Letchworth Garden City Visitors Guide (PDF 2.9MB)

Transcription

Letchworth
THE WORLD’S FIRST
Garden City
2
Front page: International Garden Cities Exhibition
Welcome to Letchworth
Since its creation in 1903
Letchworth Garden City has been
admired as the birthplace of an
idea that began a revolution in the
way we live.
It was based upon a simple, but at the
time, radical idea: to combine the
very best of town and country living.
poured their energy and creativity
into shaping the environment and
community which continue
to inspire and influence towns
and cities around the world.
The Best of Town and Country
4
Living History
8
Visitors walking around the town
can’t help but be struck by the way
the leafy avenues of attractive
homes with their large gardens,
almost merge with the town’s many
green open spaces.
Room to Breathe
12
History All Around
14
Town Map
18
Art and Ideas
20
Country Bound
24
Alongside the beauty of the parks
and surrounding open countryside
are the vibrant attractions of
town living.
Family Focus
26
A Vibrant Town
28
Fit and Active
30
This bold new Garden City concept
was a magnet for visionaries and
idealists from around the world,
who came to Letchworth and
Letchworth Garden City
Heritage Foundation
32
How to Get Here
35
Tourist Information Centre
35
For more information visit www.letchworthgc.com
3
THE BEST OF
town & country
Letchworth is a town where history and heritage
can be found on every corner, each telling a small
but crucial part of the fascinating Garden City story
that inspired the world
4
Howard Park and Gardens
It may look like a town that has
evolved over hundreds of years but
until the start of the last century
most of it was farmland. It was the
vision of one man, social reformer
Ebenezer Howard, that transformed
Letchworth into the vibrant and
attractive town you see today.
Sickened by the urban squalor of
Victorian England, Howard made it
his life’s work to create a town where
everyone could enjoy fresh air and
green spaces alongside the
amenities of modern living.
In his 1898 book, To-morrow:
A Peaceful Path to Real Reform
(republished as Garden Cities of
Tomorrow), he claimed marrying
the best of town and country would
create nothing less than “a new
hope, a new life, a new civilisation”.
With the help of like-minded
philanthropists and idealists,
Howard founded Letchworth
Garden City in 1903 to turn his
drawing board ideas into bricks
and mortar.
The town he built and the Garden
City Movement it inspired,
confounded critics and showed how
a well-planned town could enhance
well-being.
Having proved his model worked,
Howard’s ideas were soon inspiring
developments across the UK and
around the world.
Ebenezer Howard
Leys Avenue
5
Pioneering architects Barry Parker
and Raymond Unwin created a
master plan in which the town was
clearly laid out with distinct areas
for housing, shops, civic buildings,
parkland and industry.
Surrounding the town was to be a
ring of agricultural land to grow
food, which inspired the idea of the
Green Belt. The plan included
magnificent public parks and
private gardens, also large enough
to grow your own fruit and
vegetables.
from land held in Letchworth have
been reinvested into the town ever
since.
The modern incarnation of this
body is the Letchworth Garden
City Heritage Foundation, which
continues to invest locally into
healthcare, charities, education,
and social and sporting amenities.
The Foundation also has a heritage
role, maintaining the wonderful
Many homes’ designs were
influenced by the Arts and Crafts
movement, celebrating traditional
craftsmanship and the natural
beauty of materials aligned with folk
styles of decoration.
Howard also ensured the Garden
City estate would forever be held
in common for the good of all with
the creation of First Garden City
Limited, ensuring that the profits
Eastholm
6
Norton Common
open feel of the town and
protecting its picturesque homes
while at the same time making sure
the town evolves to meet the
changing needs of its residents.
Carefully protected over many
years, to nurture and develop those
founding ambitions, the town has
evolved into a living model for
Garden City principles.
Broadway
The Arcade
Broadway Cinema
Standalone Farm
7
LIVING
history
The story of the world’s first Garden City
and the movement is celebrated at the heart of town
8
Letchworth has inspired more than
40 other Garden Cities and New
Towns around the world with at least
one on every continent, from Brazil
to the US, South Africa to Australia.
Today the influence of Garden Cities
is greater than ever, and they are
once again at the heart of the debate
on creating new places where people
are happy to live.
