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Birmingham's Button Industry and Factories

Did John Street become New John Street and is New John Street West anything to do with either of them?
 
No connection (other than name) of John St to New John St. they both existed at same time. In fact there was a John St is Smethwick also. New John St and New John St West are the same road really, but the west section is the west end of the road
 
Reply to Bryan : Re Elsie Burgess. My Aunt Elsie was un-married as Burgess was my Grandmother's maiden name. My other Grandmother (on mothers side) moved to Gypsy lane in the 1960's strangely enough though, but that lane had lots of new housing.
 
Many of my ancestors were button makers, variously living in Lichfield Street, the Digbeth area and Lozells.
What I find interesting is that as a child, living in Guildford Street, Lozells, when playing in the dirt in courtyards there, we often found shells with circular holes cut out of them which had clearly been the left overs from making buttons. Incidentally, the other thing we found regualrly were the remains of clay pipes
 
hi mike hope you are well...much the same living in villa st...we were always digging up and finding the remnants of buttons and shells and i would not mind betting that when the street was demolished and new builds started they were still coming to the surface..all due to copes pearl button company which was very old and was just up from my house....about 3 years back some more new houses were built in villa st on the ground where copes stood ..imagine my surprise and delight to see that the new builds had been given the names of pearl gardens and button close (so someone did their homework)...i would guess that the new occupants have no idea where their addresses came from but at least i do:D

lyn
 
Astoness said:
hi mike hope you are well...much the same living in villa st...we were always digging up and finding the remnants of buttons and shells and i would not mind betting that when the street was demolished and new builds started they were still coming to the surface..all due to copes pearl button company which was very old and was just up from my house....about 3 years back some more new houses were built in villa st on the ground where copes stood ..imagine my surprise and delight to see that the new builds had been given the names of pearl gardens and button close (so someone did their homework)...i would guess that the new occupants have no idea where their addresses came from but at least i do:D

lyn
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Hi Astoness,

I posted a feature on the forum re: Copes Button Factory in Villa street some while back. Both my Mother & Grandmother worked there in the mid 1950's - the late 1960's, names I recall, Joan Welsh, Cliff Welsh, Cissy Leather, Amy (forgot surname, had son called David), I also recall a French girl who worked there but sadly can't remember her name. Still have some buttons Mom made during her time there.

Lozellian
 
hi lozellian and yes i remember you posting that you had rellies who worked at copes..how lovely that you still have some buttons that your mom made...wonderful

all the best

lyn
 
There were lots of pieces of mother of pearl where the buttons had been cut from to be found in the waste ground by the junction of Cliveden Avenue and Walsall Road in Perry Barr, of course we didn't know that as children, it was just 'treasure' :-D

Not sure why they would have in that area - maybe it was used as a dumping ground from the Aston factories?
 
good point sparks...got me wondering now if there was a button factory in perry barr or as you say it could just have been a dumping ground...will try and find that out

lyn
 
Cannot find any in the 1841 or 1867 directories. But Perry Barr would have not been in Birmingham then , would it. The inclusion of firms outside Birmingham but nearby is a very irregular process. some areas are included, others not.
 
Astoness said:
sparks ive just looked at the overlay map and on the spot you mentioned it lookes as though it was just woodland and the lodge house mind you that does not mean to say there was not a button factory near there..maybe a kellys look up may tell us more

lyn
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=52.5208&lon=-1.9011&layers=6&b=3
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Lyn perhaps the waste shells etc were from Firmin & Sons opposite The Clements Arms Newton Row , after all they were button and medal manufacturers
 
mikejee said:
Cannot find any in the 1841 or 1867 directories. But Perry Barr would have not been in Birmingham then , would it. The inclusion of firms outside Birmingham but nearby is a very irregular process. some areas are included, others not.
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sorry if ive confused the issue mike but sparks was saying (post 28) that when he/she was a child lots of bits of mother of pearl was found around the clivedon avenue perry barr area so i was just wondering if there were any button makers around at that time..cant give you a year as i dont know when sparks lived there..williamstreeter i had not thought about firmins and i also noticed going back on this thread that there was also a button makers in new john st..

lyn
 
Not sure when Sparks was a child, but, looking at the 1940 Kellys, there were several pearl button makers listed :
Albert Edward Broughton, 212, Well St
R.H.Clarkson & Sons, Croen button works, New Spring St
William Holder, back of 129 Dartmouth St
William Oldbury, 109-110, New John St
Smith & Wright, Brearley St
 
Thanks everyone - Astoness, I had forgotten there was a lodge in that area, I only found that out recently from a post on here!

I was a child in the 50s, we used to call the area 'the jungle' there were still trees and bushes but the ground was very bumpy (for the want of a better description) and little paths had been made through by people walking and lads riding their bikes.

The mother of pearl pieces were a mystery as to where they'd come from, I know there were not any button factories in the immediate area.
 
Guess what l have just found while doing some decluttering!!
Pieces of mother of pearl from the ' Jungle' I can't believe I still have some!
I've taken a photo - will try and post it

20180914_105735.jpg
 
sparks how lovely...that is exactly what we had scattered in villa st and i would imagine that during the development of the street in the 80s and more recently many pieces of pearl was dug up thanks to as i said in an earlier post copes pearl button factory just up from my house

lyn
 
I'm so chuffed to come across the pieces, they have moved with me a few times, I have no idea why I kept them really!
 
I've been sorting out my button box, they have been saved from clothes and various relatives, over the years. It would be nice to think that the mother-of-pearl ones were made in Birmingham.
So many memories too!
rosie.
 
rosie said:
I've been sorting out my button box, they have been saved from clothes and various relatives, over the years. It would be nice to think that the mother-of-pearl ones were made in Birmingham.
So many memories too!
rosie.
Click to expand...

Hi Rosie,

I'm pretty sure you'd be on the right track in respect of those buttons being made in Brum (most probably by Copes of Villa Street). My mom worked there for several years and was a prolific knitter, she always used the buttons she'd made to put on to my childrens clothes, which she had knitted for them when they were little. In fact I still have a small box of buttons from those days that were my moms, memories I often share with my grown up children.

Lozellian.
 
LOZELLIAN said:
Hi Astoness,

I posted a feature on the forum re: Copes Button Factory in Villa street some while back. Both my Mother & Grandmother worked there in the mid 1950's - the late 1960's, names I recall, Joan Welsh, Cliff Welsh, Cissy Leather, Amy (forgot surname, had son called David), I also recall a French girl who worked there but sadly can't remember her name. Still have some buttons Mom made during her time there.

Lozellian
Click to expand...
Hi all, new to this site after searching for old images of George Street Lozells. My father Clifford Welsh and aunt Joan Welsh both worked at Copes's. Family lived at 18 George Street Lozells.....great memories of visiting from new our new home Newtown. Villa Cross pic house was a must every Saturday morning late 60,s early 70's.
 
Wow - fascinating thread. I've just found out that my great great gran and great great granddad, and great great great granddad were pearl button makers (she was a pearl button finisher). She came from Walsall and they lived in Park Road - does this sound right? I don't know the area I'm afraid. This was in 1872. Thanks
 
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