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University Quarter
The University Quarter is in the Edgbaston ward, three miles south-west of the city centre. The surrounding areas are Bournbrook, Calthorpe, Metchley, Selly Oak and the Chad Valley.
Most of the University Quarter was incrementally donated by the Gough-Calthorpe family as a campus for the University of Birmingham.
The Quarter includes the main university campus, the Conference Park, the Research Park, the Winterbourne Botanic Garden, King Edwards School for Boys, King Edward VI High School for Girls and three student villages.
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University and environs in a larger map
The University of Birmingham is the oldest of the three universities in Birmingham having received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1900.
It is also the largest with a student roll of around 17,000 undergraduates and 8,000 postgraduates.
The University of Birmingham should not be confused with Birmingham City University, formerly Birmingham Polytechnic, which is headquartered in Perry Barr.
The University of Birmingham is a member of the Russell Group of the twenty leading research universities in the UK and is consistently ranked in the top 10 of British universities by various educational guides.
The main university campus is in the University Quarter of Edgbaston.
There is a second campus in Selly Oak and various other sites, including three student villages in Edgbaston, a research park and conference park.
The University of Birmingham is affiliated to University College in the Jewellery Quarter.
University of Birmingham Website
University Academic Departments
The University consists of five colleges:
(1) Arts & Law (2) Engineering & Physical Sciences (3) Life & Environmental Sciences (4) Medical & Dental Sciences (5) Social Sciences
University of Birmingham Website
College of Arts And Law (Top Menu)
The College of Arts and Law is based at the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.
It is divided into six schools:
(1) English, Drama, American & Canadian Studies; (2) History & Cultures; (3) Archaeology & Antiquity; (4) Birmingham Law School; (5) Languages Cultures Art History Music; (6) Philosophy Theology & Religion
The College operates twenty-five research centres:
(1) Eighteenth Century (2) Contemporary History (3) First World War Studies (4) Hispanic Exile (5) Quaker Studies (6) Second World War Studies (7) West Midlands History (8) Reformation/Early Modern Studies (9) Birmingham Archaeology; and
(10) Vista Centre (11) Byzantine Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies (12) Coins (13) Ironbridge Institute (14) Textual Scholarship & Electronic Editing (15) European Law (16) Medical Law (17) Judicial Administration; and
(18) US Foreign Policy (19) English Language Studies (20) Shakespeare Institute (21) CARE (22) International Business Communications (23) Hilton Shepherd Centre for Mediaeval Studies (24) Corpus Research (25) Global Ethnics
Engineering & Physical Sciences (Top Menu)
The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences is based at the main Edgbaston Campus of the University of Birmingham.
It is divided into nine schools:
(1) Chemistry (2) Chemical Engineering (3) Civil Engineering (4) Computer Science (5) Electronic Electrical & Computer Engineering (6) Mathematics (7) Mathematical Engineering (8) Metallurgy & Materials (9) Physics & Astronomy.
The college operates twelve research centres:
(1) Applied Computing (2) Devices & Systems (3) Microwave Integrated Systems Laboratory (4) Railway Research (5) Institute for Energy Research and Policy (6) Human Interface Technologies (7) Biomedical Informatics Laboratory; and
(8) Multimodal Interaction Laboratory (9) Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Materials Processing (10) Positron Imaging Centre (11) Centre of Excellence for Research in Computational Intelligence and Applications (12) Formulation Engineering
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Life & Environmental Sciences (Top Menu)
The College of Life and Environmental Sciences is based at the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.
It is divided into four schools:
(1) Biosciences (2) Geography Earth & Environmental Sciences (3) Psychology (4) Sport & Exercise Sciences.
The college adopts an interdisciplinary approach to research with each school containing several research groups covering areas such as contemporary lifestyle challenges, sustainable urban environments, cognitive neuroscience and human pathogenesis
College of Life & Environmental Sciences
Medical & Dental Sciences (Top Menu)
The College of Medical and Dental Sciences is based on the main Edgbaston Campus of the University of Birmingham
The college annually trains 400 doctors, 130 nurses, 72 dentists, 68 scientists and 80 physiotherapists. It employs around 1000 academic staff, many of whom work in its research laboratories.
