| Description | Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury wrote and delivered this address about her late husband George Cadbury (1839 - 1922) at the celebrations held on 29th September 1929 to commemorate fifty years since 'the removal' of the Cadbury works from Bridge Street in Birmingham to Bournville in 1879. Admitting that her knowledge of the factory in 1879 was 'slight', Taylor Cadbury states that her paper was intended to give those who attended the celebrations 'a picture' of George Cadbury.
In her address Taylor Cadbury provides an insight into George and Richard Cadbury's decision to move the Cadbury factory out of Birmingham's 'smoky town surroundings' to Bournville's 'fresh fields and blue skies'. She remarks that the brothers' decision to move the factory to Bournville arose from George Cadbury's 'real love of the countryside' which led to the development of Bournville village which she suggests began in 1893.
Much of the paper is concerned with the welfare initiatives implemented for workers at the Cadbury factory, Taylor Cadbury remarking particularly on the provisions made for women and girls. She describes her own 'contribution' to these initiatives through the opening of a house on Strawberry Hill as a hostel for female Cadbury employees living away from home. This hostel later became the Beeches, a country holiday home for children. Taylor Cadbury also refers to her involvement in founding the Bournville Girls' Athletic Club in 1899.
Taylor Cadbury includes many references to 'letters and papers' relating to George Cadbury's election to Birmingham's Town Council six months before the move to Bournville. She also quotes from features which appeared in the local and national press paying tribute to George Cadbury's work 'for the benefit of the people' of Birmingham, particularly through his connection with the Severn Street Adult School. Taylor Cadbury also provides a description of her husband's character and remarks how important the Bible Readings at the Cadbury factory were to him. She also refers to George Cadbury's efforts to establish Quaker Meeting at Bournville following the factory move. Taylor Cadbury concludes her paper with the story of her 'first acquaintance' with George Cadbury at her Aunt Caroline Barrow's house in Little Stretton. She describes how, as a young woman reading about social problems in the works of Ruskin and Carlyle, she had been inspired by George Cadbury's practical experience and his belief in the possibilities of social reform.
The paper concludes with William Wordsworth's poem 'The Happy Warrior'.
Considering Taylor Cadbury's paper as a history of Cadbury at Bournville, it is significant that she idealises aspects of the story. For example, Taylor Cadbury's description of the new Cadbury factory at Bournville uses organic imagery to portray the factory as merging into its rural surroundings, promoting the healthy image of Cadbury products. In addition, Taylor Cadbury focuses on the benevolence of George and Richard Cadbury in supporting the welfare of Cadbury employees, omitting to consider how initiatives to improve the welfare of employees served to increase Cadbury's industrial efficiency as a profitable business. |