This incredible global influence is
celebrated in the International
Garden Cities Exhibition, which
explores the history of the town, the
birth and growth of the Garden City
Movement, and the rich legacy
Letchworth has given to the world.
and Letchworth, the world’s first
Garden City.
The collection store is also an
academic study centre, open
by appointment to the local
community and researchers from
around the world, catering for the
growing interest in the Garden City.
Tours of the Collection are held on
the first Saturday of every month,
from 11am to 12.30pm. Numbers
are restricted so advance booking
is essential.
The International
Garden Cities
Exhibition
296 Norton Way South, SG6 1SU
Phone: 01462 476070
www.garden-cities-exhibition.com
The Garden City
Collection
Study Centre
Wilbury Hills Road, SG6 4LB
Phone: 01462 476075
www.gardencitycollection.com
The exhibition is sited in the former
drawing offices of Barry Parker, one
of Letchworth’s principal architects,
which was gifted to the town by his
family. It also celebrates the
campaigning work of Horace
Plinston, who saved the town from
rapacious speculators in the middle
of the last century.
It is open Friday and Saturday
(10am-5pm), or by appointment
during the week. The Curator also
runs free guided historial walking
tours each month, around some of
the highlights of the first Garden
City’s history.
International Garden Cities Exhibition
International Garden Cities Exhibition
Across town in the Garden City
Collection, visitors can see displays of
our art collection and beautiful Arts
and Crafts furniture, master plans,
and the many objects that tell the
story of Letchworth’s heritage and
social history.
Monthly tours are held offering
an overview of the 80,000 items
in the collection, which includes
architectural plans, photographs,
furniture and art works related
to the Garden City Movement
Garden City Collection
9
ROOM
to breathe
Few towns and cities in the world can boast
such a scale and variety of green open spaces
so close to the centre and homes
10
Broadway Gardens
Elegant public gardens, beautifully
landscaped parks and leafy
avenues, all key to the Garden City
vision of bringing the country into
the heart of the town, can be found
within easy walking distance of the
cultural and civic centre.
Norton Common, now a nature
reserve, has Green Flag status and
offers 63 glorious acres of unspoilt
grass and woodland as well as
leisure facilities such as tennis
courts, a bowling green, lido and
children’s play area.
Norton Common
The woods are a haven for birds
such as tawny owls, woodpeckers,
bullfinches and song thrushes.
You may even spot a Muntjac deer
or one of the town’s black squirrels,
first spotted in the UK on this
very common.
It’s a short walk from there to
Howard Park and Gardens, a
timeless park featuring beautiful
landscaped lawns, flower beds and
water features.
Perfect for youngsters, there’s also
a heritage trail, children’s play area,
paddling pool, refreshments and a
stage setting with banked seating
for events.
Built on a grand European scale,
Broadway is a broad tree-lined
boulevard, sweeping into the
heart of the town where it becomes
Broadway Gardens - a listed civic
garden and Letchworth’s cultural
hub. This is often the setting for
town events including open air
screenings, sports events and fairs.
11
There are also new community
gardens designed with the Royal
Horticultural Society, and built with
local volunteers, right in the heart of
the town. The showpiece gardens
illustrate exemplar techniques
and are the fruit of an exciting
partnership to inspire a wider love
of gardening.
They feature edible hedges, a
human sundial and model lowcost gardening for allotments, a
biodiversity garden with a focus
on encouraging wildlife and a
sustainable garden emphasising
organic gardening.
A further showcase garden is based
at Standalone Farm, having been
RHS In Bloom garden at Standalone Farm
12
on display at the RHS Hampton
Court Palace show. This garden
celebrates 50 years of the UK’s
biggest community gardening
campaign, RHS Britain in Bloom
and was designed by multi-RHS
Gold medal winner Jon Wheatley.
It charts the history of Britain in
Bloom and community gardening,
from the bedding plants popular
in the 1960s to sustainable
modern gardens.
Elsewhere, greens inspired by
English medieval villages can be
found in places such as Westholm,
once again seamlessly merging
homes with the green open spaces
for which Letchworth is famous.
Also worth a look…
The Greenway –
a wonderful walk
encircling the town where
it meets the country
(see page 24)
RHS Wynd Community Garden
13
HISTORY
all around
While it’s the beautiful landmark buildings
of the Garden City that initially catch the eye,
scratch beneath the surface and discover
Letchworth’s rich history from ancient churches
to the UK’s first roundabout
14
The Cloisters
Howgills Friends’ Meeting House
Letchworth was originally one of three local villages,
along with Willian and Norton, mentioned in the
Domesday Book.
