Model Villages: Bournville

This week, Daily Service comes from some of Britain's best-known model villages, including Port Sunlight, Saltaire, Bournville and Swindon Railway Village. Built during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these pioneering communities were created by visionary employers who sought to provide decent housing, education and shared facilities for their workers. Combining industry with a strong sense of social purpose, they reflected ideals of faith, wellbeing and community that continue to resonate today.

The series explores the vision, faith and community spirit that shaped these remarkable places, with daily acts of worship reflecting on their enduring legacy and relevance for contemporary life.

Today's service visits Bournville Parish Church to explore the history of the village, and the historic role of the church in the community, and what it means for the church to be named after St Francis. It Is led by the Vicar, Canon Richard Wharton.

Producer: Andrew Earis