Victorian silverware site saved

The owner said it will be a "good monument" to the industry

A 19th Century silverware and plate maker's premises in Birmingham has been saved from dereliction.

English Heritage has bought the site of JW Evans, after the owner Tony Evans was faced with selling to a developer or seeing it decay when he retired.

The Jewellery Quarter firm has been run by the same family since the 1880s.

English Heritage said it has stepped in because it is "one of the most important Victorian and Edwardian manufacturies in existence".

'Good monument'

The structure and contents will be secured for "future generations to enjoy".

The site, behind a terrace of Victorian houses, includes tools, dies, pattern books and wage books.

Initial work will focus on urgent repairs, such as to leaking roofs.

Mr Evans said: "It will be a good monument to the silverware industry in Birmingham.

"JW Evans produced high quality silver tableware which was marketed in the UK and all over the world."

'Empire supplied'

English Heritage said it had stepped in to "ensure the building and its contents remain together".

Dr Simon Thurley, chief executive, said its loss "would not just be for Birmingham but for the world".

He explained: "We now need to secure its long term future both as a business and as somewhere people can learn about the source of goods with which Birmingham supplied the Empire."

The Jewellery Quarter has a network of 19th and early 20th Century terraces with workshops built in the back gardens.

The JW Evans building was described as "unique as the most complete repository of the traditional craft skills, industrial processes, tools, machinery and archive materials that epitomise this important facet of our industrial past".

The city council said English Heritage's commitment builds upon "great work" already under way to preserve and enhance the area.