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Gothic electrical Constitution hill

claire-brum71

claire-brum71

master brummie
Hi all, does this shop which was on Constitution Hill ring any bells with anyone? does anyone know of it or how i could find out more about it? Made contact with a distant relative who said this shop was ran by a family member and i'd like to find out more, we have no idea of dates, so if anyone can find anything out or knows anything i'd really be grateful, Claire :)
 
Hi Claire, Gothic Electrical was a wholesale company - not sure if it had a shop at all, but the office door was in Henrietta Street. My mother worked there for several years from about 1967 and I worked there for six months - could not bear to leave my little daughter for any longer! The offices were quite large from memory, so I think there should be some records somewhere about it.
 
Oh wow, thanks Shortie, i have no knowledge of it at all, so that's really helpful, what years did you work there? do you know who owned it? thanks Claire :)
 
Hi Claire, no idea who owned it, not got a clue. I was there in 1968, my mother was there from about April 1967 for perhaps eight years - hard to remember exactly and she is not alive any more, so I cannot ask. They were distributors to the MEB and all sorts of shops all over GB if I remember rightly. I do know someone who worked there, but she is ex-directory and I have no idea whether she is still in her old home, but will try and see if I can contact her, as she may know the answer.
 
Thanks Shortie, that would be a great help, i would like to know when it first started and who owned it so we can work out who in the family apparently owned it, so anything you can find out for me would be really helpful, as we know nothing at all :)
 
Claire, just found this whilst 'Googling'. I know it is not directly associated, but it might lead to some news of interest. It suggests to me that the Gothic that I worked at might be a different one, using the same name and possibly premises. I do believe the MEB in Constitution Hill was on the corner of Henrietta Street.

In the Birmingham County Court.
In Bankruptcy. No. 81 of 1955.
Re: Jack Cayzer.
In the 'Matter of a Bankruptcy Notice issued on
the 21st day of (December, 1955.
To: JACK CAYZER of 36, Cannon Street, in the
city of Birmingham, and of Colwyn House, Bowling
Green Road, Stourbridge, in the county of
Worcester.
TAKE notice that a Bankruptcy Notice has been
issued against you in this Court by Gothic Electrical
Supplies Limited, Gothic House, Henrietta Street, in
the city of Birmingham, and the Court has ordered
that the publication of this notice in the London
Gazette and in the County Express Newspaper shall
be deemed to be service of the Bankruptcy Notice
upon you. The Bankruptcy Notice can be inspected
by you on application at this Court.—Dated this
16fh day of February, 1956.
(405) R. G. BEDWQRTH, Registrar.
 
Nice find shortie, i had already tried Google and found nothing, seems interesting, i wonder if the two aren't still connected though in some way?? the one i am seeking was on Constitution Hill, but the names are too similar for them not to be linked??
 
Claire, Herietta Street runs off Constitution Hill, the offices were over the MEB on Constitution Hill. I don't think you could have two companies just feet from each other with the same name. Two things come to mind - 1 - it could be a myth (families are, I find, good at myths) or it was thought to be a shop when in fact it was a distributing company. It was not a small company either.
 
Until i can find out more i can't tell for sure, but he does know some pretty major facts about the family that even we didn't know, and so far we have linked it all together, so this is now something i need to find more about to see if we can establish truth from fiction if possible, but he knew the name, street and that it was electricals, as i say we assume it's a shop but we aren't sure :)
 
Until i can find out more i can't tell for sure, but he does know some pretty major facts about the family that even we didn't know, and so far we have linked it all together, so this is now something i need to find more about to see if we can establish truth from fiction if possible, but he knew the name, street and that it was electricals, as i say we assume it's a shop but we aren't sure :)
 
Well the bit that concerns me is that he said Constitution Hill and it wasn't - however, it may have started out as a shop and ended up as the company I worked for. It is entirely possible. MikeJee or someone with Kelly's should be able to confirm this. The reason I mentioned myths is that in my family there have been some bizarre ones, and frequently I come across people saying the most bizarre things (the latest was someone with the surname of Harris and living in Hockley reckoned they were related to Anita Harris - that family come from Somerset, so I think that is myth).

I look forward to hearing the outcome of this Claire.
 
claire-brum71 said:
Hi all, does this shop which was on Constitution Hill ring any bells with anyone? does anyone know of it or how i could find out more about it? Made contact with a distant relative who said this shop was ran by a family member and i'd like to find out more, we have no idea of dates, so if anyone can find anything out or knows anything i'd really be grateful, Claire :)
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hi claire..what years are you talking about for gothic electrical...coninsidence here as there was the gothic pub on constitution hill so your info could well be right...

lyn

oops just read again claire and i see you have no idea of dates..i do have a few kellys years will have a look for you but i agree with shortie mike will prob be the best one to sort this out for you..
 
