In April 2008, English Heritage saved an extraordinary piece of Britain’s industrial heritage from dereliction by taking the unusual step of acquiring it for the nation.
JW Evans, a family silverware and plate manufactory at the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, is being restored so that future generations can understand and appreciate a vitally important element of our industrial past.
JW Evans is a unique, living record of a trade that once made Birmingham, and indeed Great Britain, famous throughout the world.
Run by the same family since the 1880s until the present day, its premises – tucked in behind an ordinary terrace of Victorian houses - is complete with equipment, tools, dies, pattern books, wage books, inventories, and accounts left just where they were the last time they were used.
Founded by Jenkin William Evans in 1882, the business passed from father to son to grandson and each generation made the silver tableware that graced the dining tables of the British Empire.
Rescued by English Heritage
When Anthony Evans retired in 2008, English Heritage stepped in and bought the houses and their contents. We are now in the process of conserving the site - roofs are being mended, chimneys repaired and windows patched while the contents are being carefully protected from dust and damage.
Further works - to install electricity, lighting and visitor facilities - are being undertaken and will ensure public access to the site is possible.
