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James Upton Printers, Great Charles Street, Birmingham.

Kat7272

master brummie
Hi

Does anyone know where James Upton the printer resided? Or where can I find any info on his family tree?

Any other info would also be great, thank you.
 
Is it the home or the business you are interested in? If you tell me I will move this post to the appropriate thread. Also, the period concerned would help in finding information
 
The 1855 post office directory lists the firm as:
Upton James, printer, wood engraver & stereotyper, 162-164 Great Charles street . The buildings were different by the time of the c1889 OS map, but the position in Gt Charles St is shown in red on that map below, though cannot know shape of building , or how far it went back

map c1889 showing position of Uptons prionters 1855 at162-164 Gt charles st.jpg
 
Fab map, thank you. John Knight, great to hear from you, wow, and of course if you have any info, I would be interested to read it.

It's not just family history that interests me, but learning about Birmingham is amazing, I cannot imagine ever running out of stuff to learn!!!!!
 
Fab map, thank you. John Knight, great to hear from you, wow, and of course if you have any info, I would be interested to read it.

It's not just family history that interests me, but learning about Birmingham is amazing, I cannot imagine ever running out of stuff to learn!!!!!

kat you are right there we never stop learning... apart from birmingham in general i have spent the best part of 10 years researching the area of where i mainly grew up ...not just about what was around there when i was a kid but also finding out about what was there many years before that and i still have not finished...happy hunting

lyn
 
Fab map, thank you. John Knight, great to hear from you, wow, and of course if you have any info, I would be interested to read it.

It's not just family history that interests me, but learning about Birmingham is amazing, I cannot imagine ever running out of stuff to learn!!!!!
We used to print LP covers, the only thing I remember is the gaffers name was Sunderland.
 
I spent my working life (1966 - 2015) in the print and packaging trade and certainly in my early days, James Upton were well known in Birmingham as one of the big players. As a music fan I was always fascinated by their involvement in the record business as being a major supplier of record sleeves. If the boss was Sunderland, I think John Sunderland, then I believe he went on to open his own business - Sunderland Print. I worked for them briefly in the early seventies in Halesowen. I remember seeing a thread in "Trades" which has more detail.
 
Great info, thanks. I don't think the Upton in my family tree is the Upton or Uptons in the printing trade. I have looked at the census since and my lot lived in Harborne.

However, it has lead me to learn more about Birmingham history so that is a real bonus.
 
We used to print LP covers, the only thing I remember is the gaffers name was Sunderland.
It was John Sunderland who was my father, he was the managing Director of James Upton for a number of years before he left to start his own printing business called Sunderland Print. They subsequently bought Allday Green & Welburn, Bradshaw Brodie & then the massive mistake of buying Lowe Brothers printers which led to the demise the business a few years later. I can still remember as a very young lad going to hall behind James Upton each Christmas time where Father Christmas would appear for all the children & hand out presents !.
 
I spent my working life (1966 - 2015) in the print and packaging trade and certainly in my early days, James Upton were well known in Birmingham as one of the big players. As a music fan I was always fascinated by their involvement in the record business as being a major supplier of record sleeves. If the boss was Sunderland, I think John Sunderland, then I believe he went on to open his own business - Sunderland Print. I worked for them briefly in the early seventies in Halesowen. I remember seeing a thread in "Trades" which has more detail.
I worked there from 79 till 97 . Best working days of my life . I was a 1st minder on mainly roland favourit B2 presses but also operated the Komori B1 press . Great bunch of guys there
 
I worked there from 79 till 97 . Best working days of my life . I was a 1st minder on mainly roland favourit B2 presses but also operated the Komori B1 press . Great bunch of guys there
I also worked at uptons from 78 till 97 on the b2 rolands , i went on the brand new B1 komori from day one but i dont recognise who you are ? . I'm johnny stone
 
I also worked at uptons from 78 till 97 on the b2 rolands , i went on the brand new B1 komori from day one but i dont recognise who you are ? . I'm johnny stone
In fact . It was installed on the 1st day the super prix was on in bham . I called into work in august 86 on a saturday to watch it being craned in of the wagons . I simply dont recognise the name roger blower ????
 
In fact . It was installed on the 1st day the super prix was on in bham . I called into work in august 86 on a saturday to watch it being craned in of the wagons . I simply dont recognise the name roger blower ????
Hi John do you remember me Alice xx
 
I worked there from 79 till 97 . Best working days of my life . I was a 1st minder on mainly roland favourit B2 presses but also operated the Komori B1 press . Great bunch of guys there
I've just realised that's where someone I knew might have worked. I remember seeing 'James Upton print' on his jumper. Although he may just have got the jumper elsewhere? His name was Colin Groves.
 
Hi John do you remember me Alice xx
Of course I remember you Alice , you worked in the office but cant actually remember what you did . Do you remember me john stone ? I worked on the roland favourits with Collin groves who committed suicide not long after I left in 97 . the best years of my working life were spent there . Do you remember Collin chatwin and ken dainty ? . well . Collin who went to start uptons up in Swindon died about 9 months ago , im going to his memorial at his bowling club in calne , Wiltshire next Sunday 8th august 2001 . ken dainty died suddenly last Saturday 24th july 2001 . If by any chance you want details of his funeral drop me an email on ..... [email protected] . I only just read your message today 31st july 2001 , I was searching for a guy who wanted someone who knew Collin groves then saw your message , please stay in touch , it would be nice to hear from you . by emailing me , I wont miss any messages that you may send
 
I've just realised that's where someone I knew might have worked. I remember seeing 'James Upton print' on his jumper. Although he may just have got the jumper elsewhere? His name was Colin Groves.
I knew Collin groves very very well , he was my best man at my wedding in 1975 . he took his own life not long after I left uptons in 1997 , we crewed together on the same press for many years . What connection do you have with Collin/uptons ? , I only read your thread because I had an email alert from the forum . If you want anymore details , its easier to email me on [email protected] . by doing that , I don't need to log on to see if I have any replies or general messages
 
Hi John do you remember me Alice xx
In fact Alice , I would love to meet up for a coffee/drink one day to talk about the great days I spent there and the characters who worked there . R.I.P to Muddu , steve bridges , solis the fitter , ken Holland the driver , pat atkins who worked with paul baker , pat taylor the assistant , ken dainty , Collin chatwin not forgetting the great barry saxon xxx
 
In fact Alice , I would love to meet up for a coffee/drink one day to talk about the great days I spent there and the characters who worked there . R.I.P to Muddu , steve bridges , solis the fitter , ken Holland the driver , pat atkins who worked with paul baker , pat taylor the assistant , ken dainty , Collin chatwin not forgetting the great barry saxon xxx
I have no idea who Roger Blower is , can you throw any light on him ? he appears to have worked there when I was ther from 78 to 97 but haven a clue who he is ?
 
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