Austin Village Conservation Area Guided Walk
Wednesday 20th August 2025, 10.30am – Noon
Led by Hazel Griffiths, a resident of the village and local guide
Meet 10.30 am at Northfield Conservative Club Car Park, Mill Walk, B31 4HL. Cars may be parked for free in the Club Car Park. There are trains from New Street Station to Longbridge with a short walk to the Club. Please note that there will be no facilities for toilets or drinks during this walk. You can get a drink before or after at the nearby Longbridge Shopping Centre, where there are excellent cafés in M&S and Sainsbury’s.
The Austin Car Factory was founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin. By 1908 there were 1,000 workers, all needing to be housed. So, Austin imported 200 prefabricated red cedarwood bungalows from Michigan, USA. They were erected with 25 conventional brick built semi detached houses at intervals to create firebreaks.
Today, the village is a designated Conservation Area, with the support of the Austin Village Preservation Society. This walk is planned to elaborate an aspect of the development of transport in our region and ties in with our Transport themed Day School at The Birmingham & Midland Institute on Saturday 1st November. There will be a maximum of 25 places.
Our refunds policy is on the website. Non-members of the Society are welcome to join us on this visit. You are reminded that you participate at your own risk and neither the Society nor its officers accept any liability of any kind whatsoever however arising. The Society reserves the right to cancel or alter events if necessary.
You can download the Booking Form here or book on Eventbrite
Cover photo by Oosoom – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6627406