History & Heritage
History of the Jewellery Quarter
17th Century
Precious metals have been worked in Birmingham since the 14th Century but the industry really prospered from 1660. King Charles II returned from exile in France after the Civil War and brought back a taste for fancy buttons and shoe buckles.
As this fashion spread, metal workers and artisans turned out thousands of pieces in steel and later used silver and burnished gold, inlaid with coloured glass and gemstones. They also made trinket boxes, called ‘Brummagen toys’ and jewellery.
18th Century
Development in the Quarter was rapid in the 18th Century. Substantial houses were built for the manufacturers and the artisans lived in more modest terraces. As the expansion of trade continued, workshops sprang up in gardens and workbenches were installed in the houses. Different skills and expertise made people in the area reliant on one another and the Jewellery Quarter was established. Matthew Boulton, the famous industrialist playing a key role with his Soho Manufactory and his successful mission to establish Birmingham’s own Assay Office.
19th Century
Royal fashions continued to affect the fortunes of the Jewellery Quarter during the 19th Century. It also became famous for its pen nibs when Joseph Gillott perfected the technique of machine-manufactured steel nibs. This contributed to the spread of literacy and writing to the working classes.
20th Century
In the early 20th Century the jewellery trade employed 30,000 people. Supporting trades occupied as many again. Throughout its history, it was quite a closed community with people living and working there. It wasn’t until later in the 20th Century that shops began to open to the general public.
