Oxford's MINI Plant

Two weeks ago I took my second tour of the Oxford MINI plant.  It's an extraordinary tour that take a little over two hours.  The first hour is spent on the factory floor watching 1200 amazing robotics assemble the body and chassis of each MINI.  Then you move on to the assembly floor where teams of engineers on long conveyor belts custom assemble each MINI to the specs of each individual order.  

Photography is not allowed while you are on the factory floor.  In fact, you have to leave all of your personal belongings in a locker, including cell phones and cameras.  I wish I could show you the mind-blowing image of 1200 robots all moving at once, some welding, some lifting and moving -- it's defies description and it's about as sci-fi as you can imagine.  

"Combining human skill and ultra-advanced robot technology, Plant Oxford completes one MINI every 67 seconds, and up to 1,000 cars every day." 

You'll have to take a tour and see how this is done for yourself.  I've toured a lot of factories before but none have impressed me as much as the Oxford MINI Plant. 

The MINI plant is located on the Easter Bypass and Horspath Road in Cowley.  This is where William Morris produced the first Bullnose Morris Oxford in 1913 and where Great Britain's automobile industry began.  The plant has been producing cars for over a hundred years.  

There is an exhibit that highlights the history of car manufacturing in Oxford In the building behind the MINI Shop.  This is the only place where taking photos is allowed on the site.  For one who know very little about cars, I have certainly come to appreciate the modern technology that goes into manufacturing the MINI; the genius and generosity of William Morris who started the car industry in the U.K.; and the charming and iconic nature of the MINI.  

In the 1930s William Morris (aka Lord Nuffield) was Britain's richest self-made man.  He then became Britain's greatest ever philanthropist and gave away over £30m of his fortune, equivalent to £700m in today's money. Yet, despite his enormous wealth, his lifestyle was quite modest.  His home, Nuffield Place in Oxfordshire, is now owned by National Trust, is about 40 minutes by car southwest of Oxford, and is well worth a visit.   

This is only one of the many different types of robots you can see on the factory floor. Some of the robots are 6 times this size. To see them all moving at once is like watching the most unusual, modern, and amazing dance choreography. It's mesmerizing. 

This is a photo of the factory floor that is on display in the factory museum.  It doesn't even begin to show the size and scope of the electronics on the floor.  Our guide pointed out that most of the electricity used on the floor is solar generated from solar panels right on the plant site.  

The best part of the the tour was sharing it with Carlisle and Phil Carrol (Parents of our son-in-law).  It meant so much to us to have them come visit and to have the chance to share a bit of our little corner of England with them. These photos were taken in front of a blue screen that projects photos of the factory floor.   

For more information about the Oxford MINI Plant

Mini plant tours

Mini Plant Wikipedia

William Morris

Nuffield College

A few weeks ago I had the chance to see Nuffield College, just across from the castle mound. Nuffield is a relatively new college, founded in 1937 after a donation to the University by the William Morris otherwise know as Lord Nuffield, the industrialist and the founder of Morris Motors. He donated land for the college on New Road, to the west of the city center near the mound of Oxford Castle.  In addition to the land Nuffield gave £900,000 to build the college and to provide it with an endowment fund.  For the creation of Nuffield College and for his other donations (many of the medical buildings and programs) he was described in 1949 by an editorial in The Times as "the greatest benefactor of the University since the Middle Ages".  

Because of The Second World War, the building of the college was delayed  until 1949 and was not completed until 1960, a time when contemporary architecture was just beginning to appear in the University.  Progress was also hampered by post-war building restrictions and the effects of inflation on Nuffield's donation. This led to various cost-saving changes to the plans. In one change, the tower, which had been planned to be ornamental, was redesigned to hold the college's library. It was the first tower built in Oxford for 200 years and is about 150 feet tall.  It is an impressive tower and dominates the skyline. 

Since its beginnings, Nuffield College has initiated a number of trends at both Oxford and Cambridge. It was the first college to have both women and men housed together. It was also the first college to consist solely of graduate students. In addition, it was the first in modern times to have a defined subject focus, namely, the social sciences.

I love the simplicity of the architecture and design of the college.  I love the generosity of Lord Nuffield, who in his day was one of the wealthiest men in Europe and who gave away his fortune to so many great causes (He and his wife had no children).  He and his wife’s legacy continue to bless the U.K. to this day. 

