Mapping Birmingham: Shops and Showrooms

Showing posts with label Shops and Showrooms. Show all posts

Victorian Photo Album: Chaucer's Head Bookshop (New Street, c. 1870s)

Chaucer's Head bookshop at 74 New Street, c. 1870s.
Held at Birmingham Archive @ Library of Birmingham.

See more of the Victorian Photo Album.

Photograph of the Old Bull House shortly before demolition. WK-B11-1261.

The Old Lamb House was a timber-framed building which survived the red-brick redevelopments of the eighteenth century and most of the nineteenth century, but was demolished probably in the early 1880s. Despite its name suggesting that it had possibly been a public house there is no evidence that it was ever used as such. It was situated on Bull Street, one of Birmingham's oldest streets, and had probably been the home and retail premises of a wealthy merchant.

Edward Thomason's trade card, circa 1815.

When Sir Edward Thomason retired in 1835 he had built up a business that was one of the jewels of Birmingham's manufacturing crown. It had been visited by Princes, Dukes and Emperors from all the corners of Europe; and considering this global renown of Thomason in his time, I thought that you might like to take a tour as well.

The manufactory that you see before you (see image above) was composed from a number of dwelling houses that had lined the top end of Church Street, built in the 1700s. But from 1793, after an apprenticeship with Matthew Boulton, Edward Thomason began trading, utilising his father's buckle manufactory that had been left for him on the same site. Thomason's apprenticeship with Boulton had showed him what ambition could achieve and whetted his appetite for science and mechanics. His 'mind became restless to produce some novelty or invention worthy to be patented'.* He began making gilt and plated buttons, but soon branched into jewellery, coins, tokens and medals, continually expanding the business, so that by 1796 sixty to seventy rooms were utilised for his manufactures, as well as having twelve show rooms. The use of show rooms was an excellent tactic as it included Thomason's manufactory as part of the Birmingham tour where the town's articles could be examined and the the ingenuity of their maker wondered at.

Throughout this time Thomason was also working to achieve his ambitions of invention, and after several years of being generally unsuccessful he finally patented a new design for a corkscrew in 1802 that helped to make his name, as well as a good fortune. His ingenuity was aided by unflinching self promotion; he would send examples of new articles to whomever he thought best to promote himself and his wares, whether that be scientific medals to the most eminent scientists if the day, or commemorative medals to the Prince Regent himself. He also made the town and himself known to all Europe by sending religious medals to all of Europe's monarchs, and over the nineteenth century he received many honours and gifts from these; honours that he actively sought, and sometimes asked for.* He included illustrations of many of these gifts in his memoirs, as well as a portrait of himself wearing his honours (see below), and the many letters of praise received from esteemed persons. He was obviously very proud of his achievements, but one commentator (who called Thomason 'pleasant, chatty, spirited, yet egotistical') gave vanity as one of the main drivers in Thomason's memoirs.**

Thomason with his honours, from his Memoirs.

But, less about the man, let us take a look inside, where you can explore within one space a great range of the metallic arts; the 'show-rooms [...] profusely supplied with all that can be conceived of elegance and magnificence',*** and 'considered to be the most complete of the kind in Birmingham, and not to be equalled by many in England. He has a splendid exhibition of costly ornamental productions, in gold, silver, brass, and bronze, with a great variety of medals of the finest workmanship', as well as mechanical items.**** In 1832 Charles Stewart visited Birmingham. During his short stay (he found Birmingham too modern) he visited the ‘ingenious manufactories’ of both Thomason and Jones and found them both ‘rich in specimens of the most beautiful workmanship' and containing several items of special interest, including the Warwick Vase, of which Thomason's establishment was particularly noted for.

Over the next few weeks there will be some more posts about the Warwick Vase and other items that you might have been able to see in Thomason's show rooms.

By this time (1832) the manufactory Thomason had inherited and built up was a very large affair and Thomason himself had made a name for himself through his ambition, innovation and clever promotion. It was three weeks after Stewart visited that Thomason was knighted, the first Brummie to be so. Shortly afterwards his friend, James Bisset, sent him the following verse:

‘”TO MY VERY OLD AND HIGHLY-ESTEEMED FRIEND, SIR EDWARD THOMASON, KNT.”
“DEAR SIR,
I congratulate you on the honor
So lately conferr'd by our Monarch (the donor).
Who, judging most wisely where merit is due,
The badge of true Knighthood bestowed upon you;
And feeling as all other amateurs felt,
Rewards you with title, gilt spurs, sword, and belt!
I remember the time (fifty years since, when boys)
Your name at SOHO 'gan to make a great noise;
And when to the 'toy shop of Europe' you came,
Each season exalted a THOMASON'S fame.
As an Artist whose works o'er the globe have been whirl'd,
Your renown has extended all over the world!
No wonder HIS MAJESTY then thought it right
(High-talented Edward) to make you a KNIGHT!
I am Sir, Yours very faithfully,
JAMES BISSET,
A Septuagenarian."'

Edward Thomason attributed to Sir William Beechey.
Date unknown but probably late 1700s.

* Thomason's Memoirs
** The Worthies of Warwick
*** A Picture of Birmingham
**** A History of Birmingham

Scientific and Philosophical Medals

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.44: Birmingham in Miniature or Richards's Magazine (High Street)

Plate from Bisset's Directory, 1808. An advert for Richards's toy-shop.