All Saints Church in Willian is a Grade II* Listed building
with intricate gargoyles on the tower that has been
serving its community for more than 900 years. The
nearby St Mary the Virgin Church dates back to the 12th
century while St Nicholas Church, Norton, features a
Norman arch and bells which have rung for centuries.
New churches were added to these as the Garden
City grew. Built as the meeting house for the Society of
Friends (Quakers), Howgills Friends’ Meeting House has
at its heart a grand wooden-panelled meeting room
with an integral musicians’ gallery. It opened in 1907,
and today Howgills is still a place of worship and home
to a range of local organisations and activities.
Barry Parker designed the Letchworth Free Church
in the centre of the town. Built in 1923, it has a more
classical style than his earlier Arts and Crafts designs,
and was the first church built in the new Garden City.
Exhibition Cottages
15
Founding architects Parker and
Unwin were passionate exponents
of the Arts and Crafts movement,
which celebrated traditional
craftsmanship. Their legacy can be
seen in the many different types of
buildings around the town from
imposing bespoke homes to
lovingly crafted cottages. Getting
up close really pays dividends as
the creativity and care put into the
design of small details of features
like windows and doors is revealed.
16
The Spirella Building
Shortly after the birth of the Garden
City, Letchworth was home to two
exhibitions of experimental housing
in 1905 and 1907. Early pioneers
of the Ideal Home shows, the
exhibitions drew architects from
across the country tasked with
creating cottages of imaginative
designs that cost no more than £150.
Today 181, almost all of the Exhibition
Cottages can still be seen.
Nearby is The Settlement, created
as a temperance pub with no beer.
Designed by Parker and Unwin and
opened in 1907 as The Skittles Inn,
the idea was fairly short-lived.
In 1925 it became an adult education
centre, a role it continues to this
day, offering courses in everything
from fine art to upholstery, French
to local history. It is also home to a
small theatre company.
The town’s first public building was
the Mrs Elizabeth Howard Memorial
Hall. It was paid for by public
subscription in memory of
Ebenezer Howard’s first wife, who
died in 1904, shortly after the First
Garden City was inaugurated.
One of the town’s more unusual
buildings is The Cloisters, designed
in 1907 by Harrison Cowlishaw to
fulfill a dream of philanthropist
Annie Lawrence. She wanted to
create an open-air school for the
study of Psychology, it soon
became base for a small
community dedicated to the
philosophy of Theosophy.
Today it is maintained as a Masonic
centre and open to the public on
selected days. It has been
designated as one of the great
historic buildings of the county.
beauty, which is a testament to
the enlightened employers the
town attracted.
A more unusual landmark is
Sollershott Circus, which is not a
building but the UK’s first ever
roundabout. Positioned halfway
along the impressive Broadway, it
was built in 1909 and was the first
‘gyratory traffic flow system’ when
cars were in their infancy.
Nothing was too good for the
company’s ‘Healthy Happy
Workers’ with a ballroom, now
lovingly restored, provided for
employees to dance and socialise,
as well as a gym and baths. Today
this Grade II* Listed building is
home to offices, hosts weddings
and the magnificent ballroom is
available for private hire.
Perhaps the jewel in Letchworth’s
architectural crown is the
imposing Spirella Building, created
between 1912 and 1920
for the eponymous corset
company. Architect Cecil Hignett
was commissioned to design a
state-of-the art factory of great
It is a shining example of the
combination of ambition and
altruism that continues to be
Letchworth’s hallmark.
The Settlement
17
Norton Common
Outdoor Swimming Pool
The Spirella Building
Some of the
Exhibition cottages
The Settlement
Railway Station
The Arcade
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
The Wynd
13 Mrs Elizabeth Howard Memorial Hall
12 Broadway Cinema
11 Garden Square
Shopping Centre
10 Leys Square
9
8
18 International Garden
Cities Exhibition
17 Broadway Gardens
16 Library
15 Old Town Hall
14 Goldsmith Centre,
North Hertfordshire College
letchworth garden city
B
Car Park
Toilets all with
disabled facilities
Willian Arboretum
Wymondley Wood
E
Standalone Farm
Norton Pond
Radwell Meadows
The Garden City Greenway
rings the town
D
C
A
21 The Cloisters
Local and Tourist
Information Centre
20 Sollershott Circus
Inset
19 Howgills Friends’
Meeting House
ARTS
& ideas
As well as providing a wonderful environment.
