only reached the sixth�step (before, presumably, they realised that they should have begun from the top and worked down). [...] By�the 19th of July, William Hutton had completed�some repairs and was able to 'appear at business'; soon Thomas and the servants could sleep in the house, but William preferred to retire with his family in the country. Slowly the repairs were completed until it was�business as usual and�William remained trading in High Street till 1793 when he handed over the business to Thomas.' (http://mappingbirmingham.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-have-for-ever-quitted-birmingham-as.html?m=1)

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