What Did Birmingham Actually Look Like During The Peaky Blinders’ Heyday?

Birmingham was a major industrial center in the late 19th and early 20th century. But the industrial boom brought a high number of workplace mishaps to the city. Transportation and industrial hazards either left men mangled or claimed lives.

In one case, workers pouring molten metal decided to leave work to get a drink. The molten metal then overflowed, instantly dooming multiple men. One victim nearly disintegrated, burned by the metal, while another lost most of his skin. A third tried to escape by leaping into a canal, but he still perished. 

In the 19th century, Birmingham boasted the largest rail station in the country. As an industrial city, Birmingham led Britain to a technologically modern future. But industrialization left many in the city behind, as antipathy among organized syndicates dominated the streets. 

For example, on August 15, 1886, two rival groups clashed on Rocky Lane. Hundreds of boys and men fought each other, using belts, sticks, and bricks. Birmingham's entire police force was called out to end the brawl. 

From the 1870s to early 20th century, fighting among syndicates erupted in Birmingham. These groups struggled over territory, contending with each other using lethal tools. In 1872, Birmingham Mail reported 400 "roughs" targeted the Cheapside area. A small number of policemen were sent to confront the sloggers, but they only managed to apprehend three people, "including two very poor youths of no fixed home."

The police, vastly outnumbered by the syndicates, barely managed to hold Birmingham together. 

Fighting among syndicates was a common occurrence during the high point of the Peaky Blinders. Antagonistic groups known as "Sloggers" brought terror onto the streets, brawling and breaking windows. During one riot in the 1870s, the Birmingham Daily Post reported a group of hundreds "threw brick bats and stones at the windows of hucksters (general stores) and confectioners."

The police superintendent warned the magistrates that for several weeks, boys had wreaked havoc on the Cheapside area and Barford Street by smashing windows.

Antagonistic groups like the Peaky Blinders recruited children as young as 12 years old. Charles Lambourne was just 12 when police captured him, and 13-year-old David Taylor was sent to jail for being armed. The streets of Birmingham were dominated by juvenile syndicates, also called Sloggers, who spent more time beating each other than committing other transgressions.

Scholar Philip Gooderson researched Sloggers between 1870 and 1900 and found that while fatalities were rare, mayhem was common. 

Mishaps happened all the time on Birmingham's streets. In one case, a blind person ran into a ladder, knocking a deaf window cleaner to the ground. In another case, a runaway cart crushed its owner, ending the person's life. And Jeremiah Darcey succumbed to his own false teeth when he unintentionally swallowed them. 

As author Karen Evans explains, “Their health and safety was nonexistent. In an age where we are so concerned with looking after each other, their blind disregard for their children and their workplaces is beyond our comprehension.”