We visited 500 year-old Selly Manor in Bournville & it made an incredible discovery about Birmingham

I’m visiting Selly Manor, an enchanting 500-year-old residence nestled in the heart of Bournville. This building has persevered throughout history. Beautifully-restored, it serves as a reminder of our heritage and today we delve into the story of this remarkable manor and unveil its past.

Louise Deakin, Heritage Engagement Officer for Selly Manor, says: “Yeah, so this is Selly Manor. It’s not really a manor house - it was actually a farmer’s cottage towards the end of the 19th century - into the 20th century someone misnamed it as a manor house, but it was a Yeomans cottage.

“So the first person that lived in it that’s on record as having leased it from the Lord of the Manor is a man called John of the Field who was a farmer - unsurprisingly. The house itself wasn’t here. It was a mile away in Selly Oak.

“So George Cadbury, the chocolate manufacturer, was the person who was interested in it. At that point, it was 400 years old and really falling apart. It hadn’t been well taken care of in the last few decades of its existence, so he decided to rescue it, and to have it moved here to Bournville, make it a centrepiece of the village, and to use it as a museum. It was always intended to be a museum while it was in Bournville.”

There’s plenty on display here at Selly Manor - including this tapestry of achilles which looks over the dining table. There’s also a fully functional spitjack, an authentic wooden settle as well as much more for the visitors here to interact with, making Selly Manor a true time capsule of the Tudor period right here in Birmingham.

Louise says: “So I suppose in terms of the fact that George Kerry wanted to preserve it for future generations, he thought it was really important for people to be educated about what happened in the past as a Victorian and then being quite forward planning and forward thinking.

“That was quite unusual because they were all about industry. But he thought it was incredibly important to preserve the Tudor history of the place. In terms of Bournville, I think you can see when you look at the houses around Bournville, how George Cadbury and his brother Richard loved Tudor architecture - the way it looked because a lot of the village the shops on the green, and upon Merivale Road look very similar to Selly Manor - the black and white timber frame.

“In terms of Birmingham history. It’s actually quite a normal farmer’s cottage. So it wasn’t important as such, but it’s become important in terms of Birmingham preserving buildings - because Birmingham typically has the whole mantra of “forward”. So a lot of our old buildings aren’t around anymore. But this building, the Old Crown in Digbeth and St. Nicholas Place in Kings Norton and these are some of the oldest buildings in Birmingham.”

Selly Manor attracts many families for their half term events, as well as people interested in Tudor History and the local area.

Louise says: “We have a fantastic community that really supports the museum - our local residents. So when people come they are really complimentary. They really enjoy coming to Selly Manor. They’re really impressed by how well preserved the building is.

“What a beautiful old timber framed house it is. They’re always surprised to see that it’s here in the middle of Bournville - you don’t expect this house to be here in a suburb. And we always have fantastic reviews from people that say they really enjoy their visit.”