Rosedene

Rosedene is a red-brick cottage at Dodford, near Bromsgrove, built as part of the Great Dodford Chartist settlement, where around 40 plots of four acres each were laid out to move people from industrial towns to a self-sufficient life on the land, with ownership bringing the right to vote. The scheme grew out of the National Land Company, devised in 1845 by the Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor, which ran into financial trouble and was declared illegal before Dodford's opening day. First bought in 1849 by William Hodgkiss, a retired East India Company man, the cottage is considered the least changed of them all, having been home to the Crisp family for most of the 20th century. The Trust bought it at auction in 1997 and restored it, along with the organic kitchen garden and orchard behind. Reviewers praise the knowledgeable guides, whose tours set the families' stories against the wider Chartist movement, and note that visits were by guided tour on limited dates. The cottage and garden are not currently open to visitors, so check with the Trust before travelling.