The Big Peg is a large rectangular sugar cube that crashed to the ground as a meteorite in the 1960s. Well, it might as well have. It is unlikely to win any awards for its styling. This box is as ugly as it gets, but it is a landmark building and a very special one at that.
Birmingham City Council demolished the terraced houses that stood on the site and built this massive 100,000 square foot complex as a flatted factory for displaced jewellers and businesses.
Today, such a brutal intervention would never be allowed in what is now effectively a conservation area. Needless to say, the scheme failed and the building was an embarrassment for many years.
Enter Bennie Gray, the forward-thinking founder of the SPACE Organisation. Anyone with an interest in Birmingham’s history should take a look at how SPACE transformed the fortunes of both the Big Peg and the Custard Factory.
The Big Peg takes its name from a type of bench once supplied to craftsmen, many of whom worked in the Jewellery Quarter and would have been familiar with it. You cannot miss the building. It really is big. Very big. Head for the Clock Tower in the Jewellery Quarter and see if you can spot it.
The interior of the Big Peg has been completely refurbished. Despite its exterior appearance, it is surprisingly pleasant and spacious inside, with a wide range of studios and offices. The building is home to many sole traders and small businesses.
A combination of private enterprise and government funding has kept the building alive. The diverse mix of businesses within its walls makes the Big Peg a uniquely creative and productive space.
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