ABOUT THIS SITE
It is hoped that this site will provide, eventually, a complete directory of British garden suburbs, villages & estates. It will not offer comprehensive information on each one but is intended as a list with notes that may give direction for further research. It is envisaged that those interested in the garden suburb movement could, finding themselves in an unfamiliar area, look up any local suburbs. They will be catalogued by county in the DIRECTORY. An alphabetical list giving the county reference can be found in the INDEX. This site was first set up as a hobby by two GS enthusiasts. It is now managed on their behalf by The Brentham Society. There are a limited number of entries at this stage - it is a slow process but we are aiming to add more. We are inviting information about any garden suburb that can be put in the directory. If you know about one you would like to see included go to the CONTACTS page where there is a form to fill in with the information needed. It is hoped that as well as historic and established suburbs, the Directory will include new developments that embody the same ambitions. We try to be careful but if you spot any inaccuracy in the entries we would like to hear from you so that it can be corrected. |
WHAT IS A GARDEN SUBURB
The concept of planned garden communities grew out of the garden villages built at the end of the !8th century by wealthy landowners for their workers and tenants. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Garden Suburbs were developed to provide planned estates with a similar green rural character and amenities to the earlier model villages but located near enough to cities to provide transport links to industrial and commercial centres. The layout, architecture and landscaping was also greatly influenced by the Garden City pioneers, in particular the work of Ebenezer Howard and Parker & Unwin, although some garden city proponents disliked the concept of building suburbs and thereby enlarging the envelope of large towns. The Housing & Planning Act of 1909 allowed municipalities to develop plans for new suburbs and many more garden suburb projects to be started. Many of these are still attractive places to live with a sense of community and pride in their locality. Others have been subsumed or compromised by alteration, development or loss of the residents amenities. We would like to include these less successful suburbs in the Directory. Their history and condition is as important as that of the conserved suburbs so that lessons can be learned on how to develop, manage and maintain attractive places for living and how to avoid their destruction. |