UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
WILLIAM MYCAJAH CLARKE
UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGEL.66
LIBRARY OF
ARCHITECTURE AND
ALLIED ARTS
Gift of
YflLLIAM M. CIARKE
THE MODEL VILLAGE
AND ITS COTTAGES :
BOURNVILLE.
PLATE I. ...
BLOCK OF FOUR
COTTAGES . . .
BOURNVILLE. .
THE MODEL VILLAGE
AND ITS COTTAGES:
BOURN VILLE
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.
Urban Planning
Ufawy
A/A
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 Bourn-
ville 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 measure-
ments 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.
vi PREFACE.
I am indebted to the Bournville Village Trust for
their courtesy in allowing me to publish plans and par-
ticulars 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.
BENNETT'S HILL,
BIRMINGHAM.
December, 1905.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION. The housing problem of the future the
artisan-suburb. Remedies already suggested municipali-
sation, 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 ....... I
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. Bourn-
ville'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
viii CONTENTS.
PAGE
GENERAL NOTES. The bath the sunk bath the "Cabinet"
bath Cornes' bath. The ingle-nook. Chimneys. Windows
casement and sash. Bricks. Roof covering;. Wall
O
spaces roughcast 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 advan-
tages. 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 LlST.
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
VIIL CARVED STONE PANELS, THE SCHOOLS . . 12
IX. RUSKIN HALL 14
X. BOURN VILLE 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
x LIST OF PLATES.
PLATE PAGE
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) 3 8
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
XLVL PAIR OF THREE -STOREY COTTAGES (ELEVATION
AND ATTIC PLAN) . .... 48
XLVII. PAIR OF THREE-STOREY COTTAGES (VIEW) . 48
LIST OF PLATES. xi
PLATE PAGE
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
LVL SINGLE COTTAGE (VIEW) 50
LVIL 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: BOURN VILLE
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.
B
2 INTRODUCTION.
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
INTRODUCTION. 3
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 specu-
lating 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
B 2
4 INTRODUCTION.
unsightly row the aesthetic 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 ot
doors, also that most of them prefer that opportunities for such re-
creation should be had uithin 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
INTRODUCTION. 5
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 decora-
tion, 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 qua non a pleasing and
6 INTRODUCTION.
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 signi-
ficance 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 artis;m and others against the revival tor
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 para-
graphs, 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, more-
over, 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
INTRODUCTION. 7
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 accommo-
dation, 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 3f per cent, as builder's profit.
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 doubt-
less 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 tnat 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 accommo-
dation 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
TO THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
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 u. \\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,
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THE BOURN VILLE VILLAGE. n
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.
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 45. 6d. a week, rates not
included, to izs. 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 OCCUPATIONS OF HOUSEHOLDERS
1N Employed at indoor
Bournville . . .41*2 per cent. work in factories . 50*7 per cent.
Villages within a mile Clerks and travellers . \yT,
of Bournville . . i8'6 ,, Mechanics, carpenters,
Birmingham . . 40-2 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.
C 2
12 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
Under the founder's first scheme the land was let upon leases
of 999 y ears , subject to a ground rent varying from ^d. to id. per
yard (600 square yards at ^d. and id. = i 55. and 2 los.
respectively). Arrangements were made to find capital on mort-
gages 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 i 900, 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 id. 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.
The Trustees have power to make arrangements with railways
and other companies for cheap means of transit. They may lease,
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THE BOURNVILLE VILLAGE. 13
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 XL), 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 (con-
sisting 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
i 4 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
(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.
It is not proposed to deal here with the economics of model-
village or garden-city schemes generally. Though the movement
-I 3 O
Q. C CO
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THE BOURN VILLE VILLAGE. 15
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.
D 2
i6
COTTAGES AT ^135, WITH NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC
BUILDING OF SMALL COTTAGES.
PLATES XII AND XIII.
COTTAGES IN BLOCKS OF EIGHT, AT 135.
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. x 13 ft. Kitchen, 8 ft. x 12 ft. 6 ins. (with
"Cabinet " Bath, and boiler with patent steam exhaust). Larder under stairs.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 9 ft. 2 ins. x '3 ft-> and recess. Second Bedroom, 8 ft. 4 ins.
X I I ft. 2 ins. Third Bedroom, 7 ft. 6 ins. x 8 ft.
Total cost, ^135 per cottage.
Laying out of garden, 7 ics. extra.
Cubical contents, 64,800 ft. at ^d. per foot cube /,"i,o8o
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.
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COTTAGES. 17
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, necessiting 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 divi-
sion 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 com-
plications 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 through-
out is of a very inexpensive character. Further, the eaves run
uninterruptedly, for the windows are not allowed to complicate
i8 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
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
COTTAGES. 19
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
20 THE MODEL VILLAGE : BOURNVILLE.
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 eight cottages, say in the third and
the sixth, the unadorned ones serving as a foil. An excess of
' O
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 roughcast, 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
ot 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 jerrybuilt 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
COTTAGES. 21
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 jerrybuilt 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
22 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
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 1 2 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 ; 1 2 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. x 3 ins.,
27 ins. cube is obtained, which is not stronger than 1 1 ins. x 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
' O '
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.
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 Bourn-
ville 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
With a south aspect, however, it is
GARDEN PLAN.
accessible on either hand.
24 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
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,
dmpelopsis veitchii, white and yellow jasmine, etc., according to the
aspect, as well as one or two forest trees, so placed ;is 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.
LLCVATION
10 5 10 15. ?0 25 3,o
scAte OF tin ' i " i ' ' ' ' 'FEET
^
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GROUND PLAN
BC.QROOM PLAN
PLATE XIV. . .
BLOCK OF FOUR
COTTAGES. SEE
PAGE 25. ...
2 5
BLOCKS, PAIRS, AND SINGLE COTTAGES.
PLATES XIV AND XV.
BLOCK OF FOUR COTTAGES.
IN the ascending scale we now come to a block of four,
containing houses of two classes. The cost of each is approxi-
mately 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 intro-
duction 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.
VENTILATION. It will be seen that the larder, in the case of
the two middle houses, is arranged within the house, between the
coals and the living room. Larders, wherever possible, should have
an outside window, but in this case ventilation is very easily
obtained in the following manner : An inlet of a 9-111. pipe enters
the larder on the floor level from air bricks in the front wall, while
in the coals at the back a concrete division is inserted at a height of
5 ft. 6 ins. or 5 ft. 9 ins. (the ground floor of the house from floor
E 1
26 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
to ceiling being in this instance 8 ft. 6 ins.). Through a fanlight
above the outside door of coals not only is light obtained, but, by
means of a cord and pulley worked from the larder, through venti-
lation also, while there is no danger of the invasion of coal dust.
In both houses there is little space wasted. In the outside ones
the living rooms are entered immediately from the lobby, and the
bedrooms immediately from a small landing, while there is a useful
closet over the stairs, entered from the front bedroom.
The projection in this block gives variety to the street, and is
the natural outcome of the requirements of the houses. The type
is self-contained, and privacy is secured to the householders by the
introduction of the side entrance to the outside houses, and by the
arrangement of the doorways to the middle ones at the remote ends.
MATERIALS. Brindled bricks, hand-made tiles, and casement
windows of wood are here used, and the brickwork of the kitchen
is pointed for whitewashing, with a 4-ft. dado of paint. In these
smaller cottages it is advisable to employ papers for interior wall
decoration in preference to colour-wash, the latter being very soon
soiled where there are children. Picture rails should be used in
all cottages, if only to save the plaster.
