TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
THE MODEL VILLAGE
AND ITS COTTAGES:
BOURNVILLE.
[Illustration: PLATE I. BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES BOURNVILLE.]
THE MODEL VILLAGE
AND ITS COTTAGES:
BOURNVILLE
ILLUSTRATED BY
FIFTY-SEVEN PLATES OF PLANS, VIEWS, AND DETAILS
BY
W. ALEXANDER HARVEY
Architect.
LONDON
B. T. BATSFORD, 94, HIGH HOLBORN
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1906
DEDICATED TO
MR. & MRS. GEORGE CADBURY.
PREFACE.
In February, 1904, I was invited to read a paper on the subject of
Cottage Homes before the London Architectural Association, when I
took as the basis of my remarks the work executed from my designs
at the Bournville Village. In adapting myself to the limits of
such a paper, I found that, while much which was treated suffered
considerably through inevitable compression, a great deal that I
wished also to include had to be omitted. This suggested to me
the idea, now realised in book form, of treating the subject more
comprehensively, giving plans and views of actual examples of
cottages, with measurements and costs, and amplifying and adding to
my former notes and observations.
Even with the larger scope of a book, it is still felt that much has
been left undone and unsaid, and it is frankly admitted that one man
dealing with his own work can scarcely pretend to do full justice to
the broad subject under notice; nevertheless, it is hoped that the
plans and views of Bournville cottages, accompanied by descriptions
and notes, may at least prove of value as suggestions for those
interested in a matter now claiming very wide attention—that of the
building of cottages which may fitly be called _homes_.
I am indebted to the Bournville Village Trust for their courtesy in
allowing me to publish plans and particulars of the Estate cottages,
as well as to the private owners of the few other cottages dealt with
in these pages. I must also acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. T. B.
Rogers for his valuable assistance in the production of the book.
W. ALEXANDER HARVEY.
5, BENNETT’S HILL,
BIRMINGHAM.
_December, 1905._
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION.—The housing problem of the future—the
artisan-suburb. Remedies already suggested—municipalisation,
etc. Experiments. The Home: its necessities and
requirements—environment—fresh air—the garden—Beauty. The
revival in domestic architecture and its application to
cottage building. General 1
THE BOURNVILLE VILLAGE.—Its origin and its founder’s motive.
The Bournville Village Trust. First and subsequent projects.
A National scheme. Rents. Inhabitants. Buildings. Open spaces,
etc. The village schools. Bournville’s claims 9
COTTAGES AT £135, WITH NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC BUILDING OF SMALL
COTTAGES. Simplicity and regularity of planning. Arrangement
of outbuildings. Height of rooms. Ornament. The true test of
economy. Foundations. Stock articles. General 16
THE LAYING OUT OF GARDENS.—A Bournville garden. Paths. Bedding.
Flowers. Fruit trees, etc. 23
BLOCKS, PAIRS & SINGLE COTTAGES.—Examples of Bournville
cottages, with description, accommodation, materials, etc.
Variations of the same plan. The long sloping roof, the large
living room, and other features 25
GENERAL NOTES.—The bath—the sunk bath—the “Cabinet”
bath—Cornes’ bath. The ingle nook. Chimneys.
Windows—casement and sash. Bricks. Roof covering. Wall
spaces—rough-cast—whitewash—half-timber, etc. 51
THE LAYING OUT OF A MODEL VILLAGE.—Regard of physical features.
Advisory architect. The selection of centres. Roads. Street
elevations. Service of natural advantages. Shopping. Factories.
Plots of houses. Gardens. 61
LIST OF PLATES.
NOTE.—WHERE SEVERAL PLATES FOLLOW EACH OTHER, THE PAGE WHICH THE
FIRST FACES IS REPEATED FOR EACH IN THIS LIST.