Letchworth has always considered a rich cultural life
crucial for wellbeing
20
Broadway Cinema
From its earliest days, the
utopian principles of Letchworth
Garden City attracted and
inspired artists from across
all the creative disciplines.
Sir John Betjeman immortalised
the town in verse not once but
twice in ‘Huxley Hall’ and ‘Group
Life: Letchworth’ where he
observed “the carefree children
sported in the summer haze. And
released their inhibitions in a
hundred different ways”.
The town was also once home to
Laurence Olivier, who made one of
his earliest stage appearances at
St Christopher’s School, as Lennox
in Macbeth.
Every June the two-week Letchworth
Festival includes a great variety of
music, dance and fun events for all
ages as well as a film festival.
Company and the Exhibition
on Screen, as well as live events
with comedians, authors and
theatre groups.
The developing Cultural Quarter
around Broadway Gardens
includes a school of creative
enterprise and the beautiful
Art Deco Broadway Cinema.
The success of live screenings and
events has inspired plans to adapt
the main screen to become a
theatre space for large touring
theatre companies, music and
comedy as well as films. It’s
scheduled to open in 2016.
First opened in 1936, the four-screen
cinema evokes the Golden Age of
Hollywood and offers much more
than the traditional blockbuster
repertoire. It shows mainstream
and art house cinema and live
streams of performances from
the Royal Opera House, National
Theatre, Royal Shakespeare
The four-screen cinema found the
tables turned when it featured with
other Garden City landmarks in the
Simon Pegg-Nick Frost film, The
World’s End.
Artist Spencer Gore lived in Wilbury
Way and painted many landscapes
here, while writer John Buchan,
author of ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’,
was another resident. His novel
‘Mr Standfast’ is partly set in a
town modelled on Letchworth
Garden City.
In recent years the Heritage
Foundation has adopted an
ambitious artistic and cultural
programme to better reflect the
Garden City’s founding principles.
Today the Garden City cultural
programme encompasses visits
by international opera singers,
musicians, dancers, actors,
authors and artists.
Maxim Rysanov and Alexander Sitkovetsky
in concert at Spirella Ballroom
Photo by Pavel Kazhevnikov
A cultural strategy has been
created to bring the arts into
residents’ day-to-day lives,
covering everything from classical
music to comedy, immersive
experiences to the visual arts,
ensuring that all ages and interests
are catered for.
21
Innovative theatre
Nearby, Letchworth Arts Centre
offers exciting exhibitions, live
shows, comedy, and arts related
courses for children and adults.
Its eclectic range includes dance,
drama, music, comedy, visual arts
and the spoken word. It also puts
on larger productions at other
venues around town including
Standalone Farm and the Spirella
Ballroom.
The town also hosts studios for
emerging artists run by Digswell
Arts Trust. The artists, who are
based in the old Fenners building in
the Wynd, hold regular exhibitions
of their work, which ranges from
sculpture to painting, book-making
and design.
Digswell Arts Trust exhibition
They also run workshops open
to all ages and abilities, an amazing
opportunity to learn skills from
talented experts. These workshops
also offer a chance to try many
different arts and crafts such as
printmaking, glass etching, jewellery
design and painting.
A taste of Italy
22
Broadway Cinema
Art house cinema, blockbuster
films, and live screenings from the
Royal Opera House, National
Theatre, Royal Academy of Arts
and more. Plus live lectures, and a
kids club. A new theatre is also
planned here. Open 7 days a week.
Eastcheap, SG6 3DD
www.broadway-cinema.com
Letchworth Arts
Centre
Offers a diverse and exciting
programme including exhibitions,
live music, theatre and dance.
2, The Arcade, SG6 3EW
www.letchwortharts.org
David’s Bookshop
Something of a focal point of
community life since 1963, the
independent bookshop hosts
regular talks by authors as well as
live music.
