Birmingham Back to Backs

About

Birmingham Back to Backs is one of the city’s most evocative heritage sites, preserving the last surviving courtyard of back‑to‑back houses—tiny dwellings built around a shared yard and once home to thousands of working‑class families. Court 15, dating from 1802, has been meticulously restored to show how residents lived from the 1840s to the 1970s. Inside, the experience unfolds through four period‑set houses. You’ll step into the 1840s home of watchmaker Lawrence Levy, where the bedroom doubled as a workshop filled with delicate tools and ingenious storage solutions. The 1870s glassworker’s kitchen reveals coal‑fired cooking and cramped domestic routines, while the 1930s interiors show modest improvements such as electricity and better furnishings. The final stop is the 1970s tailor’s shop of George Saunders, whose donated fabrics, suits and equipment form a unique Caribbean‑British craft collection.

Birmingham United Kingdom

Location

You will find it at 50-54 Inge Street and 55-63 Hurst Street, Birmingham, West Midlands B5 4TE, just off Hurst Street in the Southside area. It is a row of restored 19th century courtyard houses, the last surviving example of its kind in Birmingham, and you visit on a guided tour. It is only a two minute walk from New Street Station and the Bullring. The location is perfect for hopping around. You step out and you are next to the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre and the Arcadian with all its restaurants. Walk five minutes and you are in the Chinese Quarter and the Gay Village, great for food and nightlife. For museums, you are spoiled. The big Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery at Chamberlain Square is about ten minutes on foot, along with the Library of Birmingham and its rooftop garden. Thinktank Science Museum at Millennium Point is close too, and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is just a short bus ride away in Hockley. If you fancy something a bit different, the Coffin Works museum is nearby, and Custard Factory in Digbeth with its street art and independent shops is just around the corner. Everything is walkable from here.