ACCOMMODATION. The accommodation of the respective
houses is as follows :
GROUND FLOOR.
OUTSIDE HOUSES. INSIDE HOUSES.
Living Room . . 12 ft. 4 ins. x 13 ft. 15 ft. x i6ft. 4 ins.
Kitchen . . 10 ft. 6 ins. x 1 1 ft. 1 1 ft. x 1 1 ft. 3 ins.
Tools, w.c., and Coals.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom . 12 ft. 4 ins. x 13 ft. 13 ft. 3 ins. x I 5 ft.
Second Bedroom . 8 ft. x lift. 6ft. 3 ins. x 14 ft. 2 ins.
Third Bedroom . 7 ft. 6 ins. x 7 ft. 10 ins. 7 ft. 9 ins. x 8 ft. 4 ins.
Linen Closet.
I- O H uj
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0. CO O 0.
BLOCKS OF COTTAGES.
27
Total cost, including all extras and builder's profit, ^872 per
block, or ^"218 per cottage. Laying out of gardens, 10 per
cottage.
Cubical contents, 48,295 ft. at ^\d. per foot cube, 872, or
^218 per cottage.*
"V- 1 -^z fKONT ELEVATION
BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES.
The elevation shown in the accompanying illustration is of a
block of three cottages, the two outside ones of which are similar
to those shown on the foregoing plan. This is an example of how
the same plan may be repeated with varied effect, or where there is
not sufficient land for four.
* NO TE. As most of the examples given have been built by the Bournville
Village Trust, it should be noted that the figures stated include in all cases an
addition to the net cost of 3% as builder's profit.
Where there is any marked difference in the price per foot cube not accounted
for by more complicated planning, or by the better quality of materials, this is
due, not only to the fluctuation of building prices during the last few years, but
also to the variation in the cost of building at different periods of the year.
The extras include fencing, garden gates, etc.
PLATES XVI AND XVII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
VARIATION OF FORMER PLAN. The plan shown in Plate xvi.
and illustrated in Plate xvn., is of a pair similar to the outside
cottages of Plate xiv. This again shows how it is possible to
play on the same plan in the building of a village, and so gain the
desirable variety of elevation. The roof is hipped and covered
with pantiles. A bay window is introduced in both the storeys,
with rough-cast between. A rainwater cistern to store all roof
water is placed over the coals, which projects from the main block.
A greater privacy is obtained by this slight projection, without
interfering with the light at the back. The chimneys are grouped
together in the centre, there being only one stack to both the
houses, which is carried to the highest point of the roof.
Total cost of cottages built to this plan, including all extras,
^230 per cottage.
Laying out of gardens, ^10 per cottage.
Cubical contents, 22,000 ft. at ^d. per foot cube, ^460, or
^230 per cottage.
PLATE XVIII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
The plan and elevation shown on this plate are of an alternative
arrangement to the last. The houses have an entrance at the front
and an extended larder, owing to the staircases ascending from the
lobby. The fireplaces are arranged in the corners of the rooms.
PLATE XIX.
The view here given shows three pairs of cottages built to the
plan shown on Plate xvi., and illustrates how a variety of
elevation may be gained by adding bays, dormers, etc., and by
using differing materials.
YARD
L
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XVI. . .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 28.
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rRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
SCALE. OF
TEET
PLATE XVIII. .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 28. . .
. CO
X
DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XX.
30
PLATE XX.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
VARIATION OF FORMER PLAN. This plate shows the de-
velopment and variation of the inside houses of the block of four
shown on Plate xiv., with a superior arrangement of larder, and
with projecting coals. The long sloping roof has been hipped
back to give a pleasing line, especially in perspective.
THE LONG SLOPING ROOF. The long sloping roof, a feature
frequently introduced at Bournville, has several advantages. If it
were not employed, and the front walls were carried up level with
the ceiling line of the bedroom, the proportions of the elevation
would not be so happy, while an additional expense would be
incurred by the extra brickwork. Such a height, moreover, would
be wholly unnecessary. In the case of cottages with the long sloping
roof the height of bedrooms to the point of intersection of roof and
wall need only be 5 ft. 6 ins. Ample ventilation is obtained by the
simple insertion of a 9 in. by 7 in. air-brick on the outside wall,
and a Sheringham ventilator or tobin tube within, about 5 tt. 6 ins.
from the floor, the cost of the latter being about 3^., and of the
former a little more. The long sloping roof can rarely be treated
tastefully without boldly projecting the eaves. The projection
gives a verandah in front of the house which affords a pleasant
shelter. Wooden posts may be used as supports, and by training
climbing plants up them, and allowing them to festoon, a really
delightful summer bower may be formed. As the roof is broad,
pantiles may be used with safety so far as good taste is concerned :
bold roof, bold covering. By omitting the gutters at the dormer
eaves a pleasing effect is gained, and gutters are quite unnecessary
with an eaves projection. The cheeks of the dormers should be
dressed with lead. The cottages in question are whitewashed, and
rRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
SCALE: or recr
PLATE XX. . .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 30.
have a tarred plinth of about 2 ft. to prevent the unsightliness of
mud splashes.
THE LARGE LIVING ROOM. In view of the gain to health
of one spacious living-room over the parlour plan, a number of
these cottages has been built in varying design at Bournville,
and no difficulty has been found in letting them. There has been,
however, considerable discussion with regard to their convenience
to the artisan in other districts where they have been introduced.
Although cottages in the past had no third room, there having
been, as here, one large comfortable room (often with the ingle
nook) and a small kitchen at the back all the accommodation
really required yet at the present time many artisans are not
content without the useless parlour, which they appear to think
adds dignity to the house, but which is used by them chiefly
as a store-room for gim-cracks. There is, perhaps, a reasonable
objection to a single large living-room on the part of a particular
class who let the front room to a lodger. Nevertheless, for a
model village or a garden city it is strongly recommended that
the plan should be adopted freely, and the preference for the
useless front-room in small cottages discouraged.
Total cost of the example given, including all extras, ^268
per cottage.
Laying out of gardens, 10 each.
Cubical contents, 28,587 ft., at 4^d. per foot cube, ^"536, or
^"268 per cottage.
Instances of the last two types of cottages dealt with appear
in the view given on Plate iv.
PLATE XXI.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
THE smaller cottage shown here is planned on similar lines to
the foregoing, but with the additional accommodation of an attic,
and bay windows to the two storeys. This is an instance of how
a smaller cottage may be joined to a larger one in treating a corner
site, the larger one on the corner giving importance to each road.
PLATES XXII., XXIII., I. (FRONTISPIECE), XXIV., XXV., AND XXVI.
BLOCKS OF FOUR.
THESE plates show examples of cottages in blocks of four rather
larger in size than the last type, and treated in different materials.
Plate xxvr. shows the details of the cottages on Plate xxv.
o
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PLATE XXII. . .
BLOCK OF FOUR
COTTAGES. SEE
PAGE 32. .
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PLATE XXVI.
DETAIL VIEW.
SEE PAGE 32
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, nsn |m|
FRONT EILEXATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
SCALE. OT
1.1,1 I I I I I I
rrcr
PLATE XXVII. .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 33. .
33
PLATE XXVII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
PLATE xxvu. gives the plan and elevation of a pair of cottages
also having similar accommodation to those with the long sloping
roofs shown on Plate xx. The cost, however, is here con-
siderably reduced by each house having a side entrance, and by the
omission of the ingle nook, verandah and bay, while the living
room, though smaller, is not a passage room. By approaching
the stairs from the lobby, not only is more privacy secured, but
the space beneath is made available in the kitchen for a " Cabinet "
bath, which is so placed as to occupy it when in use instead of
projecting into the kitchen. The planning is simple and square,
which, with the omission of bays and the introduction of plain
casements, all helps to reduce the cost.
