The Pearl Workers of Birmingham

Children at the school where Val Preece taught would bring in pearl waste which they had dug up. And she discovered that her husband’s family had been involved over many generations in the industry in Birmingham. An apprentice’s document of 1783 showed that it was flourishing then. Pearl workers were attracted to Birmingham as, unlike many other cities, it had no guilds. In the 1851 Census there were over 2000 skilled pearl cutters, but thousands more people were involved in the industry. Children swept dust off floors and turned the wheel that powered the tools; women sewed the buttons on to fabrics and on to strips of paper for retail selling. But the trade declined by WWI, and now there was only one cutter – George Hook, whose son did not wish to succeed him.

Shell (mainly from the Near and Far East), uncleaned so very smelly, was landed at St Catherine’s dock in London, and the majority was brought to Birmingham eg 1,300 tons in 1889. At that time it cost c£160 per ton; by 1990 it was £7.50 per pound. The outside of the oyster shell was called Bark and, after smoothing, was used for ornaments and dishes. The inside was the Mother of Pearl and was cut into buttons, ornamentation in differing shapes (eg a leaf or flower) for other artefacts, or used on its own. Roundels were marked in the inside of the shell to obtain to obtain the maximum number of buttons, etc, while avoiding worm deterioration. The smallest buttons cut by the Hook family were 1/16th inch diameter – for dolls’ clothes. Buttons could be broken in a mangle after washing, so there was a constant demand for replacements. In the 18th century most of the demand for pearl came from men, following Beau Brummel’s taste, and only later did women demand it for their fashions.

Instead of pictures, Val Preece showed some of the many objects made in pearl – inkwells, bookmarks, thimble cases, broaches, hairslides – or ornamented with it – papier-mache, boxes, purses, button and crochet hooks, knives and forks of many types, card carriers, collar studs and cuff links (Hook produced 40-50 gross per week at one time).

The apprenticeship lasted seven years as there was much to learn. The shell, usually oyster but sometimes snail, was built up in layers grown over the years (similar to tree rings), and could not be bent. Abalone (from Australia) was green, awabi (from Japan) was knobly, ormer (from Jersey) was a small shell due to the coldness of the waters. Pearl did not corrode (unlike the metal on which it was often mounted), but did not like detergent. Plastic was no substitute for pearl, which always felt cold to the touch. Treddles replaced wheel power for the tools in the early 19th century, but the biggest technical advance was the carburundum – instead of the sandstone – cutting wheel later that century. Sadly the Red Sea was over-fished for shell in the 1880s, so most supplies began to come from the Pacific – which is now being dredged to destruction.

It was always said that Birmingham Town Hall was built (1832) on pearl, but until recently the basis for this was not known. Recent discovery has shown that shell was used between stones to balance them and, more importantly, pearl dust was used to make the mortar. It was very strong, and the building’s foundations extend down 15 feet. Unlike other dust, pearl presented no health problems and indeed was beneficial in healing cuts. Pearl had the same properties as human bones, and workers in the industry often lived to a great age.