# The Manor House - Birmingham - June 2011



## Derelict-UK (Aug 1, 2011)

Thanks goes out to Bubblehead for mentioning this to me, I still can't believe it is standing here, unexplored for years! It's snuck under the radar!!

Built in 1820, it became the home of George Cadbury and his wife Elizabeth in 1894.

George Cadbury lived at the Manor House until his death in 1922.

The building was given to The University of Birmingham in 1952 but sold in 2007. It looks like it was used as halls of residence and function rooms.

George Cadbury gave the Orthopaedic Hospital & the Lickey Hills to the people of Birmingham, he set up the Cadbury schools, gave money to set up pensions for his workers at Bournville and built the Bournville Village Trust - the houses with their gardens.

A shame that the building isn't listed, god only knows what kind of housing monstrosity it might turn into!

Since I visited in June the building has since been re-sealed, with no access at all apart from walking the exterior.

The CCTV is everywhere, on high poles using IR activation, it swings round following you. Since I visited the PIR's have been replaced with newer & better sensors and these are now protected with cages.

The site also has asbestos removal units & showers which were not present during my visit, all this points to the site finally being renovated.

Pics:

The Out Houses:

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3. One of the many PIR activated CCTV cams looking at me!





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7. In we go...





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15. One of the many student rooms (most of which look the same)...





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17. The Attic...





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20. Another security camera...





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Continued in the next post.


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## Derelict-UK (Aug 1, 2011)

..


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31. Oh, bloody yes!!!





32. (My favourite picture)...





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36. The red eyes of the CCTV with the Moon watching over all of us...






*D-UK*


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## nelly (Aug 3, 2011)

Nice!! That stained glass/staircase shot is mint!!!

Love the history too


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## st33ly (Aug 3, 2011)

Ive wanted to see whats inside this house for a long time so thanks


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## h4sty (Aug 3, 2011)

This is amazing, glad its not been smashed up by yobbos!


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## smiler (Aug 3, 2011)

First Class report and pics, Thanks for Sharing.


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## chizyramone (Aug 3, 2011)

Nice one D-UK.

Pic 21 curvy radiator is so cool


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## Em_Ux (Aug 4, 2011)

Wow what a stunning place!

I love the attic & that last shot is fantastic.

Thanks for posting


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## kathyms (Aug 4, 2011)

*absolutly brill*

now that is amazing, the times ive been to cadbury world and never realised they were boarded up. thank you for that a fantastic report.


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## Foxylady (Aug 4, 2011)

Wonderful stuff! Well done, D...that's a rare find. Even better that security is tighter as hopefully it'll remain unvandalised. Neat.


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## leepey74 (Aug 4, 2011)

Awesome place and awesome pics!! Great find


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## Raggy (Aug 7, 2011)

Looks like a nice place. Loving the older parts of the house.


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## Patch1977 (Aug 7, 2011)

*Great find!*

Looks really great, glad it's not vandalised. Awesome piano!


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## scribble (Aug 7, 2011)

"Oh bloody yes!" indeed! Wonderful pictures of a grand old site. Thanks for those.


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## audi-adam (Aug 7, 2011)

how the heck did that one sneak under the radar , its awesome , love the piano and the stair case , oh and the stained glass , brilliant , nice explore


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## Goldie87 (Aug 7, 2011)

Nice one, that window and staircase are great!


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## BeeTisa (Sep 14, 2011)

These are really great photos but this makes me so, so sad ... this was my halls when I was at Birmingham Uni!! It was such fun living there, I'll really miss the place


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## Derelict-UK (Sep 14, 2011)

BeeTisa said:


> These are really great photos but this makes me so, so sad ... this was my halls when I was at Birmingham Uni!! It was such fun living there, I'll really miss the place



If you have any pictures from your time at the halls, feel free to post them in here, it would be good to see it in use.

I have only seen one image of it in use and that is of people playing on the grass.

If you post you pictures, please keep them to a maximum of 800 pixels wide.


