Birmingham Heritage Week 2020
In 2020, Birmingham Heritage Week was Thursday 10th to Sunday 20th September.
At WeiPoint, we love all things heritage in Birmingham. Birmingham Heritage Week (BHW) is certainly a highlight of our year and this time around is no different despite the strange circumstances. With the Coronavirus pandemic forcing BHW to move mostly online, the organisers haven't been able to fully showcase some of Birmingham's most-loved heritage sites. However, this hasn't stopped them from putting on some amazing events. The creativity of this year’s festival has been second to none when it comes to adapting live events into online showcases.
Of course, we weren’t able to attend every single event from this year, but our team attended a wide ranging selection of events, from religious to historical. Some online, some in-person, and some being available 24/7. One such event, a tour of Holy Trinity Birchfield, took visitors through the interior of the church, with information on its history, its organ, its services and its celebration of its vicar Eve Pitts, Britain’s first black female vicar. Events like these can show even lifelong residents of the city places they might never have seen before, and this is one of our favourite things about Birmingham Heritage Week
A particular favourite event that one member of our team attended was The Sweet Life of Bournville exhibit at Selly Manor. The exhibit is a collection of over 400 photographs of life in Bournville since its inception in 1893. Highlights include information about schooling in Bournville, images of the innovative model village that Cadbury designed it to be and copies of the original plans made for the village. Selly Manor, a fascinating venue in itself, plays excellent host to this collection in their smaller hall.
Another especially interesting event was the Victorian Do-Gooders series on the Jewellery Quarter Research Trust’s website. Each day of Heritage Week, the JQRT released a new video chronicling the life of a memorable figure in Birmingham history, whose work benefited the city in some way. The connection between them all is that they are all buried in Key Hill Cemetery. Subjects included Marie Bethel Beauclerc, the first female journalist in the UK; and Joseph Chamberlain, the founder of the University of Birmingham. It was a hugely imaginative way to navigate the difficulties of hosting a live event at this location (due to space constraints and noise management).
However, if traditional heritage events aren’t enough, there were a number of different events on offer. The running tour of the city centre particularly grabbed our attention - participants could spend up to two and a half hours touring Birmingham and getting some serious exercise into the bargain. Similar events that invited guests to guide themselves or choose their own route around the city proved very popular, including a visit to Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and a cycling tour through the 1960s.
Our team greatly admired all of the work that has gone into continuing BHW this year, in spite of hurdles to hosting in-person events. The events were truly reflective of the diversity of Birmingham’s history and culture. There was a real focus on all of Birmingham’s history, not just the big, well-known buildings and people. This week is fantastic for the city and reflects our aims and values as a company of promoting culture and heritage across the West Midlands. Therefore, we believe Birmingham Heritage Week event is both informative and great fun for anyone interested in Birmingham’s rich history.