The college is divided into five schools:
(1) Cancer Sciences (2) Clinical & Experimental Medicine (3) Dentistry (4) Health & Population Studies (5) Immunity & Infection.
The college focuses its research in five areas: (1) cancer (2) cardiovascular sciences (3) hormones & infection (4) immunity & infection (5) neuroscience.
It runs several research centres including (1) Institute for Biomedical Research (2) Institute for Cancer Studies (3) Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
The college also undertakes research in partnership with commercial drug companies such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Roche.
It also collaborates with NHS Trusts, particularly the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
College of Medical and Dental Sciences
The College of Social Sciences is based on the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.
The college is divided into four schools:
(1) Birmingham Business School (2) Education (3) Government & Society (4) Social Policy
The college operates the following research centres:
(1) Centre for Public Service Partnerships (2) Centre for Leadership at University of Birmingham (3) Advanced Social Science Collaborative (4) European Research Institute (5) Third Sector Research Centre
College of Social Sciences Website
The main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham is centred on University Square and Chancellors Court which were laid out on the first 25-acre plot donated by Baron Calthorpe in 1900.
These core buildings are linked by a pedestrian avenue to University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road and University West Gate on University Road West.
The rest of the 140-acre campus was incrementally donated by the Calthorpe Estate as the university expanded during the 20th century.
It features a broad range of architectural styles and is characterised by red-brick buildings from the 1930's and plate-glass and concrete buildings from the 1960's.
University Square is an open grassed area criss-crossed by tree-lined paths. The north side is dominated by the Main Library: a linear red-brick building (1930) that faces the red-brick law and psychology building on the opposite south side.
The west side is flanked by three unremarkable post-war buildings: University Centre, Staff House and the Frankland; they face the equally bland Poynting and Arts Building on the east side.
Chancellors Court is on the south side of University Square.
It is an imposing domed crescent that contains the Aston Webb Building and stands on a ridge overlooking the Bournbrook area of Selly Oak. The 100-metre Chamberlain Memorial Clocktower, an Italianate campanile, stands at the centre of this crescent.
Chancellors Court is screened from University Square by the Law & Psychology Building (1908) on its north side.
Landmark Buildings on Edgbaston Campus
The following landmark buildings are on the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham:
(1) Aston Webb Building (2) Chamberlain Clocktower (3) Law & Psychology Building (4) Main Library (5) Muirhead Tower (6) Biosciences Building; and
(7) Staff House (8) Mechanical Engineering Building (9) St Francis Hall (10) Munrow Sports Centre (11) Barber Institute (12) Guild of Students
Aston Webb Building (Top Menu)
The Aston Webb Building on Chancellors Court was designed in the Byzantine style by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell and built in red-brick and stone with buff terracotta dressings in the early 1900's.
The domed axial Great Hall is flanked by two quadrant ranges with wing pavilions capped by ribbed domes. The loggia leads to a galleried reception hall beneath the central dome. The Great Hall, at the rear, is a vast tunnel-vaulted space with cross-vaulted lateral galleries.
On 29th April 2009, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg contested the final prime ministerial debate of the 2010 General Election in the Great Hall (News Archive 30/04/10)
Chamberlain Clocktower (Top Menu)
The Chamberlain Clock Tower (1908) is an Italianate campanile at the centre of Chancellors Court
The tower was designed by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell who were inspired by the Torre del Mangia in Sienna. It consists of a single tapering square section with reinforced brick corners and a solid concrete base. The 100-metre summit features a corbelled stage and lantern.
The tower is affectionately known as Old Joe after Joseph Chamberlain: the first chancellor of the University of Birmingham. It was the tallest building in Birmingham until 1969 when the 152-metre BT Tower was constructed in the Jewellery Quarter.
