Great Hall And Quadrant Range

The Great Hall and Quadrant Range, located on University Road in Edgbaston, was built between 1900 and 1909 by Sir Aston Webb and Ingress Bell. This building is part of the main university complex, although only a portion was completed according to the original design. The Great Hall, situated opposite the tower, serves as the central axial building. In front of it is a square entrance hall featuring a large round arched mullioned window, an ornate frieze above the loggia doorways, and tapering square corner turrets that are topped with small ribbed domes. Above the hall is a low octagonal drum that supports a large ribbed dome and a miniature lantern. The structure is made of red brick with stone and buff terracotta dressings, and its design is more influenced by Byzantine styles than Renaissance ones.

Behind the domed entrance hall, adorned with ornate Renaissance grotesque relief carvings, lies the Great Hall itself. This expansive space features a tunnel-vaulted ceiling and cross-vaulted two-storey side galleries, all richly decorated with grotesque carvings and lavish stained glass by T R Spence. The hall's centerpiece includes two-storey quadrant links that form wing pavilions, with two on the west side and only one completed on the east. These pavilions are designed on a smaller two-storey scale and are square in plan, featuring similar ribbed domes and round corner turrets, with wings extending behind. The ground floor has flat lintelled window ranges, while the first floor showcases large frescoed friezes by Anning Bell below the parapets. The link ranges are fitted with segmental arched windows. A modern addition to the east is not of special interest.