1-157-830 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Birmingham viewed from the south showing smoking chimneys, c1860. A small manufacturing town until the 18th century, Birmingham was one of the most important centres of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. The area had abundant reserves of coal and iron ore and a skilled workforce and was a focal point of the canal, and later the railway, network. By Victorian times Birmingham's population had expanded to over half a million, making it the second largest urban centre in Britain.