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    The Wonder Coach - query over James Pollard's depiction...

    I've looked in vain for the original painting of this print. I wonder if the prints exist in different states, perhaps one commemorates the life of J. Hall? I can't connect him with coaching. The engraver was probably F Rosenberg 1829? A lot of interest in coaching was historical and nostalgic...
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    The Wonder Coach - query over James Pollard's depiction...

    Here's a link to an older thread on coaching: https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/threads/coaching-inns-in-the-19th-century.51370/
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    Violin Manufacture in Birmingham

    Welcome to the forum! That's good news - quality instruments for professional players. Thanks for posting.
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    happy 90th to eric gibson

    Happy Birthday Eric! Hope you have a great day! Derek
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    History of Calthorpe Road B20 3LY

    Ask your university librarian if they subscribe to British Newspaper Archive.
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    Barber Institute, Birmingham University

    The Barber Institute is now closed again until 2026. This is for building work. Concerts continue in the Elgar concert hall, Bramall Building.
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    Modernist buildings in Birmingham: past and present

    Interestingly, Baskerville House was planned in 1935, work started in 1938 and completed in 1940s. The building was refurbished in 2007 with two extra upper floors of glass and steel. I'd assumed it was older, but that's just the design and the use of Portland Stone ashlar. Originally it was...
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    Modernist buildings in Birmingham: past and present

    And here's a view of the Octagon itself. There are plans for lots of tall buildings in Birmingham, commercial and luxury housing.
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    Modernist buildings in Birmingham: past and present

    The Library of Birmingham lights up nicely at night. There's a pool of water outside with fountains on sunny days. The tall building to the right is the Octagon which is being finished off after topping out. They both dwarf Baskerville House to the extreme right.
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    Kynoch's I M I 1950s Onwards

    Birmingham Daily Post 29 June 1974 reported 6 killed and 24 workers seriously injured in the 1973 explosion. IMI were fined £10 the maximum allowed under the Explosives Act 1875 with £150 costs. The cause was a worker fitting a guard using an electric drill on a cartridge filling machine while...
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    Kynoch's I M I 1950s Onwards

    Reading about Kynoch and found this 1973 short film. (Starts silent then sound for the interviews). 'IMI Ammunition factory at Witton - aftermath of the explosion. Home Office officials sift through the wreckage to find evidence of sabotage'...
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    Franchise St

    I agree Lyn, it is a quality building and part of our industrial and military past. Derek
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    Franchise St

    Hi Lyn, Gatehouses built for Kynochs/IMI - the works hospital was inside the site and a small building compared to the entire works. They had a fire brigade as well. Here's the listing description linked to by Brummielad above: "The Gatehouse Buildings at the former IMI works, of 1915 by...
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    Franchise St

    Kynoch's works which became IMI has been demolished and Eden Boy's School occupies part of the site since about 2016. The gatehouses were listed and have been preserved. When I started work at Birmingham Poly staff and students could use the medical facilities at IMI as they had nurses and a...
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    Worcester Canal:Salvage Turn: Holliday Wharf: Cart Tracks

    Thanks, just to clarify I meant the tracks near the old Docker's Paints site.
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    Worcester Canal:Salvage Turn: Holliday Wharf: Cart Tracks

    Do you know if they can still be seen? Or have they been removed or covered over? I know Icknield Port Loop is a big development. I've not ventured to that part of the canal for many years. I have seen Osler street about 7 years ago and the reservoir. I've read the thread on canalworld.
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    Local knowledge needed - architectural research

    Brinson, C. (2023). The ‘Homecoming’ of the Activists: How the Communist Refugees Returned from British Exile. Oxford German Studies, 52(3), 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/00787191.2023.2225286...
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    Local knowledge needed - architectural research

    Thanks Peter. I can appreciate that you might not wish to disclose names if you are intending to publish. You know that there are registers of aliens in wartime Britain? Some took British citizenship, others might have avoided being sent to Czechoslovakia after the war. This might help...
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    Local knowledge needed - architectural research

    Welcome to BHF Peter! Can you tell us their name? I don't know if you are aware of the conference last year? https://www.architecture.com/whats-on/displaced-lives-architects-seeking-refuge-on-the-brink-of-the-second-world-war-hybrid-conference Press cuttings for Radiation Ltd are available...
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