Turn left onto Allison Street for the Warehouse vegetarian and

vegan restaurant - a rarity in the city. Further along on the right is

the imposing, touch-of-Gothic Umbrella factory - now the Brolly
Works [11] apartments. Birmingham manufactories were often
very proud affairs.
Left onto Digbeth, briefly, past the Police Station, then left onto
Meriden Street past the former Falcon and Castle pub - now the
Fancy Fabrics store. At Bordesley Street, turn right. Further down
on the left is the striking Typhoo Tea Factory [12]: Art Deco in
blue brick. The architect, Harry Weedon, usually designed Odeon
cinemas. Chevrons above the doorways and windows helpfully
point out the TTT logo with its crescent moon - that final T being
the mysteriously spelled tipps. At Oxford Street, turn right and
walk as far as Coventry Street to encounter the Walker Building
[13], designed in the Arts and Crafts style and originally making

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THE CUSTARD FACTORY

Walk 3
1.5 miles / 2.5km

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Cross over Fazeley Street ahead and join the Grand Union canal
on the right, after the bridge. Double back and head along the
towpath under the bridge (mind your head) and cross once again
the Rea. At the bridge up ahead, turn right and head back
towards Curzon Street along the Digbeth Branch canal. This
section of the walk is covered in greater detail at the beginning of
the next walk.

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TYPHOO TEA
12 FACTORY

10

On the right look for Saint Basils Church [16]. Its modest scale
is intensified by an inventive array of brick features, styles and
patterns in the Arts and Crafts tradition. St Basils is now home to
a young peoples charity preventing homelessness.

21

MOOR STREET STATION

SELFRIDGES

BR

NEW

IG

TH
BE

Turn left onto Gibb Street, follow it round, then left again onto
Heath Mill Lane - this references a mediaeval water mill. If you
glance to the right, youll see a true mediaeval survivor: the
Old Crown pub. Its claims of 1368 are dubious - the decorative
woodwork bits look more like 1496 to me. Further up on the left
is Eastside Projects [15] contemporary art gallery. They have
been an active creative presence here since 2008, setting up while
Digbeth was temporarily Eastside. This city does not sit still.

20

AN

QU

BIRMINGHAM GUN BARREL

PROOF HOUSE

N S
T

Turn left onto New Canal Street. Youll notice another old pub
here: the former Hope and Anchor. Many of the empty pubs will
soon enjoy new lives as the regeneration of Eastside picks up
momentum. Keep an ear cocked for the sound of dogs barking,
for Birmingham Dogs Home is nearby. Turn right after Latifs
monumental discount store - a family business here since 1956.
More full-building psychedelic graffiti appears on the former
Spotted Dog pub. Further up, the residential houses on Bordesley
Street formed the heart of Little Italy [10], home to the
extended Tavolieri and Delicata families, most of whom worked
as ice cream vendors and street musicians in the 19th century.
This junction was called Catchems Corner, after a tollgate that
once operated here.

IDE

Turn right up Fazeley Street back to New Canal Street. You can
get a sense of the varied industry still operating here. Amongst
the billiard accessories and aquarium suppliers is William
Marston Ltd, upholsterers of boats since 1865... a curiosity given
Brums inland setting. Perhaps their most adventurous client was
Lisa Clayton, who in 1995 sailed her yacht Spirit of Birmingham
round the world and setting new records.

18

CUR

Turn right down Milk Street and left onto Moores Row. Then turn
right onto Floodgate Street and walk towards the viaduct. Here,
duck inside the pier and head towards the Custard Factory. Visible
here for the first time is the river Rea - water source for the
earliest Brummies. Despite its meagre flow, this was once the
power that drove Birmingham watermills. Cross the metal bridge
into the heart of the Custard Factory. This is the home of many
independent shops, boutiques, cafs and businesses, amongst
them Flatpack Film Festival, Capsule, Milque and Muhle
independent records and Ideal Skateboards.

N S
T

Head beneath the viaduct. On the right, occupying the former

Royal Oak pub is Mission Print. Graffiti street art [9]
characterises the area - many are full height mural commissions
while others are less official. An important Birmingham
music heritage site lies opposite: this car park was once a busy
slaughterhouse. Its most enthusiastic employee - Ozzy Osbourne.

19

GI
B

Turn right down Fazeley St, then left into what used to be
Bartholomew Road: only the first few feet remain. You can still
see the line of street lights and the occasional manhole cover
hidden in the grass. A diagonal desire line bisects the meadow,
created as people tread a short cut to the pub and park beyond.
Many people head here to play games or simply to bask in the sun
for a while. Beyond the meadow, you arrive at Eastside City Park
[5]. From left to right you can see: Christopher Wray Lighting
Emporium and early industrial workshops, Think Tank
(Birmingham Science Museum), The Woodman pub, Curzon
Street Station, student accommodation blocks and the former
Eagle and Tun pub. Theres plenty to discover here, whether thats
history, leisure or culture. For refreshments head to Six Eight Kaf
in Millennium Point or Square Coffee at BCU Parkside. Or enjoy a
taste of Victoriana in the tiled opulence of the recently restored
Woodman pub. Now that you are here, the guide provides two
other walks to help you explore the wider Eastside setting.

