The upcoming events at Selly Manor Museum are:
Bournville Heritage Day
Bournville Heritage Open Day is back for 2024, on Saturday 14th September from 10am-4pm.
Visit George Cadbury’s famous garden village as historic venues open for FREE as part of Heritage Open Days and Birmingham Heritage Week.
Enjoy tours, exhibitions, activities and family fun and experience the stunning architecture and design of this very special community.
MORE INFORMATION
The 17 fantastic sites open this year are…
Selly Manor Museum
A Tudor manor and medieval hall rebuilt by the Cadbury family
The Rest House
Built in 1914 and now home to the Carillon Visitor Centre
The Carillon*
Enjoy tours up the tower and discover this remarkable instrument
Pre booking essential: tickets will be available to book at www.bvt.org.uk from Monday 2nd September at 5.30pm
Quaker Meeting House
Built in 1905, a Y-shaped building designed by W.A. Harvey
Almshouses*
Guided heritage tours of a unique building built by Richard Cadbury
Pre booking essential: tickets will be available to book at www.bvt.org.uk from Monday 2nd September at 5.30pm
St Francis Church
A beautiful early Christian basilica style church, consecrated in 1925
St Lazar’s Church
An incredible Serbian Orthodox Church with a spectacular interior
Bournville Model Boat Club
See and have a go at sailing these splendid boats
Bournville Village Primary School
See the stunning central hall and beautiful frescoes
Manor Farm Park
A self-guided 2km heritage trail linking 10 sites at the park
The War Memorial Room
Situated in the Pavilion to remember Cadbury employees
Rowheath Pavilion
Explore the grounds of this sporting centre and park for Cadbury employees
The Cadbury Concert Hall
A stunning music venue in the heart of the factory
Ruskin Hall
A rare opportunity to explore parts of the oldest community building in Bournville
Bournville Crown Green Bowls Club
Have a go at crown green bowls at this iconic club
NEW FOR 2024…!
The Cadbury Archives*
Enjoy tours of this newly refurbished treasure trove
Pre booking essential: tickets will be available to book at www.bvt.org.uk from Monday 2nd September at 5.30pm
Dame Elizabeth Hall
Opened in 1930, discover the story of the Bournville Village Festival
*The Carillon, Almshouses + Cadbury Archive are by pre-booked tour only. Free tickets will be available at the Bournville Village Trust website on Monday 2nd September 2024 at 5.30pm.
A Programme of Events packed full of details about exhibitions, activities, family fun, performances and much more will be published a week before the event.
Keep up to date with the event on Facebook and X / Twitter
Map
Our useful Bournville Heritage Open Day Map includes detail about each site and provides a guide to locations of toilets, car parks, refreshments and much more.
Travel
There is limited car parking in Bournville. We strongly recommend that visitors use public transport. For travel information please visit Transport for West Midlands website
Once in Bournville, many sites are accessible by bike or on foot. You can enjoy the garden village by following the green trail from Bournville village green, through Bournville Park, along the Valley Parkway and all the way to Manor Farm Park. Please see the map for a suggested route.
As a guide, we have provided some suggested walking times:
Bournville Village Green to the Model Boat Club = 15 minutes
Bournville Train Station to Rowheath Pavilion = 20 minutes
Manor Farm Park to St Lazars Church = 15 minutes
Car Parking
Car Parks are available at:
Bournville Village Trust, 350 Bournville Lane, B30 1QY
Manor Farm Park, 389 Bristol Rd South, B31 2AB
Shoppers Car Park, Bournville, B30 2AA
Street parking is available in streets around Bournville but please be considerate of residents.
*Please note that there is no car parking available at St Lazars Church. The nearest car park is at Bournville Village Trust or Manor Farm Park (see above), both are a 10 to 15-minute walk to the church.
Get in touch
The event is co-ordinated by the Heritage Team at Selly Manor Museum. If you have any questions please complete the contact form at the base of this page, or call the team on 0121 472 0199
This event is part of and the national Heritage Open Day and Birmingham Heritage Week events.
Heritage Talk: Black Tudors in Conversation
17th October 6.30-8.00
Join us for this special event in celebration of Black Tudors for Black History Month.
Early in 2024 Selly Manor commissioned four young, local, artists of Black Heritage to create artworks depicting Black Tudors. Black Tudors came to Britain from Europe, from Africa, and from the Spanish Caribbean. Increased interaction between Europeans and Africans was initiated by the Portuguese, who established a presence in North and West Africa in the fifteenth century.
Heritage Engagement Officer, Louise Deakin will talk about the project and the inspiration behind the exhibition. In conversation with one of the artists, Annie Pearson, she will look closely at one of the subjects, Cattelena, an independent, single Black woman, who lived in a small English village during the Tudor era. Annie will share her artist process and motivation in creating the piece.
You will have the opportunity to look around the manor at the end of the talk.
Tickets:
£5 per person
Refreshments will be available from 6.30pm and are included in ticket price.
Talk 7-8pm
Pre-booking essential. Call 0121 472 0199 to purchase tickets.
