Welcome to The Austin Village

Image: © A J Paxton Taken: 16 Sep 2023

In 1917, Herbert Austin of the Austin Motor Company imported two hundred prefabricated timber bungalows from the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan. He erected them on farmland near his factory at Longbridge, on the outskirts of Birmingham, to house armaments and munitions workers, mostly women, producing material for the British war effort. Women lived six or seven to a bungalow. After the First World War ended, the houses were sold or leased, many to Austin workers. Over a century later, most of them are still standing and are still lived in, a remarkable piece of the US Midwest in Middle England. One bungalow can be seen here, further back from the road than most on the estate. "A unique area - Please drive carefully". See the Austin Village Stories site https://www.theaustinvillage.com/a-history-of-austin-village .

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