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30 Lombard St Cheapside

MILLY

Brummie babby
30 Lombard St Is A Grade A Listed Building, It Consists Of A Single- Storey House And Workshop Built Between 1801 And 1816, It Was In Use Until 1990 As A Metal Casting Works.councillor Peter Douglas Osborn Has Commented That This Building Is Over 200yrs Old In A Bad State Of Repair And In Danger Of Collapsing. It Was Suggested That It Be Added To The Local List Of Buildings, Structures And Features Of Architectural, Archaeological Or Historic Interest And Also The Department For Culture Media And Sport Be Requested To Include It On The Statutory List Of Buildings Of Architectural Or Historic Interest. Does Anyone Know If This Will Protect This Building From Demolition As Lombard St Is Right In The Middle Of A New Phase Of Urban Renewal. This Building Is Worthy Of Protection From The Spread Of Rabbit Hutches Being Built For Wealthy City Dwellers!
 
I don't know 30 Lombard St at all, it sounds as if it must be an interesting old place. If it is listed Grade 1 as you say, it is unlikely that the council would dare to agree to give planning permission to demolish it. But that doesn't stop dodgy developers and unscrupulous contractors from accidentally damaging it or letting it catch fire.
What the listed building system doesn't do is to make sure that a building is made or kept safe, although there is a better chance of extracting some public funding if the building is sufficiently interesting and those in fsavour make a lot of noise in the right places.
Most of all, for a an old mixed residential and industrial building of this kind, it needs a group of people with ideas for its use in the future. There is a limit to how many industrial museums can live together in Birmingham. Anyone who knows it and would like to see it preserved ought to scratch their heads and discuss their ideas with others AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
I must go and have a look next time I'm in Brum.
Peter
 
Local Listing vs. Statutory Listing

Grade A on the City Council’s Local List signifies that a building is of Statutory List quality. To be the subject of notification to English Heritage and/or the serving of a Building Preservation Notice if imminently threatened.

Unfortunately, inclusion in the Local List has no statutory significance and confers no protection on the building, structure or feature concerned. However, the City Council hope that owners will recognise and appreciate their merit, and retain them if at all possible. This edition of the index will be revised from time to time to take account of additions, deletions and amendments.


It is only inclusion on the Statutory List at Grade I (unlikely) or Grade II* or Grade II that affords any real protection.
 
Decelopment Control Committee Report - 25th March 2004

I found this on the Council website:

POLICY REPORT

Proposed Addition to the Local List of Buildings, Structures and Features of Architectural, Archaeological or Historic Interest and Proposed Submission for Addition to the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest – 30 Lombard Street, Cheapside

The following report of the Chief Planning Officer was submitted:-

(See document No. 2)

Councillor Peter Douglas Osborn commented that the building was over 200 years old and that needed to be acknowledged. The Councillor went on to comment that the building was in a poor state of repair and was in danger of collapsing.

7677 RESOLVED:-

i) That 30 Lombard Street, Cheapside be included in the Local List of Buildings, Structures and Features of Architectural, Archaeological or Historic Interest;

ii) that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport be requested to consider 30 Lombard Street, Cheapside for inclusion in the Statutory list of buildings of Archaeological or Historic Interest.
 
So far as I can tell 30 Lombard St, despite being a a small house & workshop designed by Thomas Lea & built in 1809, has been demolished. Does anyone have a picture please, so that we know what we are missing?
 
hi shirl..had a quick look but no luck so far with finding any pics...it could be another one on my list for next weeks visit to the library...

lyn
 
It has been demolished I am afraid, although here is a picture I took in 2006:

Photos replaced by what I think are same as originals

30 Lombard St Cheapside 2006.jpg

And another one I took showing its position relative to Cleary's pub (also gone):

30 Lombard St Cheapside 2006.2.jpg



This is what it all looks like now :-(

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&...=rFpoKCqVGAU6ngD00Byp0g&cbp=12,58.46,,0,10.26

Very sad for me, as some of my mid Victorian ancestors lived in Cheapside and these were almost the last buildings remaining that they would have known.

Paul
 
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Well that is a shame, it’s a dam good job you took that photo when you did.
 
I am very happy that I have been able to post pictures of interest to several people.

I wonder, would anyone with a stack of Kellys/PO directories be able to track the building through the years? I would like to know what it was used for in the mid 1800's for example, and what the two recent visible signs say!

Regards

Paul
 
paul thats a good idea of yours...i have abut 17 different years of kellys on disc but the earliest i have is 1892...if i can find time tomorrow i will have a look at that one...unless of course someone else could do a few look ups...

lyn
 
The site is a bit bigger than it looks,. It is not quite clear how much belonged to the firm, but it must have been at least the area in red below.It seems to have been a brass casting site for all but the last few years, when it cast other non-ferrous metals.
Have taken the sign above on the photo and played. It seems to show Pooler Bros plus some others, presumably later.

