The story of Hertfordshire in the 20th Century is that of the creation of new towns, starting with the Garden Cities of Letchworth and Welwyn, and later the New Towns of Hatfield, Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City vision, with a perfect balance of urban and rural, industry and leisure, government and self reliance, was ushered in at the turn of the new century with Letchworth Garden City formed in 1903 and Welwyn Garden City in 1920.
Even though this balance was arguably not kept, the Garden Cities became an inspiration for similar creations throughout the world. The post war new towns were conceived with a similar idealistic vision. They too sought to create a balance between town and country, providing industry for employment as well as space for living and leisure. Like the garden cities, the new towns were grafted onto existing old villages, with much local opposition. Stevenage was dubbed “Silkingrad” by protesters, after the the leader of the towns expansion, Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning.
There is a distinct difference between the architectures of the garden cities and the new towns. Letchworth and Welwyn were largely created in the dominant Arts and Crafts style of the era of their creation. The new towns have a much more modernist design that also reflected the dominant style of their time, shown in the other post war new towns like Cumbernauld, Harlow and Basildon among others.
The purpose of this mini site is to document the art deco and modernist buildings of these towns. Some are listed by English Heritage or local councils, but many have been demolished, especially the factories and offices in places like Welwyn Garden City. We hope to record and celebrate the modernist and functional designs of the new towns that are often overlooked or forgotten. We will also be looking at other modernist buildings in Hertfordshire, which has an abundance of interesting post war houses by a variety of architects as well as the pioneering schools of the post war Hertfordshire County Council. In this site you will find pages on the towns we focus on, as well as pages highlighting the architects of New Town Herts, a map of the buildings featured and a page of references and useful links. If you would like to contact us about anything, you can at [email protected].
Even though this balance was arguably not kept, the Garden Cities became an inspiration for similar creations throughout the world. The post war new towns were conceived with a similar idealistic vision. They too sought to create a balance between town and country, providing industry for employment as well as space for living and leisure. Like the garden cities, the new towns were grafted onto existing old villages, with much local opposition. Stevenage was dubbed “Silkingrad” by protesters, after the the leader of the towns expansion, Lewis Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning.
There is a distinct difference between the architectures of the garden cities and the new towns. Letchworth and Welwyn were largely created in the dominant Arts and Crafts style of the era of their creation. The new towns have a much more modernist design that also reflected the dominant style of their time, shown in the other post war new towns like Cumbernauld, Harlow and Basildon among others.
The purpose of this mini site is to document the art deco and modernist buildings of these towns. Some are listed by English Heritage or local councils, but many have been demolished, especially the factories and offices in places like Welwyn Garden City. We hope to record and celebrate the modernist and functional designs of the new towns that are often overlooked or forgotten. We will also be looking at other modernist buildings in Hertfordshire, which has an abundance of interesting post war houses by a variety of architects as well as the pioneering schools of the post war Hertfordshire County Council. In this site you will find pages on the towns we focus on, as well as pages highlighting the architects of New Town Herts, a map of the buildings featured and a page of references and useful links. If you would like to contact us about anything, you can at [email protected].