Institute (Before & After Double Glazing)

A HISTORY OF THE NORTHFIELD VILLAGE INSTITUTE 1892  to  1982

The building, now known as the Northfield Centre, has a long history of education.  The complications of its labyrinthine structure have baffled, confused and. frustrated many of us!  How did such a building come to exist? Tor what purpose was it designed? Who first used it?  It is hoped that this will answer these questions and many others.

THE FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
Let us begin with an extract from "The Friend" of 26th August 1892.

"A few weeks ago we noted the opening of the new Meeting-house, and this week we are able to present a sketch of the same. The following description is from the 'Birmingham News':- This building consists of a village coffee tavern, which will be known as the "Cyclist's Arms", an assembly hall will seat 200 persons, and at both ends is a door for exit.  The schoolroom is 24ft x 28 1/2 ft.  The coffee tavern includes a room 26 1/2 ft. x 21 1/2 ft. with a spacious bay window, and a billiard room measuring 27 ft. x 25 ft. together with a double skittle-alley.  There is also a small kitchen with accommodation for tea meetings.

Institute 1892

A caretaker's house completes the front block of the coffee-house, and there are three pairs of picturesque cottages upon the same estate, and to each cottage is attached a plot of ground 1/8th of an acre.  The style of architecture is a picturesque Gothic, and in the upper storey the panels of the half-timbered work are mostly of brick, but those in the gables are of white plaster. A fliche or small tower for ventilation distinguishes the meeting room, and Bromsgrove stone is used for dressing.  As will be seen the general effect is quiet but picturesque. The Meeting-house was opened about two months ago"

As you will have noted from this description, and from the illustration on the cover, the basic structure remains the same. The land on which the building stands was acquired by George Cadbury in 1891 and he had the Friends Meeting House constructed which, as we have read, was ready for use in 1892.  Well may we envy the speed of work! The entwined monograms of George and his wife Elizabeth are to be seen engraved in the wall of the building facing Matthews & Sons (Auctioneers). George Cadbury himself maintained the building until 1899.  Christopher Cadbury, his grandson can recall walking to and from meeting each Sunday morning.

The Society of Friends used the building for a period of about 35 years, using the larger, sunny upstairs room, now known as the Dressmaking Room, and the Main Hall for worship and business. The Friends were not the only group to hold services in the Institute.  Local residents remember with affection the Sunday School meetings when the Hall would be packed with worshipers and occasions like the Harvest Festival when produce filled the front of the Hall and the queue of people stretched down the stairs and into the road outside  -  as it does now during Enrollment Week! (from a pamphlet issued in 1982)