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Violin Manufacture in Birmingham

B

Brookfields Lad

master brummie
I am researching violin manufacturers/luthiers who traded in Birmingham.
I have been told that there was a 'music shop' / violin maker where Symphony hall is now. Does anyone recall the name of this company?
How many violin manufacturers were there in Birmingham?
 
What period were you thinking of? Have looked at some Directories and there seems to be no section for violin makers, but presumably, they were included under "Musical Instrument Manufacturers". Surprisingly there is a separate section for "Musical instrument string manufacturers" In the directories I looked at none were in Broad St
 
mikejee said:
What period were you thinking of? Have looked at some Directories and there seems to be no section for violin makers, but presumably, they were included under "Musical Instrument Manufacturers". Surprisingly there is a separate section for "Musical instrument string manufacturers" In the directories I looked at none were in Broad St
Click to expand...
Any period up to the eighties.
I will keep delving.
Thanks.
 
Here's a couple of local gents.

WILLIAMS, THOMAS , Edgbaston , Birmingham.
He was born at Langley Green, Worcestershire, in 1864, and now lives a t 93 Lee Bank Road, Edgbaston .
Although he considers himself only an amateur violin maker, his work reaches a high standard of excellence.

FEAR, HARRY, Handsworth, Birmingham.
He was born at Brixton in 1878 and commenced to make violins as an amateur in 1 9 1 2.
 
In the 1962 directory Thomas Smith is listed as a musical instrument dealer at 17 Easy Row. but in 1971 he is Thomas Smith (Violins) Ltd, violin restorers at 4 King Alfred's Place. This is shown in red on the c1950 map below, and would be on the site of the present Symphony Hall

map c1950 showing 4 King alfreds Place.jpg
 
I've been thinking that I have a memory of a musical instrument shop in that area too - this would be 60's/70s.
I think it was near the canal in some of the old Georgian buildings?
 
I have found a picture of 'Thomas Smith' violins. The premises are an old black and white building next to the 'Celebrity Restaurant'. Was this in Bridge st?
Pictures of the shop interior and exterior are on the 'Alamy' photo site. Go to Alamy and search for 'Birmingham Violins'.

I won't encourage anyone to download the pics because of copyright issues and Alamy expects to be paid for their use.
 
In case it's of any interest, being a student at the Birmingham School of Music in the 1970's, I remember the Thomas Smith shop as it was just off Broad Street next to the Repertory Theatre. All destroyed now for the new library and the concert hall. Thomas Smith was the name of an English violin maker working in London 1740-1790; I assume the shop took the name, there is probably no connection in making terms. Jan Kudanowski worked there in the 1970's as the newpaper clip announces, I had one of his instruments and very fine it was too; later he set up on his own. There was another violin shop in the jewellery quarter called Sydney Evans, above a shoe shop at 45 Regent Place, an altogether quieter scene. By the time I went there it was run by David Evans who had trained in violin making in Germany. Just recently on the tv channel Talking Pictures they showed a short documentary film that featured David and the town in Rank's 'Look at Life' series, called 'Village of Violins', now available on DVD. David settled back in Birmingham and with his links to Germany specialised in providing violin making materials for most if not all of Britain's professional and amateur violin makers through the 1970's and 1980's. David was very helpful to me.
 
Mr Kudanowski at work, the renowned European violin maker mentioned in post #8. The move to Bingley Hall House must have been to allow for the demolition of the Easy Row premises and the Ring Road development. Viv.

DA6D5AF7-4D58-480D-BFCF-689E57B4C8F0.jpeg

Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
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Sidney Evans had a violin repair workshop in Gothic Arcade, Snow Hill (photo originally posted by Astoness on the Gothic Arcade thread) but had to find new premises due to redevelopment of Snow Hill. He moved to Edgbaston, but yet again had to move due to redevelopment. Viv.

9FF80A56-50ED-4897-9C8E-3B06D7905C4D.jpeg

Source: British Newspaper Archive
ED3C3EB1-BA69-4059-A8D9-364461E25316.jpeg7819752D-4770-4874-A067-4F12B750BB19.jpeg284AFF21-331A-49E1-AC0A-5A07A952C0F5.jpeg
 
Wretford said:
In case it's of any interest, being a student at the Birmingham School of Music in the 1970's, I remember the Thomas Smith shop as it was just off Broad Street next to the Repertory Theatre. All destroyed now for the new library and the concert hall. Thomas Smith was the name of an English violin maker working in London 1740-1790; I assume the shop took the name, there is probably no connection in making terms. Jan Kudanowski worked there in the 1970's as the newpaper clip announces, I had one of his instruments and very fine it was too; later he set up on his own. There was another violin shop in the jewellery quarter called Sydney Evans, above a shoe shop at 45 Regent Place, an altogether quieter scene. By the time I went there it was run by David Evans who had trained in violin making in Germany. Just recently on the tv channel Talking Pictures they showed a short documentary film that featured David and the town in Rank's 'Look at Life' series, called 'Village of Violins', now available on DVD. David settled back in Birmingham and with his links to Germany specialised in providing violin making materials for most if not all of Britain's professional and amateur violin makers through the 1970's and 1980's. David was very helpful to me.
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Not sure the Thomas Smith from the Birmingham shop is related to the Thomas Smith (1740-1790) of London. The article says that Thomas Smith (violins) Ltd. was a century old firm, and before they became Ltd. I believe they were Thomas Smith Musical Instruments, and seem to appear sometime before 1886.
 
