IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Vittoria Street, BIRMINGHAM, B1 3PE

Built in 1862-3 to house Wiley's Pen Works

In the Jewellery Quarter

This telephoto assisted rooftops view looking north-north-west towards the Jewellery Quarter is seen from the Terrace, Level 3 of the Library of Birmingham. Just right of centre, Vittoria Street leads towards the huge white building "The Big Peg" in Warstone Lane.

This Grade II Listed building was built in 1839-40 for Joseph Gillott for the manufacture of pen nibs. It was one of the first purpose-built factories in the Jewellery Quarter. It employed nearly 600 workers and steam engines of 60 horsepower operated the machinery. It was renovated in the 1990s and is in multiple occupancy. On the extreme left is the Argent Centre, another former pen nib factory.

This Grade II Listed building was built in 1839-40 for Joseph Gillott for he manufacture of pen nibs. It was one of the first purpose-built factories in the Jewellery Quarter. It employed nearly 600 workers and steam engines of 60 horsepower operated the machinery. It was renovated in the 1990s and is in multiple occupancy.

A terracotta medallion relief of Queen Victoria on the former Victoria Works factory on Graham Street.

This Grade II Listed building was built in 1839-40 for Joseph Gillott for he manufacture of pen nibs. It was one of the first purpose-built factories in the Jewellery Quarter. It employed nearly 600 workers and steam engines of 60 horsepower operated the machinery. It was renovated in the 1990s and is in multiple occupancy.

This Grade II Listed building was built in 1839-40 for Joseph Gillott for he manufacture of pen nibs. It was one of the first purpose-built factories in the Jewellery Quarter. It employed nearly 600 workers and steam engines of 60 horsepower operated the machinery. It was renovated in the 1990s and is in multiple occupancy.

A blue plaque records the presence here of "Joseph Gillott, 1799-1873, Steel Pen Manufacturer". The dates refer to his lifespan as the building went up in 1839-40, perhaps designed by Charles Edge. It has a few later C19th alterations, but still comes across as presentable. Listed "because of its importance in the industrial development of Birmingham and because of the international importance of this first mass production of pen nibs." Grade II listed. Now offices I think.

The Pen Museum celebrates the legacy of Birmingham’s 19th century steel pen trade, where mass production first made mass communication possible. Through exports this made an enormous contribution to global literacy. In effect, this is where the world learned to write. The museum is based in an 1863 Florentine Renaissance style former pen factory.