It's one of many testaments to the Jewellery Quarter's industrial past. The Gwenda Works has a captivating history. Kevin Thomas of Birmingham Heritage Walking Tours showcases this captivating artefact of the area's unique role in the story of the region.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Okay, so the building behind me is the Gwenda Works, but it started its life out as Henry
00:11 Manton Silver Works, and they made high-end silver perfume bottles.
00:19 Well the bottles were glass, probably made in Stourbridge and would have been shipped
00:22 in, and they made the beautiful silver tops for the bottles.
00:26 They were a really, really impressive high-end jewellery company in Birmingham's jewellery
00:31 quarter.
00:33 But what's interesting is when they closed they moved down onto Great Hampton Street,
00:38 but then it was taken over by the Hussey Dawson Company, and they renamed it the Gwenda Works.
00:45 I've got this great photograph I found with the Gwenda Girls standing outside of the works,
00:51 and what they made, they made small plastic compacts.
00:57 And the one I'm holding here is what's called New Old Stock, so this was never sold, and
01:02 it's a beautiful art deco example.
01:06 And what they would have done, they would have made them in their thousands.
01:09 And what I like is that it went from a very exclusive silver company to this small plastic
01:17 compact company that was exporting them by their thousands all over Britain.
01:22 And we come and look at this building as part of the Art Deco Jewellery Quarter walking
01:27 tour because it's a real privilege to be able to link some of the items and let some of
01:32 the people touch them and hold them that we've got of some of the products that were made
01:36 here.
01:38 So this was made at the Gwenda Works, and this is a small plastic Art Deco compact,
01:44 and it was called a tap flap.
01:47 And I was really lucky to find it, and if you open it up you can actually see that it's
01:52 never been used.
01:53 And this is old new stock.
01:56 So somebody bought it, kept it in the back of their shop, and it was never sold, and
02:00 luckily I came across it.
02:02 So the Gwenda Works stands at the top of Leg Lane in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, and
02:08 this was a really, really upmarket area.
02:12 The lane, Leg Lane itself, was actually a driveway which came up to an enormous mansion
02:18 that stood on top of the hill here, and this is where the amazingly named Henridge Leg
02:23 lived.
02:24 And it's quite sad now that that's gone, but what's here now is this beautiful building
02:30 still that's been renovated.
02:31 I think it's one of my favourite renovations in the Jewellery Quarter because you'd hardly
02:35 know that it's been turned into apartments.
02:39 And that's what's happening in the Jewellery Quarter now, the industry's moved out, and
02:43 what's happening is lots of the buildings are being turned into apartment blocks.
02:49 And there you have it, a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of Birmingham's Jewellery
02:53 Quarter.
02:54 The story of the Gwenda Works encapsulates the dynamic spirit of innovation that has
02:59 long characterised this unique district.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]