Over the next three months Oliver Architecture will oversee building surveys which will determine repair costs to save the building as well as presenting us with three viable options for potential re-use. At that stage we hope to take the preferred option forward to the next stage of grant funding.

This is why the feasibility stage is so important and we are grateful for the grant funding secured from Historic England, W A Cadbury and Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF). Without this, finding a viable future for this building would be impossible to achieve. But with solid stats behind us, this will give us the concrete evidence we need to build on the work being undertaken this summer and move the project forward.

Over the next few months BCT and Oliver Architecture will be undertaking public consultation on community engagement days around the city, but also inside Cannon Hill Park itself.

As part of this feasibility study BCT will also be focussing on research into the Golden Lion, specifically by commissioning a building archaeology report, primary source research, as well as dendrochronology to ascertain an accurate timeline to date the building. This is the first time work of this sort has been carried out on the Golden Lion, so we expect to discover much about this it that has been lost to history.

Matt Faber, Associate said:

“After walking past the Golden Lion for many years and even visiting myself when it was open to the public, this is a dream project, and Oliver Architecture are extremely excited to be playing a part in finding a viable future for this building.’   

Benjamin Parker , BCT Trust Chair of Trustees said:

We feel privileged to be at the helm of finding a solution for this much-loved building and from our site visits over the past three months, it’s clear to see how saving the Golden Lion is also the priority of the many park users we’ve spoken to. Half of the battle when leading a project like this is finding support for it, but we have it in abundance and this will be key to the future use of the Golden Lion.

Special thanks to Birmingham City Council for allowing access to the Golden Lion to facilitate work leading up to this appointment.  

That’s exactly what it did with the Coffin Works back in 2024; it was brought it back to life by finding a new use for it as a museum. While BCT previously sold the buildings it regenerated (as with the Birmingham Back-to-Backs, selling them to the National Trust) this time it decided to keep the flagship Coffin Works and run it instead. We changed our business model and with that came some challenges.

While it’s not easy finding money to regenerate old buildings, it’s often underestimated how challenging it is to run that building and turn it into a successful enterprise after its restored. That’s what we discovered with the Coffin Works and while we focussed on making it a self-sustaining business, this meant that BCT had to take a back seat.

But now we’re really pleased to say that BCT is back and we’re in a good position to take on new projects, well one project at a time! And our latest project is the Golden Lion in Cannon Hill Park.

A bit of history on the Golden Lion

The Golden Lion was built in the 16^th century and once stood on Deritend High Street.

It’s believed that it was constructed sometime between 1570 and 1590, as the guildhall or associated building for the Chapel of St John, Deritend. We’re not entirely sure of its original purpose, but from the 1730s we first find documented evidence of it becoming an ‘inn’ and it continued as a public house until the 1890s.

It was bought in 1853 by Birmingham Solicitor, Thomas Simcox and at that point was described as ‘the interesting, but dilapidated old structure.’

Nevertheless, it continued as a public house until the 1890s when the trail starts to go cold. Its history until 1910 is less well documented. It’s at this stage that history repeats itself, as residents of Birmingham we’re campaigning for the same outcome that we’re fighting for over 100 years later: to not lose this piece of ‘old Birmingham’.

From 1909 there appears to have been a movement to save the Golden Lion from demolition. Indeed a letter sent to the ‘editors of the Birmingham Daily Post’ criticises the poor efforts of town councillors for allowing the ‘relic of old Brum’ to be left to wrack and ruin:

“it is a strange view on the commentary our councillors hold of their duties that…a hundred or two is grudged to preserve a unique specimen of our forefathers’ consummate taste and skill that would delight many succeeding generations and do themselves perpetual honour.”

The Golden Lion was saved from demolition on account of the efforts of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society who subsequently paid for it to be moved to Cannon Hill Park in 1911.

Not only is it a remarkable survival of a timber-framed building from the city centre, it’s also a pioneering example of saving a building through relocation.

