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Birmingham 'Mailbox' building.....

Nicholas

Nicholas

master brummie
Hello All,

I'm trying to find out some details regarding the Mailbox in Brum - in particular the section which now houses the BBC Studios.....

Can anyone give any pointers / help at all please?

Much obliged....

Regards,

Nick
 
Many thanks!!

I was particularly looking for anything that might mention some detail about the history of the site itself? I've checked around quite a bit, but there doesn't seem to be anything to specific about the general use of this building and so on.

Regards,

Nick
 
Info on the previous building from Birmingham by Douglas Hickman:

Automatic Parcels and Letters Sorting Office (1970)
Suffolk Street, Severn Street, Blucher Street and Commercial Street.
Architects: R.H. Ouzman, Senior Architect, Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (project architect, H. A. E. Giddings) in association with Hubbard Ford and Partners (project architect, E. Winters, site architect, R. Lee)

The largest mechanised letters and parcels sorting office in the country with a floor area of 20 acres and a tunnel to New Street Station. It was built by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works for the Post Office and uses the largest electronic sorting equipment to handle the post from the West Midlands conurbation.

The main entrance is at the end of Blucher Street beneath a tower set between a square block for parcels on the left and a lower block for the letters sorting office on the right.

The structure consists of a steel frame on a 40 ft square grid with light-weight pre-cast concrete floor slabs and reinforced concrete retaining walls and sub floors and is clad with cast glass troughs and exposed aggregate panels. Ventilation is by air-handling units which draw air into the building at the temperature required and there are extract fans on the roof. Background heating is by hot water radiation.

The elevations, though mainly glazed, have a strong sculptured quality achieved by the extensive use of cast glass slabs which read as wall and by the introduction at intervals of recessed windows and projected air handling units.
Click to expand...

:)
 
Thank you very much for that information Erebus!

Would anyone have possibly heard any rumours about ghostly happenings at this site at all?

Regards,

Nick
 
A few months back there were tours of the tunnel that ran between the Mailbox and New Street Station and a friend of mine who went on it said that the guide mentioned tales of people being killed during construction of the tunnel. I don't know how true that is though.

Apart from that, I know of no ghostly happenings. Why, have you heard of anything yourself?;)
 
Most of the Mailbox complex (it seems to have grown like Topsy to me) was on the site of the old Midland Railway goods depot, which was vast. It was connected to the railway by a tunnel to a point near Five Ways Station, and the tunnel certainly still exists - you can see it but can't get into it legally. The goods depot opened in 1887, two years after the main line connection at a lower level into New Street. Before that the main railway from Birmingham to Worcester and Bristol went via Camp Hill and Kings Heath, first opened in 1840, and the 'West Suburban' line was conceived as a single-track suburban line terminating at Granville Street, to avoid the expense of bridging over or tunnelling under the Worcester canal near the Mailbox building. It opened in 1876, but five years later the Midland Railway company obtained powers to extend the line under the canal, to reach New Street station, aqnd the new link opened in 1885. The picture below was taken two weeks ago, looking north from Islington Row. It shows showing the passenger line to New Street on the left (with overhead wires), and the derelict tunnel used for access to the old Central Goods Station. The big building on the right and the land with trees are on the site of the second Jewish Cemetery, which was steadily acquired by property developers after the railway companies had finished with it, but last winter I saw that there were still the remains of some memorial stones, which are covered over by foliage for most of the year.
The railway and the Jewish cemetery make interesting stories.
Peter
 
Just found an old pic of the Jewish Cemetery as it was 100 years or so ago. It was taken about 50 yards to the right of my recent view, and it shows spare ground in the foreground (my pic shows just a jungle), and the main cemetery behind a wall (site of the new building in my pic). The wall running up the left of the old view is the top of the retaining wall to the railway.
Peter
 
Thank you for the photos Peter. I read an article some years ago about the Jewish Cemetery and went with my husband for a look. We approached it via metal steps leading from Islington Row and had a look around. It was a bit of a jungle then, but made fascinating viewing, and it was in a relatively peaceful oasis by the side of the canal and railway.
Some years later, I went to show some friends but the access to the steps had been boarded up, and it was totally overgrown. Tried to get there via the canal but, of course, you couldn't get through the wall. I spoke to the Secretary of the B'ham Synagogue who told me that they'd had to do that because of vagrants, alcoholics and drug addicts using the site. They'd removed as many remains as they could and re-interred them in Witton Cemetery. I found it very sad that people had to desecrate such a lovely little place. There was certainly evidence of vagrants around the area when we walked by the canal there.
 
