Welwyn Garden City Online is a local Directory for Welwyn Garden City and the surrounding areas.The directory includes local businesses and local information.Welwyn Garden City was built soon after the first world war by Sir Ebenezer Howard (1850 to 1928) founder of the garden city movement. The first houses were occupied in 1920. Howard's concept was to create 'satellite' towns to help ease poor and overcrowded living conditions in London. His plan was to establish Welwyn Garden City as a town with its own public services, shopping amenities, good housing and places of employment. People moving here would enjoy working and living within easy reach of the countryside and have their own garden and open space. The design for the town was by architect Louis de Soissons and the town planer for Welwyn Garden City was Sir Fredric Osborn. All of these men lived in Welwyn Garden city and their house are commemorated by a blue plaques.

The man behind the birth of the Garden City movement was born in Fore Street in the City of London, the son of a shopkeeper.

 

In 1899 he founded the Garden Cities Association, now known as the Town and Country Planning Association. His first Garden City was Letchworth Garden City, a suburban garden city north of London. A second garden city, Welwyn Garden City, was started after World War I. To this end Howard acquired the land for Welwyn Garden City shortly after Letchworth was started. He moved to Welwyn Garden City in 1921 where he had begun his second Garden City, Welwyn Garden City. He remained in Welwyn Garden City until his death on May 1st, 1928 after being diagnosed as suffering from a chest infection and stomach cancer in March. A Blue plaque was erected in his honour on his house in Guessens Road, Welwyn Garden City, Herts. Howard was Knighted in the New Years honours for 1927.

Louis de Siossons worked for a company called the ‘Practise’ whose first commission was the Garden City, Welwyn Garden city in Herts. He was appointed architect for Welwyn garden City in 1920. and lived in Welwyn Garden City from 1925 to 1937.

He has a commemorative plaque on his house in Welwyn Garden City where he lived for 12 years the location is Guessens Road Welwyn Garden City.

Sir Frederic James Osborn (1885-1978) was a leading member of the UK Garden city movement which helped to build Welwyn Garden City, Herts and was chairman of the Town and Country Planning Association.


He lived in Welwyn Garden City, the garden city he helped create, and a local school (Sir Frederic Osborn School) in the Panshanger area of Welwyn Garden City is named after him.He lived in Welwyn Garden City from 1925 to 1978. He has also been commemorated with a blue plaque. The location of this plaque is Guessens Road is in Welwyn Garden City.

The Indenture (Right), dated 21st December 1919, between The Right Honourable William Henry Baron Desborough, the Trustees and and the Rural District Council of Hatfield. This is the Deed of Sale by which the plot of land (shaded) which was owned by the Cowper Estate and upon which Bury Cottages were to be built was bought by Hatfield Council. At the same auction a company called Welwyn Garden City Ltd also bought land from the Cowper estate and Welwyn Garden City was born.







The reason the town was called Welwyn Garden City was due to is location near to Welwyn Village and the name of Garden City movement creating Welwyn Garden City.


Welwyn Garden City was a town designed to provide housing for the workers in one area of Welwyn Garden City and offices and factories in another area of Welwyn Garden City. The Welwyn Garden City company also provided a transport system for these workers.

The first area to be developed known as  Welwyn Garden City town centre was the Parkway area of Welwyn Garden City. His consisted of a  central mall or 'scenic parkway' with Welwyn Garden City Shopping centre and Welwyn Garden City railway station on one side.

On the opposite side of road was housing. Around this area housing was developed to start Welwyn Garden City. See left for the plan of Welwyn Garden City.

The first Public House built in Welwyn Garden City was the Cherry Tree started business in 1921. The inns on the perimeter of Welwyn Garden City were in Lemsford, The Sun & Long & Short Arm, Ayot, Waggoners, Bull Stanborough Hatfield Hyde ( Now known as the Beehive area) The Beehive. These were all old Inns built Long before Welwyn Garden City.Around this time Hanside area of Welwyn Garden City was developed with its own school Applecroft. The school was designed by Louis de Soissons and built in 1922/23 at a cost of £9000 it was opened on 23 January 1923 and originally called Hanside.Location Applecroft Road, Welwyn Garden City. Schools of Welwyn Garden City Click Here The next area to be developed  in Welwyn Garden City was the industrial area of Brodwater Road an Tewin Road. The companies which occupied industrial areas  of Welwyn Garden City were Light engineering units as well as major companies like Nabisco Shreddied Wheat of Welwyn Garden City, they started production in 1925 with 100 workers. Rank Bush Murphy of Welwyn Garden City started 1928 and were called Murphy they moved from a small unit in Brockswood Lane, they became Rank Bush Murphy in 1962. To house the workers of Welwyn Garden City the estates of Peartree, Welwyn Garden City, Woodhall, Welwyn Garden City were started to be built both estates would have their own shops and public Houses. Woodhall Welwyn Garden City had the Woodman PH Welwyn Garden City ( Built in the 1920's, & later became The Chiftain)and Peartree Welwyn Garden City had the Peartree PH Welwyn Garden City ( Built in 1938, first application for to the local licensing authorities was 1927). The next estates to be built were Hall Grove Welwyn Garden City (1950’s) and Hollybush Welwyn Garden City (Built in 1950's). They also had public houses, Hall Grove Welwyn Garden City had the Ludwick PH Welwyn Garden City and Hollybush Welwyn Garden City (opened in 1958)had The Hollybush PH Welwyn Garden City(opened in 1958). Harwood Hill , Welwyn Garden City was developed in !955 and Knigtsfield, WGC, Haldens,WGC and Panshanger WGC were all started 1960 They all had Public Houses, Knightsfieild Welwyn Garden City The Hedgehog (1962) Haldens Welwyn Garden City, The Mayflower (1964) and Panshanger Welwyn Garden City, The Oak Tavern (1979).

