JONES AND WILLIS PORCHESTER STREET

[edmc]

Hello, I am new to this very interesting site, and wonder if anyone can help. I am researching (for my own curiosity) the company Jones and Willis (formerly Newton Jones & Willis)- Church Furniture Manufacturers who started in Temple Row Birmingham abt 1835 . They had a large workshop in Porchester St from abt 1900. I have seen somewhere on the internet a photo taken in 1968 of a demolition site in what looks like the corner of Porchester St and Furnace Lane and this tallies with data I have on where the site actually was. A bit of a long shot but does anyone have any recollections of that site? Also what happened to the Temple Row site - the 1851 census shows a lot of people living/working from there, when was it demolished perhaps after 1884? Any help would be gratefully received! Attached is a drawing of Porchester St. Works.

 

[Astoness]

hi and welcome to the forum....bit confused as the drawing you have posted is of a works in london not birmingham...we do have a thread on the forum for porchester street which you may have seen but hopefully some of our members maybe able to help with your research

lyn

 

[Pedrocut]

It appears that Newton Jones and Willis started as Drapers at Temple Row House. Became Jones and Willis around 1861. In 1863/4 they changed to Church furnishings with showrooms in Temple Row and Works at Porchester St.

 

[Pedrocut]

Sometime before 1883 they seem to have moved from Temple Row to 79 Edmund St.

 

[Pedrocut]

There is an extensive catalogue from 1905 available on the internet archive.

 

[edmc]

hi and welcome to the forum....bit confused as the drawing you have posted is of a works in london not birmingham...we do have a thread on the forum for porchester street which you may have seen but hopefully some of our members maybe able to help with your research

lyn

Oh dear I posted the wrong drawing! As you say that was the Hornsey London Workshop. Here is the Porchester Street Church Works.

 

[edmc]

There is an extensive catalogue from 1905 available on the internet archive.

Thanks for that Pedrocut and other posts.

 

[edmc]

Hello - one further question that someone may be able to help me with...The newly developed Porchester Street has a building with an old looking frontage which looks remarkably like the original building. Would anyone know if this is the case? I attach a photo of the 'new' frontage and the original building of Jones and Willis.
Thanks for previous help..

 

[brummy-lad]

Hello - one further question that someone may be able to help me with...The newly developed Porchester Street has a building with an old looking frontage which looks remarkably like the original building. Would anyone know if this is the case? I attach a photo of the 'new' frontage and the original building of Jones and Willis.
Thanks for previous help..

Quite a coincidence, this was a building I was looking at recently, certainly in the 50s and 60s (and possibly 40s and 70s too) it was J. R. Pearson (shopfitters) my dad and brother worked there.

Picture attached of my dad at the front of the building. I had the black and white picture and wanted to know where it had been taken, I am amazed that the building survived.

 

[Astoness]

maybe mikejee could sort out a map showing us the position the works of jones and willis stood

lyn

 

[edmc]

Quite a coincidence, this was a building I was looking at recently, certainly in the 50s and 60s (and possibly 40s and 70s too) it was J. R. Pearson (shopfitters) my dad and brother worked there.

Picture attached of my dad at the front of the building. I had the black and white picture and wanted to know where it had been taken, I am amazed that the building survived.

Thanks for adding that-really very interesting! One of my questions was what happened to the original building in Porchester Street after Jones and Willis left in about 1940. Do you know when the 'new' buildings were built?

 

[edmc]

Thanks - I have not seen this 2008 pic before. I am grateful to one of your members who posted a 1950 map of Porchester Street which I will attach, and it shows Crocodile works and along side it the Jones and Willis Works which reached right down to the end of Porchester St. Do you think it possible that the building shown on the 2008 pic was J&W? or do you think it part of the Crocodile works?

 

[Astoness]

well i am no map expert but looking at that map i would not say the the church works went down as far as the end of porchester st...porchester st went down as far as the alma st/summer lane junction at which another works is marked out but the map is a bit hazy so i cant make out the name of it...

 

[adap2it]

Porchester St...I think you have these Lyn, not sure if you have both.
Dave A

 

[Astoness]

cheers dave i have the first one but not the second it is great to know that pearsons were johns dad worked is still there....is that the croc works to the right?

lyn

 

[Astoness]

the photo on post 8 and post 9 are as brummy lad said J R PEARSONS at no 34...jones and willis were on the right of that sadly the building has been demolished along with the church furniture works that lay well back searching my files i have however found and old photo of the anodising works that was on the corner of porchester st and alma st...you can just make out that on the wall there is an advert for jones and willis

lyn

 

[Vivienne14]

There seems to be 2 Porchester Street threads. I shall rename this one about Newton, Jones etc. Viv.

 

[Astoness]

viv can you hang on doing that please as this thread is specifically about jones and willis porchester st...i will go and alter the title of this thread..thanks

 

[Vivienne14]

Yes I realised Lyn and edited my post. I shall leave it to you. Maybe you could move it to Factories & Offices section too. Viv.

 

[Astoness]

was just going to move it to factories section viv..

 

[adap2it]

the photo on post 8 and post 9 are as brummy lad said J R PEARSONS at no 34...jones and willis were on the right of that sadly the building has been demolished along with the church furniture works that lay well back searching my files i have however found and old photo of the anodising works that was on the corner of porchester st and alma st...you can just make out that on the wall there is an advert for jones and willisView attachment 146218

lyn

Wow Lyn! This picture looks so familiar to me. The Church of Christ building that looks like a hut, is Sunshine Corner, where we had "Sunday School". I must have been living there when this photo was taken...just to the right of Jones and Willis is the bus stop closest to where I lived
Dave A

 

[Astoness]

hi dave i thought that view may be familiar to you...just one thing that building on the corner is not jones and willis...its the anodising works used by jones and willis put their advert on...i also noted the bus stop...happy days down the old end dave

lyn

 

[Nigel Cripps]

Colleagues. I have recently identified Jones and Willis items in local churches, some are magnificent others nothing special. There are catalogues on the web but little reference to surviving church furnishings. A google search has found a number of stained glass windows but no references to furnishings that are still around. Any ideas?

 

[Allan12]

The reredos in All Saints, Kings Bromley was, according to a 1912 faculty, provided by Jones & Willis. According to the same faculty, the stained glass window behind it was designed by A L Ward. Would Jones & Willis worked with Ward And would this be a normal practice?

 

[PAUL.ENGLAND]

Hi Just found this map showing Jones & Willis Ltd at 79 Edmund St