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History

Originally Bournville consisted of a scattering of farmsteads and cottages linked by winding country lanes, the only visual highlight being the Georgian built Bournbrook Hall.

The bluebell glades of Stocks Wood were said to be a relic of the Forest of Arden and there are Roman remains nearby.

Cadbury

In 1879, George and Richard Cadbury moved their cocoa and chocolate factory from Bridge Street in central Birmingham to a greenfield site beside Bournbrook Hall, four miles (6 km) to the south. The location was chosen as it was regarded as cleaner, healthier and more amenable to longer-term expansion plans. Although rural, it was also already serviced by Bournville railway station and a canal.

The Cadburys named the area 'Bournville' after the Bourn Brook (now known as The Bourn); with 'ville' being French for 'town', this set Bournville apart from the local area (some people wrongly believe Bournville was originally known as Bournbrook - Bournbrook exists as a separate area to the north of Bournville). The Cadburys began to develop their factory in the new suburb. Loyal and hard-working workers were treated with great respect and relatively high wages and good working conditions; Cadbury also pioneered pension schemes, joint works committees and a full staff medical service.

In 1893 George Cadbury bought 120 acres (0.5 km²) of land close to the works and planned, at his own expense, a model village which would 'alleviate the evils of modern more cramped living conditions'. By 1900 the estate included 313 cottages and houses set on of land, and many more similar properties were built in the years leading up to the World War I, with smaller developments taking place later on in the 20th century. These almost 'Arts and crafts' houses were traditional in design but with large gardens and modern interiors, and were designed by the resident architect William Alexander Harvey. These designs became a blueprint for many other model village estates around Britain. It is also noteworthy that, because George Cadbury was a Quaker, no public houses have ever been built in Bournville, although since the late 1940s there has been a licensed members bar at Rowheath Pavilion.

The Cadburys were particularly concerned with the health and fitness of their workforce, incorporating park and recreation areas into the Bournville village plans, and encouraging swimming, walking and indeed all forms of outdoor sports. In the early 1920s extensive open lands were purchased at Rowheath and laid to soccer and hockey pitches together with a grassed running track. Rowheath Pavilion was designed and built in accordance with the instructions of George Cadbury, and opened in July 1924. At that time it served as the clubhouse and changing rooms for the acres of sports playing fields, several bowling greens, a fishing lake and an outdoor swimming Lido, a natural mineral spring forming the source for the lido's healthy waters. The Rowheath Pavilion itself, which still exists, was used for balls and dinners, and the whole area was specifically for the benefit of the Cadbury workers and their families with no charges for the use of any of the sporting facilities by Cadbury employees or their families. The lido was eventually closed in the 1970s after complaints of noise disturbance were made by residents of the newly built Oak Farm estate, coupled with new and stringent health and safety regulations relating to outdoor public swimming facilities. Cadbury's also built the Bournville indoor swimming baths on Bournville Lane, the Valley pool boating lake and the picturesque cricket pitch adjacent to the factory site, that was made famous as the picture on boxes of Milk Tray chocolates throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1900, the Bournville Village Trust was set up to formally control the development of the estate, independently of George Cadbury or the Cadbury company. The trust focused on providing schools, hospitals, museums, public baths and reading rooms. As Bournville is a conservation area, another job of the Bournville Village Trust is to accept or reject plans for building extension and modification.

An almost campus feel evolved, with a triangular village green, infant and junior schools, the School of Art and the Day Continuation School (originally intended for young Cadbury employees) and a host of events such as fêtes and Maypole dances.

The trust continues to exercise an international influence on housing and town planning generally. Now containing 7,800 homes on 1,000 acres (4 km²) of land with 100 acres (0.4 km²) of parks and open spaces, Bournville remains a popular residential area of Birmingham.

Cadbury Schweppes is still one of Birmingham's main employers, making all manner of chocolate products.

The dark chocolate Bournville Plain is now manufactured in France and sold in the UK.

Governance

The ward is served by three councillors, all of whom are Conservative; Bill Evans, Nigel Dawkins and Timothy Huxtable.

Bournville has adopted a Ward Support Officer with the current holder of the title being Karen Stevens.

Demography

The 2001 Population Census found that 25,462 people were living in Bournville with a population density of 4,217 people per km² compared with 3,649 people per km² for Birmingham. Bournville had an area of 639.8 hectares, and within this, it has a population density of 39.8 people per hectare. 52.9% of the population was identified as female, above the city average of 51.6%. A number of students from The University of Birmingham live there, although not as many as in the nearby wards of Selly Oak and Edgbaston.

Bournville is not an ethnically diverse community with ethnic minorities representing 10.1% (2,474) of the ward's population as opposed to 29.6% for Birmingham. 8.7% of the ward's population was born outside of the United Kingdom, below the city average of 16.5% and the national average of 9.3%. The White broad ethnic group represented 90.1% of the population. The Asian broad ethnic group was the second largest at 3.9%. More specifically, the White British group is the largest ethnic group at 84.9%, above the city average of 65.6% and below the national average of 87%. Christianity was the most prominent religion in the ward with 70.6% of the population stating themselves as Christians. 16.6% of the population identified as having no religion.

