The History
During the Industrial Revolution, Birmingham became the West Midlands’ centre for metal-working. Besides heavy metal goods like cast iron, the town also became famous for fine jewellery.
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, UK. Situated in the north western area of the Birmingham City Centre, there is a population of around 19,000 people in a 1.07-square-kilometre (264-acre) area.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade, and produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. It is also home to the world's largest Assay Office, which hallmarks around 12 million items a year. Historically the Jewellery Quarter has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology.
At its peak in the early 1900s the Jewellery Quarter employed over 30,000 people, however due to foreign competition and lack of demand, the industry declined throughout the 20th century. The area is now being transformed into an urban village and hub for creative businesses, whilst maintaining its urban fabric. Its historical importance has led to numerous conservation schemes and it is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
If you wish to read more about the Jewellery Quarter check out this link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewellery_Quarter
The building Pickering and Mayell Ltd, known as Reliance Works, was built in around 1826, originally as a pair of houses (Nos.41-42) with rear workshops. Early occupants included the noted Birmingham silversmiths George Unite and Nathaniel Mills. The company of Pickering and Mayell has occupied the premises since circa 1900.
They were a packaging firm who made and supplied cases for jewellery.
On the sign on Kenyon Street it also states that they manufactured window display fittings, trays and pads.
The firm occupied the building from 1913 until 2012 when the company merged with the Talbot group and moved to new premises which I’m sure you will agree is a lot less interesting.
However you do have to wonder what treasures and trinkets lay behind those upper floor windows.
The Talbots Group merged the Pickering & Mayell business into Talbots (Birmingham) Limited, the Shop in Caroline Street closed for trading on Wednesday 15th February 2012. The new showroom opened in Princip Street on Monday 20th February 2012.
There is very little to be found as to whom Pickering and Mayell were but Mrs Maud Marjory Pickering did receive an MBE in 1959 JP for Women’s Voluntary Services.
The Reliance works itself is Grade II listed, here’s a few details from the listing:-
MATERIALS: Red brick with bracketed eaves to a hipped slate roof and plain band corniced chimneys.
PLAN: Rectangular plan comprising a pair of former dwellings with workshop ranges extending to the rear.
EXTERIOR: Near-symmetrical three-storeyed frontage of four bays onto Caroline Street. The fenestration consists of revealed sash windows, some of which retain their glazing bars. A panel above the first floor windows reads `PICKERING & MAYELL LTD / RELIANCE WORKS'. The north return (Kenyon Street) of the attached workshop ranges which extend from the rear of both houses retains some original wooden-framed multi-pane windows.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: To the front (west) are cast-iron railings with crescent heads of distinctive Birmingham type.
REASON FOR DESIGNATION: 42 Caroline Street is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Early-C19 dwellings with rear workshops that retains the distinctive architectural and plan form characteristics of a jewellery-manufactory building
* Strong group value with other listed jewellery manufactory buildings
* It exemplifies the early pattern of development of a manufacturing district of Birmingham now considered to be of international significance
The workers hard at it in the busy days of The Reliance works
The Explore
Having looked at this a number of times and pretty much given it up as a lost cause, I found myself one Friday lunchtime looking at it again on google earth.
Then it hit me
I had a small Eureka moment that Archimedes himself would have been proud of I knew how I’d get in
Or at least I hoped so
So I finished work on Friday afternoon, Picked up my companion for this trip and made the oh so familiar trip up to Birmingham.
Now the reasons behind the various failures at The Reliance works are easy to list:-
A large security company are based on the opposite side of the road and come and go all day and night.
A hairdresser happens to have their base in the building next door.
A busy Taxi rank operates over the road on the front side.
The flats to the other side are always busy and seem to be party central
One previous plan involved these flats and the roof garden they have. However we never manged to follow anyone onto the flats to climb the stairs and try this plan.
So we arrived in Caroline Street at a little after 11pm and had a quick look around, yup the security company were active so another place to park was chosen.
Hmmm the Taxi rank was also full of drivers chatting loudly.
Well they were preoccupied so it gave us a chance to check my planned way in.
Woo-hoo it looked like a goer!!
So I did what any decent explorer would do and texted a local mate.
It went something like this
MR: Yo
MR: U awake?
@clebby: Yessir
MR: Busy?
@clebby: In bed
MR: Get dressed, I’ll be there in 10, I know how to do Pickering & Mayell
@clebby: Grrrrrrrrrr
I briefly explained the plan to Clebby and picked him up and headed back.
Within a few minutes I was in and opening a door up for Clebby and my non-member companion.
We had a quick look around and then headed off to get some kip.
The next morning we picked Clebby up and head back.
We let ourselves in and proceeded to wander around the place getting excited about various bits and bobs.
Now it wasn’t the old machinery wankfest we had hoped for but it was still a lovely building oooozing vintage charm.
Enjoy the pics
The outside with its hand painted “ghost signs” and stunning painted glass window
These cast iron letter boxes can be found all over the jewellery quarter and were cast locally
The shop itself was typical of a boring modern shop with very little to see.
Leading on from the back of the shop was this great little corridor complete with a beautiful Minton tiled floor.
We headed upstairs only to find this stunning sign written Warehouse & Enquires door, sadly it only led to a plasterboard wall where the building had at some point been modernised.