The accommodation is :
GROUND FLOOR.
Living Room, 1 2 ft. 4 ins. X 1 6 ft. Kitchen, 10 ft. 3 ins. X 1 1 ft. 6 ins. Lobby.
Larder, w.c. and Coals.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 12 ft. 4 ins. x 1 6 ft. Second Bedroom, 7 ft. 8 ins. x 1 1 ft. 6 ins.
Third Bedroom, 8 ft. X 8 ft. 3 ins. Linen Closet.
Total cost, including all extras, ^250 per cottage.
Laying out of gardens, ;io each.
Cubical contents, 24,000 ft, at 3d. per foot cube, ^500, or
250 per cottage.
34
PLATE XXVIII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
THIS plate shows the plan and elevation of a pair of cottages
having the parlour in addition to the living room and scullery.
The living room, which should always be the larger, is here the
full width of the house. The measurements are :
GROUND FLOOR.
Living Room, 1 1 ft. 5 ins. X 16 ft. 6 ins. Parlour, I I ft. 4 ins. x 13 ft. 3 ins.
Scullery, Outside Larder, w.c. and Coals.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 1 1 ft. 4 ins. x 1 3 ft. 5 ins. Second Bedroom, 8 ft. 6 ins. x
1 1 ft. 5 ins. Third Bedroom, 7 ft. 8 ins. x 8 ft. 6 ins. Linen Closet.
Total cost, including all extras, ^230 per cottage. Cubical con-
tents, 33,918 ft. at 3^d. per ft. cube. 460, or ^"230 each. (Built
in 1899.)
The stairs in this instance descend to the entrance lobby, but
they may be planned the other way about in order to avoid the
necessity of traversing the parlour to get to the bedrooms, and to
insure children crying upstairs being heard in the living room or
the scullery. This, however, would necessitate the cutting of 3 ft.
off the large front bedroom, while the respective spaces for the
larder and the lobby below would be reversed, the position of the
former being undesirable.
Ordinary roofing tiles and common bricks have been used.
The living room is boarded, and the scullery quarried.
It might be pointed out that there is but little scope for variety
of plan in these smaller cottages. The variations must be obtained
in the treatment of elevations. As already stated, to build cheaply
the main point is to get the walls as long and straight as possible.
FRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XXVIII. .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 34. . . .
35
TRONT ELEVATION
BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES.
PLATES XXIX. AND XXX.
BLOCK OF THREE COTTAGES.
PLATE xxix. and the accompanying scale-drawing give the plan
and elevation of a block of three cottages, a sketch of which
appears in Plate xxx. The inner one occupies an exact third of
the land, and is double fronted. By putting the inner one with
its axis to the front, an equal garden space is given to all the houses
without incurring a re-division of the land.
The inner and left-hand houses have practically the same
accommodation, but the right-hand has several advantages : there
is a wider hall, the living room is not a passage room, while the
kitchen is reached from the hall, and the wash-house is entered from
the yard.
Accommodation of left-hand and inner houses.
GROUND FLOOR.
Parlour, 1 1 ft. 4 ins. x 15 ft. 3 ins. Living Room, 10 ft. X 14 ft. 6 ins. and
bay. Scullery, loft, x 6 ft. and recess for Bath. Coals, Tools, and w.c.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, n ft. 4 ins. X I 5 ft. 3 ins. Second Bedroom, 7 ft. 6 ins. x
14 ft. 6 ins., and bay. Third Bedroom, 7 ft. 5 ins. x lift. 6 ins. Fourth
Bedroom, 9 ft. 6 ins. X 6 ft. (middle house only). Linen Closet.
36 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
Cost of left-hand and inner houses, including all extras, 293
per cottage. (Built in 1904.)
The right-hand house, owing to the extra conveniences, works
out at rather more.
In the middle house the recess between the range and small
window makes a very convenient space for a writing table,
especially if curtains are dropped from a rod to screen it off, its
proximity to the range making it a warm and cosy retreat in
winter. There is a bay window to the living room of the outside
houses.
Two of the houses in this block are fitted with Cornes' Patent
Combined Scullery-Bath-Range and Boiler, described on page 52,
and the third with the " Cabinet" bath.
The elevation, with the forecourt formed by the projection of the
two outside houses, may be made very pleasing. From the
perspective it will be seen that the inner house is covered with
roughcast, making an agreeable contrast with the outer ones of
plain brickwork. Roughcast, while fairly economical, is very
effective, and helps to brighten the forecourt. The projection of
the outer houses affords a break, the abruptness of which does not
attract attention, but which gives an opportunity of stopping the
roughcast, which would otherwise have to be carried round to the
back of the whole block.
It is not advisable to introduce a variety of colour upon
exteriors. Colour is best disposed in masses that is, it should
be treated broadly, not distributed in isolated portions, or in
sharply contrasting tints. (See page 59.)
The roof of this block is of green slates of varying sizes,
diminishing towards the ridge.
Aspect in the placing of the house is here studied as well as the
site. The axis runs south-west and north-east, and the front
commands a pleasing perspective of one of the principal Bournville
roads, and an admirable view of the Lickey Hills in the distance.
SCALE or rtcr
PLATE XX\X. .
BLOCK OF,THREE
COTTAGES. SEE
PAGE 35 . .
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DESCRIPTIONS OF PLATES XXXL XXXIII.
PLATE XXXI.
PAIR OF COTTAGES (SHALLOW SITE).
THE view shown in this plate illustrates the treatment of a
shallow corner site, the block being a pair of semi-detached, double-
fronted cottages. The plan is similar to the middle house of
the foregoing block.
PLATE XXXII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
A PAIR of cottages also planned on the same lines as the middle
house shown in Plate xxix. and the foregoing shallow-site pair, but
placed at right -angles instead of lengthwise, and occupying a
corner position.
PLATE XXXIII.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
AN example of a pair of cottages treated in the Dutch style.
PLATE XXXI.
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE .
PAGE 38. . .
II
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DESCRIPTION OF PLATES XXXIV. AND XXXV.
4 o
PLATE XXXIV.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
THE accommodation of the pair of cottages shown in this plate is
as follows :
GROUND FLOOR.
Parlour, life. 4 ins. x I 3 ft. 6 ins., and bay. Living room, lift. 6 ins. x
14 ft. 5 ins. (French Windows). Kitchen, 10 ft. 8 ins. x 12 ft. 3 ins.
Larder. Porch, Hall, and Clock Space under stairs. Tools, w.c., and Coals
(Enclosed yard).
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, II ft. 4 ins. X 13 ft. 6 ins. Second Bedroom, 11 ft. 6 ins. x
1 4 ft. 5 ins. Third Bedroom, 8 ft. 6 ins. x 10 ft. 8 ins. Bath Room (hot and
cold water).
Height of rooms : Ground floor, 8 ft. 9 ins. ; first floor,
8 ft. 6 ins.
Total cost, including all extras, ^375 per cottage.
Laying out of gardens, ^12 los. each.
Cubical contents, 34, 285^:., at ^\d, per foot cube = ^375 per
cottage. (Built in 1903.)
MATERIALS. Whitewashed common bricks are here used.
Whitewash is cheap and may be used very effectively, especially
where there are trees in the background. The roofs and dormers
are hipped, and covered with Welsh green slates and blue half-
round ridges ; the chimney-pots are buff-colour.