Law & Psychology Building (Top Menu)
The Law and Psychology Building (circa 1908) is a red-brick Edwardian structure that stands between Chancellors Court and University Square.
It faces the main library on University Square to the north and the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clocktower and Aston Webb Building on Chancellors Court to the south.
The horizontal contours of this three-storey building are emphasised by its flat roof and fenestration which are interrupted by a projecting central bay. The squat flat roof of the main lecture hall projects above the cornice line and the parapet features an ornamental balustrade.
The main library of the University of Birmingham (circa 1933) dominates the north side of University Square and faces the law and psychology building on the south side.
The library is a linear red-brick building with a flat roof whose horizontal contours are emphasised by rows of narrow windows that contrast with the vertical columns above the main entrance.
University of Birmingham Library Website
The 62-metre Muirhead Tower (1971) in the north-east corner of University Square consists of two 16-storey concrete and glass towers connected to a central core on a podium base.
The tower was generally regarded as a brutalist eyesore because of the failure of its glazing system and the deterioration of its exposed concrete facade.
However, it was refurbished in 2006-8 when the concrete was repaired, the glazing system replaced, the internal space reconfigured and new retail units added to the ground floor.
The podium now houses the
Allardyce Nicol Studio Theatre and a cafe bar.
Biosciences Building (Top Menu)
The Biosciences Building (circa 1970) on University Road West is a plate-glass three-storey structure with a brutalist concrete tower.
The building contains hi-tech research labs for the study of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, structural biology and optical imaging.
Other facilities include the Centre for Systems Biology, the Birmingham Bimolecular Characterisation Facility, the Birmingham Advanced Light Microscopy, the Centre for Electron Microscopy and the Centre for Ornithology (with indoor & outdoor aviaries).
Staff House is a 3-storey concrete & plate glass building on the west side of University Square; it was built as staff accommodation in the 1960's but is now a corporate hospitality and conference centre.
Staff House contains the following: (1) The Astor Restaurant: a fine-dining restaurant on the 3rd floor; (2) The Astor Suite: a series of private rooms available for seminars, meetings and conferences, the largest of which can hold 100 and the smallest 10; and
(3) The Noble Room: a restaurant and bar that serves canteen meals but which can also be hired for weekend and evening functions for up to 400 guests (4) Cafe Aroma: a cafe that serves speciality coffees sandwiches & snacks and which was formerly the Senior Common Room.
Mechanical Engineering Building (Top Menu)
The School of Mechanical Engineering (circa 1935) is on Grange Road in the south-west corner of the main Edgbaston campus.
The school contains a microsystem and nanotechnology centre and undertakes research in vehicle manufacture, bio-medical and micro-engineering, hydrogen generation, bio-fuels, metal-forming, process-modelling and experimental design.
The students run a Formula SAE motor-racing team.
Saint Francis Hall is a multi-faith hall next to University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road.
The facilities include a flexible worship room with a maximum capacity of 130 that may be arranged to suit the requirements of any particular faith.
The hall also contains a chapel, known as the Cadbury Room, that can hold up to forty people; its sanctuary features a splendid gilded ceiling that has recently been restored.
The Barber Institute is next to University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road; it is a two-storey building constructed in brick with stone dressings in 1935-39 to a design by Robert Atkinson.
Its horizontal contours are emphasised by the flat coped roofline, ground floor fenestration and sharp contrast between the ashlar-faced lower storey and brick-faced upper storey; these features sharply contrast with the vertical two-storey portal wing.
The Barber Institute contains a concert hall, museum, art gallery, lecture halls, reading rooms and offices.
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2TS 0121 472 0962 Map
The Guild of Students is based in Union House at the University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road.
The original core building by Holland W Hobbiss was completed in 1928 and extended by the addition of a south wing in the 1950's and a west wing in the 1960's.
