View of Lloyd’s, New Hotel and Hen and Chickens Inn, New Street, Birmingham
The elegance of New Street is presented in this full-page engraving by Francis Eginton. The focal point is Lloyd’s New Hotel, whose neo-classical lines are emphasised by the geometry of the street’s architecture. The tower and cupola of the Free Grammar School of Edward V1 rises behind. William Hutton who disliked the school building as a whole, nevertheless described the tower as being “in a good taste” (Hutton, An History of Birmingham.., 1781, p 208). The scene is animated by a passing carriage, a couple walking along the street and other figures by the doors and windows of the hotel. A maid observes the scene from a top-floor window.
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