Pen Museum

The museum is run by the Birmingham Pen Trade Heritage Association, which was established in 1996 as a registered charity and became a charitable incorporated organisation in 2018.

The Argent Centre itself used to house a pen factory and is a Grade II* listed building.

The museum looks into the lives of the employers and workers involved in the business, as well as providing information on the pen companies.

Information at the museum is given through displays and tours by volunteer guides, as well as through demonstrations and ‘hands on’ activities, such as writing with different kinds of pen, early typewriters and Braille machines, and making a pen nib using original factory presses.

[4] The museum hosts workshops for family and community groups on various themes, talks on pen trade history and provides for research into genealogy.