FocalPlane Hub > Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, Part 1

Chamberlain's Clock forms the focus of the Quarter, located at the crossroads between Warstone Lane and Frederick Street/Vyse Street. As part of the renaissance of the area the clock was restored during the 1990s and brought back to working condition. The building behind used to be the Midland Bank. The family business banked on the opposite side of the clock, behind the camera, at Barclays. It's still there.

Chamberlain was, of course, Joseph (Joe) Chamberlain, one of the great reformers of the Victorian age who initiated the transformation of Birmingham from an industrial slum to a much healthier and more prosperous city (contrary to popular image, Birmingham started clearing slums in the 19th century while other industrial cities continued to build slum housing way into the 20th century).

Many members of the Chamberlain family were buried in nearby Key Hill Cemetery.

The Catacombs at Warstone Lane Cemetery were built into the walls of a sand pit. The cemetery is in the middle of the Jewellery Quarter and is in a terribly run down condition. The original church, St. Michael's, was pulled down in the 1960s (possibly because of severe war damage?)

The red sandstone was used locally and the associated clays provided the raw material for the terracotta bricks and tiles that are a feature of Victorian Birmingham, including several Grade I listed buildings.

Much of the Jewellery Quarter's architecture has a distinctive Italianate design, reminiscent of Florence during the Renaissance. This building is on Frederick Street and I would have walked passed it hundreds of times as a child.

In those days, however, it would not have advertised its presence. For all of the Jewellery Quarter was wholesale. My father used to say "we don't make anything, we finish things other people make". Hence the term Metal Finishing.

A good part of the revitalisation of the Quarter has come about by the trade opening up to retail buyers. I would guess that most of the jewellery made is still sold wholesale, but there is something to be said for hunting down bargains and getting to know the origins of a work of art.

The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter on Vyse Street is another reason why the Quarter has become a popular tourist attraction. The history of the museum is a fascinating story best heard in detail during a guided tour of the facility.

The museum is centered on an abandoned jeweller's factory that was left (much as the Marie Celeste) by its owners in 1981 when they decided to cease production and literally walk away.

Birmingham City Council eventually took over the property and opened the museum in a form that basically takes you back in a time warp to way before 1981 (the business made no attempt to modernise its methods). The following photos don't do the place any justice (on purpose, I want you to go there for yourself!)

The Exterior of the Museum reveals a typical inner city workshop factory. The company, Smith and Pepper, owned the central building with the double green doors as the main entry. Offices were upstairs, for marketing, taking and shipping orders, while the workshops were downstairs and in the courtyard behind.

I should add at this stage that the building on the left is also a part of the museum with a smart cafe franchised out to a young businesswoman who deserves our support!

The round table shown here supported seven craftsmen and is left pretty much as it was in 1981 when the factory closed. Each jeweller had a complete set of tools with the "peg" his work surface. An apprenticeship took seven years to complete.

Another view of the workshop with the jeweller's bench in the foreground and more workbenches behind, including areas for polishing and pickling (the latter using sulphuric acid with few HSE safeguards).

The factory looks primitive but in many ways it was a happy place. One craftsman worked there for 62 years (starting at age 13). When the factory closed, a woman who worked for 40 years in the small plating area (which also served as kitchen and ladies toilet!) immediately started a new job across the street!

Brummies are well known for their hard work ethics.

These grindstones and polishing benches remind me of those in the family business (though not so antiquated). Again the HSE requirements are non-existent. One lady lost an eye but refused compensation for the accident, saying it was her fault a piece of metal flew off the grindstone.

The wooden fume cupboard at the end of the benches was for the pickling area. Ill-fitting and next to the kitchen this was also far from "safe". Yet people lived long lives.

Another view of the polishing and grinding bench which demonstrates the crude working conditions. Belt driven machinery would have been rare by 1981. When fully operational, the workshop would have been noisy.

Finally, the Jeweller's Blowtorch, a simple device for applying gas-fired heat to the working piece of jewellry. At least one of these is used on a daily basis for demonstrations by the tour guide.