Joseph Priestley lived in Birmingham from 1780 - 1791.  

Click on each picture below for an enlargement.


Chamberlain Square, central Birmingham:

In central Birmingham one will find a statue of Joseph Priestley holding a burning lens.
 Joseph Priestley holding a burning lens.

Statue of Joseph Priestley is almost unnoticed from across the square.
Another view across the square.


Soho house was home to the Lunar Society.  Joseph Priestley was a member of this society while living in Birmingham.  The Lunar Society was known for its intellectual leadership, particularly with respect to the industrial revolution.  Members included Matthew Boulton, owner of the Soho Works in Birmingham, James Watt (steam engines), Dr. Erasmus Darwin (grandfather to Charles Darwin), Josiah Wedgwood (china pottery), John Wilkinson (iron-master), Dr. William Withering (work with foxglove (digitalis) and its medical applications, and several others.  Today Soho House is a museum.

View of Soho House (Birmingham) from the outside.
The dining room at Soho House.  This is the actual dining table around which the members of the original Lunar Society met. The museum provided a typical evening menu which included: almond soup, salmon, boiled potatoes, parsnips, ham, leg of mutton, orange jelly and stewed pairs.

Another view of the dining room.
entrance area to Soho house

This contraption is a replica of the sort of electrical machines Joseph Priestley and others used to generate electricity for experiments and demonstrations. 


wine celler and basement to Soho House


 The Birmingham Riots took place in July 1791. In the first image below, Joseph Priestley's house (Fair Hill) was looted (14 Jul 1791).  In the second picture, the city meeting house was burned.  (from A History of Birmingham, Chris Upton, Phillimore Press)