Welcome to Richards's toy-shop, run by Theophilus Richards; a toy at the turn of the century being a luxury, adornment item. In 1767 toy-makers were described:

"these Artists are divided into several branches, as the Gold and Silver Toy Makers, who make Trinkets, Seals, Tweezer and Toothpick cases, Smelling Bottles, Snuff Boxes, and Filigree Work, such as Toilets, Tea Chests, Ink Stands &c &c. The Tortoiseshell Toy Maker, makes a beautiful variety of the above and other Articles; as does the Steel; who makes Cork Screws, Buckles, Draw and other Boxes: Snuffers, Watches, Stay Hooks, Sugar knippers &c. and almost all these are likewise made in various metals."

The advert above is tantalising; it is a mixture of graphic depiction, with urns and motifs, and reality, with the shop front and open door captured. Inside, as was prevalent in adverts of this time, can be seen refined middle class customers perusing Richards's wares. Richards sold the jewellery, cutlery and silverware that he most likely made himself, but considering that he termed his shop 'Birmingham in Miniature', it seems likely that he also sold items from many other manufacturers so that the premises became almost like a museum of Birmingham wares. This is asserted by the fact his shop was promoted as part of a tour of Birmingham's manufacturing 'curiosities', and that it was included in Admiral Nelson's tour of Birmingham in 1802, and was also visited in 1805 by HRH Prince William of Gloucester. Richards would have sold luxury consumer goods and novelties made by the innovative Birmingham manufacturers to adorn the home and person of the rising middle classes. A small example can be seen in one of the shop's bills:

From Birmingham Archive: A Bill for Richards's

As well as making items, it can be seen, from the bill below, that shops also made repairs; something we struggle to find today in our throw-away society.
The advert at the top left is for a commemorative coin/medal of George III, these coins were highly popular and widely collected at the time; Richards, as had many others, had obviously tapped into this lucrative market. The patent bronzed corkscrew is likely to be a Thomason corkscrew, made locally by another manufacturer- Edward Thomason.

The Rev. W. Fenwick
To Theo. Richards & Son
1821
April 17th Repairing Candlestick 2. 0.
Oct 13 1 Patent Bronzed Corkscrew 7. 0.
Dec 29 taking to pieces old urn & repairing it
with new cock mouth & new chimney 6. 0.
1822
Jan 17 Rep Corkscrew 1. 0.
[....??...]
For Theo. Richards & Son
Thos. Day [Thomas Day]
Northfield

The Richards family were silversmiths, cutlers and gun makers, and the gun making branch of their business still trades today on Birmingham's Pritchett Street (see their website here). It is also due to Theophilus Richards that we have a copy of the 1731 map of Birmingham, as reprints were made of an original copy that was in his possession in 1789. Theophilus Richards (born 1748) was nephew to William Westley, the man who drew up the map. Theophilus's father, Thomas, had been making guns in Birmingham since at least the 1740s, but Theophilus himself branched into the toy trade.

Victorian Photo Album: 79 New Street - Moore's Oyster Shop (Victoria Square As It Was, c. 1880s)

Moore's Oyster Rooms at 79 New Street, undated (c. 1880s-1890s).
Held at Birmingham Archive.

Moore's Oyster Rooms, were set into the wall of Christ Church on, what is now, Victoria Square. This little row of four shops was built with the church in 1805. For some reason, some of those posing for the photograph are in barrows! Oysters were relatively inexpensive at this time and oyster rooms or oyster bars were popular urban venues.*1*

Victorian Photo Album: 63 Great Hampton Street (c. 1900)

63 Great Hampton Street, c. 1900. Held at Birmingham Archive.

W.J. Clarke. Authorised plumber, gas fitter, zinc worker, &c

E. Swan. Brooch tongues, watch bows, joints & catches, jewellers materials.

In directories of this time, W.J. Clarke was at number 63 and E. Swan (and others) at 63 1/2.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.27: Suffield's Druggist Shop (Corner of Congreve and Ann Street)

Section of Samuel Lines Senior's painting of the
area by the Town Hall in the late 1840s, with
insert of Samuel Wilson Suffield's druggist's
shop window. The full painting is on display
in the Birmingham History exhibition at BMAG.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the difference between the apothecary and the druggist was subtle. Apothecaries had originally been spicers and/or grocers, but had split to form their own guild in London in 1617. The apothecary would be trained to some degree and would also visit and treat patients, whilst the druggists would just prepare and dispense medicines. In the early 1800s the apothecaries argued that they should have control of making up medicines and tried to get an act passed in Parliament; the druggists won the day though, when in 1815 the Apothecaries Act kept control with the druggists. The apothecary's role has developed into that of our GP's and the role of the druggist can be seen as to have evolved into our modern chemists, but confectioners can also trace their ancestry back to druggists and apothecaries as many modern sweets have developed from medicines. In fact, the bright colours and alluring jars of an old-fashioned sweet shop shout-out "apothecary shop" more than any branch of Boot's Chemist.

Find out more about Birmingham's historic health and wellbeing, here.

In the late 1840s, artist Samuel Lines captured the druggist's window of Samuel Wilson Suffield's shop, which was situated near the Town Hall.** Suffield had run his business at the castellated shop from around the late 1810s (before Suffield the shop was run by William Allin as a tailor's and cabinet of curiosities, you can visit this shop here). The druggist, or apothecary, would display their skills by mixing chemicals to produce vivid colours which would then be placed in large glass jars in the shop window; you can see them on display in Suffield's window in the close-up above.

Some suppliers were unscrupulous and mixed drugs with cheaper, and sometimes dangerous substances in order to make more profit. It was often hard to control these practices as imported goods could be tampered with before they arrived in the hands of even the wholesale druggist. Suffield seems to have had some trouble with one such supplier: D. Carr and Co. The article below, from June 1828, describes how he had to replace his entire stock from the 'most respectible houses' obviously after some unmentioned incident. What is interesting, though, is that it lists in some detail, a selection of some of the products that he supplied and their cost, and shows how the druggists work intertwined with making chemicals for cleaning.

