The tiny village initially consisted of just 16 homes. Rules at the time said each home must occupy no more than a quarter of its building plot, with gardens one sixth of an acre big, with at least six fruit trees each.
The village expanded in 1905 when another 315 homes were built. It came five years after the Bournville Village Trust was established to make sure the area was developed in a way that helped its residents.
One Netflix’s Inside Cadbury: Chocolate Secrets Unwrapped, Bournville was described as a “chocolate box utopia” that had schools, shops, parks and homes for the people who worked in the nearby factory.
One resident said: “They had a dentist, they had a physiotherapy department, they had a doctor, they had a nurse. It came from the top that people were important and the people were what made Cadbury’s. It became your life.”
Another added: “They looked after you so well. I think the magic was, everybody that came in was welcomed into the family. And it drew you in, as if you felt like this magnetic pull.”
In 1902 a residents’ group, Bournville Village Council, was also formed. In the modern day the group organises the local fete and manages the village hall.
In 2003 the village was named by academics as one of the nicest places to live in Britain. Its services, quality homes and open space, as well as the levels of control asserted by the Bournville Village Trust – which maintains George Cadbury’s no alcohol sales policy – were said to be behind the decision.
The-then director of estates Alan Shrimpton told the BBC: “George Cadbury wanted to build good housing for all people. He sat down and asked himself how people wanted to live. I don’t think anyone got it as right as Cadbury did.”
He said the drawbacks, such as not being able to buy alcohol inside the village or installing a satellite TV dish, were outweighed by the positives. There were however concerns that the village didn’t cater as well to its younger population, while the post-war Shenley project was also beset by problems.
Today Bournville is home to Cadbury World, an attraction that gives families a chance to look at the world of the chocolate maker and how it has expanded over the past century.