Following its reconstruction in Cannon Hill Park the Golden Lion was for many years used as a cricket pavilion. Sadly, the building has been empty and unused for well over 20 years and so for the second time in its history it is at risk of destruction.

What do we hope to do?

Birmingham Conservation Trust is working with a range of partners to secure the future of the building. Thanks to grants from Historic England, the W.A.Cadbury Charitable Trust and Architectural Heritage Fund, the first phase of the project will start in spring 2024. This phase will involve a detailed feasibility study to assess the condition of the building and to establish the cost of repairs to enable it to be brought back into use.

Once we have all of this information we will be in a far better position to progress a full restoration project. If we are able to secure the necessary funding through grants and donations, it is hoped that restoration work on site will start in 2025.

Look out for blogs coming soon!

Sarah Hayes Museum Director

These are the first steps in giving the building a new lease of life so that it can be used and enjoyed by the local community. The work will include a measured survey, conservation plan, management and maintenance plan, timber decay survey, dendrochronology, and asbestos, ecological and tree surveys.

Louise Brennan, Regional Director (Midlands) for Historic England said: “It’s wonderful to be part of this collaborative project to bring the Golden Lion Inn back from the brink. We’re really proud that we can start the process of restoration and renewal with this crucial project development grant. These works are a vital first step in securing the future of this storied landmark for the people of Birmingham and bringing it back into use”.

Richard Garside, Chair of Board of Trustees at Birmingham Conservation Trust said: “Birmingham Conservation Trust (BCT} has been rescuing buildings at risk in the city since 1977. The last building completed was the Newman Brothers Coffin Works, opened in 2014 and now an award-winning museum and our home. The Golden Lion, a much-loved and historically significant building presents a wonderful opportunity for BCT to continue the Trust’s commitment to conservation of the city’s built heritage.”

The timber framed former pub was originally located in Deritend. It was a pub until 1911 when the building was moved by the Birmingham Archaeological Society to Cannon Hill Park to be used as a cricket pavilion and refreshment room. In 1912 the building was targeted by Suffragettes who threw oil on the building and set it alight during the night. The fire was discovered by park staff who put the fire out before severe damage was done.

The building has been out of use and closed to the public for more than 20 years and, given its prominent location within the park, has long been an object of fascination and frustration for the local community and park users. Once the project development works have been carried out, and the costs of restoration and refurbishment established, work will begin to establish a plan for the future of the site.

Birmingham Conservation Trust are looking to work with Birmingham City Council and community groups for an initial scoping phase to explore options for the future of the building which will benefit the local community. The project is the first Historic England grant in Birmingham since Birmingham City Council’s Section 114 declaration.

Birmingham City Council have agreed to Birmingham Conservation Trust managing the grant for project development as a significant first step so that future funding for the building can be secured.

Ends.

For further press information please contact: Jay Jackson at Historic England on 07443 368078 or email jay.jackson@historicengland.org.uk

The gentleman is trying to assemble information on the Tildesley [Cycles] Limited company.

He has been unable to find much factual information on the Internet apart from but from a Tildesley 1954 Catalogue which is included on the Veteran Cycle Club‘s online archive.

The only information that he has confirmed is that the correct name of the company is : Tildesley (Cycles) Limited and they were located at Planet Works in Steward Street, Birmingham 18. Later Post Code B187AE.

He’s unsure when the company was formed. It has been suggested that it might have been immediately prior to WW2, but he suspects that it was during the late 1940′, possibly the early 1950’s.

There also doesn’t appear to be any indication of when the company ceased trading.

Do you know anything about the firm? Did you work for them? If you could help us provide the gentleman with any information about this company then please use the comments below or drop us a line!

Much has been written about these buildings that were erected as a temporary measure in 1945. They still stand today and I’m sure that the walls could tell many tales about life therein. As a resident for over 20 years, I’ve gathered my thoughts and hope that you’ll find them interesting.