Dav said:
I remember buying materials to make a guitar in the 1960s probably from the shop shown in Phyllis Nicklin’s photo above. However; I bought a violin from (not by) Thomas Smith in the late 1970s when the shop was at 4 King Alfred’s Place, B1 2EW
See photo attachedView attachment 170070View attachment 170070
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The 'alleyway' photograph of Sydney Evan's premises is charming, and to think it survived to 1966. From there the business was taken to near the Jewellery Quarter, 45 Regent Place B1 3NB. What that address doesn't tell you was that in fact the violin shop was on the first floor - at first glance it looked as if you'd got the wrong place, as it appeared to be a shoe wholesalers, who was on the ground floor. By the time I went there (1977) the violin shop was run by David Evans, Sydney's son, and because he'd travelled to Germany to study violin making, he had links with the German timber merchants; he built that up to become virtually the only specialist supplier of string instrument wood in the U.K., producing a small but highly thought of catalogue every year. He also supplied varnish, basically everything one needed to make a violin/guitar (etc) from scratch. The downside was that all the UK instruments came out looking the same!! See-through yellow varnish, highly polished, but beautiful wood. David was extremely helpful to me as I set out to be a violin bow maker (ahh, the confidence of youth!) and I'd be very grateful to know if David was still alive; he'd be in his 80's now. The shop went to Unit 204 in The Argent Centre, 60 Frederick Street in 1999 but had closed by late 2001, the name purchased by another maker to make sure it didn't go anywhere else.
 
I clearly remember Thomas Smith's shop in King Alfred's Place and Sydney Evans in Regent Place. I did a 3-year evening course in violin-making with David Evans, Sydney's son. Is Bill Piper still at the Jinney Ring Centre? He did some repairs for me some years ago (before I did my course) and I was very impressed with his work; it was he who directed me to David Evans. He must be getting on a bit now (no offence - we're none of us as young as we were!)
 
Graham S said:
I clearly remember Thomas Smith's shop in King Alfred's Place and Sydney Evans in Regent Place. I did a 3-year evening course in violin-making with David Evans, Sydney's son. Is Bill Piper still at the Jinney Ring Centre? He did some repairs for me some years ago (before I did my course) and I was very impressed with his work; it was he who directed me to David Evans. He must be getting on a bit now (no offence - we're none of us as young as we were!)
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William Piper was still at the Jinney Ring Centre, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove in about 2010 when we visited. He was born in 1948. I didn't know that David Evans taught - I guess evening classes, if it took three years to make a violin!
 
Wretford said:
In case it's of any interest, being a student at the Birmingham School of Music in the 1970's, I remember the Thomas Smith shop as it was just off Broad Street next to the Repertory Theatre. All destroyed now for the new library and the concert hall. Thomas Smith was the name of an English violin maker working in London 1740-1790; I assume the shop took the name, there is probably no connection in making terms. Jan Kudanowski worked there in the 1970's as the newpaper clip announces, I had one of his instruments and very fine it was too; later he set up on his own. There was another violin shop in the jewellery quarter called Sydney Evans, above a shoe shop at 45 Regent Place, an altogether quieter scene. By the time I went there it was run by David Evans who had trained in violin making in Germany. Just recently on the tv channel Talking Pictures they showed a short documentary film that featured David and the town in Rank's 'Look at Life' series, called 'Village of Violins', now available on DVD. David settled back in Birmingham and with his links to Germany specialised in providing violin making materials for most if not all of Britain's professional and amateur violin makers through the 1970's and 1980's. David was very helpful to me.
Click to expand...
Incidentally, the Talking Pictures television programming referred to was shown again at 13.45 on Channel 82 Freeview, today. It was produced in 1960 and featured the Alpine village of Mittenwald.
 
Wretford said:
William Piper was still at the Jinney Ring Centre, Hanbury Road, Bromsgrove in about 2010 when we visited. He was born in 1948. I didn't know that David Evans taught - I guess evening classes, if it took three years to make a violin!
Click to expand...
Yes, it would have been a long build, even at an evening class! In fact, most of us built more than one instrument, and violas & cellos also arose from thewoodpile.
 
Just visited Jinney Ring. William Piper's shop is no longer there. (He still has a website though). There is now a guitar maker in another unit.
 
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