During the Industrial Revolution, Birmingham became the West Midlands’ centre for metal-working. Besides heavy metal goods like cast iron, the town also became famous for fine jewellery.
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, UK. Situated in the north western area of the Birmingham City Centre, there is a population of around 19,000 people in a 1.07-square-kilometre (264-acre) area.
The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade, and produces 40% of all the jewellery made in the UK. It is also home to the world's largest Assay Office, which hallmarks around 12 million items a year. Historically the Jewellery Quarter has been the birthplace of many pioneering advancements in industrial technology.
At its peak in the early 1900s the Jewellery Quarter employed over 30,000 people, however due to foreign competition and lack of demand, the industry declined throughout the 20th century. The area is now being transformed into an urban village and hub for creative businesses, whilst maintaining its urban fabric. Its historical importance has led to numerous conservation schemes and it is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
If you wish to read more about the Jewellery Quarter check out this link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewellery_Quarter
The building Pickering and Mayell Ltd, known as Reliance Works, was built in around 1826, originally as a pair of houses (Nos.41-42) with rear workshops. Early occupants included the noted Birmingham silversmiths George Unite and Nathaniel Mills. The company of Pickering and Mayell has occupied the premises since circa 1900.
They were a packaging firm who made and supplied cases for jewellery.
On the sign on Kenyon Street it also states that they manufactured window display fittings, trays and pads.
The firm occupied the building from 1913 until 2012 when the company merged with the Talbot group and moved to new premises which I’m sure you will agree is a lot less interesting.
However you do have to wonder what treasures and trinkets lay behind those upper floor windows.
The Talbots Group merged the Pickering & Mayell business into Talbots (Birmingham) Limited, the Shop in Caroline Street closed for trading on Wednesday 15th February 2012. The new showroom opened in Princip Street on Monday 20th February 2012.
There is very little to be found as to whom Pickering and Mayell were but Mrs Maud Marjory Pickering did receive an MBE in 1959 JP for Women’s Voluntary Services.
The Reliance works itself is Grade II listed, here’s a few details from the listing:-
MATERIALS: Red brick with bracketed eaves to a hipped slate roof and plain band corniced chimneys.
PLAN: Rectangular plan comprising a pair of former dwellings with workshop ranges extending to the rear.
EXTERIOR: Near-symmetrical three-storeyed frontage of four bays onto Caroline Street. The fenestration consists of revealed sash windows, some of which retain their glazing bars. A panel above the first floor windows reads `PICKERING & MAYELL LTD / RELIANCE WORKS'. The north return (Kenyon Street) of the attached workshop ranges which extend from the rear of both houses retains some original wooden-framed multi-pane windows.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: To the front (west) are cast-iron railings with crescent heads of distinctive Birmingham type.
REASON FOR DESIGNATION: 42 Caroline Street is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Early-C19 dwellings with rear workshops that retains the distinctive architectural and plan form characteristics of a jewellery-manufactory building
* Strong group value with other listed jewellery manufactory buildings
* It exemplifies the early pattern of development of a manufacturing district of Birmingham now considered to be of international significance
The workers hard at it in the busy days of The Reliance works
The Explore
Having looked at this a number of times and pretty much given it up as a lost cause, I found myself one Friday lunchtime looking at it again on google earth.
Then it hit me
I had a small Eureka moment that Archimedes himself would have been proud of I knew how I’d get in
Or at least I hoped so
So I finished work on Friday afternoon, Picked up my companion for this trip and made the oh so familiar trip up to Birmingham.
Now the reasons behind the various failures at The Reliance works are easy to list:-
A large security company are based on the opposite side of the road and come and go all day and night.
A hairdresser happens to have their base in the building next door.
A busy Taxi rank operates over the road on the front side.
The flats to the other side are always busy and seem to be party central
One previous plan involved these flats and the roof garden they have. However we never manged to follow anyone onto the flats to climb the stairs and try this plan.
So we arrived in Caroline Street at a little after 11pm and had a quick look around, yup the security company were active so another place to park was chosen.
Hmmm the Taxi rank was also full of drivers chatting loudly.
Well they were preoccupied so it gave us a chance to check my planned way in.
Woo-hoo it looked like a goer!!
So I did what any decent explorer would do and texted a local mate.
It went something like this
MR: Yo
MR: U awake?
@clebby: Yessir
MR: Busy?
@clebby: In bed
MR: Get dressed, I’ll be there in 10, I know how to do Pickering & Mayell
@clebby: Grrrrrrrrrr
I briefly explained the plan to Clebby and picked him up and headed back.
Within a few minutes I was in and opening a door up for Clebby and my non-member companion.
We had a quick look around and then headed off to get some kip.
The next morning we picked Clebby up and head back.
We let ourselves in and proceeded to wander around the place getting excited about various bits and bobs.
Now it wasn’t the old machinery wankfest we had hoped for but it was still a lovely building oooozing vintage charm.
Enjoy the pics
The outside with its hand painted “ghost signs” and stunning painted glass window
These cast iron letter boxes can be found all over the jewellery quarter and were cast locally
The shop itself was typical of a boring modern shop with very little to see.
Leading on from the back of the shop was this great little corridor complete with a beautiful Minton tiled floor.
We headed upstairs only to find this stunning sign written Warehouse & Enquires door, sadly it only led to a plasterboard wall where the building had at some point been modernised.
