Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

[mikejee]

4.5.1865

First city chief librarian appointment advertised.

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City Workhouse reported to be deficient, improvements necessary

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The father of President Lincoln's assassin once worked in Wolverhampton

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[mikejee]

5.5.1865
The conclusion of the inquest on Mr Bliss.

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[brummie nick]

Mike, I know you're the man for maps, do you have one showing Greenway Terrace.? please

 

[mikejee]

Nick
The only one know of is on Coventry Road, as below

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[brummie nick]

Thanks Mike looks like it was on Kingston Hill opposite Mount Pleasant.

 

[mikejee]

8.5.1865
As now, if you want to do something wrong , make sure you are related to a member of the establishment

 

[mikejee]

9.5.1865
Central Reading Room closing. Possibly this is happening due to the imminent opening of the new central library.
Royal Hotel, Sutton Coldfield opening. This is , I suppose the same building as the present one. Although the present one on its website states it has been open for a decade, this is presumably the time under the present owners.
Not Birmingham, but this gives an idea of the wages of masons and plasterers at this time,.

 

[mikejee]

10.5.1865

New fancy restaurant opening in New St
Baked potato war in Wolverhampton

 

[mikejee]

11.5.1865
New restaurant mentioned yesterday is at Theatre Royal and is described.
Subscription to extension to St Pauls church, Balsall Heath.

 

[mikejee]

12.5.1865
Obviously Mr Empson, the disgruntled architect , did not give the righht masonic handshake to the members of the committee.

 

[mikejee]

15.5.1865
The manufacture of the new Atlantic cable in Birmingham is completed. A much longer, somewhat dramatic report is givem elsewhere in the paper, but is too long to include here.

 

[paul stacey]

The cutting edge of the then technology of the day, not a very long diagnostic report, I would have thought more would have been said.Paul

 

[mikejee]

AS I said Paul, there was a longer report, but if was about one and a half columns long. It was alos a bit flowery, and not very technical.

 

[mikejee]

16.5.1865
There is reported to be not many examples of Birmingham products at the Dublin Exhibition

 

[paul stacey]

Hi mike, yes I did understand your earlier comments. I was just rather surprised that the local papers did not comment more on this great innovation. What is clear to me, and has been for years is that Birmingham was at the forefront of most technological advancements in industrial innovation, from the very out set of the Industrial revolution to more or less the present day, and I am most proud to have been born in and lived in that great city.Paul

 

[mikejee]

17.5.1865

Report to the Estates and buildings committee of the council. They certainly seemed to reclaim and recycle a lot them. £179 is equivalent in simple purchasing power to over £15,000 today, By other measures it is worth considerably more (https://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/).
Large fire at Sutton Coldfield haberdashers
Drunken steeplejack falls to death.

 

[mikejee]

18.5.1865

I sympathise with the writer. I think the railways are a little better today. I myself do rather like the sarcastic tone.
Vindictive solicitor does not get quite the result he desired. Hope his opponent;s case against him went well for the publican

 

[paul stacey]

I find the first report from a disgruntled train passenger rather funny, as railways had been about for some 20 odd years, and before that a journey of 39 miles would have taken a day or on foot a couple of days, and here he is complaining about 4 hours. Paul

 

[mikejee]

20.5.1865
Opening of The Sutton Hotel.
Queen's rail journey through the Midlands.
Wife gives lazy man his desserts.

 

[mikejee]

22.5.1865
Our female members would not have been impressed by the spanking new, much advertised, Shakespeare restaurant - It was "for gentlemen only"

What on earth is an iron tent. Apparently it is an item of "genteel household furniture".

Mr Kelly (for he prepared the Post office directories even before they carried his name) prepares for the latest edition. Not come across a 1866 version, though there may well be one. If not that then the 1867 version.

The silly season was a feature of newspapers even then., though not, o course as much as in the Star or the Daily Mail today.

 

[mikejee]

23.5.1865

Listing of nos of people of different types in birmingham wporkhouse

Nev er heard of the Coggers Arms. 1 presume the landlord made clogs nas a living also, or else decorated the place with them and the equipment for manufacturing them (though the latter, while it might happen today , seems unlikely then).

 

[brummie nick]

The number of inmates in the Workhouse must be nearly 1600, must have been a big place.

Nick

 

[mikejee]

Nick
The reason for the table was to present to a meeting to persuade the powers that be that it was necessary to enlarge it. The full report on the discussions is too large to post here. Some people thought thta there were people recieving help who shoulldn't be there. and finally it was agreeed that it should be enlarged to provide for an extras 600 paupers.

 

[paul stacey]

Most workhouses were called 'Union', because they took the poor and homeless from up to 4 parish's, most built after the 1832 "poor Act", these places were huge affairs, where as the single parish workhouses were not so big. Paul

 

[mikejee]

24.5.1865
Support for the early closing movement ( for shops) is increasing

 

[paul stacey]

Think that #2065 has been voiced before on your thread Mike.Paul

 

[mikejee]

Yes Paul, you are right. Presumably the idea lost support and people are trying to start it up again

 

[mikejee]

25.5.1865
Appeal for funds for restoration of St Philips

 

[badpenny]

Following on from #2059, Queen Victoria's journey through the Midlands on her way to Balmoral, thought the following may be of interest, although rather sad.

During the early hours of 12th May 2015, fire broke out at the former royal station at Ballater in Aberdeenshire, the closest rail link to Balmoral.

The station was finally closed to traffic in 1966 as part of the Beeching report and was in use as a visitor centre containing Queen Victoria's waiting room

and a replica royal carriage.

According to reports the old station was totally destroyed, such a shame.

Badpenny..

 

[mikejee]

26.5.1865
Corporation puts its views on governance of the Grammar school, presumably the Edward VI school.