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Newman Bros Coffin Works Fleet Street

Newmans

My Mother was in charge of the Shroud making at Newmans in the 50s
some of the shrouds in those days used to cost up to three thousand pounds and the work that went into some of them was hard to believe
used to come home very upset some days when they had to make a shroud for very little children and they made a lot of them but she loved working there for many years. anybody out there remember her
used to call her Vi.
 
I went to Newmans last Sunday, as part of the Heritage Days.
An incredible building, and I'm sure it was a great place to work - but how on earth they comply with 'Elf 'n Safety when they were still working there in 1998/9? The outdated heating and lighting, poorly lit stairs, huge drop hammers and uneven floors. The inspectors today would throw a wobbly I'm sure!
 
Newmans

What heath and safety!! they never new it existed I worked in factories
worse than Newmans in my younger days they would not even let them open nowadays I could tell you a few tales as could others of my age
 
They told us on the tour that furniture for the coffins of Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother were made at Newmans. Princess Diana's coffin handles etc, they said, had been mentioned but it wasn't proven.
The closure of the factory was because of cheap resin and plastic imports from China and other Far East factories, (now that's a surprise!) and Newmans couldn't compete.
 
That is so sad Charlie we are just loosing everything! I would think if they made the handles etc for Winston amd Queen Mum there would be a good chance they made Diana's.
Well I know the craftsmanship will now be lost with cheap inmports and, I suppose unlike childrens toys it won't matter if the paint is dangerous!:| Oh does that sound like sour grapes.............I hope so!
 
There's one place left in Birmingham making coffin furniture :
Wildes in Dover Street, Aston - so all is not lost!!!!! :)
 
My as mariew says what a wonderful building. Newmans made the 'furniture' for Princess Diana's Coffin...........its sad that it has gone!
 
Jackie
It's probably best to give some idea of the date. In the 1912 Kellys there is the following (not necessarily in the area you wanted)
COFFIN Furniture MNFRS.​
Chinn & Co. 5 & 6 Leopold street
Davis & Mawson, Plume street, Aston
General Coffin Furniture Co. Limited,Glover works, Pritchett street
Gordon & Munro, 13 Horse fair
Harman Charles & Son, 60 Cato street
Ingall, Parsons, Olive & Co. Limited,202 to 206 Bradford street & 118 to 124 High street, Aston Manor
Newman Brothers, 13 Fleet street
Owen Frederick & Co. Alcester street
Parsons C. H. Ltd. 151Highst.Bordsly
Patent Shroud & Frilling Co. 29 Tillingham street, Sparkbrook
mike
Phillips & Cross, 69, 71, 73 & 75 Upper Sutton street, Aston​
Rollason Charles, 27 Scholefleld street
 
my dad robert james rowe worked for w h newman making brass coffin handles it was in hockley he died in 1969 worked there many years
 
Hi all,

Did anyone else go along to Newman Bros today? I did and it was absolutely fascinating. The building was opened in 1894 and only stopped trading about 1994!

Unfortunately, Advantage West Midlands, who are the owners of the building, announced yesterday that they will no longer be able to fund the project, which has been worked on for 7 years, possibly leaving the proposed idea of a Museum in limbo, in fact the tour that my daughter went on yesterday was described by the guide as the RIP tour!

I was fortunate to be part of a tour led by Elizabeth Perkins of Birmingham Conservation Trust, who most eloquently outlined all the work that has gone into this project and that people are needed to write or email AVM to urge them to reconsider. It is not only Newman Bros. that will lose their funding but all Jewellery Quarter projects!!!!

One lady on the tour, quite rightly asked 'Isn't the Jewellery Quarter applying for World Heritage Status?' Surely then, the AVM and other funders should be solidly behind this venture? This is an integral part of our heritage and we should not allow this gem to be lost.

Anyone who feels as strongly as I do, please e-mail or write to:

Mick Laverty
Advantage West Midlands
3 Priestley Wharf
Holt Street
Aston Science Park
Birmingham B7 4BN.

E:Mail [email protected]

The following is taken from their literature today, entitled How You Can Help.

You might like to mention:
Why you think the building is special and worth preserving, (Grade II* listing, the social history and the industrial history etc.)

That it is clear from visiting the site that it is in poor condition and will deteriorate and get even more expensive to tackle if left.

That AWM as owners of the buildings and the equally important contents need to set aside resources to restore them.

That Birmingham Conservation Trust appears to have a number of potential sustainable solutions that will preserve both the buildings and the contents but need funding from the owners before any other funders will contribute to this scheme.

What do AWM intend to do - about the buildings, about the contents and about the partnership with BCT?

If you are writing please could you also enclose a copy for Sir Roy McNulty, Chaiman of AWM and let Bham Conservation Trust know that you have written. https://www.birminghamconservationtrust.org/blog/

Thanks for reading this - this is something I truly believe that Bham History members can lodge their opinions about and help save Newman Bros.

