(A) Soho Manufactory
Upon the death of his father in 1759 Matthew Boulton took over his business and, for reasons unknown, two years later abandoned Sarehole Mill in favour of another water mill at a place called Soho by the Hockley Brook, and very close to the Jewellery Quarter.
About this time he entered into partnership with John Fothergill, who had wide experience of European markets, which were very important to Birmingham's trade. To accommodate his ambitious plans he had to rebuild the mill entirely, transforming it into the Soho Manufactory, which in its day was the largest and most famous factory in the world. Finished in 1765, it became Birmingham's foremost tourist attraction, and knowing the importance of good connections, the shrewd Boulton was more than happy to entertain influential visitors there and at his home Soho House, which was just a few hundred yards away.
The three-storey premises of the Soho Manufactory housed not only workshops, but also showrooms, design offices, stores, and accommodation for the workers. At its height there were a thousand people employed there. But although on a big scale, it was not one of William Blake's 'dark, satanic mills'. Rather it was a collection of workshops such as were to be found all over the town, but brought together under a single ownership and a single roof. The workers employed here were the same skilled craftsmen as worked in the town's other workshops, and were well paid.
Boulton's secret was to equip his workers with all manner of labour-saving devices, thus enabling them to be more productive. Such devices were made affordable by the use of clever designs with interchangeable components, enabling many products to be assembled from a relatively small number of components, each of which was efficiently manufactured in quantity. And instead of putting work out in the traditional way to to toymakers around the town, he brought all the functions of a modern business, including design and marketing, under his control.
An information panel about the site is on St. Michael's Hill near the entrance to the new development on Scholars Close.
Source: www.jquarter.org.uk/webdisk/moremboulton.htm.
(B) St Michael's Parish Church
St Michael's Church (Grade II listed) dates back to 1850. It would have been built to cater for the expansion of Handsworth in the early Victorian era. It has been said that it was built for the workers at the Soho Manufactory, but that closed in 1863. It was designed by William Bourne of Dudley, and is built of sandstone. The spire was added in 1868 and can be seen for miles around, particularly when coming up the hill from Winson Green, and from Handsworth Park. A new sensory garden has been created on the site of the old church hall. The plants originate from all over the world to celebrate the diversity of the area.
Source: http://handsonhandsworth.info/files/2011/03/A_brief_history_of_St_Michael_s_Handsworth.pdf
(C) Soho House
Soho House (Grade II* listed) was the home of famous industrialist Matthew Boulton from 1766 until his death in 1809. It is now a museum run by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and contains fine collections of ormolu (gold coated bronze), silver, furniture and paintings. Soho House was once the meeting place for the Lunar Society which included pioneers of the industrial revolution such as Erasmus Darwin, James Watt and Joseph Priestley.
Source: www.bmag.org.uk/soho-house
For details of the Lunar Society see 'The Lunar Men' by Jenny Uglow and Wikipedia.
(D) Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha
Is a faith-led 'not for profit' organisation dedicated to practising and promoting Nishkam (selfless) service in the name of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469 - 1539) the founder of the Sikh Dharam (religion). The building was established in 1977 with the transformation of a small Polish club into a Sikh place of worship. Today it is one of the largest establishments of its kind outside India, serving over 30,000 visitors every week. Next to the Gurdwara is the Nishkam Civic Association which engages with the wider community in a wide range of activities.
Source: www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak_Nishkam_Sewak_Jatha
(E) Under the Sun
'Under The Sun' is a gateway sculpture by Saranjit Birdi commissioned by Birmingham City Council to celebrate the cultural diversity of Handsworth's communities and was undertaken in partnership with Handsworth Traders Association, Soho Road businesses, St. Michael's Church and local people. It mark a key stage in the economic and environmental regeneragtion work in Soho Road ad Handsworth and was officially unveiled on 11 February 2010.
The sculpture is reminiscient of chronometric and navigational instruments. The central 'Coin of Colours' makes reference to Matthew Boulton's coins developed at the Soho 'manufactory' for the British colonies in Africa and India. Its colours allude to those of the African, Asian and European climates and landscapes. The three figures at the top join hands in a universal dance across the sky, bridging their territorial histories. As the sun rotates overhead, their shadows and the observer's shadow will always be cast in the same direction. No matter where we stand, or from which four corners of the world we hail,as the poem around the rim of the coin reads:
UNDER THE SUN OUR SHADOWS POINT IN THE SAME DIRECTION
Matthew Boulton was a member of the Lunar Society, a group of enlightened scientists, philosophers, inventors and entreureneurs that met at the nearby Soho House (now Soho House Museum). This Society was one of the first groups to make a stand against exploitation of indigenous peoples in the British colonies.
The panels on the legs of the sculpture incorporate images by local school children. They depict coinage from the countries of origin of the various communities in Handsworth and voice the sentiments of the young. The words 'UNDER THE SUN' can also be seen cast into the pavement by the sweeping sunlight behind.
Source: http://www.axisweb.org/artwork.aspx?workid=72080
(F) King Edward VI Handsworth School
King Edward VI Handsworth School (Grade II* listed) opened in 1911 with 450 girls. It is part of the well-known King Edward group of schools in Birmingham founded under charter from Kig Edward VI in the year 1552. The school cost £50,000 to build. The architect was Philip Boughton Chatwin and the building design was very modern with a number of specialist areas including the library, playroom and common room. The school has continued to grow and now has 900 girls.
