Mercia.—In 585, this neighbourhood formed part of the Heptarchic kingdom of Mercia, under Cridda; in 697, Mercia was divided into four dioceses; this district being included in that of Lichfield; in 878, Mercia was merged in the kingdom of England. According to Bede and the Saxon Chronicles, Beorned was, in 757, king of Mercia, of which Birmingham formed part, and in Canute's reign there was an Earl Beorn, the king's nephew, and it has been fancifully suggested that in this name Beorn may lie the much-sought root for the etymology of the town's name. Beorn, or Bern, being derived from ber, a bear or boar, it might be arranged thusly:—
Ber, bear or boar; moeng, many; ham, dwelling—the whole making Bermoengham, the dwelling of many bears, or the home of many pigs!
Metchley Camp.—At Metchley Park, about three miles from town, near to Harborne, there are the remains of an old camp or station which Hutton attributes to "those pilfering vermin, the Danes," other writers thinking it was constructed by the Romans, but it is hardly possible that an undertaking requiring such immense labour as this must have done, could have been overlooked in any history of the Roman occupation. More likely it was a stronghold of the native Britons who opposed their advance, a superstition borne out by its being adjacent to their line of Icknield Street, and near the heart of England. From a measurement made in 1822, the camp appears to have covered an area of about 15-1/2 acres. Hutton gives it as 30 acres, and describes a third embankment. The present outer vallum was 330 yards long by 228 wide, and the interior camp 187 yards long by 165 wide. The ancient vallum and fosse have suffered much by the lapse of time, by the occupiers partially levelling the ground, and by the passing through it of the Worcester and Birmingham canal, to make the banks of which the southern extremity of the camp was completely destroyed. Some few pieces of ancient weapons, swords and battle-axes, and portions of bucklers, have been found here, but nothing of a distinctively Roman or Danish character. As the fortification was of such great size and strength, and evidently formed for no mere temporary occupation, had either of those passers-by been the constructors we should naturally have expected that more positive traces of their nationality would have been found.
Methodism.—The introduction here must date from Wesley's first visit in March, 1738. In 1764, Moor Street Theatre was taken as a meeting place, and John Wesley opened it March 21. The new sect afterwards occupied the King Street Theatre. Hutton says:—"The Methodists occupied for many years a place in Steelhouse Lane, where the wags of the age observed, 'they were eaten out by the bugs.' They therefore procured the cast-off Theatre in Moor Street, where they continued to exhibit till 1782, when, quitting the stage, they erected a superb meeting house in Cherry Street, at the expense of £1,200. This was opened, July 7, by John Wesley, the chief priest, whose extensive knowledge and unblemished manners give us a tolerable picture of apostolic purity, who believed as if he were to be saved by faith, and who laboured as if he were to be saved by works." The note made by Wesley, who was in his 80th year, respecting the opening of Cherry Street Chapel, has been preserved. He says:—"July 6th, 1782. I came to Birmingham, and preached once more in the old dreary preaching-house. The next day I opened the new house at eight, and it contained the people well, but not in the evening, many more then constrained to go away. In the middle of the sermon a huge noise was heard, caused by the breaking of a bench on which some people stood. None of them were hurt; yet it occasioned a general panic at first, but in a few minutes all was quiet." Four years after the opening, Wesley preached in the chapel again, and found great prosperity. "At first," he wrote, "the preaching-house would not near contain the congregation. Afterwards I administered the Lord's Supper to about 500 communicants." Old as he then was, the apostle of Methodism came here a time or two after that, his last visit being in 1790. Many talented men have since served the Wesleyan body in this town, and the society holds a strong position among our Dissenting brethren. The minutes of the Wesleyan Conference last issued give the following statistics of the Birmingham and Shrewsbury District:—Church members, 18,875; on trial for membership, l,537; members of junior classes, 2,143; number of ministerial class leaders, 72; lay class leaders, 1,269; local or lay preachers, 769 (the largest number in any district except Nottingham and Derby, which has 798). There are 40 circuits in the district, of which 27 report an increase of membership, and 13 a decrease.—See "[Places of Worship]."
Methodism, Primitive.—The origin of the Primitive Methodist Connexion dates from 1808, and it sprung solely from the custom (introduced by Lorenzo Dow, from America, in the previous year) of holding "camp meetings," which the Wesleyan Conference decided to be "highly improper in England, even if allowable in America, and likely to be productive of considerable mischief," expelling the preachers who conducted them. A new society was the result, and the first service in this town was held in Moor Sreet, in the open air, near to the Public Office, in the summer of 1824. The first "lovefeast" took place, March 6, 1825, and the first "camp meeting," a few months later. A circuit was formed, the first minister being the Rev. T. Nelson, and in 1826, a chapel was opened in Bordesley Street, others following in due course of time, as the Primitives increased in number. The Birmingham circuit contains about 800 members, with over 2,000 Sunday School scholars, and 250 teachers.— See "[Places of Worship]."
Metric System.—This, the simplest decimal system of computation yet legalised is in use in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain, and other parts of Europe, as well as in Chili, Peru, Mexico, &c., and by 27 and 28 Vic., cap. 117, its use has been rendered legal in this country. As our local trade with the above and other countries is increasing (unfortunately in some respects), rules for working out the metric measures into English and vice versa may be useful. The unit of length is the metre (equal to 39.37 inches); it is divided into tenths (decimetres), hundredths (centimetres), and thousandths (millimetres), and it is multiplied by decimals in like way into hectometres, kilometres, and myriometres. The unit of weight is the gramme, divided as the metre into decigrammes, centigrammes, and milligrammes; multiplied into decagrammes, hectogrammes, and kilogrammes. The unit of capacity is the litre, divided and multiplied like the others.
1 inch equals 2-1/2 centimetres. 1 foot equals 3 decimetres. 1 mile equals 1-3/5 kilometres. 1 cwt. equals 50.8 kilogrammes. 1 ounce (troy) equals 31 grammes. 1 pound (troy) equals 3.72 decagrammes. 1 gallon equals 4-1/2 litres. 1 quart equals 1-1/16 litres. 1 metre equals 39.37 inches. 1 hectometre equals 109-1/3 yards. 1 cubic metre equals 61,027 cubic inches. 1 kilometre equals 1,093 yards. 1 decigramme equals 1-1/2 grains. 1 gramme equals 15 grains. 1 kilogramme equals 2-1/5 pounds (avoirdupois). 1 litre equals 1-3/4 pints.
To turn inches into millimetres add the figures 00 to the number of inches, divide by 4, and add the result two-fifths of the original number of inches.
To turn millimetres to inches add the figure 0 and divide by 254.
To make cubic inches into cubic centimetres multiply by 721 and divide by 44; cubic centimetres into cubic inches multiply by 44 and divide by 721.