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Birmingham's Button Industry and Factories

Hi My ancestor a William Sanders born 1873 was a button burnisher in the jeweller qtr. I think he worked from home for himself doing work for button companies. not sure.

valerieexbrummie
 
Yes two on-looker ladies, perhaps the cleaners? The factory is now a housing complex with shops called 'ButtonBox'.

Mike
and one on looker gent, above the third lady from left, back row,through window, Great photo by the way. MHE
 
Hi My ancestor a William Sanders born 1873 was a button burnisher in the jeweller qtr. I think he worked from home for himself doing work for button companies. not sure.

valerieexbrummie

Hi Val Don't know if there is a connection here but there is a Badge factory here in Bromsgrove which originally started as a Button factory we used to make Leather Buttons when I first started work their it is still going today.
Benjamin Sanders.
 
I have a high definition photo of 13 people outside a button business (c.1900-20ish) in Warstone Lane, B18. One person in the picture is my Aunt Elsie Burgess, the others are unknown to me. Her sister was my Grandmother. The Norton/Burgess families all lived in Hockley until there homes were demolished in the 1960's.

I found your post whilst searching for information for my family tree. I have Kate Hollins married to Bernard Yates, and their daughter, Elsie married Fred Burgess (during WW2), to become Elsie Burgess. They lived in the back to backs by the Hockley bus depot (Ford St.?), but moved to Gypsy Lane in Erdington in the 1960s. Elsie had a sister called Edith, but I don't know anything about Fred. Was Fred part of your family?
 
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I was in the museum store last week and took this photo of a button making machine. I do remember this machine working as a demonstration in the old Newhall Street museum, I was fascinated by it. It used to make little cloth covered brass buttons that were sewn to a card with copper wire
 
Hi all, I worked at Buttons in warstone lane in the sixtys,as a young toolmaker it was a real eyeopener to see and use tools that were made in Victorian times, wonderfull engraving on button tools all done by hand, the combination tools which blanked/raised and pierced in one operation were incredible in their design, in fact I could probably make a set now after all this time, the carding machines were a real work of art,not that I ever operated them, to see a machine that was designed and built a hundred years ago was to me mind blowing, the top two stories of the building were never used only for storage, I would frequently have a mooch around and found a small office area where there was stored glass fronted display cabinets containing all military buttons showing Privates thru to Officers including the regiments involved, I suspect that most of those were junked. Regards Eddyjay.
 
It sounds a very interesting place Eddy. But then, in those times, particularly with smaller, often family run businesses there was a lot of the history of the company still to be seen.
I believe those king of laces - and I did work in one for a short while before leaving Warwickshire - there was a happier and less militant atmosphere. Red Robbo would not have fitted in! ;)
 
In 1950 John L Bakers sketched several old Birmingham buildings for the Birmingham Gazette. This one details the Birmingham Button Works in New John Street...

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wonderful pedro...mike if you spot this could i have a map please showing the location of the birmingham button works thank you mike

lyn
 
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
 
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

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?
 
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