Woodbrooke College, Selly Oak

Description:This ink drawing depicts Woodbrooke College in Selly Oak. It was produced in 1956 by James Porteous Wood. He was a noted artist and designer whom the Birmingham Post commissioned to produce drawings of midland architectural landmarks.^{<small>1</small>} By this time Woodbrooke had an international reputation as a beacon of educational innovation, both in underpinning Quaker Liberalism and as an important staging post in the development of the educational settlement movement. Yet, from a Birmingham perspective, this recognition arose from an unexpected source - John Wilhelm Rowntree of York.

<a href="http://www.search.suburbanbirmingham.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?resource=1830">Woodbrooke</a> became a Quaker college in 1903. The Rowntree and Braithwaite families worked with George and Elizabeth Cadbury, whose home was donated to the new venture. The re-vitalisation of the Society of Friends was their driving force and Rowntree in particular insisted that facilities be provided for Quakers to undertake short study periods and receive spiritual refreshment.^{<small>2</small>} A series of summer schools culminated in Woodbrooke becoming a permanent base for such activities and also helped it to consolidate ‘Liberal Quakerism’ through biblical and historical studies. This was facilitated by Rowntree’s friendship and collaboration with the American Quaker Rufus Jones, which provided an international dimension in strengthening and recasting of Quaker identity.^{<small>3</small>}

Rowntree’s interest in Woodbrooke also ensured that it would influence the educational settlement movement, yet remain apart. Although it was originally styled as a ‘permanent settlement’,^{<small>4</small>} this description was not justified.^{<small>5</small>} Unlike university led ‘social settlements’, such as Birmingham’s Summer Lane Settlement, Woodbrooke did not have an official programme of social care and outreach. Nor did it develop into a formal educational settlement, such as St Mary’s in York.^{<small>6</small>} However, the Woodbrooke Extension Committee (WEC) did work with the ‘Yorkshire 1905’ Committee to develop the first true educational settlement, which opened in Leeds in 1908.^{<small>7</small>} Offering adult educational facilities, this drew on and developed the WEC model that had emerged in 1907 to provide the ‘Woodbrooke experience’ to those otherwise excluded through cost or distance. Rowntree was committed to Quaker educational institutions practicing social outreach, reflecting his belief in ‘active citizenship’ and drawing both on past experience with adult schools and the work of social settlements. From 1908, Woodbrooke offered students an opportunity to study for a diploma of social study. Whilst not meeting Rowntree’s vision of a full ‘social wing’, it did provide a base from which a wider range of social study and social engagement would be offered.^{<small>8</small>}

Although no formal educational settlement developed in Birmingham, Woodbrooke constituted a distinctive and influential contribution to this educational movement as it spread across England. Woodbrooke also helped to shape the development of Quaker Liberalism, ensuring that Birmingham’s influence was felt even further afield.


<font color="#666633"><small>¹ Obituary of James Porteous Wood, The Independent (21 April 2005), http://www.independent.co.uk (viewed 30/09/2010); www.road-to-the-isles/westword/may2005.html (viewed 30/09/2010)
² Woodbrooke Council, The Story of Woodbrooke, an Account of a Quaker Adventure (1953), p.4
³ A. Southern, The Rowntree History Series and the Growth of Liberal Quakerism: 1895–1925 (2010), p.1 (an unpublished thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Master of Philosophy)
⁴ Described as such in the college’s first prospectus, see Woodbrooke Council, p.1
⁵ M. Freeman, '"No finer school than a settlement": the development of the educational settlement movement', History of Education (2002), 31/3, p.247
⁶ Freeman, pp.247 & 257
⁷ Freeman, p.247
⁸ Freeman, p.250</small></font>