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9. THE PEN MAKERS, & RIP VAN WINKLE |
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Explore the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter | ||
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THE EXTRA |
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This page reproduces in printable format the information contained in the right hand column of the walk page. EXAMPLES OF THE THREE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES (1) REGENCY
(2) ITALIANATE
(3) ARTS & CRAFTS
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ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Most
of the larger buildings in the Jewellery Quarter are built in
one of three architectural styles. These are: (1) Late
Georgian,
or Regency, which predominated until about 1850. This is
a restrained style, relying mainly on clean lines and good
proportions for its pleasing effect. The Victoria Works is a
good example. (2) Italianate, which was popular from 1850 to
1890. This is a much more ornate style. The window openings tend
to be decorated and to have rounded tops. The Argent Centre is a
good example
of this style.
(3) After 1890 Arts & Crafts (a reversion to
traditional JOSEPH
GILLOTT THE MAN
Joseph
Gillott had a good reputation as an employer. He was an art
lover, a friend of JMW Turner and the first owner of many of
Turner’s finest works, including the famous picture of the
Fighting Temeraire, which now hangs in the National Gallery. His
two houses (although he lived and died in Westbourne Road,
Edgbaston, he had a second home at Stanmore in Middlesex) were
filled with works of art. He was also a sociable man, frequently
to be seen at the theatre or enjoying a pint with his pals in
the Hen & Chickens pub in New Street, which was next door to
Thomas Attwood's bank HENRY VAN WART Henry Van Wart had the reputation of being a thoroughly nice man. He became a naturalised British Citizen and a respected pillar of the Birmingham establishment, a councillor, alderman and magistrate, and lived on in his adopted city until his death in 1873 at the age of 90. WAS JAMES WATT A NEIGHBOUR? For a number of years James Watt lived at Harper's Hill, which I can't find on any old maps. But an entry in Wrightson's Directory gives the address of one John Lawrence, silversmith, as 'Frederick Street Harper's Hill', which raises the interesting possibility that James Watt might have been a neighbour of the Van Warts. QUIZ Here's a little quiz for you to have a go at. We're going to walk up Legge Lane, and I want to suggest to you that Legge Lane differs in two significant respects from the streets - George Street, Caroline Street, Graham Street and so on - that we've met up to now, and that one can make a significant inference on the basis of those differences. On the next page I'll invite you to say what you think the relevant points of difference are, and what you infer from them, and I shall be awarding lavish quantities of points for correct answers.
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LINKS Other sites: Joseph Gillott Washington Irving (1), (2), (3)
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