Opening the door to a treasure trove of history – my visit to the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre

by Damien Walmsley 24/09/2023 24/09/2023

Birmingham Museums Collection Centre, Nechells, September 2023.

Birmingham Heritage week is an exciting time in the calendar year for photographers. During this week, buildings open their doors allowing access to areas which are not normally open to the public. Each year in September, I scan the list of venues that are opening their doors to the public and have a look at what is available. The one that looked the most interesting this year was the “History Unboxed” open day at the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre. Several people had visited the collection centre before and their Instagram posts gave a brief insight into what you could see in the Centre. Reading the Birmingham Museum website, they state that 80% of their collection is housed in the Centre.

The Collection Centre is on an industrial site in Nechells Birmingham near to the railway line and the HS2 works. The warehouse is set away from the street and when I arrived, volunteers were on hand to direct visitors. I had walked to the centre from Snow Hill and was pleased that I did not bring my car as the on street parking was limited. At the entrance, there was a queue to enter the building as the event was proving to be very popular. Pre-booking was essential. Reached the welcome desk, a friendly face welcomed me. Steve aka “Mullerbiker” from the BritishTechNetwork, works at the Museum and he filled me in with what happens at the centre. All visitors were given a map showing the four areas of the museum. The first room is the main warehouse which is best described as an IKEA store for museums. There were rows upon rows of items on display. The low light proved tricky for photography but with my Fujifilm x100v set at f/2 and 125s, I was able to get good detailed pictures. My use of the manual focusing at this aperture is critical and most pictures turned out well. The colour balance required constant adjustment as I moved through different levels of light.

I could post countless pictures of different items that I viewed. All were fascinating. The subjects ranged from Roman busts, fairground figures, fish and chip fryers, Chopper bikes and early computers. The diverse nature of the exhibits does keep the attention and I have highlighted my favourite items. The collections centre has an adjacent room that houses several cars and jet engines and other machinery. All of them have a connection to Birmingham.

I enjoyed seeing the Queen Victoria statues that were once part of a re-imagining of the Queen Victoria Statue by Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke. The five statues of Queen Victoria joined with the original statue on a boat were displayed in Victoria square during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival. The artist has donated the 5 mini statues to Birmingham Museum.

After looking through the main halls, there was a “meet the experts” room and the small objects collection hall. The former had table demonstrations and I was captured by their photographer talking about interesting items. The small objects collection held smaller items which were housed in rows of caged lockers. Behind the door of each locker there were items that once again were so varied that I can only begin to cover what was present. There were Cadbury’s chocolate bars from a closed down shop, old cameras, shoes, clothes, lamps and much more.

Returning to the main hall, I had another look at some of the items that I had missed. The picture of a dental chair is put after the picture of sweets as the dentist will have done a lot of work with patients who had eaten all those Fruit and Nut bars.

The Sir Henry Moor statue looked incongruous. The figure was displayed on its back and was missing a foot. Then again, there was something different seeing the statue displayed in this manner. There are many more pictures and these are as random as I found them in the museum. All with a wonderful history and also each providing a story to the City of Birmingham.

My final two objects are particularly interesting to me. The first is the statue of “Forward together” which was in Centenary Square and suffered an arsonist attack by a member of the public. I remember visiting the square not long after it was finished and viewing this artwork. The second is detail from the head armour of Ozzy the Bull from the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The armour was removed by women chain makers as a symbol of freeing themselves from enslavement. Written on the armour were words of enslavement. The head armour also contains the names of the 21 people killed when bombs were detonated in Birmingham pubs in 1974.

My reflections on my visit to the Collections Centre is that there was just too much to take in. The place is an excellent venue and will require several visits as it is so difficult to view all the items that are on view in one session. I just have to go back again!

Further information

Link to the Birmingham Museums Collections Centre with details of how to visit.

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Walking the Regent’s Canal – Queen Mary University of London to Victoria Park

by Damien Walmsley 19/09/2023 19/09/2023

Regent's Canal, QMUL to Victoria Park, London, Sept 2023

Queen Mary University of London is on the Mile End Road and adjacent to the Regent’s canal. Part of the campus borders the canal and there is easy access from the University entrance. I was at QMUL for a conference but took the opportunity to explore the tow path. My first tow path walk was in the early morning and took me down to Limehouse basin and onto the river Thames. My second walk was northwards up to Victoria Park and took place in the late afternoon. Both walks allowed me to photograph people, boats, wildlife and buildings along the way. This is my photographic account from those walks.

Regent's Canal, QMUL to the Thames, London, Sept 2023 — Underneath Mile End road running northwards.

From QMUL to Victoria Park.

