Birmingham
Videos
Page
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper. Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside of London.
Image: Victoria Square Birmingham 2014 03 15
Image: Library of Birmingham reflected Cropped
Image: One Centenary Way, Birmingham, February 2023
Image: Cathedral Church of St Philip in Birmingham (geograph 5342296)
City status in the United Kingdom
Videos
Page
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of cities. As of 22 November 2022, there are 76 cities in the United Kingdom—55 in England, seven in Wales, eight in Scotland, and six in Northern Ireland. Although it carries no special rights, the status of city can be a marker of prestige and confer local pride.
Until the 19th century, city status in England and Wales was associated with the presence of a cathedral, such as York Minster.
Birmingham was the first English town without an Anglican cathedral to be granted city status. Birmingham City Council meets at the Council House.