Birmingham and Midland Institute
Birmingham and Midland Institute
Birmingham and Midland Institute
4.5
Monday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM
About
Welcome to the BMI. The Birmingham & Midland Institute has been at the heart of Birmingham’s cultural life for over 150 years. It was originally founded by an Act of Parliament in 1854 for the “Diffusion and Advancement of Science, Literature and Art amongst all calluses of persons resident in Birmingham and Midland counties.” Charles Dickens was one of our biggest advocates and one of our earliest Presidents. We are also the site for the original Birmingham Library. The library's holding has steadily increased since joining the Institute in1955. We have collections you can't find anywhere else in the world. We also offer our wonderful rooms for hire, Each room in the BMI is fitted with modern AV equipment, complimentary WIFI and wonderful coffee lounge. Our rooms can accommodate capacitates of up to 250.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Ladywood
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
1,703 within 3 miles
Attractions
462 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
8 reviews
Excellent
3
Very good
4
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0
permia
Ireland64,751 contributions
Jun 2023
Instituted in 1854 it has been central to the city's cultural pursuits for almost 170 years. In an impressive red brick build it hosts a number of exhibitions annually.
Unfortunately at our visit it was between events, so nothing much art wise to see.
Unfortunately at our visit it was between events, so nothing much art wise to see.
Written 25 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Esmerelda E
6 contributions
Aug 2019
This is a beautiful Arts and Crafts building, opposite the School of Art. It’s a proper old fashioned library full of interesting and quirky books and objects. The building is clearly loved by those who work there, and staff go about their jobs with an aura of real commitment. There is a beautiful cafe on the first floor, with round tables, tablecloths and proper cutlery. The food is good and not expensive. We were sitting looking at a colourful painted mural of a window in a hot country with an exotic view. Behind us was a Victorian pump organ. Go and enjoy a place you could easily miss.
Written 16 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mhairi
Droitwich, UK2 contributions
Oct 2019 • Solo
Recently came to the BMI for the first time, great venue, staff extremely friendly and welcoming. Lunch in the cafe is a must! Looking forward to my next visit.
Written 31 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peta_Bosley
Horndean, UK29 contributions
May 2015 • Couples
The seats in lecture hall were a bit uncomfortable for an all-day meeting, but the coffee lunch does lovely, freshly made sandwiches with side salad
Written 11 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brianthelion
Birmingham, UK2,639 contributions
Aug 2019
A rare opportunity for me to see inside as attending a course here. Rambling building and library but looks in need of a lot of TLC internal fabric wise. Hope it gets looked after as it clearly deserves. Very friendly reception staff.
Written 8 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosie A
2 contributions
Feb 2019 • Solo
I am a postgraduate student and went to look at some of the BMI archives. The librarian looks after these too and was extremely knowledgeable, able to answer all of my questions and point me in the right direction. I couldn't praise her highly enough. She also didn't mind the fact that I was 2 hours late thanks to me catching the wrong train!
Written 17 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Rosie. Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We are thrilled to hear you had a positive experience here at the Institute. We will pass all your kind words on to our Library staff, and to Samina who I believe it was who helped you.
All the team, staff and volunteers work incredibly hard to ensure all visitors have a memorable and lasting experience when they are here.
If there is anything we can do to help you again, please do not hesitate to get back in touch.
Many thanks and we wish all the best with your studies.
The Birmingham & Midland Institute.
Written 18 February 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Michael H
Birmingham, UK11 contributions
Feb 2017 • Solo
I joined thanks to the Shakespeare reading evening on a Tuesday night, but it is a great place to just chill out and relax.
The staff all seem very friendly which is lovely too.
The staff all seem very friendly which is lovely too.
Written 5 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ibis_user
UK48 contributions
Jan 2017 • Solo
Although the BMI is a private members library (joining is very reasonable), the first floor cafe is open to all. Good food in comfortable if quirky surroundings make this an ideal bolt-hole for a peaceful meal with a book or newspaper...
Written 15 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing