The Museum of 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 ...

is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

at 75-79 Vyse Street in

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

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 ...

. It is one of the nine museums run by the Birmingham Museums Trust, the largest independent museums trust in the United Kingdom. In 2008, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter was named as the third best free tourist attraction in Europe by TripAdvisor, behind the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. However an entry charge has since been introduced.

History

For over 80 years the family-run firm of Smith and Pepper produced gold

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

from the factory that is now the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, with very few changes in working practices, equipment or the appearance of the workshop. When the elderly owners retired in 1981, they simply locked the door. Everything was left as it was: tools on benches, overalls hanging on coat hooks, even cups of tea and jars of jam and

Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...

Collections

The museum opened in 1992 originally as the Jewellery Quarter Discovery Centre, as part of the city's Heritage Development Plan. It preserves this 'time capsule' of a jewellery workshop and also tells the 200-year story of the Birmingham

, the centre of the British jewellery industry, and its traditional craft skills. Collections of jewellery exhibited there include coffin fittings. The museum is the starting point of the self-guided walking tour of the Jewellery Quarter.''Urban Regeneration: Property Investment and Development'', ed. Jim Berry, Stanley McGreal and Bill Deddis, New York: Spon, 1993,
p. 169

References

External links

Museum of the Jewellery Quarter official website
- Educational teaching sessions and resources at the jewellery museum {{Authority control Museums in Birmingham, West Midlands Industry museums in England Jewellery museums Fashion museums in the United Kingdom Jewellery industry in the United Kingdom Birmingham Museums Trust