Articles: The Iron Room, Birmingham Libraries. Recent Articles

[Pedrocut]

Parish Catalogues.

Pull up a pew: Progress in ‘Altar’-ing the Parish Catalogues

Re-numbered parish collections It has been a while since I wrote about the parish collections (EPs) progress, and I thought for this week’s blog an update might be welcome. Back in 2022 I wrote abo…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Philip Harris Ltd

Extract from the 4th edition of Volume 1 of the Philip Harris Ltd Catalogue of Scientific Instruments, 1908 [H/110/1] For this year’s British Science week (8th – 17th March 2024), I dec…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Dr. Mary Darby Sturge.

Dr. Mary Darby Sturge

Portrait of Dr. Mary D. Sturge. [MS 3949] Birmingham has a strong history of humanitarian and philanthropic citizens, some of whom are more well known than others. The Sturge family is well known, …

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Sons of Rest.

Sons of Rest: Solace of the mind

Sons of Rest, Handsworth Park, 1950s, Ref: WK/H5/557 Can any of us in 2024 really imagine the psychological impact of World War One – millions dead, many more wounded and injured physically a…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Project Pigeon and Birmingham’s social history in the digital age

Introduction Over the years our service has received many collections relating to community heritage projects. The outputs of these initiatives have enabled us to document and make available inform…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Barrow’s Stores Ltd.

Barrow’s Stores

Barrow’s Stores, c. 1880 [MS 5094, box 4] For many Birmingham citizens in the 19th and 20th centuries, the high-end grocery shop and later department store known as Barrow’s Stores was synony…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

“Keep it local, and community. May is Local and Community History Month and what better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the local history groups in Birmingham.”

Keep it local, and community

May is Local and Community History Month and what better way to celebrate than to highlight some of the local history groups in Birmingham. When starting research on a particular area, the first th…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

National Walking Month 2024

National Walking Month 2024

One of the smaller collections in our archive, referenced as MS 1462, consists of three journals recording various journeys in the late 1800s around the United Kingdom by an unknown diarist. The fi…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

From Scotland to Birmingham: Commemorating James Watt’s arrival to the city

Watt’s House, Harper’s Hill, Birmingham. Image taken from ‘Lives of Boulton and Watt’ by Samuel Smiles, 1865 p. 214 In this week’s blog we look back on the events of this mo…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Richard Dye]

From Scotland to Birmingham: Commemorating James Watt’s arrival to the city

Watt’s House, Harper’s Hill, Birmingham. Image taken from ‘Lives of Boulton and Watt’ by Samuel Smiles, 1865 p. 214 In this week’s blog we look back on the events of this mo…

theironroom.wordpress.com

What a great and interesting narrative that. Thank you!
That is another book I need to seek out and digest.

 

[mikejee]

It is on the Internet archive Richard

 

[Richard Dye]

It is on the Internet archive Richard

Thank you!
I will see if I can access.

 

[Pedrocut]

John Smeaton.
“In Birmingham, he is best remembered for his Report to the Committee of the Birmingham Canal, 1782 [L/acc./593899] and his planning of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (1782-89).”

John Smeaton (1724 – 1792), civil engineer

This year marks the tercentenary of the birth of John Smeaton, on 8 June, 1724. So, who was he and why is he important in Birmingham? John Smeaton by George Romney, after Rhodes. Oil on canvas, 177…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Richard Dye]

John Smeaton.
“In Birmingham, he is best remembered for his Report to the Committee of the Birmingham Canal, 1782 [L/acc./593899] and his planning of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (1782-89).”

John Smeaton (1724 – 1792), civil engineer

This year marks the tercentenary of the birth of John Smeaton, on 8 June, 1724. So, who was he and why is he important in Birmingham? John Smeaton by George Romney, after Rhodes. Oil on canvas, 177…

theironroom.wordpress.com

Very very interesting! Are there any books on the life of John Smearton? I have tried to subscribe to the Iron Room but my subscription is still pending. I think it is because my location. Thanks,

 

[Pedrocut]

The Internet Archive gives a few publications by John Smeaton.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[Richard Dye]

The Internet Archive gives a few publications by John Smeaton.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

Thank you! I am able to review this. Hopefully it will lead me to a book. I am working on my phone, it will be better when I get to my iPad or computer.
Thank you again!

 

[Pedrocut]

There is a book called John Smeaton by W Skempton advertised on eBay.

