If Birmingham had a heart, then it would be the Bull Ring. The site of the markets since 1166, it was because of those markets that traders and smiths flocked to the town. And it was they who laid the firm foundations for Birmingham to launch itself on to the world stage in the Industrial Revolution as the Workshop of the World, the City of a 1000 Trades. But why did the markets have such a tremendous effect? What was there before them? Why are they where they are? What do the names Bull Ring, Digbeth and Deritend mean? How did they develop?  For what reason is there a Bradford Street when Birmingham is a long way from the Yorkshire city? And what is the history of the Anchor pub on the corner of Bradford Street and Rea Street? These and other historical questions will be answered by Carl Chinn in his illustrated talk, ‘Round About the Bull Ring’.

Professor Carl Chinn MBE is a social historian, teacher and writer. He is the author of 36 books, many on Birmingham and the Black Country, and of the Sunday Times number one bestseller, Peaky Blinders. The Real Story (2019). His latest book is Peaky Blinders. The Real Gangs and Gangsters. The true story of Britain’s most notorious street gangs (Blink Publishing, 2025).

Description supplied by the event organiser.