Inside a Druggist's Shop

Image of an apothecary from The Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts,
Part I, printed in 1804.

Druggist's drawers from a Hall Green shop, in the collection of
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.

.

NOTES
The BMAG website is here.
Another Birmingham apothecary touched upon is in my post: Pratchett's Bull Ring, and another briefly in 'I have forever quited Birmingham'
** Samuel Wilson Suffield went bankrupt in 1844, I have been unable to discover whether he continued in business after bankruptcy. The druggist shop was definitely closed by 1849 when the Bryan family opened their coffee, pastry and confectionery shop in the building.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.24: Pratchett's Bull Ring (High Street)

Often described as the work of William Hollins
but Thomas Hollins originally made the drawing in mid 1811 and published
prints from it in 1812; as recorded in newspapers of the time.

Drawing of the Bull Ring area and St. Martin's church by Thomas Hollins, 1811.

One of the most changeable sites in Birmingham is the Bull Ring, it has undergone several alterations, each with some contention. The iconic Selfridges building sits, today, just to the left of the church; if it were to be placed in the scene above it would fill the sky above the little Georgian shops, and probably leave the people dumbstruck at what their town will become. The scene today could not be more different, the church is the oldest building but was rebuilt in the 1870s. Admiral Nelson (the statue, centre) still stands watching over her as he did from the day he was first unveiled in 1809.

Mr. Parkes visits Birmingham after a period of time
and enthusiastically notes the changes to the
main market area around St. Martin's church. 1810.

I call the area in Hollins's drawing 'Pratchett's Bull Ring' as Richard Pratchett, a High Bailiff, was one of the most influencial Street Commissioners of the time and his 'fundraising had substantially assisted the Street Commissioners in their grand scheme' (Upton). This 'grand scheme' was the alterations initiated by an act of parlaiment in 1801 to the areas around Birmingham's markets including the Bull Ring which involved removing the shambles (old tightly packed butcher's shops), the Welsh Cross and a number of other buildings which opened up the area around St. Martin's in the way it is characterised by today (see left). Pratchett himself lived and ran his business near the Bull Ring (image here), which was a druggist's and grocer's, a business that he inherited from his uncle, Thomas Carless, near the Swan coaching inn. Pratchett had left his particular mark on the improvement scheme around St. Martin's when he commissioned Thomas Hollins's brother William to design a sculpture that would surround the water-pump that had become exposed after the shambles was removed.

In 1806 William Hollins put forward a proposal for the monument of Lord Nelson which the Street Commissioners had proposed, but lost out to Sir Richard Westmacott whose work can be seen above. William’s design was much more complex and expensive in comparison with the simple statue that was chosen and included a post office and dispensary. A year later Pratchett asked him to design the water conduit to surround the pump but the design proved very unpopular. William called the sculpture the 'Egyptian Conduit'; many local people named it 'Pratchett’s Folly'. It was designed as a tribute to Nelson’s victories on the Nile, and may have been an elaborate show of what William could have done with the previous Nelson monument. It was in the shape of a pyramid, combining Egyptian, Grecian and English styles, and was ornamented with papyrus, Grecian honeysuckle and a lion’s head, all with associated mythological symbolism, and crowned with an urn which was a representation of the ashes of Nelson.* It can just be seen in the image above in front of St. Martin’s, just behind the first pair of horses. It seems that the sculpture was thought of as pretentious, with too much symbolism, unlike the statue of Nelson which was a simple tribute.*

Richard Pratchett was, of course, not solely responsible for the changes to the Bull Ring of the early nineteenth century; there were other Street Commissioners, 120 in fact. Yet, in another sense, it was Pratchett's Bull Ring. He had been a major part of the changes, he lived there and saw it everyday through his window, and it probably felt like 'his place', like every other individual might feel like they belong to a place and who make a bond to their location, it is a very human thing.

In 1812 J. C. Stadler produced a coloured version of Thomas Hollins's etching. Above (right) you can see the Georgian St. Martin's church in more detail with 'Pratchett's Pump' by William Hollins tucked into the church wall. Green fields can be seen in the distance. The left imaged depicts shop windows, still looking homely and decorated with curtains; a couple of the shops seem to have small images pasted to the insides of their windows. The full image is below.

NOTES
William Hollins was also commissioned to build the Public Office on Moor Street which was part of the Street Commissioners improvements of this time too. As High Bailiff, Richard Pratchett was the chosen representative of the Commissioners and laid the first stone on 18 Sep 1805.
* References on request

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.18: A Little Piece of Regency New Street

Advert for Charles Hancock's premises (right), a jeweller and silversmith.
Produced by Hollins (probably Thomas Hollins). Circa 1810.

The advert above is for the shop on the right, which belongs to Charles Hancock, a jeweller and silversmith, but the image also includes Sarah Bedford's cut glass manufactory (centre) and Thomas Hensman's furniture and upholstery shop (left). All the shops are quite typical small late Georgian shops; Sarah's has bayed shop fronts with squared glass panes that would often act as individual frames for each item for sale, and her central door, as well as Hancock's, is topped with a modish fanlight (another advert for Sarah's shop is here). Mr. Hensman's, to the left, has his funiture items displayed in windows draped with curtains to set them off in a domestic setting. Utilising his genteel neighbours and other visual imagery Hancock depicts the area around his shop as very refined and elegant. A smart carriage has just pulled up outside his shop, and while the servants look after the horses, we must presume that its owners are perusing Hancock's wares inside, cheerfully greeted by Hancock himself or an assistant. Another smart couple are walking in front of Sarah Bedford's shop, possibly with the pedigree dog that stands waiting. This all asserts the idea that this is a place, if not the place for the wealthier middle classes to be seen.