PLATE PAGE
I.—(FRONTISPIECE.) FOUR COTTAGES, THORN ROAD
II.—THE TRIANGLE 9
III.—SHOPS, MARY VALE ROAD 10
IV.—LINDEN ROAD 10
V.—THE OLD FARM INN 10
VI.—SYCAMORE ROAD 12
VII.—THE SCHOOLS (PERSPECTIVE SKETCH) 12
VIII.—CARVED STONE PANELS, THE SCHOOLS 12
IX.—RUSKIN HALL 14
X.—BOURNVILLE MEETING HOUSE 14
XI.—BOURNVILLE MEETING HOUSE (INTERIOR) 14
XII.—COTTAGES IN BLOCKS OF EIGHT (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 16
XIII.—COTTAGES IN BLOCKS OF EIGHT (PERSPECTIVE SKETCH) 16
XIV.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 25
XV.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (VIEW) 26
XVI.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 28
XVII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 28
XVIII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 28
XIX.—THREE PAIRS OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 28
XX.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 30
XXI.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 32
XXII.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (VIEW) 32
XXIII.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (VIEW) 32
XXIV.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (VIEW) 32
XXV.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (VIEW) 32
XXVI.—BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES (DETAIL VIEW) 32
XXVII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 33
XXVIII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 34
XXIX.—BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES (PLAN) 36
XXX.—BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES (PERSPECTIVE SKETCH) 36
XXXI.—PAIR OF COTTAGES: SHALLOW SITE (VIEW) 38
XXXII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 38
XXXIII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 38
XXXIV.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 40
XXXV.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 40
XXXVI.—SINGLE COTTAGE (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 42
XXXVII.—SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 42
XXXVIII.—SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 42
XXXIX.—SINGLE COTTAGE (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 44
XL.—SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 44
XLI.—STAIRCASE OF SINGLE COTTAGE 44
XLII.—DINING ROOM OF SINGLE COTTAGE 44
XLIII.—SINGLE COTTAGE (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 46
XLIV.—SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 46
XLV.—PAIR OF THREE-STOREY COTTAGES (GROUND AND BEDROOM PLAN) 48
XLVI.—PAIR OF THREE-STOREY COTTAGES (ELEVATION AND ATTIC PLAN) 48
XLVII.—PAIR OF THREE-STOREY COTTAGES (VIEW) 48
XLVIII.—PAIR OF THREE-STOREY COTTAGES (VIEW) 48
XLIX.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PLAN AND ELEVATION) 50
L.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 50
LI.—COTTAGE INGLE 50
LII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (DETAIL VIEW) 50
LIII.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW) 50
LIV.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (VIEW OF BACK) 50
LV.—PAIR OF COTTAGES (PORCH) 50
LVI.—SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 50
LVII.—SINGLE COTTAGE (PORCH) 50
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
GARDEN PLAN 23
BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES (ELEVATION) 27
BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES (ELEVATION) 35
THE “CABINET” BATH 51
CORNES’ PATENT BATH 52
SMALL COTTAGE INGLE (ELEVATION AND PLAN) 54
THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE
INTRODUCTION.
In introducing the present work on “The Model Village and its
Cottages,” it would be certainly out of place to discuss the housing
problem; there is, nevertheless, an aspect of this question to which
the attention of the reader should be briefly directed.
The housing problem is no longer one in which the poor in the
congested districts of great towns are alone concerned. A far larger
section of the people is affected,—a section which includes not
only the labouring class, but also the skilled artisan, and even a
class of the people still more prosperous. In the light of present
sanitary and hygienic knowledge it is at last recognised that the
housing conditions of the past will not suffice for the future. The
difficulties besetting reform are necessarily very great, yet with
the movement now afoot—not only in this country, but also on the
Continent and in America—it is not unreasonable to expect that before
long important changes will take place. Now that politicians and
economists, as well as sanitarians, are identifying themselves with
the movement, it is clear that if it is to result in lasting good,
the attention of the _builders_ of these new homes for the people
must also be engaged; and the field that thus presents itself to the
efforts of the architect is a large one.
No better testimony to this need can be afforded than by the typical
latter-day artisan-suburb, and it is indeed in this very suburb that
the housing problem confronts us in what threatens to be in the
future one of its worst aspects. Desolate row upon row of ugly and
cramped villas, ever multiplying to meet the demands of a quickly
increasing population, where no open spaces are reserved, where trees
and other natural beauties are sacrificed to the desire to crowd upon
the land as many dwellings as possible, and where gardens cannot
be said to exist—such are the suburbs which threaten to engulf our
cities. That they do not adequately meet the needs of the people is
beyond all question.
The remedy most frequently suggested is that the people should
themselves undertake and develop housing schemes collectively
through the municipalities. It is pointed out that, if nothing is
done, the municipalities will before long have a slum problem on the
outskirts of the town to deal with, and it is urged that they should
have greater power over the development of land in the extra-urban
districts. It is recommended, again, that the authorities should
exercise the powers they already possess. The Inter-Departmental
Committee on Physical Deterioration, in their Report to the
Government of 1904, insisted most strongly, it will be remembered,
on the necessity for preventing the creation of these new slums.
“The local authorities in contiguous areas which are in process
of urbanisation,” it declares, “should co-operate with a view to
securing proper building regulations, in furtherance of which end the
making of building bye-laws, to be approved by the Local Government
Board, should be made compulsory on both urban and rural authorities;
attention should also be given to the preservation of open spaces,
with abundance of light and air. By the use of judicious foresight
and prudence the growth of squalid slums may be arrested, and
districts which hereafter become urbanised may have at least some of
the attributes of an ideal garden city.”
In the case of municipalities undertaking the development of land,
emphasis should be laid upon the advisability of securing the
services of experts both for the laying out of the land and for the
designing of the houses, and in order to obtain variety in the latter
it is recommended that the designs should be the work of several
architects.
At present, as is well known, the rows of houses in what has been
called the artisan-suburb are usually the work of the speculating
builder, who buys land at a cheap rate and builds to create ground
rents, often selling the houses at a bare profit, or even under cost.
As the maintenance of the property does not fall upon himself, it
is not surprising that the class of building erected should be that
generally known as “jerry-built.”
