Former Brandauer Works, New St John Street West, Birmingham

Image: © A J Paxton Taken: 18 Mar 2022

The Brandauer factory was built in 1862 and extended later in the 19th century. It was owned by Charles Brandauer, originally from Stuttgart, and managed by Joseph Petit, who was born in Sheffield of a French Huguenot family. Pen nibs and other metal pressings were made here. Charles Brandauer was succeeded by his son Frederick. During the first world war the factory made parts for the British war effort, but this was not enough to prevent the German Frederick from being interned on the Isle of Man as an 'enemy alien'. He committed suicide in 1918 to avoid being deported to Germany by the British authorities (see Image] for another case of prejudice against a German industrialist in the English Midlands). The Petit family took full control of the business, but under the Brandauer name. Brandauer remain in business, making precision pressings, in more modern premises on Bridge Street West nearby, and still with Petit family members on the board; see the Brandauer site here https://brandauer.co.uk/our-timeline/ . The old factory is a listed building and is described on the Historic England site here https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1360792?section=official-list-entry . It is situated by the ring road in the area of Birmingham now known as Newtown.

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