Editing Centenary Square (section)

===Early history===
The area where Centenary Square is today was an area of high density housing in the late 18th century. In 1745 [[John Baskerville]] built his own home, Easy Hill House in the general area of where now stands [[Baskerville House]]. The property comprised a house and outbuildings with formal gardens surrounding it. When John Baskerville died in 1775 he was buried within the grounds of his house. The house passed into the hands of [[John Ryland]] in 1788 and in 1791 when it was sacked and burned down by a riotous mob during the [[Priestley Riots]]. The house was demolished soon after it was ransacked.
[[File:Concept Civic Centre Birmingham 1918.jpg|thumb|[[William Haywood (architect)|William Haywood]]'s concept design for the Civic Centre in 1918]]
An iron merchant named Gibson purchased the land in 1821 and cut a canal arm through the site in order to increase his mill business on Cambridge Street. The canal was completed in 1825 which in turn encouraged the expansion of other businesses and other canal arms were cut into what is now Centenary Square and the area became one of high density industrial buildings. Baskerville Wharf was cut into the area where the [[Hall of Memory, Birmingham|Hall of Memory]] now stands.