On a bus to Birmingham the other week, I realised that I was
going through Edgbaston. I thought to myself, “I’m sure this is near the site
of Matthew Boulton’s Manufactory.” – Which I previously researched for my blog,
‘Once the most industrious city in the world.’ In a randomly spontaneous act I
got off the bus, unaware of my location and ‘googled’ where the old site was. I
found nothing to take me to the old site yet I found the postcode for Soho
House, and it was only about 3miles away, so it was decided, I was going to
Matthew Boulton’s House…
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| South Road |
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How the site of the principle
building now looks |
I set the navigation app on my phone to the postcode and
followed the route it gave me, my excitement rising the closer I came. At a
point where I was close to Soho House I saw a notice board and for reasons
unknown I happened to cross the road to read it. It read ‘The Soho Manufactory’.
I had found it, the site of the manufactory; I read every word on the board and
took pictures of where the legendary workshop once stood. People around me
seemed perplexed by my actions, looking at me as if I were the crazy one. I
wanted to tell everybody about what once was here on South Road, I felt angry
and upset that people were living here. I mourned Matthew Boulton’s legacy, I
believed it should still be here as a monument to his success.
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| Soho House |
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| Soho Avenue |
After taking pictures of the site, reading the information
panel and taking notes of the companies that now stood in the place of the
principle building, I carried on walking and went up Soho Avenue to where Soho
House still stands.
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| Blue Plaque on Soho House |
I knew it was going to be closed as I read that they closed
on Mondays at the same time I found the post code. Unknowing whether the site
would be cornered off, if I could get in or even if I’d be able to see the
building I walked around the corner to Soho House. It was open, and there were
people inside the information building. I knocked the door and asked if it was
okay to look around and take a few pictures. The man gave me permission and
even opened the gate at the side of the house. I was in awe.
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Statue of Boulton Watt and
Murdoch on Broad St |
I left with all my pictures, absolutely sure that “I’m going
to write a blog on this,” On the way home the bus I was on went down Broad
Street, now, most 22 year old lads know broad street as the pinnacle of
Birmingham’s night life, the place that homes the best nightclubs, restaurants
and bars Birmingham has to offer. To me however, there is a statue of Boulton
Watt and Murdoch on Broad Street. I got off my bus and took many more pictures,
then angrily waited 30 minutes for the next bus having got off the bus home
already.
In the coming days I become, admittedly, a little bit
obsessed with Matthew Boulton. I researched everything I could, read loads of
websites, spoke to people about him and bullied my girlfriend to revisit Soho
House with me the following weekend.
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| Looking around Soho House |
Hesitantly she agreed, and she
actually she quite enjoyed it. We walked around the house reading all the
panels, I even put her in charge of photography. We stood in the same room that
the Lunar Society (the most influential collection of men in Birmingham or even
the World) met; stared through the window of Matthew Boulton’s bedroom window
that he apparently watched the manufactory through when he wasn’t there in
person; Looked at the desk in his study which he planned and contemplated his
empire and stood in the room where his family would gather and spend time
together. It was absolutely fascinating.
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| In the garden room at Soho House |
Once we had completed the tour
and gone back to the building next door with the gift shop I bought everything
that captured my interest; 2 books, a coaster, some items my girlfriend wanted,
a bookmark and a poster to name a few.
I would insist that anybody with
the slight interest in manufacturing, engineering or even just in how the world
become what it is today, go to Soho House. At £4 entry for adults it is a bargain
and a must see for anybody who is visiting Birmingham.
Once I got back home I started
flicking through my book, and I started seeing things that I had seen in
previous research of the manufactory but in more detail. Matthew Boulton had
created more than he ever could have imagined, I believe that every modern
business uses some sort of procedure that was used first at The Soho
Manufactory.
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| The table where the lunar society would of met every full moon |
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Some items produced at the
manufactory on display |
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