Turn left down Banbury Street. Visible through the heavy

gates at the end is the Gun Barrel Proof House [8]. Ammunition
and gun barrels are still tested here to demonstrate that they are
safe to use. There is a small museum here, visitable by prior
appointment. The building dates back to 1813. Birmingham has
long been associated with gun manufacture and precision
engineering and indeed still is - we shouldnt think of Digbeth as
being post-industrial.

Further still, on the right, is a taste of old industrial: the

truncated chimney and workshops of a factory buried by modern
extensions. Smoke-erupting stacks once dominated the skyline,
now obsolete and nearly all gone. One proud survivor stands over
Devonshire Works up ahead. This is the Custard Factory [14],
source of Alfred Birds own brand of eggless custard. Naturally,
the chimney has been painted to resemble a bearded, tattooed
hipster. Also very present here is the towering, ornate red brick
solar chimney of South Birmingham College.

AR
THINKTANK (BIRMINGHAM
Y P
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SCIENCE MUSEUM)
E C
5
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MER

Birminghams suburbs have plentiful parkland but for some

reason parks are rare in the city centre. People generally head
to Saint Philips churchyard. In Park Street Gardens, headstones
emerge from the shrubbery and populate the elevated side.
This is the recycled graveyard of a lost church. St Bartholomews
was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the ring road. The
gnarly plane trees remain and the landscape still bulges from
the many interred residents. Bartholomew Row beyond the park
features two fashionable 18th century townhouses that faced
onto the churchyard.

The streets we are about to visit are the domain of the Sloggers
and Peaky Blinder gangs of the 19th and 20th centuries. Each
gang had their own territory, often allied to a particular factory
and were a formidable force to encounter.

17

ISO

Cross Queensway towards Moor Street Station and head in the

direction of Millennium Point. Youll need to cut through the car
park beyond the station and head towards Freeman Street. Please
be careful! The Fox and Grapes [3] has stood on Freeman Street
since even before the first map of Birmingham was drawn. There
have been many alterations over the years but it essentially dates
back to the times of Matthew Boulton and John Baskerville. It is
in bad shape after a fire in January 2015 and probably wont last
much longer. Cross over Park Street at the Zebra Crossing to Park
Street Gardens [4].

Eastsides appearance is characterised by robust brick buildings

and structures from its Victorian industrial heyday. Many are
made from distinctive blue engineering bricks, fired to a higher
temperature for strength and weatherproofing. On New Canal
Street, the wall [7] beyond the former station entrance
showcases the hand-cut bricks in subtle red, blue and plum hues.

ST

The 2003 redevelopment of the Bullring reawakened some old

streets and walkways. Swan Passage [2] is named after the
long-dormant Swan Alley, home in the 18th century to the Swan
Hotel pub. Its name appears - nearly invisibly - in the slate wall
tiles on the left of the walkway.

3
Eastside
Walks

OR

The well-loved and much-photographed Bronze Bull [1]

sculpture by Lawrence Broderick is the citys adopted mascot. It is
a popular meeting point and is also where we begin our tour.
Rotunda Square also boasts another bull, a white one that few
spot above the entrance to the Rotunda apartments. Stand away
from the tower to see it peeping over the balcony. Its looking
away from the centre...follow its gaze towards Eastside City Park.

Its hard to miss the monumental presence of Curzon Street [6]

Station, so lets begin our exploration here. Its Birminghams
oldest station, indeed the oldest remaining railway architecture anywhere. When it opened in 1838 it was simply known as
Birmingham Station. The terminus building - and Eastside - now
await the 20:26 arrival of High Speed 2 on platforms 1-8.

MO

Birmingham City Centre is a vibrant hub of commercial

activity with no shortage of attractions and entertainment
options. However, one thing thats missing is green civic space...
in other words: a park. For this you need to head to Eastside City
Park. That means crossing the ring road and heading into the
citys Old Town but its nearer than you may think. In fact you can
see it from the Bullring. Theres a lot more there besides the park.
This map is intended to introduce the area and give you a sense
of what it has been and will become. Navigations is the old word
for the canal network, an essential aspect of the area you will be
guiding yourself around.

TRE

2 miles / 3km

ST

0.5 miles / 1km

OXF
ORD

Walk 2

precision nautical devices. Digbeth is proving to be surprisingly

seaworthy!

