Jewellery Quarter
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, England, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of 19,000 in a area.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade and produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. It is also home to the world's largest Assay Office, which hallmarks around 12 million items a year. Historically the Jewellery Quarter has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology.
Industry in the area declined over the course of the 20th century, affected by factors such as changes in consumer demand, production methods, the impact of the World Wars and global manufacturing competition. However during the 21st century the Jewellery Quarter has transformed again to incorporate a significant amount of new residential accommodation, blending urban living within a historical industrial landscape and the retained jewellery trade.
History
Origins
A survey of 1553 named one of the first goldsmiths of Birmingham, Roger Pemberton. During the 18th and 19th centuries Birmingham prospered from the Industrial Revolution and developed into a large industrial town manufacturing a wide range of products, often from various metals. Many large foundries and glassworks attracted workers from all areas of Britain. A considerable trade developed in the manufacture of gilt buttons, cap badges, pins and small metal “toys”, a term from the era used to describe a whole range of intricate metal objects.According to the Birmingham Directory of 1780 there were 26 jewellers at the time. Because the definition of a jeweller was not explained in the directory, it is thought that it may contain many irregularities and the number of actual jewellers may be lower. It is thought that by the start of the 19th century there were around 12 jewellery manufacturing companies, employing approximately 400 people.
In 1747 the Colmore family obtained a private act of Parliament, , that allowed them to release land on what is known as the Jewellery Quarter today to help satisfy the demands of an increasing population. The largest tract of land was Newhall, which had been purchased from the Manor of Birmingham by William Colmore. In 1560 it was described as a rabbit warren and by 1620 New Hall Manor had been constructed on the site. The large manor house gave its name to the area. By 1746 the Colmore family had moved out and let the manor to tenants. Beyond that there were enclosed fields leading to Birmingham Heath. Sandpits were located on Hockley Hill and the product of the pits was used for moulds, which were used in the local metal-casting industry.
The area was crossed by three roads. The road from Wednesbury and Wolverhampton, which now consists of Constitution Hill, Great Hampton Street and Hockley Hill, was turnpiked in 1727. This was followed by the turnpiking of the road to Dudley, consisting of Summer Row, Parade and Summer Hill Road, in 1760 when Summer Row was cut to provide a better route into the town. Both roads were heavily used by traders and carriages transporting raw materials from Staffordshire into Birmingham. The completion of the Birmingham Canal in 1769 led to the improvement of these roads. Warstone Lane, now Warstone Lane, Hall Street and part of Icknield Street, connected the Wolverhampton road to the Dudley road. Ladywood Road, which is now Ladywood Middleway, was also connected to the area as a result of Warstone Lane.
The demand for houses declined briefly in the 1750s and began to increase again in 1759. Additional streets were laid out between Colmore Row and the Great Charles Street Queensway area in the 1760s. The plots in the Great Charles Street area were first let in 1760. Demand for the land was further stimulated by the completion of the Newhall Branch Canal in 1772 and by the end of the 1770s almost all of the Great Charles Street and Lionel Street area had been built up. Construction of houses continued up into the area now known as the Jewellery Quarter and it became a wealthy residential area consisting of upmarket Georgian houses. It was particularly stimulated by the donation of of land by Charles Colmore for the construction of a church.
Construction of St Paul's Church, designed by Roger Eykyn, and the surrounding St Paul's Square commenced in 1777 and was completed in 1779. Georgian houses aimed at the prosperous middle class were constructed around the square, some of which survive such as Nos 12–14, which are Grade II listed, on the eastern side of the square.
A plan of Birmingham by Thomas Hanson in 1778 shows that most of the Newhall estate had been laid out in a grid-like pattern from St Paul's Church. The plan also showed that two pools, Great and Little Pool, had been filled in and the brook that fed them had been canalised. However New Hall still blocked further development down Newhall Street. In the early 1770s Matthew Boulton had been using the premises partially as a warehouse and when plans for its demolition were aired he resisted them. However the house was demolished in 1787 with only the barn left standing until Boulton's new warehouse was completed on Livery Street in 1788.
Such villas that were constructed in the area in the late 18th century included Regent's Place, built in the 1770s. This was leased by Matthew Boulton to James Watt and appears to be the earliest villa in the area. Watt stayed there from 1775 until 1790, before moving to Heathfield House in Handsworth. Key Hill House was constructed in the 1780s on Key Hill for Joshua Glover, a local merchant. In 1784 Sir Thomas Gooch leased out an estate on the northern side of Warstone Lane. Forrest's Brewery and two semi-detached houses were constructed on the plot. These houses were occupied by the owners of the brewery. On land owned by Samuel Lloyd and Edward Harford on the northeast side of Great Hampton Street houses were constructed from the late 1780s. The land had been owned by Richard Parkes, an ironmaster from Wednesbury, from 1713 until it was passed to Lloyd and Harford. In 1750 Henry Carver purchased land on Summer Hill and in 1790 construction of a terrace of 15 houses commenced.
Despite the residential composition of the area, manufacturing businesses were starting to establish a presence there. The growth of industry into this area was aided by the establishment of the Birmingham Assay Office in 1773, which was petitioned for by Boulton and other industrialists. The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal was constructed through the south of the area and was completed in 1789, providing a better form of transportation for goods manufactured in the area and the delivery of materials to the area.
