A journey from Warstone Lane Cemetery to the Coffin Works; or why I love being part of the Coffin Works’ team of volunteers
It’s been a long old journey. For over 34 years I worked at Toye & Co, one of the oldest, family-run, manufacturers in the JQ and for most of that time my desk overlooked the cemetery. Not that I could see out of the windows, which were reeded glass. This will be familiar to everyone […]
VOLUNTEERING: MEET AND GREET
We love the vibe of this post and thanks to Mary’s passion for her Front of House role at Newman Brothers, we feel as though we’re living and breathing every moment of her shift! Mary is truly a central part of our team and thanks to her exemplary efforts every week, we know our visitors […]
The Conservation of the ‘green chair’ in the Shroud Room
This blog post is a brief summary of the conservation carried out on one of the objects in the Coffin Works’ collection. The chair is no longer used for its original purpose and today it is part of the open display that shows how the Shroud Room looked in the 1960s. Each of the […]
My work placement at the Coffin Works: guest blog by Josh Porter
Today is Josh’s last shift, working his 100th hour of his work placement. We’ve really enjoyed having Josh on the team, and hope to see him back in the future as a volunteer covering a weekend shift or two! As usual, we ask our work placements to share a bit about their experiences on their […]
Collections Care: it’s not just cleaning
Don’t get me wrong, conservation cleaning is very important, but there’s so much more involved in maintaining a collection than just that. In fact, assuming that a bit of cleaning here and there will keep a collection ‘healthy’ is unhealthy in itself. We are lucky at Newman Brothers to have such a dedicated team of […]
‘Homecoming’
These boxes have been left untouched for nearly seven years and rather than feeling like I’m disturbing them, it feels more like I’m letting them breathe again and somehow allowing them to take centre stage to ‘act out’ their story once more. Take the object below, for example. One of my volunteers, Louise, who […]
The Coffin Works: Keep Calm and Carry On – A Conservator’s Perspective
My name is Deborah Magnoler and I’m a conservator, currently working on the Coffin Works’ project. The Newman Brothers’ Coffin Fittings Works in Fleet Street will open to the public in October 2014. While the factory is being refurbished, the whole of its contents, comprising thousands of metal fittings, shrouds, paperwork and machinery are kept […]
From Cabinets to Coffins
One of the most common questions people seem to have in relation to Newman Brothers is ‘why did a coffin-furniture manufactory choose the Jewellery Quarter to run their business from…wasn’t that an odd place?’ The short and simple answer to that is no, surprisingly not, but I understand why people initially may draw that conclusion. Newman […]
