A Taste of the Country in the Heart of the City

Winterbourne House and Garden is a haven of tranquility, tucked away between the Bristol Road and Birmingham University, where you can escape the stress of city life to take a leisurely stroll around the Edwardian villa and its grounds.

The estate was bequeathed to Birmingham University in 1944 and students still come down to collect samples from the extensive botanical collections. As well as the 1903 Arts and Crafts house packed full of antiques, a botanic garden with over 6000 plant species, a woodland walk, a hazelnut tunnel and a 1930s Japanese bridge, there are a wide range of activities for the inquisitive and adventurous of all ages.

Inside the house are interactive exhibitions which tell the fascinating story of the estate and the people who lived there, including Margaret Nettlefold, who designed the Grade II listed garden. The family firm, GKN, was once the largest screw, nut and bolt manufacturer in the world.

Occasional free tours (check in advance for days and times), reveal more about the furniture, toys, photographs, clothes and belongings on display throughout the rooms, which are all laid out as they would have been a hundred years ago. There are also regular demonstrations of traditional crafts such as weaving, spinning and dyeing and in the Coach House Gallery you can see the work of modern artists, all inspired by the natural world.


If your visit inspires you to bring a little of Winterbourne into your own domestic estate, the Centre for Horticulture runs courses and workshops on a range of gardening skills. Or you can simply pick up a cake in the tea room and a postcard in the gift shop.

Published in My Moseley and Kings Heath, June 2016.

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