Above all three of the shops are allusions to each of the trades; above Hensman's shop is written the phrase Le Miroir de la Mode, which was a fashionable magazine published for a short time between 1803 and 1804 and included a selection of colour fashion plates. What connection this had with cabinets and soft furnishings is uncertain, but we can assume that Hensman was promoting how fashionable his establishment was. The sign above the door of Sarah Bedford's shop states that it is 'The Original Cut Glass Manufactory', delining Sarah's family roots in the trade; her father, Isaac Hawker, was possibly the first person to produce finished glass products in Birmingham, and Sarah had inherited the business in New Street from her brother John in 1805.

The Hawker's were a Quaker family and Sarah had married the (also Quaker) Isaac Bedford in 1792 when she was 23; Isaac Bedford was a glass cutter, perhaps working with the Hawker's. Isaac Hawker, Sarah's father, had produced glassware in Spiceal Street from before 1772,** and by 1785 had built a glasshouse behind his shop on Edgbaston Street.* The business had passed on Isaac's death in 1791 to his son John who ran Park Glass House on Birmingham Heath (near the Birmingham canal on Springhill) and presumably ran the shop in New Street as a salesroom.* On John's early death in 1805 he bequeathed the shop in New Street to his widowed sister Sarah (Isaac Bedford had died in 1798), and the Park Glass House was run by Biddle and Lloyd.*
During the 1820s the scene above changed, as can be seen in the circa 1825 image below. Hensman's was knocked down and replaced with a new, larger premises, the shops fronted with a colonnade of ionic columns (just visible). Bedford's, next door, was either rebuit or altered; it can be seen below on the right with the large portico with corinthian columns protruding onto the pavement. Hancock's, nearly far right, remained with only the addition of a decorative metal balcony for a few more years, but had been demolished by 1850 (probably in the late 1830s/early 1840s). Other buildings in the scene are, far left, Spooner and Attwood's Bank, and then the Hen and Chicken's hotel with the large portico; in the distance the church is Christ Church, and the elegant shop a bit further up on the right with the statues balanced on pillars is the Pantechnetheca built in 1823.

New Street, circa 1825. Drawn on stone by Henry Harris and printed by
C. Hullmandel.

Sarah Bedford's would have been a pretty spectacular shop to enter. From the ground floor shop rose a geometrical staircase that led to the upstairs showroom, but the balusters were made from cut glass, so would have twinkled and shone in the light; one commentator stated that it might 'serve as the access to Aladdin's Hall of Diamonds'.* The upstairs showroom was long, and supported by rows of ionic columns, and filled with all the cut glass made by Sarah as well as china and earthenware.* Sarah would have spent a great deal of money turning her relatively modest Georgian shop into a Regency temple to her trade, so she must have felt that it was worth it to promote her business.

See all of the 'Friday Ephemera' posts, here.

* References on request.
** www.british-history.ac.uk

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.17: Sarah Bedford & Co. (New Street)

Advert for Sarah Bedford & Co cut glass manufacturers, engraved by W & T Radcliffe, circa 1805. The shop is at 14 New Street, but later, after number changes, becomes 16 New Street. The advert depicts the Georgian shop front with the fanlights above the door and windows, decorated capitals to the columns and frontages and the windows filled with the wares. To find out more about this shop, and it's neighbours, click here.

See all of the 'Friday Ephemera' posts, here.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.10: The Town's First Department Store - Warwick House (New Street)

Illustration taken from larger of whole street.
Jenni Dixon, 2011

Warwick House was Birmingham's first department store and the first palatial building in the town; it was completed in 1839, the design being by Suffolk born architect, William Thomas.* It shop was built in the early Victorian era and would have been a dramatic insertion into Georgian and Regency New Street, where it was erected and towered above the three mid-Georgian terraces that stood between it and the Pantechnetheca. It had been commissioned by draper William Holliday and his then partner Mr. Merrett and sold all manner of fabrics, ribbons, ready made and tailored clothing and also carpets.*

The original site had been that of two old cottages, described some years later from the memories of Eliezer Edwards; 'one abutted upon the footway, and the other stood some thirty feet back, a pretty garden being in the front. The latter had been occupied by Mr. James Busby, who carried on the business of a wire-worker at the rear. The ground floor frontages of both had been taken out. A roof had been placed over the garden, two hideous small-framed bay windows fronted New Street, and a third faced what is now “Warwick House Passage.” The whole place had a curious “pig-with-one-ear” kind of aspect, the portion which had been the garden having no upper floors, while the other was three storeys high. The premises had been “converted” by a now long-forgotten association, called the “Drapery Company”, and as this had not been successful, Mr. Holliday and [...] Mr. Merrett had become its successors'.*

Warwick House, when built, was numbered 28 to 30 New Street, it was extended by double sometime in the early to mid 1850s in the same style as the original building, removing two of the small Georgian terraces at numbers 26 and 27 (and perhaps the third at number 25). It was a massive establishment, the 1851 census includes four pages of live-in workers and the display windows were immense for the period; imagine going to the cinema for the first time when you had only ever seen a small box television. The design was still classically influenced with the composite columns but William Thomas topped the building with an incredibly ornate attic floor topped with pinnacles.

Illustration by Jenni Dixon, copyright 2011.
*References available on request.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.9: Repository for the Arts - The Pantechnetheca (New Street)

Trade card for the Pantechnetheca, probably 1824.

