King Edwards House (Birmingham)

 building, office building

King Edwards House is a large, Art Deco office building overlooking New Street on the spot of the King Edwards Grammar School, designed by Sir Charles Barry, which it replaced in 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II.

It survived World War II with minor damage, unlike the rest of New Street which suffered major destruction at the hands of the Luftwaffe in the Birmingham Blitz. It was again attacked on 21 November 1974, when an IRA bomb in the Tavern in the Town pub, in the basement of the building, exploded and killed 11 people. It was one of two bombings in the city that night by the IRA, with the other at the Mulberry Bush in the base of the Rotunda which killed an additional 10 people. A total of 182 were injured.

The Tavern in the Town was since renamed the Yard of Ale and has since become a Pizza Hut restaurant. The ground floor of the building is occupied by four retail units, plus the Pizza Hut entrance. The floors above are occupied office space with access from New Street.