Suzanne:)
 
Hi all,

OK, so I've been a little quiet of late. The little one and work are taking up most of my time. After Moesley Road Baths, I've not been out much. So it was a nice surprise to see some stuff over the last weekend being opened up for official walk arounds for a change. Here's a bit of history:

Newman Bros was a family-run factory in Birmingham’s unique Jewellery Quarter. The firm made some of the world’s finest coffin furniture, including the fittings for the funerals of Churchill, Chamberlain and Princess Diana.
The very last sets of cast brass gothic handles from this factory were used on the coffins of Cardinal Basil Hume and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Production stopped here in 1998. What is left behind is an extraordinary, frozen picture of the life of a Victorian factory.
It’s more than a building with artefacts. Newman Bros closed so recently that historical memories and skills still survive through the workforce and Birmingham Conservation Trust has been capturing these on film.
These remarkable circumstances were recognised by English Heritage when it registered the site as an outstanding survival. The buildings are now listed at Grade II*.
In June 2004 Julian Litten – a leading expert on the funeral industry – summed up its significance as “not only the last surviving 19th century coffin manufacturing but also … the most important manufacturer of such items at a time when England was regarded as the template for funerary pomp and extravagance”. As such it has an enormous amount to tell us about us and our attitudes to death.
The premises include warehousing and offices on the first two floors with the shroud room above. The rooms are heaving with old stock, company records, patterns and fine craftwork. At the back are two long ranges of workshops, including a stamp shop with its original battery of four drop stamps. Beyond is the electroplating room.

On with the pics: Unfortunately the images attached to this post have been lost.

Thanks for looking :)
 
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I'm not sure but I think that this is the place that I worked next to in the early 60's. Any newcomers were always sent next door (to the coffin makers) to ask if they had any empty box's to spare!
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This is great news as they said Newmans at one time the largest in the country they made the funiture ie handles etc for Princess Diana's coffin...can't wait to see it open again as a museum!
 
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Great news about Newmans. I was so lucky to be able to get in there last year as part of Heritage Weekend. Fascinating place! People go on about it being macabre, but it's not...it made the brass handles and parts for coffins, not the actual coffins. Anyway, well worth a visit when it opens to the public.
 
HI JULIE;
I Would be very intrested in this venue as i grew up around there and over the years gone bye i recall this factory being filmed and showed around
and it was on a tea time news and stating they was the oldest coffin makers in brum;at that time this would have been in the sixtys
when it appeared on the news of ATV;
on a spirtitual theme its only really old building of there age where you are most likely to come across such things of todays ;
thats my belief going bye past experice,s not that i am expecting it to be just because they was coffin makers ;
but for personal reasons i will book a ticket or two
but also my daughter is a well known medium and she is involved with things like this around brum ;and she as been asked to travel to cornwall for a
building that was known to be spiritual going on,s with another spirital person in the field ;
as i will be going i will speak to her today to asked her if she as the time and and would she like to accompany me along with her husband
to the venue ;as its going bye the theme of the coffin makers yard and bussiness my daughter would not have heard about this factory its abit before her time i think ; but any way i wll b going myself even if she cannot fit it in ; i am sure it will be worth a visit to se behind the scenes
so to speak ; may be our old friend stephen the ghot hunter should come along thats the guy whom visits our forum from time to time ;
have a nice day julie and the rest of our members as well ; astonian ;;;; alan ;
 
Newman bros coffin fitting works..

+hi folks well worth the wait ...attended the candle lit tour last night of the newmans coffin fitting works in fleet st and was not dissapointed..many thanks to suzanne carter and the tour guides who did a splendid job of showing us around...they say birmingham was the city of a thousand trades and this was surely one of them and so important to birmingham...although funded by ther heritage lottery fund the trust is still shy of their target by £250000 but are confident that it can be met by generous donations and proceeds of the tours all go into the restoration kitty..as brummies i think we all want to save as many of our historical buildings as is possable (lord knows we have lost enough already) so i will be posting a link taking you to the site where you can if you wish make a donation..every penny will count folks...restoration will begin in january and all of the artifacts that have been put into storage will be bought back to the factory where it will be opened as a vistiors centre....the large work tables..dumb waiter..guilotenes and all the machinery in the drop forge room are there for you to see now and will remain..to be honest i didnt realise what a hard and very often dangerous industry this was with many workers losing fingers owing to accidents...the grade listed windows all 90 odd of them will restored at a cost of about £1500 per window so as you can see this is a very serious project and very expensive...i was delighted to be able to take some photos and although taken in pitch black dark save for a few candles dotted around i think they have come out good enough to post a few for you to see....so pleased that i have been round newmans in its raw state and cant wait to see the finished product which will hopefully also see the machinery actually working...i wish them all well..here is the link to donate to the fund..and when tracing your family ancestry if you see one of your rellies occupation down as a coffin furniture dresser this is where they would have been...we not only owe it to them to help keep this factory alive but also to the future generations of brummies...

thank you for letting me waffle on folks lol..


pics to follow...

lyn
 
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