Curzon Street receives distinguished IMechE Engineering Heritage Award

Curzon Street, the site of the old Queen’s Hotel, Birmingham, has been awarded with IMechE’s Engineering Heritage Award in recognition of its unique place in the history of the Institution.

This year, the Institution is celebrating its 175^th anniversary and it was at the Queen’s Hotel in Birmingham 175 years ago, where the inaugural meeting was held which saw George Stephenson elected as the first President and where the founding principles were established.

On 24 November, the Engineering Heritage Committee, IMechE President Phil Peel, CEO Dr Alice Bunn and invited members of the Institution met at the Think Tank Museum, where they had the opportunity to visit the museum and exhibits. Currently, Curzon Street is a building site for the HS2 high speed railway, so the plaque unveiling was split into two groups: a small number of attendees at the site, and the rest watching a live stream from the Museum.

Kevin Blacktop, Midland Region Chair, said:

“The Institution’s Heritage Award for Curzon Street station is the second award in the Midland Region to mark the 175th anniversary of the IMechE. The award at Bromsgrove recognised the location of the discussion to form the Institution in 1846 and the award at Curzon Street Station marks the first meeting held in January 1847. Railways were one of the key drivers for the formation of the IMechE and it is fitting that the surviving building of the original station will be incorporated into the new station development for HS2.”

The Engineering Heritage Awards were established in 1984 to promote artefacts, sites, or landmarks of significant engineering importance – past and present. Previous winners of the award are Bromsgrove Station, RAF Museum’s Supermarine Spitfire and Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.

Find out more about our 175^th Anniversary celebrations and the Engineering Heritage Awards.