OVER the best part of forty years Bugle readers have been sending us their coins, medallions and tokens for closer scrutiny, either to admire the craftsmanship that went into making them in the first place, or in the hope of enlisting the help of fellow Buglers for more information.
In BCB issue 912 we featured the picture of a Soho Lake token in our ‘Tranklements Corner’, and this was immediately spotted by Mike Tilt from Sutton Coldfield who has sent us the following information: “Soho Lake was in north Birmingham, situated roughly between Handsworth and Hockley, an area that I believe was originally known as Birmingham Heath, then Gib Heath. The original pool was used by Matthew Boulton as a power source for his world famous Soho Manufactory in the late 18th century. As he prospered Boulton built a grand house on the nearby hill (Soho House — still there in Soho Avenue off Soho Road), and much of the land between his home and the manufactory including the pool, was landscaped into a parkland.
“After Boulton’s death in 1809, much of the estate was gradually let or built on, and in 1852 John Abraham became the lessee of Soho Pool, around or upon which he invited the public to boat, fish, or enjoy a perambulation.
“The main approach from the Hockley side was and still is called Park Road. Soon afterwards Mr. Abrahams was succeeded by John Knibbs, who extended the amenities and the range of attractions. It is probably one of his tokens that featured in Bugle 912, as I have two others which are similar. One is identical showing the 3d, and the other one shown here, in both obverse and reverse, is made out of brass and is about one inch in diameter.
“Situated on the edge of Birmingham’s metal-bashing heartland as the lake was, it is interesting to note that some local manufacturers boasted they could produce a hard wearing metal token for businesses that was cheaper and far more durable than the printed visiting cards of their day.
“It is no surprise then that John Knibbs used metal tokens rather than paper, and the existence of these items some 150 years later underlines the manufacturer’s claims. Soho Lake was drained completely in 1868 to make way for an LNER railway goods yard, and in more recent times it has become a trading estate.” “It is sad that Matthew Boulton’s parkland pool no longer exists, but at least the Soho Lake tokens are a tangible reminder from a later era of what must have been a magnificent recreational facilty for the people of west Birmingham and Handsworth.”