Apart from these and other schemes suggested is the work of the
Garden City Association in their experiment at Hitchin, and also the
experiments at Port Sunlight, Bournville, and elsewhere, which have
all given such a practical impetus to the movement. An encouraging
sign of the times, too, is the commendable effort of the Trustees
of Eton College, who, to prevent the development of the typical
artisan-suburb on their extensive land at Hampstead, have formed a
Trust to buy 240 acres for building purposes, the division of the
land and the plans of the houses being required to meet certain
specified conditions. In many suburbs, owing to the few houses of
high rental, the rates are extremely high, and a heavy percentage
is absorbed by the schools. One of the objects of the Garden
Suburb, as it is called, is the amalgamation of all classes in the
same district, the artisan and the well-to-do living in reasonable
proximity to one another. With the abolition of the unsightly row
the æsthetic objection at least to such an arrangement is removed,
for in the interesting disposition of houses of varying sizes lies
one of the secrets of beautiful village building, as is testified in
so many well known old villages. In the new suburb it is hoped to
provide cottages for workpeople with gardens of one tenth of an acre.
But whether land is developed privately or by public bodies, it is
essential, in order to secure real reform, that the needs, domestic
and social, of the people for whom the houses are provided should be
intimately understood. What will have to be provided are _homes_, and
it should be clearly recognised what constitutes the _home_ demanded
by the large section of the community which the problem affects.
At the outset it may be noted that for half the year the occupants
of these homes spend the hours of recreation out of doors, also
that most of them prefer that opportunities for such recreation
should be had within easy reach of the home itself. Though the
public-houses and the numerous artificial pleasures provided in towns
are sought by so many, the persistence of those who still cultivate
the contracted and ill-favoured garden strip suggests a need of
the greatest importance. This persistence, moreover, does not, it
will be found, indicate a desire for exercise and fresh air alone,
but a love for familiar surroundings. Among the lowest class this
instinct may still be observed, and in court tenements it will be
found that the doorstep takes the place of the garden strip. The fact
is that the Englishman’s house is his castle, and though his castle
be deprived of its “grounds,” the home instinct, so deeply rooted
in the English character, will not be denied. Whether in the future
this instinct should be fostered, or blunted as in the past, is a
matter of elementary sociology. The inference, then, will be that
the accommodation of the house is not the only matter with which
we have to concern ourselves, but that the closest attention should
also be devoted to the environment. Besides the provision of an ample
garden, the environment itself must be healthy and pleasant. The
influence of surroundings in exalting or depressing the mind, and
thus affecting the life, is a matter not only for the theorist, but
for the architect.
With the provision of a garden, the tenant himself may add to
the beauty of his home, and at the same time enjoy fresh air and
recreation. The cultivation of the soil is certainly the best
antidote to the sedentary occupations of those working in large
towns. A primitive instinct is indulged, the full value of which
seems hardly yet to have been realised. Many believe, indeed, that
with its encouragement the abuse of the social club and public-house
will be materially lessened, and one of the greatest social evils of
the time disappear. (The experience of Bournville certainly gives
support to this conclusion, for nearly every householder there spends
his leisure in gardening, and there is not a single licensed-house in
the village.)
With regard to the house itself, so far as it contributes to a
pleasant environment, it should be remembered that architectural
beauty is not dependent upon the ornament introduced; on the
contrary, the use of the latter rather tends to deprive the dwelling
of its homeliness, and of this truth the jerry-built house, with its
scroll-cut lintel and moulded brick string-course, affords only too
frequent an illustration. The soul of beauty is harmony, which may
co-exist with the veriest simplicity; and it is in the harmonious
treatment of parts, and not in useless and sometimes costly
decoration, that a dwelling gains that homely appearance which it
should be our aim to realise.
The chief essentials in a home, then, are adequate accommodation—which
must include a bath as a _sine quâ non_—a pleasing and harmonious
appearance of exterior and environment, and the provision of an ample
garden.
It is surely not a mere coincidence that at the present time,
not only in England but in other countries, a movement is in
progress side by side with that of housing reform which is of great
significance—the revival in domestic architecture. At present this
has manifested itself chiefly in recent examples of country houses
and in residences of the larger cottage class. Though the influence
has already revealed itself to some extent even in the smaller
cottage-dwellings, and though many notable experiments have been
made—most telling of all the splendid experiment at Garden City—it
may be said that the effort on the part of the architect generally
to satisfy the demands both of art and economy has yet to be made.
The fact that it is cheaper to erect villas in long rows of a
repeated and stereotyped design has doubtless largely discouraged
such effort, but the prejudice of the artisan and others against the
revival—for the revival was at first looked upon, perhaps, as an
artistic craze—can scarcely now be regarded as an obstacle. If the
needs of the people, as they have been conceived in the few preceding
paragraphs, are to be satisfied, the two movements of housing
reform and the revival in domestic architecture must certainly
advance hand in hand. With adequate experiment it will probably be
found, moreover, that the difficulty on the economic side has been
exaggerated. On this account, in the examples of smaller cottage
types here dealt with, attention has been specially paid to this
aspect of the question, a pleasing appearance having been aimed at,
with the employment of the least costly materials. An effort has also
been made in a further stage to show how monotony may be avoided,
even with a repetition of the same plan, by variety in combination
and disposition.
Larger types of cottages are also included, and economy in design
and cost of materials has here also been considered, as well as a
pleasing effect aimed at. The plans given, with one exception, are of
examples actually existing, so that what defects may be present can
scarcely be disguised. The intention is that they should be regarded
chiefly as suggestive, and it is frankly admitted that they are not
only capable of modification, by which their cost may be reduced, but
also of improvement. The work dealt with has been executed during the
last ten years.