98.3% of the residents lived in households, equal to the city average and 0.1% higher than the national average. The other 1.7% lived in communal establishments. The total number of occupied households was 11,032, resulting in an average number of people per household of 2.3. This is below the city average of 2.5 and national average of 2.4. 62.5% of the occupied households were occupied by the owner and a further 15.4% were rented from a housing association. Terraced houses were the most common form of houses at 38.9%, followed by semi-detached houses at 32.9%.

The largest age group in the ward was 25-44 age group which was represented by 30.1% of the population, above the city average of 28.3%. The second largest age group was the 45-54 years, which was represented by 17.9% of the population. 18.6% of the population was of a pensionable age, above the city average of 16.7% and the national average of 18.4%. 60.7% of the population was of a working age, above the city average of 59.8% but below the national average of 61.5%. 68.4% of the population was economically active. The unemployment rate was 6.2%, of which, 36.7% were in long term unemployment. The city unemployment rate is higher at 9.5%. Of those who worked, 18.2% worked in the Finance, Real Estate, & Business Activities sector. A further 16.7% worked in the Health sector. The largest employer in the area is the Cadbury Trebor Bassett company, employing approximately 6,500 people. Serco Integrated Services is the second largest employer in Bournville, employing approximately 1,800 people.

Although Bournville is most famous for its turn-of-the-20th century Cadbury style homes, a significant number of more modern stock also exists in the area - not all of which was built by Cadbury's. The local authority built several homes around Bournville before and after the Second World War. Bryant Homes built a collection of upmarket and mostly detached houses in the west of Bournville during the 1970s.

Education

Primary schools in the area include Bournville Junior School, Bournville Infant School and St Francis Primary School. St Francis has 243 children on roll and was opened in 1979 and the 26 place nursery was officially opened by Professor Tim Brighouse in November 1998.

Bournville School is a secondary school in the Birmingham Local Education Authority area. It is a comprehensive school with a sixth form centre. In April 2007, the school received Music College status as well as already having Specialist Business Enterprise College status. Bournville is served by Bournville College of Further Education, which features a sixth form college and higher education programmes.

Transport

Bournville lies on the A4040, the ring road developed in the 1920s and served by the 11A and 11C Birmingham Outer Circle bus routes. The 27 (Hawkesley to Kings Heath) bus service also serves the area.

Road access into Birmingham City Centre is via either the Bristol Road (A38), served by the 61 (Birmingham to Gannow), 62 (Birmingham to Rednal) and 63 (Birmingham to Rubery) bus routes, or the Pershore Road (A441), served by the 45 (Birmingham to West Heath) and 47 (Birmingham to Cofton Hackett) buses. Trams ran on these routes until 1952.

Bournville is served by Bournville railway station on the Cross-City Line to Birmingham New Street, Lichfield and Redditch. While other suburban Birmingham railway stations feature the yellow and green corporate livery of Centro, Bournville railway station is instead painted in Cadbury's purple.

The National Cycle Network route five passes near Bournville (map) towards Hurst Street in the City Centre. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal towpath can be joined at the railway station and serves as a de-facto cycle route to Brindleyplace.

Religion

As Bournville was founded by Quakers, a meeting house was built in the area. The Bournville Friends Meeting House is located on Linden Road, and features a bust of George Cadbury by Francis Wood, installed in 1924. The building, designed by William Alexander Harvey, was constructed in 1905.

Christian churches in Bournville include St Francis of Assisi Church which is also the Anglican parish church. Land was set aside for a church and church hall by Bournville Village Trust in 1905. The church hall (now part of the community centre) was built in 1913, and the church building was consecrated in 1925. It was designed by William Alexander Harvey. The font was given as a memorial in 1984. It is of Portland stone and was designed and made by John Poole. The organ was built by Messrs. Nicholson & Co. of Worcester. It was given to the church by the Cadbury Brothers and had originally been located in The Girls' Dining Room in the Bournville Works. The chapel was designed by Selby Clewer and built in 1966. It was given by Laurence and Joyce Cadbury in memory of three of their children. The church is in need of repair and is raising £250,000 to complete the work. The ward is also served by Bournville Evangelical Church

There is a purpose built Serbian Orthodox Church known by its members as Lazarica, formally the Church of the Holy Prince Lazar. This is built in the traditional Byzantine style of the Balkans and is consciously modelled on some famous examples. The interior is decorated in the full scheme of the Orthodox Tradition with wall-paintings al fresco. The Priest in charge is under the jurisdiction of the Serbian Archbishop for Scandinavia and Great Britain and resides in Sweden, and ultimately comes under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate in Belgrade.