Tickets are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled by Selly Manor Museum
Pumpkin Carving Workshop
Join us at the Museum for a special Halloween event.
Explore the decorated museum, take part in the spine-tingling trail, and carve a pumpkin to kick off the spooky season!
Best pumpkin design wins the coveted Selly Manor trophy!
Friday 25th October, 4 – 5.30pm.
Suitable for age 5+
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Pumpkins and all carving utensils will be provided. You can either take your pumpkin home with you or we will include it in Halloween decoration in the museum for half-term.
Halloween fancy dress encouraged.
Tickets
£8 per child. First accompanying adult free, additional adults £1 each.
Call 0121 472 0199 to book.
Refreshments will be available to purchase.
Halloween Half Term: Little Monster School
Calling all little ghouls and ghosts to our spooktacular and hauntingly fun family friendly Halloween half term event!
Unleash your creativity with a variety of arts and crafts, take part in our pumpkin trail and help us to solve some tricky puzzles. Explore our Tudor Manor House decorated for halloween fun with our spooky house trail and under 5’s trail! Can you earn yourself a Halloween treat?
Our Halloween activities take place everyday 10am – 5pm (last entry is 3.30pm) from Monday 28 October 2024 to Friday 1 November 2024.
Tickets
Booking to be confirmed
Adults – £5, Children – £3, Family (2ad & 3ch) – £15, concessions £4. Children 3 years old or younger are free.
We also accept walk-ups.
Slots every 15 minutes (unlimited visit time once in the museum).
Groupon and Buckedt tickets are not valid during this event.
BVT residents get free entry but must pay for any accompanying children taking part in the activities.
*Late Night Opening on Halloween!* Booking Coming soon
Dorian Gray: Don’t go into the cellar performance
Join us for another thrilling performance from Don’t Go Into The Cellar…
Oscar Wilde’s only novel is adapted for the stage in this atmospheric one-man show. What awful secret is stored inside the attic? Only the eternally youthful and charming Dorian Gray knows. But as his appetite for sin leads to ever greater acts of wickedness, Gray will stop at nothing to make sure no one discovers the dreadful truth!
Friday 8th November 2024
The performance will begin at 7.30pm and will last approximately 2 hours.
Ticket cost £12.50
Booking Link – Dorian Gray: Don’t Go Into The Cellar — Museum Shops
Refreshments will be available to purchase.
Escape Room: A Museum Heist
Back by popular demand!
Work as a team to escape Selly Manor Museum. Can you crack the clues, steal the necklace, and escape the Manor in time?
Join us for a very special Escape Room evening and experience some of Birmingham’s oldest buildings in a whole new way. You and your team will have one hour to solve the clues and pull off a grand museum heist!
Refreshments will be available to purchase before and after your escape room time slot.
Pre-booking is essential.
Book your tickets online
Saturday 9th November 2024
Each Escape session takes 1 hour.
Sessions times TBC
Tickets cost £25 and provides entry for a maximum of 8 people. There is no minimum requirement. Recommended 12+
Booking information coming soon.
Christmas Wreath Making Workshop
Join an expert florist in our timber framed medieval hall and make a beautiful festive wreath. There is nothing quite like creating your own festive decorations to adorn your door. In this workshop you will use an array of seasonal foliage, decorative elements, and sustainable material.
Your workshop will be led by Louise from Vanilla Ruffles Floral Design. Louise trained as a floral designer at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and creates florals often inspired by the arts and the past. Wreath making has a rich and interesting history, which you will learn a little about in the workshop.
Enjoy mulled wine, or tea/coffee/hot chocolate and a delicious mince pie or sweet treat whilst you create (please let us know about any dietary requirements). All craft materials will be provided for you to make one wreath.
Workshops take place on Sunday 24th November 2024, 11am-1.30pm and 2.30-5pm. It will take approximately 2 hours to make your wreath.
Tickets
Tickets are £45 and include entry to Selly Manor Museum – a beautiful Tudor house, which was restored and moved to Bournville Village by George Cadbury.
Booking
To book a place please call the Selly Manor Team on 0121 472 0199. Booking is essential.
Handmade Christmas Craft Fair
Get into the festive spirit and buy some unique local handmade crafts at our popular Craft Fair. Find the perfect gift this Christmas amongst 18 stalls: from jewellery to soaps, pottery to wreaths, and artworks to cakes, plus much more. All in the stunning surroundings of two of the oldest buildings in Birmingham!
Enjoy a performance from Bournville Voices at 2pm.
Come find our Christmas tree as part of the Festival Tree Trail.
Hot drinks will be available to purchase.
Free entry to the craft fair and Selly Manor.
The Bournville Christmas Festival will be taking place on the same day, with the tree light switch on at 5pm.
Santa’s Grotto- 7th & 8th December
The magic returns for the 10th year!
Visit our now famous Santa’s Grotto for a special Christmas experience in the unique and magical Selly Manor – meet Father Christmas and receive an early present. Plus, get into the festive spirit by helping Santa’s Elves prepare for Christmas in their workshop, experience magical storytelling, and take part in crafts.
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