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Telephone history: Telephone Service in Birmingham

I note from another thread that Piercy grew up at 29 Newhall Street adjacent to where the magnificent 19 Newhall St HQ would stand. His father was some sort of artist initially but then turned his hand to the perhaps more profitable Estate Agenting
 
Found this in Wikipedia, while looking up some info about the Vale.
Castle Bromwich Post Office' was the first to have a telephone outside London so that Benjamin Disraeli could keep in touch with the government. He frequently visited Castle Bromwich Hall in the 1870s, possibly to court Lady Chesterfield and Lady Bradford. Later, Queen Mary made use of the telephone when visiting Lady Ida (Lady of the Queen’s Bed Chamber) at the Hall. The Post Office closed in 2004 and is now a hairdressing salon.
 
Bobbieb - good old Castle Brom! That's fascinating, I'm guessing that the PO/PM must have been one of the first subscriber's in 1879 then. Wish we could find a subscriber list from that time....
 
ERRATUM - I erroneously gave a streetview in post-#12 for the original Exchange Chambers. I ass-u-me-d that it was the beautiful building that is now Waterstones. However if I'd read the info in my post-#1 :rolleyes: then I would have known it was opposite where there is a late 60s carbuncle of an HSBC bank https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&...2.478905,-1.898071&spn=0.001594,0.003449&z=18

To make up for my sins, and they are many, I took the penance of leafing through the first (well it is my first offence I think) part of the Birmingham by Postcard thread to turn up this wonderful view from Stitcher of how it once was. It is dated as 1885 but it would be wonderful if we can find a pic of this and the Bennets Hill/Colmore Row buildings with their derricks in situ ie slightly earlier date.

Added a few other views too (does anyone have access to Illustrated News as it would be nice to read the article). I'm not sure what Birmingham papers were around then, or how searchable they are, but maybe Piercy is mentioned there in 1879-1881?
 
When i first read about Castle Bromwich, I wondered if they used the Railway Telephone system as the Station was not that far away, I wonder if it was voice then, the Railway I mean
 
When i first read about Castle Bromwich, I wondered if they used the Railway Telephone system as the Station was not that far away, I wonder if it was voice then, the Railway I mean
It is a possibility I suppose but it seems unlikely as the railways would have cornered the market and I think their network was a later development. Having said that, Castle Brom is about 5 miles from Stephenson Place and about 7 miles from Aston - even today my broadband link struggles cos I'm just over 3 miles from the local Exchange. Interesting question
 
Piercy in 1875.

Whites's Directory 1875 (accessed via the temperamental Historical Directories website) yields the following Piercy information:

Piercy & Co
(crane makers and civil engineers) 53 Broad St. That should tell you which end of Broad St.
Ebenezer Piercy & Son (land and estate agents) 1 Cherry St.
Ebenezer C Piercy (residence) Hamstead, Handsworth.

We need
mikejee to work some of his "directory magic" to unearth more Piercy history. ;)
 
Have only recently read this thread , as i don't have a particular interest in telephones. Have to go out, but will have a look round for Piercy later today
Mike
 
I never realised there were so many rich brummies we not only never had a tele phone but my dear poor old mum never even had a fridge till 1963, washing machine 1964, the only electical things as a kid were radio war time from my nan, vacum cleaner and tv.
 
What's a vacuum cleaner Paul ? - don't remember one of those. Do remember a Ewbank pusha nd pull cleaner though
Mike
 
:D I remember that we had a long wait to get a phone line from the GPO in the late sixties - just like the Quinton girl in the video post-1. When it finally did arrive, it was provided as a shared line with a neighbour across the road. If I remember right we could listen in to their conversations and they could listen into ours. Not sure if it was all the time or only when it rained...
 
