The Bromsgrove Society - Pride, Preservation, Progress
Welcome to the Bromsgrove Society
The Bromsgrove Society exists to preserve the history and promote the sustainable development of the town of Bromsgrove in north Worcestershire.
Read more about Our Work and How to Join
Publications
Bygone Bromsgrove
Editor: John Foster
This book was first printed in 1981 and has been our all time bestseller. Among those contributing are Dr. Alan Richards, Rev. W. Awdry, Bill Kings, John Burman and Robert Pancheri.
140 pages, many illustrations and an index.
This book is currently out of print but occasionally secondhand copies are available. Contact John Weston.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Benjamin Sanders...
The Extraordinary Adventures of Benjamin Sanders Buttonmaker of Bromsgrove
Editor: Dr. Alan Richards
112 pages with many illustrations.
This publication can be ordered via our Bromsgrove Bookstall.
The Bromsgrove Guild - An Illustrated History
Edited by Quintin Watt.
This highly-acclaimed publication from the Bromsgrove Society followed five years of research by our Local History Group. It has 160 pages and contains over 100 illustrations, 25 of which are in colour. In addition to the fascinating story of the business which brought Bromsgrove to worldwide prominence, it includes:
- Interviews with four former Guild employees
- A useful gazeteer of Bromsgrove Guild work in the West Midlands
- Appendices which include lists of all known Bromsgrove Guild personnel as well as Guild commissions carried out in London and abroad.
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Reprints
A selection of articles about the town and its history reproduced from the Bromsgrove Society Newsletter.
Work on these is still in progress and further articles will be added over the coming months.
About the Bromsgrove Guild
The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was founded in 1898 by the sculptor Walter Gilbert. During the next 70 years the firm developed into a thriving commercial enterprise, acquiring an international reputation for the high quality of its craftmanship in metalwork, woodcarving, plasterwork, stained glass and other media.
Celebrated Guild contracts included Liverpool's famous Liver Birds, ornate metalwork on the great Cunarders Lusitania and Queen Mary, and the statue of Hygiea which stands in the garden of Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence. However, the Bromsgrove Guild's most memorable commission was to create the wrought iron gates of Buckingham Palace. As a result of completing this particular task the Guild received a Royal Warrant in 1908.
When not working such high profile projects, the firm produced large quantities of lead rainwater goods, garden statuary, fountains, sundials, wrought ironwork and bronze light fittings.