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Hockley Abbey

Don your knowledge always amazes me. Michael loves Stanley tools and when doing a job always shouts pass me Stan! How sad the Abbey has long gone.
 
Don Clive said:
Lyn, J.Rabone & Sons - Hockley Abbey Works - Whitmore St. - Hockley. They amalgamated with Chestermans of Sheffield in 1984 to form 'Rabone - Chesterman', now part of 'Dial Engineering' with 'Stanley Tools', another well known tool supplier. They still use the'Three Triangles' of Hockley Abbey as a trademark. Don Clive
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In the 1980s I used to work near the Rabone Chesterman factory opposite Spring Hill Library. They had a sign outside "Rabone Chesterman In Birmingham for over 200 years". I realised that this applied to the Rabone part of the business as I knew Chesterman to be a Sheffield company
 
My sister worked for a time as a secretary at Rabone Chesterman. Possibly do to the story of the Abbey, there was reputed to be a ghost in the building. I thought this might jolt a memory or two as surely someone must have heard of the ghost?

Shortie
 
thanks everyone for your input...without it we will never learn of the history of brum...and now we have a reputed ghost at rabones...

don..i love your avatar....keep on posting..

lyn
 
Going through some ancient filing today, I found this section of a map which was used for my children's book on Key Hill. It was drawn in 1825 and I noticed it has got Hockley Abbey on it, plus the name Mr Muntz. There are several names of landowners on the map, including Colonel Vyse amongst others, so I am thinking that Mr Muntz not only lived in the house, he actually could have owned the land on which it was built. Whatever the case, I thought it might be of interest. The house is near the top left hand corner.

Shortie
 
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very nice shortie...thanks for posting it..cant be sure but i would guess colonel vyse is of the vyse street fame...

lyn

ps i have posted another pic under the hockley chem thread...
 
That's right Lyn, Sir Thomas Gooch also owned land there. I am thinking that Mr Muntz did not just 'live' at Hockley Abbey, he bought it and the land. A lot of people did not own houses at that time, they rented them.

Shortie
 
Hubert Galton was an earlier tenant of Hockley Abbey than the Muntz family and paid £100 for the house & 15 acres. I think the year was about 1816, but I failed to note it exactly. Source: Showells.
 
Hubert Galton - do you know if he was a son of Samuel Galton? This gets very interesting now, if he was, as Soho House was only a stone's throw away.

Shortie
 
Samual Galton was a friend of Matthew Boulton, so it is possibly, one could assume, that his son was friendly with the family after Matthew Boulton's death. This might just be fanciful thinking, though.

Shortie
 
I'm, good at fanciful thinking Lyn, just ask my husband........................... LOL!!!.

Shortie
 
I would say that Rabones when it was in Hockley -situated opposite Hockley Bus Depot, was quite a big employer as where I lived in Ford Street which was on the corner where Rabones was, every morning and evening there used be loads of people going up and down the street at the beginning and end of the day. I knew of a couple of people who worked there and they lived in Whitmore Street and their name was Atkins
 
This week on Bargain Hunt there was a spirit level made by Rabones and the trade mark clearly showed the name Hockley Abbey. Wonderful. Max
 
The expert said it was for military use but I did not see the mark. It possibly had the arrow mark on it which just signifies Government property not necessarily military.
 
Here is a pic of Hockley Abbey dated 1888.
 

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Hi all,

Great thread, some smashing photos. I wonder if anybody can help? I'm working on a digital project which traces the history of the Jewellery Quarter and some of the wider Hockley area through the use of trails, which can be followed using mobile devices. This is a not-for-profit project which will enable users to access the content for free.

One of the features on a trail is the Hockley Abbey. I'm trying to locate a picture of the abbey to use on the trail, but am struggling at the moment. Can anybody help provide an image which is either out of copyright or can be provided in exchange for a credit on the site.

Many thanks in advance.
 
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