SUL Language Schools

The home of the Industrial Revolution

In the eyes of most English people it represents the region of cities based on the large-scale industry.

This is the home of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. The reasons for this lie in England’s increasingly dominant navalk power allowing profitable overseas trade to develope in the 17th and 18th centuries. Instead of wasting this wealth on luxury lifestyles, it was invested in coal and iron reserves, which became the basis of the first railways in the world (replacing the canals), the first textile mills were also built, large scale potteries flourished, and iron and steel foundries made the parts for bridges, ships, trains and eventually for the car industry.

At the centre of this is England’s second biggest city of Birmingham, which was known as The Workshop of the World. It was part of the power house of the Industrial Revolution (which started in England) and later of the British Empire.

This wealth did not bring a better life to everyone and the origins of the philosophy of Karl Marx can be found in the industrial cities of Victoria Britain. Life expectancy was very low amongst the working classes. Child labour was also common.

Birmingham was one of the first cities to institute the reforms which went a long way to ending this suffering. The city combined public health reform with more just labour laws and universal education, which proved to be the solution.
It is a lesson to remember as people tackle the same problems in the developing countries today.

Birmingham is now an important commercial centre, being named as the third-best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 21st best in Europe. It is also the fourth-most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK.

The other major industrial cities are Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham & Derby (initially famous for the textile industry) and Stoke on Trent (centre of the potteries).

Cultural Highlights

The heroes of the past who lived in this region, are often seen to be two men who are now world famous.

Nottingham is famous for its associations with the medieval hero Robin Hood, who led his fight against the Norman rulers from his sanctuary in Sherwood Forest.

The other historical giant lived at the other end of this region, in Stratford- Upon-Avon William Shakespeare, someone who was well aware of the importance of history in the building of a nation. He was also a famous English poet and playwright whose plays have been translated into every major living language and are more often performed than any other playwright.

Today the heroes are perhaps the scolars in the great post war univeristies of this region such as Birmingham, Warwick and Nottingham.