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Floodgate Street, BIRMINGHAM, B5 5SS

The factory of the former Birmingham Screwdriver Company is now advertised as studio and office space, while Katjes (Katjes Fassin UK) make confectionery and other specialised products using 3-D printing in their 'magic candy factory' https://digbeth.com/directory/katjes-fassin-uk-1 , all of which reflects the shift away from metal trades to 'creative industries' in this part of town. The preserved ghost sign with its arm and hammer recall the crest on the Birmingham coat of arms Image The building stands at the corner of Floodgate Street and Little Ann Street. This Historic England e-publication on Digbeth & Deritend https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/7279/DigbethandDeritendBirminghamWestMidlands_OutlineHistoricAreaAssessment shows, however, on p93, a photo of this building taken in 2017 with no evidence of the 'ghost sign', which suggests that it is a recent postmodern joke, 'Birmingham screwdriver' as a humorous term for a hammer. Historic England describe the building on p94 as the number 4 works of the W.J. Wild component manufacture factory, erected between 1955 and 1967. It appears to have been a metal pressing factory, so the comments above about change of use still stand.

Formerly the Floodgate Tavern.

The footbridge forms part of a path connecting Gibb Street and Floodgate Street. The path runs entirely underneath the railway viaduct, passing through arches, one of which is visible at the left of this photo. Path and bridge are well-used, as they are located in the hip 'creative' and nightlife quarter around the Custard Factory. We are looking downstream, to the northeast; in the distance can be seen the former factory of the Birmingham Screwdriver Company, with its arm and hammer symbol Image Like many urban rivers, the Rea (which rhymes with 'day') has suffered pollution and neglect and has been hidden away in culverts, but is now beginning to be rediscovered and appreciated once more.

The Rea, which rhymes with 'day', is the river of central Birmingham. It rises in the Waseley Hills country park in Worcestershire and flows northeast into the River Tame. Most of its 14 miles (23km) lie within the boundaries of the city of Birmingham, which has its origins in a medieval settlement which grew up around the Rea at Digbeth, a street which is believed to derive its name from 'dyke path' (see Wikipedia on the Rea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Rea and on Digbeth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digbeth ). By the 18th century the focus of the town centre had shifted to the hillside to the northwest, around New Street, where it remains today. Digbeth continued to flourish as an industrial area, dominated since the mid-19th century by the blue-brick viaduct that carries the railway into Moor Street and Snow Hill stations. The river has flooded frequently, hence the name Floodgate Street. It is seen here looking upstream to the southwest. The Custard Factory, former home of Bird's custard powder, is the cream-painted building visible through an arch of the viaduct.

The river on which Birmingham was founded makes a brief reappearance under the railway viaduct behind the Custard Factory.

There is a great deal of superb street art under the viaduct behind the Custard Factory.

A view of some of the office buildings in the Custard Factory, Digbeth.

This footbridge links "The Custard Factory" (a business enterprise complex) car park on this side of the culverted River Rea with a further parking area that vehicles can only access from Floodgate Street. Trains services between Moor Street Station and Bordesley Station are carried over this area by an overhead viaduct.