The Guild is an independent unincorporated association legally represented by 16 trustees including 7 sabbatical students and 2 university employees. Its day-to-day management is controlled by 18 executive officers, who are all students, seven of which are sabbaticals.
The executive officers act according to the policy of the Guild Council, a 500-strong body elected by 28,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. A non-student warden retains residual powers to ensure proper governance.
The Guild leases Union House at a nominal rent from the university which also provides an annual block subsidy of around £1.2 million.
The Guild contains bars, restaurants, social spaces and retail outlets.
These include: (1) Joe's Bar (2) Underground Nightclub (3) Common Room (4) Deb Hall (concerts/shows) (5) Conference/Meeting Rooms (for student societies etc.); (6) Guild Council Chamber; (7) Spar Convenience Store;
(8) SmartFixIt Computer Repair Centre; (9) Zest: university-branded merchandise (10) SHAC: a student lettings agency (11) Subway food store (12) Islamic Prayer Room (13) Advice & Representation Centre (14) Job Zone (15) Media Suite
The Media Suite contains the offices of the Redbrick student newspaper and the studios of Guild Television and Burn FM.
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2TU 0121 251 2300 Map
Munrow Sports Centre (Top Menu)
The Munrow Sports Centre is located behind the main library off University Road West on the north side of University Square.
The centre contains a gymnastics hall, dance studio, martial arts room, seven squash courts (three with glass backs), three multi-purpose sports halls, a fitness suite with cardiovascular, resistance and free weights equipment, a floodlit athletics track and a twenty-five metre deck-level swimming pool.
Munrow Sports Centre B15 2TT 0121 414 4117
University of Birmingham Sport Website
Sports Pitches in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
There are three groups of sports pitches in and around the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham:
(1) The Bournbrook Pitches (Map) are on the south side of Chancellors Crescent beneath the ridge on which the domed Aston Webb Building stands.
The floodlit Bournbrook Rugby Pitch, formerly the home of Moseley RFC, is generally regarded as one of the best university pitches in the country.
(2) The Metchley Lane Playing Fields (Map) are on the north side of the hospital campuses in the Metchley area of Edgbaston, roughly 800 metres from University West Gatew.
The majority of the university's rugby & football pitches are at Metchley. The site also includes an American football pitch and a floodlit rugby training pitch.
(3) The Eastern Road Pitches (Map) are on the south side of the Bristol Road, roughly 700 metres from University East Gate.
This site contains rugby league and union pitches and is also the home of Harborne RFC.
University of Birmingham Sport Website
Public Art on Edgbaston Campus
The following landmark sculptures are located on the main Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham: Ancestor 1, Faraday Monument, The Mermaid, George I Equestrian Sculpture
Ancestor 1 (circa 1970) in University Square is a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth; it is part of a series that explores human relationships through texture, form and shape.
The Faraday Monument is located on Vincent Drive by the University West Gate; it is a bronze sculpture that depicts Michael Faraday, the discoverer of electricity, seated with force lines around his torso that represent magnetism, light, sound and electricity.
The Mermaid stands in the courtyard of the Guild of Students on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham; she was cast in bronze by William Bloye in 1960.
George I Equestrian Sculpture (Top Menu)
This equestrian sculpture of George I (1717) stands outside the Barber Institute on Edgbaston Park Road.
It was cast in the workshop of John Nost the Elder and originally stood on Essex Bridge in Dublin as a symbol of the city's loyalty to the King following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715.
The statue was purchased by the Barber Institute in 1937.
Satellite campuses include:
(1) Birmingham Business School, (2) Birmingham Research Park, (3) University Conference Park, (4)University Medical School, (5) Winterbourne Botanic Garden, (6) Vale Student Village, (7) Pritchatts Park Halls, (8) Selly Oak Student Village, (9) Selly Oak Campus, (10) University College (affiliate)
Birmingham Business School (Top Menu)
The Birmingham Business School is opposite University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road; it is a school of the College of Social Sciences.
