Looking to consolidate a number of small sites around Birmingham, and diversify into new areas, they chose a series of 20 agricultural fields[7] in Northfield eight miles to the south of the city on the Bristol Road at Longbridge.

Designed by Stark & Rowntree of Glasgow and constructed by James Moffatt & Sons of Camp Hill, the factory was built at a cost of £105,000, opening in the first quarter of 1895.

[7] Herbert Austin, who was born in Buckinghamshire and raised in Yorkshire, escaped his intended railway engineering apprenticeship and learnt his trade under an uncle in Melbourne, Australia.

[8] By 1908, 1,000 workers were at a factory, which covered 4 acres (1.6 ha); a night shift was introduced to help create adequate supply to meet the rising demand for products.

Two four-cylinder vertical gas engines of 200 horsepower (150 kW) each,[12] designed by the Anderson Foundry Co. of Glasgow, coupled to three-phase alternators built by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget of Sweden, provided the electricity.

[7] The Longbridge plant was part of a significant rapid mobilisation process, which took place across Europe on the outbreak of World War I.

Machines that had been used to build Austin cars were employed to produce munitions, and all the resources of the factory were harnessed to serve the armed forces.

[7] By 1917, the factory site trebled in size, and possessed its own flying ground at Cofton Hackett, south of the main works, which was operated by the newly formed Austin Aero Company.

After the farm buildings had been demolished and the River Rea placed in a covered culvert, the company began development in June 1916:[7] The works and plant had grown to over 10 times their prewar size; no peace-time products were being made.

In addition, the engine used for the 20 hp model was adapted for an Austin tractor, running on kerosene, which won many agricultural awards between 1919 and 1921.

The building known as the Flight Shed in Cofton Lane was where the airframes received their final quality check and wings were fitted to Hurricane fighters.

The government thus became the dominant shareholder, but unlike most nationalised industries, British Leyland (later called BL) remained a public company.

Derek Robinson, or "Red Robbo" as he was dubbed by the media, became synonymous with the strikes that severely affected production at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham in the 1970s.

Expansion work at Longbridge was completed in 1979 to allow a new assembly line for the forthcoming new supermini car, which was launched in 1980 as the Austin Metro.

The major part of the expansion was the erection of "New West Works", where the body shells were assembled, with extensive robotic input - a first for British Leyland.

The Austin Metro, which was introduced in 1980 and discontinued in 1990 when it was relaunched as an updated model under the Rover marque, was easily the most successful product to be produced at Longbridge in the final quarter of the 20th century.

The 200 series was sold in the hatchback, coupe, and cabriolet body styles, and also formed the basis of the Rover 400 saloon and estate.

In April 2005, this happened; the Phoenix Consortium put the MG Rover group into administration, leaving more than 6,000 workers without jobs.

In contrast, the likes of Ford and Vauxhall, and indeed most other Western European mass-market carmakers, had replaced most if not all of their model ranges since the late 1990s.

Chinese automobile company Nanjing acquired the remaining assets of MG Rover, including the lease to the Longbridge plant, three months after it went into receivership.

The cars arrive from China, essentially complete, requiring only the fitting of engine and front suspension, nose trim, and wheels at Longbridge, which no longer has functional body welding/assembly or paint shops.

Shortly before MG Rover went into administration in 2005, The Chemical Brothers' video for their single "Believe" contained scenes filmed inside the Longbridge factory.

[22] Also, images from the Longbridge production line and from the Mini were used to introduce the United Kingdom's entry in the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest hosted at the city of Birmingham.

[23] Several references to the Longbridge plant – where some characters work – are made in the novel The Rotters' Club and its sequels The Closed Circle and Middle England by Jonathan Coe.