Celtic Heritage

The Chadwich land into which The Greenhouse at Barnes Close is nestled links our story to its indigenous Celtic heritage. The Celts believed that all aspects of life were infused with the Divine and that some places were particularly sacred. Barnes Close is often referred to in these terms as a ‘thin place’ and has drawn all kinds of people for rest, encounter, healing and transformation over many years.

For the Celts, harmonious relationships between people and the divine, people and the land and between each other were understood to be central to human flourishing. The Chadwich lands are named after the seventh century Celtic Christian St. Chad who, with others, followed a rule of life and worked for hope and healing across the Midlands. Throughout the many seasons of work and witness in and through this place, justice, reconciliation and peace-making have consistently been at its heart.

Quaker Roots

Ahead of the spread of the City of Birmingham, the Quaker industrialist George Cadbury acquired the Chadwich land in 1904 with a desire to protect this generative green space for the flourishing of the wider community.

The Quaker heritage of peacemaking through social action is strong in the Midlands and has been expressed through conscientious objection, non-violent resistance, mediation and silent worship. In 1932, Quaker Henry Cadbury had Barnes Close built and moved in with his family while he was warden of Woodbrooke, the most prominent Quaker training centre in Europe at the time.

The Cadbury family welcomed notable students and teachers to stay in this house. They filled it with discussion, prayer and practice as guests and friends gathered to address the social ills and opportunities of their time.

‘Home from home’ for children and young people

The Cadbury family offered Barnes Close as a home for evacuee children in 1940, under the care of the Salvation Army. It was then shared with the Birmingham Council for Christian Education. They used the house and grounds as a centre for children’s camps, with a focus on environmental projects and peacemaking, and as a youth and conference centre. For years children and young people from Birmingham came out of the city to experience respite, healing, fun, prayer and learning.

Community for Reconciliation

Under the leadership of John and Joan Johansenberg, Barnes Close became home to a residential and dispersed ecumenical community of peacemakers in 1984. John was “a significant peace-maker, liturgist and theologian of the post-Second World War era.” Richard Bickly, Fellowship of Reconciliation.

As the Community for Reconciliation, they collaborated in the work of Un-Afraid in East Africa and were invited to run reconciliation workshops in Rwanda and Romania. These were adapted and adopted by those communities, some of which continue today. Other home-grown projects include PHARP Peace Building, the Healing and Reconciliation Programme in Nairobi and Touch of Hope workshops in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, some of which also continue to this day.

A renewed vision for such a time as this

Much loved by the churches and people of nearby Rubery, Bromsgrove and Birmingham, Barnes Close was a spiritual home for a network of churches for a number of years. In recent times, with the support of Seedbeds, a new local group came together with a vision to see Barnes Close become a resource for peace and the flourishing of communities once more. The house was filled with the life of a community from nearby Winson Green as they decorated, fixed and rebuilt ahead of re-opening in 2020 as The Greenhouse at Barnes Close.