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claire ive checked the 1944 and 1962 kellys and i cant see a gothic electrical for those years...will check a few more years for you

lyn
 
1932-36 Gothic Electrical Supplies Ltd. who. wireless accessories mfrs. & dlrs. 11 & 13 Severn st. T N Midland 4,511 (3 lines)

1937-50 Gothic Electrical Supplies Ltd. who. wireless accessories mfrs. 23 & 25 Constitution hill 19. T A "" Gothicelec; "Central 5531, 5532, 5533, 5534 & 5535

1955- 56 No mention of Gothic electrical, but 23/25 Constitution hill was
Midlands -Electricity Board N.W. district offices

1962 Gothic Electrical Supplies Ltd. electrcl. mantrs. Henrietta st 19. Central 5060 (P.B.X)
Gothic Electronic Industiies Ltd. electronic equipment mfrs. Beacon works, Hampton st 19. Central 2018/9

From this we can conclude that, as it started in severn st , it was nothing to do with the Gothic pub, that the firm ceased trading (in Birmingham anyway) between 1950 and 1956, and that by 1962 two firms with names incorporating gothic were trading nearby, but at different addresses
Mike
 
well done mike i thought maybe the co took its name from the gothic pub..twas only a guess mind lol..i am sure claire will be delighted with your findings..

lyn
 
Very interesting mIke, so it was a different company. Interestingly, Gothic Electrical whose address was Henrietta Street was over the MEB - so faced Consitution Hill, the door was just up from the corner where the MEB was. Gothic were distributors by 1967, my mother did the accounts reconcilliation, they supplied the MEB with loads of stuff, they were Gothic's major Birmingham account. Horrible place from my recollection, but perhaps that is because I was doing a job I did not want to do.
 
I worked for the MEB from 1960 to 1967 and spent a short time at the NW District Office in Henrietta Street. If I remember correctly Gothic occupied the ground floor and the MEB the first floor. When the new MEB office building was completed in Summer Lane (I guess around 1964) the NW District Office moved into it (and so did the B'ham HQ which was previously in Dale End) and I'm fairly sure that Gothic moved to new premises in Hospital Street about the same time (the building that is now Framecraft). Gothic would not have been a shop but did have a trade counter - in those times trade counters were strictly trade only, unlike today.
 
Gothic we most certainly on the first floor, I had to walk up the stairs to work - I don't remember a ground floor, but that may have been the trade counter, which I had nothing to do with. I was there from about February 1968 until August of the same year, and it was at that time in Henrietta Street.
 
Thanks Mike that's really helpful, dad had heard of them as an old firm he worked for brought supplies from them and he said they were brought out, so that could be why the name changed? as i say at the moment it's all a shot in the dark until i can get more details, it's who owned the place that's the real link, if i can find a name i can trace more hopefully, but it would seem we are in the right area and right business....

Jukebox feel free to throw any info into the mix, right or wrong it'll help as i'm searching in the dark here.
 
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Arghhh another street! maybe they liked to move? trouble paying the rent? haha oh dear it's getting more and more complicated now :(
 
I think The building is still there on the corner of Constitution Hill and Henrietta St now used by another Electrical Co. S.N.D. Electrical wholesalers not sure but I think the building is still called Gothic House.Dek
 
Thanks Dek, i was near there yesterday but didn't have time to check it out, i will have to go and see it next time i am in the area, still no closer to finding out who actually owned it :(
 
I've scoured the internet and all I can find is that Gothic had branches in Birmingham, Nottingham, Bristol, St Helens and Lincoln and were bought out by Thorn Electrical Industries in 1968. It might be worth seeing if the central library has any info.
 
Thanks Jukebox, i think it may well be that i have to go delving in the Library, i'll give them a ring later to see what info i can get to, as i'm not sure what is available with all this new building work etc they are going threw.
 
Hi new to forum. My father worked for Gothic for many years.(Ronald Clarke) I remember going as a lad to Gothic, Henrietta street on many occasions. Opposite the entrance to Gothic on other side of road was a newsagents where I remember collecting my first kitten from a litter the shops cat had, had. Gothic did have a trade counter/show room. When you walked in you went down stairs to it. The owner of Gothic was a Mr Hughes cannot remember his first name but sure his wife’s name was Violet. Mr Hughes owned a beautiful house in Aberdovey called Coed y Lyn, Philips avenue. My father rewired it in the 1960s when Mr Hughes bought it. Mr Hughes paid for a cottage in Aberdovey for my mother father me and my sister while my dad carried out the work. I remember asking Mr Hughes why my dad did not have a car like his when he gave us a lift, to my mother’s horror (it was a lovely Bentley)
other people I remember at Gothic was Jack Tranter and Alan Cross. Alan was from Alum Rock left Gothic to become a policeman in Birmingham. (He gave me a Mallard train set as a lad never forget him)
Hope this helps towards your search.
Regards Phil
 
claire-brum71 said:
Thanks Dek, i was near there yesterday but didn't have time to check it out, i will have to go and see it next time i am in the area, still no closer to finding out who actually owned it :(
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Hi Claire, JohnC here. Its the first time I've used this site, so hope this gets to you. Are you still searching for info on Gothic Electrical or did you find out what you wanted ? I see all the questions and answers go back to 2012. I am related to Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, and still have family members who worked at the Gothic. If I can be of any help I will tell you anything I can. Where do you think you might be linked to the family tree ? and what is your interest in finding out about the history, owners etc ? JohnC
 
Hi there, my daughter has just found your message and passed it to me. I worked at Gothic from 1960 until it's demise when it was taken over thirteen years later. The shop you mention would have been the showroom and I still have the newspaper cuttings from that event, it coincided with the new office block which was built around the old building. If you still want information please let me know. It was a very happy place to work in, at least for me! I worked in the Purchasing Department with Roy Arrowsmith, Barbara Jones, Tony Chapman Walter Underwood, Tom Ross and many more some of the names I have now forgotten.
 
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