Late portrait of Jessie Collings or newspaper scan (1931)
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In many ways, the figure of Jesse Collings is far less well known in Birmingham today than other civic reformers such as Joseph Chamberlain, Thomas Attwood, or non conformist minister George Dawson. Perhaps Collings’ fundamental belief in the importance of land, soil, food production and agricultural work has meant that his complex political career has been overshadowed by those who were more obvious modernisers of the urban metropolis.
But with our ongoing need to ensure food security, to develop sustainable lifestyles, and to re-engage with issues related to allotments, perhaps Jesse Collings now deserves to be reconsidered as an important part of Birmingham’s history. In the 20th century context, Birmingham would remain an important focus of debate concerning the use of land for allotments - in this sense, following on from a longer tradition of debate that Collings placed in the public spotlight in the pervious century.
Further research into Collings life can be undertaken through many of the 19th century collections held in the Library of Birmingham. In this context of learning, it is worth remembering that when the first Birmingham library was virtually destroyed in a great fire of 1879, it was none other than Jesse Collings, the environmentally-minded preserver of land, who was among the first on the scene, this time preserving remnants of books, texts and manuscripts that would otherwise have been lost for good.