We were the first occupants of one of the prefabs, having moved from rented accommodation near Moseley Road Baths. My father wasn’t a well man, suffering from TB and I understand that this moved us up the housing list. I was nearing two years old when we moved in November 1945 and it was my brother’s fourth birthday. Mother must have been very busy, what with two small sons and a sick husband.

Although I was too young to recall the story, I remember my mother telling me that German POWs laid the paving slabs outside the prefabs in 1946 and ‘Fritz’ was talking to me and me to him. We couldn’t understand each other though! I believe that German POWs were still in the UK until 1948.

Sadly, my father died in 1947 and I too suffered with TB which meant long spells of lying in the garden to ‘take in the fresh air’. It obviously worked! All through the bitterly cold winter of 1946/47 life must have been especially difficult for Mother. I’ve read about fuel and power shortages and snow on the ground well into ’47. Rationing was still around as well but the good thing about those days was how neighbours supported each other. I’m referring here to the prefab people as the residents in the private houses opposite didn’t have any contact with us for as long as I lived there. I remember prefab neighbours sharing ‘a cup of sugar’ or a ‘bucket of coal’ occasionally.

As I grew up, I began to take stock of the prefab’s interior and, contrary to what I’ve read about them being designed to give a “Cottage feel” they failed on that count.   For their overall size, they were well designed but, boy, were they cold in the winter and difficult to heat! We had a small coal fire in the lounge with a back boiler and a forced hot air system that was supposed to feed to the bedrooms but it didn’t work. The walls were very thin – just plasterboard – and the windows were made from galvanised metal. On cold days, ice would form on the inside of the windows.

The kitchens were quite well laid out with an electric cooker and washing boiler and later on, a fridge was fitted; there were fitted cupboards as well. The clothes wringer was kept outside near the back door. We ate at a table in the kitchen most days with the lounge table being used for special occasions. We had meals cooked on a very restricted budget and of course rationing was still around in our early days. I recall the mincer being used on Mondays to use up Sunday’s left overs and we’d have those old staples like bread and butter pudding and spotted dick for pud. What’s happened to those?

The lounge and bedrooms had fitted cupboards and wardrobes and the hallway had a cupboard by the front door and an airing cupboard next to the bathroom. The toilet was separate.

Milk was delivered by TASCOS and our ‘divi’ number was written on the wall by the back door by Ted the delivery man. I remember WACADEN also delivering milk in the road using a horse and cart. Maturi’s van would visit occasionally to offer a knife and lawn mower sharpening service. And I’ll never forget the rag and bone man with his horse drawn cart coming down the road shouting “Rag Bone”.

For entertainment, we had an ECKO radio that received the Home Service and the Light Programme. I can recall listening to programmes like Children’s Favourites with Uncle Mac when kids always wanted to hear Sparky the Piano!  We’d also listen to Educating Archie (a ventriloquist on the radio!), The Goon Show and on Sunday lunchtimes, Two Way Family Favourites. We didn’t have a TV until about 1958 and that was rented. A telephone was never installed in our prefab and my brother recalls one being put into one a few doors down which needed BT to put in their own telegraph pole! There was a Fire Service alarm box on the pavement outside No 427, painted red of course, and I believe it was put there as the nearest telephone box was too far away. Actually there was a telephone box at the top of Brook Lane hill. I can’t recall the red box ever being used or any fires in the prefabs.

We did get broken prefab once but as we didn’t have anything of value, the burglars picked the wrong one! They robbed the electric coin meter and took my college brief case as well. Some use that would be!

On a lighter note, I remember a story of one neighbour lying in bed and seeing a mouse in the hallway. He picked up his size 11 boot and threw it, missed and hit the wall with such a thump it made a hole in it, such was the weakness of the wall!

The River Cole would occasionally flood over the road at the bottom of Brook Lane at Coleside Avenue. We’d put our wellies on and help push stranded cars out. Some would tip us. As for pedestrians, we helped them by taking some orange boxes and setting them up as stepping stones. The tips helped towards our firework fund.

