Skating Rinks were opened at the Lower Grounds May 1, 1875; at Bingley Hall, Oct. 2, 1875; at Moseley, Dec. 6, 1876; and at Handsworth, Oct. 8, 1877; and, for a time, the amusement was exceedingly popular, more than one fortune accruing from the manufacture of patent and other roller skates.  One of the most noteworthy feats on the slippery rinks was the skating of 200 miles in 24 hours by a Mr. F. Betteridge at Bingley Hall, Aug. 20, 1878.

Swimming.—­The Birmingham Leander Club commenced their aquatic brotherhood in June, 1877, and the members do themselves honour by gratuitously attending the public baths in the summer months to teach the art of swimming to School Board youngsters. [See “Baths,”] The celebrated swimmer, Captain Webb, who was drowned at Niagara, July 24, 1883, visited this town several times, and the Athletic Club presented him with a gold medal and purse December 4, 1875.

Statues, Busts, and Memorials.—­For many years it was sneeringly said that Birmingham could afford but one statue, that of Nelson, in the Bull Ring, but, as the following list will show, the reproach can no longer be flung at us.  Rather, perhaps, it may soon be said we are likely to be over-burdened with these public ornaments, though to strangers who know not the peculiarities of our fellow-townsmen it may appear curious that certain local worthies of the past have not been honoured in marble or bronze.

Attwood.—­The figure of Thomas Attwood, in Stephenson Place, New Street, is the work of Mr. John Thomas, who did much of the carving at the Grammar School.  The cost was about L900, and the statue was unveiled June 6, 1859.

Blue Coat Children.—­The stone figures of a Blue Coat boy and girl over the entrance to the School in St. Phillip’s Churchyard, were sculptured by Mr. Edward Grubb, in 1770, and Hutton thought they were executed “with a degree of excellence that a Roman statuary would not blush to own.”  In 1881 the appearance of the figures was improved by their being painted in correct colours.

Bright.—­At the time of the Bright Celebration in 1883, the Birmingham Liberal Association commissioned Mr. A. Bruce Joy to execute for them a marble statue of Mr. Bright, which the Association intend placing in the new Art Gallery.  The statue itself is expected to be finished in 1885, but Mr. Bright has expressed his satisfaction with the model, which represents him standing erect in an attitude of dignified tranquility, easy and natural with his left hand in the breast of his coat, while the other hangs down by his side, emblematic of the Christian charity so characteristic of our distinguished representative.

Boulton.—­There is a fine bust of Matthew Bolton in Handsworth, and as the owner of the great Soho Works certainly did much to advance the manufactures of this town, foreigners have often expressed surprise that no statue has been erected to his memory.