WELWYN GARDEN CITY

'Welwyn Garden City' is a town (not a city) in Hertfordshire, England. Welwyn Garden City, or traditionally 'Welwyn Garden' (and more recently 'the WG') to its residents, is also referred to in Council parlance as 'WGC' or, somewhat incorrectly, "Welwyn". This can cause confusion as the village of Welwyn actually lies a few kilometres to the northwest of WGC. The town along with Welwyn village is fairly affluent.
The principal historic significance of the town lies in its planning. It is an example of the physical, social and cultural ideals of the period in which it was conceived. In planning terms its significance is global, attracting visitors from around the world.
The visual amenity within the town centre is dominated by the central mall or ''scenic parkway'', almost a mile long.

Contents

History

Industry

Interesting Facts

People

Popular culture

References

See also

External links

History

Welwyn Garden City, as its name suggests, is a garden city, founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the 1920s following his previous experiment in Letchworth Garden City, and designed by Louis de Soissons. Howard had called for the creation of new towns - of limited size, planned in advance and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land - as a role model for lower-density urban development. Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature.
Welwyn Garden City has, since local government reorganisation, been part of the greater Welwyn Hatfield District. While Hatfield has retained its own town council (albeit limited in responsibilities), Welwyn Garden City has not, and its position within the District is anomalous since the village of Welwyn also has its own parish council. However, there are indications that a change could be on the way with the establishment of Welwyn Garden City Council, so returning individuality and Garden City civic identity to the town.
One of the lesser known ideas of the city's architects was that all citizens of the town would shop in the same shop. Thus the Welwyn Store was established as a central landmark on the 'Campus' (a centrally-located green semi-circular area in the town). Commercial pressures have ensured much more competition and variety since, and the Welwyn Department Store is now part of the John Lewis Partnership group of stores.
In November 2006, a Japanese building company, NSCP, visited the town, were given a guided tour by the WGC society, and were so impressed that they decided to name a new 144-house development near Tokyo "Welwyn Garden Village".

Industry

Welwyn Garden City is well known by avid readers of the side of breakfast cereal boxes in Britain as the town where Shredded Wheat and Shreddies are made, at the former Nabisco factory (now part of Nestlé). The factory is due to close within the next few years, as Nestlé says that the current site is too small, and that production should be moved to Wiltshire.
One company that seems to be committed to Welwyn Garden City is Tesco, which has a substantial head office site in the north of the town (The company's main headquarters are in Cheshunt). The former supermarket chain Fine Fare (now part of Somerfield) had its head office in the town at one time.
Welwyn Garden City has a strong commercial base bringing much employment to the area with companies such as Xerox, Roche, Vega Group, Schering-Plough, Carl Zeiss, Danish Bacon (DBC foodservice), IBM, PayPoint, Threshers Group, Baxter, Argos Direct, British Lead Mills, Welwyn Tool Group (former Welwyn Tool Company) and many more.
ICI Paints and Textiles used to be in Welwyn Garden City until the early 1990s.
The NHS accident and emergency hospital, the QE2, is now getting on in terms of age and image. A new hospital was proposed and almost approved in nearby Hatfield, at a cost of more than £300 million but the local trust could not afford it financially. The new hospital was to have had a state of the art cancer department and equipment.

Interesting Facts

★ The dry weather ski slope sport of Lidding was founded in Welwyn Garden City's Gosling Sports Park the home of a very sucessful ski race team, Welwyn Race Squad.

★ The Boulting Brothers' crime classic Brighton Rock starring Richard Attenborough was made at Associated British Picture Corporation's Welwyn Garden City Studios.

★ The BBC TV series ''Superstars'' was filmed on location in Welwyn Garden City throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

★ The main shopping centre is known as The Howard Centre, after Sir Ebenezer Howard.^[2] The centre also forms part of Welwyn Garden City railway station.

★ Until a mistake in 2005, there were no street names with the word "street" in the town.

★ An independent music store, City Sounds, was listed number 8 in the Top 10 independent stores in the country.

★ In recent times the town has held occasional French, German and Italian markets, and a more diverse European market.

★ Ebenezer Howard planted an apple tree in the garden of every original house.

★ The former SAS patrol member Rob M (pseudonym 'Dinger') belonging to the famous Bravo Two Zero team with Andy McNab, currently resides near Welwyn Garden City.

