ALAN CASH - web pages
Collection of books on Welwyn Garden City
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ALAN CASH - web pages Collection of books on Welwyn Garden City |
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This is a very nice handbook printed in the year of my third birthday. The only illustrations in it are in 2 or 3 of the advertisements. The interesting feature of it is the large list of thriving organisations within the town which had only been in existence for 28 years.
The first item in the guide (after the contents list) is a 1½ page article entitled Mr Silkin Takes Over. It outlines the chronology of the events (between 24th September 1946 and 26 March 1948) surrounding the government decision to take the development of Welwyn Garden City out of the hands of WGC Ltd and place it under the control of the Development Corporation under the New Towns Act. This decision was against the wishes of WGC Ltd and involved a public enquiry. The author of the article is not given.
MR SILKIN TAKES OVER
BELOW is a list of the events connected with Mr Silkin's decision to take the development of WGC out of the hands of WGC Ltd, and place it under the control of a State Development Corporation.
24 September 1946 - WGC Urban Council decided at secret meeting to approach Mr Silkin, Minister of Town and Country Planning, to take over WGC under the New Towns Act.
22 January 1947 - Mr Silkin advised members of WGC Council and WGC Ltd, that he proposed to take over the town.
6 June 1947 - Sir Theodore Chambers, Chairman of WGC Ltd, had his first meeting with Mr Silkin to discuss the proposal.
9 June 1947 - Sir Theodore wrote to Mr Silkin offering to hand over the nearly completed town on an independent valuation.
13 August 1947 - Mr Silkin rejected the offer, which he characterized, however, as "generous".
28 October 1947 - Letter read to WGC Urban Council in which Mr Silkin announced his intention of taking the development of WGC out of the hands of WGC Ltd and placing it, together with Hatfield, under the control of a Development Corporation under the New Towns Act.
5 November 1947 - Local authority delegates visited Ministry for consultation.
6 November 1947 - Mr Silkin told a public meeting in WGC why he was taking this step.
26 November 1947 - Minister announced that his proposal was supported in principle by all local authorities concerned.
6 January 1948 - U.D.C. put forward names of eight of its members, plus Mr J. H. Lloyd and Mr F. J. Osborn, for membership of Advisory Committee, which was later to become the Development Corporation.
9 January 1948 - Maps of designated areas for Welwyn and Hatfield New Towns issued by Ministry, along with 4,000 word memorandum.
16 January 1948 - WGC Ltd, gave notice of appeal to Mr Silkin's proposals.
30 January 1948 - WGC Ltd, issued statement condemning Mr Silkin's statements about the Company as "a complete travesty".
6 February 1948 - WGC Ltd shareholders passed what was described as "a vote of confidence" in the directors.
27 February 1948 - Names of Silkin New Town Advisory Committee announced, R. G. Gosling (chairman), D. H. Daines, P. E. Longmore, G. R. Lowe, J. H. Macdonnell, Mrs L'Estrange Malone, H. L. R. Matthews, C. G. Maynard.
21 and 22 March 1948 - Public inquiry under New Towns Act held at the Cherry Tree. Miss Evelyn Sharp, of the Ministry, gave an assurance that the Development Corporation would purchase "everything that the Company wished to dispose of".
26 March 1948 - Mr Donald Newton revealed closely-kept secret of U.D.C.'s secret meeting of September 1946.
The Urban Council
The U.D.C. has a Labour majority of three. The fifteen members are -
Handside Ward:
W. C. Pritchard (Con.),
Gerald Dickson (Con.),
Mrs Joyce Hattie (Con.),
A. W. Richardson (Ind.),
John Chear (Ind.),
Lady Angwin (Ind.),
Frederick Garrod (Lab.).Peartree Ward:
William H. Playle (Lab.),
Leonard O. Bowmer (Lab.),
Arthur Vickery (Lab.),
A. E. Luddington (Lab.),
J. McConalogue (Lab.),
H. Shepherd (Lab),
S. W. Palacio (Lab.),
D. H. Daines (Lab.).Clerk: B. H. Deamer.
Chief Financial Officer and Rating Officer: H. Willard.
Engineer and Surveyor: R. V. Scoffham.
Housing Manager: F. D. Matthews.
Sanitary Inspector: M. Stockdale.
Collecting Officer: J. W. Hooper.
General Rate in the £ for the current year: 19s. 0d.
Water Rate: 1s. 6d. in the £ on the net annual value of a dwelling house.Welwyn Garden City Limited
The Estate is owned by Welwyn Garden City Limited, which was formed in 1920 to acquire and develop the land for the town.
Directors:
Sir Theodore G. Chambers, K.B.E., F.S.I., J.P. (Chairman),
R. L. Reiss (Vice-Chairman),
C. E. Lumb,
Maj. Gen. J. Buckley, C.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.,
A. K. Graham,
L. T. M. Gray, Ph.D.,
J. F. Eccles, O.B.E., A.C.A. (Managing Director).Secretary and Estate Manager: F. M. Page.
Chief Executive Officer: H. T. Tigwell.
Social Development: Charles Dalton, M.A.
Chief Accountant: G. A. Floyd.
Consulting Architect: Louis de Soissons O.B.E., F.R.I.B.A., S.A.D.G.
Engineer: J. Skinner, A.M.INST.C.E.
Offices: Wigmores North, Welwyn Garden City.
Telephone: Welwyn Garden 3456.
Following this article is factual information under the following section headings:
Following the information section outlined above is a Directory of Roads [reproduced below] which gives, for each house in each road, starting with Applecroft Road and ending with Youngs Rise, the name of the head of the household. Finally there is a Directory of Residents which is a single alphabetic list of residents (heads of household) giving the street address of each one. These two directories together account for 162 of the 215 pages of the guide.
In the back of the guide is a large pull-out street map (20" by 14") of Welwyn Garden City.
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WGC street map 1948 |
The scan below shows the advertisement for Edwards Tailors of Howardsgate which
is inside the front cover of the guide. Despite what it says in this advertisement,
and despite the fact that the man there was a very nice man, boys did not like
being taken there by their mothers to select underpants and to be measured for
school blazers.
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Edward's Tailors old advertisement |
Directory of Roads
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Applecroft Road |
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