The Birmingham Business School is divided into five departments: (1) accounting & finance (2) urban & regional studies (3) economics (4) management (5) marketing
The school contains several research groups including (1) Centre for Leadership (2) Centre for Urban & Regional Studies (3) Centre for Corporate Governance (4) Procurement & Operations Management (5) Managerial Economics (6) International Management & Organisation
The school offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees and post-experience professional development courses.
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2TY 0121 414 8307 Map
Birmingham Business School Website
University Conference Park (Top Menu)
The University Conference Park is on Edgbaston Park Road, roughly 200 metres from University East Gate.
It consists of four buildings set in landscaped grounds adjoining Edgbaston Park: (1) Lucas House, (2)Peter Scott House, (3) Hornton House and (4) Garth House.
The overnight accommodation consists of 106 ensuite bedrooms. There are nine conference rooms, the smallest of which can hold ten delegates, and the largest, ninety.
Other facilities include fourteen syndicate rooms that can each hold up to ten delegates, two restaurants, two bars and a free car park.
Delegates generally have access to the swimming pools, gyms and other leisure facilities at the Munrow Sports Centre on the main university campus.
48 Edgbaston Park Road B15 2RA 0121 415 8400 Map
University of Birmingham: Hospitality & Accomodation
Birmingham Research Park (Top Menu)
The Birmingham Research Park is on Vincent Drive, roughly 300 metres from University West Gate.
The park was established in 1986 in partnership with Birmingham City Council to encourage the formation and growth of technology and knowledge-based companies.
It offers purpose-built accommodation to companies that wish to collaborate with the university in research, development and training. Some of these companies have been formed by academics in order to exploit their own research.
Tenants specialise in areas such as medical diagnostics, scientific instrument manufacture, biotechnology, computer systems etc.
University of Birmingham Research Park Website
Winterbourne Botanic Garden (Top Menu)
Winterbourne Botanic Garden is 300 metres from University East Gate on Edgbaston Park Road.
The six-acre garden was laid out in the grounds of Winterbourne House, an Edwardian villa built in 1903 for John and Margaret Nettlefold.
The house and garden were bequeathed to the University of Birmingham in 1944. The house has been refurbished as a heritage attraction and contains a tearoom.
The garden was landscaped in the Arts & Crafts Style advocated by Gertrude Jekyll who believed that structure, colour, scent, proportion and texture were the key considerations in a garden of any size.
There is a walled garden on the north side of Winterbourne House and formal terraced lawns and geographic beds on the south-east side.
The geographic beds terminate in an Arboretum beyond which there is a Rock Garden and Stream Lawn. A Japanese-style bridge connects the Rock Garden to Edgbaston Pool.
The botanic gardens hold horticultural open days and craft events; the Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists is based there.
58 Edgbaston Park Road B15 2RT 0121 414 3003 Map
Winterbourne Botanic Garden Website
The University Medical School is located off Vincent Drive in the Metchley area of Edgbaston, barely 200 metres from University West Gate.
It was completed in 1938 and is typical of the period with a flat horizontal roof and sharply contrasting vertical portico.
The Medical School occupies several other satellite sites, including:
(1) Wolfson Applied Technology Laboratory @ the QE Medical Centre Website
(2) MRC Centre for Immune Regulation on Wolfson Drive in Metchley Website
(3) Biomecular NMR Facility on Brailsford Drive Website
(4) Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences Website
(5) Wellcome Clinical Research Facility @ QE Hospital Website
College of Medical and Dental Sciences
The Selly Oak campus of the University of Birmingham is on the A38 Bristol Road, roughly 1.5 miles from the main Edgbaston campus.
The university acquired the 80-acre campus in 1999 after it took over nine independent theological and teacher training colleges. Two of these colleges have been converted into a drama village by the BBC.
The rest were absorbed by the School of Education or repackaged as the Orchard Learning Resources Centre, the Graduate Institute of Theology and Religion, the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts, the Woodbroke Quaker Study Centre and the Selly Oak Visual Arts Centre.
