A Gun Manufacturer
Image: A Trade Card of John Sharpe (date unknown).
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many Birmingham gun manufacturers relied upon foreign export markets. Often, this could mean the sale of ...
A Tobacco Dealer.
Image: A Tobacco, Cigar and Snuff Dealer. Trade Card (date unknown)
Illustrated industrial artifacts such as the above advert for a Birmingham tobacco dealer can often reveal underlying attitudes toward ...
Baptism register of St John's, Deritend
The first evidence we have of a travelling family in Birmingham comes from a baptism register of 1705/6. Although people associate travellers with images of colourful caravans, travelling homes were often ...
Birmingham's First Jewish Synagogue
William Hutton's 'History of Birmingham' (1780).
This interesting description of Birmingham’s first Jewish synagogue is important as it marks one of the first published accounts of Jewish life in Birmingham. ...
Black Abolitionists in Birmingham
The following pages give an introduction to some of the black abolitionists who came into contact with Birmingham. They not only campaigned against slavery and for the rights of their own race, but for ...
Blue Coat Charity School Apprenticeship Indenture
Joseph Eadley would have entered the Blue Coat School when he was 7 years old. The entrance age was increased to 9 in 1819. The School later arranged for children to be apprenticed. Joseph was apprenticed ...
Blue Coat Charity School Apprenticeship Indenture
Mary Taylor would have entered the Blue Coat School when she was 7 years old. The entrance age was increased to 9 in 1819. The School later arranged for children to be apprenticed. Mary was apprenticed ...
Cross-dressing
Vesta Tilley (1864-1952) was born as Matilda Powles, in Worcester, and was performing in music hall by the age of four. She was one of the most well known and highly paid music hall artists of her time ...
Drawing of a Church by Jessy Watt
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
Early Jewish Presence In Birmingham
‘A House Inhabited by Jews’ (1750).
In one Birmingham’s early ‘levy books’, a number of Jews can be seen living together as early as 1750. This is an important piece of evidence. It proves that ...
Isaiah Phillips
Portrait of Rabbi Isaiah Phillips, a minister of the early Birmingham Hebrew Congregation between 1785-1835. Phillips was known to have lived on Hurst Street, part of the early Jewish district of Birmingham. ...
James Bissett ( 1762?- 1832)
Submitted by Mike Hunkin, Birmingham Archives and Heritage
James Bisset was born in the city of Perth, Scotland, around the year 1762. Not a great deal is known about his early life and family background. ...
Levy Book-1750 (full view)
Complete view of the Levy Book (1750) containing the Jewish lodging house. Notice that we are not given actual 'street names' in this early picture of Birmingham life; we are simply told 'New Street Quarter'. ...
Staff Recommends: 'Migration Stories'
This is an additional miscellaneous resource list of materials on the subject of ‘migration stories’. Each item was suggested by the staff of Birmingham's Archives and Heritage Services during research ...
'The Froggery'
A Trade Directory of Birmingham (1775).
This entry in Birmingham’s very first 'Trade Directory' (1775) tells us about some of the early occupations being developed in a place once known as the ‘froggery’. ...
The House that Jack Built. A diverting story for children of all ages
The earliest books written specifically for children were educational. In the late 19th century children’s literature tended to be limited to the middle and upper classes. However with the development ...