We’ve said it before (we’ll likely say it again), but one of our favourite aspects of Birmingham is its unique blend of new and old. Only a 10-minute walk away from the futuristic Selfridges building, you’ll find the preserved-in-time Birmingham Back to Backs – the city’s last surviving court of back-to-back houses.
Similar houses (around shared courtyards) were once built all the time in industrial towns to cope with rapidly increasing populations. They were, however, labelled a health hazard in the mid-19th century and the Public Health Act (1875) put a stop to any more being built. National Trust has since taken over the court at 50–54 Inge Street and 55–63 Hurst Street.
Turning it into a museum, you can discover what working people’s lives were like 200 years ago. Take guided tours of the carefully restored, atmospheric courtyard and houses moving from the 1840s through to the 1970s. It also houses the only collection of work by a Caribbean tailor in the UK. George Saunders operated a shop here for many years and left numerous items to the National Trust.
Most Brummies know and love Birmingham Back to Backs. But research from luggage storage company Bounce has revealed TripAdvisor’s best hidden gem attractions in the UK – and it’s top out of 418 attractions! With more than 4,000 reviews, it holds a 5/5 star rating, thanks to 98% of visitors rating Birmingham Back to Backs as either “excellent” or “very good”.
It narrowly beat the Victoria Tunnel in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a 19th-century wagonway that runs under the city. It was originally built to transport coal to the river but was later converted into an air-raid shelter during WWII. Coming third was the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield – where you can go “digging into the history of coal mining”.
Neither can compete with Back to Backs, however, which also has a secondhand bookshop (Court 15 Books) that keeps this unique spot thriving. If you’d like to visit, you’ll need to pre-book a guided tour with tickets starting from £9 for an adult and £4.50 for a child. To learn more about Birmingham Back to Backs head here.