In all the years of living in the prefab – I moved out on my wedding day in 1969 – I never once envied those who lived in bigger or more permanent houses. Would I go back to living in one? I don’t think so as they were cold, draughty and must have cost a fortune in electricity bills. Don’t get me wrong, we were grateful of a good home to move into and a ‘home’ we made it. We were detached, had good honest neighbours and lived in a good area of Birmingham. The lessons I learnt in those days stood me in good stead for the rest of my life. Both my brother and I managed to move on to rewarding careers, in my case, one that enabled me to see many parts of the UK and the world. I’ll always be proud of my prefab days though.

Images by Ktphoto

Almost three years to the day since George and Elizabeth Cadbury’s former home in Manor Park was burnt down, the iconic building that has become known as the ‘Cadbury Barn’ was also destroyed by fire.

The wooden barn built in 1896 by George Cadbury was on the other side of the park but, in those days before the large trees that exist today had grown, it would have been visible from their house.

George and his brother Richard were well known 19^th century businessmen who began their chocolate making business in the centre of Birmingham before establishing a factory in leafy Bournville. They were staunch Quakers whose religious beliefs pervaded their working life and their paternalistic approach ensured good working and living conditions for their employees.

George’s work in the Adult Schools and Elizabeth’s concern for women’s issues and hospital work meant that they never lost touch with how the working classes lived. They knew that life in the centre of Birmingham was becoming increasingly hard as industrialisation intensified, the green spaces disappeared and the air became more polluted. The working day was long, wages were low and the Cadburys knew that inner city families’ lives were very different from their own.

In an effort to alleviate this, if only for a day, they organised parties at their home. These started when they lived at Woodbrooke, a large house surrounded by woods about a mile away from the Cadbury works at Bournville. They erected a large tent in the garden and the children enjoyed playing games, eating tea and roaming through the trees. In 1894, they moved across the Bristol Road to Northfield Manor House, set in Manor Farm, where they decided to continue and expand their hospitality.

In 1895 George Cadbury applied for planning permission to build new farm buildings to improve the efficiency of the farm, included in which was a large barn, that was to be used, not for the farm, but for parties. Later that year on Thursday June 20^th, 500 children from Stirchley School came for the first party and enjoyed tea in the barn and games in the park.

The barn was wooden with a metal framework held in place with chains. The floor was tiled in red and grey terracotta with one entrance at the back and a larger wider door and wide windows looking over the park. The external walls were covered with a rustic decoration which mirrored a similar barn on the Girls’ Recreation Ground just opposite the Bournville works.

The Barn could seat up to 700 people at a time and in some years as many as 25.000 children and adults enjoyed the Cadbury hospitality. They came from Birmingham and the Black Country by tram, bus, by canal or on foot from Adult Schools, Sunday Schools, Mother’s Union, Brownie Revels and Scout Jamborees and many other children’s groups. These parties became almost legendary, providing so many people with happy memories that seem to have lasted a lifetime.

When possible George or Elizabeth liked to attend the parties to make a welcoming speech or just watch the fun.

In September 1939, the use of the Barn changed as the spectre of the 2^nd World War became reality. The Barn and some of the adjacent farm buildings became the training camp for the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU). This unit had originally been formed during the 1^st World War in 1914 when a group of Quakers decided that, although their religious beliefs prevented them from fighting, they wanted to make their contribution to the war effort and offered their services alongside the troops alleviating the suffering that the war caused. Amongst these Quakers was Elizabeth Cadbury’s son Laurence, who joined an early training camp in Buckinghamshire which was to become the foundation point of the Unit.

The Unit was disbanded in 1919 but when the 2^nd World War broke out it was re-formed. Training facilities had to be found and Elizabeth Cadbury was quick to donate the Barn at Manor Farm for use as a training camp.

The farm buildings were cleaned and altered to provide living accommodation and the Barn itself was used for the training. The fields, woods and large lake made it ideal for field training. During the course of the war over 1000 men were trained there undertaking 6 week courses before being transferred all over the world.

