Report - Ahronsberg Bros, Goldsmith and Jewellers Birmingham. June 2016

[dweeb]

The Century Buildings are a vacant factory, built around 1901, to a design by Hipkiss Stephens of Birmingham. It incorporated a dwelling of around 1794, and has some later 20th century alterations and additions. The building itself is Grade II listed.

The 1794 house is thought to have been built for the Oughton family, and was occupied from around 1810 by Henry Adcock, a jeweller, gilt toy maker and button and bead manufacturer. In 1901, the site was purchased by Messrs. Ahronsberg Brothers, jewellers, who converted the premises to a goldsmiths and jewellery factory.

In recent years, the building has stood empty, having only accommodated short term tenants before. Plans are now afoot to convert the buildings into 46 student flats.

Cheers for Speed for the heads up this had come good. A good example of a works which has grown around a Georgian house, and now has sections which span three centuries.

The downstairs sections which would have been seen by customers has been modernized in the 70's (in itself quite interesting and delightfully dated) but the actual works is oh so typical of a jewelers in the fact it does not seem to have had a lick of paint for the past thirty or forty years.

A beautiful iron spiral staircase runs from basement to top floor through the offices. As with most buildings of this style it is a proper warren of stairs, odd shaped rooms and corridors.

Although "this will be the last" has become something of a cliche there can't be that many of these places left in the jewelry quarter, so it was quite a treat to get to see another un-modernized example.

Plating shop

Caged skylight, preventing theft of gold from above!

1871 newspaper scrap from under the floor

 

[dweeb]

Taken through a window of a locked door... that Tansad chair is moulding up nicely away from the hand of man!

Similar set up here to frosts where prospective customers would have been shown to one of the offices to meet a sales rep behind a desk... a security precaution I guess seeing as they were dealing in gold.

I'm guessing these doors were once at the front facing the main entrance, but got relegated to behind the scenes in the 70's refit. Not quite the stained glass epic of Frost's, but a nice quality touch.

The walk in safe was lovely, with wooden cupboards each containing a paper label detailing which items of jewellery were stored inside

 

[Oxygen Thief]

What's with all the different company names ?

 

[dweeb]

What's with all the different company names ?

I think it got split up a very long time ago... so several smaller firms were using the one building, There were no real clear divisions though!

 

[kyle bickley]

Location or a hint pls?

 

[Speed]

Birmingham

 

[dweeb]

Just something of interest relating to the "1 / 2" doors. I recently weighed some gold scrap in and it seems that that system is still very much in use. After telling the receptionist of my business, a light comes on over one of the doors which indicates the door is unlocked. Once inside the transaction is conducted in private.I must say sadly the doors these days are not as finely etched!!