Another Brum gem bites the dust
Historian Chinn’s ‘despair’ at demolition of Victorian music venue
A19TH CENTURY concert hall for the poor that later became Birmingham’s leading celebrity restaurant is the latest historic city landmark to be demolished.
The unusual building in Park Street, opposite Selfridges, originally opened as the London Museum Tavern and Music Hall in 1863 and was a cinema from 1912-31.
In the 1970s the ground floor and basement became a leading celebrity restaurant called Lorenzo’s, where stars from Johan Cruyff and Brian Clough to Barry Manilow and Nigel Mansell were often seen.
City historian Professor Carl Chinn said he “despaired” that the building was not listed.
“The building was known as ‘ The Mucker’ and money would be raised there for poor children,” said Prof Chinn.
“After closing as a music hall in 1900, ‘ The Mucker’ reopened as the Bull Ring Cinema in 1912.
“The building stopped trading as picture house in 1931.”
He added: “Yet again Birmingham has knocked down a building that we should be keeping.
“I despair at the way the city council is unable to integrate a few build- ings into a modern development. “Why do we have to constantly flatten historic buildings? “It means the memory of the poor is being pushed out by this ‘brilliant’ new city centre of ours.” According to a Birmingham Archaeology survey of the city centre in 2005, the corner of the site was originally occupied by The George Inn (1767), which began to suffer a loss of trade following the arrival of the railway at Curzon Street in 1838. After being turned into the George Commercial Inn in 1856, it is thought it went out of business two years later in 1858. The London Museum Tavern and Music Hall cost £7,000 when built five years later in 1863. It was renamed the Canterbury Tavern & Music Hall in 1890 and six years later the separate tavern became the Royal George thanks to renowned Birmingham pub architects James and Lister Lea. The Royal George was demolished in the late 1940s.
While that had been distinct from the concert hall, a replacement Royal George pub was built right next to the former concert hall building with inappropriate buff bricks in 1962.
In later years, the pub’s name was changed to Mary Donleavy’s.
Meanwhile, in the 1970s and 80s in particular, the lower level of the concert hall and basement enjoyed a new lease of life as a celebrity haunt called Lorenzo’s restaurant – while the upstairs was used by Eddie Daniels as a karate club.
TV sports presenter Gary Newbon recalled Lorenzo’s was the place to be seen thanks to the personality of its Italian founder, Lorenzo Ferrari.
“Stars I saw there ranged from Johan Cruyff to Bill Shankly, from Brian Clough to Barry Manilow and from world champions like Nigel Mansell to Barry Sheene.
“There was a No 8 shirt from Trevor Francis on the wall for years.”
The Birmingham Archaeology Historic Environment Study of 2005 agreed that the concert should have been listed.
It concluded: “This prominent corner site provides an important visual focus, and deserves better than the current architecturally disadvantaged building (what has been the 1964 Royal George).
“The former music hall is neither statutorily listed, nor is it on the local list. Although it has an unprepossessing exterior, this is largely a result of the later roughcast cladding, which it would be possible to remove.
“Given its historic interest in providing a link with the former George Inn, and as an example of a comparatively rare building type, local listing would seem to be appropriate.”
Why do we have to constantly flatten historic buildings? Carl Chinn