Historical Birmingham coffin works to be turned into small business centre

A 19TH century coffin works in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is set to be transformed into a base for up and coming businesses after securing the funding necessary to start work.

The £2m project to revamp the Grade II listed Newman Brothers Coffin Fitting Works in Fleet Street will receive more than £200,000 after successfully applying to the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) for support from the Growing Places Fund.

The Growing Places fund is designed to get stalled infrastructure projects moving again, unlocking developments and enabling the delivery of new jobs, commercial space and homes.

The Newman Brothers project is being delivered by Birmingham Conservation Trust, which took over ownership of the building in 2010. Since then, it has put together a funding package including Birmingham City Council, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Opened in 1894, the works was once the best in the world and made fittings for the coffins of Winston Churchill, Joseph Chamberlain and the Queen Mother.
Many of these handles, breast-plates, crucifixes and shrouds, were left behind when the business shut in 1999.

Now, after almost 15 years in disuse, the future of the works will be as a base for SMEs.

Commercial units will be created in the three-storey building that will also be the new home for Birmingham Conservation Trust and a heritage attraction which will build on the Jewellery Quarter’s existing tourism links.

As a result of the final piece of funding from the GBSLEP, work can now start on the project and will be complete next year.

Paul Heaven, GBSLEP board director and chair of the Growing Places Fund committee, said: “The Newman Brothers building is a historical gem and I’m delighted the deal could be struck for the Growing Places Fund to bring it back into use.

“It’s also great that the determination shown by the partners involved in the Newman Brothers project, against some significant set backs down the years, is now being rewarded.

“This is a scheme that is ready to go and can, in a relatively short period of time, be delivering jobs and growth opportunities and I would like developers who have similar schemes that might benefit from Growing Places funding to come forward.”