Museum of the Jewellery Quarter facts for kids
Exterior, May 2009
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| Established | 1992 |
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| Location | 75–79 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham |
| Type | Industrial |
| Visitors | 19,354 (2019) |
The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is a fascinating museum located in Hockley, Birmingham, England. It's found at 75–79 Vyse Street. This museum is one of nine amazing places managed by the Birmingham Museums Trust. This trust is the largest independent group of museums in the United Kingdom.
Back in 2008, a popular travel website called TripAdvisor named the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter as the third best free tourist attraction in Europe! It was ranked just behind the famous Pantheon in Rome and the National Gallery in London. Since then, a small entry fee has been introduced to help keep the museum running.
A Glimpse into the Past
For more than 80 years, a family business called Smith and Pepper made beautiful gold jewellery in this very building. What's amazing is that they hardly changed how they worked. Their tools, equipment, and even the look of the workshop stayed almost the same for decades.
When the elderly owners retired in 1981, they simply locked the door and left everything as it was. It was like a time capsule! Tools were still on the workbenches, overalls hung on coat hooks, and you could even see cups of tea and jars of jam and Marmite left behind.
What You Can See
The museum first opened its doors in 1992. It was originally called the Jewellery Quarter Discovery Centre. Its main goal was to save this incredible 'time capsule' workshop. It also tells the amazing 200-year story of the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. This area was once the heart of the British jewellery industry.
You can learn all about the traditional skills used to make jewellery. The museum also displays various collections of jewellery. It even includes some unique items like coffin fittings, which were decorative pieces for coffins. The museum is also the starting point for a self-guided walking tour of the wider Jewellery Quarter.
