explore | Grilled Cheese

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 14, 2026, 7:15 PM

#HarvestFestival will soon be with us - here’s a photo from the Harvest Home festival in Northumberland, 1901. The last corn gathered would be made into a human shape, crowned with flowers and called the Kern Baby. Ref: Stone Box 270/ Print 9 #LibraryofBham @nlandarchives.bsky.social

A figure wearing a long billowy cotton dress in the late Victorian style which reaches the ground. The figure is not human but rather stalks of corn gathered together. Stalks of corn are sprouting from the top of the dress and resemble a head. A large gathering of foliage behind the figure. Flora in front of the figure.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 14, 2026, 3:02 PM

#BirminghamHistory - Little Cherry Street was located in the city centre. It was cleared and demolished in the late 19th century as part of the grand Birmingham Improvement Scheme. Ref – WK/B11/3475 #LibraryofBham

An illustration of a courtyard. The building dominating the scene has the facia Crown Tavern above the entrance. An active foreground to the building with various humans and animals in action. Two figures in the top left of the courtyard and then left to right - another two walking arm in arm. Then a horse with two figures next to it with various animals running about. Another two figures on the far right of the courtyard with a building behind them with signage identifying a tailors operates from the premises. Lt, Cherry Street scribbled in the bottom left of the drawing along with some indecipherable text.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 13, 2026, 10:00 AM

#SundayShowcase today is Estates: an intimate history by Lynsey Hanley who grew up just outside Birmingham. An account of the rise of social housing through to its decline. Ref - L 41.8 #LibraryofBham

A book on a table facing towards the camera. Title is Estates: An Intimate History by Lynsey Hanley. Photograph in the background of the cover showing three sets of balconies with people on each. An office scene behind the table on which the books are standing. Desks and chairs and a window inlay reflecting the outside view.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 12, 2026, 9:15 AM

#CityOf1000Trades #BhamWomen Mary Rollason & Sons of Steelhouse Lane. Rollason (1764/5 – 1835) was a Birmingham businesswoman who dealt in china, cut glass and brass items. Ref: MS 4834/123 #LibraryofBham

A trade card. Title at the top is Mary Rollason & Sons. China, glass and earthenware warehouse. Numerous paragraphs below this detailing the wares sold by the company.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 11, 2026, 7:00 AM

#PhotoFriday today is Paradise Street on 21 April 1938 looking past the Midland Institute towards the Town Hall. Most of the street now unrecognisable from the photo. Ref - WK/B11/5389 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

A street scene. A long row of multistorey premises on the left of the photo with vehicles outside and a horse and cart in the bottom left. The Birmingham Town Hall at the end of the row in the bottom right of the photo. Pedestrians frequent the street.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 10, 2026, 8:15 AM

#BhamWomen is back with Enid Parsons of Spark Hill who at the age of 17 was whisked off to America to join the Ziegfeld Follies on a £1,000 a year salary which was quite a sum in 1926. Ref - Birmingham Despatch, 24.2.1926/ Birmingham Biography vol 13 #LibraryofBham

A newspaper article -handwritten date at the top is 24.2.26. Title is Birmingham’s Zeigfeld Folly. Below is a photograph of a young woman sat side saddle. She is holding a dress close to her chest and her shoulders are bare. She is wearing a Flapper style dress and her hair is in ringlets. The text of the article is beneath this.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 9, 2026, 8:00 AM

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Birmingham Super Prix. The inaugural race was the culmination of years of setbacks and successes to make the event a reality: theironroom.wordpress.com/2023/07/03/i... Ref: Ephemera Collection, Motor Racing, item 27 #LibraryofBham

A poster for the 1989 running of the race. Borders at the top and bottom of the poster illustrated with chequered flags, a horse and paraphernalia of other images. Details about the date and time of the race and a faint photograph of racing cars on a track in the background.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 8, 2026, 6:15 AM

#MapOnATuesday today is this 1889 diseases map of Birmingham included in the Medical Health Officers’ Reports showing clusters of illness in the city. Ref - L 45.11 #LibraryofBham

A map. Title is Map of the Borough of Birmingham, 1889. A key below identifying what each of the coloured spots on the map of Birmingham signifies. Weights in each corner of the map.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 7, 2026, 7:00 PM

#BHW2026 is back - this year taking place 11 – 20 September. Here’s a rundown of what Archives & Collections and the Library of Birmingham have to offer: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/09/07/b... #LibraryofBham #BHeritageWeek

A group of five people gathered in a map room. A metal cabinet in front of them on which rest maps and indexes. A window directly behind from which a cityscape is visible. A glass doorway on the left of the photograph with a press behind it in the top left. A table directly behind the group and another metal cabinet behind this.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 7, 2026, 3:15 PM

#BHW2026 - Members of the Friends of the Shakespeare Collection are giving a guided tour and introduction to some of its treasures. Book a session while spaces remain - birminghamheritageweek.co.uk/event/come-a... #LibraryofBham @shakespearebtrust.bsky.social @shakesinstitute.bsky.social

A tryptic running left to right. Sir Ian McKellan wearing a hat. He has some type of suit on which is covered by a polythene sheet around his shoulders. The middle panel is an illustration of Bottom from a Midsummer’s Night Dream stood underneath undergrowth. The final panel is of an actor dressed as Malvolio from Twelfth Night wearing yellow stockings and on bent knee.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 6, 2026, 10:00 AM

#SundayShowcase today is The Beautiful Death of Ozzy Osbourne which explores how Ozzy’s life and death attracted such generosity of spirit. The answer lies within the story and culture of metal. Ref – L 78.1 OSB #LibraryofBham #OzzyOsbourne

Two copies of a book on a table with the front cover facing on. Title of the book is The Beautiful Death of Ozzy Osbourne. A socket in the table between the two copies of the book. A window on the right of the photo. A chair directly behind the table on which the books are upright. A box on the far left back of the photo.

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 5, 2026, 9:15 AM

#CityOf1000Trades today are Lisseter & Miller, nineteenth and twentieth century confectioners & caterers who were based at 20 Bennetts Hill. In 1916, the company were asked to supply catering for the café in the Botanical Gardens. Ref – WK/B11/3473 #LibraryofBham

@theironroom.bsky.social Sep 3, 2026, 8:15 AM

#BirminghamHistory Lady Huntingdon’s Chapel on Paradise Street which opened in 1843. The congregation worshiped initially in King Street between 1783 – 1842. Ref – WK/B11/3451 #LibraryofBham