Description:The second printed map of Birmingham, A Plan of Birmingham, was surveyed by Samuel Bradford in 1750 and engraved and printed by Thomas Jeffrys, geographer to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (later George III), in 1751. It shows the town growing to the north and west as new estates were released for building to house the 28% population growth over the previous twenty years. It shows a new Anglican chapel, several new non-conformist meeting houses and the town’s first brasshouse.
A Plan of Birmingham Samuel Bradford 1750 MAL/14002
Engraved by Thomas Jeffrys GEOGRAPHER to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
Published according to the Act of Parliament by Thos Jeffrys at the corner of StMartin’s Lane, Charing Cross London April 29 1751.
The map is aligned more conventionally with north [more accurately 10 east of north) at the top of the map which covers an area 1.88 kilometres by 1.49 kilometres centred on the south-west side of the junction of Bull Street and High Street,
As with Westley’s map of 1731 the British Library holds an original copy of the map collected by King George III [K.Top.42.79] at a scale of 1:1542. Birmingham Library holds copies at a reduced nominal scale of 66yards to the inch or 1:2376 [MAL14002, &c]. As well as owning a copy of this map the British Library has a second copy [K Top.42.80] c.1771 with an extension of the map pasted on the west side showing proposed new roads and tunnels for the Birmingham canal termini by Newhall Street and Easy Row/Suffolk Street.
Samuel Bradford was born April 11, 1725, the son of Henry Bradford, a Quaker timber merchant. He also produced a Plan of the city of Coventry, surveyed 1748-1749 and a revised version of Henry Beighton’s Survey of Warwickshire. Birmingham’s second map was first proposed in an advertisement in Aris’s Birmingham Gazette on February 19, 1750. The three maps were sold together
The Price to Subscribers is Six Shillings, of which Half to be paid at the Delivery of the Plan of Coventry, which will be in this Month, and the Remainder on the Delivery of the Plan of Birmingham, and Map of Warwickshire, which will be about Midsummer next. … after the Subscription is closed, the Price to Non-Subscribers will be Seven Shillings. …
All three of his maps were engraved by Thomas Jeffrys.
The nineteen years since Westley’s map saw new estates and new public buildings appearing in many parts of the town.
The map shows the Blue Coat charity school, built in 1724, to the north-east of St Philip’s. In 1733 William Hay leased part of Guest’s cherry orchard, to the south-east of St Phillip’s church, laid out Cannon Street to connect his land to New Street. Four years later a Particular Baptist meeting house opened in Cannon street. To link his land to Temple row and land that he’d leased in Walker’s cherry orchard Hay built a second street, appropriately named Cherry Street which was continued to the junction of High Town (High Street) and Bull Street by the circuitous Crooked Lane. To the north, the building plots of 1731 had all been taken and an imposing parish Workhouse, built in 1734-1735, stood between Lichfield Street and Steelhouse Lane accompanied by the later edition of an Infirmary erected at some time between 1740 and 1745.
Circling the high town, passing along Bewdley Street, Colmore Row, Steelhouse Lane, part of Stafford Street, part of Coleshill Street, part of Moor Street, behind the houses on the west of Moor Streetm across High Town, behind the houses on the south of New Street, along part of Peck Lane, behind the houses to the south of Pinfold Street and back to Bewdley Strret, a dotted line marks the boundary of St. Philip’s parish.
South of New Street, from Peck Lane, a new street King Street (later called Queen Street) extended, connected to New Street by Queens Alley (later named King Street). On the opposite side of Dudley Street, Dock Alley ran parallel with Hinkley Row.