The Pantechnetheca was one of the most unusual and original Regency buildings in Birmingham and was opened and run by Charles Jones, the building work beginning in 1823, and the architect being Thomas Stedman Whitwell.* The premises contained three showrooms displaying and selling a selection of manufactures and art, the articles being the best of Birmingham’s wares. Before the Pantechnetheca was built the site was occupied by a public house called the Old Crown or the Crown Tavern which you entered at the side through a large gateway which also led to the cherry orchard behind.

At the upper part of the facade Jones had the word PANTECHNETHECA written in Greek letters (see image above). When the shop first opened there was great discussion about the meaning of the word he had chosen; there was much ‘excitement [...] throughout Birmingham, and [a] large concourse of people assembled daily [...] in front of the building and in Union Passage, endeavouring to spell the word, and, after having done so, very few could pronounce it'.* It also excited a great number of local scholars to debate its meaning, but even Jones’s son did not seem to know why his father had chosen this particular word, or was unwilling to tell. The building design itself was part of the Greek Revival, and the Greek derivation of the word was possibly associated with that fashion.*

Even though Greek Revival was fashionable and other buildings in the New Street area also adopted the style, at the time of the Pantechnetheca’s erection the building did stand out from the others around it as being particularly ornate. The ground floor was decorated with a 'Grecian Doric colonnade, supporting [another] of the Ionic order', all this was 'surmounted by a handsome balustrade with projecting pedestals' and sitting on these were sculpted figures and urns.* The sculptures were of four muses used to illustrate the fine arts. There was much debate at the time as to whether the manufactures should be seen as arts, one detractor of the idea asserted critically of Birmingham in 1825 that ‘the arts are cultivated as ministering to the perfection of the manufactures; but the time has not yet arrived when they shall be encouraged for their own sakes, [i]nfected by the trading principle, our talented youth rush prematurely into the character of professional and profiting artists; "dealers and chapmen," in the intellectual line’. In 1829 the Monthly Magazine stated that ‘[a] "Brummagem article," has now become a thing admirable as a work of art', this had previously been a derogitory term, but these two opinions were part of wider dispute. The imagery that Jones used in the building, along with calling it the ‘depository for the arts’ as he did was all part of asserting Birmingham wares as belonging within the brackets of the arts.

The Pantechnetheca supplied all manner of valuable manufactured articles with a concentration of goods from the local area, these included the 'best Soho and Sheffield Plated Articles, with silver edges, fine Jewellery, Bronzery and Ormolu, in Lamps, Candlesticks, &c., Table and Fancy Cutlery, Papier Mache and Japan Trays and Waiters, fine Fowling Pieces, beautiful and rare specimens of Oriental China, elegant Cabinet and Tortoiseshell Work, in Dressing Cases, Writing Desks, Work Boxes, &c. and a great variety of other articles'.* Later the Pantechnetheca also acted as an art gallery as Jones also sold 'a succession of paintings by the most able ancient and modern masters'. This was a wide variety of wares when most traders only sold what they made, and Jones's shop would have been a kind of showcase within Birmingham of the best of the Midlands produce.
There was much thought placed, not just in the design of the building, but into the interior and auxiliary ornamentation. Richard Hicks Bridgens designed highly decorative candelabra which can be seen in the illustration at the top of this post adorning the opening to Union Passage. Jones also put thought into the interior including the lighting which is particularly mentioned, and depicts his conscious attempt to create an ambient shopping environment. You can see from the image of the interior (below) that it was light and airy with open spaces and much ornamentation, all to assert elegance and taste.

Inside the Pantechnetheca, New Street

The site Jones chose was for the shop was ideally situated, with 'spacious frontages to New-street, and on both sides of Union Passage'. The premises was divided into three equally sized showrooms (divided between two floors), each specialising in different aspects of the Jones’s products. You would approach the upstairs showrooms via 'a spacious and gracefully-turned staircase', which was fitted 'in a style of classical elegance, richness of decoration and tasteful attention to commodiousness'.* Many visitors to Birmingham would pay a visit to Jones's establishment which was part of a number of businesses that formed a tour of Birmingham’s 'curiosities'; the new and innovative wares.*

The original Pantechnetheca in a advert for Hyam.

It was an opulent project, and in the late 1830s Charles Jones went bankrupt and the property sold off in February 1839,* though it was already being used by another occupants; Samuel Hyam (a tailor), Joseph Allen Taylor (a hatter) and Messrs. Corah & Sons, who between them paid annual rent of £406 on this 'valuable property'.* According to Eliezer Edwards, Samuel Hyam had occupied the building since about 1837, and Hyam eventually took over the whole building. It is perhaps he who removed the statues from the exterior (left), as their artistic symbolism would not fit with his tailoring trade (or perhaps they were precariously balanced). Hyam had first opened his business in 1835 opposite the Pantechnetheca (number 116 at the time) and he became a very successful businessman taking down the original Pantechnetheca in August 1857 to build a much larger parade of shops, some of which he could rent out, though he retained Jones's name of the Pantechnetheca.

NOTES
*References on request.
Other spellings. Panteknetheca, Pantenetheca, Pantenetheka, Pantechnatheca.
Images courtesy of Birmingham Library and Archive Services.