University College is located on Summer Row in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham.
It originated as a municipal technical college in the 19th century and was known as the College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies before it became an independent university college affiliated to the University of Birmingham in 1993.
The college teaches a broad range of further and higher education courses that tend to focus on job-related academic and vocational skills such as accounting, beauty, hairdressing, events management, the culinary arts, finance and early years education.
There is a second campus with beauty & sports therapy suites on Newhall Street; a postgraduate research & teaching centre on George Street; and two halls of residence - the Maltings and Cambrian Hall - off Broad Street in the Convention Quarter.
Summer Row B3 1JB 0121 604 1000 Map
Guide Jewellery Quarter University College Website
Sponsored Links (Top Menu)
Student Accommodation in the University Quarter
There are three student villages in the University Quarter: The Vale, Pritchatts Park, Selly Oak
Vale Student Village (Top Menu)
The Vale Student Village is set in parkland mainly on the west side of Edgbaston Park Road although some residential units, known as the Tennis Courts, are on the east side. The village was built on a slope with a comparatively steep north-east to south-west gradient.
The focal point is the "HUB" social centre which contains a 24/7 reception office, the Fusion dining area, the "Bar One" nightclub, the Upper Rio coffee bar, the Lower Rio bottle bar & nightclub and the Costcutter convenience store.
The Vale houses around 2700 students in six residential complexes: (1) Shackleton, (2) Chelwood, (3) Aitken, (4) Elgar Court, (5) Maple Bank, (6) Tennis Court and (7) Mason.
(1) Shackleton (map) houses 350 students; it consists of 72 flats, mainly with 6-8 bedrooms although some only have 1-3 bedrooms. Kitchen and bathrooms are generally shared; there is some ensuite accommodation.
(2) Chelwood (map) consists of 50 ensuite study bedrooms with shared kitchen facilities; residents are included in the meal plan at the Hub.
(3) Aitken (map) consists of twenty-three 6/8 bedroom flats with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Some are available to undergraduates on a meal-plan at the Hub and some are self-catering units for postgraduate students.
(4) Elgar (map) houses 236 students in forty 6-bedroom self-catering ensuite flats.
(5) Maple Bank (map) houses 435 undergraduates in 87 flats which each have 5 study bedrooms and shared kitchen & bathroom facilities. The accommodation is a mix of self-catering and meal-plan.
(6) Mason (map) consists of 804 en suite rooms divided into 5/6 bedroom flats and 36 apartments (for couples). The accommodation is a mix of self-catering and meal-plan.
(7) Tennis Court (map) houses 697 students in 138 x 3/4/5 bedroom flats. The accommodation is a mix of self-catering and meal-plan.
University Hospitality & Accommodation Services
Pritchatts Park Student Village (Top Menu)
Pritchatts Park Village is roughly 800 metres from University West Gate.
It houses 700 students and consists of four residential complexes: (1) Ashcroft, (2) Oakley Court, (3)Pritchatts House and (4) The Spinney.
The communal facilities include a bar, social centre and two 24/7 launderettes.
Ashcroft (map) houses 198 students in thirty-three 6-bedroom self-catering flats with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Oakley Court (map) houses 213 students in 21 self-catering flats with 5/13 bedrooms, 36 duplex units and shared kitchen, lounge and bathroom facilities.
Pritchatts House (map) accommodates 163 students in a total of thirteen 4/7/8/15/18 self-catering bedroom flats with shared kitchens and bathrooms.
The Spinney (map) houses 104 postgraduate students in 6 houses and 12 flats/small houses. The accommodation is self-catering with shared kitchens and bathrooms.
University Hospitality & Accommodation Services
Selly Oak Student Village (Top Menu)
The Selly Oak Student Village is on Dale Road, roughly 100 metres from the Grange Road Gate on the south-west side of the main university campus.
