The country for a few miles round the town is in every direction studded with houses, belonging to the opulent inhabitants of Birmingham, or of those who have retired from the busy scenes of life.
Whoever walks much about this town, will perceive one very remarkable circumstance: at the top of a street you ascend into the houses by a flight of steps, and in the lower part of the same street, you descend into some of the houses; this is exemplified in Edmund-street, and particularly in Newhall-street and Lionel-street.
There are two fairs in the year, one of them is held on Thursday in the Whitsun week, and the other on the last Thursday in September: the horses being exposed for sale in Bristol-street; the neat cattle, sheep, and pigs in Smithfield.
The established market is on Thursday, but the town being so populous, there is a very good market both on Monday and Saturday. Hay and straw are exposed for sale every Tuesday, in Smithfield.
George Jackson, of Birmingham, mercer, gave certain premises, in Deritend, for placing out two apprentices, annually; present rent, six pounds per annum.
Some years back, the church of St. Martin being under repair, the workmen discovered that the four pinnacles, (one at each corner of the tower), were very much decayed, upon which, the powers at that time in authority concluded, that they should be re-constructed, and to make a finish, fixed a vane upon each of them, without considering, that, the steeple being in the centre, it was not possible for the wind invariably to act upon all alike; consequently, any other termination would have been more appropriate.
In the jurisprudence of this town, there is one remarkable circumstance; the chief constable of Hemlingford hundred, wherein Birmingham is situated, is of course superior to the two constables of this town; yet they, by virtue of their office, preside over the common prison, and of course the appointment of prison-keeper is vested in them; but, strange to relate, the chief constable of the hundred is keeper of the prison, in Birmingham: consequently, although he is their superior, he is at the same time subservient to them.
Within this town and its immediate vicinity there are more than fifty carriages, of different descriptions, on four wheels, and upwards of three hundred on two wheels, that pay the duty.