The Jewellery Quarter Townscape Heritage (JQTH) project recruited a group of volunteers in partnership with the JQ Cemeteries project and The Hive – collectively they are known as the Heritage Squad. The volunteers have participated in many activities throughout the project and a continuing strand was documenting heritage through photography and research. The area of focus for the JQTH project is the Industrial Middle, an area between Warstone Lane and Graham Street. Heritage Squad volunteers have researched the history of buildings in the whole of the Jewellery Quarter, but particularly in this area.
The volunteers photographed the buildings, and their research and images are available on our website. The volunteers also documented our grant funded conservation work for us.
Image from Mary Moore’s research on Barr Street
– Mary Moore, Heritage Squad Volunteer“I have been interested in the Jewellery Quarter and its history for a number of years and as lockdown set in, I thought I needed something to do which would keep me occupied for the duration. I contacted the Heritage Squad about this, adding that I worked for Fattorini’s in Barr Street in the 1960’s.On my first visit, early one Sunday morning, armed with a notebook and camera, I parked up at one end of Barr Street. With hindsight, I am so pleased that I took photographs because there has been a lot of demolition and rebuilding going on and whole buildings have disappeared since I took on the research.”
– Helen Baws, Heritage Squad Volunteer“Volunteering with the Heritage Squad has once again for me underlined the worldwide importance and rich history of the Jewellery Quarter. The research we are doing ensures the continuity and memory of the people from the past, and projects the Quarter into the future as a vibrant place to live and work. Volunteering with the Heritage Squad is a great way to meet like-minded people, with tasks to suit all interests.”
Image from Mary Moore’s research on Barr Street
– Georgina Izzard, Heritage Squad Volunteer“As a relative newcomer to Birmingham, joining the Heritage Squad helped me meet people, get involved with projects that gave me a better insight to local history, and get to know the JQ. I have felt really welcomed by everyone involved. I was invited to give an online talk about my research on the JQ in the Second World War and the JQTH team were, and continue to be, so supportive and encouraging of our individual research interests, an attitude that is invaluable in the world of heritage research."
Find out more https://th.jewelleryquarter.net/research/
