Slaughter Houses

[GrAfiK_248]

Hi there everyone! I've come across from ssc, to ask you guys for a little help on my architecture project.

I'm currently studying Birmingham, in terms of its history in markets and have digged up a lot of info on the topic. One of my chosen sites could be the Bordesley cattle station site which i am very intrigued about. At the moment, this has lead me to locate the slaughter houses which were in the area, since many livestock would come from rail and continue to smithfield. I was wondering if there is anymore info on slaughter houses specifically along bradford street or cheapside - if there are some still existing premises (derelict or not).

These are the following sites which i have found that give a hint or two about slaughter houses
- https://www.midlandspubs.co.uk/birmingham/bradfordstreet.htm
- https://epapers.bham.ac.uk/507/
- https://www.anchorinndigbeth.co.uk/walk-one.htm
- https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22969

Much appreciated

 

[mikejee]

You will find quite a lot on the markets in the forum, but might have to poke around a bit. In 1889 (see map), most of the slaughtering seems tom have been carried out in gloucester st. By 1902-11 (dates as given on map) it seems to have moved to the end of Bradford st , (almost) next (almost) to the Birmingham Arms Pub (PH on map) This is long gone, but you can see 2 pictures of the frontage c 1970 in post 92 at https://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=23229
Mike

 

[izzy eckerslike]

I've got a book 'The bull Ring remembered' which features the meat market, built in Bradford St in 1895 on the site of a baptist church it had 20 slaughtering booths and covered 3.5 acres.
New regulations in 1965 regarding animal cruelty and hygiene resulted in a total refit with 3 modern slaughter lines capable of 60 cattle per hour and 300 pigs,sheep.calves etc.per hour. It was the most efficient in Europe at that time.
It didn't last very long as I recall and was demolished along with all the other old markets c.1970's.
I started work in 1961 for a firm of shopfitters and we had a job in Bradford st right opposite the meat market and being an animal lover the noise and smell gave me nightmares for years after that

 

[GrAfiK_248]

thanks a lot for the maps mike, great help. and sorry to hear about that izzy - i'll have to see if that book is in the Birmingham library!

 

[robert]

Getting back to slaughter houses, there was a horse slaughters on the Statford rd Sparkhill not to far from Bradford st.

 

[Wendy]

The lad in the butchers told us he had to do slaughtering when learning his trade and he hated it. I told him my uncle worked in the Birmingham Slaughter house in the 50's he said after a while you don't think about it........well I am with the lad I couldn't even start!

 

[Astonian]

HI GRTAFIC
Your topic on the slaughter houses there was quite afew around the cheap side of brum and approxmidity of the bull ring its self
but what i can see is nobody mentioned to you a big hide and skin yard in the city by the bull ring was new cannal street
where they slaughterd the cows , the sheep and pigs and they was the main slaughteres for the city
and nearly every day of the week including sunday morning with out fail and clock work they would be deliveryed to the big yard and i mean the big yarding
during the week by lorries bringing in the cattle and sheep pigs and on the saturday mornings and afternoons they woiuld be brought down to cheap side
to bordesley and meriden st wich is the continuation of new cannal steet and they would have been herded into the railway siding which is the rail arches
which where they was held over until sunday morning at 10 oclock the would be walked down meriden st along new cannal street and banded in toi the hide and skin yard
for slaughter they would do hundreds a day sheep cows what ever and my grand parents the jelfs used have the transport coffee house ajoing the skin yard
out in nans back yard was a gate which when you opened it you was in the hide and skin yard
and my grand parents used to keep a little jack russelll dog and every now and then the owners would come and asked my grand parents to borrow little jacko as he was called
to roam around the yard as one or two rats had been spotted and little jacko would have got them and cleared them up for them
i always stood back and used to watch them every sunday morning comming along new cannal st they would be on the pavement and some would stop and stair through the windows
as they filled the with of the rd the ones on the far side would stop and stare in the spotted dog widows as well
my own grand parents family used to come from worc whom was markey gardners with small farm lands and supplied meats and eggs and fruit to the birmingham area
before and during the war years they had the transport coofee rooms for these transport lorry drivers whom boarded there over night
also the right hand side of the shop which was another gate inside the typoo was where my grand father parked his three wheeler and his morriss commercial
but the hide and skin was the main slaughter in brum city if you went to there gates you would openly see the skins of all these animals stacked in huge piles
by the hundred around the yard i think they finished there around the late 60s or seventys and they moved to dudley wher i beleve they are still operating
as i have said they brought the cattle from the country sides far a field by train and lorries and my great grand parents played apart in providing sopme
of these things into our city of birmingham selling meats and provisions before and during the war years
best wishes astonian