EAW033503 ENGLAND (1950). James Grove and Sons Ltd Bloomfield Button Works off Stourbridge Road and environs, Halesown, 1950. This image was marked by Aerofilms Ltd for photo editing.

Stourbridge Road

Football Ground - used by Halesowen Town Football Club, who are (in 2015) in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Possibly formed in 1873 its pre-WW2 history is lost. Post war the club was "re-formed" and prior records have been lost.

James Grove and Sons Ltd Established in 1857 - James Grove founded his business in 1857 with his wife, Ann Elizabeth and began by selling buttons from his hotel room as he travelled across Europe. At that time, buttons were either made from Horn or Hoof. Many were compression moulded with crests; either fancy or military insignia. Interestingly, company archives suggest that both Confederate and Unionist sides chose to have their buttons made by James Grove during the American Civil War. The business originally started out in premises at the junction of Birmingham Road and Cornbow in Halesowen in 1857 and moved to a site in Stourbridge Road in 1865 where the old Bloomfield Works was built (B63 3UW). The works was replaced in 2006 when the company invested £1.5 million in a purpose-built factory. The Company was incorporated as a Private Limited Company on 11 January 1917 and records show that around 600 men and women were employed at that time, making and polishing buttons by hand. One of James Grove's traditional trades was uniform buttons, supplying the Ministry of Defence, British Railways, the General Post Office and many sports clubs. The business originally started out in premises at the junction of Birmingham Road and Cornbow in Halesowen in 1857 and moved to its present site in Stourbridge Road in 1865 where the old Bloomfield Works was built. The works was replaced in 2006 when the company invested £1.5 million in a purpose-built factory. One of the world's largest horn button producers as well as the UK's biggest button manufacturer, producing over forty-five million buttons each year. Please note that James Grove & Sons Ltd ceased trading in December 2012. Also see book Buttons & Sew On (Marking the Centenary of James Grove & Sons Ltd) Hardcover – 1957 (48 pages)