Dating from 1853 this building used to house the Royal Midland Institute for the Blind. This charity was founded in 1843 by Mary Chambers, a visually impaired Quaker. When the charity moved to the Clarendon Chambers site 40 boarders were taught crafts like basket making to sell in the charity’s shops and later were taught braille.
During the First World War visually impaired workers made baskets for shells and in the Second World War moved into more mainstream industries.
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