This page may be referred to as www.birmingham.gov.uk/council-house Built between 1874 and 1879 on what was once Ann Street, and designed by Yeoville Thomason, the Council House is now a Grade II listed building, used for all Council and most Committee meetings. The front, facing Victoria Square, has a pediment showing Britannia receiving the manufacturers of Birmingham. Before it was built the town council met at such places as the Public Offices in Moor Street, and even at a public house. The town argued long and hard whether the finished building should be called The Municipal Hall, Council House, or Guildhall. The total cost was £163,000. Behind it stands the Museum and Art Gallery, built by the same architect in 1881-5. The Banqueting Suite can be hired for private functions.