The method of including with the description of each cottage such
notes and suggestions as have seemed worthy of mention, has been
adopted as being more valuable than grouping these under separate
heads, though a number of general observations on various features of
cottage-building has also been added.
The photographs reproduced were taken by T. Lewis and by Harold
Baker, both of Birmingham.
NOTE.—The cost is given of all cottages where the accommodation,
materials, &c., are fully described, with the exception of one or
two cases in which the cottages are owned privately. As most of the
examples given have been built by the Bournville Village Trust, it
should be noted that the figures stated include an addition to the
net cost of 3¾ per cent. as builder’s profit.
[Illustration: PLATE II. THE TRIANGLE. BOURNVILLE.]
THE BOURNVILLE VILLAGE.
Although many articles have already appeared from time to time in
newspaper and periodical respecting the Bournville Village, the
following account of its founding and development will doubtless be
of interest to the reader:—
In 1879 Messrs. Cadbury Brothers removed their works from Birmingham
to the present site at Bournville, and twenty-four cottages were
erected there for their workmen. This really formed the nucleus out
of which in recent years the village has developed. It was in 1895
that Mr. George Cadbury, the senior member of the present firm,
commenced the work of building a model village. One of the objects
of the scheme was that of “alleviating the evils which arise from
the insanitary and insufficient housing accommodation supplied to
large numbers of the working classes, and of securing to workers
in factories some of the advantages of outdoor village life, with
opportunities for the natural and healthful occupation of cultivating
the soil.” A simple and interesting statement of the motive behind
the experiment was made by Mr. Cadbury himself at the Garden City
Conference, held at Bournville in 1901. An intimate knowledge of the
lives of Birmingham working-men, gained by an experience of some
forty years, had shown him that the greatest drawback to their moral
and physical progress was the lack of any healthful occupation for
their leisure. Although many men took up carpentry and other crafts,
such hobbies, he said, had proved insufficiently recreative, and in
most cases the men soon tired of them. Realising this, he began to
think of new means. His conclusion was that the only practical thing
was to bring the factory worker out on to the land, that he might
pursue the most natural and healthful of all recreations, that of
gardening. It was impossible for working men to be healthy and have
healthy children, when after being confined all day in factories they
spent their evenings in an institute, club room, or public house. If
it were necessary for their health, as it undoubtedly was, that they
should get fresh air, it was equally to the advantage of their moral
life that they should be brought into contact with Nature. There was
an advantage, too, in bringing the working-man on to the land, for,
instead of his losing money in the amusements usually sought in the
towns, he saved it in his garden produce—a great consideration where
the poorer class of workman was concerned. The average yield per
garden in the 1901 tests at Bournville, after making allowance for
all outgoings, proved to be 1_s._ 11_d._ each per week. Mr. Cadbury
also thought that the increased consumption of fresh vegetable food,
instead of animal food, was further desirable. It was touching, he
thought, to see the interest and pleasure taken by town families when
on coming into the country they saw seeds germinate and vegetables
grown for the first time. Nor was the advantage of leaving the
town for the country restricted to the workmen. Mr. Cadbury showed
that the greater facilities there for obtaining land were also of
advantage to the manufacturer whose business was increasing.
The Bournville idea was at first regarded as an impracticable
one, even apart from the economic side of the question, but the
realisation of the scheme has proved otherwise. The average garden
space allotted to the Bournville cottages is 600 square yards,
this being as much as most men can conveniently cultivate,
and, almost without exception, the Bournville tenants are the most
enthusiastic gardeners—a statement no one surely will traverse who
has paid a visit to the village in the summer.
[Illustration: PLATE III. SHOPS, BOURNVILLE.]
[Illustration: PLATE IV. LINDEN ROAD, BOURNVILLE.]
[Illustration: PLATE V. THE OLD FARM INN, BOURNVILLE.]
While it was the first aim of the founder to provide dwellings for
the factory worker which should have adequate accommodation and large
gardens, it was not intended that at Bournville provision should be
made alone for the poorer working class. It might be pointed out that
one of the most prominent ideals in the scheme of the Garden Suburb
Trust, already referred to, is “that all classes may live in kindly
neighbourliness,” and the amalgamation of the factory-worker and the
brain-worker in the same district is catered for as being expressly
desirable. At Bournville there has always been a demand for houses
both on the part of the skilled artisan and others, and this demand
has been provided for from the first. Rents in the village range from
_4s._ _6d._ a week, rates not included, to _12s._ a week; and there
are also a few houses of a still larger class at higher rentals. Nor
are the houses let to Messrs. Cadbury’s own workpeople exclusively,
as the following figures will show—figures based on a private census
taken during 1901, and here quoted from a booklet issued by the
Village Trust:—
PROPORTION OF HOUSEHOLDERS WORKING IN—
Bournville 41·2 per cent.
Villages within a mile
of Bournville 18·6 „
Birmingham 40·2 „
OCCUPATIONS OF HOUSEHOLDERS—
Employed at indoor
work in factories 50·7 per cent.
