Sir William Ashley's Working Notes
This report is discussed elsewhere (see University Council Minutes), forming as it does part of the official university record. This working copy is in a different context, being included in Sir William ...
Sir Gilbert Barling
In 1920, Barling observed that the education of ‘workmen’ should equip them for ‘the duties of citizenship and for an effective share in the control of industry’.1 As Vice Chancellor of the University ...
Rednal and the Lickey Hills
The watercolour Fair at the Lickey Hills was produced by Frank Lockwood in 1949. It featured Rednal Pleasure Fair and illustrated recreational options at the city's edge. The brashness of the fairground ...
Ration Book
While the later 1950s would be characterised by Harold MacMillan’s assertion that ‘you’ve never had it so good’, 'Austerity Britain’ lasted well into that decade. This ration book was allocated to a resident ...
Programme for Lickey & District Horticultural Show & Sports
Horticultural societies often reflected an interest in gardens promoted by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was characteristic of many Edwardian suburbs. This society’s flower show and sports day served ...
Organised Labour and the University of Birmingham
This minute (dated 7 May 1919) included a report entitled ‘Organised Labour and the University of Birmingham'.1 It proposed that a diploma should be awarded after examination for students nominated by ...
NUDAW Stirchley Branch Dinner
The National Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers recruited from the TASCoS workforce and the branch dinner, which this menu refers to, was held directly across the road from TASCoS’ central ...
Mary Cottrell
Mary Cottrell was the first female Labour councillor for Birmingham Corporation and was a leading figure of co-operative women’s guilds, both with TASCoS and regionally. She also became the first woman ...
Margery Fry
In 1904, Margery Fry became the warden of the women’s residence at the University of Birmingham. After war-time relief work, she became an influential penal reformer and advocate for higher education. ...
Lewis Lloyd (1870-1940)
Lewis Lloyd was Honorary Secretary of the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), Birmingham Branch. He was also a keen photographer, recording public libraries whose crucial role in adult education was ...
Kings Norton Guillotine Stop Lock
Built in 1815, this lock is immediately east of the junction between the Stratford and the Worcester & Birmingham Canals, its purpose being to prevent water loss from the Stratford Canal. Shown here in ...
Birmingham Tram Escutcheon & Standard
This emblem spread across suburban tram routes, particularly from 1911. In June the city took over services of the City of Birmingham Tramways Company on the Bristol and Pershore Roads. This action was ...
Chinnbrook Community Centre
Representative of a community centre movement which developed in the inter-war period, this post-war example served the Yardley Wood and Billesley estates. Such centres offered recreational and educational ...
Cadbury Works
Michael Reilly’s picture depicts an industrial yet wholesome scene and owes much to its vibrant colours. The polluting aspects of chocolate production are minimised with chimneys seemingly devoid of any ...
Cadbury Barges
Frank Newbould’s picture unites the corporate Cadbury view of the ‘factory in a garden’ with a ‘Roses and Castles’ folk image of canal life. Neither does justice to economic and social realities, where ...
Bookcase in University House
This bookcase stands in University House, Edgbaston and represents the love of books and learning demonstrated by Rose Sidgwick and Margery Fry. They had first met at Somerville College, Oxford, where ...
Birmingham Bus Crew Member
This photograph was taken some time after Birmingham City Transport abandoned it’s ‘colour bar’ in 1954 (see 'Transport Workers in South-West Birmingham'). Immigrants often chose to record their status ...
Aerial View of Allen's Cross, Northfield
W. Edwards Ltd built the Allen’s Cross estate for Birmingham Corporation in the early 1930s. This photograph was commissioned from Midland Air Services and it shows the brand new estate as an island in ...