Source: Handworth Heritage Trail http://handsonhandsworth.info/files/2011/03/HHupright1.pdf
(G) St. Mary's Church
St Mary's Church (Grade II* listed) is Handsworth's original village parish church. The first stone church located here is believed to have been built around 1160. A map of as late as 1831 shows that at that time Handsworth consisted of only six houses, which lay between the church and what is now the Church Lane roundabout. (see 'Birmingham, a History in Maps' by Paul Leslie Line).
The church you see today has undergone major renovations carried out in 1820 and 1870. St Mary's is informally known as the Cathedral of the Industrial Revolution. It houses the graves of and monuments to three great men of Birmingham's industrial past: Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch.
Source: Handworth Heritage Trail http://handsonhandsworth.info/files/2011/03/HHupright1.pdf
For details of Boulton, Watt, Murduch and members of the Lunar Society see Wikipedia:
(H) Handsworth Park
Handsworth Park (Grade II* listed) is the jewel in the area's crown. It provides a vital green lung for this part of the city. Formerly known as Victoria Park, the 63 acre site was largely created in two parts towards the end of the 1800s. In 2006 the park was restored to its former Victorian splendour including the refurbished bandstand. Today the park boasts a wondertfully maintained landscape, childrens play area, cafe and leisure centre and is well used by Handworth's many communities.
The Sikh Vaisakhi celebrations have traditionally been celebrated with a procession of the Guru Granth Sahib from one or more local Gurdwaras to Handsworth Park.
Birmingham International Carnival takes place biennially in August. It is a celebration of African-Caribbean culture, arts, food and entertainment. Caribbean style carnivals were held in Handsworth Park, Birmingham, from 1984 to 1994. The following year, the carnival moved from the park onto the streets of Handsworth, and became known as the Birmingham Carnival. Since 1999, it has been held as the Birmingham International Carnival in Perry Barr (Perry Park), following a procession from Handsworth's Soho Road.
Eldridge Cleaver the Black Panther leader and Cliff Richard visited Handsworth Park in 1970, art which time Cleaver had apparently become a born again Christian. Caption to photos on www.connectinghistories.org.uk says: One shows a black man wearing a suit standing behind a microphone, addressing a crowd. Cliff Richard can be seen in the background, making a 'peace' sign. The other photograph shows a large group of young black men and women, many with dreadlocks, outside a house. Some of the group have drums, and others are holding banners. The panel also contains two captions. One reads: ''Hosannah '79 in Handsworth Park featured ex-Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver and Cliff Richard. Cleaver told the crowd: 'Yes, I've sold out. I've sold out to Jesus, and it's the best bargain I've ever made.''
Sources: various.
(I) Handsworth Police Station
Thornhill Road police station was built in 1893 at which time it also contained a courthouse. Unusually this building is situated not in a prominent location on the Soho Road, but in a residential setting in the middle of the surrounding houses. It is built of the same brick as the nearby properties, but is distinguished by its grandiose stone entrance which gives it its status as an important public building.
Source: Handworth Heritage Trail http://handsonhandsworth.info/files/2011/03/HHupright1.pdf
HANDSWORTH
In 1831, the Ordnance Survey Map of Birmingham showed Handsworth to be a village of 6 houses close to St Mary's Church, situated in heathland with a few houses and farms dotted about. To the south was the Soho Road (the Holyhead Turnpike) with the villages of Soho and Soho Hill adjacent. South of the Soho Road was Boulton's estate centred on the Hockley Brook which stretched all the way from Soho House to Nineveh Road opposite what is now the college, and contained the large pool used to power the Soho Manufactory until 1863. Then south of that again was the empty expanse of Birmingham Heath, bisected by the old and new Birmingham Canals.
In only 80 years the entire countryside would be filled with houses, churches and schools, with factories, hospitals and the asylum relegated to the area around the canal (now Winson Green). In 1911 Handsworth (which was then in Staffordshire) was absorbed into Birmingham. The situation of high employment in heavy metal working industry was maintained up until the end of the Second World war, when labour shortages led to the arrival of workers, mainly from the West Indies, but also from the Indian sub-continent, the Sikhs being prominent amongst them. Unfortunately decline of a lot of heavy manufacturing industry followed, leading to unemployment. The early settlers were joined by people from many other lands, leading to Handsworth being a relatively poor but uniquely multiracial place, not without its tensions.
Handsworth represents many of the features of contemporary Birmingham:
• A change in the local economy from manufacturing to service industries. As local manufacturing has declined in recent decades, Handsworth’s economy shifted towards retail, leisure and the arts. New businesses emerged, created by and serving the needs of Handsworth’s and Britain’s diverse communities such as East End Foods, Thandi Coaches and a kaleidoscope of restaurants and shops.
• An area where different communities have settled. In the 19th century, Handsworth became home to people of Scottish, Irish and Jewish origin. After 1945 Polish refugees and migrants from the West Indies and South Asia settled in the district. In the 1980s Handsworth became the most important local place of settlement for displaced Vietnamese boat people and more recently, it has become a home for asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan, Africa, Eastern Europe, Iran and Iraq.
• Religious activity representing many world faiths and diverse sects. Handsworth has been the location of Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Christadelphian congregations. The Rastafarians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the New Testament Church of Christ and Asian Christians have places of worship there. There are also Hindu mandirs, Muslim mosques and Sikh gurdwaras in the area.
• The importance of the arts within the local cultural scene. Musicians such as Ruby Turner, Joan Armatrading, Apache Indian and Steel Pulse hail from Handsworth and the area is a home to British bhangra. Photographers such as Vanley Burke, Pogus Caesar and Sukhvinder Singh Ubhi also reside in Handsworth. The poet Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Handsworth.