Eastcheap, SG6 3DE
www.davidsbookshops.co.uk
Digswell Arts Trust
Town centre studios for emerging
artists who hold regular exhibitions
and workshops open to all ages
and abilities. Run by the Digswell
Arts Trust.
7 Openshaw Way, SG6 3EN
www.digswellartstrust.com
Exhibition at The Cloisters
Dining out
There is an interesting range
of food on offer in the heart of
Letchworth Garden City, from
Thai to traditional English, Tapas
and Italian.
The Cultural Quarter around
Broadway Gardens is also home
to wonderful restaurants, cafes
and bars for those who want to
enjoy a full evening out.
There are a lovely range of country
pubs that ring the town, offering
food from award-winning fine
dining to relaxed family fare.
With new restaurants opening
regularly we’ve decided not to
try to list them all but do ask at
the Tourist Information Centre for
information, or just follow
your nose.
23
COUNTRY
bound
Within minutes of the town centre
the 13-mile Greenway allows visitors to explore
the glorious countryside that surrounds
the world’s first Garden City
24
The Greenway
Perfect for a leisurely country stroll
or cycle ride, the Garden City
Greenway trail leads through
woodland and ponds, farmland
and orchards.
The Greenway completely encircles
the town, so you can discover the
country without ever straying far
from the town. It offers various
options of where to begin and end
your journey, with free car parks at
strategic points.
The Greenway was a one million
pound project funded by the
Heritage Foundation, to act as a
permanent commemoration of
Letchworth Garden City’s first
centenary in 2003.
The full length of the Garden City
Greenway can now be used by all,
including disabled users, following
the surfacing of the last section of
the route.
It offers great stopping points along
the way, including the Greenway
Café at Standalone Farm, the
much-loved farm attraction
which makes for an ideal day
out for all the family.
The café offers a range of delicious
food and drink throughout the day,
from light lunches to coffee and
cake, and you don’t have to be
visiting the farm to use it.
To the north of the town the
beautiful Radwell Meadows is the
perfect place to begin your
exploration of The Greenway with
its award-winning children’s play
area, picnic tables and free parking.
Nearby Norton Pond is a magnet
for wildlife including: a wide variety
of bird species; newts; dragonflies;
three-spined sticklebacks;
common frogs and toads; pond
skaters and crustaceans.
Walking clockwise round The
Greenway you’ll come to the
historic village of Willian, one of
the original three villages which
became Letchworth Garden City.
Willian still retains its village feel with
its award-winning country pub, The
Fox, overlooking the duck pond.
The nearby Willian Arboretum is
home to more than 30 varieties
of trees and next to the majestic
Manor Wood, where you can picnic
in beautiful surroundings and pick
apples during the harvest season.
At the southernmost tip of The
Greenway is Wymondley Wood, a
fascinating educational woodland
area. It features existing and newly
planted forests, plus a special
nature conservation and field
study area.
For a detailed Greenway
information leaflet with map,
please contact the Tourist
Information Centre or visit
www.greenway.org.uk
where you can download
the Garden City Greenway
iPhone app.
It is also available free
from the iTunes store.
Willian Pond
25
FAMILY
friendly
As you’d expect in a town with such a strong
sense of community, Letchworth Garden City
is the perfect place for families,
with activities and attractions for all ages
26
Standalone Farm
For kids (and grown-ups) who are
animal lovers, Standalone Farm has
everything from alpacas to spring
lambs, shire horses, playful goats,
rabbits, a bull, geese, piglets and
even a pair of friendly donkeys.
There are activities every day
including the chance to bottle
feed lambs in spring, groom ponies,
help feed the pigs, watch milking
demonstrations and then practise
on a model cow, as well as tractor
trailer rides.
The idyllic farm walk takes you past
paddocks, grazing fields and ducks
paddling happily in Pix Brook,
offering the chance to observe
the farmer and his team driving
tractors, tending animals and other
aspects of life on a traditional
working farm.
Greenway Café offers simple family
lunches as well as drinks and snacks
throughout the day. Plus there are
picnic and play areas, ride-on toys
and a delightful model railway.
Howard Park and Gardens is perfect
for youngsters, with a heritage trail,
children’s play area, paddling pool
with play fountains, refreshments
and a stage setting with banked
seating for events. There are flat
paths around the park, and
disabled parking and toilets.
