Hi Jim,
Sorry I've been tied up with other things lately... although until recently I couldn't add much to what we already know.
I simply recall seeing this address on one of the censuses (1861 1881 or 1901 I think) and as such this building must have existed and maybe somewhere there's a photo.
I too recently have unearthed a whole lot of information via trade directories such as the following and perhaps another angle might be if anyone knows of photos or info on these businesses or addresses please.
- John Poncia wholesale cutler and dealer in toys, fancy goods and jewellery between 1828 and 1835 at 21 Worcester Street/1 Pershore Street.
- Peter Poncia & Son cutler, hardwareman and dealer in fancy articles, toys and jewellery between 1830 and 1845 at 34 Worcester Street/54 Worcester Street/61 Inge Street
- John Poncia & Son, hardware wholesaler, cutler and jeweller, importer and dealer in fancy goods and toys between 1835 and 1867 at 54 Worcester Street/Sherbourne Road/50 Pershore Street/8 Gough Road/128 Gough Road and Chad House, Chad Road.
It is thought this second John Poncia was also Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Does anyone know if there are any photos or biographies of past Lord Mayors please?
In passing does anyone know what was a 'Birmingham, London and Sheffield' warehouse? This seems to be a common expression in many trade directories of this time. I assume this would suggest the role of wholesaler in manufactures from these cities, but does it have any other connotation such as a network of warehouses in these cities?
Lastly there seems to be several address changes as indicated above. Some could have been home addresses but many seem to be simple changes in numbers on the same street. Am I right to think that street names and numbers did not become established until the late 19th C or could there be any other explanations? I doubt they expanded to several addreses on the same street!
Regards,
Ian
