Birmingham’s manufacturing heritage to be be catalogued in new museums project
BIRMINGHAM’S unique manufacturing heritage is to be recalled in a new project being implemented by the Birmingham Museums Trust.
The ‘Birmingham Manufactures’ project will identify items in the Birmingham Museums Trust collection that relate to known Birmingham manufacturers and their products, with the oldest objects dating back to the 17th Century.
Historic and iconic items include products from the likes of Cadbury’s, Boulton & Watt, Austin Motors, Elkington’s, BSA and Bird’s.
The project, which will lead to the creation of two new jobs, has been made possible from the award to the trust of £87,000 of Arts Council funding.
The project will explore in more depth the fascinating history of the city’s prime industry and the many truly great innovations that it is responsible for.
Birmingham achieved global significance through its leading role in the birth of the Industrial Revolution and its reputation as the ‘City of a Thousand Trades’ was well merited.
Producing everything from the finest jewellery to cars and aeroplanes, the dominance of its products helped to make Britain a manufacturing powerhouse with its products exported across the world.
Funded by the Arts Council’s Designation scheme, the investment will be used to recognise the trust’s priceless collection of objects in order to create an easily accessible electronic record of them all. This will be a fully searchable internal database with images of all objects.
As the database develops, the aim is to catalogue and promote better knowledge of Birmingham’s manufacturing heritage and the influence the firms within it have exerted both over the industry and the city.
It is hoped the project will also encourage more academic research into the topic.
Running until March 2018, the project will launch in October and the two new posts – a research assistant and a documentation assistant – will be based at the Museum Collections Centre in Nechells, which holds 80% of Birmingham Museums’ stored collections.
Items within the collection cover the whole spectrum of manufactured goods. They include: the Austin Mini, an engine produced by Boulton & Watt, a First World War Lewis machine gun made by BSA (Birmingham Small Arms), decorative glass exported to India in the 19th century made by F & C Osler, a panel formerly displayed at the Elkington & Co factory and a tin of Bird’s custard.
Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “Our Designation Development Funding is about making the most of England’s important museum collections, which is why we’re delighted to be investing in Birmingham Museums Trust’s latest plans.
“Birmingham’s rich industrial history is woven into our nation’s cultural fabric with many familiar household names created and produced in the city. It will be great to see our funding making these historical collections more widely available for people to enjoy today and in the future.”
Jo-Ann Curtis, History Curator at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “Manufacturing is at the heart of Birmingham’s heritage as it became an industrial powerhouse in the 18th Century, gaining a worldwide reputation.
“The items in our collection give a great sense of how manufacturers have influenced and shaped the city, and this funding will help to ensure key information about these companies is preserved and becomes more easily accessible for generations to come.
“We are very grateful to Arts Council England for supporting us to bring this project to life and helping us to keep Birmingham’s manufacturing history alive.”
The Arts Council’s Designation Development Fund recognises the importance of excellent collections and provides funding for projects that ensure their long-term sustainability and maximise their public value.