Not far from the town centre on the
edge of Norton Common is the
historic heated lido, Letchworth
Outdoor Pool. Set in lawned
gardens with plenty of space for
sunbathing, picnics and play, the
lido features an Olympic sized
(50metre) pool alongside a
toddlers’ pool, as well as a café
for refreshments. As at the farm,
parking here is free.
Also worth a look is the Kids’ Club at
Broadway Cinema on weekend
mornings, with tickets starting at £1,
and our great range of sports clubs
and facilities (See page 30).
Standalone
Farm
Open March to October.
Wilbury Road, SG6 4JN
www.standalonefarm.com
Letchworth
Outdoor Pool
Built in 1935 this 50-metre pool
also offers a sunbathing area,
toddler pool, refreshments and
snacks, inflatables, floats and
free car parking.
Open May to September
Icknield Way, SG6 4UF
www.stevenage-leisure.co.uk
Dot to Dot
Gallery
Run by arts and enterprise
charity Rhapsode, the gallery
has resident artists, offers
workshops and events,
children’s storytelling sessions
and an in-house craft café.
6-8 The Wynd, SG6 3EN
www.rhapsode.org.uk
LETCHWORTH
ARTS CENTRE
Offers a great range of after
school and holiday activities
from children’s theatre to art
and drama classes, and
a wonderful in-house cafe.
Standalone Farm
2, The Arcade, SG6 3EW
www.letchwortharts.org
27
A VIBRANT
town
The people of Letchworth need little excuse to come
together as a community, whether it’s the town’s
spring and summer festivals, exhibitions, arts events
or family fun and visitors are always welcome
28
The Wynd
Every summer the Letchworth
Festival offers a fantastic
programme of music, dance, sport,
guided walks, film, theatre and
family fun culminating in the hugely
popular Proms in the Park.
The two-week community festival
encompasses an open art show,
film festival, sporting challenges,
plus tours of the town’s iconic
buildings and parks, and much
more besides.
The festival also includes a concert
by the Letchworth Sinfonia and
showcases the talents of the
town’s gifted community groups.
Quality of life and socialising were
celebrated from the town’s
inception and today it is home
to hundreds of different clubs
and societies.
The Letchworth Arts and Leisure
Group is the umbrella for many, and
offers everything from Argentine
Tango dancing to social cycling and
wine appreciation.
In May, Letchworth Food and
Garden Festival is a chance to
sample the best food from the
region and around the world,
watch top chefs give culinary
masterclasses and shop for
exquisite treats to take home.
Visitors can also learn about
seasonal produce and how to
grow their own sensational feasts
from scratch.
In the autumn, the Fire and Fright
festival brings wonderful art events
inspired by Halloween and Bonfire
Night, with free family arts
workshops running alongside it.
Letchworth’s original independent
spirit still thrives and can be
found in the town centre, with its
many specialist shops selling
everything from rare books and fine
art to artisan pastries and
collectable curios.
Built in 1922, The Arcade is
a great place to hunt out arts
and exhibitions, and browse for
something special. Under its glass
roof you can find our Arts Centre,
contemporary silver jewellers, a
glassware store, a knitting and
sewing shop and much more.
Nearby, The Wynd offers even
more individual and idiosyncratic
galleries and shops.
Leys Avenue offers high street
stores, fine art galleries and gift
shops, florists and food shops and
hosts the monthly Farmers’
Markets. Garden Square Shopping
Centre, which leads off Leys Square,
has all the High Street favourites,
from clothes shops to chemists, as
well as a monthly Craft Fair.
Meanwhile Eastcheap and Arena
Parade are great for all the
essentials of life with boutiques,
cafes, stationers and an
independent music and bookshop.
The Tourist Information Centre
keeps a rolling calendar of
events on our website at
www.letchworthgc.com/whats_on
29
FIT AND
active
Inspired by the founding principles
of keeping residents active, Letchworth offers an array
of sporting and leisure facilities from golf courses and tennis
clubs to bowling greens and a healthy living centre
30
Letchworth Golf Club
For the more experienced golfer
Letchworth Golf Club is one of the
county’s finest 18-hole courses,
set in wonderful parkland. Nearby
Letchworth Par 3 Family Golf
Centre is a relaxed and informal
golf club that caters to beginners
and families.
A challenging, undulating circuit
which draws hundreds of runners,
the race starts and finishes at
Standalone Farm. There’s always
a great atmosphere and
wonderful community support
to see you through.
