History of Letchworth Garden City

In 1898 a small book was published that was to have an effect all over the world. This book, entitled ‘Tomorrow A Peaceful path To Real Reform’, led to the building of  two Garden Cities, inspired similar developments world-wide and set a precedent in new standards for urban environments that is still in use today.

The author was Ebenezer Howard, a shorthand writer and social reformer, who believed that he had the solution to the problems of the uncontrolled growth of towns and the migration of people from the countryside to the towns seeking jobs and homes.

By the late 19th century, towns and cities in this country - and in many of the industrialised nations - were overcrowded, polluted by factories and workshops and by the smoke from the coal fires of houses. Many people were living in slum housing and the quality of life for the poorest people, in particular, was almost indescribably bad.
In the countryside, life was often no better with many people out of work and living in houses that were as deficient as the worst houses found in the towns. Many agricultural workers and their families were forced to leave the country for the towns where they hoped to find jobs and houses. In fact, for many people life in the towns was just as difficult as the life they had left behind them.

In his book Ebenezer Howard set out his idea of combining all the advantages of both town and country life without any of the disadvantages of either. He was convinced that people would be attracted to this marriage of town and country like iron filings to a magnet and illustrated this expertly with his famous ‘Three Magnets’ diagram writing, “There are, in reality, not only… two alternatives - town life and country life - but a third alternative, in which all the advantages of the most energetic and active town life, with all the beauty and delight of the country, may be secured in perfect combination.” 

Howard proposed the building of ‘Garden Cities’, industrial towns built away from the existing towns. A Garden City would cover an area of 6,000 acres consisting of 1,000 acres of urban development and 5,000 acres of farm land and have a population of 32,000 people. The population would be socially mixed and there would be a range of facilities for a full social life.

Quality of life in the Garden City would be far better than in the old industrial towns. There would be comfortable, well-designed houses with gardens set in tree-lined streets. The factories would be clean, healthy and safe places to work in and would not pollute the environment. The countryside would be brought into the town.

The Garden City would be built by private (charitable) enterprise and as it developed the profits it made would be used for the benefit of its residents.

In 1902 the Garden City Association made the decision to build a first Garden City as a social experiment to prove that Howard’s ideas were practical. The following year land at Letchworth in Hertfordshire was bought, although it was only possible to buy 3,818 acres, rather less than the 6,000 acres Howard thought necessary. A company called First Garden City Limited was formed to develop the Garden City and the great social experiment was under way.

At the opening of the estate in October 1903, after cutting the first sod of earth, Earl Grey said,
"I think Mr Ebenezer Howard is greatly to be congratulated upon the fact that within five short years his visionary hopes for tomorrow have become the almost fulfilled realisation of today…The fortunate community living on this estate will rejoice in the knowledge that the unearned increment which may result from the rents of a population of 30,000 souls will not go to enrich an individual landowner, but will be spent in such a way as will tend to refine the lives, ennoble the characters and exalt the minds of all who reside on the estate."

 Many of Howard’s ideas were incorporated and developed during the building of Letchworth Garden City. The town was designed as a zoned town with the industry concentrated in one area, surrounded by industrial housing. There was a central commercial area and large houses for the wealthy were built at the edge of the town. The master plan by the architects Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin incorporated existing roads, trees and hedgerows and a large amount of green open spaces – with careful landscaping, the country was brought into the town.

The development of Letchworth Garden City quickly demonstrated many of the advantages of the Garden City concept. Housing in the town was to a high standard – most houses had large gardens, were often sited around grassed greens and many were carefully located to receive the maximum amount of sunlight. The design of some of the early housing estates by Parker and Unwin were taken as standard for many similar developments in this country and abroad.

A £150 Cottage?

An early publicity boost for the fledgling Garden City was the 1905 Cheap Cottages Exhibition, which sought to build affordable homes (for just £150) using innovative new building materials and methods, restricted by prohibitive byelaws elsewhere. Letchworth leapt at the opportunity to host the exhibition, which saw over 120 new houses built, as well as nationwide press coverage and over 50,000 visitors to the town, putting Letchworth Garden City on the map.

A dry town?

For many years Letchworth did not have a public house in the town centre. This was because Ebenezer Howard suggested in his book that the liquor trade should be controlled and that residents should be allowed to vote on whether or not to allow licensed premises in a Garden City. It was not, as many people think, because Letchworth Garden City was founded by Quakers, which is not true.
In Letchworth the residents voted against licensed premises from 1907 until 1958, when a licensed hotel was voted for. This was to become the Broadway Hotel. However, if a resident wanted an alcoholic drink they could go to the village pubs in Norton and Willian, or join one of the societies that had a license. Alternatively, the breweries in Baldock and Stotfold would deliver beer and spirits to the door.

Letchworth did have a public house, built in 1907, but this was no ordinary pub as it did not sell alcohol. The Skittles Inn, on Nevells Road, was built to provide the facilities and atmosphere of a pub but without the temptations of drink. ‘The pub with no beer’, as it became known, had a billiard room, served meals and drinks such as Cydrax & Bovril, and was used for striking workers. In 1923, The Skittles Inn became The Settlement, a centre for adult education, which it remains to this day.

Who Came to Letchworth Garden City?

Many companies moved to Letchworth Garden City, attracted by the environment, housing and new factories, including W.H. Smith’s bookbinders, J.M. Dent printers, and the furniture makers, Meredew. Letchworth had a flourishing early motor industry with Ascot and Phoenix producing motorcars, and Shelvoke & Drewry manufaturing dustcarts. One of the biggest employers in the Garden City was the Spirella Company of Great Britain, manufacturers of high grade ladies’ corsets. The Garden City was a perfect fit for the philanthropic American company, with their motto, ‘Healthy Happy Workers Are The World’s Best’.  

Letchworth Garden City attracted not only industries but people. Many found an ideological home in Letchworth’s tree-lined streets, and the Garden City became well-known for its unusual inhabitants, proponents of ‘The Simple Life’ who scorned the conventional dress of Edwardian England wearing sandals and smocks, ladies going without hats or gloves and children running around barefoot. Others were vegetarian, slept in the open air on specially-constructed balconies and had dew baths. Their appearance and activities were a great source of interest and amusement in the surrounding district and further afield.

Letchworth Garden City Today

The world’s first Garden City is run today exactly as first intended by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, an Industrial & Provident Society with charity status - and a direct successor to First Garden City Ltd. - who manage the estate and plough the profits back into the town through a series of charitable objects. Find out more at www.lgchf.com 

 Why not explore more of Letchworth Garden City's fascinating history by clicking on the links in the menu on the left to find out more about Letchworth People, Buildings, Industries and Milestones. Or check out out special selection of online exhibitions.