He wanted to create new settlements which combined the best of both worlds: the opportunity, amusement and good wages of the town with the beauty, fresh air and low rents of the country. [...] Less fortunately, in a less idealised form garden cities would eventually morph into the New Towns of the post-WWII era and the worst (as well as the best) of the suburbs we know today. [...] Undoubtedly, the highlights of Letchworth are the earlier residential areas, and the older the better in my view. [...] 13 Creating a new town: Lessons from Letchworth Garden City A green along Ridge Road, east of the city centre, one of the several throughout Letchworth, is really emblematic of the cottage style of earlier homes. [...] Opinions of the quality of the architecture aside, post-WWII houses in Letchworth have none of the unique character of the city’s early Arts & Crafts houses.
- Pages
- 26
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- Foreword 3
- In this illustrated essay I write about the background of Letchworth Garden City and my personal experience visiting it and see what lessons we might glean to apply to the new towns of the future. 3
- Plans for cottages at Letchworth 3
- Ebeneezer Howards diagram of the Three Magnets exemplifies combining the best of town and country into an idealised settlement. 5
- A vintage postcard promoting the Cheap Cottages Exhibition left and a plaque identifying a home from the exhibition right. 6
- Three charming homes dating from the Exhibition. Imagine a home like this for 15000 6
- The Spirella Building designed by Cecil Horace Hignett and completed in 1920. 7
- A promotional poster for Letchworth. 7
- The public space which greets you as you make your way from the train station. 8
- Leys Avenue today left and as it looked around 1913 right. 8
- The public space which greets you as you make your way from the train station. 9
- Beautifully restored buildings and planters left and a coffee shop on Leys Avenue right. 9
- Mixed-use buildings on Eastcheap some reflecting an Arts Crafts quality but others far less so. 9
- The Leys Avenue entrance into Garden Square Shopping Centre left and the back entrance along Gernon Road right which faces a street of houses. 10
- The multi-storey car park creates an inactive street frontage but there are worse backs to car parks left. Sadly Letchworth Police Station right is just a box. 10
- Post-war Arena Parade left is bordered by a large car park but some of the older buildings along Broadway right are very handsome. 11
- The Broadway Hotel left and Broadway right. 11
- In 1925 Broadway was still just a country lane with hardly any buildings as most development was concentrated to the east between the train station and the industrial zone. 12
- The Town Hall and Broadway Cinema together form a fine urban duo though they are a bit lost in space in their current location between Broadway Gardens and car infrastructure. 12
- Broadway Gardens is much too large as a public space but an even weaker point are some of the recent buildings. Far from being Arts Crafts theyre about as non-descript as buildings get. 13
- The magnificent avenue of trees along the southern portion of Broadway left and one of the best civic buildings in Letchworth St Francis College right. 13
- Small courtyard blocks such as this were among my favourite homes and with their communal gardens seem to exemplify the ethos of the development better than detached homes do. 13
- Typical streets to the south east of the centre tree-lined with generous green verges. 14
- An early group of cottages left and Ridge Avenue right. 14
- Pixmore Way left and Norton Way right. 14
- A Swiss chalet style home and a rendered semi-detached pair. 14
- A green along Ridge Road east of the city centre one of the several throughout Letchworth is really emblematic of the cottage style of earlier homes. 15
- These cottages off Ridge Road transport one back in time in the best possible way left and a tree-lined suburban street right. 15
- Meadow Way Green while not radical in its planning was built as housing for single women with a communal dining room in use until the 1970s. 15
- Letchworth is at its best in the pedestrian focused areas such as this group of cottages left and the secluded nature of this pedestrian-only cottage court off Lytton Avenue right. 16
- Beautiful Arts Crafts doors. 16
- Semi-detached homes on Field Lane have just a hint of the Arts Crafts but otherwise excellent windows and fine detailing. 16
- Theres a mix of architectural styles among the homes some more vernacular others more Georgian but they fit together well. 17
- Semi-detached cottages and terraced houses on Spring Road. 17
- Groups of bungalows 18
- A 1911 photograph of Westholm Green left and Norton Way around 1930 right. 18
- An aerial photograph from 1925 left showing how little had been developed around Broadway Gardens at the time and a later photograph right showing a tree-lined Station Road. 18
- Even schools were built in an Arts Crafts style. Testament to their enduring beauty some have now been converted to homes such as the example on the left. Beauty always trumps utility in the long run. 19
- Older streets left have generous pavements while in areas on the edge of the city right if they have pavements at all many are narrow strips barely wide enough for one person. 19
- Hitchin Road a busy A road left and the wide junction with Broadway right. 20
- Impressive large houses along Broadway. It is just a shame pavements for pedestrians are lacking on one side of the street. 20
- While it may be quite car-centric there is an impressive fabric of pedestrian lanes offering shortcuts throughout the city something I took advantage often. 20
- Robert Kwolek is a senior architectural designer at Create Streets. 23
- Create Streets 26