★ In 1929 Sir Henry Birkin built the first supercharged "Blower Bentley" at his engineering works in Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City. His famous record breaking red single seater Blower Bentley was also built and maintained at the works and took the Brooklands lap record to 137.96 mph in 1932 with Birkin at the wheel. The record stood for another two years before being beaten by John Cobb in his Napier Railton.

★ Following the establishment of Letchworth Garden City and prior to the commencement of Welwyn Garden City, Ebenezer Howard wrote "''A city will arise as superior in its beauty and magnificence to our first crude attempt as the finished canvas of a great artist to the rough and untaught attempts of a schoolboy."''

★ George Bernard Shaw, a close friend and supporter of Howard, gave him the nickname ''Ebenezer the Garden City Geyser'', in recognition of Howard's continual 'spouting forth' on the advantages of Garden City living.

★ In 1948 The Times Newspaper printed the statement that "''Welwyn Garden City made The New Towns Act possible.''"

★ Welwyn Garden City has the unique distinction of being ''both'' Garden City ''and'' New Town.

★ The town has its own exclusive environmental protection legislation - ''The Scheme of Management for Welwyn Garden City''.

★ Cambridge professor of architecture Andrew Saint has commented "''Welwyn Garden City is one of modern Europe's greatest success stories in town-making.''"

★ The problems of metropolitan and regional development and urban sprawl, and the need for harmony and ecology are prompting a current resurgance of interest in the ''Garden City ethos'' and the kinds of neighbourhoods and communities Howard advocated.^[3]

★ Fans of computer game Midtown Madness 2 have recreated the city, featuring its bus station and buses.

★ The World Champion Lofty B resides in WGC

★ There is a John Lewis Department Store located in the town centre of WGC

★ In November 2006, a Japanese building company, NSCP, visited the town, were given a guided tour by the WGC society, and were so impressed that they decided to name a new 144-house development near Tokyo, "Welwyn Garen Village".(Source, 'This is Hertfordshire')

People

Famous former and current Welwyn Garden City residents include ;

★ Sir Ebenezer Howard father of the Garden City and founder of the Town and Country Planning Association, ''Guessens Road''.

★ Nick Faldo, golfer, ''Sherrardspark Road''.

★ David James - Portsmouth and England Goalkeeper was born in WGC.

★ Sir Frederic Osborn champion of the New Towns and chairman of the Town & Country Planning Association, ''Guessens Road''.

★ Sir Theodore Chambers chairman of Welwyn Garden City Limited, ''Guessens Road''.

★ Louis de Soissons architect of the town, ''Guessens Road and High Oaks''.

★ Dame Flora Robson stage and screen actress, ''Handside Lane''.

★ 'Dinger' of SAS Bravo Two Zero fame, Welwyn.

★ Lisa Sheridan royal photographer, ''Parkway''.

★ S
★ M
★ A
★ S
★ H

★ The Subways

★ Glyn Maxwell (poet/playwright)

★ Lisa Snowdon (model)

★ Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones

★ Mark Halsey (FIFA referee)

★ Alesha Dixon (ex-band member of Mis-Teeq fame)

★ Russell Bowden Stefan Edberg Disabled Sportsmanship of the Year Award.

★ John Eddowes (author)

Popular culture

References to Welwyn Garden City occur in popular culture, typically in a humorous context on account of its long and peculiar sounding name, or as an example of a typical suburban commuter town. Examples include ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' by George Orwell, as well as a sketch in Alas Smith and Jones. It is also mentioned in the shows Porridge, as the place where the prison psychiatrist worked previously to Slade Prison, and Strange, where Canon Black refers to a seedy nightclub as making "Sodom and Gomorrah look like Welwyn Garden City". Singer/Songwriter Edwyn Collins released a tribute to the town as a B-side to his UK Top 40 single, "The Magic Piper Of Love".

References

1. Office for National Statistics, 2001 Census, Key statitistics for HCC settlements Usual resident populations
2. " Welwyn Garden City" Welwyn and Hatfield Times
3. Schuyler, David: "Garden City to Green City" ''(Schuyler is Shadek Professor of Humanities and Professor of American Studies)''

See also

★ Welywn Garden City Football Club

★ Garden city movement

★ Ciudad Jardin, Buenos Aires

★ Howard Centre

★ Welwyn RFC

External links

★ Welwyn Roman Baths

★ Campus West Library

★ The Welwyn Garden Heritage Trust