Schools Of Welwyn Garden City During this development of the infrastructure of Welwyn Garden City schools were required. An educational trust for Welwyn Garden City was set up in 1922. They set up Handside  Co- Educational school for 400 pupils in 1923 (later renamed Applecroft School Welwyn Garden City) The High School Welwyn Garden City was built in 1928 and later became Sherrardswood school  Welwyn Garden City in 1942. . Peartree school Welwyn Garden City was opened on 20 April 1929, the children who went to Peartree were educated before in the Peartree clubhouse Welwyn Garden City, this later became Moatwood Welwyn Garden City in 1960. Ludwick infants school (now Holwell) and Parkway junior school opened in 1932 & 1934 respectively and the Grammar school (Renamed in 1968 Stanbrough school Welwyn Garden City) opened in 1939. After the war the first school was Templewood in Pentley Park, Welwyn Garden City,it opened in September 1950. Blackthorn Junior school was opened in 1951 near Heronswood road Welwyn Garden City. In 1953 Our Lady primary school was built in the Woodhall area, Welwyn Garden City . Howard secondrey school was opened in 1953 and located in Oaken Grove Welwyn Garden City. Thumbswood Infant school open in Blackthorn road Welwyn Garden City in 1955. In 1956 Heronswood secondry modern school opened in Heronswood road with Mr R Bainbridge as Headmaster. In 1958 the Welwyn Garden City High school was built in the Panshanger Welwyn Garden City area and Attimore Hall was located next to it in 1960, in 1968 they merged to be named The Sir Fredic Osborn School, Welwyn Garden City. The same year Monks Walk (opened in 1964 and in the Knightsfield area of Welwyn Garden City) merged with Knightsfield School and Heronswood and Howard became comprehensives.Rollswoood Infants and Howlands junior school opened in 1956 in the the Howlands Welwyn Garden City area in 1963 Burnside school was opend next to Howlands, Burnside was closed and Rollswood and Howlands merged. 1957 Creswick also in Howlands Welwyn Garden City opened. Harwood junior school opened in 1959. In 1963 Homerswood was opened in the Knightsfield area of Welwyn Garden City.The Roman Catholic girls school Mater Dei was opend in the town centre Welwyn Garden City in 1962 followed by St Joseph's Boys school opened in 1964 the merged in 1981 and call Holy Trinity it closed in 1986. Heronswood closed in 1987 and merged with Howard and was renamed Sir John Newsome which has since closed and merged with Stanborough School. Haldens Welwyn Garden City was started in the 1960s, and had 2 primary schools, Holy family RC Primary, Cookhams Welwyn Garden City built in Sept 1965 a year after Rowans, which was opened in 1964. Panshanger Welwyn Garden City was started in the 1960s, and boasts 3 primary schools Panshanger primary School opened in January 1969, Watchlytes, and Springmead. Lakeside is a school pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties. Many of the pupils also have a physical disability. The pupils are aged 2-19 and come mostly from the East of Hertfordshire. It is located by the side of Stanborough Park & Lakes Welwyn Garden City. This completes the history of the schools of Welwyn Garden City. Below is a complete list of schools in chronological order.

Date	School	Location	Website
1923	Applecroft	Handside, Welwyn Garden City	www.applecroft.herts.sch.uk
1928	Sherrardswood	Town centre Welwyn Garden City	www.sherrardswood.herts.sch.uk
1929	Peartree school	Peartree Welwyn Garden City	www.peartreejmi.herts.sch.uk
1932	Holwell	Peartree Welwyn Garden City	www.holwell.herts.sch.uk
1934	Parkway	Town centre Welwyn Garden City
1939	Stanborough	Stanborough Welwyn Garden City	www.stanborough.herts.sch.uk
1950	Templewood	Pentley Park Welwyn Garden City	www.templewood.herts.sch.uk
1951	Blackthorn	Heronswood area Welwyn Garden City
1953	Our Lady	Woodhall area Welwyn Garden City	www.ourladys527.herts.sch.uk
1953	Howard	Hollybush area Welwyn Garden City
1955	Thumbswood	Blackthorn Road Welwyn Garden City	www.swallowdell.herts.sch.uk
1956	Heronswood	Heronswood area Welwyn Garden City
1956	Howlands (Commonswood)	Howlands area Welwyn Garden City	www.commonswood.herts.sch.uk
1956	Rollswood (Commonswood)	Howlands area Welwyn Garden City	www.commonswood.herts.sch.uk
1957	Creswick	Howlands area Welwyn Garden City	www.creswick.herts.sch.uk
1959	Harwood	Harwood area Welwyn Garden City	www.harwood.herts.sch.uk
1960	Moatwood	Peartree Welwyn Garden City
1962	Mater Dei	Town centre Welwyn Garden City
1963	Burnside	Howlands area Welwyn Garden City
1963	Homerswood	Knightsfield Welwyn Garden City	www.homerswood.herts.sch.uk
1964	Rowans	Haldens Welwyn Garden City	www.rowans.herts.sch.uk
1964	Monkswalk	Knightsfield Welwyn Garden City	www.monkswalk.herts.sch.uk
1965	St Josephs	Howlands area Welwyn Garden City
1965	Holy Family	Haldens Welwyn Garden City	www.holyfamily.herts.sch.uk
1969	Panshanger	Panshanger Welwyn Garden City	www.panshanger.herts.sch.uk
Not Known	Springmead	Panshanger Welwyn Garden City	www.springmead.herts.sch.uk
Not Known	Watchlytes	Panshanger Welwyn Garden City	www.watchlytes.herts.sch.uk
Not Known	Lakeside	Stanborough Welwyn Garden City	www.lakeside.herts.sch.uk