UoBe Festival Treasure Hunt

From the very beginning, as they are now, students of every faith were welcomed to use the hall, and all religious societies were represented on the St. Francis Hall committee. In 1944, Daniel Jeskins, the Secretary of the St. Francis Hall committee at the time, wrote “St. Francis Hall was opened a comparatively short time before the outbreak of war and has thus had only a very limited opportunity to establish itself in the life of the University under normal conditions, but it has already abundantly proved its very great value. The library is in constant use, and at “peak hours” during the day some difficulty is often experienced in accommodating all the various groups who wish to meet in the building.”

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is housed in one of Birmingham’s finest Art Deco buildings. It was purpose built and opened by Queen Mary in 1939. In 1946 the building received a bronze medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects and in 1981 was listed Grade II by the Department of the Environment – updated to a Grade 1 listing by Historic England in 2020.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts owes its existence to the vision of Dame Martha Constance Hattie Barber (1869–1933) — pictured below in a portrait by James Jebusa Shannon [1912] – who founded the Barber Institute and left the entire Barber fortune to the Trustees of the Institute to enable the construction of a new building, the development of the art collection and the funding of public concerts.

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Originally built in 1969 as the Arts and Commerce Building, Muirhead Tower was refurbished in 2009 and now houses the College of Social Sciences and the Cadbury Research Library. The tower integrates a number of sustainable features, including solar shading to control temperatures, as well as low energy fans; timed lighting to reduce energy waste; natural ventilation systems and a heat source taken from the university’s combined heat and power generator.

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The Grow with Joe Community Garden is now in its third year of production in the heart of campus. The garden gives students, staff and members of the public experience in growing their own food. Everything they grow is organic, without the use of pesticides or artificial fertilisers as their aim is to co-exist with the ecosystem around us. The compost bins are available for all to use, to deposit fruit and vegetable peelings, egg shells, biodegradable tea bags, and coffee grounds.

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It is a hedgehog sanctuary and supports a number of other animals such as bats and swallows. When the Green Heart was constructed, an array of wild flowers and native plants to campus were carefully selected to encourage local species, and nesting sites for animals were included in the designs. As well as lush grass areas, the University planted 160 new trees, across 42 species, and protected 144 existing trees. The water features are also be a natural source of drainage management and further attract wildlife.

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Across the road from the station you can see the Steampipe Bridge, which was constructed in 2011. This transports stream across the Cross-City Railway Line and Worcester & Birmingham Canal from the energy generation plant to the medical school as part of the University's sustainable energy strategy. Its laser-cut exterior is also a public art feature.

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The University of Birmingham Medical School is built on the site of a roman fort, called Metchley Fort. The fort was constructed soon after the Roman invasion of Britain, in AD 43. Remains of the fort were first identified in the 18th century, although there were conflicting opinions on the origins of the earthworks. The date was confirmed in excavations that took place in the 1930s when the Medical School was constructed.

The picture below shows the remains of Metchley Fort as shown on the 1890 Ordnance Survey map of Warwickshire. The footbridge over the railway is now the site of University railway station

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The history of the Museum dates back to 1880 and the foundation of Mason Science College, the forerunner of the University of Birmingham. Originally, the college developed various liberal and vocational subjects, but forced out the artisans. In 1898 it became Mason University College, with Joseph Chamberlain becoming the President of Court of Governors of the college. In 1900 it was incorporated into the University of Birmingham. Students at the College were awarded their degrees by the University of London until the University of Birmingham was established and received degree awarding powers in its own right.

During the first academic session of the college in 1880 courses in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics were offered to students. By 1881 courses in geology and mineralogy, botany and vegetable physiology, engineering, English language and literature, Greek and Latin, and French and German language and literature were also available. From 1882 Medical students at Queen's College, Birmingham were able to attend classes in botany, physiology and chemistry, and in 1892 the medical faculty of Queen's College was transferred to Mason College.

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Designed as part of the initial phase of the Edgbaston campus by architects Aston Webb and Ingress Bell, Old Joe was constructed between 1900–1908.. The tower is modelled on the Torre del Mangia in Siena. The original tower designs were amended due to Chamberlain's great admiration for the Italian city's campanile.

The asteroid 10515 Old Joe, discovered in 1989, is named in the clock tower's honour.

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