Cadbury Family Member Unveils £250,000 Restoration of Almshouses in Bournville

03 July 2008

Inger Cadman, Chair of Quadrangle Management Committee with Roger Cadbury, Chair of Bournville Village Trust

Residents of Bournville’s Almshouse Trust applauded their new surroundings as Roger Cadbury, Chair of Bournville Village Trust and Almshouse Trust unveiled new railings and rang the new bells in the Quadrangle Tower, all part of a £250,000 restoration project.

The new railings and gates which were removed in the 1940s as part of the war effort to recycle iron, was the final stage in a ten year plan to restore the Grade II listed building in Mary Vale Road which provides a home for people in need.

From left, Christine Jones, ex warden of the Almshouse, Richard Humphreys and Josie Husler, both residents of the Almshouse and Carol Chambers, a volunteer

The Cook and Wolstenholme Charitable Trust financed the work to restore the new bells which were cast at Taylors Bell Foundry in Loughborough. The company had kept records of the original bells which were removed in 1958, so the ring tones were able to be replicated. The Trust has also renovated the stonework, iron railings and ornamental gates. All of these works have been managed through the Quadrangle Management Committee.

From left, Mrs. Hadley, Joan Robinson, Hazel Robinson and Amy Palfrey, residents of the Almshouse

The bells and new railings have been hand crafted using traditional blacksmith skills, reviving the dying industries of stonemasonry and wrought iron work. One panel of railings has been left out as a reminder of the part played by ordinary people in the Second World War.

The project has cost over £50,000, and funding has been provided by the CH and HH Taylor Trust and the WA Cadbury Trust. In total, over the past ten years around £250,000 has been invested in returning the Almshouses to their original built condition which has involved landscaping works and cleaning of the stone and brickwork.

From left, Peter Roach, Chief Executive of Bournville Village Trust, Stephen Hession of Norfield Construction, John Horton of JLH Engineering and Ian Roberts of Bournville Village Trust

The restoration of the bells and railings will help with tourism as it is the final stage of an improvement programme which fully restores a significant group of listed buildings, within the Bournville Conservation area. Some 500,000 tourists per year already visit Cadbury World, which is only half a mile from the Almshouse Trust. Bournville Village Trust also hosts visits from around the world for specialist groups who come to learn about sustainable communities and the garden city movement.

From left, Mary Fearn and Mary Cuddihy, residents of the Almshouse and Beryl Hoban, ex warden

Bob Stanton Head of Housing at Bournville Village Trust said: "As well as improving a site of significant heritage importance we are helping to improve the lives of the people who live in the Almshouse bungalows. HRH the Duke of Gloucester who visited the Almshouses two years ago, commented on the benefits of the work to the area."

The Almshouse Trust which is a Grade II listed building, was established by Richard Cadbury in 1898 and its bungalows are managed and let by Bournville Almshouse Trust to provide a home for people in need.

From left, Alan Shrimpton of Bournville Village Trust, Inger Cadman, Chair of Bournville Almshouse Trust Management Committee and Steve Fellows of Bournville Village Trust

From left, Clive Wilkinson, Trustee of Bournville Village Trust, Lynne Jones MP and Bob Stanton of Bournville Village Trust