Birmingham has an incredible number of old buildings – many of them built more than 500 years ago.
When we think of Birmingham’s history, we often think of the city’s contribution art, culture and music - it’s the home of Black Sabbath and the Peaky Blinders. The city also led the Industrial Revolution from 1760 to 1840 and was hailed as the ‘City of a Thousand Trades’.
But we’d be amiss to forget the older history of Brum. The development of Birmingham as a city is said to date back to 1166 when Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market on his land around the site where the Bullring is today.
We’ve taken a look at 12 of the oldest buildings still standing in Birmingham today:
9. Stratford House, Highgate - 1601
Stratford House is Grade II* listed house in Highgate. Dating from 1601, it is located near Camp Hill traffic island. It was built by Ambrose and Bridget Rotton whose initials are also carved over the porch. The house was originally located on a 20-acre farm owned by Ambrose, who kept sheep, oxen, cows and pigs. | Google
10. St Martin's Church, Bull Ring Birmingham, 1812
There has been a church on this site since at least 1263. The present building mostly dates to a Victorian-era rebuild | Print Collector/Getty Images
11. Aston Hall - 1635
The Jacobean-style mansion was completed in 1635 and is now a publicly-owned museum. In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corporation, the first historic country house to pass into municipal ownership, and is still owned by Birmingham City Council. It is now a community museum managed by the Birmingham Museums Trust and, following a major renovation completed in 2009, is open to the public. | Google
12. Lad in the Lane, Erdington
The derelict Birmingham pub dates back to the Llate 14th century | google