Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is an internationally renowned treasure, but many visitors don’t realise there’s more to this historic district than just its jewellery shops.
So we’ve got some tips on how to make the most of a day trip to the Quarter – and we’ve also compiled a guide on how easy it is to get there too.
How did the Jewellery Quarter develop?
From small beginnings, over 250 years ago, the Jewellery Quarter grew to become what is Europe’s largest concentration of businesses involved in the jewellery trade.
While it’s as far back as 1553 that the first goldsmith was recorded as living and working in Birmingham, by the early 1900s – when the trade was at its peak – it had grown to employ a staggering 30,000 people in a concentrated area of Hockley.
The jewellery trade was just one of many to prosper on the back of the Industrial Revolution when Brum became known as the “city of a thousand trades”.
And by the mid-19th century, it was considered to be Brum’s “most lucrative” trade – with jewellers being some of the best paid workers.
By 1850 it was claimed that half of the gold and silverware on sale in London jewellery shops was Birmingham-made.
During the late 1800s the jewellery trade continued to boom and unlike other city trades, it also thrived during World War One because the demand for military buttons, badges and medals, which jewellery businesses also produced, increased.
Today the Jewellery Quarter, which is a designated Conservation Area, is home to more than 500 jewellery firms producing around 40 per cent of British jewellery.
The district also boasts over 200 listed buildings and contains the city’s last remaining Georgian Square, which is St Paul’s.
Can you get bespoke Jewellery made in the Jewellery Quarter?
Yes. As well as selling jewellery, many jewellers can also make up jewellery for you.
Just one of many jewellers that can do this for you in the Jewellery Quarter is A&A Jewellery in Northampton Street.
There’s plenty to do in the Jewellery Quarter. Here’s 10 places to visit while you are there:
The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter:
Located at 75-80 Vyse Street, this museum is built around the preserved Smith and Pepper jewellery factory, which closed its doors in 1981.
It gives visitors a rare glimpse into the working life of bygone jewellers in this famous district of Birmingham.
You can take a guided tour of the factory – at 11.15, 12.15, 1.15, 2.15, 3.15 and 4pm – watch demonstrations and visit two galleries that explore the history of the jewellery craft.
On selected days you can also take a walk and talk around the Jewellery Quarter from the museum as well as take part in several jewellery workshops.
You can watch demonstrations at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
You can watch demonstrations at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am-5pm, as well as Bank Holiday Mondays.
A ticket for a family of four costs £17.60 and per adult is £7.
Tours must be booked call 0121 348 8263.
The Coffin Works:
Housed in the former Newman Brothers’ factory, The Coffin Works in Fleet Street takes visitors on a journey back to the factory’s 1960s heyday.
Hailed as once making the world’s finest coffin furniture, including the fittings for the funerals of Churchill, Chamberlain and Queen Mother, it’s open Wednesday to Sunday.
You can take a one hour tour with a costumed guide to quite literally take in the sounds and smells of the 1960s. There are also hands-on activities for younger visitors.
A ticket for a family of five costs £17.60, adults £6 each.
It is advised to book places on tours – which run on the hour from 11am until 3pm – on 0121 233 4790.
The Pen Museum:
The Pen Museum, or Pen Room, is housed in a Grade II Listed redbrick building, on the corner of Legge Lane and Frederick Street.
Once home to Wiley’s pen factory, it is the only UK museum dedicated to the history of the pen making industry.
The museum tells the story of how Birmingham became the centre of the steel pen trade and its part in communication revolution.
During a visit here you will be able to make your own pen nib and try out feather quills, reed pens, early typewriters and braille equipment.
Inside the Pen Room in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter
Inside the Pen Room in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter
You can also take part in calligraphy classes which are held regularly here.
Open Tuesday to Sunday. Under 16s are admitted free and adults are £2.
Stephen Spielberg to shoot new sci-fi movie in Jewellery Quarter
The Chamberlain Clock:
The Chamberlain Clock is a Jewellery Quarter landmark.
Standing at the junction of Vyse Street and Frederick Street with Warstone Lane, this Edwardian, cast-iron, clock tower dates back to 1903.
It was erected to mark Joseph Chamberlain’s tour of South Africa, after the end of the Second Boer War.
A former Birmingham Mayor Joseph, who was the father of former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and former Chancellor the Exchequer Austen Chamberlain, Joseph had a huge impact in Birmingham, including the Jewellery Quarter, where he once lived and worked.
The clock tower was originally powered by hand – it used to have a clockwork winding handle – but is now powered by electricty.
From miniature, model railways to flight simulators, this tourist attraction is located in St Paul’s Square.
It has three floors of things to do and see. For train lovers there’s model trains to see, drive and control; for aviation enthusiasts there’s a flight simulator, model aircrafts and an insight into how what it takes to work in Air Traffic Control; and there’s also two Scalextrics tracks to test out your racing skills.
It is open 7 days a week 10am til 5pm in school holidays and on bank holidays, and Wednesday to Sunday, 10am til 5pm, in term time.
A ticket for a family of four costs £22 (online £18.50) and adults are £7.95 (£7 online) each.
Key Hill Cemetery is a Grade II registered historic garden and the oldest of its kind in Birmingham.
It is the resting place of influential Birmingham figures, such as members of the Chamberlain family and Alfred Bird – the inventor of eggless custard.
The Gothic style Warstone Lane cemetery dates back to 1848 and was created as a burial ground for members of the Anglican Church and features well preserved catacombs.
Famous people buried in this Grade II registered historic garden range from the printer John Baskerville, ,to Major Harry Gem, the founder of lawn tennis.
St Paul’s Church
Located in the Georgian St Paul’s Square, St Paul’s Church is Grade I Listed and dates back to the 1770s.
It is renowned as being the church of Birmingham’s early manufacturers and merchants, including the famous city industrialists James Watt and Matthew Boulton – they had their own pews here.
The church also boasts some beautiful stained glass windows – including a window designed on the area’s jewellery trade – and its spire was added in 1823.
The last remaining 18th century Georgian Square in Birmingham, this is a beautiful place to visit. There is a plethora of restaurants, cafes and bars to visit here. It has its own tram stop.
There are also lots of places to eat and drink in the Jewellery Quarter, especially in St Paul’s Square.
These include Button Factory, Fishylicious, Eight Foot Grocer and The Pig & Tail – why not give them a try?