SILLS. The sills, as in many of the other houses, are formed
of calf-nosed bricks set on edge in cement, with two courses of
tiles beneath, which form a drip under the sill, and with a backing
of slate in cement. By bringing the window-frame forward to
reduce the size of the top of the sill, damp and the driving in
of rain are prevented. This makes an inexpensive sill, and adds
to the homely appearance of the cottage.
fRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN BLDKOOM PLAN
PLATE XXXIV. .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES SEE . .
PAGE 40.
S
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INTERIOR WALL DECORATION. The interior wall decoration
is duresco throughout. Plain ingrain paper, of which there is a
number of very cheap kinds now on the market, might be used
with a frieze. A good effect is obtained by bringing down the
white from the ceiling as far as the picture rail, which gives light
to the room and improves its proportions.
The exterior woodwork is painted a Verona green.
FIREPLACES. Fireplaces suitable for this or any of the six-
roomed cottages are as follows :
Front Room: interior grate, slabbed surrounds, tiled hearth, and white wood
chimney piece. Living Room: iron tiled mantel-sham. Kitchen: 3ft. range
with white tiled coves and York stone shelf and trusses. Front Bedroom:
30 in. mantel-sham and tiled hearth. Back Bedrooms : 24 in. mantel-sham and
tiled hearth.
The total cost of the whole should not amount to more
than 12.
The scullery is lengthened by a projection in the nature of
a bay. The outbuildings, which are carried to right and left
of the pair, give privacy to the garden near to the houses.
PLATE XXXV.
PAIR OF COTTAGES.
THIS plate illustrates one ot several different treatments of the
last plan.
PLATES XXXVI., XXXVII., AND XXXVIII.
SINGLE COTTAGE.
PLATE xxxvi. gives the plan of a single cottage occupying a
corner site. It contains:
GROUND FLOOR.
Drawing Room, 12 ft. 6 ins. x 1 3 ft. 6 ins., and bay. Dining Room, 13 ft.
X 1 3 ft., and bay (French casements). Kitchen, loft, x lift. Scullery,.
8 ft. X 10 ft. Larder. Porch and Hall, with Cloak Space under stairs. Coals,.
Tools, and w.c.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 1 3 ft. 6 ins. x 15 ft. pins. Second Bedroom, n ft. 6 ins. x
13 ft. Third Bedroom, 10 ft. x 13 ft. Dressing Room. Cupboards,
Bathroom, with w.c. and Lavatory (hot and cold water).
As will be seen, there is very little space wasted in the planning
of the rooms.
The whole of the exterior is rough-cast. The front bedroom
is enlarged and projects over the ground floor, giving a pleasant
shade to the lower portion of the elevation, while the roof is
continued over one side and carried down to form the porch.
The gable is of half-timber framing.
The roof is covered with Hartshill hand -made tiles, which,,
while richly toning and colouring, have admirably stood the test
of several years' hard weather, and have proved much more durable
than the pressed tile used for some of the other cottages at
Bournville.
The plan of the cottage might be simplified by gabling back
and front, the roof thus covering the whole building, and having
no valleys. The bedroom accommodation could be then increased
by the addition of attics.
Two views of the actual example appear in PLATES xxxvn. and
XXXVIII.
GROUND PLAN
DLDROOM PLAN
PLATE XXXVI.
SINGLE COT- .
TAGE. SEE .
PAGE 42.
x *
x o "*
I 1
DESCRIPTIONS OF PLATES XXXIX. XL11.
PLATES XXXIX., XL., XLL, AND XLII.
SINGLE COTTAGE.
ANOTHER single cottige has accommodation as follows :--
GROUND FLOOR.
Living Roam, including roomy alcove, 13 ft. 5 in?, x 15 ft. 6 ins. Kitchen,
10 ft. x i 3 ft. 5 ins. Scullery, Larder, Tools, w.c., Coals, and Enclosed Yard.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 1 3 ft. 5 ins. X 15 ft. 6 ins. Second Bedroom, 10 ft. x
1 3 ft. 5 ins. Third Bedroom, 9 ft. 6 ins. x 9 ft. 6 ins. Bathroom (hot and
cold water) and w.c.
Spacious Attic (shown by dotted lines) and Boxrooms.
Total cost, in 1903, 540.
Cubical contents, 19,938 ft., at &\d. per ft. cube, ^540.
By hanging a curtain, the alcove shown in the plan may be
made private for writing or studying, if required. It may also
be used for meals ; and if a door communicates with the hall,
the table may be laid by the maid unseen by the visitor, and
the curtains afterwards drawn apart. Thus one of the disadvan-
tages urged against the larger-sized houses with one large living
room may be overcome.
MATERIALS. The cottage is built of whitewashed common
O
bricks, with tarred plinth, the roof being covered with Peake's
dark brindled hand-made roofing tiles. It is without decoration,
apart from what is afforded by the semicircular hood over the
front door, the wrought-iron brackets supporting the gutters,
and at the back a semicircular arch to give importance to the
living room. There are shutters to all the ground-floor windows,
which are made to bolt from within.
The view shown in PLATE XL. is of the back.
PLATES XLI. and XLII. show the staircase and dining room
respectively.
rRONT ELEVATION
BACK ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN
BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XXXIX. . .
SINGLE COTTAGE
SEE PAGE 44. .
PLATE XL
SINGLE COTTAGE. .
BACK. SEE PAGE 44.
PLATE XLI. . . .
STAIRCASE OF . .
SINGLE COTTAGE.
SEE PAGE 44. . .
' ui
DESCRIPTIONS OF PLATES XLIII. AND XLIV.
PLATES XLIII. AND XLIV.
SINGLE COTTAGE.
PLATES XLIII. and XLIV. show the plan and view respectively of
another type of single cottage, with the following accommoda-
tion :
GROUND FLOOR.
Dining Room, 1 3 ft. x 19 ft., and small alcove. Drawing Room, 1 3 ft. x
1 6 ft. 6 ins., and bay. Kitchen, 9 ft. 6 ins. x I 5 ft.
Scullery, 8 ft. 6 ins. x 9 ft. 4 ins. Larder, Coals, Ashes, w.c., and Enclosed
Yard.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 1 3 ft. X 13 ft. 4 ins. Second Bedroom, 12 ft. x 1 3 ft., and
large bay. Third Bedroom, 9 ft. 6 ins. x l 2 ft. Fourth Bedroom, 8 ft. 6 ins.
X i 3 ft. 4 ins. Bathroom, with Lavatory and w.c. Large Attic, extending
over almost the whole of the four rooms.
Total cost, in 1904, ^640. Cubical contents, 25,077 ft. at
b^d. per ft, cube == ^640.
By the arrangement of the stairs it will be noticed that
additional space is secured to the dining room, forming a pleasant
arched alcove.
MATERIALS. The materials used are brindled bricks, Peake's
hand- made roofing tiles, hips and ridges covered with half-round
ridge- tiles, 6 in. half-round spouts with ornamental stays, pro-
jecting hood of timber, covered with lead and supported by two
wrought-iron stays, red tall-boy chimney pots, doors painted
Suffield green, window sashes and frames ivory white, and eaves,,
gutters and down-spouts lead colour.
TRONT ELEVATION
BACK ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN
BEDROOM PLAN
PLATE XLIII.
SINGLE COT-
TAGE. SEE
PAGE 46
PLATE XLIV.
SINGLE COT-
TAGE. SEE
PAGE 46 .
47
PLATES XLV., XLVI., AND XLVIL
PAIR OF THREE STOREY COTTAGES.