Clerks and travellers 13·3 „
Mechanics, carpenters,
bricklayers, and
various occupations
not admitting of exact
classification 36·0 „
The village is four miles from Birmingham, and is easily accessible
by cycle, rail, or electric car. The last come within easy distance
of the village, workmen’s fares being _2d._ return.
Under the founder’s first scheme the land was let upon leases of
999 years, subject to a ground rent varying from _½d._ to _1d._ per
yard (600 square yards at _½d._ and _1d._ = £1 _5s._ and £2 _10s._
respectively). Arrangements were made to find capital on mortgages
granted at the rate of Three per cent. to those who paid less than
half the cost of the house and Two and a-half per cent. to those who
paid more. Although a stipulation was made that no one person should
be allowed to build more than four houses, it was found necessary
to revise the arrangement in order to prevent speculation. In 1900,
therefore, the estate was handed over to a Trust on behalf of the
nation, the whole income to be directed to solving the housing
problem. The houses now built are let to tenants at moderate weekly
rentals, which include the annual ground rent, equal to about _1d._
per yard (according to its value), and which should yield Four per
cent. net. The revenue of house and ground rents is employed, after
provision has been made for the maintenance and repair of present
property, in the development of the village itself, and in the laying
out and development of other villages elsewhere, the Trust being
empowered under the deed of foundation to acquire land in any part of
Great Britain. Subsequently to the formation of the Trust, additional
land adjacent to Bournville has been added to the founder’s gift, and
included in the village, which now extends over 458 acres. Already
upwards of 100 acres of land have been laid out for building. There
are now about 450 houses in the hands of the Trust, which number,
added to the 143 sold under the first scheme, makes a total of
nearly 600. With the income of the Trust, building is being steadily
proceeded with, and there is a continual demand for houses.
[Illustration: PLATE VI. SYCAMORE ROAD, BOURNVILLE.]
[Illustration: PLATE VII. THE SCHOOLS, BOURNVILLE SEE PAGE 13.]
[Illustration: PLATE VIII. CARVED STONE PANELS FOR SCHOOLS.]
The Trustees have power to make arrangements with railways and
other companies for cheap means of transit. They may lease,
underlet, or sell land, or develop it and prepare it for
building, give land, or erect buildings for places of worship,
hospitals, schools, technical institutes, libraries, gymnasiums,
laundries, baths, &c. Occupying a central position in the village are
already the Bournville Meeting House (see Plates X. and XI.), the
Ruskin Hall, an institute founded in 1903, and including library,
reading-room, lecture hall, class rooms (see Plate IX.), and the
schools described later. Ample open spaces have been reserved in
various parts of the village. These include the Village Green; The
Triangle (a plot of land with lawn, flower beds, and shrubbery,
intersected by public paths—see Plate II.); Camp Wood (an undulating
woodland, thick with old forest-trees); children’s playgrounds and
lawns, with swings, bars, &c.; allotment gardens; youths’ and girls’
gardens (consisting of a number of small plots rented and cultivated
by boys and girls, in connection with which gardening classes are
held), &c. A large area of land, through which flows the Bourn
stream, has also been reserved for laying out as a public park.
Adjacent to the Estate, though not part of it, are two extensive and
well-wooded recreation grounds belonging to Messrs. Cadbury, which
are put at the disposal of their men and women employees; those for
the former including open-air swimming baths, which may be used
during stipulated hours by the tenants of the Estate houses. These
recreation grounds separate the works buildings from the village
itself, and in the event of the factory ceasing to exist, the Trust
deed provides that they be handed over to the District Council for
use as a public park. Nearly all the old trees and woodland on the
Estate have been preserved, and new trees planted in many parts.
The schools (see Plate VII.) are the gift to the village of Mr. and
Mrs. George Cadbury. They accommodate 540 children (270 boys and 270
girls), and are constructed on the central-hall plan. There are six
class-rooms for fifty children each, and six for forty each, and the
dimensions of the large hall are 84 ft. by 32 ft. The land falls from
North to South, and advantage has been taken of the basement afforded
to provide for accommodation for classes in cookery, laundry, manual
instruction, and various branches of handicraft. The buildings stand
in grounds two and a-half acres in extent, adjoining which is the
Park, the children thus having access in all to about ten acres. The
tower rises to a height of about 60 ft., and has been utilised for a
library, laboratory, &c. An extensive view of the surrounding country
is obtained from the top, and a map, incised in stone, with compass
and locating apparatus, is provided for instructing the children
in local geography. Everything is being done in the designing of
details—carved and painted panels, &c.—to make the building itself
a permanent means of educating the children; the subjects chosen
include historical scenes, truthfully depicted as regards dress,
customs, architecture, &c., while in the bosses and voussoirs are
represented English flowers and foliage, conventionally treated. The
carving is executed by Mr. Benjamin Creswick, of Birmingham.
In the designing of the building every effort has been made to embody
the latest improvements and the result of the most broad-minded and
enlightened study of education.
Gardens are provided for the instruction of the children in
gardening, vegetable growing, &c.
The low death-rate at Bournville during 1904 of 6·9 per thousand,
compared with 19 per thousand in Birmingham, is some indication of
the healthiness of the village. The figures are taken from the report
of the district medical officer of health.