Don't hold me to this but I heard that the area between Bath Row, Broad Street and what is now Suffolk Street Queensway was home to a large Jewish community. Quite obviously, it has shrunk enormously but a recent programme (I think it was Holiday 2007 or something with Lawrence Lewyn Bowen) showed that a lot of the Jewish history in Birmingham is alive, albeit behind the doors of seemingly normal buildings.
 
Sorry for the delay in responding folks.....

Erebus - to answer your question: I was asked to do a a stint on Radio 5 some time last year because some staff members had reported (alleged) ghostly happenings in the building..... Unfortunately, the slot was subsequently cancelled and I never did actually get to the bottom of the matter....

Anyway - we're currently working with our mate Danny Kelly (of Radio WM) who's asked us to get some background info on the site with a view to investigating there in the near future....

Needless to say, it would help if we could find out something about the ghostly history of the site.

Thanks to all for the replies....

Regards,

Nick
 
pic update

Peter Walker said:
Most of the Mailbox complex (it seems to have grown like Topsy to me) was on the site of the old Midland Railway goods depot, which was vast. It was connected to the railway by a tunnel to a point near Five Ways Station, and the tunnel certainly still exists - you can see it but can't get into it legally. The goods depot opened in 1887, two years after the main line connection at a lower level into New Street. Before that the main railway from Birmingham to Worcester and Bristol went via Camp Hill and Kings Heath, first opened in 1840, and the 'West Suburban' line was conceived as a single-track suburban line terminating at Granville Street, to avoid the expense of bridging over or tunnelling under the Worcester canal near the Mailbox building. It opened in 1876, but five years later the Midland Railway company obtained powers to extend the line under the canal, to reach New Street station, aqnd the new link opened in 1885. The picture below was taken two weeks ago, looking north from Islington Row. It shows showing the passenger line to New Street on the left (with overhead wires), and the derelict tunnel used for access to the old Central Goods Station. The big building on the right and the land with trees are on the site of the second Jewish Cemetery, which was steadily acquired by property developers after the railway companies had finished with it, but last winter I saw that there were still the remains of some memorial stones, which are covered over by foliage for most of the year.
The railway and the Jewish cemetery make interesting stories.
Peter
Click to expand...

Pic's taken 25/02/08
 
Thanks for the photos update, Shorland. They seemed to have cleared most of the remains (as I was told). I couldn't even get a view of it when I went last and it certainly looked more overgrown then, did you take the photos from the steps in Islington Row?
 
I agree the photos of the Jewish Cemetery are very sad indeed. The whole subject of the neglect of cemeteries in general is depressing. So many of them are neglected and it's almost as if municipal governments don't care
about them either. Many Parishes were there are burial grounds within the church boundaries don't have the resources anymore to look after them. It is very depressing. I know there has been vandalism to the graves in the Jewish
Cemetery at Witton in recent times. What does that place look like these days.
 
Re: pic update

https://www.birminghammail.net/ Birmingham News





Goose's nest holds up £100m Cube development

May 21 2010 by Edward Chadwick, Birmingham Mail



the-goose-s-nest-on-the-site-of-the-cube-development-694544068.jpg

WORK on Birmingham’s £100 million landmark Cube building ground to a halt – because of a nesting goose.
The bird has laid three eggs right in the middle of the building site and has been given her own round-the-clock bodyguard to protect her and her brood.
Security guard Jake Fielding has been assigned to give the Canadian Goose 24-hour protection and takes his duties extremely seriously.


Work is expected to end soon on the Cube which will provide a finishing touch to the exclusive canalside Mailbox development.
It will contain a boutique hotel, plush apartments and office space.
Its distinctive brown, grey and white cladding has divided opinion but seems to be to the liking of the goose, who has delayed work.
Contractors Fitzgerald have been forced to hold off on any work on the pavements, where the goose has got settled.
A spokesman for the firm admitted the goose was a source of both amusement and frustration.
He said: “The goose has been her for about three weeks now, and she’s settling in quite nicely, which is unfortunate for us.
“But Jake is doing a great job of keeping her safe and hopefully we won’t be waiting too long for the eggs to hatch.
“We try to be very environmentally- friendly, and don’t want to do anything to disturb the bird.
“The goose has meant we have had to put off finishing the pavements around the bird and its eggs for three weeks.
“We have been able to work on other parts of the site in the meantime so we are not losing money.
“It is frustrating that we’re being held up but I’m sure work will be able to continue as usual once the eggs have hatched.
“It wouldn’t be a good idea to move her before the eggs have hatched.”
The arrival of the goose is the latest setback to hit the development.
Birmingham Development Company, which is behind the scheme, went in to administration in March but bosses vowed to finish the project.
 
