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Aston Brass Foundries

C

cornwall col

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Anyone have any idea what brass foundries existed in Aston in the 19th and early 20th century - I am also wondering if there is anything in the Coleman Street & Brearley Street areas
 
Col
In 1896 Kelly's there was:

William Coleman , Brass Caster at 129 Brearley St
Arthur Hobbs, Brass Caster, 145 Brearley St
William J Buckley & Co, Brass founders, 211 Brearley St
Collyer John & son, Brass founders, 5 St Georges Crecent, Brearley St
Harris Reuben, Brass founders, 169 Brearley St
Doesn't seem to be anything in coleman St
Not quite sure of the difference between a brassfounder and a brass caster.
Mike
 
My husbands family lived in Coleman Street 1902-1920 and his grandfather worked at Rigsbys brassworks in either Henry Street or Lupin Street.I have a photo that I will submit as soon as I can dig it out.The men are all in shirtsleeves with leather aprons to their ankles and the obligatory flat cap.

My husbands father 1910-2006 could recall running errands to get jugs of ale for his Dad and his workmates.
He used to recall that the heat that the men worked in was unbearable
 
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I Good morning from Texas, USA. :)

I am sending you a link to a website that I came across recently while researching a plaque on the back of a bed that I have. I have been researching the makers of the bed: Pearce Brothers Cabinet Manufactuer of Birmingham.

The website is: https://www.oldcopper.org/birmingham_brass.htm

The homepage says this:
After a lifetime of working with industrial copper and copper alloys, Vin Callcut is writing a useful book on an entirely different subject - domestic copper and brass! It aims to cover items made mostly during the period 1851-1951, after that covered by most of the books on antiques that mostly range up to about 1850.
I don't know if this would be useful to you or not, but will send it in the hope that it is.
Best regards,​
 
Hi Albany Sharon, Than k you for posting this web site. I found it very interesting - haven't had time to read it all but it will be useful to my research.
Sheri
 
hi cornwall col i would suggest that there would have been upwards of 800founderies must have been operating from the early 1800swhen my fathers foundry was moved under the clean air drive in the 50s/60s some 250founderies were lost in 2yrs approx

mikjee brass founder where is the firm (company), brass caster is the man who actually casts the metal
a moulder is the man who makes the moulds for the caster to pour the molten metal into often called (brass-casters) on the census i hope this helps
33bus tom
 
Hi there, Can anyone point me to where I can obtain some decent pictures of the outside & inside of a typical Aston brass foundry in the late 1800's

Thanks

Derek in Oz
 
Anyone have any idea what brass foundries existed in Aston in the 19th and early 20th century - I am also wondering if there is anything in the Coleman Street & Brearley Street areas

Hi

I know my grandmother worked at a brass factory in birmingham early 1900's probably in the Aston area. I believe it was called Myatts. Don't know where it was though
 
There was a foundry next to the "Rising Sun" pub in Heneage Street that did Phosphor Bronze Ingots ( That was the only true foundry I know of in the area, There was a large furnace and ladle opperated by two men which was filled with molten metal and transfered to row upon row of dies for casting the ingots. There was a Brass Works of some kind in Chester Street but I only knew that an Uncle worked there,Rigby's I remember in Lupin Street but thats about all.
There was a large " Foundry " I guess in Dartmouth Street but I think it was more iron or steel
the " Delta Metal Company ".
 
My ma in law and sis in law worked in the brass industry in the 40s to 60s for Pearson Page and Dewsbury who made thos 'Pearage' brass plaques with ships etc on them. E.
 
my great grandfather was a blacksmith in brearley st during the latter half of the 19th c - joseph jones son of levi jones
joseph and his sons ran 4 hearths can anyone furnish any information on birmingham nailmakers and small metal workers in victorian times
 
Hi Jennifer,
Is your Joseph the son of Levi Jones and Ann Bridge? If so I think he's the brother of someone I'm interested in - Levi Jones junior. My great-grandmother said her father was Levi Jones (would be Levi the son because she said he was a pearl button maker) but I can't find her birth record or her living with Levi at any time. Would love to know more about Joseph's family - you don't have a stray Maria Jones born about 1860 do you??
 
yes he is. he married charlotte doley. known brothers levi, edwin, james, reubrn and david known sisters ann , mary anne,hannah ruth maria born 1845. the father of levi was another levi who married ruth maria gold in 1779.family legend has it that ruth maria was 16 when she got married had 16 children and eventually weighed 16 stone!. relationships become a little confused when levi and annes grandchildren stareted marrying cousins - which probably explains my mad gene- if you have any more details on maria i will wade through the mountain of info left by my late mothers research. she was levi and annes great granddaughter the daughter of annie christian jones . annie was the daughter of ellen merciful jones [daughter of james jones son of levi ] and jesse jones[son of joseph son of levi and charlotte jones]
 
Hi Jennifer,
Is your Joseph the son of Levi Jones and Ann Bridge? If so I think he's the brother of someone I'm interested in - Levi Jones junior. My great-grandmother said her father was Levi Jones (would be Levi the son because she said he was a pearl button maker) but I can't find her birth record or her living with Levi at any time. Would love to know more about Joseph's family - you don't have a stray Maria Jones born about 1860 do you??
[/QUOTl levi junior married catherine loise from tamworth in - 3 children frederick 1853,kate 1858 and jane 1862

levi juniors brother edwin woked as a pearl button cutter probably with levi as well his 1st child was mary born 1855 does this help. edwin also made pearl items eg knife handles and inlay shapes
 
Hi Jennifer,

Thanks for your reply, sorry I've been away. I would love to hear more about your JONES and see if what I know fits in with anything you have - I'll send you a private message with my email address.

yes he is. he married charlotte doley. known brothers levi, edwin, james, reubrn and david known sisters ann , mary anne,hannah ruth maria born 1845. the father of levi was another levi who married ruth maria gold in 1779.family legend has it that ruth maria was 16 when she got married had 16 children and eventually weighed 16 stone!. relationships become a little confused when levi and annes grandchildren stareted marrying cousins - which probably explains my mad gene- if you have any more details on maria i will wade through the mountain of info left by my late mothers research. she was levi and annes great granddaughter the daughter of annie christian jones . annie was the daughter of ellen merciful jones [daughter of james jones son of levi ] and jesse jones[son of joseph son of levi and charlotte jones]
 
Hi - Another Newbie here although unfortunately with no knowledge of the Birmingham area.

Looking at the 1901 census, my great father, OSWALD TAYLOR, who lived in Tower Street is shown as being a Brass Polisher (aged 14) whilst his sisters Blanche and Beatrice were Brass Workers.

Could anyone please advise me on how I could identify where they worked?. There are a lot of Brass places by the looks of things in the Birmingham area and I would appreciate a good starting point. I have no information to go on

Any advice would be appreciated

Regards

Chris
 
Hi Chris, welcome to the forum. Another person stuck in Reading. You would be very lucky to discover which brassworks he worked for, as there were so many around, many small, and most leaving no staff records. I can show you where he lived though The map below is c 1889 , but this area change little between then and 1900. . the census shows him at 38 Tower st, which is marked in red. It is the front half of a back to back. That part of Tower St is no longer there, but by the look of Streetview is under the gardens of some maisonettes in Aldgate grove
Mike

map_c_1889_no_38_tower_st.jpg

 
The Delta Metal Company was mainly extruded brass I think. Subsidiaries produced drawn copper tubes also. Not sure about the foundry part...they may have just re-heated billets from esewhere.
 
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