Birmingham - Rings, Votes & Pens!

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http://www.heygo.com 28th January

Birmingham - Rings, Votes & Pens!



A part of Birmingham I knew nothing about.



We started the your opposite The Queen’s Arms, Grade II listed pub built c. 1870 with its Art Nouveau decoration.



The Jewellery Quarter goes as far back as the early 16th century, with evidence c. 1553 of local goldsmith Roger Pemberton being one of the first jewellers in the city.



Various members of the Pemberton family would go on to register silver marks at the city’s Assay Office and be involved with the JQ jewellery trade right up until around the time the Industrial Revolution ceased.



Despite the early 19th-century decline of the city’s jewellery trade, it’s estimated that by 1850, half of the jewellery in London jewellers was still produced in Birmingham.

It wasn’t just jewellery made in the area. During the 19th century, the Jewellery Quarter was home to around 100 pen factories.

The city produced 75%!o(MISSING)f the world’s pens. In 1878, the first football referee whistle was also manufactured in the Jewellery Quarter, with the first police whistle produced there in 1883 too.



Joseph Gillott from Sheffield, moved to Birmingham in 1821 where he found employment in the manufacture of steel buckles, chains and light ornamental steel-work general.

About 1830 he turned his attention to the manufacture of steel pens by machinery, and in 1831 patented a process for placing elongated points on the nibs of pens.



By 1861, 7,500 were employed in the jewellery trade and by 1880, there were nearly 700 workshops.

The trade benefited greatly from the declining price of raw gold, it also benefited from the development of new processes such as electro-plating which was invented by George Ellington by.



Many of the original Georgian premises remain, some now converted to offices, & restaurants - The Pen Museum preserves the important legacy of Birmingham’s pen trade - Argent College established in 2015 centres on the creation of jewellery, using metal or leather and useable craft items such as textiles.

There is an organic rooftop garden and cafe.



The only remaining Georgian square in Birmingham is St Paul’s Square with its church in the centre of the square.



Thomas Fattorini Ltd

The company was founded in 1827 by Antonio Fattorini an Italian speaking immigrant who settled in Yorkshire where he established a number of retail outlets specialising in jewellery, watches and fancy goods including barometers.



One of the branches that was based in Yorkshire, decided to set up a dedicated factory in Birmingham to take advantage of the demand for badges and medals to sports clubs. By 1927 The range of products increased to include sporting cups and trophies, Insignia for Associations, Civic Authorities and National Governments.



Standing in Victoria Street, now a car park next to a Sikh Temple, was the location for a rally in the 1830s. What followed was Birmingham being granted Parliamentary representation by the Reform Act of 1832. The new Birmingham constituency was created with two liberal MPs elected as Birmingham's first MP's.



I look forward to more virtual tours with Ian.

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