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Planned towns

01 November 2011

By EAFA

The Garden City movement began in the East of England region with Letchworth founded by Ebenezer Howard in 1903, and Welwyn Garden City. New Towns were established in the 1940s at Basildon, Harlow, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Peterborough, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City. To house the London overspill, Expanded Towns were established in the 1960s at Braintree, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Huntingdon, King’s Lynn, Long Melford, Mildenhall, Sandy, St Neots, Sudbury, Thetford and Witham.

highlights

  • 1949 Cat no. 2503

    Planned Town

    1949, Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire)

    Welwyn Garden City was founded in the 1920s by Sir Ebenezer Howard, and it became a New Town under the 1946 Act. This film looks at the principles which inspired this development.

    Cat no. 2503

    0:11:29

    Black and White, sound

  • 1958 Cat no. 401

    An Experiment in Towns

    1958, Harlow (Essex)

    A Central Office of Information film about the development of Harlow as a New Town under Sir Frederick Gibberd’s plan of 1947.

    Cat no. 401

    0:20:56

    Black and White, sound

  • c. 1960 Cat no. 304

    The Story of Magdalen Street

    c. 1960, Norwich (Norfolk)

    A record of the Civic Trust project to revitalise Magdalen Street and its historic buildings and introduce more harmonious lettering and colour schemes. This inspired other town improvement schemes, but the benefit in Norwich was short-lived as the street would be cut in two by the Inner Ring Road.

    Cat no. 304

    0:14:11

    colour, sound

  • 1961 Cat no. 830

    Fore Street Improvement Scheme

    1961, Ipswich (Suffolk)

    A street improvement scheme inspired by Magdalen Street, Norwich. The completed project at Fore Street was visited by the Queen.

    Cat no. 830

    0:15:50

    colour, sound

  • 1969 Cat no. 1185

    Haverhill

    1969, Haverhill (Suffolk)

    Subtitled ‘A Town Expanding’, this film presents the development of Haverhill as an ‘Expanded Town’ under the 1956 and 1962 planning review.

    Cat no. 1185

    0:39:04

    colour, sound

  • 1966 Cat no. 6067

    The Design of Space

    1966

    A film by Ransomes, lawnmower manufacturers, showing examples of landscape architecture in town developments across the country.

    Cat no. 6067

    0:24:02

    colour, sound

  • 1970 Cat no. 253

    A View of Bishopsfield

    1970, Harlow (Essex)

    A film by Harlow Cine Club which captures the freshness of Harlow’s architecture while presenting a range of opinion from residents.

    Cat no. 253

    0:16:55

    colour, sound