Many written and a few oral testimonies remain of the FAU training at the Barn. The majority of them are favourable, with happy memories of the friendship and camaraderie that developed. At this time of intense patriotism, the Conscientious Objector was often shunned or badly treated but here they found support and respect amongst others who shared the same philosophy. On a lighter note they recounted how local people, including some Cadbury members took them into their homes on occasions for hot baths and coffee or a good meal.

After the war the Barn was still used for a while as the FAU adapted to changing circumstances and became the Friends Ambulance Service/Post War Services which carried on until conscription ended.

The parties, that had been scaled down slightly during the war years resumed, with around twenty to thirty thousand people visiting the Barn each summer. Despite her advancing years Elizabeth Cadbury still liked to visit the parties to welcome the visitors or just chat to the children.

Then in 1951, after Dame Elizabeth Cadbury died, the farm was given to Birmingham City Council for use as a park. The Barn continued to be used for park visitors and groups for a while until it became a storage facility for the Parks department.

In recent years attempts had been made to find funding to restore the building but sadly this was unsuccessful.

Unfortunately in the early hours of the 31^st July, the barn caught fire and, despite the best efforts of five fire engines, they were unable to save it.

Words by Josephine Adams.

When Collections & Exhibitions Manager, Sarah Hayes started working behind the scenes at the museum in early 2014, she began the search for the royal link in the Newman Brothers’ archive, sifting through the company’s business records.

The key to the puzzle was first connecting Newman Brothers to the crown undertakers, J.H.Kenyon of London. This wasn’t difficult as the Newman Brothers’ business records were littered with entries of orders from the crown undertakers between the 1930s and the 1990s.  J. H. Kenyon Ltd performed royal funerals from 1928 to 1991, including the funerals of notable state officials such as Sir Winston Churchill. Newman Brothers had always claimed to have supplied the handles for the funerals of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, but the link initially seemed doubtful as Kenyon’s lost the royal contract in 1991, and Diana and the Queen Mother died in 1997 and 2002 respectively. It was also difficult to link Newman Brothers to the new royal undertakers, Levertons, who took over the contract, as much of Newman’s company archive from the 1990s is incomplete.

This all changed when Collections & Exhibitions Manager, Sarah Hayes, teamed up with funerary historian and expert, Dr Julian Litten, to produce a series of short films on the history of Newman Brothers.

Sarah Hayes, Collections & Exhibitions Manager said:

‘I knew that Julian had acted as advisor to the royal undertakers and that’s why I decided to contact him – to help with research in general, but also to ask him once and for all to confirm whether the royal link was true. All I can say is that it’s a good job we haven’t produced a guidebook yet, because it would have to be rewritten! Julian not only confirmed the link to Diana and the Queen Mother, but many other royals too, including George V and VI and Queen Mary. Even more interesting is that Kenyon’s chose the same Newman Brothers’ handle for all royal funerals – the cast brass gothic. This was reserved for Churchill too.

Speaking about how Julian became involved in the two royal funerals, he said:

‘It was on the strength of a telephone call from Leverton’s on the day that she (Diana) died. In essence it was “Help! This is our first royal funeral since receiving the royal warrant and we don’t know what to do.” I told them what to put on the coffin – only the cast brass gothic Newman Brothers’ handles would do. Apart from this, the only other member of the royal family for whose funeral I advised was that of the Queen Mother.’

In addition, Litten also said of the Newman Brothers’ collection:

“This collection represents a unique and internationally important resource for a wide variety of social, economic and industrial studies, and as such must be preserved for the nation.” 

