Andy has worked in the Jewellery Quarter in many guises over the last 20 years. Before partial retirement, he was Operations Director for the Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership for ten years overseeing the regeneration of the area. He is currently a trustee at The Pen Museum and gives talks about Birmingham including the Jewellery Quarter and the Balti Triangle, which was the subject of his book ‘Going For A Balti’. We emailed him to ask what his first memories of visiting the cemeteries were:
‘Never having been to the JQ before starting work in 2000, I was fascinated by the leafy and peaceful seclusion of Key Hill surrounded as it is by buildings and industry, and the dark foreboding atmosphere of the Warstone Lane Catacombs. Also it may have been the time of year but the moss on Alfred Bird’s headstone had turned the colour of custard!’
Industrial buildings top the high walls behind Key Hill Cemetery and curtains of Ivy and nearby gave the Warstone Lane Catacombs a secluded feel
We visited Alfred Bird’s grave this week to check – but despite the dry weather there was no custard coloured moss at the moment! You can learn more about Bird and his custard in this blog post.
