After a 15-year mission to rescue the factory, by the Birmingham Conservation Trust, The Newman Brothers at the Coffin Works are reopening their doors to the public!
Situated on Fleet Street, the Quarter’s brand new heritage attraction is offering the public the chance to leap back in time and experience the factory in all of its vintage glory.
Over the duration of the past couple months, The Birmingham Conservation Trust have been restoring the factory’s original machinery, some dating over one hundred years old, and have installed the items in their former places.
The official launch of the factory happened on Friday 24th October, seeing the likes of the Lord Mayor, Simon Buteux and Bob Beauchamp, Councillor of the Birmingham Conservation Trust, and Les Sparks OBE, chairman of the West Midlands Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Between the mid 1980s and the late 1990s, the Newman Brothers produced high-quality coffin fittings, shrouds and coffin linings.
A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £1,000,000 was given to the factory in order to help with repairs and fixtures, and that amount was then matched by the Birmingham City Council to make the conservation work possible.
Guests who came to the launch on the Friday were treated to a buffet, had an exclusive screening of a special film: ‘The Making of the Coffin Works’, and were allowed to explore the Quarter’s newest attraction.
For more information on the Coffin Works, visit their site!
We’re happy to see the Coffin Works reopened!
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