Birmingham
City of 1,001 trades: proximity to coal and iron spawned precision metalworking, guns, jewelry, then cars. Now UK's top FDI destination outside London—2026's HS2 will test the services pivot.
Birmingham grew not from geography but from proximity to raw materials. Coal and iron lay just west in South Staffordshire, close enough that transport costs stayed low while skilled craftsmen developed precision metalworking. By the 16th century, the town was already producing cutlery, nails, and swords. A pattern emerged early: heavy metal-bashing concentrated in the Black Country, while Birmingham specialized in what Victorians called 'toys'—buckles, buttons, candlesticks, corkscrews, snuff boxes, watch chains, and eventually guns.
In 1689, Sir Richard Newdigate approached local manufacturers about supplying small arms to the British government. By 1693, five Birmingham makers had contracts to produce muskets. During the Napoleonic Wars, the city manufactured three million guns—two-thirds of the British Army's supply. A commemorative plaque in the Gun Quarter still claims Birmingham was 'the foremost arms producer in the world.' Meanwhile, the Jewellery Quarter crystallized after the Birmingham Assay Office opened in 1773, and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal arrived in 1789. Each trade claimed its territory.
This diversification earned Birmingham its Victorian nickname: 'the city of 1,001 different trades.' Where Manchester concentrated on cotton and Sheffield on steel, Birmingham made everything metal. The Jewellery Quarter still produces 40% of all UK jewellery—Europe's largest concentration of jewelry businesses, described by English Heritage as 'a national treasure.' The same adaptive spread shaped the 20th century: small arms became BSA motorcycles, which became precision engineering for Jaguar Land Rover at Solihull.
Today Birmingham attracts more foreign direct investment than any UK city outside London—67 projects in 2023, a 139% annual increase. HS2 will cut the London journey to 49 minutes. The £3 billion Arden Cross development promises 27,000 jobs. Government departments relocate from London under the 'Places for Growth' programme.
By 2026, HS2's arrival will test whether Birmingham can capture professional services or whether its strength remains making things. The city of 1,001 trades may need to add one more: becoming a satellite of London's knowledge economy.