There was a break between presentations and the evening dinner which gave me the opportunity of exploring the northern part of Regent’s Canal from the Mile End Road to Victoria Park. This was another busy stretch of the towpath and Mile End Park is also adjacent to the towpath. The first interesting feature was what is known as a portrait bench which features three well known figures. The statues are in cast metal that then rusts giving an authentic look to the artwork. There was a casting of Ledley King, a professional footballer who grew up in the area and spent his entire playing career at Tottenham Hotspur FC. Nearby is a statue to Sylvia Pankhurst, the suffragette campaigner who worked on improving living conditions for destitute mothers. Finally there was a canal horse commemorating the animals that towed boats along the towpath. The park was lit up in patches as the sun broke through gaps of the high living flats on the other side of the canal. There was more art work with the Bow Bottle and fish tail sculptures further along in the park. These random pieces of work are intriguing and add to the charm of the canal.

There was an interesting cut called the Hertford Union Canal. This short canal links up to the Lee Navigation in Tower Hamlets. The start of the canal looked attractive but my walk was to carry me past this canal to the nearby Old Ford Lock.

The area has been renovated and with the low sunlight highlighted the beauty of the place. I then encountered Victoria Park where many people were enjoying the sunshine on this hot September Day. Although I only touched briefly on the park, I came across the bridge at Bonner gate. The bright blue painting of the iron work contrasted with the greens and darker colours of the canal which was in the shade. Other interesting features I saw were the Dogs of Alcibiades and have a fascinating history. The statues were donated by Lady Regnart in 1912. I got lost in the history of the dogs that were described on the accompanying board. Victoria Park looked inviting but time pressed on and there was a conference dinner to attend. The park was also full of police as they searched for an escaped prisoner and so I left the beauty and the noise retracing my steps to QMUL.

Dogs of Alcibiades — Enjoying the towpath.

To follow up this blog, please read my earlier accounts of my walks along the Regent’s Canal.

Walking Regent’s Canal

Word on the Water

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Walking the Regent’s Canal – Queen Mary University of London to the river Thames.

by Damien Walmsley 17/09/2023 18/09/2023

Queen Mary University of London is on the Mile End Road and is adjacent to the Regent’s canal. Part of the campus borders the canal and there is easy access from the University entrance. I was at QMUL for a conference but took the opportunity when time allowed to explore the tow path. My first walk was in the early morning and I followed the canal down to Limehouse basin and onto the River Thames. My second walk was northwards up to Victoria park and took place in the late afternoon. Both walks allowed me to photograph people, boats, wildlife and buildings along the way. This is my photographic account from those walks.

From QMUL to the river.

I was up early for this walk and was moving on the towpath by 6am. There were still many people out and about at this time. The day before had been hot and whilst there was a morning coolness temperatures were forecast to rise above 30^oC. There was a slight mist around the canal which diffused the light. Several species of birds were moving around in the water. The canal was heavy with algae and the ducks made tracks in the green covering. There is a mixture of old industrial decay alongside both modern designs of buildings. I took several pictures of the juxta positioning of the buildings and where the canal was algae free caught their reflections in the still water.

On the streets there were abandoned hire bikes. Colours were appearing as the early sunlight started to reach the taller buildings. I soon reached Limehouse basin and this coincided with the sunrise. The area has lots to see and quick decisions were made as to the best place to stand for the photographs. I used my phone to take a few quick pictures that let me quickly see and plan the pictures with my Fujifilm x100v. One of my first pictures worked well and set the standard that I needed for future views.

After spending time photographing the sunrise , I made my way along the final part of the canal to the Thames. This area is very popular with local commuters due to its proximity to Canary Wharf. The quality of housing is of a higher standard than where I started in the Mile End Road. The journey does take you through a range of housing. The Thames looked good in the early morning light and I took several pictures around Gordon Ramsey’s Bread Kitchen restaurant. I followed the commuters as they walked along the road and then onto the pedestrian walkway next to the Thames. This was a chance to practice some street photography as sharp contrasts between light and dark were created by the sunlight rising between the buildings.

After a while, I realised that I had a conference to attend and I made my way back to QMUL following the Limehouse Cut. This took me past the Sea Mission and I eventually caught up with the Regent’s canal again. The light had shifted and therefore there were different takes on pictures that I had taken on the way down. One picture that I enjoyed taking was of two swans who were tucked into a recess of the canal wall. The picture with the reflections in the background shows the beauty of this canal.

My final picture is of black and white architecture. I saw this block of flats as the canal turned after a railway bridge. The reflections immediately caught my eye. I converted the picture to black and white and I was pleased with the result. I entered into the weekly #fsprintmondays competition organised by FotoSpeed on Twitter and the picture made the top 4 for that week.

If you enjoyed this blog then there is an earlier account of my photographic journey from Kings Cross to Camden along the Regent’s Canal. This waterway has such a varied landscape which makes it ideal to satisfy my love for photography.

Walking Regent’s Canal

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Pictures at an exhibition celebrating the beauty of photographs from Westside BID calendar

by Damien Walmsley 08/08/2023 12/08/2023

Winning photograph Westside BID calendar 2023

Westside BID organised a celebratory evening around the photography competition for the 2023 calendar. We all gathered at the Flapper Pub near Cambrian wharf where we met our fellow winners and local business people. There were councillors from Birmingham City Council present as well. The pictures were hung around the room and the MC interviewed each photographer in turn. Then the food was served and there was a chance to meetest people. The evening sun shone over the canal allowing us the chance to soak in the warmth. The last few weeks have been very wet, so the sun was welcome. There were interviews to be done and pictures to be taken. My picture was the overall winner and is shown above, although any of the other ones could have won as well. The two videos plus the story of the night provide a great memory of the event. Thanks to Westside BID for the support of photography through the calendar.

