12 longest-running Birmingham businesses that have defied the odds to stand the test of time

Despite numerous economic difficulties that many businesses have faced over the years, these Birmingham establishments have defied all the odds to stand the test of time

Birmingham has long been known as ‘the city of 1,000 trades’.

The city grew to prominence as a centre of manufacturing and engineering in the 1700s and 1800s, leading the industrial revolution and was the home of many highly-skilled firms producing a huge range of products - with some firms from that time still in business today.

The Gun Quarter, for example, became the area of the city that was, for many years, a centre of the world’s gun-manufacturing industry. And many other manufacturers also based their operations in Birmingham with different companies and factories producing toys, watches, bicycles, guns, clothes, and later, motorcycles and cars.

Birmingham also became known for the Jewellery Quarter, which is home to more than 100 retailers, diamond dealers, and workshops. A huge 40% of the jewellery made in the UK is still produced by the 300 independent manufacturers of the city’s Jewellery Quarter, continuing a trade first recorded in Birmingham in 1308.

Numerous inventors also emerged during Birmingham’s past, and the city’s skilled workforce and infrastructure encouraged other inventors and businessmen from across the world to set up shop in the city.

So, we’ve taken a look at 13 Birmingham’s longest-running businesses - with the oldest dating back more than 350 years:

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