Splendour in Suburbia - Winterbourne Arts & Crafts House & Gardens

On Wednesday I caught a train to Birmingham for my long overdue day out with Nikki. After a catch-up over pots of chamomile and jasmine tea in uber cool cafe, York's, we walked the three miles from the city centre to the leafy suburb of Edgbaston. The drivers at the West Midlands' main bus network, National Express, had been on strike since Monday and, at 11am, the main roads were eerily quiet.

Our destination was Winterbourne House and Botanic Garden.

Winterbourne is rare surviving example of a suburban villa and garden built in the Arts and Crafts style, by architect Joseph Lancaster Ball in 1903 for John & Margaret Nettlefold. John was elected as Liberal Unionist member for the Edgbaston and Harborne ward of Birmingham City Council in 1898.

A pioneer of housing reform, having at heart the desire that all classes should live in decent dwellings. This description of John Nettleford, taken from his obituary in the Birmingham Daily Gazette on  6th November 1930, sums up his commitment to the provision of good quality housing for working people. Housing reform was his passion, but his achievements came at personal cost. His eldest daughter Evie was interviewed by the Birmingham Daily Post in 1973, at the age of 80 and offered a poignant insight into John’s political struggles: “[It’s] a great mistake to be a pioneer.  It’s a killing job. They all argue with you and they don’t believe you.”

SOURCE

Margaret Nettlefold designed the six acre garden, inspired by the books and garden designs of Gertrude Jekyll. The garden was Grade II listed by English Heritage in 2008.

“The Garden is singularly well-furnished, and the path below the terrace fringed with a wealth of flowering shrubs and aubrietias…Unhappily however, there is no subject to which the camera so steadily refuses to do justice, and this outcome of Mrs Nettlefold’s taste must therefore go unpictured.”

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE JULY 1ST 1911

I wish I could share the glorious smell of this greenhouse, stuffed with hyacinths....

John MacDonald Nicolson was the last private owner of the house and, as a keen gardener, developed many new ideas. Upon his death in 1944 he bequeathed the house and garden to Birmingham University. The garden became the University's Botanic Garden and is still used by students to this day.

The tea room was doing a roaring trade, unsurprisingly when you look at the menu (HERE). These ladies were enjoying a pre-Ramadan afternoon tea but broke off to tell us how beautiful our outfits were. By strange coincidence we were both wearing dresses we'd bought from Kharibu (as my friend Sheila always says, I'm linking 'cos I love!)

“Mr Ball has devised it on those simple and reasonable lines which so surely achieve success, while there is everywhere evidence of thoughtful design, expressed in a reticent way”

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE JULY 1ST 1911

Winterbourne House was designed to be ‘cutting-edge’ with all the modern conveniences of electric lighting, hot running water and a telephone line. Rooms were light and airy, with views over the garden. The Arts and Crafts inspired design employed local materials and craftspeople to provide an enduring feel of quality. We spotted J Sankey & Sons metalware, Ruskin ceramics and needlepoint stitched by Margaret Nettleford herself as well as a wealth of Morris and Co. textiles and wall coverings and William de Morgan tiles.

By the time we'd walked the three miles back into the city centre it was almost 3 o'clock so we popped into Leon at New Street Station for lentil masalas and herbal teas before hopping on our respective trains home.

Thanks for a fabulous day, Nikki - I can't wait for our next adventure!

Winterbourne House and Garden, 58 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham B15 2RT

Open even day:

10.30 - 5pm (March to October)

10.30 - 4pm (November to February)

Adult Admission: £7.40 (£8.50 with Gift Aid)