PLATES XLV. and XLVI. give plans, and PLATE XLVII. the view of a
pair of three-storey cottages of about the same accommodation, the
left-hand having the following :
GROUND FLOOR.
Dining Room, 1 1 ft. 6 ins. x 1 8 ft., with French window. Drawing Room,
12 ft. 6 ins. x 15 ft., with deep bay. Small Sitting Room, 7 ft. x i i ft. 2 ins.
Working Kitchen, lift. 2 in. X 1 2 ft. 6 ins. Larder and China Pantry,
Porch and Hall, w.c., Coals, Tools, and Enclosed Yard.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 1 2 ft. 6 ins. x 1 5 ft., and deep bay. Second Bedroom
II ft. 6 ins. x 1 6 ft. Third Bedroom, loft. 6 ins. X 11 ft. 2 ins., with oriel.
Bathroom, with Lavatory, w.c. Two Attics and Large Box Room.
The accommodation in the two houses differs owing to the
aspect. If the two plans were identical, a considerable portion of
the right-hand garden would be shut off from the south, and the
larder would not face the north. Stress has already been laid on
the necessity of considering aspect.
The left-hand is a corner house, and the projecting out-houses
answer the double purpose of screening the garden from the road
and protecting the house from the north wind.
In the adjoining house there is no small sitting-room, but an
extra attic. The out-buildings are attached to the main building,
and do not project into the garden ; the principal room is thus left
open to the south.
MATERIALS. The houses are built of common bricks white-
washed, with a tarred plinth. There are half-timber porches, and
the spaces between the bays and under the dormers are covered
with rough-cast and decorated with parquetry. The rainwater
4 8
head in front is picked out in vermillion, the introduction of a
very little bright colour giving a pleasant jewel-like effect. Peake's
hand-made tiles, of dark colour, are used for the roofs, with half-
round ridging, and ornamental iron stays support the gutters,
which are of 6 in. half-round iron.
A pair of houses erected to a similar plan to that of the right-
hand house in 1904 cost ^610 each. The cost of the examples
given work out more owing to the fall in the land, which necessi-
tates very deep footings, and also to the plans differing in order to
suit aspect and site.
PLATE XLVIII.
PAIR OF THREE STOREY COTTAGES.
PLATE XLVIII. gives the view of a pair of houses similar to the
last, but somewhat reduced in size, and the treatment varied.
Brindled bricks are used for the ground floor, and rough-cast for
the upper storeys.
GROUND PLAN
PLATE XLV. . .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE
PAGE 47
TONT ELEVATION
ATTIC PLAN
PLATE XLVI. . .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 47 . . .
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49
PLATES XLIX., L., LI., LII., LIII., LIV., AND LV.
TWO PAIRS OF COTTAGES.
THESE plates illustrate two pairs of cottages of two storeys each,
almost identical in plan, but differently treated.
The accommodation of the pair shown in PLATES XLIX. and L.
is :-
GROUND FLOOR.
Dining Room, 13 ft. 6 in. x i6ft. and bay. Drawing Room, 13 ft. 6 ins. x
1 6 ft. 3 ins., including ingle and bay window. Kitchen, 10 ft. 6 ins. x 12 ft.
Hall, with storm doors, 12 ft. 6 ins. x loft. Scullery, Larder, w.c., Coals,
and Tool House.
Frontage, 1 5 yds.
BEDROOM FLOOR.
First Bedroom, 12 ft. x 16 ft. 3 ins., and bay. Second Bedroom, 12 ft. 4 ins.
X 13 ft. 6 in. Third Bedroom, loft. X 10 ft. 2 ins. Fourth Bedroom,
9 ft. X 13 ft. 6 ins. Boxroom, 8 ft. X 10 ft. Bathroom, with Lavatory, and w.c.
The dining room is lighted by a small east window and a west
bay window, the latter being covered by the roof of the verandah,
which terminates in the bay window of the drawing room.
Although the kitchen is a small one, it has the advantage of not
being a passage room, the door from the hall to the kitchen and
that from the kitchen to the scullery being arranged beside one
another in th? same wall. In these houses the windows have
wooden frames and wrought- iron casements.
The principal rooms occupy the full width of the back, and
the hall is therefore extended to admit of the doors of the two
rooms being conveniently placed.
INGLE-NOOK. The ingle which results from this arrangement
has a beam with a shelf above continuing the line of the architrave,
and the ceiling of the ingle is only 6ft. 6 in. high. There is a
small light on one side.
5 .
The ingle-nook is shown on PLATE LI., and a view of the
oriel on PLATE LII.
The pair of cottages shown in PLATES LIII. and LIV. have outer
porches, whereby the size of the hall is reduced. A separate view
of one of them is given on PLATE LV.
In this example, as in the former also, the outlook at the back
of the house is to be preferred to that in the front, and as should
always be done when the aspect is favourable, the principal rooms
are placed at the back. There is in this instance a west prospect,
with a delightful view of undulating woodland and distant hills.
The forecourt affords a pleasant outlook from within the house.
The Ipwness of the eaves has the effect of giving the pair a very
homely and cottage-like appearance. The height of the bedrooms
in the former example is 8 ft. 3 in.
PLATES LVI. AND LVII.
SINGLE COTTAGE.
PLATE LVI. gives a single cottage of a plan similar to the last,
with enlarged accommodation and somewhat different treatment,
namely :
Rough-cast from ground, with tarred plinth ; oriel window to
first floor, with the introduction of a little colour in parquetry,
which is also applied round the small window over the entrance,
and a half-timber porch glazed with leaded lights, having coloured
centres of rich glass. The cloak space is here converted into a
china pantry.
A separate view of the porch is shown on PLATE LVII.
FRONT ELEVATION
GROUND PLAN
BEIDROOM PLAN
PLATE XLIX. . .
PAIR OF COT-
TAGES. SEE . .
PAGE 49.
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DETAIL VIEW.
SEE PAGE 49
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PORCH. SEE
PAGE 50. .
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PLATE LVII.
PORCH OF .
SINGLE COT-
TAGE. SEE
PAGE 50 . .
M
5 1
GENERAL NOTES.
THE BATH. The bath, without which no house is nowadays
regarded as complete, should be supplied in all cottages, however
small. At Bournville, wherever there is no bathroom, the bath
is placed in the kitchen, this room being considered the most
suitable : hot water is
here at hand, and, as
there is usually a fire in
winter, it is both more
convenient and comfort-
able than in one of the
bedrooms, where the
space can be ill-spared,
especially where there are
children. Even in the
kitchens of these small
cottages there is neces-
sarily none too much
space, and various devices
have been employed to
prevent the bath being
an inconvenience when
not in use. One way
of disposing of it is to
sink it into the floor
near the hearth, the
boarded covering serving as a standing or draining board
when the bath is in use. Another way, where there is a
little more room to spare, is to fix it on the usual floor level,
and make its cover serve as a settle or table. The intro-
M 2
THE PATENT ADJUSTABLE CABINET BATH.
52 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
duction of the Patent Adjustable Cabinet Bath, however, is better
than either of these methods. In this arrangement the bath is
hinged at the bottom of one end in order that it may be easily
lowered from and raised back into the cabinet, where in its vertical
position it is no
inconvenience when
not in use. In the
hinge a waste pipe is
introduced. With
this bath not only is
there a gain of space,
but the bath may be
used with a saving
of time and labour,
and without fear of
deluging the floor.
Above the cupboard
in which the bath is
kept are convenient
shelves. The cost of
the bath and cabinet
is about ^3 5J.