We had a telephone line in the early sixties as well, that was number 3 in your pictures and was black, it also was a shared line and it was connected to Castle Bromwich, I don't think there was much choice on type of phone then, you got what you were given, further to my comment earlier, this must make Castle Bromwich, CAS the first exchange, your comment about Broadband speeds rings true as I am still connected to Castle Bromwich which is a fair distance away, plus we on the Vale cannot have cable as it was never laid on the Estate, I wonder why
 
hi mike
yes I remember our vacum, an ancient "Goblin" which you needed to empty every 1/2 hour, our dad used to say he could suck up more dust with his mouth.
paul
 
Aiden, as a retired Telephone engineer I can tell you it was quite normal to hear each party on a shared line, it often caused friction. Also when work was carried out on the cable, if the line got "reversed" when you dialled the one party it rang the other, and when one party made a call it registered on the others exchange meter - more friction!!!! its only advantage was a lower line rental. They were slowly phased phased out as more cables were laid. Could have been worse, in some parts of rural America they had up to ten parties sharing one line !!! Eric
 
I have had a look for Mr Piercy and found the following infomation. I have given first the engineer info, then gone back to his presumed antecedents.
There was a Joseph Piercy (mentioned at the end), with a frying pan etc factory in Newhall St. I have a hunch (only) that he may be the father of Ebenezer, who started off as a drawing master , then went into estate agency, and later brought his (presumed) son Ebenezer Camden Piercy into the business. I assume, from what was said previously that he is the father of Henry James Taylor Piercy. But there was also a Henry Ebenezer Piercy ,( and possibly another Henry, but that does not seem clear).
The firm started as Piercy & Pearson (as already mentioned)at 29 Broad st, changed to pearcy & co, an then moved up Broad st a little between 1873 & 1876 (numbering changed at this time also). I attach maps (from OS 1890) showing the position of the two factories.. They expanded up Oozells st in the early 1880s (the early factory was on the corner of Oozells st). The factory marked is around 1890, but it expanded further down Oozells St. It remained of similar size and purpose till 1921, though a valuation business was also built up. However between 1921 and 1932 it seems to have changed direction and from that year concentarted on machinary valuation and planishing (?) hammer manufacture

From directories:

Engineers
Engineers not mentioned 1862
1867-1868
Piercy & Pearson, engineers & machinists, 29 Broad st. Islington
Piercy Mrs.. home: 11 Legge lane
1872
Pierey & Co. engineers & machinists, 29 Broad st. Islington
Piercy Henry, home: 77 Albion street
Piercy Mrs.home: 11 Legge lane
1873
Piercy &Co. engineers, machinists and tool makers, Minerva works, 29 Broad street, Islington
Piercy Henry, engineer, 77 Albion street
Piercy Henry James Taylor (P. & Co.) home: Camden hill
Piercy Henry Ebenezer engineer (P. & Co.) ; home: Camden house ,Legge Lane-
Numbering of Broad st changed between 1873 & 1876
1876
Piercy & Co. engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street
( Piercey Henry,home: 53 Pershore road. Not sure if is misspelling, but probably not ours)

1878-1880
Piercy & Co. engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street
Piercy Henry. James Tavlor, home: Kingston lodge, Edgbaston road
1883-1892
Piercy & Co. engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street & 60, 61 & 62 Oozells street; & ironfounders, 42 & 43 Oozells street
Piercy Henry. James Tavlor, home: Kingston lodge, Edgbaston road
1895-1897
Piercy & Co. engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street & ironfounders, Oozells street
Piercy Henry. James Tavlor, home: The Laurels , Wake Green Road, Moseley
1899
Piercy & Co. engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street & ironfounders, 40, 41,42,43 Oozells street
Piercy Henry. James Tavlor, home: The Laurels , Wake Green Road, Moseley
1900-1908
Piercy Henry J. T. & Son, valuers, 53 & 54 Broad street. T A " Piercy;" T W 20 Central
Piercy & Co. Limited,, engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street' & iron founders, 40, 41, 42 & 43 Oozells street. T A "•Piercy ; " T N 20 Central
Piercy Henry James Tavlor, home: The Laurels , Wake Green Road, Moseley
1912-1921
Piercy Henry J. T. & Son, valuers, 53 & 54 Broad street. T A " Piercy;" T W 20 Central
Piercy & Co. Limited,, engineers, 53 & 54 Broad street' & iron founders, 40, 41, 42 & 43 Oozells street. T A "•Piercy ; " T N 20 Central
1932
Piercy Hy. J. T. & Son, machnry. valuers, 42-43 Oozells st. T A "Piercy;" TN Midland 6521 .
Piercy &. Co.'Ltd. planishing hammer mfrs. 40-43 Oozells st.T A " Pieroy ;" TN Midland 6521



