Next week in Birmingham a chaotic memorial to British manufacturing will be unveiled. It isn’t easy to know how to describe it. JW Evans’s old silverware factory can hardly be called a museum – there are no labels next to the objects, no demonstration models, no gift shop. It has neither been restored to how it would have looked in its heyday nor has it found a new use – another “cultural centre” or “fabulous exhibition space”. A freshly opened tomb might be nearer the mark, or an inland version of the Mary Celeste.
From The Guardian.
It looks like this might be opening today (pre-booked guided tours only) and is just round the corner from where I’m now working. In fact, thanks to the time-travelling magic of Google Street View, here’s the place while the scaffolding was up:
And here’s the nicely renovated factory this morning:
I thought the rays of sunlight were a nice touch.
My great grandfather William Harrison, worked here in the early 1910’s. Must pay a visit
My grandad worked in that shop.