We’re really, really good at making stuff – it’s in our blood. Birmingham isn’t called the “City of 1000 Trades” for nothing, you know.
From the scores of workshops littering the Jewellery Quarter, to the mega-factories of Longbridge or Small Heath, we’re not workshy. And hundreds of photographer have come to see us do our business over the decades.
We’ve had a rummage around the old Mail and Post archives, and blown the dust off 30 pictures of our parents and grandparents putting in the elbow grease on all kinds of products. The one’s we’ve picked out go back to just after the end of the Second World War.
READ MORE:The train station that saved Snow Hill twice in glorious snaps through the ages
There’s plenty in manufacturing and metalwork. From chain-makers who got paid by the weight of their work in 1958, to motorcycles coming off the line at Triumph and BSA back in the day.
Take a look at what used to happen on the Fort Dunlop site – Prince Philip even came down for a chat one day. And we did a roaring trade in firearms at one point too.
See more pictures in our gallery below
See inside the Webley & Scott workshop, where fine pistols and rifles were engraved by small teams of experts. Or take a look at the testing range at BSA where they zeroed rifles in Shirley in the 1950s.
It’s not just heavy industry we were snapping either. Plenty of goodies were being made in and around Brum too.
Take a look at the size of the vats at Birmingham’s famous old brewery, Ansell’s. Or see how the old Typhoo factory in Digbeth did quality control – like expert wine tasters.
All that and more can be found in the gallery above. Take a scroll and let us know your favourites!
If you could revive one old factory or industry in Birmingham, what would it be? Comment below, or talk to us in our Facebook nostalgia group.
See more history and nostalgia here!
