‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards
Social reformers like Charles Dickens and Mary Carpenter in the 19th century, and Robert Sherard in the 20th were concerned that being out on the street put children in moral and physical danger. They ...
‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards
‘Children of the poor’ taken on an outing of the Birmingham Cinderella Club to Sutton Park by J. Crwys Richards
‘Inspector and Starved Child', National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Birmingham Branch Fourth Annual Report
In the late 19th century many children were seen as victims, not of the cruelty of the workplace, but of their parents and neighbours. The NSPCC entered the homes of the poor to expose instances of cruelty. ...
A Home for the Association
As the organisation's work grew it became essential to acquire somewhere to accommodate its activities and provide a focal point within the local community.
The Sparkbrook Association's premises were ...
Advertisement for the Women's Social and Political Union
‘The Rights of Woman’, what are they?
The right her husband to obey,
The right to show forth all her life
How proud she is to be a wife!
The right, oh, noble destiny!
The daughter of a man to be.
The ...
Birmingham Boys and Girls Union Report
The caption underneath this photograph of boys who attended the junior boys club organised by the Birmingham Boys and Girls Union illustrates the anxieties that many middle-class reformers had about working-class ...
Birmingham China Town Lions Club
Photograph by Terry Lo.
Birmingham Chinese Elders Concern Group
Photograph by Terry Lo.
Black People Against State Brutality
Flyers were an important medium for publicising Indian Workers Association campaigns. Many were quite unsophisticated in appearance due to the limited printing resources and technology available to the ...
Brigitte Winsor: Photographs of the St Patrick's Day Parade
Photographs of the procession through Digbeth, Birmingham, by Brigitte Winsor.
The St Patrick's Day Parade in Birmingham started in 1952 and is now the World's largest after New York and Dublin.
On ...
Cellar Youth Club
Cellar Youth Club was based in the cellar at the Sparkbrook Association's headquarters in Braithwaite Road. The youth club was decorated by its members and was opened in 1962.
Many young people from ...
Children Playing at the Botanical Gardens
Holidays were mainly the preserve of the middle classes in the late nineteenth century – the poor had very little time off and very little spare money to spend. A public park therefore provided a unique ...
Connaught Gardens, Balsall Heath
Photograph by Terry Lo.
Creating Space for Play
The Sparkbrook Association's interest in child development and welfare led to the opening of a number of playgroups. Playgroups were places mothers and fathers could bring their children to play alongside ...
Cultural Performance
This is a flyer, dating from the 1960's, promoting Indian Independence celebrations organised by the Birmingham branch of the Indian Workers Association at the Midland Institute.
Many cultural performances ...
Ecole Belge
Leaflet appealing for money to continue the Belgian School, June 1918
Although some of the Belgian children attended local schools, the ‘Ecole Belge’ or Belgian Primary School opened in Birmingham on ...
Highlighting Housing Need
The Sparkbrook newsletter became an important space for local residents to express their thoughts about living in Sparkbrook. This edition from 1965 includes an article by a 'Sparkbrook Resident' which ...