"Chamber," the first meeting of which was held here in February, 1785.
The Minister was induced to alter his mind.

~Chandeliers.~--Many beautiful works of art have been manufactured in
this town, which, though the wonder and admiration of strangers, receive
but faint notice here, and find no record except in the newspaper of the
day or a work like the present. Among such may be ranked the superb
brass chandelier which Mr. R.W. Winfield sent to Osborne in 1853 for Her
Majesty, the Queen. Designed in the Italian style, this fine specimen of
the brassworkers' skill, relieved by burnishing and light matted work,
ornamented with figures of Peace, Plenty, and Love in purest Parian,
masks of female faces typical of night, and otherwise decorated in the
richest manner, was declared by the late Prince Consort as the finest
work he had ever seen made in this country and worthy to rank with that
of the masters of old. Not so fortunate was Mr. Collis with the
"Clarence chandelier" and sideboard he exhibited at the Exhibition of
1862. Originally made of the richest ruby cut and gilded glass for
William IV., it was not finished before that monarch's death, and was
left on the maker's hand. Its cost was nearly £1,000, but at the final
sale of Mr. Collis's effects in Dec. 1881 it was sold for £5.

~Chapels and Churches.~--See "_Places of Worship_."

~Charity.~--Charitable collections were made in this neighbourhood in
1655, for the Redmontese Protestants, Birmingham giving £15 11s. 2d.,
Sutton Coldfield £14, and Aston £4 14s. 2d. On the 6th of June, 1690,
£13 18s. 1-1/2d. were collected at St. Martin's "for ye Irish
Protestants." In 1764 some Christmas performances were given for the
relief of aged and distressed housekeepers, and the charitable custom
thus inaugurated was kept up for over seventy years. In the days of