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Pearce Brothers Cabinet Manufacturer

A

Albany Sharon

Guest
I am researching the history of a bed I have owned for 31 years. There is a plaque on the back of the headboard which reads:

PEARCE BROTHERS
CABINET MANUFACTURER
GREAT HAMPTON ST
BIRMINGHAM

I went to Yahoo International / Yahoo UK and put in a query for several things. With Great Hampton Street, I came across the Birmingham Conservation Trust. I sent them an email and they referred me to the Birmingham Central Library. I did some searching there and then sent an email (regarding what I had found) to the archives and heritage section of the library. I got this reply back:

Dear Ms. McBride,
Thank you for your email.

There is an entry for the Pearce Brothers, cabinet manufacturers, in an
1887 Birmingham directory;
their business was at 87 Great Hampton Street. 2 additional entries show
that their names were
Benjamin and John Pearce.

There was an entry for Benjamin Pearce in an 1868, and in an 1875
Birmingham directory as a cabinet
maker. His address then was Livery Street.

I have checked the Birmingham Biographies index, but unfortunately there is
no entry for either of the
Pearce brothers. It is possible to access the 1881, 1891 and 1901 British
censuses online via
ancestry.com, so you may like to do this to learn more about the Pearces.
Please note that Handsworth,
which is not far from this part of the city centre, was then in
Staffordshire.

I hope this information is of interest,
Yours sincerely,
Maggie Burns


Well, the search was on! I went to ancestry.com and found Benjamin Pearce in the 1851 England Census at age 3 with his brother John, age 1. I followed the family through the 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 England Census forms. Printed copies of each. I also printed maps of the streets they were on according to the census forms and also directories of the time:

1851 @ 77 Constitution Hill
1861 @ 77 & 78 Constitution Hill
1866, 1875, 1876, 1877 & 1878 @ 135 & 136 Livery Street
1871, 1875 & 1876 @ 77 & 78 Constitution Hill
1881 @ 69 Burbury Street (This was after Benjamin married)
1891 @ 6 South Rd Handsworth
1892 @ 87 Great Hampton Street
1901 @ Lansdowne Rd Bournemouth where Benjamin was listed as a retired boarder

I did a search of English directories of that time. Trade directories, postal directories etc. using this website:
https://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/index.asp
I came up with these listings:

Morris's Commercial Directory of Warwickshire with Birmingham (1866)
Pearce, Benjamin, cabinet maker and upholsterer, 77 & 78 Constitution Hill and 135 and 136 Livery Street
Post Office Directory of Birmingham With Its Suburbs 1867
...here are Great Hampton row & Livery Street
77 & 78 Pearce, Benjamin cabinet maker
Francis White & Co.'s Commercial & Trades Directory of Birmingham (1875)
Pearce, B. 135 Livery St., & 78 Constitution Hill
Kelly's Directory of Birmingham and Suburbs (1876)
Pearce, Benjamin, cabinet maker, 77 & 78 Constitution Hill
Pearce, Benjamin, shopkeeper & cabinetmaker 77 & 78 Constitution Hill
Pearce, Benjamin, 136 Livery Street & 77 & 78 Constitution Hill
Pearce, Benjamin, cabinet maker...here is Devo....rdware dealer

The 1881 England Census refers to him as a furniture dealer, whereas the other years refer to him as a cabinetmaker.

Kelly's Directory of Birmingham and Suburbs (1892)
Pearce Brothers cabinetmakers, 87 Great Hampton Street
Pearce, Benjamin, 4 South Rd, Soho hill
Kelly's Directory of Birmingham and Suburbs (1921)
Pearce Brothers, house funishers...

I would be thrilled if anyone could give me any information about the Pearce Brothers Benjamin and John, or suggest where I might do additional research. I live in the U.S. and have tried to familiarize myself with the area by looking at maps, historical documents, photos of streets etc. I would like to know what is currently at these particular addresses above which list the Pearce Brothers.
 