Set around an idyllic wooded
courtyard, Letchworth Centre for
Healthy Living offers yoga and
pilates, Tai Chi and dance, alongside
children’s classes, complementary
therapies and workshops. It is also
home to a great café offering
homemade vegetarian cooking from
seasonal and locally sourced foods.
The town boasts a 50-metre
heated outdoor pool, on the edge
of the green haven Norton
Common. There is a separate
toddlers pool, inflatables and floats,
plus a large grassed sunbathing
area and raised poolside terrace
as well as a refreshment kiosk.
It is open seven days a week in
the summer months.
Another great draw, for fun runners
and serious athletes alike, is the
annual autumn North Herts Road
Runners’ Standalone 10K, which
offers a chance to run rings around
Letchworth Garden City.
Nearby North Herts Leisure Centre
has an indoor pool with wave
machine and slide, as well a
gymnasium and sports hall used
for everything from racquet sports
to roller skating.
Letchworth
Golf Club
Letchworth Lane, SG6 3NQ
www.letchworthgolfclub.com
Letchworth
Par 3 Family
Golf Centre
Willian Way, SG6 2HJ
www.letchworthpar3.co.uk
Letchworth
Centre for
Healthy Living
Hitchin Road, SG6 3NA
www.letchworthcentre.com
North Herts
Leisure Centre
Has an indoor pool with wave
machine and slide, fitness suites
and courts for hire for everything
from badminton to roller skating,
basketball and trampolining.
Baldock Road, SG6 2ER
www.stevenage-leisure.co.uk
Teamworks
Karting
Indoor go-kart racing on a huge
550m indoor circuit, offering
races for one to 100 drivers.
Pixmore Avenue, SG6 1JS
www.teamworkskarting.com/
letchworth
Letchworth Sports
and Tennis Club
Indoor and outdoor tennis
courts, with squash, badminton,
gym and croquet facilities.
Plus café and licensed bar.
Muddy Lane, SG6 3TB
www.letchworth-tennis.co.uk
Standalone 10k
31
LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation is a self-funding
charitable organisation dedicated to maintaining and enhancing
the world’s first Garden City
We help to make Letchworth a
stimulating place to live and work
with a thriving and engaged
community, maintaining the
unique architectural and cultural
character of the town to ensure it
continues to inspire those seeking
to create spaces that combine the
best of town and country.
32
We support, fund and promote
activities for the people of
Letchworth Garden City, with
everything driven by our charitable
commitments to Environment and
Heritage; Recreation and Leisure;
Education and Learning; Health
and Wellbeing; Charities and
Charitable Activities.
Under these headings we run and
fund: a historic art deco Cinema,
Broadway Cinema; a community
hub; a treatment centre; a 13 mile
Garden City Greenway path around
the town; the International Garden
Cities Exhibition, Garden City
Collection, community gardens,
an arts centre; a minibus service;
a Shopmobility service; a
community farm; the Local and
Tourist Information Centre and a
world class cultural programme.
Grants are also given to local
individuals, sports clubs, community
groups and charities to fund a vast
range of activities. We also operate
a “Scheme of Management” to
preserve the architectural
appearance and character of
the world’s first Garden City.
All our activity is driven by the
desire to further our contribution
to the town and its people and
promote the Garden City movement.
We put Letchworth’s residents and
organisations at the centre of all
work, ensuring our commercial
activity is used to make Letchworth
a unique place to live and work.
We seek to create an environment
that encourages businesses to thrive
and grow in the town, stimulating
prosperity and creating jobs.
As the world’s first Garden City
we continue to be an international
blueprint for a way of living that
has inspired developments across
the world. The International
Garden Cities Exhibition is a
unique attraction accessible
to anyone interested in the
Garden City movement.
Find out more about the
work of the Letchworth
Garden City Heritage
Foundation on our website
www.letchworth.com/
heritage-foundation
RHS Wynd Community Garden
33
How we work
We manage our assets to generate
income which we then invest into
the community and infrastructure
of the Garden City.
Population: 33,249
Households: 13,990
When First Garden City Limited was
created in 1903 to build Letchworth
Garden City the company was
gifted commercial land and
property; the profits from which
have been reinvested back into
the town ever since.
