Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory
Encyclopedia
The Newman Brothers Coffin Furniture Factory is a disused factory building located Fleet Street in the Jewellery Quarter
conservation area
, Birmingham
, England. The building, which is Grade II* listed, was constructed between 1892 and 1894 to a design by Richard Harley for the firm. The Newman Brothers manufactured coffin furniture at the factory and remained there until 1999.
, Neville Chamberlain
and Diana, Princess of Wales
. The owners and managers would have entered the building through the front entrance of the building whilst the poorer workforce would enter via the gated cart entrance. In the 1960s, the original single-storey range was demolished and replaced with a two storey brick building containing managerial, electroplating, warehousing and barrelling facilities. At its peak, the firm employed 100 people. In the 1950s, the company was exporting products internationally to West Africa
, India, Sri Lanka
, South Africa, the Caribbean
, Canada and Malta
.
When the firm closed the factory in 1999, it was one of only three remaining coffin furniture manufacturers in England. In 2000, the building received Grade II* listed status from English Heritage
. In March 2001, the Birmingham Conservation Trust carried out a feasibility study on the building and became worried about the threat of redevelopment and possible loss of the building. As a result, they appealed to Advantage West Midlands
who purchased the building in 2002 and agreed to fund the Trust in their scheme to bring the building back into use.
In 2003, the factory was one of the candidates on the first series of Restoration
in late 2003. It did not receive enough votes to reach the final.
In 2007, plans were announced by the Trust and a planning application was submitted on June 20, 2008 for the refurbishment of the factory building to create a visitor's centre and office space. If approved, the museum would be the only funereal museum in the United Kingdom.
The original building will not be altered, although it will be repaired where necessary and the existing slate roof will be stripped and replaced with Welsh slates. The plastic rainwater guttering will be replaced with cast iron whilst the modern company sign on the front will be removed and replaced with Victorian-style signage. The plans were designed by Purcell Miller Tritton, although the original commissioned architects were Niall Phillips of Bristol
who merged with Purcell Miller Tritton. The scheme will cost £3.4 million, of which £1.5 million will come from Advantage West Midlands.
The restoration scheme was approved by Birmingham City Council on October 16, 2008.
In June 2011 Birmingham based TinBox theatre company collaboratively devised and performed a production entitled 'Stop The Clocks' which led audience members on a journey through the space told through the story of the life of a fictitious woman called Mary Fincher. The performance was very well received and will hopefully be taking place again in September 2011.
Jewellery Quarter
The Jewellery Quarter is an area of Birmingham City Centre, England, situated in the south of the Hockley area. It is covered by the Ladywood district. There is a population of around 3,000 people in a area....
conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England. The building, which is Grade II* listed, was constructed between 1892 and 1894 to a design by Richard Harley for the firm. The Newman Brothers manufactured coffin furniture at the factory and remained there until 1999.
History
The Newman Brothers, brass founders and metal coffin fittings manufacturers, moved into the works in 1894. The company was set up by Alfred Newman and his three sons: Horace, George and John. During its time at the factory, the company produced some of the finest coffin furniture in the world that was used in the funerals for Sir Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. The owners and managers would have entered the building through the front entrance of the building whilst the poorer workforce would enter via the gated cart entrance. In the 1960s, the original single-storey range was demolished and replaced with a two storey brick building containing managerial, electroplating, warehousing and barrelling facilities. At its peak, the firm employed 100 people. In the 1950s, the company was exporting products internationally to West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, India, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, South Africa, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Canada and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
When the firm closed the factory in 1999, it was one of only three remaining coffin furniture manufacturers in England. In 2000, the building received Grade II* listed status from English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. In March 2001, the Birmingham Conservation Trust carried out a feasibility study on the building and became worried about the threat of redevelopment and possible loss of the building. As a result, they appealed to Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands
-Advantage West Midlands – Regional Development Agency:Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a...
who purchased the building in 2002 and agreed to fund the Trust in their scheme to bring the building back into use.
In 2003, the factory was one of the candidates on the first series of Restoration
Restoration (TV series)
Restoration, Restoration, Restoration is a set of BBC television series where viewers decided on which listed building that was in immediate need of remedial works was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund...
in late 2003. It did not receive enough votes to reach the final.
In 2007, plans were announced by the Trust and a planning application was submitted on June 20, 2008 for the refurbishment of the factory building to create a visitor's centre and office space. If approved, the museum would be the only funereal museum in the United Kingdom.
Future
The plans to bring the building back into use were submitted for planning permission on June 20, 2008 and include retaining the shroud room, the stamp room and the offices for the visitor's centre whilst there will be commercial units to provide an income that will be used for the maintenance and upkeep of the building. The income from the commercial elements will only be used once the conversion work has been completed. The building will have a total area of 1048 square metres (11,281 sq ft). As part of the plan, the 1960s extension will be demolished and a new building housing educational facilities will be constructed. A badly deteriorated 19th century range will also be demolished.The original building will not be altered, although it will be repaired where necessary and the existing slate roof will be stripped and replaced with Welsh slates. The plastic rainwater guttering will be replaced with cast iron whilst the modern company sign on the front will be removed and replaced with Victorian-style signage. The plans were designed by Purcell Miller Tritton, although the original commissioned architects were Niall Phillips of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
who merged with Purcell Miller Tritton. The scheme will cost £3.4 million, of which £1.5 million will come from Advantage West Midlands.
The restoration scheme was approved by Birmingham City Council on October 16, 2008.
In June 2011 Birmingham based TinBox theatre company collaboratively devised and performed a production entitled 'Stop The Clocks' which led audience members on a journey through the space told through the story of the life of a fictitious woman called Mary Fincher. The performance was very well received and will hopefully be taking place again in September 2011.