Estate Agency

1855
Piercy Mr. E, home:. Legg's lane
Piercy Mr. E. , home:77 Albion street

1858
Piercy, Ebeneezer, home : Albion St

1862
Piercy, Ebeneezer (EP & Son) home :77 Albion St
Piercy Ebeneezer Camden, (EP & Son) home: Camden Hill

1867-1868
Piercy Ebenezer Camden, home the Hermitage, Hagley Road
1872-1908
Piercy Ebenezer Camden; home: Tame Valley house, Hampstead

1823
Piercy Ebenezer., drawing master, 3 Brittle st
1829-1833
Piercy Ebenezer., drawing master, Brittle st (off snow hill)
1839
Piercy Ebenezer., drawing master, 29 Hall St
1841-1845
Piercy Ebenezer, drawing master, 29 Newhall St

1849-1858
Piercy Ebenezer, estate agent, 30 Bennetts Hill

1862-1878
Piercy Ebenezer &Son, estate agents, 30 Bennetts Hill
1872-1880
Piercy Ebenezer &Son, estate agents, 1 Cherry street


1883-1897
Piercy Ebenezer & Son, house & estate agents, 7 Cherry st
1899- 1903
Piercy Ebenezer & Son, house & estate agents, 19 New Hall St
1904-1908
Piercy Ebenezer & Son, house & estate agents, 26 Temple St
After this an Ernest E. Piercy , estate agent does appear., at a different address.

There were other Piercy’s, presumably related, including a greengrocer, tobacconist, bookbinder and a military ornament gilder.

In 1815-1833 there was :
Piercy Joseph, manufacturer of spades, shovels, frying pans, and edge tools in general, steel toys, hammers,,&.c, &c. New hall-street.
I suspect he was the father of Ebenezer (his factory being in Newhall St)

Mike

broad_st_c1890_site_of_piercy_pre_1873.jpg


broad_st_c_1890Piercy_works_around_1890.jpg
 
Mike, I'd never heard of a planishing hammer either. Here's a couple of definitions, courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary (second edition, 1989) :):

planishing hammer
: a hammer with polished slightly convex faces, used for planishing sheet-metal.
planish
: to flatten (sheet-metal or metal-ware) on an anvil by blows of a smooth-faced hammer, or by rubbing a flat-ended tool over the surface.
 
... this must make Castle Bromwich, CAS the first exchange...

Well bobbyb I am sure from that info that CAS was one of the earliest Exchanges in the area but is not mentioned in connection with the early Midland Co growth (such as Aston, Jewellery Quarter, etc). As Castle Brom was (surprisingly) not included within the boundaries of Birmingham until 1931 then perhaps it was operated initially by the Provincial Co? :010:
 
There's some information about Joseph Piercy (perhaps H J T Piercy's grandfather) in the London Gazette:

7 July 1801: promoted from Quarter-Master-Serjeant (sic) to Quarter-Master. [This may not be our Joseph Piercy.]

27 November 1802: another army notice re Quarter-Master Joseph Piercy.
20 February 1810: partnership with James Easthope as steel toy-makers dissolved by mutual consent.
26 July 1823: partnership with Richard Saunders as edge-tool-makers dissolved by mutual consent.
1823-1826: several entries referring to bankruptcy proceedings against Joseph Piercy and Richard Saunders. [They appear to have "met all requirements".]

We are still no closer to discovering how mechanical engineer H J T Piercy became Birmingham's pioneer telephone entrepreneur. There's a story just waiting to be discovered there!
 
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