[Illustration: PLATE IX. RUSKIN HALL, BOURNVILLE.]
[Illustration: PLATE X. MEETING HOUSE, BOURNVILLE.]
[Illustration: PLATE XI. MEETING HOUSE, BOURNVILLE.]
It is not proposed to deal here with the economics of model village
or garden city schemes generally. Though the movement is still
very young, it is already advancing from the problematical stage.
Its progress is being watched with the keenest interest by many who
realise that of all courses the most impracticable in the long run is
that which allows the slum-suburb to spring up unchecked.
If it be asked, with regard to the problem of the housing of the
people, what is Bournville’s contribution towards its solution, it
would be stating its claims at the lowest to say that it stands as
an example of what the village of the future may be, a village of
healthy homes amid pleasant surroundings, where fresh air is abundant
and beauty present, and where are secured to its people by an
administration co-operative in nature numerous benefits which under
present conditions are denied them elsewhere.
COTTAGES AT £135, WITH NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC BUILDING OF SMALL
COTTAGES.
PLATES XII AND XIII.
COTTAGES IN BLOCKS OF EIGHT, AT £135.
[Illustration: FRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XII. COTTAGES IN BLOCKS OF EIGHT. SEE PAGE 16.]
Plate XII gives the plan, with elevation, of a block of eight
cottages, the accommodation of which is the least, and the dimensions
the lowest, that should be provided for homes with one living room.
The accommodation is as follows:—
GROUND FLOOR.
Living Room, 12 ft. 4 in. × 13 ft. Kitchen, 8 ft. × 12 ft. 6 ins.
(with “Cabinet” Bath, and boiler with patent steam exhaust). Larder
under stairs.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 9 ft. 2 ins. × 13 ft., and recess. Second Bedroom, 8
ft. 4 ins. × 11 ft. 2 ins. Third Bedroom, 7 ft. 6 ins. × 8 ft.
Total cost, £135 per cottage.
Laying out of garden, £7 10_s._ extra.
Cubical contents, 64,800 ft. at 4_d._ per foot cube = £1,080 per
block, or £135 per cottage.
There has been considerable discussion of late with regard to the
building of cheap cottages suitable for labourers and the poorer
artisans, both in the country and elsewhere. Experiments have been
made in which the building materials employed have been other than
brick, the object being a reduction in cost. The bye-laws which do
not at present sanction the erection of cottages in some of these
materials will, it is hoped, before long be altered. Meanwhile,
what is wanted in most districts is the cheap dwelling in brick.
[Illustration: PLATE XIII. BLOCK OF EIGHT COTTAGES. SEE PAGE 16.]
The example here given is of a similar plan to one from which
a number of cottages in blocks of _four_ have been erected at
Bournville. Owing to a decision on the part of the Village Trust
not to build in blocks of more than four, the plans here given
have never been carried out at Bournville, but in view of the
danger there is of under-estimating the cost of such cottages,
and the importance of avoiding inaccuracies, estimates have been
obtained for their erection under similar conditions. Economy
of construction has been the main object in the design, without
sacrificing that pleasant environment, privacy and homeliness
of appearance which are, as already indicated, essential to the
cottage home.
The cost of erecting in blocks of four only is necessarily
increased, and the lowest estimate for those at Bournville is £160
per cottage, the particular estimate being, however, for a block of
four on “made up” ground, necessitating deep footings, the cottages
including the sunk bath, which is more costly than the “Cabinet”
patent.
The plan might be simplified, if desired, by omitting the division
wall between the living room and scullery, thus making one large
room. The boiler, sink, and bath might then be planned in a small
recess which could be screened off by a curtain when not in use.
SIMPLICITY AND REGULARITY OF PLANNING.—The roof runs uninterruptedly
from end to end, by which unnecessary roof complications are avoided;
the chimneys have been grouped together to diminish trimming and
flashing, always costly items, and have been brought to the highest
point in the roof to prevent smoky flues, consequent upon down
draughts; and the building throughout is of a very inexpensive
character. Further, the eaves run uninterruptedly, for the windows
are not allowed to complicate the spouting and roofing by breaking
through the roof, the wall-plate nevertheless being kept at a fairly
low level. In all cottages of this class, compactness and regularity
should be always aimed at in planning, and the wall lines—set out at
right angles—should be as long and unbroken as possible.
ARRANGEMENT OF OUTBUILDINGS.—The W.C.’s, here isolated, are in
the Bournville blocks of four planned under the main roof, which
arrangement is for many reasons preferable. As many as possible of
the outbuildings should, in the case of small cottages, be arranged
under the main roof. Often, where the outbuildings of these rows
of cottages are extensive, one or more of the houses suffers
through the projecting eaves of the other, and there is a narrow
outlook upon a cramped yard. The better view of the garden obtained
from the back rooms by the avoidance of this is an important
consideration. The kitchen, in small property, is as much used as
the living room, and the value of the restful glimpse of green to
the housewife should not be ignored. (The isolation of the W.C.
in the example under notice does not obstruct the light.) In the
case of a corner site it is preferable to close in the yard at the
back of the house, so that the week’s wash may not be exposed to
the public view. It may be advanced, however, that such a domestic
display is not really unsightly, but gives a pleasant human
interest to the surroundings. Such an opinion, nevertheless, will
probably not find general acceptance.
