{"id":8880,"date":"2014-11-05T15:16:21","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T15:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=8880"},"modified":"2014-11-05T15:16:21","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T15:16:21","slug":"brums-restored-coffin-works-open-for-business-by-bct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=8880","title":{"rendered":"Brum’s restored coffin works ‘open for business’ by BCT"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Grade II* listed building in Birmingham\u2019s jewellery quarter has been reopened by the Birmingham Conservation Trust as a heritage and arts attraction after \u00a32 million grant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the city council, and English Heritage<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The HLF writes<\/span>:
\nFollowing the completion of extensive restoration, for the past two months the trust has been busy getting the Coffin Works ready for visitors.\u00a0 The machinery \u2013 some of it more than a hundred years old \u2013 has been restored to full working order and in the stamp room, warehouse, office and shroud room, everything has been taken out of storage and put back in its proper place.\u00a0 Costumed tour guides will take visitors back in time to experience the sights, sounds and smells of this fascinating factory as it was in its heyday.<\/p>\n

A \u00a31million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), matched by English Heritage, Birmingham City Council and others, has formed part of a \u00a32m\u00a0package of funding that has made the rescue of the building and the rebirth of the Coffin Works as a heritage attraction and arts venue possible.<\/p>\n

Simon Buteux, Trust Director, said: \u2018Be prepared to be surprised \u2013 Newman Brothers was not a gloomy place but buzzed with activity, music and noise: the thud of the drop stamps pressing out coffin fittings by the dozen, the clatter of a long bench of sewing machines where seamstresses made shrouds and coffin linings of innumerable designs and colours. There are plenty of things that visitors can touch and activities to have a go at.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Coffin Works has a gallery too, with a programme of exhibitions inspired by the building and its products.\u00a0The inaugural exhibition Shadows & Dust <\/em>is by multi award-winning composer and visual artist Andy Garbi.\u00a0Defying easy description, it is an absorbing and often moving audiovisual artwork created using the acoustic and light qualities of the derelict building, captured before the restoration work began \u2013 what Andy calls the \u2018DNA\u2019 of the factory.<\/p>\n

Throughout the coming year a diverse array of events is planned, to suit all different ages and interests.\u00a0During half term, Tuesday to Friday, 10am-12pm, there will be a range of family activities, including a chance to make your own souvenir on our mini drop stamp.\u00a0Others might prefer Tales & Tequila on 2 November \u2013 stories by candlelight honouring the lives of four famous Brummies while celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead.<\/p>\n

Reyahn King, Head of HLF,\u00a0West Midlands, said: \u2018This is incredibly exciting news for Birmingham. Thanks to the passion and dedication of volunteers, and support from\u00a0HLF and partner organisations, the Coffin Works \u2013 once the maker of the world\u2019s finest coffin furniture – is now open, fully restored and set to become an enduring attraction in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter for generations to come.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Grade II* listed Coffin Works was built in 1894.\u00a0 Queen Victoria was still on the throne and funerals were big business.\u00a0 Newman Brothers developed a reputation for making some of the finest coffin fittings in the world, and their products have adorned the coffins of Joseph Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother amongst many others.\u00a0Though in business for more than a century, the manufacturing processes and the way that the business was run changed very little, so visitors the Coffin Factory will step back into a different world.<\/p>\n

Suppliers to the undertakers’ trade for over 100 years, Newman Brothers closed its doors in 1999, leaving most of the contents in place as if at the end of an ordinary working day.\u00a0There was a huge stock of coffin fittings, shrouds and coffin linings that were made on site, testament to changing funerary fashions, as well as the business archive and product designs.\u00a0 There was a range of extraordinary machines, including a pantograph, used to engrave the names on the coffin plates, a frill-maker for the shrouds, and of course, the staff clocking-in machine, which visitors will use to ‘clock-in’ to tours.\u00a0There were even travelling salesmen\u2019s bags, still with their samples inside, and brandy and cigars in the director\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

In 2007, as the rain began to pour through the holes in the deteriorating roof, all contents except the largest machines were removed from the factory to off-site storage.\u00a0There they stayed while the funds were raised to restore the building.\u00a0Now Birmingham Conservation Trust has brought everything back, and brought back to life a factory which dealt in the business of death.<\/p>\n

Find out more about the Birmingham Conservation Trust and the Coffin Works on the website<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0meet the team<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0volunteer<\/a>\u00a0 follow the project<\/a><\/p>\n

HLF press release\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Grade II* listed building in Birmingham\u2019s jewellery quarter has been reopened by the Birmingham Conservation Trust as a heritage and arts attraction after \u00a32 million grant investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the city council, and English Heritage. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8881,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8880\/revisions\/8881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}