Upon the completion of the canal, Newhall Street was extended towards it. As the middle classes moved out the area, large factories and workshops were constructed in their place for the goldsmiths and silversmiths. The main gold products being produced at the time were keys, seals and watch chains whilst silversmiths manufactured buckles and comb ornaments using imitation stones. Despite buckles going out of fashion in society, the industry prospered. Jewellery was produced mainly in small workshops, contrasting with the large factories and mills that were constructed in England at the time.
The Colmore family realised the potential that came about as a result of the construction of the canals and in 1809, Caroline Colmore had a canal arm constructed from the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to a basin off George Street to promote industrial development in the area. This was known as Miss Colmore's Canal, although was later named Whitmore's Arm.
The number of jewellers in the area reduced significantly in the 1820s as a result of economic problems in the 1820s and many jewellers were made redundant as firms decreased in size to survive. The effects were felt for the following ten years and Hockley only developed as a distinct "quarter" at the centre of the city's jewellery industry after the mid-1830s.
Growth
The Jewellery Quarter's output surpassed that of the jewellery trade in nearby Derby and the products manufactured in the Quarter also improved in quality.The jewellery trade in Edinburgh also declined and by the end of the 19th century, the middle classes in London depended more on the supply of jewellery from Birmingham than from their own city. It is believed that by 1850, half of the gold and silverware products on sale in London jewellery shops had been produced in Birmingham, although there is no definitive data as many shop-owners would not voluntarily admit where the product was manufactured.
The Quarter made a large proportion of the British Empire's fine jewellery. Most jewellers still worked in small workshops that would employ between five and fifty people. Nine out of ten master jewellers were originally workmen.
The fact that many jewellers lived alongside their workshops meant that public facilities had to be provided. In 1835, the Key Hill Cemetery was opened for burial on Key Hill on land that had once been used as gardens and a sandpit. The owners continued to remove the sand until the 1930s as it was in such high demand and was of high quality. The cemetery was open to all, however there was still pressure for an Anglican burial ground and in 1847 the Church of England Cemetery Company opened their own site at Warstone Lane Cemetery having bought land used for sandpits and gardens from the Gooch and Vyse estates.
The General Cemetery continued to expand and in the cemetery companies bought land north of Pitsford Street from the Vyse estate for expansion. However, this land was sold to the railway company in 1854. The General Cemetery again expanded in the 1890s northwards. The company purchased the site of Key Hill House, which had been demolished for the extraction of sand.
The Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Light Company was established in 1825 and they lit Great Hampton Street in 1836. In 1832, the company started offering piped gas and by 1840 all jewellers had a supply of gas to their blowpipes.
In 1824 William Elliot set up a works on the corner of Frederick Street and Regents Street for the manufacture of buttons. In 1837 he patented a method of manufacturing cloth-covered buttons and built a factory to the rear of his works which extended to Vittoria Street. This was one of many purpose-built factories with others including the Victoria Works on Graham Street, which was built between 1839 and 1840 by Joseph Gillott for the mass production of steel pen nibs.
On 28 May 1845 a party of jewellery representatives was sent from Birmingham to Buckingham Palace with the intention of persuading Queen Victoria to wear British-made jewellery for the purpose of promoting it, and a meeting took place with the Royal couple. The group gave the Queen and the Prince an armlet, a brooch, a pair of ear-rings, a waist buckle, a watch-chain, a seal and key, together valued at over 400 guineas. All products were manufactured by Thomas Aston of Regent's Place and Mr Baleny of St Paul's Square. The party claimed that 5,000 families were dependent on the jewellery trades in Birmingham.
In 1846 Vyse Street was constructed by Richard Howard-Vyse. Hylton Street was then cut to the north. Branston, Spencer and Hockley Street were all extended from the Inge estate to Vyse Street and Pitsford Street on the Vyse estate. This layout was intended to produce as many building plots as possible.
By the mid-19th century the jewellery trade was considered the most lucrative in the city, with jewellers being some of the best paid workers in the city. There were also more people employed in the trade than any other in the city.
Boys were given apprenticeships at the age of 14 and earned four shillings on average. This would increase annually until they were 21. They worked from 8am until 7pm although it was common for jewellers to work overtime. Apprentices generally did not require any qualifications but design became a study within the industry and one jeweller's firm required all apprentices to attend the Birmingham School of Art. Families generally were not employed in the trade owing to the cleanliness and careful manipulations needed in the crafting of certain pieces. Most families earned income as a result of the trade by producing the leather or paper boxes used extensively by jewellers to protect finished articles.
By 1861 7,500 were employed in the jewellery trade and by 1880 nearly 700 workshops were listed in a local directory. The trade benefited greatly from the declining price of raw gold from the 1880s onwards. It also benefited from the development and refinement of new processes such as electroplating, invented by George Elkington at the Elkington Silver Electroplating Works on Newhall Street. Also invented in the Jewellery Quarter was the first man-made plastic, Parkesine, by Alexander Parkes in 1862.
In 1883 less than half of all silver jewellery made in Birmingham was of high enough standard to pass through Birmingham Assay Office. However, in the same year no less than 30 tons 17 cwt 4 lb 4 oz of silver jewellery and 3 tons 7 cwt 12 lb 3 oz of gold items were received, bringing the total number of articles sent for assaying that year to more than 2.6 million.
In 1885 Thomas Harman and Walter Showell wrote their Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham, in which they document that the trade was experiencing a downturn in business and thousands of workers were surviving on part-time hours, with many finding themselves unemployed. This depression was felt nationwide and lasted throughout the 1880s. Many manufacturers went out of business during that period and showed to manufacturers after a long period of growth and prosperity that the trade was susceptible to economic problems.