There are just a few places left on this year’s joint Birmingham Assay Office and University of Birmingham Day School, which takes place this Saturday, 15^th June between 10am and 4.15pm. The day is aimed at anyone who would like to learn more about the diverse and fascinating history of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and its surrounding area. ‘Made in the Jewellery Quarter: People, Place and Things’ will feature talks from six speakers drawn from the Assay Office, the University of Birmingham, local heritage organisations and local industry. Sally Hoban will provide an update from the Assay Office, Dr Sue Tungate will speak about Matthew Boulton’s Soho Mint, Sue Thomas will discuss the making of the Jewellery Quarter as a dissenting community in the early 19th Century and Simon Buteux, Director of the Birmingham Conservation Trust, will talk about the importance of heritage in the Quarter, including an update on the Newman Brothers Coffin Fitting Works. Finally, John Berkeley OBE, former Chairman of Brandauer Holdings (a long-established precision engineering firm on the edge of the Jewellery Quarter), will discuss the Birmingham Pen Trade. There will also be a chance to hear Dr Malcolm Dick talk about a new book about Matthew Boulton published by Ashgate. Sally Hoban, Heritage & Training Officer at The Birmingham Assay Office says: ‘The Assay Office is enormously proud of its heritage and we are really looking forward to what promises to be a lively and engaging day of local history this weekend. Our history relates to the development of the Jewellery Quarter and Birmingham as a whole and the research undertaken by all the speakers at the Day School is helping to tell the fascinating and ongoing story of the region.' Tickets for the Day School, which takes place at The University of Birmingham, are priced at £36 per person, including refreshments and lunch. To book a place visit http://shop.bham.ac.uk and click on ‘Other Courses’. Follow the link from ‘Jewellery Quarter History Day.’ Alternatively, contact Dr Malcolm Dick in the Centre for West Midlands History at the University of Birmingham on 0121 415 8253 or email m.m.dick@bham.ac.uk.      

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