Directories—The later half of the century was even more distinguished in many other ways. The modern Directories were not popular or common till late in the last century. Even the rare London Directory of 1677 does not seem to have had many imitators, but about 1750 the increasing number of trades stimulated the demand. In Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in Sheffield and other towns, Directories appeared, and Birmingham was among the first, and one of great interest and value appeared in 1770, and probably earlier, followed by others, ever increasing as the population increased, but very curiously contrasting with the huge volumes of later days.

Cotton Spinning—One of the most remarkable, perhaps, of the industrial schemes in Birmingham, was the establishment of a cotton mill, which still remains as a building and shows its origin, although now a rolling mill. It was the natural result of the genius of John Wyatt and of Lewis Paul, for in a room in the Upper Priory—now covered by the schools of the Society of Friends—the first cotton spinning machine was erected and worked, and the old distaff and spindle, and spinning machine doomed. Thomas Warren, Edward Cave, Dr. James, and others, took up the speculation of Lewis Paul, and mills were built at Birmingham and Northampton, but before the century closed they had failed to pay.

The Soho Works—The most famous of all the classes of industrial enterprises in Birmingham was the famous “Soho.” From the manufacture of “toys”—steel toys, buckles, buttons, sword-hilts, &c.—in Snow Hill, Matthew Boulton had removed to Soho in 1763. There he erected machinery for water power, but by happy accident, James Watt visited the place, and Boulton was so struck with his improvements in the steam engine, which Soho only seemed able to produce, that a connection began which has immortalised the names of Boulton and Watt, and shed undying glory on the industrial history of Birmingham. The story has been too often told to require repetition, but even now it has scarcely been fully told. Soho itself has perished, scarcely a relic remains, but James Watt’s house at Heathfield still exists with relics which will ever be an honour to his genius, and will keep his memory green. All admirers of the genius of Watt will hope and desire that these remains of an industrial hero, a genius of the useful arts, may become a public trust, to show posterity how so illustrious a man of science was valued in his life, and is honoured by those who rejoice in the fruits of his genius and skill.

Famous Men: the Soho Circle—One of the most remarkable chapters in the history of Birmingham would be a full record of the men of the latter half, or even the last quarter, of the last century who gave lustre to the town, and who materially helped its constant progress. “Soho” had not only supplied what the world had long wanted, “power,” but it had set up a standard of excellence, and had trained a class of workmen who were to go forth to conquer, at home and abroad, in all industrial work. The spirit of Soho is still abroad in the land, and Birmingham may claim to have been one of the foremost in the mechanical progress of the past hundred years.

The galaxy of great men, as it has been called, who met in Birmingham a century ago is certainly remarkable. Boulton was a native of the town, but many “strangers came within the gates.” James Watt—almost all-accomplished—was soon followed by Joseph Priestley, who lived here for eleven years. His fame had preceded him, his great discoveries had been made. A storm of popular and ignorant bigotry drove him from the town, wrecked his home, ruined his laboratory, and burned his library; but the sons have “blushed to find their fathers were his foes;” and a statue honoured his memory and his great discovery of oxygen on the centenary of that day. Dr. Darwin, of Lichfield and Derby, the father of a noble line, and himself a man of genius and power, was a constant visitor. William Murdock, one of the ablest of the Soho group, the first maker of a locomotive, and the practical inventor of gas-lighting, was long a resident in the town, and is buried near Boulton and Watt. John Baskerville, the printer; Josiah Wedgwood, the famous art-potter; James Keir, the great chemist; Richard Edgeworth and Thomas Day, authors; Joseph Berington, the learned Roman Catholic; Dr. Withering, the botanist; Dr. Parr, the famous Greek scholar; Samuel Galton, the Quaker; John Proud, the Swedenborgian; John Wyatt, the inventor; Edmund Hector, Johnson’s friend; and many others, formed such a “happy family” of genius and worth as few towns of the period could surpass or equal; and that “golden age” of Birmingham, the men and names, and works and progress of the last century, must ever be remembered and honoured, even in these days of quicker progress and greater victories in scientific and industrial pursuits.

[Many very interesting details of the History of Birmingham are necessarily omitted in this brief summary and may be found in the following works:—

Aston Hall, (A. E. Everitt)1846
”” and the Holte Family (Davidson)1854
”” Monograph of (Niven)1880
Birmingham, History of (W. Hutton)1781 &c.
”” Presbyterian Nonconformity in (J. R. Wreford)1832
”” and its Vicinity (W. Hawkes Smith)1838
”” General Hospital & Musical Festivals (J. T. Bunce)1858
”” Free Schools, Colleges, &c. (G. Griffith)1861
”” Memorials of Old,—“Old Crown House,” and “Men and Names” (Toulmin Smith)1864
”” and Midland Hardware District (S. Timmins)1866
”” Buildings of, Two Series (“Este”)1866
”” Life, A Century of, 1741 to 1841 (J. A. Langford)1868
”” Queen’s College, Annals of (W. S. Cox)1873
”” Modern, 1841 to 1871 (J. A. Langford)1873 &c.
”” Old St. Martin’s Church (J. T. Bunce)1875
”” Men (E. Edwards)1877
”” Corporation, History of (J. T. Bunce) 2 vols.1878 &c.
”” Old and New (R. K. Dent)1880
”” Inventors & Inventions (R. B. Prosser)1881
”” Old Meeting House and Burial Ground (C. H. Beale)1882
”” Dictionary of (T. T. Harman)1884
Boulton and Watt (S. Smiles)1865
Keir, Jas., Life of (J. K. Moilliett)1868
Watt, Jas., Life of (J. P. Muirhead)1858
” Mechanical Inventions (J. P. Muirhead)1854
” Mechanical Inventions (E. A. Cowper), Transactions of Mechanical Engineers, November1883

The Reference Library contains all the works named, and many others,—every known book or pamphlet, map or directory, relating to the History of Birmingham; and the detailed catalogue (pp. 93) classifies the collection under numerous headings, including all the Acts of Parliament relating to Birmingham and its neighbourhood.]