George Cadbury
George Cadbury (September 19, 1839 – October 24, 1922) was the third son of Quaker John Cadbury, the founder of Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company, a social reformer and philanthropist and politician. George is best known for building decent housing for his employees and for establishing what has been described as a private social security program for their benefit. Through ownership of several newspapers, Cadbury promoted his ideas about welfare, promoting the concept of an old age pension and improvement of working conditions. Through charities and trusts established by members of the Cadbury family they are as well known for their philanthropy and humanitarianism as they are for the successful business they founded. An enthusiast of adult education, Cadbury also taught at the Birmingham Adult School. After World War I he left the Liberal Party, which he had represented as an elected member of the Birmingham City Council and Worcestershire County Counci, and was a co-founder of an anti-war movement, the Union of Democratic Control alongside (established 1914), among others, Ramsay MacDonald, Britain's first Labour Prime Minister.
Biography
George Cadbury was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, where his father John was a tea and coffee merchant. George was a pupil at the Quaker School. His family were committed members of the Society of Friends. George and his brother Richard took control of their father's business in 1861, since he was too ill to continue to manage it. George married Elizabeth Mary Taylor (1858-1951) in 1888. Elizabeth shared her husband's social agenda, serving on the Birmingham Education Committee and as an elected member of the Council (1919-25). Elizabeth held the Presidency of the National Council of Evangelical Free Churches in 1925 and was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1934. George and Elizabth's sons, George Cadbury, Jr, Edward and John Lawrence Cadbury followed their parents as philanthropists, in public service as well as working in the family business.
When George and Richard took over, the business was failing. The two brothers introduced powdered cocoa to their customers, and the business began to make a profit. From an early age, George decided that he wanted to place the welfare of his workers before anything else, and invest in the community that enabled his company to succeed. He believed that if workers enjoyed a happy homelife in attractive and sanitary surroundings, with a garden in which they could grow food, both they and the company would benefit from the esprit de corps that this would encourage.
Bournville Factory and Village
In 1878 the brothers moved the factory from its now too crowded site in Bridge Street in the City of Birmingham, purchasing 14 acres (57,000 m²) of land in open country, four miles (6 km) south of Birmingham, where they opened a new factory in 1879. In 1897 the Cadbury brothers started to produce chocolate. Called Cadbury's Dairy Milk, this lightly colored chocolate became the most popular in Britain, adding to the fame of the company. Over the following years more land was acquired and a model village, which became known as Bournville, designed by architect William Alexander Harvey, was built to provide low cost houses for the workers. For this, the Cadbury's purchased 120 acres next to the factory. Each house had its own garden and the village's design included open spaces, pioneering the Garden City idea which aims to introduce the benefits of a rural environment into the urban context. Cadbury wanted one tenth of the estate "laid out and used as parks" [1]. Later, a hospital and a library and other community facilities were added. A Trust was established in 1900 to maintain the village, and ownership was invested in the Trustees. There were then 313 houses on the estate.
Cadbury Ltd. prospered because of humanitarian working conditions. In the Bourneville factory, named after the local river and the French word for town, they produced chocolate from 1879. The brothers cared for their employees; they both believed in the social rights of the workers and hence they installed canteens and sport grounds. Nineteen years after Richard died, George opened a works committee for each gender which discussed proposals for improving the firm. He also pressed ahead with other ideas, like an annuity, a deposit account and education facilities for every employee. They introduced a half day of work on Sarturday, and days off on Public Holidays. Cadbury also donated the Lickey Hills Country Park to the people of Birmingham.
Cadbury also founded the Animal Friends Society, a "a forerunner of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" [2]. Except for what went towards upkeep of his family, Cadbury gave all his money to charity.