Two short films have now been produced by the Coffin Works, in which Julian stars and confirms the many royal connections to Newman Brothers. You can view them online here:

https://vimeo.com/172808066

https://vimeo.com/172872185

 On July 19th 1881 Mayor Richard Chamberlain laid the foundation stone of Birmingham’s first municipal art gallery and museum. It was a significant moment in the town’s cultural history, the result of decades of petitioning and planning by the local community. Civic pride was at the heart of the campaign, a desire to show off all that the town had achieved in a relatively short space of time. Less than a century before the laying of the foundation stone Birmingham’s first historian, William Hutton, had penned a bleak description of narrow, muddy streets ‘puddled with stagnant water’. In Hutton’s time the products that came from Birmingham also had a poor reputation, with ‘Brummagem ware’ often used as a byword for badly made, cheap and flashy items. By the later nineteenth century all of this had changed and ‘the city of a thousand trades’ had gained an important place at the economic heart of the British Empire. It had become widely acknowledged that if an item was not made in Birmingham, then it was not made anywhere. The inscription on the foundation stone reads ‘By the gains of industry we promote Art’. In this succinct statement Birmingham presented itself as not only a giant of industrial innovation, but also as a national cultural leader.

The Smethwick Engine at Thinktank. Oldest working steam engine in the world and iconic of the Midlands Industrial Revolution.

In 1856 Charles Adderley donated 8 acres of his family’s ancestral home to the council and this became Birmingham’s first public park, free to use by everyone. There was also an intention to build a fully accessible museum and free library as part of this project. In April 1856, Aris’s Gazette advertised a fund raising sale of ‘fancy goods’ to support the project which, the article expressed, ‘is one that every reflecting person who has watched the rapid increase of this town, and has taken the slightest interest in the welfare of its immense population, must have long considered of the highest importance’. The promotion of a public museum was not only of economic importance, but had a social significance, the dissemination of knowledge and culture to the whole community. It was a paternalistic approach, one which is so often associated with the Victorian period, but it was also a groundbreaking one, pushing aside notions that cultural pursuits were only for the privileged and wealthy minority. At the same there was a drive for greater accessibility to education; in 1845 an adult education school was opened at Severn Street and in 1854 the Birmingham Midland Institute (BMI) was founded by act of parliament ‘for the diffusion of and advancement of science, literature and art amongst all classes of persons resident in Birmingham and the Midland Counties’. This latter was famously supported by Charles Dickens, who visited the Town Hall in 1853 to give personal readings of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The first reading was to a paying audience of around 2000, for the purpose of raising funds for the BMI. But he also did another, free reading, at the Town Hall for the working men and women of the town. Birmingham’s cultural advance was clearly not just an issue of local importance, but attracted a much wider interest, a demonstration of the rapid changes taking place in the town.

Weoley Castle. Medieval ruins preserved in the middle of a council estate. Now at risk.

In 1870 the resident artisan glass makers of Birmingham presented a memorial (a sort of letter of request) to the council ‘announcing that they had associated themselves into a working committee for the purpose of founding an Industrial Museum…after describing the advantages of industrial museums to large towns like Birmingham, the memorialists concluded by suggesting that the Council might reasonably take into consideration the granting of a sum of money for establishing a central Indu strial Museum for the town and district generally’(Aris’s, April 9th, 1870). The request was forwarded to the council’s Free Libraries Committee and it seems something of a ball was finally put into motion. The spending of ratepayers money had (and of course remains) a point of tension in the town. The council, which was founded in 1838, after a period of capital spending on the building of a prison and asylum in Winson Green and the public baths at Kent Street, been faced with extreme and well organised opposition to any further large projects. Nevertheless, at the time that the artisan glassmakers made their request, Birmingham had managed to open three public parks, a Central Library and three branch libraries. These were largely the result of individual effort and philanthropy and, of course, the indomitable, petitioning spirit that has defined modern Birmingham. But it would take the brilliant planning of Joseph Chamberlain’s council to finally enable investment in a public, municipal museum.

Soho House, former home of Matthew Boulton. Would we want to risk losing this to a hotel chain?