Looking down at Nuffield College from the Castle Mound

Sculptures and a pond in the Quad

Windows of the lower quadrangle

A practical tower -- it houses the library.   

The windows in the Chapel were designed by John Piper and they are truly stunning! 

Unlike most college chapels, Nuffield's chapel is modern, simple, small, and really more of a place of meditation than a gathering place for worship

Nuffield Place -- William and Elizabeth Morris' home

Last week I discovered Nuffield Place, home to William Morris and his wife.  It is only about 20 minutes from where we live.  I didn't know much about William Morris (the car maker, not the Arts and Crafts designer), or his cars or philanthropy. After visiting his home, I was determined more.  I learned that in the 1930s he was one of the wealthiest men in the world who gave away his vast wealth. In my research, I came across this article which I found fascinating and which explains the best bits of of Nuffield and William Morris's legacy.

By Anita Singh  6:40AM BST 27 Apr 2011

William Morris: the humble lifestyle of Britain's greatest philanthropist revealed

The home of William Morris, owner of the Morris Motor Company and at one time Britain's richest self-made man, is to be opened to the public after decades under lock and key.

Nuffield Place in Oxfordshire has been perfectly preserved as a 1930s "time capsule" since the industrialist's death. It has now passed to the National Trust and offers a glimpse of a bygone era.

Morris, later Lord Nuffield, was Britain's greatest ever philanthropist and gave away over £30m of his fortune, equivalent to £700m in today's money. Yet, despite his enormous wealth, his lifestyle could not have been more modest.

So uninterested was he in life's luxuries that his bedroom floor was carpeted with off-cuts from the Morris factory in Cowley. What appears to be a wardrobe opens up to reveal a miniature workshop filled with spanners, screwdrivers and Phillips Stick-a-Soles which he used to repair his shoes rather than buy new ones.

Morris's frugality is testament to his humble beginnings. Born in 1877, he left school at 15 and started work as a bicycle repairman before turning his attention to motor cars. He designed his first car, the Morris Oxford, in 1912 and the company became such a force in British industry that he was awarded a baronetcy in 1934.

There is no collection of cars in the drive - Morris drove a Wolseley, a gift from his workforce, for many years and never sought to upgrade it. He famously hated the Morris Minor, likening it to a "poached egg".

He took his baronial title from the village of Nuffield, near Henley-on-Thames, where he bought the four-bedroom home in 1933 with his wife, Elizabeth, and remained until his death in 1963.

The furnishings are little changed from the 1930s, from the cocktail cabinet and gramophone in the drawing room to the dining room table laid with the couple's china and glassware. On display is a pink glass in which Morris's secretary served him a daily dose of milk of magnesia on a silver salver.

Morris was a dedicated smoker and the house features assorted paraphernalia, from an original pullmatch stand and ashtray full of cigarettes to a book of sheet music entitled Songs for Smokers.

He hated London and preferred to stay in Oxfordshire rather than mingle in high society. The only clues to his station in life are a signed photograph of Queen Elizabeth on the dresser and the velvet and ermine robes that he wore to the coronation of George VI in 1937.

The couple had no children and Morris set about dividing his fortune amongst charitable causes. He donated millions to medical research and funded Nuffield College, Oxford. During the polio epidemic of the 1940s and 1950s, he ordered the manufacture of 5,000 iron lungs and distributed them throughout the Commonwealth.

When Morris died in 1963, four years after the death of his wife, he left the house to Nuffield College. It was opened occasionally by volunteers but will now be opened permanently by the National Trust, which needs to raise £600,000 to do so.

Richard Henderson, National Trust general manager, said: "Despite Lord Nuffield's extraordinary philanthropy and achievements, he remains relatively unknown. His home is a wonderful time capsule without any of the 'show' of a multi-millionaire and reveals so much about the man who changed many people's lives for the better."

The living room

The kitchen

Mrs. Morris's Bedroom.  She was an excellent seamstress and continued to make her own clothes and curtains and bed linens for their home despite their great wealth.

William turned his closet into a mini workshop so he could tinker or work on an idea any time of day or night.

The siting room with state of the art entertainment for it's day

 A Morris Minor van -- pre World War II