References available on request
To find out more click the labels below.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.8: Birmingham's 'Old Curiosity Shop' (Ann Street & Congreve Street)

Circa 1740s-1874

~Reproduction from the 1870s of John Allin’s business (run from c. 1785-1813), made by his great-grandson Clement Selkirk Jones, on the corner of Ann Street (to the right) and Congreve Street (left). The building on the far right next to the castellated shop is the White Lion public house. The birds in the first floor window were taxidermies and part of a cabinet of curiosities.~

In the middle of Victoria Square, just behind where the statue of Queen Victoria stands, stood an eccentric little shop. They say an Englishman’s home is his castle, and the house that stood here, on the corner of Ann Street and Congreve Street, with its castellated top and tower, topped with the union jack, is definitely John Allin’s castle. It is likely that Allin’s father (or grandfather) built the property, as the family owned it and the three buildings next to it up Ann Street, but it was probably initially only a dwelling house. Allin usually flew the union jack from the roof of his shop and the premises became known simply as ‘The Flag’, and it seems that John was quite a patriot as he also named one of his daughters Caroline Britannia. Allin was a tailor, appearing first in trade directories in 1785 as a habit maker, but he imaginatively developed the business by diversifying his products along with creatively promoting the business.

In 1803 he produced a booklet advertising his shop in a series of poems. These show that as well as new and second hand clothes, hats, linen and hosiery he also sold toys for children, puzzling cards, amusing cards and spelling books, art materials, sheet music and instruments, stationary and educational material, maps and travel charts and medicines including an amazing ‘cure all’ balm. He might also play his clarinet whilst you were perusing in his shop. And this was not all; he would soak your feet to clear them of corns, and pull your rotten teeth! The Latin phrase that is written on the shop in the advert (above) is ‘Multum in Parvo’ which means ‘much in little’, or ‘much in a small place’, which could not be truer. You can just imagine browsing through the shop, which would be jam-packed with all number of surprising objects (click here to view some possible items); and then of course you could go upstairs for a shilling and look at the Cabinet of Curiosities.

The Cabinet consisted of all sorts of items that would have amazed those in the late 18th century as there was a definite culture of curiosity. Travel was prohibitively expensive and much of the world had yet to even be explored, so collections filled with natural history objects and items from around the globe were particularly popular. In Allin’s cabinet there were taxidermied animals; ‘birds of all kinds and beasts of rare creation’ and in the image above there are two birds on the window ledge of the first floor window. Also on display were ‘shells, medals [and] foreign coins from every nation’, and Allin had his own coin struck advertising his shop and his miniature panorama. The scenes in his panorama changed on alternate days, unlike the full scale panorama nearby on New Street, which changed, usually, monthly. He also boasts of a 'crooked telescope that views straight', a mirror that distorts the image and a model of the solar system. Visitors could also get their portraits sketched by a young employee.

~A close-up of the advert John Allin produced to promote his business showing Allin's window display. You can see the images of the fashionable dress of the time, clothes hung on pegs outside, and what could be mannequins inside the window. Examples of his clothes can also be seen hung on pegs outside.~

In the late 1800s Allin extended his business to larger premises in High Street and left the Ann Street shop in charge of his son William. When John died in 1813 William moved permanently to High Street, which took with it the name ‘The Flag’, but because the family owned the property in Ann Street they rented it out. The next known usage was as a chemist’s, run by Samuel Wilson Suffield.
Further information.
References available on request.
To find out more click on the labels below.
Any questions? Please use the comments section below.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.3: The Shops in the Church Wall (New Street)

Part of a larger illustration of the area around Christ Church. Circa 1830.

When Christ Church was built in 1805, it was decided that four small shops should be built into the high church wall, which were to be rented out in order to provide an extra income for the church. I cannot think of another example of shops in the UK that were set into the surrounding wall of a church like this, surviving or otherwise, which would have made these ones, if they had of survived, unique. The shops under Christ Church were too small to be lived in, and the only way in or out was from the front (a health & safety nightmare for today). Behind the back walls of the shops were the catacombs that sat beneath the church, and further back, behind the church, the graveyard.

At the time the church was built this area was developing as a commercial part of the town, it had begun to be built up with residential properties from the 1740s, but later became a busy shopping area. The illustration (left and above) depicts some of the shops of Ann Street in the distance, with the Bell and Candlestick pub in the centre, its name representing the prominence of the brass trade in Birmingham. The original cobbles of New Street can be seen in the foreground, and a small bow fronted shop window which had developed to better show off the wares which could be bought inside. You can also see the oil lamps used to light the exterior, and the basic sheets being used as cover from the elements.

The plan, above, was drawn up in 1821 and gives an insight into the life behind the facade of the shops. The four small shops that were set into the wall are all different sizes with irregular walls, giving an impression of how they may have been laid out inside. The four shops are run by Jones, Wakelam, Smith and Jones. The plan also shows two new shops in darker pink run by Freeman and Carr, that had just been built, as well as the waggon yard to the right. The buildings just behind, running along the length of the church's wall, are Freeman's kitchen, Freeman's pantry, Carr's brewhouse, the privies and some stables with another brewhouse. Brewhouses were used for washing clothes. The waggon yard was run by a Mr. Wallis, and it seems that it made and stocked waggons for business and goods use rather than having coaches for travelling, though you could hire hackney coaches a little further down New Street.*

Image left: The front gates to Christ Church, with the high wall and shops.

NOTES
* References on request.
Images courtesy of Birmingham Library and Archive Services.

Paper Remnants: How to Advertise Regency Style

Frontispiece from Allin's 1803 advert,
copied by Catherine Hutton Beale.

From about the 1780s till 1813 there stood an eccentric looking shop at the top of New Street, not far from where Queen Victoria stands gazing across the modern Birmingham landscape (see here). The little shop, named Multum in Parvo, or, 'much in a small place', was run by an equally eccentric proprietor, Mr. John Allin. Allin was a tailor (taylor), but also dabbled in all manner of other lines of business, including pulling your rotten teeth. In 1803 he produced a sixteen page booklet promoting his business, but being John Allin this was not your everyday kind of advert; pictures were rarely used as promotion during this period, but Allin used an alternative method to make the pages come to life. He wrote the entire article in verse.

