Bournville Village

In 1879 George and Richard Cadbury moved their family chocolate making business out of the centre of Birmingham to 4 miles outside the city. They began to build homes for their workers, moving them out of the city slums, known as 'back to backs', into well designed homes with pleasant gardens. This became the Bournville Village Trust, which still exists to maintain the original ethos of the Cadbury brothers. Last Saturday I visited Bournville to take some photographs and collect research.

 The school buildings are on an impressive scale which reflects the Cadburys' strong belief in a good education for all.

 The attention to detail, on even the smaller houses is very noticeable. Short cuts such as cheap mass produced doors and windows have not been used to save money. There are many different styles and shapes. Even where common elements are used, they are presented in different ways, to ensure each house appears to have an individual style.

The larger homes have even more individual features such as overhanging eaves and dutch style gables.