Somerdale Garden Village, Chandos Road, Keynsham

When Frys created a Public Utility Society in 1925 to build works housing at Somerdale, the company brought in the expertise of the Bournville Village Trust and George Cadbury Junior to advise on how this should be organised. An area allocated for workers’ housing had been shown to the west of the Frys factory complex on early drawings of the scheme. This was within the limited area of land above the level of the flood plain, constraining the further development of the garden village.

Some sixty-four houses were built on Garden Village principals along Chandos Road. Work began in 1924 and by March 1927 the gardens were being laid out. The village had a neat disciplined appearance with simple cream-coloured houses some in the 'municipal style' of the 1920s and others with clear Bournville origin. Tenants enthusiastically followed the emphasis on horticulture evident at Bournville. The housing programme was of necessity subject to subsidy under the 1923 and 1924 Housing Acts to counter the effect of high building costs and to keep rent levels similar to those charged on Bristol's municipal estates. Rents ranged from 11s 1d (55p) to 12s 8d (63p) a week plus rates. However, much had changed in the two decades following the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association's Model Rules of 1903, not least Bristol's municipal programme of the 1920s which provided a wider range of house types and rents on several large low-density estates. Despite early hopes of expansion, the Somerdale estate remained small, with just a few more houses being added after the Second World War.

It is assumed that E W Hilton was the architect, given his experience in local authority housing before World War 1.

Reference        Journal of Keynsham and Saltford Local History Society Series 2 no. 10 2010
Reference        Planning History; Bulletin of the Planning History Group. Vol 10 No 3 1988 page 20
Archive           Original drawings held by Bournville Village Trust