• EA Probyn Challenge Bowl

    Angling, Snooker and Darts: The sporting life of GKN employees

    It’s not often that I drive around with a car full of silverware, but that’s exactly what happened last September following a visit to a former Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds (GKN) site in Darlaston. I had been contacted by the director of a company on the site of the GKN Atlas works.  He had discovered

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    Stories from Winterbourne’s collection: A botanist wraps up warm

    If you were the vicar of a rural parish in the early 20th century, what would you get up to? Your priorities, of course, would be performing the obligatory baptisms, marriages and funerals, visiting the sick and ministering to your flock. However, alongside your pastoral duties, you might find time for a hobby or two.

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  • The Nettlefold family in 1904

    Step inside the history of Winterbourne

    Winterbourne House and Garden is more than just a beautiful Edwardian villa; it’s a living legacy. Built in 1904 for John and Margaret Nettlefold, this Arts and Crafts-inspired home has witnessed over a century of stories, from family life to academic innovation. Today, it stands as one of Birmingham’s most treasured heritage sites. The vision

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  • Folio Cover

    Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Portfolio

    If you could travel back in time to 23  March 1887, you would find the streets of Birmingham throbbing with excitement.  Massive crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of Queen Victoria, who visited the city to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.  As the diminutive monarch was driven along Colmore Row, she passed through the ‘Metalworkers’ Arch’,

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  • The Heroine of Brookleigh cover detail

    Conformity and Subversion: the place of women in late-Victorian Children’s literature

    In summer 2025, Leila Phillips researched books from Winterbourne’s collection as part of a University internship.  Leila’s particular focus was the role of women in late-Victorian Children’s literature. In this blog, we delve into more of her fascinating research. Over the past few weeks, I have had the exciting opportunity to investigate Winterbourne’s collection of

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