The village contains one residential complex, Jarratt Hall, which houses 600 students in 129 self-catering flats, each with 3/6 study bedrooms and shared kitchens, bathrooms and lounges.
Dale Road B29 6FG 0121 415 1011 Map
More About the University Quarter
Art Galleries in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Barber Institute
The Barber Institute on Edgbaston Park Road contains a world-class art collection including works by Dutch, German, Italian and French Masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Holbein and Botticelli.
The English School is represented by Turner, Gainsborough and Reynolds and the French colourists, impressionists and post impressionists by Degas, Monet, Gauguin and Van Gogh etc.
The sculpture collection features pieces by Degas, Rodin and Roubillac and the 20th century galleries contain pictures by Picasso, Magritte and Schiele, amongst others.
Admission is generally free.
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2TS 0121 472 0962 Map
Art Galleries in Birmingham Barber Institute Website
Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists
The Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists is based at the Winterbourne Botanical Garden on Edgbaston Park Road, roughly 300 metres from University East Gate.
The society was formed in 1999 to preserve the art of recording plant life by intricate drawings; it supports artists interested in botanical illustration.
Workshops and exhibitions are held in the Coach House Gallery at Winterbourne House.
Birmingham Society of Botanical Artists Website
Canals in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
The Birmingham and Worcester Canal follows the route of the cross-city railway along the western side of the main Edgbaston campus. Both the railway and canal then continues northward, past Birmingham Research Park, under Pritchatts Road, and along the western side of the Vale Student Village.
Links: Canals Birmingham and Worcester Canal
Cafe Chains in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Starbucks
Starbucks is at the Muirhead Tower on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham B15 2TT
Subway
Subway is at the Guild of Students B15 2TU, T 0121 472 2223
Subway Website Cafes & Fast Food in Birmingham
Demographics, Politics and Housing in the University & Environs
This website contains information about demographics, politics and housing in the Edgbaston ward which includes the University Quarter.
Key National Retailers in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Rymans
Rymans is @ @ B15 2TT, T 0121 472 0879
Waterstones
There is a branch of Waterstones (B15 2TP) off University Square on the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham
Live Music Venues in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Barber Institute
The Barber Institute on Edgbaston Park Road contains a 350-capacity concert hall that hosts an annual cycle of celebrity classical concerts and recitals by students and local societies.
Live Music in Brum Barber Institute Website
Museums in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Lapworth Museum of Geology
The Lapworth Museum of Geology is in the Aston Webb Building at Chancellors Court on the main university campus.
The museum was established in 1880 and is named after Chares Lapworth, the first Professor of Geology at Mason Science College, the forerunner of the University of Birmingham.
The museum contains galleries dedicated to mineral collections, palaeontology, historical models and equipment and geological maps. Admission is generally free.
Edgbaston B15 2TT 0121 414 7294 Map
Museums in Birmingham Lapworth Museum Website
Barber Institute
In addition to its art gallery, the Barber Institute also contains a collection of decorative arts and coins; these include lace, needlework, tapestries, ivories, enamels, reliquaries and ancient, mediaeval and Byzantine coins. Admission is generally free.
Newspapers Published in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Redbrick
Redbrick is a free weekly newspaper that is published in term-time by student volunteers; it is partially funded by advertisers and subsidised by the Guild of Students.
The paper, which was launched in 1936, has a potential readership of around 20,000; it is distributed on the university campuses at Edgbaston and Selly Oak.
The content is mainly student news and information with sport, fashion and music sections; however, Redbrick also has a reputation for challenging and controversial content.
Some extreme articles, particularly about the Palestinian Question, now appear in Radish, a radical underground publication also published by University of Birmingham students.
Tel 0121 251 2463 Edgbaston Park Road B15 2TU
Links:
University Redbrick WebsiteBus Routes through the University Quarter
The following bus routes run through the University Quarter: 84, 448
Railways in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Cross City Line
The Cross City Railway runs through the University Quarter on the west side of the Birmingham & Worcester Canal.