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## RichardH (Sep 14, 2011)

Must've missed this one when it was published. Nice selection of photos. Love the stained glass and the staircase. Wait... what's that? _A Bechstein?_ Left to rot?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! :arghh:

Nurse! Where are my pills? The twitching has come back. And the voices. :err:


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## godzilla73 (Sep 14, 2011)

BeeTisa said:


> These are really great photos but this makes me so, so sad ... this was my halls when I was at Birmingham Uni!! It was such fun living there, I'll really miss the place



Fun it was indeed - though, not a Birmingham student, I went to a particularly amusing party here sometime in 1992; this was memorable because it was my one and only (failed) attempt at the famous "Logger Challenge" in which you were meant to sink a chocolate bar in yard of ale, and eat the chocolate bar at the same time as drinking the yard. Needless to say, I didn't manage it, and vomit ensued......


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## Pincheck (Sep 15, 2011)

very nice indeed mate


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## borntobemild (Sep 16, 2011)

If this is where I think it is, it's next to the Griffin Close flats, where I spent my final year at Birmingham Uni.

Some great memories of the Manor House bar and some rather hazy ones.

Thanks for posting.


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## UrbanX (Sep 16, 2011)

Nice one! Love the Piano shot, what lens are you using on that? 
A beautiful site, but still a complete over reaction with security, as it the case so often! 
Well done, and pure hats off for getting in when you did!


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## Derelict-UK (Sep 16, 2011)

RichardH said:


> Must've missed this one when it was published. Nice selection of photos. Love the stained glass and the staircase. Wait... what's that? _A Bechstein?_ Left to rot?
> 
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! :arghh:
> 
> Nurse! Where are my pills? The twitching has come back. And the voices. :err:




I know, I hear it is worth somewhere in the region of £30,000+ even in the sorry state of the keys!

The lens I used for the front (key) shot was a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye @ 10mm.

As much as security was OTT, I was happy it was like that, it seemed to have put off local kids and thieves alike. Apart from water damage and natural decay, there really wasn't much human damage.

I am glad I saw it the time I did and glad it was left the way I viewed it unlike a lot of things these days!


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## tattooed (Sep 17, 2011)

Way cool report, shame it is all sealed up.............Dam!


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## PaulPowers (Sep 17, 2011)

Nice report and great pic


one little criticism is the size of the watermark


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## Derelict-UK (Sep 17, 2011)

PaulPowers said:


> Nice report and great pic
> 
> 
> one little criticism is the size of the watermark




too small? yeah I wanted a bigger one but It got in the way. Nice one for saying though, next time I re-do my work I'll make it bigger, that way it'll be harder for people to nick my images and cut off the watermark!!


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## hhhhh (Sep 17, 2011)

Love the piano


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## Silent Hill (Sep 17, 2011)

Superb photography and a cracking lens.


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## Derelict-UK (Sep 17, 2011)

Spiral Architect said:


> Superb photography and a cracking lens.



Thank you very much, that was 1 out of about 5 shots, the painted wall to the left was hard to deal with as it reflected the light, so a lot of random poses were pulled to get the light just right


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## evilnoodle (Sep 22, 2011)

Wowee.....some fabulous features in there


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## maevans1959 (Oct 3, 2011)

*Manor house*

My dear dad was the caretaker there from 1980 -98, l lived there in 80-82 & 90-92. l met my wife there and we scattered dad's ashes on the lawn outside of the Manor in 2008. How sad to see my old home in such a terrible state. l'm still in contact with loads of ex- Manorians . Do you know there is a ghost at Manor, most ex students know about it and l have personal experience of the ghost myself. Thanks for the sad photos, l'm in Melbourne Australia so l'm lucky l can't see the decay.


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## Derelict-UK (Oct 3, 2011)

maevans1959 said:


> My dear dad was the caretaker there from 1980 -98, l lived there in 80-82 & 90-92. l met my wife there and we scattered dad's ashes on the lawn outside of the Manor in 2008. How sad to see my old home in such a terrible state. l'm still in contact with loads of ex- Manorians . Do you know there is a ghost at Manor, most ex students know about it and l have personal experience of the ghost myself. Thanks for the sad photos, l'm in Melbourne Australia so l'm lucky l can't see the decay.



Do you have any old photographs of your time there?


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