Two videos and multiple pictures from Westside BID’s 2023 calender exhibition

The Flapper Pub, Birmingham, 2023 — A beautiful evening for the WestsideBIDS celebration evening

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St Chad’s Cathedral welcomes IgersbirminghamUK

by Damien Walmsley 06/08/2023 07/08/2023

St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham IgersbirminghamUK instameet, 2023

St Chad’s Cathedral was the setting for an IgersbirminghamUK Instameet on a wet Saturday morning. Storm Antoni was passing through and the rain was non-stop. I joked with the photographers that we had made the decision to go for the inside walkabout rather than taking pictures outside. The interior of the building is beautiful, and we had also arranged to view the extensive crypt below.

Our two guides were Marie Louise and Angela and as soon as the introductions were done, we were provided with the background information to the Cathedral. The Roman Catholic cathedral was designed by Pugin and is a fine example of the Gothic architecture revival in England. We were shown around both the crypt and the main interior of the Cathedral. Both Marie Louise and Angela were informative and provided historical and contemporary information about the Cathedral. They were also very welcoming and tolerant of 20 photographers taking pictures.

Here are a few of the interesting facts supplied by our guides. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was the architect at the forefront of the Gothic revival style in architecture. Pugin was hired to assist in the Gothic design of the House of Commons and Big Ben. John Hardman, was a close friend of Pugin, and the Hardman family are buried in the crypt. The son of a button making family, John Hardman turned his skills to metal work and stained glass windows. He designed the clock face and manufactured the hands of Big Ben. There are many more interesting facts about St Chad’s and both Marie Louise and Angela were happy to inform us of all the details. I have taken their photograph with the backdrop of the Cathedral Altar behind them.

One of the most interesting stories is that the Cathedral was earmarked to be demolished but was saved by one vote at the Birmingham City Council meeting. Many other Victorian buildings were demolished around the area to make way for the motor car. Luckily there is a sensible view prevailing these days, and the area is under improvement.

The Crypt of St Chad’s Cathedral

The crypt is a secret treasure trove with a layout of several rooms with interesting designs around the altars. Pugin collected various ornamental religious pieces on his travels, and these are held in the crypt. My favourites are the two wooden angels that have soulful expressions. The tiled design and ornamental altar in the Hardman family crypt is another standout feature of the extensive crypt. On display are the vestments worn by both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. I was also fascinated by the large wooden door which provides the entrance to the crypt. A selection of my photographs are shown. I have many more and it was difficult to select the best pictures. For interest to any photographer reading this account, the majority of my pictures are taken with the iPhone13 which excels in low light. I did have my travel tripod with me which allowed some pictures to be taken with my Fujifilm x100v.

Pope Benedict XVI visited Birmingham on Sunday, September 19, 2010 — Looking up at the details.

The main Cathedral floor

The Instagrammers then moved up to the main Cathedral area which provided more photographic opportunities. There is so much to take in and the Apse of St Chad’s Cathedral with the high altar is impressive to view. There are colourful stained-glass windows flanking the high altar. The apse was designed by Pugin and was part of his grand plan to emphasise the Gothic revival architecture of the Cathedral. There were many small details to see and, on this visit, the guides pointed out to me the non-religious wood carvings on the rear seats in the Choir Stall. These were fun to photograph. You will see from my photographs the various parts of the cathedral and I know that I did not have time to view everything.

The cathedral has so many stories and this is another one that I find fascinating. In the diapered design of the transept ceiling, there is a tile that has the words Deo Gratias 22 Nov 1940. This translates to thanks be to God. During World War II, incendiary devices were dropped and caused significant damage to buildings. The old Coventry cathedral is an example of the devestating destruction. At St Chad’s Cathedral, an incendiary device fell through the ceiling and exploded within the central heating pipes and the water subsequently put the fire out. Hence the miracle of St Chad’s.

There are many more stories about the Cathedral. These involve St Chad, the patron saint and how his relics were transported from his shrine in Lichfield. Cardinal Newman who was such an influential figure in Birmingham, gave sermons from the pulpit. However, the best way to learn more about these stories and the Cathedral is to visit the building yourself. My pictures in this blog which catalogue my view from the Instameet only show a part of what is on view..

There are many more pictures taken by the talented photographers of Igersbirmingham UK and these may be found on Instagram by using the hashtag #igbUK_meet_stchads.

Thank you to St Chad’s Cathedral for hosting us. Thank you to my fellow IgersbirminghamUK organisers, @NickyWarwickshire and @James_never_Jim and all the photographers who came along and supported the event.

For more information about St Chad’s please vist the following webpage

Discover St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham

Welcome to St Chad’s Cathedral – Birmingham’s hidden jewel on the edge of the Jewellery Quarter