The pen trade boomed after the dip pen, which replaced the quill, was invented in Birmingham in the early 1800's.

The dip pen consisted of a steel nib with capillary channels mounted on a wooden holder. Its design was constantly improved to achieve cheaper mass production.

By the early 1900s, more than 1.5 billion dip pens (over half the world's supply) were manufactured in Birmingham. However, the trade dwindled after the ballpoint and fountain pen were invented in the 1950's.

The Pen Room displays a variety of pens, nibs and other writing equipment including braille, quills, slates and typewriters. Visitors can manufacture their own steel pen using an original factory press. Admission is free.

The stamps, tools and machinery have been left in situ and the original Victorian decor has been preserved.

The workshop, which traded from 1891-1981, is now a museum dedicated to the history of the Jewellery Quarter and its metal-working trades.

Visitors may tour the premises and watch live demonstrations of traditional jeweller's skills. There is a tearoom and a shop that stocks locally-crafted jewellery.

The museum is a grade-II-listed building on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

This workshop, which was established by JW Evans in 1881, continued trading as a family business until 2005.

Most of the tools, machinery and workbenches have been preserved as a National Heritage museum. Seasonal guided tours are available. Visitors must book in advance.

It was the home of pioneer industrialist Mathew Boulton from 1766 until his death in 1809.

Soho House was converted into a museum in 1995.

The interior has been furnished in the style of the 1790's. The displays include coins produced by the Soho Mint and decorative metal objects made at the Soho Manufactory, including silver & plate, buttons & buckles, gilded-ormolu clocks & candelabra.

Other rooms are dedicated to the Lunar Society: an influential group of scientists, industrialists & natural philosophers who met each lunar month, sometimes at Soho House, and whose members included Josiah Wedgwood, Joseph Priestley & James Watt.

Soho House contains the first hypocaust heating system installed in England since the Roman Occupation.

The museum is open from April to November; admission is free; the facilities include a cafe, shop and car park.