Georgian consumerism in Birmingham

[BordesleyExile]

Even the Georgians were encouraged in magazines etc to spend spend spend. These 1809 pictures provide interesting insights into the ways the wealthy spent their disposable income & leisure hours. The locations are not set in Birmingham, but are interesting anyway.
Unfortunately all the early pictures on this thread are lost

 

[Vivienne14]

I've really enjoyed your postings of the Georgian items BordesleyExile. I love this period for it's elegance and style. A little later than your items, right at the end of the Regency period, Warwick House at 25 - 30 New Street was built (1839). This looks like a serious shopping address for those wealthy Regency ladies! The drawing seems to show mostly fabrics in the shop windows on the ground floor. I imagine it must have traded in may other products too. Marshall & Snelgrove eventually took over, and the premises were replaced in the 1940s. Viv.
Lost picture replaced

 

[BordesleyExile]

I do love that picture of New St, Viv. I was interested at the large pains of glass used on a 1839 building, whilst the rest of the architecture bears the full splendour of Georgian detail.
I'll post some more pictures later.

 

[BordesleyExile]

1827 pictures of gothic style furniture & utensils. The dressing table is none ecclesiastical gothic. Note how the designer has avoided the extreme points associated with medievil times. The gothic broom is a surprise - perhaps it was a hearth broom. At least large amounts of disposable income led to work for craftsmen.

 

[BordesleyExile]

1827 provided work for milliners & dressmakers. Remember Jane Austin's characters discussing the latest fashion in muslin? There were new designs created every few months, but they are far too dull to post or talk about here for that matter.

 

[BordesleyExile]

Disposable income was spent on prettifying the estate, too. Here is an 1821 suggestion for an ornamental poultry house which should be "situated so as to present one of it's fronts to the pleasure grounds".

 

[BordesleyExile]

This 1821 gamekeepers cottage was designed as "a legitimate & favourite embellishment to an estate and readily becomes an important feature of the park". I would have liked some thought given to the would be occupant too.

 

[BordesleyExile]

The 1821 advice for a lodge: "in general it may be said of lodges .....they should be considered as a higher class of cottage....and also sparingly decorated: the construction should be of the simplest kind and here the steep & overhanging roof is perfectly in place for it presents most satisfactory evidence of readily aquired strength & shelter but it can only be used where the style of its architecture does not reject its adoption". Having lived in a "lodge cottage" I had not thought through the principles, but now I know.
The gothic lodge pictured had been built at Fulham.

 

[mikejee]

Another thing the affluent procured is something one often thinks of as a modern appendage - conservatories. See advert from 1823 Wrightsons Birmingham directory

 

[BordesleyExile]

The landowner who had everything in 1821 could always consider building a picturesque folly. "This building is designed in imitation of a church .....and intended to be placed, as these houses generally were, by the still water; as if formed for the purpose of being a stew for the preservation of fish , and to which it might be appropriated; or built by the side of a river as if to partake of the benefit that would accrue from a succession of fresh water fish that would be placed in the different wiers placed within the stream".
Meanwhile, in the back to backs of Birmingham.........

 

[BordesleyExile]

Another thing the affluent procured is something one often thinks of as a modern appendage - conservatories. See advert from 1823 Wrightsons Birmingham directory

So pleased that the Georgians were buying conservatories from Birmingham though, Mike. Love the ad. Thank you.

 

[Vivienne14]

This drawing of Lillington's hat shop in Birmingham has an interesting combination of products on offer:

" in Birmingham ...........Lillingtons was not only a combined parasol & umbrella, hat, hosiery and glove shop, but a carpet warehouse and they conducted funerals as well! It's interesting to note the number of wares displayed in the store windows, where men's top hats and women's hoses are shown side by side with muffs and cravats, fans and reticules. Through the open door we even get a fascinating glimpse into the store with it's customers, shop assistants, oak counters, floor to ceiling shelves and merchandise displays".


Viv.
Lost image replaced

 

[mikejee]

Viv
When I click on your link I get told that you have to upgrade to put on links. however, if you go to the main site and look for milliners you get th image below. Wrightsons directory gives :
1823 Lillington I. B. hatter, hosier, and undertaker, 11, New-street
1829 Lillington James B. hosier, glover, and hatter, 24, New-st.—Residence, Bath Row

1829 Lilllington Thos. hosier, glover, and hatter, 12, Union-st.
No business Lillington in in 1815, 1818 , 1833 or 1839 an d no address at no 4 ​

 

[Vivienne14]

For those interested in the Georgian lifestyle, apparently the book "Diary of a Georgian Gentleman" has just been reduced in price by the publishers. Haven't read it , though, so can't comment on content . See https://www.parishchest.com/index.php?cmd=viewproduct&cat=&id=P92359&pageOffset=0

I bought this book and have now finished reading it. Enjoyed the book, thanks for the pointer Mike. Amazed at how the small daily details religiously recorded by the gentleman, Richard Hall, can provide such interesting reading! It's mostly focussed on London, but Birmingham does get an interesting mention as follows:

"..... there had long been a shortage of copper coins in circulation and this was to
continue until 1797 when the firm Matthew Boulton in Soho, near Birmingham were
authorised to produce copper coins with an intrinsic value of 2d and 1d. This marked a
significant change of venue - all official coins had been minted at the Tower Mint since
the reign of Queen Anne. The coins were beautifully impracticable - massive, since the
twopence coin weighed two ounces and was therefore intended to contain twopence of
pure copper" These coins known as 'cartwheel coins' would have ruined pockets and
sadly were never very popular. Just 8 of the copper 2d coins weighed in at one pound!
Viv.

 

[Rupert]

This is all a different world from what I would have thought, would have been most of our experiences; had we lived at that time. I suppose though that the Regency houses that we lament the loss of...must have been lived in by some society, albeit far distant from most of our 'would have been' lives. I wonder if these books/magazines could have even been read by the average working Brummie supposing he/she could find one somewhere, maybe in a dustbin. I suppose that the pictures could have been looked at. There clearly were two societies in Britain at the time...those with access to the riches of Empire and those who merely supplied the muscle to forge it. The forgers survived though...sort of anyway.

 

[Vivienne14]

It could prove difficult to replace the images lost on this thread, but here are two illustrations from the period both relating to New Street. Viv.


An illustration of the first phase of William Holliday's shop in New
Street in 1839. In 1852 it became Holliday & Lewis when the building
doubled. The building became known as Warwick House.

And I love this advert .....