There used to be a thread I posted on the forum some years ago , but cannot find it. But from my notes:
The Grand Sultan Divan in Needless Alley was owned by Joseph Bandano. I am told he was Algerian. He was running the Sultan Divan in Birmingham sometime after 1863, but in the 1861 census he is living at the Turkish Divan in Manchester with his nephew, Owen Thur from Nottingham. Joseph Bandano's wife, Emma Cutts, was also from Nottingham. The 1864 death certificate of Kate Thur shows that she is the daughter of William Thur, a waiter in a refreshment room (more than likely the Grand Sultan Divan at the same address), died at 6 Needles Alley, Birmingham. William was a brother of the Owen Thur listed with the Bandano's in the 1861 census.
Showells Directory says that the Sultan Divan was formerly a questionable place. It is mentioned in a periodical called Brum which was published during 1869, and also illustrated there (Birmingham University Library apparently hold this periodical). They state "The Great Sultan Divan in Needless Alley ... has the appearance of a neglected teetotal lecture room .... In these apartments are congregated nightly all the women of ill-frame in Birmingham whose faces are sufficiently well preserved to stand the light .... etc.etc" Prostitutes used to congregate there. An advert in 1871 was looking for "Clean active BOYS", which does raise the possibility that other things were happening there.
The YMCA took it over in the 1880s (this is referred to in a document held by Birmingham University Special Collections) and referred to the fact that they had converted a den of iniquity into a place of moral improvement! Some newspaper cuttings below may give some furthe rinformation if interested
The Grand Sultan Divan in Needless Alley was owned by Joseph Bandano. I am told he was Algerian. He was running the Sultan Divan in Birmingham sometime after 1863, but in the 1861 census he is living at the Turkish Divan in Manchester with his nephew, Owen Thur from Nottingham. Joseph Bandano's wife, Emma Cutts, was also from Nottingham. The 1864 death certificate of Kate Thur shows that she is the daughter of William Thur, a waiter in a refreshment room (more than likely the Grand Sultan Divan at the same address), died at 6 Needles Alley, Birmingham. William was a brother of the Owen Thur listed with the Bandano's in the 1861 census.
Showells Directory says that the Sultan Divan was formerly a questionable place. It is mentioned in a periodical called Brum which was published during 1869, and also illustrated there (Birmingham University Library apparently hold this periodical). They state "The Great Sultan Divan in Needless Alley ... has the appearance of a neglected teetotal lecture room .... In these apartments are congregated nightly all the women of ill-frame in Birmingham whose faces are sufficiently well preserved to stand the light .... etc.etc" Prostitutes used to congregate there. An advert in 1871 was looking for "Clean active BOYS", which does raise the possibility that other things were happening there.
The YMCA took it over in the 1880s (this is referred to in a document held by Birmingham University Special Collections) and referred to the fact that they had converted a den of iniquity into a place of moral improvement! Some newspaper cuttings below may give some furthe rinformation if interested