In 1874, Joseph Chamberlain, then Mayor of Birmingham, led the council to apply for an Act of Parliament which would allow them to purchase all of the private gas companies in the town. This was granted and the Birmingham Corporation Gas Company was established. Profits from the company, now owned by the Birmingham ratepayers, would be ploughed back into a municipal museum. An opulent payment office was built as an extension to the Council House, where people could go and pay their gas bill and also see exactly where their money was being spent. The payment office is now called the Waterhall and is one of the museum’s many exhibition galleries. This was such a clever move by Chamberlain: the museum was still the property of the people and businesses of Birmingham, who were funding it through their gas bills. But it also avoided antagonising the ratepayer protection lobby. It also marked the emergence of what was known as Municipal Socialism, led by Chamberlain and which led to Birmingham being described in 1890 as ‘the best governed city in the world’ by a journalist writing for the American Harper’s magazine.

Museum of the Jewellery Quarter. At risk if proposed council cuts go ahead.

Our museums are an integral part of the proud and inspirational history of Birmingham. Today we are spoilt for choice in the number of heritage sites and art galleries that we have on our doorstep. Amongst these are nine which are currently at a real risk of being lost to the public, along with all the great industrial artefacts which inspired our early city fathers to pursue the establishment of municipal museums. It is easy enough to pass by the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and think ‘I must pop in there one day’, or to maybe to go in for a mooch without actually being fully aware of what it actually reveals about our city’s incredible history. The introduction of public access to culture was part of a radical movement that helped to shape modern Britain, and Birmingham played a vital role in this change. I have written this post because I have a personal passion for and pride in my city and want to ensure that all of its heritage is preserved for future generations. Thousands of school children benefit from visits to the museums and they also offer other important social opportunities, such as the innovative Birmingham Museum’s Health and Wellbeing project which has established a Dementia Cafe at Soho House and a garden project at Sarehole Mill for people with mental health conditions.

Sarehole Mill, Tolkien’s childhood playground. What will cuts mean for the 250 year old watermill?

The recent announcement of city council cuts across the cultural sector will have a hugely negative impact but it is especially important to preserve our heritage, because once it is gone, it will be gone forever. This is not in the spirit of the Birmingham tradition of innovation and accessibility. It would be wonderful to see a revival of Chamberlain’s Municipal Socialism, but for now I would urge everyone to voice a protest against the Council’s cuts to OUR heritage.

Please sign the online petition here:

http://bit.ly/2h5H6oU

And please keep supporting our museums. Thanks.

As part of Birmingham Heritage week, Birmingham Conservation Trust will be working with the 20th Century Society and the Prefab Museum to open up some of these iconic buildings to the public.

The prefabs are currently owned by Birmingham City Council who are kindly allowing us to open up some of the properties for viewings.   These wonderful buildings aren’t normally open to the public so make sure you don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to see around them.  Whilst they are now in a poor state of repair, you can still see a number of the original features and imagine what they must have looked like when new.

The Prefab Museum will be bringing along their mobile prefab archive and are keen to gather memories and memorabilia from anyone who has recollections of life in a prefab; whether those in Wake Green Road or further afield.  If you would like to share your memories with the team then please contact us to book a longer VIP (Very Important Prefabber) slot.

The Trust are considering taking on the prefabs as a future restoration project and so we will be looking to collect your views on what the future should hold for the prefabs.

Tickets for general viewings are available via our Eventbrite page: http://bit.ly/2atdI9B

To book VIP tickets please contact vicki@birminghamconservationtrust.or

Are you passionate about Birmingham’s heritage?  You could be just the person we need. We are looking for four new trustees to join our board and lead the trust into the next 3-6 years of its strategic programme.

Amongst the trustee roles we seek to fill are treasurer, a chair of the management committee of our multiple-award winning Coffin Works museum, and trustees with fundraising experience. For those with the right qualities, this is an extraordinary opportunity to shape the direction of the trust and build the support and partnerships needed to secure sustainable and imaginative new futures for Birmingham’s endangered historic buildings.

For more information, and to receive a briefing pack, please contact Simon Buteux on simon@birminghamconservationtrust.org  Tel: 0121 2334785 / 07973 498013

An informal open evening for potential candidates will be held on Thursday 7^th July at 6.30.  Closing date for applications: Friday 15^th July.

Note: These are non-salaried posts