Blue plaque to celebrate Bournville architect

A Victorian architect who designed some of the most recognisable buildings in the Bournville area of Birmingham is going to be honoured with a blue plaque.

William Alexander Harvey was just 21 when he was appointed by George Cadbury to work on the design of houses and community buildings there.

Daniel Callicott, Heritage Manager at the Bournville Village Trust, said it "must have felt like an amazing opportunity" for a young and relatively inexperienced architect.

Birmingham Civic Society and Bournville Village Trust will unveil the plaque at Selly Manor Museum on 14 November before it is installed at the architect’s former Bournville home.

The trust was founded by George Cadbury in 1900 and the charitable trust manages estates, provides homes and delivers community-support services and commercial activities.

Buildings designed by William Harvey include the Rest House on the Village Green, the Friends Meeting House and Bournville Junior School.

He also rebuilt Selly Manor Museum and Minworth Greaves and designed Dudley Council House.

William Alexander Harvey was born in Birmingham and studied architecture at the city's Municipal School of Art.

He worked for Bournville Village Trust until 1904 when he left to set up his own practice, Harvey and Wicks.

The Bournville Village Trust said he became "established as an expert on low-cost housing thanks to his 1906 book on model villages" and local authorities later took on his ideas.

But it said very little else is known about him and it only had a handful of pictures of him.

The trust hoped people who might be related to Mr Harvey would get in touch after learning about the plaque.

Dr Chris Adamson, trustee and chair of the Birmingham Civic Society’s Heritage Committee, said: “Harvey’s designs in Bournville reflect a time of fascinating social change in the city as well as representing architectural achievements of national significance."

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