Erebus555 said:
Don't hold me to this but I heard that the area between Bath Row, Broad Street and what is now Suffolk Street Queensway was home to a large Jewish community. Quite obviously, it has shrunk enormously but a recent programme (I think it was Holiday 2007 or something with Lawrence Lewyn Bowen) showed that a lot of the Jewish history in Birmingham is alive, albeit behind the doors of seemingly normal buildings.
Click to expand...
I think there is a large Jewish community in the same area now,in between Broad St and Bath Row ,and then over in to Pershore Rd
my brother in law worked in that area a few years ago.
 
I like it.Much as we love the Victorian buildings in and around our City we cannot produce copies of them in the 21st century we have to leave something of our own behind for the future generations.
The only problem being that the Victorians built to last ,will we?
 
Where have I been - this is the first I have heard of The Cube :rolleyes:. Where exactly is it? (I know the Mailbox and have often walked through it to the canal at the back).
polly
 
pollypops said:
Where exactly is it? (I know the Mailbox and have often walked through it to the canal at the back).polly
Click to expand...

That is where it is, at the "back" of the Mailbox.

The first picture below is one I took a month or so back. I am standing right at the back of the Mailbox, and the various canal side restaurants are on the left.

The second picture is from a few miles away (near Mosely), showing how big the building is.

Although it may look like a "solid" square building it is in fact a clever design in that much of the centre is hollow, giving a huge atrium inside. Below is a link to a website which covers details of the building. If you select "The Cube" on the left the text become "About the Cube", select that, then "3d floor plans" you can see the layout of each floor. If you select "Cube flythrough" you get a short video.

The glass area at the top will become a restaurant. I think it an amazing building and will help put Birmingham even more on the map.

The Highways Agency have already started moving in to the offices.

https://www.thecubeiscoming.com/
 
Re: pic update

Hi Nick, my husband and I worked at Royal Mail - now the Mail Box - from 1980 to when it closed and before us my Dad worked there and none of us have ever heard any ghost stories. The old Victoria Square PO had a few though.
 
guilbert53 said:
That is where it is, at the "back" of the Mailbox.

The first picture below is one I took a month or so back. I am standing right at the back of the Mailbox, and the various canal side restaurants are on the left.
Click to expand...

Thanks guilbert53, I know exactly where it is now :). It looks as if it is going to be fantastic. The restaurant at the top will be amazing - but probably too expensive for me :(
Polly :)
 
Worked with someone who used to work in there when it was the Royal Mail building, apparently the design is based on a Germany design where mail was delivered at the bottom sorted on the way to the top floor, then sorted again on the way down the other side! I worked in there for about a year as part of the building is run by Network Rail
 
The Jewish cemetary link and community now makes sense as I could never really understand why the Singers Hill Synagogue along side the mail box stood alone.
 
Will they leave all the sticking plasters on the Cube when it is finished? Looks to me like a giant advertisement for Elastoplast!;)
 
I think my late grandfather used to work for the Royal Mail until the mid 1980s (on The Mailbox site). I remember seeing a retirement certificate on his wall when I was young.

A few modernish Mailbox shots (from 2009)


The Mailbox by ell brown, on Flickr


The Mailbox by ell brown, on Flickr


The Mailbox at night by ell brown, on Flickr

From the back


The Mailbox from the back by ell brown, on Flickr


The Mailbox from the back - end of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal in the Gas Street Basin by ell brown, on Flickr
 
Singers Hill has been on that site for more than 150 years.


Singers Hill Synagogue, Blucher Street by ell brown, on Flickr


Singers Hill Synagogue, Blucher Street by ell brown, on Flickr

There used to be houses where the modern car park is now.


Singers Hill Synagogue, Blucher Street - from the car park by ell brown, on Flickr

The cemetery is now at Witton. There is an old cemetery and a new one.

This was the old prayer hall at the old one. The building wasn't stable so it was demolished.
The old cemetery is over grown (grass wise between the graves).


Former prayer hall in the old part of a Cemetery in Witton by ell brown, on Flickr
 
Our friends visiting from Australia went to the Mailbox on Saturday. Tony was born in Brum he left over 20 years ago but has returned a few times. They couldn't believe people were queuing for the escalators. He said at this rate the UK will sink soon with all these people. Hmmm what an observation!!
 
dwilly said:
The Jewish cemetary link and community now makes sense as I could never really understand why the Singers Hill Synagogue along side the mail box stood alone.
Click to expand...
Hi, do you have any information on the Jews on blucher street as my grandparents lived on blucher street my father was born there in 1932, I’d like to find out more, my grandmother was a jewess she married my grandfather, im trying to trace my ancestry but it seems to stop with my grandparents
 
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