Sweet dreams: Football chocolate at Cadbury Athletic FC

Words: Mike Bayly

Images: Mike Bayly

In 1878, Richard and George Cadbury, heirs to the famous chocolate manufacturer, purchased a 14-acre piece of land four miles south west of Birmingham. They named it Bournville, after the Bourn Brook that ran through the area.

Having taken control of the ailing Cadbury Brothers business in 1861 and revitalised its fortunes, the company quickly outgrew its cramped Bridge Street works in the city centre.

Work commenced on the new Bournville site in March 1879 and became known as ‘the factory in a garden’. Not content with giving their staff a pleasant place of work, the pair, most notably George, set about building the ‘model village’ in 1895, a purpose-built suburb where employees could live, work and play in a safe, comfortable environment away from the deprivation of the inner city: a place in Birmingham but not of Birmingham.

A devoutly religious pair, one of the brothers’ core beliefs was the importance of sport and exercise in building character. In May 1896, the Bournville Athletic club was instituted to administer all-male sport at the factory (the Bournville Girls’ Athletic Club was established in 1899), with a field set aside opposite Bournbrook Hall and transformed into a 14-acre multi-purpose site to create the ‘Men’s Recreation Ground’.

The centrepiece of the new Bournville Ground would be the Pavilion, a gift from the firm to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. Designed by the company’s architect Henry Bedford Tylor, it opened in June 1902 to national acclaim.

©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. Cadbury Athletic vs Hampton FC.

The Men’s Recreation Ground was soon hosting high-profile fixtures, such as an international hockey match between England and Scotland in March 1907. Football, however, was the dominant sport.

Bournville Athletic won the Birmingham Junior League (renamed the Birmingham Combination in 1908) for six consecutive seasons between 1897 and 1903, leading to the construction of terracing in 1928 to cope with growing crowds keen to watch some of the area’s leading sides.

After World War Two, the club joined the Central Amateur League, moving to the Worcester Combination (later Midland Combination) in 1948, and staying there until folding in 1987. By this point, all ties to the factory had been severed and the club were simply known as Bournville.

A new club, Cadbury Athletic, was founded in 1994 and joined the third division of the Midland Combination, ostensibly as a works team for the Cadbury factory.

Promotion to the Combination Premier Division in 2005 – the sixth tier of non-league football – required a ground with floodlights, forcing Athletic to play home games for long periods at Pilkington XXX and Alvechurch.

While the reserves continued at the Recreation Ground, it was only voluntary demotion to the Midland League Division 2 in 2021, where floodlights aren’t stipulated, that allowed the 1st team to return home after an absence of seven years.

Nonetheless, ground development remains an issue that hampers long-term ambitions.

“The installation of floodlights has been blocked in the past due to concerns over light pollution” says Chairman Bryan Elliott, prior to the game against Solihull-based Hampton FC. “The Recreation Ground doesn’t meet Step six grading and would mean another groundshare if the club is promoted.

We’d prefer to stay in the area and have been in conversation with the Bournville Village Trust and Mondelēz International, the owner of Cadbury, about the development of a new facility in Bournville. Even if we did move, there will always be a Cadbury Athletic youth team playing here.

While there is no longer a direct affiliation with Cadbury’s, it is important to retain links with such a historical venue.”

The Recreation Ground is undoubtedly a valuable marketing tool for the club. On a given matchday, Elliott estimates over half of the spectators are groundhoppers, some drawn from great distances to one of the most unique football venues in the country.

That isn’t to say Athletic don’t have a dedicated fan base. Among the regulars is 83-year-old Pete, who has followed the club since their formation. An avid programme collector and watcher of local football since the 1950s, he discovered Athletic planned to issue for home fixtures – a tradition that continues today – and became hooked.

It’s easy to see why. The Recreation Ground, aside from its visual charms, is one of the most hospitable places a football fan could wish to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Wherever Cadbury Athletic play in the long-term, its role in the community won’t change. “At non-League level you are part of a club in a meaningful way and can make a difference “says Elliott. “We aim to be accessible and welcoming to everyone, along with providing recreational and development opportunities for children through our youth system.”

The latter point isn’t empty rhetoric. Over the years, players such as Ricoh Henry, Demarai Gray, Corey O’Keefe and Daniel Sturridge have graced the Cadbury Athletic youth ranks, providing an aspirational pathway for local youngsters.

Dusk greets the final whistle on Saturday. Hampton win a thrilling encounter 4-3, good value for the many neutrals in attendance. Memories of warm afternoons are lost in the barbarous chill of early fading light. Golden leaves in their final throes litter the emptying terrace.

November is Autumn’s last dance. Soon the colour will vanish, replaced by winter’s grey palette. Seasons change but the Recreation Ground feels timeless, forever cocooned by the Arcadian fantasy wrapped around it.

George Cadbury didn’t just give Birmingham a vision of utopia, he gave one to football, too.