Cyril Burt, Report of an Investigation on Backward Children in Birmingham
The idea of the ‘normal child’ was reinforced by research by psychologists in the early 20th century which identified and categorised some children as being ‘abnormal’. Cyril Burt designed tests to identify ...
Daily routine in Norton Reformatory
The boys’ lives were strictly regulated. Activities were timetabled for each day between waking up at 6am and going to bed at 10pm. Cleanliness was required at all times. The boys were under constant ...
Dancing in the Dell at Muntz Park
Regular dances were organised in the Dell at Muntz Park by the Bournbrook Entertainments Committee from 1923 onwards. A disused clay pit, known as the Dell, was laid out for dancing and open-air theatre ...
David Cox - 'A Gypsy Encampment'
Artists have often sentimentalised gypsies, using them as local colour in idealised rural settings. Here, however, it appears that David Cox has sketched these people from life, and they are the main ...
Deed of Gift for Cannon Hill Park
This plan shows the land given by Louisa Ann Ryland to Birmingham Corporation to form Cannon Hill Park, which was opened in September 1873.
Discussion of Park Closure at Night
Parks in Birmingham were usually kept closed at night, but in 1954 the Parks Committee did consider leaving Calthorpe Park open. These pages from the Parks Committee minutes consider this proposal, which ...
Domestic Economy Lesson, Somerville Road Board School, Birmingham by William Woollaston
This photograph has been carefully constructed. It was taken to be displayed or circulated as evidence of good educational practice. The blackboard is used to describe what is happening. The subject is ...
Domestic Interior, by Reginald Edgecombe
The Edgecombe drawings demonstrate that urban planners in Birmingham were considering the internal layout as much as the external appearance of new houses. This sketch illustrates the creative processes ...
Dormitory rules in Norton Reformatory
Dormitory, Sir Josiah Mason's Orphanage by Sir Benjamin Stone
As Mason’s Orphanage was so large the dormitory could accommodate three rows of beds. The room is essentially bare except for a few reproduction paintings. There is no evidence of any personal belongings ...
Down Your Way
This picture features residents from Castle Vale at the event that we held in the Resident’s Club in July 2009.
Sound It Out Community Music’s ‘Down Your Way’ Music and Heritage Project celebrates ...
Drawing of a Church by Jessy Watt
Drawing of a Middlemore Girl
As an Edgbastonian, John Middlemore was proudly celebrated in the pages of the Edgbastonia magazine:
‘A benevolent Edgbaston gentleman who has solved one of the difficult social problems of modern ...
Drawing of George De Courcey, All Saints Mental Health Casebook
This drawing by Robson, the asylum doctor, is the only visual record of a child in All Saints Asylum. George was admitted from the workhouse in 1876 aged 9. Like Ellen Allport he is described as insane ...
Drawing of Trees by Gregory Watt
Birmingham born Gregory Watt (1777-1804) was the son of the inventor James Watt’s second marriage, to Ann McGregor. Gregory and his younger sister Jessy (1779-1794) were both accomplished child artists ...
Drawing of Trees by Gregory Watt
Dress by M. & E. Abbott
This striking dress in yellow trimmed with black velvet was made by M. & E. Abbott of 65 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, in 1896. However, we can't be sure exactly how it looked when it left the dressmakers. ...
Duchess Road Working Boys' Hostel, Ladywood
The two houses at 79 and 81 Duchess Road were originally established in 1963 as two working boys’ homes each of which could accommodate four boys. When it opened there was one other home for working boys ...