Lost Trades Nᵒ.11: John Taylor (c. 1711 to 1775) & Birmingham's First Factory (probably)

John Taylor I, c. 1750. In the possession
of Lloyd's Bank, London.

John Taylor (c. 1711 to 1775)

John Taylor was one of Birmingham’s most dominant manufacturers of small wares, often called 'toys', including japanned goods (decorative lacquer), metal buttons and enamelled boxes. In 1766 Lady Shelburne, who was visiting the Birmingham manufactories with her husband and some friends, called Taylor the 'principal manufacturer' of the town.* Taylor's business had grown from the 1730s, and his manufactory was probably Birmingham's first factory, in the sense we understand it today. He also was a partner in Taylor and Lloyd's bank, which opened in Birmingham in 1765 and is now simply Lloyd's Bank, and he died in 1775 a very wealth man.

Tour of Lost Birmingham Nᵒ.56: Bromford Forge, and the Interior of the 18th Century Iron Forge (Aston)

An Iron Forge, by Joseph Wright of Derby (1772)

The first mention of the Bromford mill as a forge was in 1605, but the site had previously worked as a water-powered mill, possibly dating back to Domesday, but definitely the thirteenth century. Like many mills it had been converted from corn grinding to fulling, the pounding of wool to remove oil and dirt.* From working as a fulling mill it was an easy conversion to become a forge to hammer iron instead of wool, as seen in Joseph Wright’s 1772 painting of an iron forge (above). Wright was inspired by the industries of the Midlands, and although there is no reason to believe that he visited Bromford, there would be similarities.

Victorian Photo Album: Castle Bromwich Mill

Castle Bromwich Mill, 1895. Held at Birmingham Archive.

Castle Bromwich mill was the manorial corn mill, probably dating from the thirteenth-century. Not much can be discovered about the history of the mill, but it was a constant presence in the area for centuries, and still being worked in the 1890s (images above and below).

The miller in 1895.