James Tucker in Cov

The main thing about Bournville (about 5-6 Km from the University) is the name Cadbury. George and Richard Cadbury set up a chocolate factory here in 1879. From then on, they both expanded their works, and, due largely to their Quaker beliefs, set about making life better for their workers. The entire neighbourhood was built for workers, and the houses are still under the protection of a Trust. Most of the houses were built around 1900-1910 from what I could see, but the whole project is still running strong. Some of my best pictures are blurred, but they show a postcard of an English village, with one exception-- there are no pubs.

I'm told the workers still join in things like the factory cricket team. At any rate, the clubhouse for the Bournville Cricket Club (left) is both on the factory grounds, and the biggest clubhouse of its sort I've seen. Behind it, but not really visible, is the large Baths built by the Cadburys (there is a war memorial commemorating more than 200 of its workers who fell in the First World War) and the local train station, painted in Cadbury Purple.

One of the other remarkable things the Cadburys did was move two old Tudor-era houses to the area, on the edge of its central park. One is a barn-like structure from north of Birmingham, the other is Selly Manor (right) (Selly Oak is the neighbourhood between me and Bournville). It's relatively small for a manor, but it has three floors, several additions, and even a priest hole-- a hidden compartment a Catholic priest could hide in when the Tudor soldiers came calling. Many of the great houses around here have such things, and I'll probably get around to doing a post just about them. Anyhow, it was Sunday, and everything was closed, so there'll be more from Bournville.