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Newhall Court George Street

poppycat

knowlegable brummie
A friend's son has purchased a flat in this complex, apparently part of it was a women's prison in the past, the cells are still in situ. Does anyone have any information regarding this - all thoughts would be very welcome:)
 
Hello Paul George St is at the very end of Newhall St never heard of a womens prison though. Dek
 
I hae answered my own question here, Newhall Court was never a prison of any sort. According to the English Heritage book, The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, Newhall Court as it now is, was Newhall Works, which was a pin and wire works, with products marketed under the name of D F Tayler & Cp (I used to use Tayler's pins for sewing - they came in a blue tin with flowers on). it was the largest works of its kind in Birmingham, with 400 employees, three steam engines, annealing furnaces, cranes and traversing railways. In 1853 it was producing 6 million pins a day and in 1915 was described as 'the largest pin factor in the world'. Don't know what the 'cells' were for, obviously not cells at all.

Shortie
 
hi paul;
you are quite right there was never a birmingham prison for women long as i can recall and yes it was steel house lane
which as been recently mentioned and about its capacity of holding prisoners which is under ground and with its tunnels to various courts
which i think is as i have said before is about two or three hundred people and when a woman got arrested for seriuos crime
or petty crime she would have been arrested and taken to the nearest police station as to here the crime was committed
and in most cases in those gone bye days was summer laners the womendrank stole and begged simple things as bread milk
or what ever they could even got drunk they got arrested and got run into summer lane police station
where they would be chaged and kept in the cells until the later day where there be a van called the black maria to take them to steel house lane where they would have spent time down there in there cells until a court was openend it all depended on what time they got arrested
in the day ; some would have to wait until morning before being taken up to see a magistrate ; where they would get there punishment
may be a fine if lucky if not a term of imprisoment where they would be taken to london holloway prison
this van took a daily run down to holloway prison daily with women eveither on remand for a couple of days or weeks depending on the case
they used to call holloway prison the jam factory because in those early 1900s and they used to produced the jam for other major prisons
i think it stated in the 1800s for there period of time it dealt with confirmed prison sentences and remanded in custody senteces
at steel house lane in those days they kept the women down the steel house lane lock ups seperate from the men
down at the lock ups they have two or three huge long landings males on the first two floors and the women on the top two floors
its like a mini prison and thats where they sent women on a daily basis for prison ;
there was one or two little building scattered around brum city centre in the early 1800s i think there used to be one around bull street in that period
or it was not far from dale end where the crim was court they would lock them in there for a couple of hours until tey could get a car aroundto pick them up and take them down to the lane i beleive they built a unit in winson green prison for over night stays of remand prisoners
rather taking them down to holloways for the day or two over night stays to save on the expensive cost of having to take and fetch them back from holloway in the van there was not a prison for women in brum in those days ;
best wishes astonian
 
yes thats right astonian!, and I did see the inside of steelhouse lane once and dour unhappy place it was too, not as a prisoner I may add.
regards
paul
 
hi paul
like wise myself ; not as a prisoner and happy to hear you was not either; it was abit dungeon like
and when horris used to come around with other senior tecs of the constably from the lane telling the storiesof the big huge ring of cell keys
about the place at the parties at new cannal street about the place and indivisual prisoners i used to try and imagine what it was like what they was talking about and when i had the opportuneity of seeing the place the memories in my mind came flooding back to the stories of
them coming around in he old days when they came to the big partys they would tip off my grand parents and his family that they was gonna be raided at there propertys for they used to do illegal gambling at there shops and with gameing machines and charles had two
booking shops one at alma street and one in holly lane tyburn rd erdington along with new cannal street where there was a load of gameing machines and gamberling going on up stairs in the rooms as it as a big property and so was the tyburn rd bussines premises and ajoining house
which was named ivydene ; which also still stands today in worcestershire
all this would have been during the twenties and through till the late forties and the black market perfomances as well ;
have nice day paul i recall meting some of these senior tecs during the early fifties but they was long retired from the forces but they was old men
but they still was dressed very smart and immaculately when they used to visit my mother and her mother
best wishes Astonian
 
yes it was a bit doungeonfied astonian, I remember the big central spiral going down about 5 or six stories with cells all around to a big tunnel which I believe went to the old law courts in steelhouse lane.
regards
paul
 
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