The illustration on
the last page shows
a bath of this kind
CORNES' PATENT BATH. fitted ill OllC of the
Bournville cottages.
Another patent bath used at Bournville in cottages of larger
size but not sufficiently large to admit of a bathroom is Comes'
Combined Scullery-Bath-Range and Boiler. The patent utilises to
the fullest extent the heat of the kitchen, so that, in addition to the
GENERAL NOTES. 53
economy of space, there is a further economy of fuel to the house-
holder. The heating and cooking range forms a great part of the
division between the kitchen and scullery-bathroom, the flue being
coursed over the head of the bath. In the centre of the range is
the grate, with an oven on one side and on the other a twelve-
gallon boiler, in which water is kept hot for domestic purposes.
Boiling water can be obtained by raking down live fuel into a
small secondary grate under the boiler through a small hole made
for the purpose. If desired, clothes can be boiled in the boiler
and access to it from the scullery may be gained by opening a
curved door. Owing to its open construction there is no risk of
explosion. Further developments have been made in the way of
providing a folding door in front of the range, which will shut
off the boiler from the kitchen when necessary. The scullery-
bathroom, which contains about 36 superficial feet, is fitted with
a full-sized iron enamelled bath, supplied with hot water through
a pipe from the range boiler and with cold water from the cistern,
or through a shower-bath sprinkler fixed overhead, so that this
latter luxury can be enjoyed by simply turning the tap. The
introduction of White's Patent Steam Exhaust effectually prevents
the steam from permeating the other rooms of the house. An
illustration is here given showing Conies' patent fitted up.
THE INGLE-NOOK. Like many old-time features which have
been revived during the last few years, the ingle-nook has perhaps
been a little overdone. The ingle is intended to serve as a cosy
retreat in a spacious room, and it should not be introduced in a
room the size of which is insufficient to warrant its existence. On
this account it is usually undesirable to provide ingle-nooks in
54
THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
cottages, except in those with the large living-rooms. Comfort
should always be the object in view in the construction of the
ingle, but in many modern examples this is sacrificed to over
Q_dVAT!ON
SMALL COTTAGE INGLE.
elaboration and that straining for effect which shows that it was
designed for ornament and not for use. No doubt an effect is
sometimes gained, but the usefulness of the ingle is so far sacrificed
that not infrequently one of most inviting appearance will be found
to possess inadequate seating accommodation even for a single
person.
GENERAL NOTES. 55
The ingle, to be comfortable and useful, should not be less
than 10 ft. 6 ins. in width by 4 ft. 6 ins. in depth. If it is smaller
lengthways the heat from the fire will be too great, while if less
deep there will be insufficient accommodation at the sides for two
persons without projecting the seats into the room, which can only be
satisfactorily done, perhaps, when the side of the ingle is in line with
that of the room. A reasonable height is 6 ft. 6 ins. A pleasing
way of treating a cottage ingle is to introduce a step up of about
3 ins., with an oak curb, and to tile or quarry the whole recess, as
illustrated by the accompanying drawing. This ingle, which is
provided in the pair of cottages with the large living-rooms dealt
with earlier (Plate xx.), is constructed as follows : f in. match-
boarding is nailed to studding, which has stout angle-posts to
support the beam above ; along the side of the latter a 7-111. by
i -in. shelf is carried by small wooden brackets ; and the wood seats
are of i ^ ins. in thickness by i ft. 4 ins. from back to front, at a
height of i ft. 3 ins. or less from the floor. The introduction of
the ingle here is advantageous because some privacy is thus
afforded in a room which is entered directly from the road. The
match- boarding in this case is continued, and forms a framework
for the tile-surround of the grate, giving an appearance of unity to
the nook, while the simplicity of the material is pleasing and
restful. The insertion of a mantelpiece different in character
should be avoided. Some interest may be given to the centre of
the fireplace by inlaying a little ebony in simple forms.
For drawing-rooms of larger houses the back of the nook might
be panelled, the seat upholstered, and the panels filled in with
tapestry. White wood looks well, and the fireplace might be built
up with glazed brickettes. The ways of treating the more expensive
ingles are so numerous, however, that it would be of little use
making definite suggestions.
56 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
The ingle-nook of one of the larger cottages is illustrated on
Plate LI.
CHIMNEYS. The economy of grouping chimneys, and the
desirability of carrying them to the highest point of the roof to
avoid down-draughts, has already been mentioned. Generally
speaking, for cottages, the simpler the chimneys are the better, and
they should all be of hard burnt bricks, and the top courses built
in cement. Diagonal chimneys are pleasing, but expensive, and on
an estate should only be used occasionally. The Dutch chimneys,
built up with corners of brick and covered with stone slabs or
i2-in. drain pipes, as frequently seen in Holland and Belgium, are
picturesque (see Plate xxii.), but care has to be exercised in
their construction. Though they are often regarded as being liable
to smoke, it may be pointed out that in many cases their employ-
ment is the only remedy for a smoky flue. Outside chimneys, it
will be borne in mind, are always expensive. Chimney pots do
not improve the appearance, but sometimes they are a necessity.
In these cases the simple or plain tall-boys are recommended, and
the colour whether of soft red or buff should be chosen to suit
the design and colouring of the cottage. As a variation of these
there are the beehive pots, the main idea of which is to keep down
the height.
WINDOWS. The casement window is cheaper than the sash
window, and if beauty of effect is also to be considered its adoption
is further desirable. Its simplicity and homeliness of appearance
render it extremely fitting for the cottage. The old difficulty of
GENERAL NOTES. 57
cleaning may now be obviated by a very simple device intro-
duced at Bournville, that of causing the window to open upon
a pivot in the centre, inwardly as well as outwardly, which
admits of the outside of the fixed pane being easily reached by the
hand.
The sash window, while objectionable in the form frequently-
used, may yet be made suitable for cottages ; but it should be
divided, and the proportions very carefully studied, say 9 -in. by
n-in. panes, and the bars not less than i in. in thickness. It
should be brought forward, showing the full width of the boxing.
The sash window, however, necessitates an additional height
to rooms.
BRICKS. As regards bricks, it is well as far as possible to avoid
those which are mechanically made (the pressed stock-brick) and to
use the hand-made bricks from local yards. The brindled Stafford-
shire bricks are largely used at Bournville ; they are very suitable
for cottage building where the position is not too exposed. A
pleasing variety of colour is introduced at a low cost, the tint being
a bright cherry red blended with blue and purple, the blue being
quite different from the dead blue-black of the vitreous brick.
For inside work the common red wire-cuts are suitable.
It is a mistake to suppose that a good effect cannot be obtained
by the use of the cheaper makes of bricks, a remark which also
applies in the case of the London stock-bricks, so long as they are
not uniformly selected ; a good effect may be gained, for instance,
by using a few of the darker ones indiscriminately with the cream-
coloured ones. The splash of dark colour caused by the black ones
coming together is by no means undesirable. A good example of
58 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
an effective use of these bricks is to be seen at Brewer's Estate,
London.
ROOF COVERING. The materials to be employed in roofing
depend upon the style of cottage, and also upon the locality. The
Bangor slates are cheap, and may be an excellent covering as
regards durability ; but unfortunately, in the class of cottages here
dealt with, it is rarely possible to get so good an effect with them as
with other kinds. They may be used, however, in the whitewashed
cottage, so long as the smaller sizes are selected. Hand-made roofing
tiles, and thick Welsh green and rustic Precelly slates may be
recommended, as also the Peake's & Hartshill hand-made tiles.
