Being the location of New Hall Manor, the estate was converted into a wealthy residential area comprising mostly of upmarket Georgian houses, and when St Paul’s Church was completed in 1779, the square that was built around it became a particularly fashionable address for Birmingham’s prosperous middle classes: In fact, one of the earliest villas to be built in the area was Regent’s Place which was leased by Matthew Boulton to James Watt.

It was (and still is) a legal requirement for solid silver to be assayed in order to determine its quality, but as Matthew Boulton had found out to his cost, the silver business in Birmingham was hampered by the lack of a local assay office, and although it was too late to help his own silver business, Boulton was instrumental in getting one installed, and when it opened on 31^st Aug 1773 he was their very first customer.

Now that there was a local assay office in town, the tradition of making small metal objects such as buttons and watch chains, began to give way to more lucrative items, and as workshops for goldsmiths and silversmiths began to move in, then the middle classes began to move out. By 1861 there were almost 700 businesses in the area employing around 7,500 of some of the best paid workers in Birmingham, and it’s believed that half of the gold and silverware being sold in London at the time was produced here.

The industry eventually peaked around 1914 with more than 20,000 employees, 50,000 if you included the associated trades, and even the outbreak of WWI didn’t affect the businesses too much due to the demand for military buttons, badges, and medals.

Demand plummeted after the war was over though, and because of the city’s involvement in the production of weapons, aircraft and other munitions during WWII, Birmingham, including the Jewellery Quarter, attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe and was heavily bombed.

Although the jewellery trade never fully recovered from its peak, today it’s still home to between 700 and 800 related businesses, accounting for around 40% of the country’s jewellery. A new assay office was built in 2015 and is the world’s largest, hallmarking some 12 million items a year.

The second half of the 20^th century saw Birmingham’s industrial landscape change dramatically, but fortunately, although there has been some redevelopment, most of the Quarter escaped the bulldozer thanks to a more sympathetic approach to conservation, with an emphasis on restoring historic buildings rather than replacing them. Some of the buildings have been converted into homes and offices, and newer ones have been built, but much of the area still retains its 19^th century appearance, and if you want to get an idea of what the Jewellery Quarter looks like now, the Chamberlain Clock at the junction of Warstone Lane with Frederick Street and Vyse Street is as good a place as any to start because whichever way you go you’ll find buildings and businesses associated with the trade – both past and present.

For anybody wondering, the clock was erected in 1903 to mark Joseph Chamberlain’s tour of South Africa at the end of the Boer War. The man himself was a controversial politician who once described Benjamin Disraeli as “a man who never told the truth except by accident.” (I must remember that one), but his own son, Neville Chamberlain, hardly excelled himself as Prime Minister either.

If you’ve plenty of time available, you can wander around at will, but if time is at a premium, I recommend walking down Vyse Street which leads north from the clock. There are modern diamond outlets on the right-hand side of the road with smaller retail shops on the left. In fact the closer you look, the more you’ll see, and don’t ignore the side streets either. As you walk past the railway station, traditional workshops come into view around Hylton Street and Spencer Street, but the main reason I suggested coming this way is because, at the junction with Branston Street is the Jewellery Quarter Museum.

Located at 70-80 Vyse Street, the museum was, from 1899 until 1981, the business premises of Smith and Pepper, a small company who produced a wide range of gold jewellery with an emphasis on swallow and snake designs. When the owners retired in 1981, they literally locked the doors and left everything inside just as it was. Eventually they sold it to the city council but it was several years before council employees opened the doors again, and what they found inside was an absolute treasure trove..

This veritable time capsule still had tools left on the benches, overalls hanging from their hooks and tea, jam, and marmite waiting for the next lunch break. Some business items even dated back to the time the firm started in 1899.

In 1992 the council opened the workshop as a museum and is operated mostly on a guided tour basis. Volunteers who take you around not only explain the history of the company but also show you how the items were made.

The museum is the starting point of a self-guided walking tour of the Jewellery Quarter, but for me, after finishing up in the delightful Hylton Café across the road, it provided the perfect end.

For the latest museum information including opening times and prices, check out the website at https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/museum-of-the-jewellery-quarter

POSTED – APRIL 2026