We now actively manage these and
other assets to maximise revenue
so we can then invest the funds into
a wide range of charitable activities
in the town.
A Board of volunteer Trustees
establishes strategy and considers
and approves policy. Governors are
drawn from the community, some
are appointed because of the skills
they have, and others are elected
by the residents and organisations
of Letchworth Garden City. They
represent the views of the town,
working with and engaging local
people.
Age ranges
(national average in brackets)
0-15 19.64% (18.91%)
16-24 9.88% (11.85%)
25-44 25.78% (27.53%)
45-64 25.87% (25.37%)
65-90+ 18.84% (16.33%)
Education
5,213 school pupils
11 primary schools
3 secondary schools
2 independent schools
1 pupil referral unit
1 special needs academy
Employment & Commercial
Whole town:
Number of employees: 14,700
Employment land:
100.5 ha (248 acres)
No of business premises: 777
Business Sectors:
21% Distribution,
22% Manufacturing and
57% Services
Housing
Average house price 2014:
£260,000
Social housing 32% (18.5% in
England as a whole)
Learning Barn at Standalone Farm
Heritage
Foundation
Key Facts
Letchworth Estate:
5,500 acres/2,225 ha
Our Foundation portfolio:
185,567 sq ft of offices (23% of our
portfolio), 181 industrial units (61%)
and more than 100 shops (16%). Ernest Gardiner Treatment Centre
Rural Estate:
1214 ha/3,000 acres
Greenway: 21.8 km /13.6 miles
Commercial Farm land:
906 ha /2241 acres
Foundation average Income:
Total annual income: £9,800,000
Charitable Activities spend:
£4,800,000 a year on average
34
A Residential Street
the tourist information centre
Your first port of call on arrival in the world’s first Garden City. The awardwinning Tourist Information Centre, owned and managed by the Letchworth
Garden City Heritage Foundation, is located in the heart of the town centre
at the entrance to The Arcade, just two minutes walk from the railway
station. It is a Visit Britain Official partner and offers:
• An extensive collection of information, leaflets and guides,
including an historic map and walking guide, and cycle routes.
• Tickets for some local events and festivals.
• An accommodation guide
A small memento
of your visit…
A range of Letchworth
Garden City souvenirs and
literature is available for
sale at the Tourist
Information Centre.
• Regional and national travel and tourism information
You can also order online
at www.letchworthgc.com
or by telephone on
• A free Shopmobility scheme, aiding residents and visitors
with mobility difficulties.
+44 (0)1462 487868
• Local event listings
Letchworth Garden City Tourist Information Centre,
33-35 Station Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 3BB.
Tel: +44 (0)1462 487868 Email: [email protected]
Open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4.30pm.
Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays.
how to get here
By Road
Letchworth Garden City is in North
Hertfordshire, 38 miles from the
heart of London. Just 5 minutes
from Junction 9 and 10 of the A1(M)
and a short drive from Luton and
Junction 10 of the M1.
Nottingham
M54
Birmingham
By Rail
Fast services from London
King’s Cross take 25 minutes to
Letchworth Garden City Station;
or 30 minutes from Cambridge.
By Bus
There are regular bus services
to the Garden City’s rural and
residential areas as well as
local towns, such as Hitchin
and Baldock, and airports.
M6
Upon Avon
M1
M40 Milton
Oxford
Keynes
Stevenage
Ipswich
A1(M)
M11
M40
Bristol
Cambridge
M1
LONDON M25
M4
By Air
London Luton and Stansted
are within easy driving distance,
London Heathrow a little further.
Great
Yarmouth
Peterborough
Letchworth
Garden City
M5 Stratford
M5
Cardiff
Norwich
Leicester
M3
Southend-on-Sea
M25
Dover
Folkstone
Bournemouth
Portsmouth
35
Published by Letchworth Garden
City Heritage Foundation.
The Heritage Foundation runs
a range of visitor attractions as
charitable services, from country
walkways and farms, to a cinema,
arts centre and exhibition.
It stewards the Letchworth Garden
City estate and invests profits in
heritage, healthcare, charities,
education and social amenities for
all, helping ensure the town thrives
as a living model for Garden City
Principles.
www.letchworthgc.com
www.twitter.com/letchworth_tic

Letchworth Garden City Visitors Guide (PDF 2.9MB)

Transcription

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