Hillman’s Stores, New Street Pinfold Street

[Vivienne14]

Joe Hillman knew a thing or two about promoting his business. From the one column, full page length advert attached below we can see he was going from strength to strength by May 1865.

He has just renovated his premises and now offers good commercial accommodation, a dining room, a luncheon bar on the London Plan (with a gridiron facility for cooking steak and chops), a smoking room and an Assembly Room. He makes available a range of national newspapers for patrons and a good cellar.

And of course he’s well placed for the Town Hall, New Street and all Birmingham has to offer. By all accounts Joe’s business survived into the 1880s when the General Post Office was built on this site.

Not sure about the ‘cabinet pudding’. Never heard of it. Viv.

Image below from the Pinfold Street thread posted by Phil https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/pinfold-street.45498/

 

[mikejee]

Viv
Cabinet pudding is one of those horrible heavy stodgy steam puddings loved by those brought up years ago. (you will probably realise I don't like anything like that, including Christmas pudding). It seems to have consisted of dried fruit, stale bread and stale cake. So I suppose you could consider it as the sweet equivalent of bubble & squeak

 

[Vivienne14]

Not my cup of tea either Mike. Don’t like stodgy puddings. But I expect in the 1860s it was a guaranteed filler for travelling salesman on the road.

Any ideas of what the ‘things’ are in the window beneath ‘J. Hillman’ in the photo post #1 ? Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

Joe seems to have had his fingers in yet another pie; the George Hotel stables in Solihull - as reported in November 1870 in Bells Life in London and Sporting Chronicle. He certainly seems to have set his sights much further afield than Birmingham. Viv.

 

[Bob Davis]

Cabinet pudding, just as Mike described it an old fashioned steamed pudding, Google the name and you will have all the details to hand. Someone who Google's it will then see the puddings other people have searched, including Malvern pudding........thank goodness that is off theme

Bob

 

[Vivienne14]

On his death in June 1907 this is what the Aberdeen Press & Journal had to say about Joe Hillman I’d say a bit of a character ....... Viv.

 

[Radiorails]

This woman was a great believer in stodgy food!