Built to Last: Austin Village at 100 - Sharing Day

Saturday 21 April 2018 11am - 3pm
Northfield Cons Club, Mill Walk, B31 4HL

Join us for the Built to Last sharing day, with an exhibition which celebrates Austin Village in its hundredth year through the stories of residents, archival photographs and films and new photography by artist Stephen Burke. 

We’ll be launching a new publication about the project and the Austin Village Stories website, a new online archive and resource, created with involvement from volunteers and residents. There will also be a short talk and tour at 12pm and opportunities to share your memories for inclusion on the new website. 

Free entry and drop-in - no need to book. Refreshments provided.

Built to Last: Austin Village at 100 is generously supported by The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. 

About Built to Last

Austin Village Residents c.1935.

Children of The Austin Village at The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953.

Line Dancing at an Austin Village street party, c. 1992

Since late last year we've been working with artist Stephen Burke and residents of The Austin Village in Longbridge to tell the story of this unique place, a community of 200 prefabricated cedarwood bungalows that were manufactured by The Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan and purchased by Herbert Austin to house the burgeoning workforce of the Austin Motor Co. during The First World War. 

We set out to tell the story of the residents who call the village home now and capture its unique spirit through photographs, village newsletters, homemade films and more. Community volunteers have received training to enable them to collect and share oral histories, use photography and to manage the stories website long-term. 

Built to Last Volunteers on an oral history training session.

The Austin Village Stories will launch at the end of April and gathers together fascinating oral history interviews, photographic portraits by artist Stephen Burke and photographs submitted by residents at community sharing events. 

It gives a snapshot of life in its hundredth year, through the memories and anecdotes of residents. Their pride in living there is evident, a thread that runs through all of the interviews and conversations we’ve had. People in The Austin Village are hugely passionate about this place they call home.

A film made by John Andrews in 1992, submitted to the Built to Last: Austin Village at 100 project.

Announcing Built to Last: Austin Village at 100

We're pleased to announce our next project Built to Last: Austin Village at 100, which will explore a unique residential area in Longbridge, Birmingham, that consists largely of prefabricated American bungalows. The project has received grant funding from The National Lottery through Heritage Lottery Fund.

In collaboration with documentary photographer and artist Stephen Burke, the project will celebrate the history of Austin Village in its centenary year and examine its evolution over 100 years through the memories and lives of its current residents. 

Austin Village opened in 1917, built by Herbert Austin (founder of the Longbridge car factory) to house the burgeoning workforce of the factory, which grew from 2,500 employees in 1914 to 22,000 in 1918, in part in the response to the factory’s role in manufacturing for The First World War. Consisting of 200 cedarwood houses imported from Michigan, USA, with a series of more traditionally British suburban semis built as firebreakers throughout, it is a hidden marvel tucked away behind a more conventional housing estate and a five-minute walk from Longbridge train station. 

Austin Village homes during centenary celebrations May 2017. Photograph by Stephen Burke.  

A new online archive of sound, video, audio recordings will be created, drawing on the personal archives and living history of residents. Sharing events will be held in community spaces within the village during 2017 to allow people to contribute to this archive. 

We'll be working with residents throughout, including training a group of volunteers from the village in photography, gather and share oral histories and manage the digital archive. The project is timely, as it was recently announced that Austin Village's conservation area status is currently under review by Birmingham City Council.

We're grateful to the Austin Village Preservation Society for their support with our application and to the Heritage Lottery Fund and players of the National Lottery for funding the project.

You can get involved in the project in the following ways:

1. Become a Volunteer Community Historian
2. Tell Your Story of Austin Village
3. Come to one of our community sharing events

To register your interest please visit our Get Involved page, or get in touch:
Call or text 07713808424 or email austinvillageheritage@gmail.com