ALL

Walk 1

Begin by visiting the public gallery in BCU Parksides [17]

gigantic atrium. The public exhibition space here is regularly
renewed and reflects the creative disciplines taught here: fashion,
textiles, 3D design, visual communication and architecture.
Refreshments here by Square Coffee. The Parkside building itself
is a post-modern, angular presence, mirroring the coloured brick
strata in the older buildings around it. The water feature running
the length of the buildings refers to nearby waterways - which
we are about to explore. Head down one of the limestone access
paths to Curzon Street. There, cut into the lower part of the wall,
you will see an old surveyors bench mark [18]. Several of these
are dotted around the area. A quick detour up Cardigan Street:
visible at the top is ruined outline of the Belmont Row Works,
a factory that variously produced cycles, furniture, rubber and
pianos. Also just visible: the outline of the Black Horse rock bar.
More nautical Birmingham at Moby Dicks [19] public house,
visible from Gopsal Street on the right, a rare survivor from 1840.
The pub will be incorporated into the new BCU Student Union.
The extensive Eastside Locks development here will gather
momentum throughout 2015. Back onto Curzon Street, turn left
and access the Digbeth Branch Canal [20] on the right.
The canals allow a short cut into Digbeth but also show us how
the freight barges accessed the former industries here. There is a
deep, curving tunnel under the railway bridge, which proves to be

two separate viaducts built in parallel. On a sunny day there

is often an alluring interplay of light and water on the tunnel
undercroft. Across the water we can see the heavily fortified
ramparts of the Gun Barrel Proof House.
Turn left under the bridge and join the Grand Union canal, by far
the UKs longest canal. Here is an optional extended walk to
London, 137 miles away: simply keep going. This is the Warwick
Bar stop lock: a means to separate the water systems of the
competing canal companies, while still allowing boats to pass.
You can see into the courtyard of Edible Eastside, a former gas
filling station turned urban garden and pop-up allotment. Edible
Eastside [21] offers local restaurants (and anyone) space to grow
their veg and they work with local artists to create intriguing live
food-centred events. It was here that Victorian bananas were
unloaded and distributed after their epic sea journeys.
Next along is the huge, curved warehouse which was built
for Fellows, Morton and Clayton [22], giants of the canal
transportation industry - and I wonder if we can link here to Lisa
Claytons ancestors? The buildings resemblance to Noahs ark is
impressive but accidental: the curve reflects turning space for a
barge or narrowboat and the architect has optimised the
available space. Beyond this is an aqueduct carrying the canal
over the Rea Valley culvert.
Next along is The Bond [23] complex. The Bond has had many
lives, including being a bonded warehouse, where goods could
be processed without paying duty. There was also an Ice House,
where mechanical gas compressors churned out ice to preserve
perishable goods - useful in local ice cream manufacture.
Also within the complex is an 18th century gas retort house. The
mural on this stretch of canal features the Ikon Gallerys slow
boat project, bananas, fish, a heron... and perhaps those are
water voles.
Head past the iron bridge, surface here onto Great Barr Street and
head down onto Fazeley Street. The viaduct [24] you see
towering above is a monument to the ingenuity, scale and wealth
of the Victorian railway companies. The line was never used, never
even had track. Nature has taken over up there, with nearly a mile
of dense woodland. Perhaps this will be our next public park? At
the junction with Fazeley Street, turn right. On the other side
of the street is Fazeley Studios [25], Creative and Digital Office
Space borrowing a former 19th century Unitarian Chapel and
Sunday School.
We now follow the canal industries we visited in reverse. On
the right is the entrance to The Bond. Etched into the brickwork
here are the names and initials of various workers over the years,
including a cartoon image of capped figure in profile. Ice worker...
or peaky blinder [26]?
Keep moving up Fazeley Street to Minerva Works [27],
Minerva being the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts,
trade, and strategy. Its industrial units have variously supported
agricultural tool manufacture and a church but is now home to
creative industries, including Grand Union, Stryx, Vivid Projects,
and Centralas Polish Caf. The units painted pastel shades are
intended to evoke the waterside settings of Miami Vice. If today is
the first Friday of the month, head here tonight. For First Friday
is when Digbeth comes with exhibitions, late-night openings,
special events, live music and street food. Finally on Fazeley
Street is Fellows Morton and Claytons imposing glazed terracotta sign - the boat building yard now being used as a steel factory.
Turn right at the top of the Fazeley Street onto New Canal Street
and return to Eastside City Park. If you time your walk well, you
can sit with a drink outside the Woodman with the sun shining
through the rhythmic splashes of the fountains. Congratulations
on your navigations: youve earnt a rest!
Credits:
Text: Ben Waddington
Design: Harriet Hamilton-Jones and Theodora Pangos

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