Informed Conservation Series

The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter

by John Cattell and Bob Hawkins

Published 31 August 2000

The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter contains the best and most extensive surviving group of Victorian and 20th-century buildings devoted to the manufacture of jewellery in Europe. The Quarter is still a vibrant manufacturing community, with people often still working from original premises and in many cases using original machinery and tools. This booklet distils the findings of an extensive architectural survey carried out in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. The first section explains the evolution of the Quarter and acts as an introduction to its characteristic buildings, the people who work there, and their products. The second section provides a walking tour of the Quarter, highlighting some of the most significant buildings, which readers can use to explore the area.

One Great Workshop

by Nicola Wray, Bob Hawkins, and Colum Giles

Published 31 December 2001

Illustrated throughout, this book presents a summary of the Sheffield metal trades including a description of the processes involved and the special environment produced by the buildings of the industry. It also describes conservation issues.

Stourport-on-Severn

by Colum Giles

Published 31 May 2007

Today many English towns, adjusting to the needs of the 21st century, are turning to the historic environment as a means of reinforcing their identity and distinctiveness, precious attributes in a town's local and regional profile. For Stourport-on-Severn, this special identity is written large in the central part of the town, for there can be few places with such a strong association with a single determining feature - for Stourport, its canal infrastructure - and with a discrete period of development - in this case, the period 1770 to 1850. The regeneration of Stourport depends on many things but the protection and presentation of its historic environment must lie at the centre of efforts to bring new life to the town.

Understanding how Stourport assumed its present form is crucial to public enjoyment of the place and to the planning of change and this book aims to contribute to both aspects by celebrating the town's unique qualities and character.

Storehouses of Empire

by Colum Giles and Bob Hawkins

Published 30 November 2004

Some of the world's great cities are linked in the popular mind with their river and, for reasons both ancient and modern, Liverpool and the Mersey are inseparable. Treacherous and fast flowing, with a huge tidal range, the Mersey nevertheless formed part of the chain that carried the trade of the world, linking large parts of northern and midland England with markets and sources of supply across the globe. For centuries, this traffic passed through Liverpool, the landing point for imports and the port of dispatch for goods sent overseas or around the coast. Liverpool developed to serve a growing national and international trading network and for many decades handled more of the cargoes of Britain's maritime even than London. In Liverpool, the warehouse represents the essential function of the city and nowhere else can the evolution of this important building type be studied in such depth from surviving buildings.

Building a Better Society

by Colum Giles

Published 31 May 2008

Liverpool's landscape, both in the city centre and throughout its historic suburbs, is studded with institutional buildings, some - like the great hospitals - very prominent, others - like Sunday Schools and chapels - punctuating ordinary street scenes. All, however, tell the story of how charity and public authorities responded to the desperate need of the poor and vulnerable in the 19th century. Attractively illustrated by photographs and drawings, this book emphasises the importance of institutional buildings to our understanding of Liverpool's character and demonstrates how new uses can be found to ensure that they continue to form part of the city's historic environment.