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Elliott Brown Classic Architecture
10 Aug 2023 - Elliott Brown
Did you know?

The Gothic on Great Hampton Street between 2016 and 2023

The Gothic was built originally as a public house at the corner of Great Hampton Street and Great Hampton Row in Hockley, Birmingham in the late 1870s. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1982. Cordia Blackswan restored the building from 2019, this was completed by 2022. King Kong Park was next to the building from July to around October 2022 (the King Kong recreation is gone).

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The Gothic on Great Hampton Street between 2016 and 2023





The Gothic was built originally as a public house at the corner of Great Hampton Street and Great Hampton Row in Hockley, Birmingham in the late 1870s. It has been a Grade II listed building since 1982. Cordia Blackswan restored the building from 2019, this was completed by 2022. King Kong Park was next to the building from July to around October 2022 (the King Kong recreation is gone).


The Gothic dates to the late 1870s, built of polychrome brick and Ruskinian dressed stone. The Gothic public house included two shops. A prominent corner site looking down Constitution Hill. The building has an octagonal turret. The building was Grade II listed in July 1982. It remained a pub until it closed down around 2001-02.

Cordia Blackswan took over the building and restoration work took place from 2019 to 2022.

 

The Gothic seen back in September 2016, a few years before restoration. The previous owners thought it was a good idea to paint the ground floor units in pink! Looking on Google Maps Street View, it has been like this since the 2000s.

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By February 2022, all of the scaffolding had come down and restoration of The Gothic and the other buildings was almost complete. I was heading up Great Hampton Street to check out The Blue Orange Theatre at the time. Was wet rainy weather. The Quality Works buildings to the far left.

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March 2022, and I saw this view of The Gothic from Birmingham Snow Hill Station, waiting for my train at platform 3. That modern building to the right is Hampton by Hilton Birmingham Jewellery Quarter (next to St Paul's Tram Stop).

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The Gothic and King Kong Park, July 2022. The recreated statue of King Kong was next to The Gothic from July 2022, at the beginning of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, on Great Hampton Row. I'd caught the tram that day up to St Paul's Tram Stop.

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The last we saw of King Kong at King Kong Park was during October 2022. This view from The Orelle at 103 Colmore Row, with The Gothic seen on the left.

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Early August 2023, and I approached The Gothic from Kenyon Street to Great Hampton Street. It looks like all the buildings renovations are now complete. It looks good! Also King Kong Park is long gone, and Great Hampton Row is once again open to local traffic.

dndimg alt="The Gothic" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/The%20Gothic%20GHS%20(Aug%202023)%20(1).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />

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dndimg alt="The Gothic" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/The%20Gothic%20GHS%20(Aug%202023)%20(3).jpg" style="width: 100%;" />

Photography by Elliott Brown

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Daniel Sturley Art; Culture & creativity
22 Jul 2022 - Daniel Sturley
News & Updates

King Kong back where he belongs - unveiling day!

Following all the excitement, Friday 22nd July, 2022 was finally here. Crowds gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Yes, King Kong is back in the city, and he's even bigger than before!

Enjoy our wonderful gallery of photos compiled with the help of our community and followers of Birmingham Gems. 

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King Kong back where he belongs - unveiling day!





Following all the excitement, Friday 22nd July, 2022 was finally here. Crowds gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Yes, King Kong is back in the city, and he's even bigger than before!

Enjoy our wonderful gallery of photos compiled with the help of our community and followers of Birmingham Gems. 


The Birmingham Gems team arrived early to get a few shots of the King before the ceremony.

This giant of a sculpture modelled on the original King Kong is over 7 metres tall.  He's impressive and the artwork is wonderful!

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Nicholas Monro, the sculptor behind the original statue of King Kong, made of fibre-glass and displayed in Birmingham 50 years ago, was represented at the ceremony by his two sons Joe and Claud.

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Sculptors RoboCarv worked with Mr Monro and his family to create the replica which is significantly bigger than the 1970s original.

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Cordia Blackswan, developers of many of the builds and re-development occurring along and around Great Hampton Street, are responsible for seeing this project come to fruition. 

