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A little lost soul.......

Dennis Williams

Gone but not forgotten
Lovely shots here of a little lost Victorian soul in a sea of surrounding modernity....the Canal Warehouse (Off Charlotte Street), which is Grade 2 Listed, so protected....Former warehouse, now part of museum complex.The building formed part of the extensive Elkington Mason and Company's works, which covered a large site bounded by the Birmingham and Fazelely Canal, Newhall Street and Charlotte Street. Between 1795 and 1810, an extension to the canal, known as Whitmore's Arm was built which extended westwards into the south-western part of the Jewellery Quarter. A now-demolished wing of the canal warehouse spanned the watercourse.

A mid-C19 warehouse which formed part of an extensive factory complex, specifically sited adjacent to a canal arm. Warehousing was an important aspect of manufacture and distribution in the Jewellery Quarter, and surviving examples associated with the canal system are now rare.

My thanks for the text and the wonderful pics go to Kevin Hussey, Steve Cowlin and Matt Felkin...bless them all...
As a note, Elkington & Co. was a silver manufacturer from Birmingham, It was founded by George Richards Elkington and his brother, Henry Elkington, in the 1830s. It operated under the name G. R. Elkington & Co. until 1842, when a third partner, Josiah Mason, joined the firm. It operated as Elkington, Mason, & Co. until 1861, when the partnership with Mason was terminated. The firm operated independently as Elkington & Co. from 1861 until 1963. It was then taken over by British Silverware, Ltd.. In 1971 British Silverware, Ltd. became a subsidiary of Delta Metal Co. Ltd.

Over the course of history it became very successful and was one of the prime producers of silver plating. Elkington received various royal warrants of appointments, and also an Imperial and Royal Warrant of Appointment from the emperor of Austria. One of their most famous pieces is the electrotype copy of the Jerningham Wine Cooler, at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Their factory in nearby Newhall Street became the Science Museum for many years....before re-siting to Millennium Point, Curzon St.

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It is incredible that the building is surviving amidst the modernity; given the desire, it appears, to demolish anything fifty years old or older. presumably, as hinted by Mike, going to be put to a good use.
 
i am a little confused mike..am i correct in thinking that the old building has been saved

lyn
 
I'm not sure Lyn. From Dennis's text it is part of a museum, but haven't heard of it if it is. Presumably Dennis can tell us . Unless of course it was part of the old Science museum and Dennis is quoting from an out of date text. In that case maybe his motto should be changed to "If you steal from an out of date source, then it is incorrect".
 
thanks mike but it seems to me if the old building was going to be demolished it would have been done by now.....really hope its safe as we need to cherish what history we have left

lyn
 
I agree that if was going to be demolished, then they would already have done seeing as a new building is going up round it
 
"Now part of museum complex"??
I'm not sure Lyn. From Dennis's text it is part of a museum, but haven't heard of it if it is. Presumably Dennis can tell us . Unless of course it was part of the old Science museum and Dennis is quoting from an out of date text. In that case maybe his motto should be changed to "If you steal from an out of date source, then it is incorrect".

Ah yes…Your contempt comes shining through, as ever….but silly me for trusting Historic England for using such out of date info to confuse you….so sorry….Canal Warehouse 2.jpgCanal warehouse 1.jpg
 
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Not contempt Dennis. Your pieces are generally very interesting and well put together. But it is over 20 years since the old Science Museum was destroyed, and your are from Birmingham (and a scientist like me) and not one of those newspaper article-writers based in London but writing for Birmingham and pretending to know what they are talking about
 
thanks for bringing it to our attention dennis it really gladdens my heart to see and hear of our historic buildings being put to good use instead of bringing in the the demo guys to raise them to the ground..excellent :)

lyn
 
i am a little confused mike..am i correct in thinking that the old building has been saved

lyn
The details in Post 8# are dated 2004, that is fifteen years ago. Have things changed? Is the building still there? Much can change in that period of time - particularly when money or politics become involved.
 
to be honest alan i dont know how things have progressed over the years...be nice to find out if anyone happens to be passing that way

lyn
 
From Google Street view it looks as if it is still there, Lyn. There's a C-shaped modern block with a ridged roof older building inside.

Maurice


I looked on that before I posted, and the one main pic is, as you say Maurice, the current google view....would love to see it now...!
 
Not contempt Dennis. Your pieces are generally very interesting and well put together. But it is over 20 years since the old Science Museum was destroyed, and your are from Birmingham (and a scientist like me) and not one of those newspaper article-writers based in London but writing for Birmingham and pretending to know what they are talking about

Indeed…I did manage 55 years as a Chartered Medical Scientist, and retired with an honorary Doctorate, and 35 Peer Reviewed articles in various Medical Journals….and during this long career, learned pretty quickly the wisdom of good research and fact checking before launching into print mode…. and I confess to having used the wonderful facilities of HISTORIC ENGLAND a few times, who aren’t just in London, they have offices and centres for research, education, and historical promulgation all over the Country…..and they always seemed like a nice sound bunch, with good pedigrees….check them out....



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It was important to see the warehouse building retained. It has been credited as being from the time of Elkington & Mason, but there was an earlier rolling mill on this site that was placed beside the canal arm. The canal arm is known as Whitmore's and was built across the land owned by Caroline Colmore. This canal arm was extended and there were plans by William James for a canal port at the Sandpits area.

James had intentions for both railway and canal improvements. It was he who was responsible for the building of the Southern Stratford Canal and it was William Whitmore that assisted with the construction providing the cast iron from his Lionel Street Foundry. As engineer to James, it can be said that the building of the arm to George Street and beyond, Whitmore gave his name to the canal arm.

James great plans ended with his bankruptcy. Having been active on many projects, the Sandpits scheme had the canal built beyond George Street to where the Sandpits were and possibly the sand was of use to the Lionel Street Foundry. Canal boats would travel along its length serving different works and ending at the Newhall Works.

James was also responsible for the Stratford & Moreton Railway that linked Stratford upon Avon with Moreton in the Marsh. He was also responsible for the early surveys of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. Historians have often debated what might have happened had not the bankruptcy occurred.
 
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