 

[Pedrocut]

John Smeaton.
“In Birmingham, he is best remembered for his Report to the Committee of the Birmingham Canal, 1782 [L/acc./593899] and his planning of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (1782-89).”

John Smeaton (1724 – 1792), civil engineer

This year marks the tercentenary of the birth of John Smeaton, on 8 June, 1724. So, who was he and why is he important in Birmingham? John Smeaton by George Romney, after Rhodes. Oil on canvas, 177…

theironroom.wordpress.com

There is also an article on Historic England Blog…

The Life and Work of John Smeaton, the ‘Father of Civil Engineering’

Discover the remarkable feats of engineering by British civil engineer John Smeaton.

heritagecalling.com

 

[Richard Dye]

There is also an article on Historic England Blog…

The Life and Work of John Smeaton, the ‘Father of Civil Engineering’

Discover the remarkable feats of engineering by British civil engineer John Smeaton.

heritagecalling.com

Thank you Pedro, there are a number of books about him on Amazon. I am so surprised that in retrospect that the likes of Smeaton, Watt, Boulton, Murdoch, Brunel and many others are not recognized in retrospect for their contributions. It seems (getting off topic) that only those that deal with what I call “soft stuff” for the most part are recognized.

 

[Pedrocut]

Lisa Clayton – the Spirit of Birmingham

Lisa Clayton : At The Mercy Of The Sea, Reference: L 78.1 CLA I was walking past Birmingham Council House the other week admiring its civic grandeur when I suddenly had a recollection of a yacht o…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Researching the stories of refugees in Archives & Collections

Today is the start of Refugee Week, a festival of art and culture which ‘celebrates the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.’ (Follow this link for the…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month – some digital resources…

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month – some digital resources

Introduction ‘Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Month’ was launched in 2008 to celebrate the culture of Travellers and combat ongoing myths and prejudices about those communities. The general history of th…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

William Ridler Collection of Fine Printing.

Collection Spotlight: The Ridler Collection

The bookplate which is in all the volumes in the William Ridler Collection (see acknowledgements for further details) At a time when it appears everything is online we still have some collections w…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[A Sparks]

William Ridler Collection of Fine Printing.

Collection Spotlight: The Ridler Collection

The bookplate which is in all the volumes in the William Ridler Collection (see acknowledgements for further details) At a time when it appears everything is online we still have some collections w…

theironroom.wordpress.com

I really like the work, must admit I had never heard of him before!

 

[Pedrocut]

Collection Highlight: MS 4068 – Morse code in the archives

Background to the collection This is a collection of World War Two letters from Servicemen and Red Cross fund related correspondence. The letters are addressed to Betty Ells (nee Powell) and her mo…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

The Pines Youth Club.

The Pines Youth Club

Earlier this year, we received the records of the Pines Youth Club, a club established and run by Fred Morris in Kings Heath from 1944 – 1950. For young people growing up during the Second Wo…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Cyanotypes

When you see Prussian Blue, it is a striking colour, you can’t miss it. It can convey a sense of depth, mystery and tranquillity. Prussian blue is special as it is the first stable and relatively l…

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Pedrocut]

Joseph Priestley and oxygen.

Joseph Priestley and the discovery of oxygen, 1774

Statue of Joseph Priestley, frontispiece in ‘The Priestley Memorial at Birmingham, 1874’ [459559 Priestley Collection] Two hundred and fifty years ago on the 1st of August 1774, Joseph …

theironroom.wordpress.com

 

[Richard Dye]

Joseph Priestley and oxygen.

Joseph Priestley and the discovery of oxygen, 1774

Statue of Joseph Priestley, frontispiece in ‘The Priestley Memorial at Birmingham, 1874’ [459559 Priestley Collection] Two hundred and fifty years ago on the 1st of August 1774, Joseph …

theironroom.wordpress.com

One wonders why the likes of Boulton, Watt, Murdoch, Priestly and both Brunels were never knighted ( and numerous more). Just thinking out loud.

 

[Richard Dye]

Joseph Priestley and oxygen.

Joseph Priestley and the discovery of oxygen, 1774

Statue of Joseph Priestley, frontispiece in ‘The Priestley Memorial at Birmingham, 1874’ [459559 Priestley Collection] Two hundred and fifty years ago on the 1st of August 1774, Joseph …

theironroom.wordpress.com

One wonders why the likes of Boulton, Watt, Murdoch, Priestly and both Brunels were never knighted ( and numerous more). Just thinking out loud. I happen to follow/read frequently about the aforementioned group.