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Marcus Hawley, founder and managing director of Cordia Blackswan makes an extremely important point about the connection between art, commmunity and the role of place-makers,

"xxxxxxx

 

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Photography by Daniel Sturley

 

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Your Place Your Space People & community
23 Mar 2022 - Your Place Your Space
News & Updates

Ghost signs found at Lamp Works site on Great Hampton Street

During site preparation works at Codia Blackswan's Lamp Works on Great Hampton Street, old painted shop signs often referred to as "Ghost Signs" were found.

Wow, isn't uncovering hidden gems just wonderful!

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Ghost signs found at Lamp Works site on Great Hampton Street





During site preparation works at Codia Blackswan's Lamp Works on Great Hampton Street, old painted shop signs often referred to as "Ghost Signs" were found.

Wow, isn't uncovering hidden gems just wonderful!


Whilst the signs are slightly hard to decipher, they are believed to mark the former home of J.R. Stevens, a tailor, hosier, and general outfitters store which traded on Great Hampton Street around 100 years ago.

On the other side of the building, two further ghost signs were also revealed during the demolition. The ghost sign in view is the home of ‘Strawbridge Painter & Glazier’ at 30 Great Hampton Street, estimated to be at least a century old.

These are believed to showcase the former home of a business involved in ‘glass, china and all kinds of Earthenware’. Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that is normally fired below 1,200 degrees celcius.

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The Lamp Works will be a residential led mixed-use scheme of 148 apartments, with the industrial heritage of the site reflected in the design of the building, its form and materials used.

A steel frame from one of the original buildings will be retained in memory of the original central factory space, referencing the sites key history in Jewellery Quarter.

Construction of the Lamp Works will begin in August 2021 with apartments ready for occupation in 2023.

Connect with us HERE.

Become part of our Great Hampton Street community HERE

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Your Place Your Space People & community
23 Mar 2022 - Your Place Your Space
News & Updates

Original tiles and flooring uncovered at 22a Great Hampton Street

During renovation work at Cordia Blackswan's new HQ on Great Hampton Street, a range of beautiful original features have been uncovered that has provided wonderful inspiration for the remodelling of this fantastic building which was once a branch of Lloyds Bank. 

 

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Original tiles and flooring uncovered at 22a Great Hampton Street





During renovation work at Cordia Blackswan's new HQ on Great Hampton Street, a range of beautiful original features have been uncovered that has provided wonderful inspiration for the remodelling of this fantastic building which was once a branch of Lloyds Bank. 

 


The refurbishment of this Grade II listed former Lloyds Bank is a great way for Cordia Blackswan to showcase their approach to developments and the high quality of their work.

Once complete, the 15,000 sq ft building will feature six office suites, with the former banking hall transformed into an independent café space for local business and the community to enjoy.

The intention is to fully refurbish the basement vault into a trendy music venue as part of the renovation - more on that to follow!

dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/IMG_0517b_BSWN.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Photography by Daniel Sturley

Firstly, when removing the current concrete flooring, Cordia Blackswan discovered some original flooring tiles in a plethora of wonderful and quite unique bright colours, including red, yellow, green, purple, and turquoise.

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dndimg alt="" dndsrc="../uploadedfiles/IMG_0476b_BSWN.jpg" style="width: 100%;" />Photography by Daniel Sturley

It is believed that the tiles date back to the 1880s.

The intention is to restore and retain the tiles in the hall which will be transformed into a café space.

On the same floor, traditional Herringbone Parquet wooden flooring in a rich mahogany brown was also discovered which is also believed to date back to the 1880s. This will also be restored.

Connect with us HERE.

Become part of our Great Hampton Street community HERE

Enjoy our videos of these discoveries. 

 

 

 

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Your Place Your Space People & community
21 Mar 2022 - Your Place Your Space
News & Updates

Please help provide emergency kits for Ukrainian refugees

Cordia Blackswan and Global Aid Network call on the Birmingham Community to provide emergency kits for Ukrainian refugees.