HEIGHTS OF ROOMS.—The height of the building will also be reduced
to the lowest limit. The heights of 8 ft. 3 ins. for the ground
floor, and 8 ft. for the chamber floor, are quite adequate for the
average cottage, so long as sufficient ventilation is provided.
There is some difficulty in getting the artisan to recognise this,
for a lofty and often draughty and cold room seems to have an
unaccountable attraction for him. As, however, floor space is the
essential, the reduction of heights is in every way a legitimate
means of economising the brickwork; moreover, the scale of the
building is at the same time rendered more pleasing. With the
height reduced, it will be necessary to introduce the casement
window, as the sash kind requires a loftier elevation. This,
however, will be no detriment, as the former is more agreeable and
appropriate to the cottage home.
EXTRA BEDROOM ACCOMMODATION.—If in any of the smaller types of
cottages dealt with it is thought desirable to provide a fourth
bedroom, or if larger bedrooms are required, an attic might be
provided by slightly lifting the roof (where this is necessary),
and the first floor might then be divided into two rooms or not,
according to the requirements. Staircases, however, are expensive,
and it is well for the sake of economy to provide bedrooms on the
first floor. Where roof space is available this may be used for
lumber, when the trap by which it is reached should be placed
in the least important bedroom. The ceiling, however, should be
slightly strengthened, and the bearing should not be too great.
ORNAMENT.—The sound principle that beauty should be based on
utility is often violated, even in the building of small cottages
and villas, in order to gratify a vulgar taste for shoddy and
meaningless display. Although the architect may not be entirely
to blame for submitting to this preference, it is none the less
certain that if he avail himself of such opportunities as occur to
introduce a purer taste, the public will in time respond, while
such efforts on his part will be always heartily approved by his
fellow architects. The difficulty of inducing builders to stock
ornament that is really good is merely one of demand. The public
taste may after all be found to be more amenable than is commonly
represented. A readiness on the part of the Bournville tenants to
catch the spirit of homely simplicity suggested in the design of
the houses has shown itself in the manner in which they furnish
their homes, as, for instance, in their use of suitable curtains
for the casement windows.
If it be decided that a row of cottages should have ornament, this
should not be too small or crowded, and should be introduced in the
right place—in the case of tight cottages, say in the third and the
sixth, the unadorned ones serving as a foil. An excess of ornament
should be avoided, especially if the aim is economy, and what there
is should be broad and simple, for such, happily, is increasingly
in favour in preference to the incongruous and florid stock carving
of the jerry builder, which, bad as it is, must yet cost something.
If money is to be spent, let preference be given first of all to
the quality of the material used, and then to the extra elaboration
of such material, such as rough-cast, parquetry, colour decoration,
etc.
While the appearance of the elevation of the blocks of eight
cottages here given is improved by the introduction over the doors
of hoods with wrought-iron stays, the erection of two large posts
with a horizontal cross-piece as a support for honeysuckle or
climbing rose is not only cheaper, but is in the circumstances
a more suitable way of adorning what is of necessity a plain
elevation. The steps before the doorway should then be cut short,
without returns, to enable the plant to be set as near as possible
to the posts. The two steps are a necessity in order to secure good
ventilation beneath the floors, where boarded floors are used.
THE TRUE TEST OF ECONOMY.—Many jerry-built houses are the work of
the speculating builder, who immediately on their completion sells
them to one who buys to sell again. He secures himself, but with
such inferior property someone must in the end suffer considerable
loss. To say that a house has been built on economic lines because
the cost of erection has been the lowest possible is to mislead,
for the true test of economy is that which will take into account
the cost of repairs at the end of ten years, and its then value.
In designing cottages for an estate or garden city, the architect
will therefore realise the importance of building dwellings that
shall be lasting. He will perceive that to take the low cost of
the jerry-built house as a standard will only lead him ultimately
into endless trouble and expense. He will not, to save a trifling
initial cost, incur a heavier one later on, for in this case the
ownership of the house does not change, and maintenance is not a
thing that can be shirked.
FOUNDATIONS.—He will therefore see that there is a bed of concrete
over the whole site, that his floors are well ventilated by
allowing a good space between the under-side of ground floor joists
and ground work, that the damp course is effectual, and also that
plenty of air-bricks are inserted to ensure through ventilation,
thus providing against the growth of dry-rot and all the expense it
entails.
As the tenants of the cottages will doubtless be amateur gardeners
who will probably add manure to the soil each year, the damp course
is likely to get covered over; it is therefore essential that this
should be at least six inches above the ground when the cottages
are built.
