English · Idiom Historical

birmingham is the centre

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

It includes Wolverhampton, Walsall, Redditch, etc,, and has been blackened by its many coal and iron mines, and smoking factory shafts.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “birmingham is the centre” mean?

It includes Wolverhampton, Walsall, Redditch, etc,, and has been blackened by its many coal and iron mines, and smoking factory shafts.

Is “birmingham is the centre” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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