One hundred years of St Francis of Assisi

THE 'culmination of a fascinating romance in the church life of the Midlands', so did the 'Birmingham Daily Gazette' acclaim the consecration of the new church of St Francis of Assisi Bournville by Dr EW Barnes, the Bishop of Birmingham, on 21 November, 1925.

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He addressed a packed congregation including the Archdeacons of Birmingham and Aston, ministers from local churches of other denominations, and numerous members of the Cadbury family.

Soon to be the parish church of Bournville, the church was designed in the Romanesque style by local architect William Alexander Harvey. Later awarded the Bronze Medal by the Royal Institute of Architects for his design of Dudley's municipal offices, he is best known for developing Bournville in a sensitive and thoughtful way to realise the dream of George Cadbury, of creating a garden city.

Though waxing wealthy through the family chocolate-making business, Cadbury was driven by his Quaker beliefs also to work for the good of others. In particular, he and his wife, Dame Elizabeth, were crucial in setting up a number of organisations which still serve Birmingham.

They bought a large house in Northfield, turned it into an open-air hospital and gave it to the Birmingham Cripple's Union. Known as the Woodlands, it is now the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

In 1910, they paid for the construction of Bournville Infants and Junior Schools and the next year they opened the baths in Bournville Lane, the land for which had been given by the company.

They also gave over one of their homes, Woodbroke, for the study of social and religious work in an international atmosphere, so laying the foundation for the renowned Selly Oak Colleges and in 1909, George Cadbury was influential in establishing Fircroft College for working men.

For all these achievements, one of his most celebrated was as a housing reformer. After the Cadbury factory was moved from its crimped and cramped premises off Broad Street into the 'garden' of Bournville, he walked through what then was farmland, planning how a village could come about, where the roads would run, and what the cottages and buildings should be built of and look like.