He was not alone in using verse to promote either an individual establishment, or the town as a whole; James Bisset was particularly keen on a poem or two, but Allin's lines connect with the seemingly mundane everyday articles that he sold and give a wonderful insight into the retail culture of the time. When describing the tailoring aspect of his business he addresses women, children and men in turn, and the articles described build a fragrant picture of the fashions of the time. He also notes his range for farmers, servants and coachmen, the latter particularly needing good quality coats that could withstand the elements they would have been daily exposed to. His list of children's toys is also fascinating and reveals how their entertainments and home education was not so different. His list of stationary brings the Regency writing desk to life, and the prolific letter writing that marked the time. What is particularly fascinating though is the description of his exhibition, which housed curiosities and novelties galore. The poem has been transcribed below, and has links to find out more about particular articles for sale or on display.

ALLIN,

TAYLOR,

Hatter, Haberdasher, Hosier, Linen and

Woollen Draper, Grocer &c.

AT HIS

Cheap Clothes and York Shoe Warehouse,

THE FLAG,

Opposite the TOP of NEW-STREET,

Birmingham:

A SHOP

For the Accommodation of all Sorts of Customers,

who may be provided with every Necessary of

Life; suited Top to Bottom, from Inside

to Outside, from right-side to left-side, yes,

and on ALL SIDES, with every Wearable and

Tearable, from the Giant of ten Feet high to

the Infant just popp'd into the World: Sold

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL,

At little more than HALF their VALUE,

FOR

Ready Money only.

PERMIT me, with respect to greet

All those who tread thro' New-street,

And humbly beg they'll deign to stop,

And choose some goods at ALLIN'S Shop:

Enough I know, you're sure to find.

To charm the sight, delight the mind;

