Coffin Works museum and tour (Birmingham branch)

Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter was one of the most dynamic industrial districts in the region. Since the eighteenth century, it was home not only to jewellers and goldsmiths but a host of other concerns. One of the less well-known was the coffin trade. The Coffin Works, one of Birmingham's newest museums, offers its guests a tour around the factory of the Newman Brothers. Fully costumed guides demonstrate the tools and methods used to produce fittings for the funerals of Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and the Queen Mother. This tour is a must-see for all who are interested in Birmingham's industrial past.

Cost: £5 per adult, £4 concessions.

We will meet outside the factory: look for the guy holding a sign and wearing fingerless gloves and glasses. The tour starts at 1400: please arrive before then so we can start promptly.

For more information, please consult the website of the Coffin Works:  http://www.coffinworks.org/

Location: Coffin Works, 13-15 Fleet Street, Birmingham, B3 1JP. 

Time and Date: 1345, Saturday 4th April 2015. 

Mid-March Report

Birmingham Branch

The Birmingham branch has continued its impressive growth rate: it now has 222 members, up from 118 members when the last report was released.

3 events were held. There were two guided tours at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and the Faith in Action exhibit of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Two talks were also held: the first by James White on the subject of Russian magic and witchcraft between 1500 and 1900 and the second by Lars Kabel on the cultural and social history of the Irish language. All of these events were well attended, with between 15 and 30 people at each event. 

The April schedule is currently being prepared. Given the advent of spring, it is hoped that some events will be held outdoors in the next few months. 

A poster campaign for the Birmingham History Network will be launched shortly. 

Berlin Branch

The Berlin branch has continued to accumulate members at a considerable rate: it now has 239 members, up from 157 members when the last report was released.

2 events were held. The first was a repeat of the tour of the Red Army Faction at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, with Jan Schulz once again providing his expert services as a guide. The second was a talk on Soviet animation in the Brezhnev era, performed by Dr. Irina Chiaburu of the Jacobs University in Bremen. Both events drew between 15 and 20 attendees. 

Future events are presently being planned by the Berlin team. 

Facebook traffic

The Birmingham branch page has 36 likes whilst the Berlin branch page has 42 likes. 

The History Network traffic

The History Network page has had 435 views.

Summary

Many thanks to our speakers and tour guides for events in February and the first half of March, your contribution is vastly appreciated. We hope to continue organising interesting events over the course of March and April - please stay tuned for further announcements. And look out for our posters in the Birmingham area!