Pantiles are cheap, but should only be employed on unbroken
roofs having few valleys, where it is less difficult to keep out the
wet. The roof should be steep, the angle in no case being less
than 45 degrees. Before covering, care should be taken to
ascertain whether they are of good manufacture, and whether they
are porous or not. There are sometimes pantiles of an indifferent
quality on the market ; and, if this precaution is not taken, a roof
may have to be stripped and re-tiled. Where they have been used
and have afterwards been found to be bad they may be tarred, as
are wood coverings in Norway and Sweden. It is always essential
that the services of a practised layer of pantiles should be secured.
Gables should have damp courses under the coping to shield
them from frost and wet.
Roof ridging should have careful attention, and it is wiser to
suppress rather than to sharpen, the better to obtain that rustic
appearance suitable to a cottage. Many fantastic ridges, with
vulgar finials, are employed in the building of small suburban villas,
of a more or less sharp-pointed character, and of a depth out of
GENERAL NOTES. 59
proportion to the roof, which gives an unpleasant harshness to the
general appearance. With the principle in view that the sky-line
should be softened as much -as possible, the brindled hand-made
half-rounds should be used. With green slates, ridges of blue are
the most suitable, as the colours harmonise. Experience will
probably show that the red and buff ridges will not stand the
weather so well as other kinds.
WALL SPACES : ROUGH-CAST WHITEWASH HALF-TIMBER.
However strong may be the temptation to introduce a variety
of colour upon exteriors, it is advisable with cottages of the class
dealt with to refrain from so doing. It is best to get the colour in
masses, treated broadly say, each house, as far as wall surfaces and
roof are concerned, of one colour ; for where the cottages stand
close together, or even where they are semi-detached, sufficient
contrast or relief is afforded by contiguous cottages treated
differently, and in the case of a village a much better general effect
is thus gained. On the other hand a good effect may be gained
by giving a block of houses one tone throughout, matching the
colour of the roof. The result is quiet and unobtrusive, and one
which is very desirable in the cottage, where the features are
necessarily brought close together. The tarred plinth, however,
should always be used with rough-cast.
Half-timber should be used sparingly. While the bye-laws
insist on a g-in. wall being at the back, an unwarranted present
and future expense is incurred by its use ; and an effect equally
as good, moreover, may be obtained with rough-cast, weather
boarding, or whitewash. Half-timber one lives to regret, for the
weather tells sadly upon it, and it demands constant repair.
60 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
A small cottage with an equal distribution of equal - sized
windows is far from desirable. In a pair of cottages where there
are four equal rooms facing the road, four equal windows would
at first sight seem unavoidable, although such an arrangement
would be fatal to the elevation. It is better to put a secondary
light to the rooms at the extremities, getting additional light
from the side, and thus by contrast giving greater importance
to the larger windows in the centre, or even to omit the
smaller windows, if adequate light can be obtained without them.
The blank space might then be used for the training up of
climbing plants. A certain number of windows is indispensable
in a cottage, but, without stinting light, the aim should rather
be to repress any superfluity. By the means suggested the view
from the interior is sometimes agreeably varied.
Other features are dealt with in the descriptions ot the various
cottages to which they have particular reference.
6i
THE LAYING OUT OF A MODEL VILLAGE.
LET it be supposed that land has been bought to be laid out
as a model village. Whether this has been done by a company,
a municipal body, or by an individual, is not material to the
present purpose. Assuming that the selection of the site has
had careful consideration, and that it is suitable for the develop-
ment of a village, what is the first step ? Before turning a sod
the clearest conception of the finished scheme must have been
formed. A dozen cottages or so erected before considering the
future of the whole project may involve endless trouble at a
later stage. The initial proceeding, therefore, is to make the
general plan as complete and final as possible before commencing
actual operations. Up to the present it has been the difficulty
of co-operation among landlords, perhaps unavoidable, either by
the piecemeal acquisition of land or the fitful demand for
building, which has been the cause of many of our towns and
suburbs being the reverse of pleasing. A century or so ago,
when domestic architecture was a traditionally living art, and
building was conducted less hurriedly, a certain charm of effect
was no doubt obtained by this accidental or fitful extension,
though convenience was certainly not always considered ; but
in the present day we should avail ourselves of the opportunity
which a large or co-operative scheme offers for a convenient and
agreeable disposition of buildings.
REGARD OF PHYSICAL FEATURES. As the following sugges-
tions do not refer to any specific example of land which is to be
laid out as a model vil'age, they can only be regarded as having
62 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
general applicability. The treatment of particular land depends
upon its peculiar physical features. Land in a gently undulating
district, for instance, must be dealt with in quite a different
manner from that in flat country. The natural features them-
selves must be the basis of any satisfactory treatment, and they
are to be made the most of, not only with regard to their intrinsic
beauty, but also any material advantages they may offer.
ADVISORY ARCHITECT. If a village is being developed by an
individual in a private capacity it is not improbable, indeed it is
very natural, that he will expect the general operations to be
carried out in accordance with his particular taste or fancy, which,
however, may happen to be far from practical or artistic, and his
scheme is likely to suffer accordingly. So too in the case of an
estate developed by a governing body consisting of men who are
not qualified for the task, the possibility of failure is equally great.
The best course is to employ an advisory architect about whose
qualifications there is no doubt, who should work in conjunction
with the surveyor from the outset. It may be suggested, now that
the movement is making considerable progress, that the Royal
Institute of British Architects should be asked to suggest an
architect in such cases. A greater variety, however, in the plan
and design of the houses might perhaps be secured by employing
more than one architect. A man's ideas are liable to run in a
groove ; and even if variation is introduced in detail there is likely
to be a similarity in general character. Moreover, where two or
more architects are engaged, a healthy rivalry might result in the
designing of houses which shall fulfil all the conditions of con-
venience, compactness, and economy. The respective work of the
various architects might be confined to particular streets, but a
regular system of variation should be avoided. Method should
not be too obtrusive or the arrangement too mechanical. The
THE LAYING OUT OF A MODEL VILLAGE. 63
advisory architect must be selected with judgment, for on him will
devolve the working out of the general road-scheme, and this will
demand more talent than the merely practical man possesses.
The caution already urged against doing anything on the estate
without mature consideration expressly applies to the cutting of
roads and the reservation of spaces. Given a map of our land, the
fancy is not usually slow in disposing of it ; and it is only with the
progress of operations, when a number of unforeseen demands make
themselves disagreeably formidable, that it is seen how wanton this
ready fancy has been.
THE SELECTION OF CENTRES. The first questions to be
decided are the number and positions of the centres, for it is to
and from these that the most convenient and accessible connections
must be planned, and the centres themselves should be reserved as
the sites of parks, principal buildings, shops and the like
If the land is already entered by one or more turnpike roads
which may not be diverted, these should guide the cutting of the
new roads, and the chief centres of the village must be made as
accessible as possible from them. If an existing road only
approaches the land, and only one connection is deemed necessary,
the connection should be constructed to suit the village as a whole,
without partiality to any one extremity, always keeping the centres
in view. It is nearly always better to work to the contour of the
land, taking a gentle sweep in preference to a straight line.
The site of the chief centre, not forgetting to keep in view its
general accessibility, should if possible be on the highest point of
the village, such a position giving prominence over the whole, as
well as a more imposing elevation and dignity to the principal
buildings which are to be erected thereon. The nature of the
buildings would depend altogether on the size of the scheme. In
the case of a garden city they would possibly include council
64 THE MODEL VILLAGE: BOURNVILLE.
chambers, theatre, museum, library or other monumental buildings
of a like character, and as large spaces as possible should be reserved
around them for extensions and gardens. A great city, in which it
has been decided to build a cathedral, has found itself before now
in the dilemma of having no suitable site available, and the monu-
ment of beauty has had to make the best of beggarly and ugly
neighbours. It is as well to profit by the errors of the past, and
the utmost should therefore be done to save a garden city or model
village from ever getting congested at its chief centre.
