The Argent Centre is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building on the corner of Frederick Street and Legge Road in the

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, UK, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of around 19,000 people in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses invol ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Designed by J. G. Bland for W. E. Wiley, a manufacturer of gold pens; it was built in 1863, and acquired the name Albert Works, possibly because it was opposite the Victoria Works of

Joseph Gillott Joseph Gillott (11 October 1799 – 5 January 1872) was an English pen-manufacturer and patron of the arts based in Birmingham. Pen manufacturing After a brief period of schooling, Gillott began working in the cutlery trade in his home t ...

. Despite the appearance of being a huge, solid building, it consists of long, narrow, multi-storey workshops only wide, surrounding an open courtyard. This was a common arrangement at the time allowing natural light to reach workbenches from two sides. With floors constructed of hollow bricks tied with wrought iron, it was fireproof, removing the need for insurance. The multicoloured brickwork decorates a design reminiscent of renaissance Florence. Recycled steam from the works engines went to a Turkish bath in the northern end of the building; visitors to the Turkish Baths, also indulged in other leisure activities there, such as chess, fencing and billiards. It originally had pyramids on each corner tower, however these had been removed by the middle of the C20th, as is visible in aerial photos from the era. In 2020 the pyramidal roofs were restored. A bomb dropped into the courtyard at some time during the

Birmingham Blitz The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz , which was part of the Battle of Brit ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the bent window frames were visible at least till the mid-1980s. It was home to Griffin & George, scientific equipment supplier to schools and universities, as well as Gallenkamp, laboratory equipment suppliers, part of the Fisons Scientific Equipment Division until their move to London in 1983/4. The technical staff, sales and marketing personnel, draughtsmen and prototype engineers were housed there. It was converted to offices in 1993. The Argent Centre formerly Albert Works is owned by Midlands Industrial Association Ltd a Community Benefit Company whose aims and objectives are to encourage employment through the growth of the small firms sector by redeveloping redundant buildings in inner city brownfield sites. Midlands Industrial Associations Ltd is managed and run by Prince, Warnes Ltd. a specialist managed workspace consultancy. The Argent Centre provides workspace on a risk free monthly licence to give people the chance to develop their businesses without the risks normally associated with renting commercial propert

Among many other businesses, The Argent Centre is now home to the independent museum, The Pen Museum The only museum in the United Kingdom devoted to the history of the pen making industry - find out why Birmingham became the centre of the world pen trade.The Pen Museum
/ref> ' Midlands Industrial Association Ltd has 4 other properties developed and run by Prince, Warnes Ltd, The Telsen Centre. 55, Thomas Street, Aston, Birmingham. The Jubilee Centre, 130, Pershore Street, in Birmingham's China Town. FiFty Seven Frederick Street, in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter and The Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton.

References

*''The Jewellery Quarter – History and Guide'', Marie Elizabeth Haddleton, 1987, *''Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham'', Andy Foster, 2005, *''The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter - An Architectural Survey of the Manufactories'', John Cattell, Sheila Ely, Barry Jones, English Heritage, 2002, * {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county)