Social Reforms
George Cadbury was a pioneer of improving the working and living conditions of workers. He believed in the dignity and worth of all people. He also believed that happy families are essential to social cohesion. Birmingham, as an industrial city, grew during the nineteenth century into one of the most important economic centers in the United Kingdom, where it is now the second largest city. Nonconformity was strongly represented there and some of its leading politicians were practicing Christians who wanted to create a city, like the family and the state, were created by divine will for the common good. George Dawson (1821-1876), a prominent Free Church minister in Birmingham, called this the "civic gospel". At the opening of the Birmingham Public Library in 1865, Dawson spoke of the city's god-given responsibility to "make provision for all our people". He said: "We are a Corporation, who have undertaken the highest duty that is possible to us; we have made provision for our people - for all our people - and we have made a provision of God's greatest and best gifts unto Man." [3]. As a member of the City Council, elected in 1877, Cadbury supported the reforms led by the Mayor, Joseph Chamberlain known as municipal socialism, which brought ownership of the gas supply, water, garbage disposal under municipal control and created a system of public parks. The Cadbury brothers formed Work Councils for their employees, one for men and one for women. Members were elected. The Councils discussed working conditions, education, health and safety and also recreational activities. Every Sunday morning for fifty years George Cadbury taught at the Birmingham Adult School. A keen sportsman, George encouraged sport among his workers[4].
Religious Beliefs
Cadbury was a devout Quaker throughout his life and saw, as did such fellow social reformers as Dawson, a link between his faith and his civic responsibilities. He saw all people as equal before God, which motivated much of his humanitarian and reform work. [5]. In 1903, Cadbury donated the former Cadbury family home to the Society of Friends as Woodbrooke Quaker Study Center. Woodbrooke was from the beginning open to people from any faith and focused on peace and reconciliation, spirituality and other areas of special interest to Quakers. Later, Woodbrooke became a constituent college of the Selly Oak federation, of which George's son, Edward Cadbury was a founder member, building the Selly Oak College Library.
Legacy
Throught the business that George and his brother established and the Village Trust they founded, George's legacy continues to enrich the live of many people. Their heirs continued to establish charitable foundations, to endow a chair in Theology at Birmingham University, to fund and support the Selly Oak Colleges and many other institutions. The George Cadbury Hall is named for him in the Selly Oak complex (now part of the University of Birmingham) where the George Cadbury Lectures are held. Edward Cabbury was intrumental in establishing the Theology department at the University of Birmingham, of which a family member has served as Chancellor. Edward also donated St Francis Hall to the University, which houses the Chaplaincy. Charitable foundations include the Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust (founded by Edwards, George's son) and the Barrow Cadbury Trust, established by Richard's son. George's grandosn, Sir Adrian Cadbury, is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of reforming corporate governance.
Notes
- ↑ "George Cadbury:, Bournville Village Trust George Cadbury retrieved 23 April 2007
- ↑ Samuel, Bill "The Cadburys Quaker Social Reformers" Quakerinfo.com March 1 2000 [http://www.quakerinfo.com/quak_cad.shtml The Cadburys Quaker Social Reformers] retrieved 23 April 2007
- ↑ "The First Birmingham Central Library", Birmingham City Council The First Birmingham Central Library contains extracts from Dawson's speech. Retrieved 23 April 2005
- ↑ Bromhead, John "George Cadbury's Contribution to Sport", The Sport Historian, May, 2000 No 20 pages 97-117 George Cadbury's Contribution to Sport retrieved 23 April 2007
- ↑ Samuel, 2000
Bibliography
- Bennett, Leonie The Life of George Cadbury, Oxford: Heinemann Library, 2005 ISBN 9780431181059
- gardiner, A. G Life of George Cadbury, London: Cassell, 1923
- Stranz, Walter George Cadbury Aylesbury: Shire Publications, 1973 ISBN 0852632363
External link
- Cadbury at City of Birmingham official site retrieved 14-04-2007
- Birmingham UK: George Cadbury Biography retrieved 14-04-2007
- George Cadbury at Brittanica online retrieved 14-04-2007
- Cadbury at the Bournville Village Trust site retrieved 14-04-2007
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