About the book

In spite of being named the first ‘Garden City’, Letchworth was conceived as a model industrial town built on enterprise and employment.

Never intended to be merely a pleasant place to live, it needed to be large enough to encourage the mass movement of manufacturers and their employees from overcrowded cities and to function as a self-supporting new town.

In this richly illustrated account, Letchworth Local History Research Group look in detail at the town’s foundation in the early 1900s and the energetic organisation and administration that enabled it to get off the ground quickly and successfully.

Based on new research into a wealth of source material, the book puts to rest some of the enduring myths about the garden city, revealing a nuanced picture of the founding of a working community.

The collaborative efforts of First Garden City Ltd (FGC), the development company for the new town, are a key focus.