Hi Sharon
Assuming there has been no renumbering (and I don't think there has), 87 Gt Hampton St is still there, and is mentioned in "The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter", John Cattell et al, Pub 2002 by English Heritage. It is mentioned in two places. (1) At time of writing the building is described as being "visible behind single storey additions incorporating retail shops", though those additions may have already been there during the period you are interested in. (2) 85-87 are described as a pair of brick built houses of 21/2 stories, each with a two bay facade with moulded bracketed stucco cornices above the windows. They appear to date from 1840 but it is not clear if they were built as a semi-detached pair or are the only survivors of a terrace of 6 houses that once extended to Hockley st to the south. they were in use as business premises from at least 1860., post office directory of that year listing William H Ryland,Goldsmith and gold plating manufacturer Single stroy shops, for which the original drawings survive, were built in the front gardens between 1887 and 1903.

Mike
 
sharon
Just something more. The attached is from the English Heritage website and shows 83-84 Gt Hampton St in the centre of the picture. You can see part of 85-87 to the left of it. It might be a nice building if you took away the additions at the front. Not a good view from your point of view, but better than nothing

Mike

83-84_Gt_hampton_street.jpg
 
Good morning, Mike.
I haven't quite figured out everything on the forum. I hope I am doing this correctly and you get my reply.
I was thrilled to see that I had not only one reply from you, but two. My research journey has been such fun. I never dreamed I would get this far. Please accept my apology for not replying sooner. My husband had ACL reconstruction surgery on his right knee and I have been out of pocket.
Thank you so very much for the info regarding John Cattell’s book. I plan to purchase it. In my 87 Great Hampton Street research, I found Joseph Stokes, jeweller, at number 87. This was in Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory – Warwickshire (1862) Your info goes back even earlier to 1840. I’m going to spend some time researching directories today in order to see just how far back in time that address actually goes. Benjamin Pearce of Pearce Brothers would have been 14 years old when Joseph Stokes was at that location in 1862. 30 years after Joseph Stokes, Pearce Brothers were at 87
GH St.
Just a side thought: My eyes and brain are becoming accustomed to seeing the word “jeweller” spelled with two l’s. The dictionary tells me that this is “especially British”.
I cannot tell you how exciting it was for me to see the photo of 83-84 GH St. with a partial of 85-87. You just cannot imagine how exciting that was for me. I can never thank you enough.
Off to more research! Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times.
 
Sharon
Couple more things. Don't know if you're familiar with Virtual earth, but, in addition to the vertical view, you can access a "birds eye" view from one side. Attached is a back view of 85-87 Gt Hampton St. These are the ones with the single floor extensions in front. The building with the hoarding on the side is 83-84. Similarly the site of 77-78 Constitution hill is on the second scan. All original buildings gone, but site marked approximately by the blue overlay. There's also a map (of 1890 so buildings around are different, library added next door) with area marked in orange. Incidentally the numbering in constitution hill altered sometime after to odd one side of road, even the other.


consitution_hill.jpg


77-78_consitution_hill.jpg
 
Mike,
Thank you for those map views. Yes, I am familiar with Virtual Earth. I've printed up maps of all Pearce Brothers locations on the various streets. I could tell from the aerial and bird's eye views that Constitution Hill and Livery Streets were modern now and didn't expect to find the actual street numbers. As for GH Street, I pulled it up but could not get an idea of exactly where 87 Great Hampton Street was. I am thrilled to see such a great view of the building in the attachment you sent. Thank you for all the info. I plan to have the bed appraised once I feel I have obtained every possible piece of information. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Birmingham Conservation Trust would restore 87 GH Street!
https://www.birminghamconservationtrust.org/heritageopendays.htm

Sharon

P.S.
I had the Weather Channel on in the background yesterday as I was working. Thought of you when I heard that it was only 75 in London. Sounded wonderful considering that we are very dry here in Texas with 100 plus temperatures!
 
Well done Sharon. What a great bit of sleuthing you have done, with some help from Mike. I've enjoyed reading your posts.
 
Hi Sharon,
I am descended from the Pearce family, furniture manufacturers. You've saved me a lot of research work here! Love to get in contact with you if you are still browsing this forum.
Thanks,
Sean Cowan
Australia
 
Sean,
Here it is April 2010. I have been away from the forum for such a long time that I'm not sure I know how to navigate it anymore. I was wondering how your research was coming along. I don't see a post in this thread regarding our communication of how the Pearce family / you came to be in Australia. I wonder why that is. Could you please refresh my memory?
Best regards,
Sharon McBride
Texas
 
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