STOCK ARTICLES.—Economy may always be exercised by using what are
_worthy_ stock articles of building, and in the case of a model
village, where large orders will be given, the architect should
make it his business to introduce new lines—moulds, doors, grates,
mantels, etc.—the quality of which is first well proved. Stock
sizes of building materials should be selected, and the planning
should be adapted to them to avoid waste. For instance, joists
should always be of such sizes as will prevent waste in the cutting
of timbers. Joists are stocked in a definite number of foot
lengths. Rooms of 12 ft. 4 ins. width, with 4 ins. bearing allowed
at each end, will require joists of 13 ft. lengths, in which case
there is no waste; on the other hand, rooms with 12 ft. 6 ins.
width, with the same bearing, will require 14 ft. joist lengths,
in which case 10 ins. in timber and the labour in cutting will be
wasted, which the extra 2 ins. gained does not warrant; 12 ft.
4 ins., 13 ft. 4 ins., 14 ft. 4 ins., and so on, are therefore
preferable dimensions. Again, if the size of the joists be 9 ins.
× 3 ins., 27 ins. cube is obtained, which is not stronger than
11 ins. × 2 ins., giving 22 ins. cube. If the latter be chosen,
therefore, 5 ins. cube are saved. True, the house will be raised in
height, but not sufficiently to appreciably increase the cost. This
is only one instance of how selection of material may be profitably
studied.
GENERAL.—In the example given the staircase runs between the
houses, and gives them a good wide frontage, bringing the outer
houses nearer to the extremity of the land, and enabling a more
convenient division of the gardens. It will be noticed that the
bath in these small cottages is the “Cabinet” patent, which is
strongly recommended on account of its being easily shut up and
stowed away (see page 51). The interior fittings are of the
simplest and most inexpensive kind, such a thing as the ingle nook,
however pleasing and comfortable, being reserved for a better class
of cottage. Ample cupboard room, nevertheless, is provided, and it
should be noted that such conveniences as cloak rails, cup-rails
and hooks, picture rails, etc., are fixed in all the cottages
dealt with. Small gas cookers or grills should be included in all
cottages, whether large or small. White’s patent steam exhaust
should also be fitted in all cottages.
THE LAYING OUT OF GARDENS.
The garden, a feature of such importance in the model village, or
garden city, should have no less care and attention in the planning
than the house itself. The accompanying plan is one frequently
adopted at Bournville where the aspect is suitable. The arrangement
is modified in the case of the smallest cottages by the reduction
or omission of turf. The bedding, with the various trees and shrubs
supplied, is indicated on the plan.
[Illustration: GARDEN PLAN.]
With the large garden-space allotted, the paths should be broad
and, generally speaking, planned in straight lines, the width being
not less than 3 ft.—even 4 ft. not being too wide. At Bournville
they are made of 6 ins. of ashes and 3 ins. of gravel. Where there
is turf the path should run at one extremity of the garden plot,
giving the full width remaining for as spacious a lawn as possible.
At the bottom of the lawn it might be turned to the left or right,
as the case may be, as far as the centre, and carried down through
the kitchen garden so that the fruit trees and vegetables may be
easily accessible on either hand. With a south aspect, however, it
is advisable to still continue the path down one side, the shadow
of the adjacent hedge thus being cast not on the beds but on the
path itself. It should be borne in mind that in laying out the beds
all peas and beans, raspberry canes, etc., are best planted north
and south in order that the whole length of the rows may get the
sun. The tendency is for amateur gardeners to favour winding paths,
by which space is lost, besides the arrangement being inconvenient.
The curved line is rarely in harmony with the setting of the
cottage, and curves, if introduced, should be gained rather in the
planting of trees or flowers, curves in colour being more pleasing.
The number of trees, etc., provided in each of the Bournville
gardens is:—eight apple and pear trees, assorted according to the
nature of the soil, which, in addition to bearing fruit, form a
desirable screen between houses which are back to back; twelve
gooseberry bushes, one Victoria plum, six creepers for the house,
including Gloire de Dijon and William Allen Richardson roses,
wistaria, honeysuckle, clematis, ivy in a number of varieties,
_Ampelopsis veitchii_, white and yellow jasmine, etc., according
to the aspect, as well as one or two forest trees, so placed as to
frame the building. Hedges of thorn divide the houses, and form
road boundaries. The choice of trees and creepers is determined not
only by the suitability of soil or aspect, but also by the general
effect gained.
BLOCKS, PAIRS, AND SINGLE COTTAGES.
PLATES XIV. AND XV.
BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES.
[Illustration:
FRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XIV. BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES. SEE PAGE 25.]
In the ascending scale we now come to a block of four, containing
houses of two classes. The cost of each is approximately the same,
and the advantages are about equal. The outside houses have a side
entrance with lobby and outer porch, thereby making the front room
quite private, while in the inside ones the front door opens into
the room, which has, however, the advantage of being more spacious.
USE OF THE INGLE NOOK IN SMALL COTTAGES.—The introduction of
an ingle nook in this latter secures to it a greater degree of
comfort, and privacy from the road is also gained by the extension
of the screen. Complete privacy may be secured by attaching a rod
from the screen to the outside wall and dropping a curtain. The
ingle is lighted by borrowed light from the half-glass door, the
light passing through the glazed wooden screen. In this case the
ingle nook may be said to be the natural outcome of the plan. The
staircase in these inside houses is at the side of the ingle, and
affords space beneath for a cupboard, which is reached from the
kitchen. The staircase in the outside houses is approached near the
window of the living room, and admits of space in like manner for a
larder, which is entered from the lobby.