Hampstead Garden Suburb: Arts and Crafts Utopia?

Hampstead Garden Suburb, described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as 'the most nearly perfect example of the unique English invention ...the Garden Suburb', celebrates its centenary in 2007. Founded by Dame Henrietta Barnett, after a long campaign to protect the open land north of Hampstead Heath from indiscriminate development, the Suburb was planned by Raymond Unwin. Edwin Lutyens was responsible for the Central Square with its twin churches and institute. Unwin, with his partner Barry Parker, had recently planned Letchworth, the first garden city, while Lutyens, after a decade of designing country houses, was anxious to participate in the 'high game' of classical architecture and civic design. Their work on the Suburb is a unique blend of informality and meticulously detailed Queen Anne and Georgian style. Life in the Garden Suburb's early days was seen as idyllic in many ways, and was protected by active residents' groups. A more commercial approach evolved during the inter-war period, when the Suburb's tranquillity was shattered by the Barnet bypass, now the A1, and extensive damage was sustained in the Second World War. The post-war period was dominated by the takeover of the original Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust and the sale of its assets. Following residents' action, the Trust was reconstituted and today continues to administer what is designated an 'outstanding' conservation area. Affluence, too, has brought problems, such as the pressure to redevelop modest homes into 'superhouses'. In this new edition of the definitive account of the Suburb, architectural and planning achievements are set in context, both historically and socially. The author, an authority on the subject, paints a vivid picture of both the vision and reality of 'Henrietta's Dream'. Beyond its interest to architectural historians and town planners, the wealth of illustrations will ensure enduring popularity of the book among residents, past and present.