Great choice for luxury or use,

Such goods few others can produce.
--~~~--
YE fair, to you my first respects
I'll pay, as gratitude directs.
Cloaks, bonnets, shawls, of highest taste,
With gowns and stays to fit your waist,
Caps and ribbons, gloves and rings,
With many other pretty things
In mantua-millinery way,
My goods with pleasure I'll display,
Muffs and tippets, fans and feathers,
Parasols, para[pluit], to suit all weathers.
Velvet collars, edgings, lace,
To improve each pretty face.
Quilts and skirts of [stuff] and silk,
Dimity* coats as white as milk. [*a kind of fabric]
Stockings, black or white, quite fine,
Or some more coarse if you incline,
Seal skin and morocco shoes,
Coarse or fine, just as you choose,
Home-made, false-made, very neat,
To suit the make of all your feet:
And shifts, I make them every day,
And drive a mighty trade that way.
Pockets, purses, too, I sell,
Both these I finger mighty well.
Do pray walk in, and let me try,
Something you cannot fail to buy;
I love to gain by good behaviour,
The ladies interest and their favour.
---~~~---
And now to clothe the young creation,
I've child-bed things for every station;
Shoes to curious here are sold,
The infant walks at ten months old;
And then to make the teeth cut easy,
I have a thing I know will please ye.
Corals and necklaces abound,
In which much virtue has been found;
A ribbon there to tie them on,
And now for these I think I've done.
---~~~---
A while I'll leave the female fair,
And make the other sex my care,
To suit you all doth please me well,
And much I wish my goods to sell.
Indulge me, gentle sirs, in this, my pride,
By your consent to let me now provide
And suit you, one & all, with coats and breeches,
They shall be strong & very neat the stitches.
Waistcoats and drawers, wigs and cravats,
And pantaloons, and every sort of hats.
Shirts plain or frill'd, fine, good and neat,
Sew'd with strong thread & stitch'd complete.
Handkerchiefs for your neck or nose,
And every sort of curious hose.
Shoes, buckles, garters, boots,
All your mind or wishes suits.
Close coats, top coats, smart and strong,
To fit you now I sadly long.
The prince, the porter and the peasant,
If they but bring the cash so pleasant,
May suited be to admiration,
And fitted to their approbation,
For all's alike to I you know,
If they but leave the ready rhino.
And then for black I have beside,
Enough to clothe old Israel's tribe;
From the bishop to the sexton,
Every man without exception;
From life's first dawning the end,
My services I will extend.
With hatband, favors, gloves, and [pall],
Most cheerfully I'll serve you all
And then to prove myself your friend,
As mourning days will have their end,
I'll buy the very things I sold,
And sell them all again for old.
---~~~---
The farmer, too, I can complete,
With good smock-frock, both strong and neat,
Doe-skin breeches, home-made shoes,
Or boots, if he would rather choose.
Strong shirts for them I too provide,
And every article beside.
---~~~---
And next the gammon of the whip,
Who oft to London take a trip,
Good cheap box-coats of every size,
For those who do their health much prize,
To keep them dry in time of need,
A useful article indeed!
'Twill serve sometimes to lend a friend,
And oft-times gain a private end,
For in the wet I think indeed,
All those you serve should freely bleed,
For then the tapster* will take care, [*bartender]
And something warm for you prepare.
---~~~---
Does a good servant want a place?
Or is a master in distress?
If to my office they'll repair,
I'll serve them all with speed and care.
---~~~---
A taylor too I am by trade,
I cut to measure, or fit ready made.
From home I have no time to lose,
And this your goodness will excuse,
But at my shop whoe'er attends,
The price shall make him full amends.
---~~~---
Now to amuse the children's mind,
I have toys of all sorts, and kinds,
Formed of pewter and wooden ware,
And long will last with prudent care.
I've puzzling cards of various rules,
Collected for the use of schools;
Dissected maps and travelling charts,
T'improve the mind, engage the hearts.
Teaching geography while you play,
And learning kingdoms all the way;
Cards framed on purpose to amuse,
T'enforce instruction in the use:
A curious map with plain direction,
Suited to juvenile inspection,
Describing all the English towns,
Their limits, situations, bounds,
Places held in highest note,
Castles, rivers, lake, or moat,
This map 'tis worth your while to try,
Step in and look, I'm sure you'll buy.
Charming little books for spelling,
Such as children may read well in:
Primes, horn books, little pictures,
Curious toys for infant lectures:
Every work that gains applause,
On literature, state, or laws,
Shall be procured, on application,
That I may gain your approbation,
Thus my address to those who read,
To those who write I now proceed:
And to obtain their kind attention,
There's paper of the first invention:
Marble from the French and Dutch,
Soft and pleasant to the touch;
Brown for packing, purple, green,
Royal, [muslium], magazine,
[Lawn], and music, quite inviting,
Gilt [post], and [foolreap] fit for writing;
Whited brown, and common blue,
Elephant, and cartridge too;
Vellum for the bond and deed,
Postcards when you stand in need;
Fine glaz'd paper for the fair,
The ladies still demand my care;
A beauteous show of quills and pens,
From geese and turkeys, [...], and hens,
Cut to suit the various hands,
Us'd in this or foreign lands.
Ink, like jet 'twill shine to bright,
Sure I am 'twill please the sight,
Ink of glowing ruby red,
And the very best that's made;
Powder ink or made in cake,
Or the genuine Indian make.
Wafers*, every kind and hue     [*sealing part of envelope]
Black or white, or red, or blue;
Wax to bear the clear impression,
Which conceals the fond expression.
Seals much used by all descriptions,
Poets, lawyers, and physicians;
Rulers, pounce, and silver sand,
Pen knives fullest to your hand;
Drawing pencils red and black,
Cards, to invite, sold by the pack,;
Indian rubber, and pencil tops,
Shells and cups, and paint in drops;
The best lead pencils clothed in reed,
Or in cedar if you need;
Slates and pencils smooth and clear,
Brushes made with camels hair;
Balls to keep the shoes from cracking,
Curious cakes for liquid blacking.
---~~~---
Music divine has charms to case,
And make despair and madness please.
Would you the marbling plate inspire,
To set the love-sick soul on fire,
Or melancholy fits assivage;
To furnish you I now engage;
Or would you charm with notes now strong,
My clarinet assists your song;
At summer's eve, or wintry morn,
Vow here may find the mellow horn,
And make each valley, hill, and plain,
Re-echo the enchanting strain,
Violins, tenors, violincellos,
To suit all honest fiddling fellows;
Cat-calls, jews-harps, port-boys horns,
Drums and trumpets -- wars alarms!
And every instrument beside,
That is of harmony the pride;
And then a choice of songs you see,
Collected with great nicety;
Solos, symphonies, quartettos,
Trios, overtures, duettos;
Favourite marches for the army,
New concertos for to charm ye;
Country dances, and cotillions*, [*type of dance]
Jigs and minuets by millions.
Glees and catches, merry airs,
Books to guide unpractic'd players;
Cat-gut strings, and strings of wire,
All that music can require;
All to aid soft music's power,
And to cheer the lonesome hour.
---~~~---
Have you need of physic's aid,
Med'cine, too, I make my trade:
Warm-cakes, sure to give you ease,
Sov'reign balm* for all disease;   [*a kind of cure-all balm]
For corns, that troublesome disaster,
Why, I have got a certain plaster;
Then soak your feet, and come to me,
Your toes from corns I'll quickly free!
All this and more, I'll undertake,
And draw your teeth if they should ache.
---~~~---

EXHIBITION

And now, my friends, with gratitude I own
The num'rous favours you've so kindly shown;
Poor, my expressions, I would [again] convey
My hearty thanks your goodness to repay,
And aiming still to please, with due submission,
I've now prepared a beauteous exhibition.
Multum in Parvo! much compriz'd in little,
Curious, tho' small, 'twill please you to a tittle.
Birds of all kinds, and beasts of rare creation,
Shells, medals, foreign coins from every nation.
India, America, Greenland, Iceland too,
And something of the mines of rich Peru.
The Bird of Paradise, the Ruff, the Gull,
The Flying Rat, the Mouse, the Horned Owl.
From Botany Bay, of birds a good collection;
Worthy the coinnoisseur's[sic] minute inspection.
A panorama,* too, I can display,   [*this would have been a miniature panorama]
With different prospects every other day,
And then my little painter wont refuse,
To sketch you any little thing you choose.
Again [...] changes you may see,
By peeping through my Palagree.
And you this moral may receive,
That men each other oft deceive;
Strong facts are over[...] it by fiction,
And reason oft a contradiction:
This fact is true I now relate,
A crooked telescope views straight.
I have a glass too will erase,
The beauties of your neck and face,
And magnify to such a size,
That your own figure you'll despise.
Globes derived to represent,
Bodies celestial, fully bent
In chaos not to keep their station,
But venture on the new creation.
A thousand things I have to show,
Every day I've something new;
At present I no more will mention,
But only crave your kind attention,
And sign myself, as is expedient,
Your humble servant, most obedient.

---~~~---

Pages

Victorian Photo Album: Chaucer's Head Bookshop (New Street, c. 1870s)

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.58: The Old Lamb House (Bull Street)

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.45: A Trip to Thomason's Show Rooms (Church Street)