The Religion of Chocolate - How a Quaker Family Contributed to the fall of the Birmingham Slogging Gangs
Birmingham's rapid expansion brought a huge influx of people, with the population increasing threefold over 50 years. However, the demand for housing could not be met, so back-to-back houses with poor sanitary conditions sprung up over the city, and the resulting slums were an embarrassment to Victorian Society and led to a violent underclass like those in the slogging gangs. In the 1890s, Victorian entrepreneurs and philanthropists tried to find solutions to these problems. One of these philanthropic families was the Cadbury Family
In 1824, John Cadbury, a Quaker, began selling tea, coffee and drinking chocolate on Bull Street in Birmingham, England, in 1831. He moved into producing a variety of cocoa and drinking chocolates, made in a factory in Bridge Street and sold mainly to the wealthy because of the high cost of production. In 1847, he became a partner with his brother Benjamin and the company became known as "Cadbury Brothers". In 1861George and Richard Cadbury, John’s sons, had taken over their father's small chocolate business in the centre of Birmingham, which by then was in decline and losing money. The brothers moved the focus of business away from tea and coffee to concentrate more on chocolate and by 1866, they were running a highly profitable business.
In 1878, the brothers decided they needed more space, so they built new premises in the countryside, four miles outside Birmingham. The move to the countryside was against the trend of moving industry away from the countryside and into the cities. Still, better transport access for milk that was shipped in by canal and for cocoa that was brought in by rail from London, Southampton and Liverpool docks was taken into consideration. The West Suburban Railway had been constructed along the path of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
Hence, the brothers purchased the 14.5-acre Bournbrook Estate, next to the Stirchley Street railway station, which was opposite the canal so provided excellent transport links. They renamed the estate Bournville to make their chocolate seem more desirable. They felt the name sounded more French, and as French and Belgium chocolate were the best you buy at the time, the new name made their chocolate seem more luxurious.
They opened the Bournville Factory in 1879, but needed local affordable housing for their workers. The Cadburys were particularly concerned with the health and fitness of their British workforce and realised that a healthy workforce was more productive. George Cadbury was a quaker with a social conscience and wanted to influence politicians by showing them what could be done to improve living conditions and encourage widespread change. The brothers built attractive, affordable houses with gardens, and each house was a unique design to give a feel of a village that had grown up over time. They even transported two original Tudor houses to the site which were due to be demolished to not only save the properties but also give an original feel to their new town. The properties they built were much larger than the back-to-backs and had many windows to allow light to flood in. There was a rule that each property could only take up a quarter of the plot, and the remaining land became gardens with vegetable plots and fruit trees. As a temperance quaker, George Cadbury did not build a pub on the site, but he did have recreation areas, parks, football pitches and an indoor swimming pool.
Cadbury's social experiment paid off, and the health and happiness of his workers was far better than those of inner city Birmingham. The general death rate and infant mortality for Bournville were significantly lower than that for Birmingham, and young boys were found to be 10 lb heavier than their counterparts in the slums. These statistics allowed Cadbury to convince the politicians that this model was affordable, and they then implemented many of his ideas elsewhere in the city.
The slogging gangs had risen to prominence as a result of disenfranchised young men and women living in intolerable living conditions who had no other way to entertain themselves than to gamble, drink and fight. As local councils, churches and philanthropists stopped seeing poverty as the fault of the poor, they began to provide alternative forms of entertainment as Cadbury had done. The resulting boxing clubs, football clubs and church-run clubs allowed these young people to channel their energies into more acceptable activities.
Spurred on by Cadbury's example and under the direction of Birmingham mayor Joseph Chamberlain, slums began to be torn down in the city. The Public Health Act of 1875 prohibited the building of back-to-backs which were replaced with houses with at least two external walls and alleyways running between the yards to the rear of each house. The improved living conditions reduced the resentment of the working poor, and the violence again declined. Policing improved, and harsher sentences were handed out, leading to a further reduction in violence. The 1870 education made schooling compulsory for children aged five to thirteen, which kept these children out of trouble and instilled discipline. All of these factors meant that there was a decline in the number of slogging gang incidents in the city. However, it was the first World War which would seal their fate and lead to their demise, as many gang members were conscripted to fight in the trenches and would never return to Birmingham.
It cannot be underestimated the positive impact that the Cadbury Brothers have had on the city. They provided a model for improved housing, brought thousands of jobs to the area and indirectly reduced the violence which plagued the city through the slogging gangs such as the Peaky Blinders.
THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY TO GIVE A TASTE OF ITS CHOCOLATY PAST
Cocoa Canal
https://roundhousebirmingham.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RH-Cocao-Cycle-Map-Final-Print.pdf
If you are staying in the middle of Birmingham and want to visit Bournville, why not take a self-guided cycle tour along the canal to discover a world of chocolate? Just click on the link to download the map and a guide on what to look out for along the way.
Jonathan’s Restaurant at the Roundhouse
Address: 1 Sheepcote St, Birmingham B16 8AE
Telephone: 0121 2277447
Website: https://www.jonathansintheroundhouse.com
Before you begin the cocoa canal cycle tour head into Jonathan's restaurant and tearooms to take a peak at the Roundhouse and grab a Cadbury’s hot chocolate. John and Paul Havelin who run Jonathan’s also own Jonathans in the Park eatery, which is based in the 18th century grade II listed Lightwoods House in Bearwood. They offer a warm welcome and excellent traditional British food made with local ingredients. They have a wide selection of pies which would keep any canal boatman going for the day! On a Sunday they have a two or three course wholesome lunch with the best sticky toffee pudding you will ever taste and every day they have a wide selection of cakes and pastries to fuel your bike ride.
Chocolate Master Class at the Chocolate Quarter
Address: 1A Spencer St, Birmingham B18 6DD,
Telephone: 0121 758 5151
https://www.thechocolatequarter.com
The Chocolate Quarter in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is a great place to pick up gifts to take home after a weekend in Birmingham but they also offer private chocolate making classes on request. It is a boutique style Chocolate maker which offers high quality chocolates with a unique twist.
Selly Manor Museum
Address: Maple Road, Bournville, Birmingham B30 2AE
Telephone: 0121 472 0199
https://sellymanormuseum.org.uk
Selly Manor Museum, made up of two distinct and beautiful buildings and was originally a modest 15th Century House Called Smyth's Tenement. The Tudor timber framed house was moved to its current site by George Cadbury to save it from demolition and it has a long and fascinating history which makes it well worth a visit.
Cadbury’s World
Address: 69 Linden Rd, Bournville, Birmingham B30 1JR
Telephone: 0121 828 9300
Visit the actual factory set up by the Cadbury Brothers and discover more about the history of chocolate. Take part in their 4D attraction and walk down a recreation of Bull Street where the Cadbury empire all started. There are lots of interactive chocolate making experiences and you are given several bars of the creamy chocolate as you make your way around the attraction.
The Chocolate Collective Truffle Making Workshops
Address: Novotel, 70 Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2HT.
Telephone: 0121 828 9300
https://chocolatecollective.co.uk/deluxe-chocolate-workshops/birmingham-chocolate-workshops/
Book one of the Chocolate Collective’s Truffle workshops or for larger groups contact them directly for a 1.5 hour custom event. Begin by listening to a brief introduction to the world of chocolate.and then go on to learn how to make delicious Belgian dark chocolate truffles by hand. You will be guided through the process by an expert chocolatier and receive your beautifully packaged chocolate creations to take home.
