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Birmingham's Button Industry and Factories

davidfowler

davidfowler

Exiled Brummie
My Gran worked in the button trade with her father who was a button maker when they came up from the East End of London in the early 1900s. I pulled together this info for my uncle who's the only surviving child of my Gran. I hope it's some interest as I know that many of us will have had ancestors who worked in the Button Industry.
I make no apologies admitting it's been gathered from the internet so some will probably have seen it before.:)

(Unfortunately these attachments have been lost)
 
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my brother and myself and our friend frenchie
worked at the button factory
buttons of portland street astonin our your days
just after the war
frenchie was the son of mr french whom was the green grocers on lichfield rd aston and he was myyounger brother david
whom now lives in tamworth warickshire
we made buttons
best wishes astonian;;;
 
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Hi , I am totally new to this site and so apologise if I get the procedures wrong. I have read the posts regarding the button factory in Portland Street Aston . I have just found me g. grandfathers death cert and it says he died on the premises at the age of 71 in 1940 14th Nov , working as a labourer. His name was George Henry Wedgbury known as Harry . Does anyone have any info on the Wedgburys of Aston or the Hodgkisons?I would be very grateful . Thanks
 
The article on button making is very interesting, thanks for posting that.

I lived in Perry Barr as a child and we used to play on a piece of waste ground at the end of Cliveden Avenue, near Regina Drive. It was very rugged ground, we used to call it the Jungle, we used to find lots of pieces of mother of pearl shell from which rounds had been cut - presumably the off cuts from which buttons had been cut? The factory in Aston must have dumped them there sometime over the years.
 
All this talk about button making jogged my memory, I worked for a firm called Edward Gill ltd in the early 60s,and they had a press shop that used to stamp out nickel silver buttons,by the
hundred, then they had their shank brazed on.then they went off to the polishing shop where a chap known as Bertie Button would stone polish them one at a time by hand, It was a work of art to watch him as he stoned about 50 of these in a minute, Also they had an old tool stores with punches and dies in there with names engraved on them like Dublin Harbor Police, Ministry of Defense, and all manor of insignias.
 
John that's a facinating insight. I didn't realise the engineering skills needed to make these buttons although thinking about it some are beautifully made. Where was Gills? Was that chaps name really Bertie Button.:)
 
I have recently discovered that one of my ancestors owned a button factory in Birmingham in the late 1800s early 1900s - can anyone advise me where I can find any information about the factories and who owned them?
 
I have found out that my ancestor worked for a John Richard Green who was managing director of a button factory (cant find which one at the moment) and she ended up owning the factory! Perhaps she was more than a worker to him - she never married!!
 
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That would be Plant & Green (kellys directory 1900 under john richard Green says “see Plant & Green”). In 1880 they are listed as making Silk, Ivory & metal buttons

1872 Plant & Green 16 Vittoria St linen & metal button manufacrurer
1873 Plant & Green 14 Vittoria St linen & metal button manufacrurer (but I think it was the same building, as occupants on either side the same, but different numbers)
1876- 1900 Plant & Green button manufacturers Warstone lane
1903-5 Plant ,Green & Manton Warstone Lane, button manufacturers
1908- Buttons Ltd Warstone lane
Buttons limited later expanded into Portland St as well as Warstone lane , making other odds and ends such as coat hangers, buckles etc. The warstone lane factory was between 114 and 148 , on the north side at the western end south of the Mint. I am not quite clear as to which building it was ,a s it was not numbered, but this means it probably did not lead directly onto Warstone lane
Mike
 
Thanks for the absolutely awesome info - been trawling all thru internet and couldn't come up with anything!! My gt gt aunt lived to be 103 so maybe the button industry wasn't all bad. Once again many thanks for your input, its greatly appreciated.
 