The other centres should be places of distinct interest, such as
schools, railway station, or market-place, but secondary to the chief
one.
ROADS. The buildings will not be sky-scrapers, and the roads,
therefore, will not, in order that they may be ventilated, have to be
set out in straight lines in order to be wind-swept, intersecting at
unpleasing right angles like a gridiron. Though the main streets
should be planned with some degree of straightness for the con-
venience of getting to and from important places, there is no reason
why regularity should be sought after for its own sake ; at the same
time an unnecessary irregularity should be as much avoided.
Where one straight road unavoidably meets another at right angles,
it is a good plan to widen the point of intersection. This particu-
larly applies to a road taking a hill straight that is, at its shortest
lenth. A pleasing perspective will be given by thus widening,
and on the triangular space formed might be erected a fountain or
monument, with or without a grass plot. As an alternative, if the
ground is too valuable to be so disposed of, the road might be ter-
minated by slightly curving it to the left or right, and the corner
remaining used for building upon. In the residential portion of
the village or garden city, roads running due east and west should
be avoided if possible. When this precaution has been taken,
THE LAYING OUT OF A MODEL VILLAGE. 65
much scheming to get the sun on the front as well as the back
of the house will be spared. As is well known, a kitchen with a
south aspect is unbearable in the heat of the summer. Where the
road unavoidably runs east and west, the gardens of houses on the
north side should occupy the front and not the back of the plot.
Trees should be planted in all roads, and the chief roads should
be arranged on the boulevard plan, allowing the utmost freedom to
the pedestrian. A few spaces might be reserved for shelters, and
the site for a bandstand might be timely chosen. As much as
possible should be done to give breadth to all thoroughfares, and
to this end the building-line of the houses should be well back
from the road thirty feet at least the ample front-garden giving
a refreshing greenness to the prospect, besides a better perspective
to the houses. The width of roads should be from forty to fifty
feet, with paths of from eight to twelve teet, not less.
Minor open spaces, such as playgrounds for young children,
are pleasant along the road side, but road-making is costly, and
economy in all probability will have to be studied ; back land,
therefore, should be utilised for them at the bottom of garden
' O
plots.
STREET ELEVATIONS. In building a road of houses the
expense would of course be considerable if to get variety a
different plan and different details were employed for each house.
Other methods must be adopted. In the case of twenty houses
it would be well to get as many details, such as windows, doors,
and door-frames, the same (or, at any rate, half of one kind and
half of another), and monotony should be avoided by variation
in the disposition of these features. An extensive elevation
may also be made interesting by the treatment of a porch here,
the addition of a bay window there, and the use of rough-cast
somewhere else. An irregular building-line, where possible, is
N
66 THE MODEL VILLAGE : BOURNVILLE.
to be preferred. In a block of three cottages a pleasing effect
is gained by projecting or recessing the middle one, or putting it
with its long axis parallel with the road, and so forming a forecourt
in front.
SERVICE OF NATURAL ADVANTAGES. Whatever natural
advantages the land may possess, such as woods, pools, or streams
(where they are not included in a park), should border, or be
seen from, the road that is if they merit the expense of road-
making. Few things are more picturesque than a stream at the
roadside (as at Tissington in Derbyshire), especially if spanned
here and there by small bridges (as at Bourton-on -the- Water),
and by their presence the road will be widened from house front
to house front. The water of a stream should never be utilised
for a manufacturing purpose where it afterwards flows through
the village, except for generating electric power or other clean
uses. If there is an avenue of old trees it should be secured
for one of the roads.
SHOPPING. The chief shopping will be best placed just
without and surrounding the main centre, and that of less
importance round the minor centres.
FACTORIES. Supposing that the raison d'etre of the village
or garden city be one or more industries in which many of the
inhabitants are employed, where, it will be asked, are the factories
to be placed ? Without a definite example of land, it is difficult
to give a definite reply. Many things are essential to such
sites for instance, the adjacency of a stream, river, or railway
and if the manufacturer transfers his works to the country, he
will rightly choose the most convenient and advantageous site
for them that offers, and other arrangements will have to be
made in concert with him. Nevertheless, the factory or factories
should be as far as possible from the main centre, that is
THE LAYING OUT OF A MODEL VILLAGE. 67
on the village or city outskirts. The preferable position would
lie between the north-east and south-west, for the prevalent
south-west wind will then carry away the smoke in summer, when
the villagers indulge in outdoor life, while the north and easterly
winds of winter will carry it over the village when they
are indoors. Screens of trees should be planted between the
village and the factories as soon as possible.
PLOTS FOR HOUSES. As to the treatment of the plots for
houses : should the road cut into the land it need not necessarily
be levelled, but taken as it is ; the gables will thus present a
desirable variation of level, and the ridge line will be less
monotonous. An endeavour should be made, however, always to
get the plots not less than 1 8 ins. above the level of the crown of the
road, otherwise the drainage will be troublesome and expensive.
As soon as the house is erected, it is well to set hedges of thorn
or beech, both along the roadside and between the houses. Until
these are grown, the ordinary iron hurdle, or light- railed wooden
fence, might serve.
It is advisable to arrange the building plots so that the houses
on either side of the road do not come exactly opposite each other;
the houses should be so arranged as to face the open space opposite.
GARDENS. At Bournville the average garden-space allowed
each house is 600 square yards, this being found to be about as
much as the average man can well attend to. (This means there
will be from eight to twelve cottages to the acre.) The laying out
is done prior to the tenant's occupation of the house. A descrip-
tion of the way the Bournville gardens are laid out is given, with
a plan, on page 23.
When the houses are placed at the end of the plot remote
from the road, any hard and fast lines in the style of the
garden should be avoided : apple and other fruit-trees, or an occa-
68 THE MODEL VILLAGE : BOURNVILLE.
sional kitchen-garden, may be placed in a prominent position, for
even the trim flower garden might be varied with advantage. A
preference has already been expressed for having the garden adjacent
to the house rather than the allotment garden at a distance, but at
the same time the latter plan may be sometimes forced upon us.
Undoubtedly the rivalry that is encouraged among gardeners con-
gregated together in allotment gardens is good and healthy, but
the inconvenience to the household of the distance between home
and garden would suggest the adoption of the former whenever it
is possible, and even where there is an allotment there should still
be a small plot adjacent to the house.
While endeavouring to get as much light and air space as
possible in the village, it will frequently be found necessary to
erect cottages in blocks of four, and sometimes of eight. In order
to give adequate garden-space, even to small houses, and not in
long thin strips, the frontage of the land will have to be broad ;
a rule should be made, therefore, of spreading the houses laterally
by arranging the staircase of each house, not between the back and
front rooms, but between the houses. This will bring the outside
houses nearer to the extremity of the land, and will not only give
each garden the desired straightness and breadth, but afford a
greater breadth of view upon it from within.
In conclusion, it might be again stated that most of the
remarks under this head which are mainly arranged from notes
taken or suggested during the planning and working out of the
Bournville Estate are broad and suggestive rather than insistent,
and it is probable that the setting out of particular land will not
admit of the adoption of many of the principles here laid down.
IIKADKt'KY, ACNKVV & CO., I.D., 1-KINTEKS, LONDON AND TONBKIDGK.
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