A Tour Around Hemphill Castings, Bromford

I went on a visit with Ian Stenson, to Hemphill Castings, which is run by Terry Knowles, and who inherited the foundry from his uncle. On the day we visited Terry showed us round and Kevin was working making aluminium castings.

The aluminium is heated by gas in the furnace, the metal placed inside a crucible which can resist the incredibly high temperatures, the office mannequin, below, showed us an unused crucible.

Kevin making parts for lights that will be sent to France when complete.

These photographs were taken by Ian Stenson, who has been working taking photographs for the project- you can view more of his work on his website.
http://ianstenson.photodeck.com/-/galleries/tame-past-present-future

The British Industries Fair: Castle Vale

Booklet for the 1938 fair.
Great 1930s graphics!

On the banks of the River Tame, from the 1920s to 1960, was one of Britain's most popular events. Once a year, for two weeks, industries from around the UK displayed their wares from industrial machinery to children's toys, and at its peak it was the most visited attraction in the country.

In the 1930s it was stated that there were 27 miles of stalls, taking up over 10,000 square feet! Even royalty attended; King George V & Queen Mary visited in 1928, and in the 1950s the Duke of Edinburgh was treated to a springy crown display (see below).

A crown of springs for the royal visit.

The Exhibition Hall for the British Industries Fair in Castle Vale, 1937.
One of the reasons for the sites position was the open building
space that the area still retained. You can see the river to the top-left.

Map from c. 1930s.

The fair in the 50s. Tufnol Ltd (originally George Ellison's) is
a bit further up the River Tame, in Witton. 

Do you have any memories of the British Industries Fair? Did you ever visit it? Did the company you worked for have a stall there? Or do you have any other knowledge or pictures that you could share with us?

We would love to hear from you.
tameppf@gmail.com








A snippet from British Pathe- no sound I'm afraid, but I'll be making one of those balloon robots/aliens for sure!