During the 1800's my great great Grandfather and his father were button burnishers in Birmingham. What would this job entail and would they more likely work for themselves or at a factory. Their names are John and William Stagg.
Gemma
 
interested in a john chinn who was indentured to joseph hunt as an apprentice in around 1750ish.. can any one help on either the firm or the apprentice.i know its old history but heres hoping.. chinnychinn
 
The Hunts seem to be very into button making. the 1777 directory lists three button makers named Hunt, William at 1 Lichfield St, Thomas at 16 Cannon St & thomas at 44 Queen St. No Joseph though. In 1815 there is Joseph Hunt, gilt, plated and crest button maker, steel worker, &c. Edmund-street, but this is considerably later.
 
thank you mikejee, i am trying to find my link back to the chinns of rowington and knowle and john chinn was indentured in 1754 and i believe he came from knowle and could possibly be that link so was trying to find an age for him,the hunts you mention could be related..thanks again.chinnychin
c
 
I have a high definition photo of 13 people outside a button business (c.1900-20ish) in Warstone Lane, B18. One person in the picture is my Aunt Elsie Burgess, the others are unknown to me. Her sister was my Grandmother. The Norton/Burgess families all lived in Hockley until there homes were demolished in the 1960's.
 
Thank you for your reply re Birmingham's Button Industry and Factories, would it be possible to have a copy of the photograph? Muygt gt aunt worked as a housekeeper to John Richard Green who owned the factory and he left it to her in his will. The photo would be a great addition to my ancestry files!

Many thanks
 
Yes two on-looker ladies, perhaps the cleaners? The factory is now a housing complex with shops called 'ButtonBox'.

Mike
 
Hi My ancestor a William Sanders born 1873 was a button burnisher in the jeweller qtr. I think he worked from home for himself doing work for button companies. not sure.

valerieexbrummie
 
norton said:
Yes two on-looker ladies, perhaps the cleaners? The factory is now a housing complex with shops called 'ButtonBox'.

Mike
Click to expand...
and one on looker gent, above the third lady from left, back row,through window, Great photo by the way. MHE
 
valerieexbrummie said:
Hi My ancestor a William Sanders born 1873 was a button burnisher in the jeweller qtr. I think he worked from home for himself doing work for button companies. not sure.

valerieexbrummie
Click to expand...

Hi Val Don't know if there is a connection here but there is a Badge factory here in Bromsgrove which originally started as a Button factory we used to make Leather Buttons when I first started work their it is still going today.
Benjamin Sanders.
 
norton said:
I have a high definition photo of 13 people outside a button business (c.1900-20ish) in Warstone Lane, B18. One person in the picture is my Aunt Elsie Burgess, the others are unknown to me. Her sister was my Grandmother. The Norton/Burgess families all lived in Hockley until there homes were demolished in the 1960's.
Click to expand...

I found your post whilst searching for information for my family tree. I have Kate Hollins married to Bernard Yates, and their daughter, Elsie married Fred Burgess (during WW2), to become Elsie Burgess. They lived in the back to backs by the Hockley bus depot (Ford St.?), but moved to Gypsy Lane in Erdington in the 1960s. Elsie had a sister called Edith, but I don't know anything about Fred. Was Fred part of your family?
 
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I was in the museum store last week and took this photo of a button making machine. I do remember this machine working as a demonstration in the old Newhall Street museum, I was fascinated by it. It used to make little cloth covered brass buttons that were sewn to a card with copper wire
 
Hi all, I worked at Buttons in warstone lane in the sixtys,as a young toolmaker it was a real eyeopener to see and use tools that were made in Victorian times, wonderfull engraving on button tools all done by hand, the combination tools which blanked/raised and pierced in one operation were incredible in their design, in fact I could probably make a set now after all this time, the carding machines were a real work of art,not that I ever operated them, to see a machine that was designed and built a hundred years ago was to me mind blowing, the top two stories of the building were never used only for storage, I would frequently have a mooch around and found a small office area where there was stored glass fronted display cabinets containing all military buttons showing Privates thru to Officers including the regiments involved, I suspect that most of those were junked. Regards Eddyjay.
 
It sounds a very interesting place Eddy. But then, in those times, particularly with smaller, often family run businesses there was a lot of the history of the company still to be seen.
I believe those king of laces - and I did work in one for a short while before leaving Warwickshire - there was a happier and less militant atmosphere. Red Robbo would not have fitted in! ;)
 
In 1950 John L Bakers sketched several old Birmingham buildings for the Birmingham Gazette. This one details the Birmingham Button Works in New John Street...

20523245-5998-4EC8-8E1F-F0AFDE1BB4B0.jpeg
 
wonderful pedro...mike if you spot this could i have a map please showing the location of the birmingham button works thank you mike

lyn
 
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