A Visionary Employer

What did you do for a career if you were a Quaker? They were barred from universities; as pacifists, the armed forces were not an option; they rejected established churches.

One option was business, and Quakers gained a deserved reputation as principled and reliable tradespeople. In the latter half of the 18th century, three Quakers families were attracted to the chocolate industry. They became household names: Fry, Rowntree and Cadbury. There were sound reasons for choosing chocolate. The medical world had declared it a healthy drink, and Quakers (who were teetotal) saw it as a viable alternative to alchohol.


George Cadbury (1839-1922) inherited the Birmingham-based family business in 1861. He was a visionary and a philanthropist. He determined to create a business which would "reflect his religious ideals, his belief in thrift and hard work, worthy products, fair dealing and good employment conditions."

So he moved the business away from the smoke of the city to a greenfield site which he called Bournville. In this healthier environment he created a model village, where his workforce could live. He incorporated parks, a lake and recreational facilities for the health and peace of his staff. Bournville workers enjoyed medical care and a pension scheme. Good workers were rewarded with what was a very good wage for the time.

What made Cadbury a Christian social entrepreneur was that his vision and action took him beyond simple philanthropy. In an interview in 1889 he said:

"Forty years ago I visited among my scholars and knew their hardships and the difficulties men have to contend with when they are reformed - unattrative neighbourhoods, no social life and but few objects of interest in and around their homes. But if each man could have his own house, a large garden to cultivate and healthy surroundings - then, I thought, there will be for them a better opportunity of a happy family life.

Largely through my experience among the back streets of Birmingham I have been brought to the conclusion that it is impossible to raise a nation, morally, physically, and spiritually in such surroundings, and that the only effective way to bring men out of the cities into the country and to give every man his garden where he can come into touch with nature and thus know more of nature's God."

He not only dreamed it, he did it - even exceeded his expectations. It cost him, but he gave willingly. "I have for many years given practically the whole of my income for charitable purposes," he said, "except what is spent upon my family. Nearly all my money is invested in businesses in which I believe I can truly say the first thought is the welfare of the work people employed."