Papers relating to the death of George Cadbury (1839-1922)

This section contains papers relating to the death of George Cadbury on 24th October 1922. Letters and memoirs relating to George Cadbury's life are featured in this section, many of which were collected by Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury. Between January and April 1923 Taylor Cadbury compiled a series of typed extracts taken from letters sent to her by friends and relatives following her husband's death. These extracts were distributed amongst her family in four instalments which provide an insight into the public perception of George Cadbury in the early twentieth century and the many prominent figures with which the family was associated during this period. The extracts also portray George Cadbury's personal character, as he was known and remembered amongst his friends and colleagues. In addition, the section also contains a copy of Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's memoirs of her husband entitled 'How Did the Garden Grow' which she wrote in 1942, describing George Cadbury's contribution to the development of Birmingham throughout his lifetime.

When examining these documents it is interesting to consider how far Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury shaped the posthumous image of George Cadbury. Acting as the editor of correspondence she received paying tribute to her husband, Taylor Cadbury extracted comments from these letters and created documents based on her chosen remarks which were then circulated amongst her relatives and friends.

Finding number: MS 466/153/1-4 and 172/1-6

Biographical information about George Cadbury taken from I.A. Williams, 'Cadbury, George (1839-1922)', rev. Robert Fitzgerald, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32232], accessed 26th October 2009.

George Cadbury (1839-1922) was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham on 19th September 1839, the third son of Quaker businessman John Cadbury (1805-1855). After leaving school George Cadbury travelled to York where he worked for Joseph Rowntree and was trained in business methods before returning to Birmingham where he joined his father's cocoa and chocolate business with his elder brother Richard. In 1861 the brothers assumed control of the Cadbury enterprise, moving the family's expanding manufactory to Bournville in 1879.

George Cadbury's business methods were informed by his Quaker faith which has been identified as motivating the implementation of welfare initiatives for Cadbury employees. Cadbury's Christian beliefs were also manifested in philanthropic work in Birmingham, particularly through his association with the Severn Street Adult School in the city. Concerned with the physical and spiritual health of the city's working-class population, George Cadbury became involved with local politics, campaigning for housing reform. Following the removal of the Cadbury factory to the rural suburb of Bournville, George Cadbury instigated the development of a village around the factory, providing a healthier working and living environment for Birmingham's industrial workforce. Through his work at Bournville, Cadbury became a figure of national and international importance in relation to housing reform. In the early twentieth century he assumed control of a national newspaper, the Daily News, and was associated with many prominent figures involved in political and philanthropic work towards social reform throughout his life.

George Cadbury married Mary Tylor in 1873, becoming the father of three sons and two daughters before Mary's death in 1887. In 1888 he married Elizabeth Taylor, gaining a further three sons and three daughters between 1889 and 1906. The family lived firstly at Woodbrooke in Selly Oak before moving to the Manor House, Northfield. George and Elizabeth Cadbury later gave the house and grounds of Woodbrooke for the foundation of a residential Quaker college. Widely celebrated for his contribution to the reform of industrial working and living conditions, George Cadbury died at his family home in Northfield in 1922.