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Please help provide emergency kits for Ukrainian refugees





Cordia Blackswan and Global Aid Network call on the Birmingham Community to provide emergency kits for Ukrainian refugees.


Birmingham-based property developer Cordia Blackswan has partnered with charity Global Aid Network (GAiN) to collect donations for Ukrainian refugees.


Cordia Blackswan will be offering their head office, located at The Bank on Great Hampton Street, as a public drop off point for anyone to donate emergency hygiene kits which will then be shipped directly to those in need.

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The developer is standing together with its owners, Futureal, Cordia Group and HelloParks, to provide support for the crisis in Ukraine. The group is donating 300 million Hungarian Forints in addition to the amount raised by its employees to support humanitarian projects in Hungary, Poland and Romania.

GAiN is a worldwide humanitarian organisation that provides aid and critical care for people in crisis. The organisation is dedicated to bringing hope and tangible help to refugees and people living in poverty, believing that every life counts.

In response to the Ukraine crisis, GAiN is working directly with NGOs receiving Ukrainians across the border to ensure they are collecting the most critical relief items. They are also donating 100% of profits to people in need.

The organisations are calling on the public for urgent donations, with the immediate priority being male and female hygiene kits. To donate an emergency hygiene kit, people can simply purchase any of the products from the list here, and place in a bag for life with “female” or “male” written on the outside.

Kits should be placed in bags for life to ensure that as many emergency hygiene kits as possible can be packed onto the shipping container. The initiative will take place from Monday 11th March until Friday 25th March 2022.

Marcus Hawley, Managing Director at Cordia Blackswan, said “The Cordia Blackswan team is deeply saddened by the events in Ukraine, and want to support everyone involved in every way that we can. We have teamed up with Global Aid Network to ensure that refugees are receiving the critical items they need and call on the people of Birmingham to donate anything they can to support the cause.”

Sarah Patel, GAiN UK Operations Manager, said: “Every donation we receive means one more person, whose life has been torn apart by this war, that we can bring a practical message that we are standing with them. We are incredibly grateful for every response to give and donate that enables us to send this message of hope.”

In addition to donations, the Futureal Groupwill be identifying their own properties in suitable locations to be used for humanitarian activities. In Poland, the transformation of buildings and the establishment of temporary kindergarten and shelters for refugees has already begun. The work with aid and medical organisations will help to rescue people from Ukraine.

The Cordia Group are also offering its available furnished rental apartments in Budapest free of charge to refugee families in need and is calling on its customers to provide housing for those affected by the crisis.

Gábor Futó, Founder and Co-Owner of Futureal Group, said: "We are following events in Ukraine with a heavy heart and with a deep sense of duty to help. I am very proud of everyone at Futureal-Cordia Group, as many of our colleagues have already taken in refugees and many are also preparing to actively participate in the programmes and donations we are organising.”

For anyone in Birmingham who would like to make a donation, the drop off point is located at:

The Bank, 22a Great Hampton Street,Birmingham.  B18 6AH.

Drop off times will be 7.30am-9.30am, 12-2pm and 5-6.30pm from Monday to Friday each week.

Alternatively, if you are making a sizeable donation, you can email info@globalaidnetwork.org.uk and someone will come to collect your parcel. For those based further afield, donation kits can also be sent to the above address via post.

See the list below of items needed in a bag for life donation:

Male                                                                              Female

Soaps                                                                            Soaps

Shampoos                                                                     Shampoos

Toothpastes                                                                   Toothpastes

Toothbrushes                                                                 Toothbrushes

Razors                                                                           Razors

Small towels                                                                  Small towels

Combs                                                                           Combs

Hand creams                                                                 Hand creams

Packets of hand tissues                                                 Packets of hand tissues

New underwear                                                             New underwear

New socks                                                                     New socks

Deodorants                                                                    Deodorants

Sanitary towels/tampons

 

For more information about Cordia Blackswan, please visit:www.cordiablackswan.co.uk.

To read more about what GAiN are doing to support the crisis in Ukraine, and how you can help, please click here.

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