Girls on New Street in 1866 and Bingley Hall in 1850. His son P. B. Chatwin also became an architect, designing King Edward VI Handsworth in 1911 and St Mary the Virgin, Acocks Green Church and Church Hall, Acocks Green which opened around 1908. High Victorian architecture The early and dramatic advent of High Victorian architecture in Birmingham took place in 1855 with the completion of 12 Ampton Road in Edgbaston by John Henry Chamberlain. Martin & Chamberlain were prolific architects in Birmingham during the Victorian era, having designed 41 Birmingham board schools. John Henry Chamberlain, who was not of local descent, was part of Martin & Chamberlain and his works in Birmingham include Highbury Hall and Birmingham School of Art, which was completed by his son Frederick Martin following his sudden death in 1883. The cutting of Corporation Street through slums in the city centre began in 1878 and much of the work for designing the buildings that were to line the street was given to Martin & Chamberlain. Numerous buildings, which had leases of 99 years, were demolished in the post-war period, however, the street has retained many of its fine Victorian buildings above modern ground-floor façades, providing an insight into how the city once looked. The use of red brick and terracotta was pioneered during this period. Red terracotta was useful as a substitute for natural stone, which Birmingham lacked, and it also was resistant to soot and smoke which was prevalent in the city due to the heavy industrial presence. Birmingham's importance as a growing town encouraged the construction of municipal buildings which were designed by some of the most prominent architects of the time. Sir Aston Webb and Ingress Bell's Victoria Law Courts were completed in 1891 and feature extensive use of terracotta on the exterior. The ornamentation on the exterior, which includes a statue of Queen Victoria, is carried on inside the building. Webb was not the only major architect to make an impact on Birmingham. Wealthy landowners saw business opportunities as a result of the arrival of the railways in Birmingham. One such land owner, Isaac Horton, commissioned Thomson Plevins to design a hotel for Colmore Row. The result was the Grand Hotel which was completed in 1875 in the French Renaissance-style. The hotel was altered and extended in 1876, 1891 and 1895 but is now empty, and was saved from demolition when