30 Lombard St (no 108 in 1896 & before) from directories

1845-1855 Deeley, Sampson, brass caster & figure moulder
1858-1862 Faullrner Thomas, (late Sampson Deeley) brass and fine caster in general, and mill brasses, etc.,
1867-1888 Meaking Thomas, brass caster
1890 Meaking Bros. brass casters
1892 Headley & Meaking, brass castors
1895-1896 Onions & Meaking, brass casters
Building is now no 30 Lombard St
1897-1905 Onions & Meaking, brass casters
1908-1921 Onions, Joseph, brass caster
1932-1940 Onions, Joseph, brass & gun metal caster
1943-1950 Not listed. Timing makes me think there was bomb damage putting place out of action
1955-73 Pooler Bros, non-ferrous casting
No mention is made of no 108 before 1845, and previous to that directory very few buildings in that street seemed to be numbered
Mike

View attachment 73022
 
Thank you Mike, that is fascinating!

So what appeared from the road to be a modest little house was actually quite a large and locally important firm for 150 years.

Here is an aerial photo from Google - luckily, showing the area before the bulldozers came - and all the buildings shown in your map survived until the end:

30 lombard st before demolition.jpg

I wonder what the demolition team found inside?

Regards

Paul
 
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fantastic info mike thank you..and thanks also paul for the aerial shot..i also wonder what was found inside this building....such a shame its gone...

lyn
 
Well spotted John!

From the 1945 phone directory, it was indeed Essor Foundry:

View attachment 67712

I've looked a few years either side of 1945, but the only address given for Essor in 1940 and 1950 for example is the one in Bishop St. So my guess is that Essor owned it for a few years, but as it was not their main address it was not mentioned in the Kellys directory. I suspect it was temporarily used to make some some important components for the war.

1945 advert:

View attachment 67713

1951 advert:

View attachment 67714

So sad, that it is all gone.

Regards

Paul
 
A28.jpg
An old thread but able to add a little.....

Pooler Brothers were one of the last remaining highly skilled expert brass sand casting companies in Birmingham, and their early 19th century brass foundry with a 200-year history was Grade A listed by Birmingham City Council for preservation as a site of special interest.

Our old family business was involved in the manufacturing of giftware in the Arts and Crafts tradition. We regularly visited these premises and traded with the two Pooler Brothers in the late 1970s, early 80s. Both Brothers were then in their seventies, they employed one other person at the site and were really the last of a long line of the Birmingham brass master craftsmen.

They were considered to be the highest quality brass casters operating in the old brass quarter of Birmingham at the time. They specialised in small runs of traditional fine sand castings and their quality was on par with any items made by the alternative lost wax method. The range of products was enormous, giftware, door furniture, car mascots, sundials, door porters and hearthware to name but a few.

To enter the premises was like visiting a Victorian workshop. The entrance way was a small rectangular inner porch with a door with opening top frame, through which you were greeted and served. The room behind this was their pattern and weighing room, served by a large centrally located wooden table, an imposing industrial beam balance scales and against all the walls, a floor to ceiling mixture of old painted cupboards and shelves, each containing innumerable boxes of old trade patterns and models, some of which dated back to the early 1800s. No catalogues were available, they just knew (most times) where that special artefact was stored.

If you wanted a particular item, they would find the pattern, weigh it and calculate the gross weight of your order in kilos or pounds and ounces. This would then be cast in the large casting shed at the rear of the building. When the order was completed, it would be weighed and you would pay your bill the old school way (preferably in cash!).The castings would then be taken away. They would be brazed, fettled, and worked (polished or plated) by other craftsmen to produce the finished items.

After a weekend break-in and the theft of all of their non-ferrous stock (including all of their manufacturing models and patterns), the brothers ceased trading in the 1980s and a unique bit of history of old Birmingham and its once world famous brass manufacturing trade was irretrievably lost.

Dealing with these two old gents and similar craftsmen in their Birmingham workshops was a fulfilling experience and it was a great loss to the soul of the City when they and most of the similar small businesses disappeared.

As has been documented on this site, the demolition and loss of these premises was a travesty. The building was probably of greater historic interest and value to Birmingham’s social and industrial past than any of today’s developed tourist traps.
I hope the Pooler Brothers enjoyed their retirement. I think they earned it and I hope the City’s conservation officers have learned a lesson.
 

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lovely informative post paul thank you....as for the conservation officers learning lessons and looking at the mass distruction of our heritage buildings over the years and still ongoing..i very much doubt it..:mad:

lyn
 
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