From Selly Oak, it skirts the main Edgbaston campus passing beneath University Road West, before arriving at University Station.
From there, it continues in a north-westerly direction past the Munrow Sports Centre and Birmingham Research Park, beneath Pritchatts Road and Somerset Road and then skirts the west boundary of the Vale Student Village.
University Station
University Station on the Cross City Line was built in 1978 off University Road West, roughly 200 metres from the West Gate of the main Edgbaston campus.
The station, which overlooks the Birmingham and Worcester Canal, serves both the university and adjoining hospital campuses.
It has an annual passenger footfall of 1.25 million and is equipped with two platforms, seated areas and CCTV, but lacks a car park or taxi rank. Bus routes 21, 21A, 44, 448, 636 and 637 pass nearby.
Trains bound for New Street generally stop every 10 minutes on weekdays, every 20 minutes on weekday and Saturday evenings, and every 30 minutes on Sundays.
There is 1 daily service to Hereford and 6 to Cardiff.
Main Destinations: Stations to Cardiff Central, Nottingham, Hereford, Longbridge, Redditch, Birmingham New Street, Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks, Lichfield City, Lichfield Trent Valley
08457484950 University Road West B15 2FB Map
University & Environs National Rail Enquiries
Somerset Station (abandoned)
Somerset Road is an abandoned railway station on the cross city line, between University Station and the Vale Student Village; it was located in a cutting beneath the bridge that carries Somerset Road above the line.
The station opened in 1876 and closed in 1930; its only remnant is a bricked-up entrance to the long-demolished platforms.
Schools in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
There are two independent secondary schools in the University Quarter: King Edwards School and King Edward VI High School for Girls.
Both are located on Edgbaston Park Road, near University East Gate..
King Edwards School
King Edwards on Edgbaston Park Road is an independent secondary school attended by around 850 boys aged between 11 and 18.
100% of boys achieved at least five GCSE's including Maths and English at A*/C in 2008.
The school has announced that it will teach the two year International Baccalaureate Diploma instead of A-levels from September 2010 (News Archive 26/02/10).
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2UA 0121 472 1672 Map
Secondary Schools King Edward School Website
King Edward VI High School for Girls
King Edward VI High School for Girls on Edgbaston Park Road is an independent secondary school attended by around 550 girls aged between 10 and 18.
100% of girls passed five GCSE's including Maths and English at A*/C in 2008.
Edgbaston Park Road B15 2UB 0121 472 1834 Map
Secondary Schools Kings Edward VI High School for Girls
Sports Clubs in the University Quarter (Top Menu)
Bournville Hockey Club
Bournville Hockey Club was founded in 1902; it was originally part of Bournville Athletic Sports Club based on the playing fields next to the Cadbury chocolate factory but now plays its home fixtures at the University of Birmingham and King Edward VI High School for Girls.
The club fields 6 men's and 3 ladies' teams; there are also indoor and summer league teams, a veteran's team and the Badgers: a blend of youth and experience. The club hosts a youth academy on Sunday mornings at Colmers Community Leisure Centre in Longbridge.
Links: Sports Clubs Bournville Hockey Club Website
Edgbaston Hockey Club
Edgbaston Hockey Club club fields 8 men's teams, 5 ladies teams and a mixed team, veteran's team and colts team known as the Edghogs.
The club was formed in 1885 and is the 2nd oldest hockey club in England. Home fixtures are played at the University of Birmingham or Edgbaston High School for Girls. Regular social events are held.
Links: Sports Clubs Edgbaston Hockey Club Website
Edgbaston Conservation Area (Top Menu)
Part of the university environs - including the Vale Student Village, the Conference Park and Winterbourne Botanic Gardens - fall within the Edgbaston Conservation Area which is intended to preserve most of Edgbaston as a low-density leafy suburb.
More about the Edgbaston Conservation Area
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