During the 1940s a series of remarkable and radical planning documents, generally now collectively referred to as ‘reconstruction plans’, were produced for many British cities. Universally, these sought to introduce a highly interventionist, comprehensive planning, often with strong elements of ‘clean sweep’ reconstruction. The author considers two such plans, for the historic cities of Durham and Warwick. He examines how the authors of these plans sought to reconcile the desire to achieve functional modern places with historic character, in a period of growing consciousness of the historic qualities of place. The author concludes by briefly considering the legacy of these plans on ideas about planning in historic towns and cities.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbercrombieP, 1943Town and Country Planning2nd edition (Oxford University Press, London)
2.
AbercrombieP, 1945Greater London Plan 1944 (HMSO, London)
3.
AbercrombiePAbercrombieL, 1923Stratford upon Avon: Report on Future Developments (University Press, Liverpool)
4.
AbercrombiePNicksonR, 1949Warwick: Its Preservation and Redevelopment (The Architectural Press, London)
5.
AbercrombiePPlumsteadD, 1949A Civic Survey and Plan for the Royal Burgh of Edinburgh (Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh)
6.
AbercrombieS POwensJMealandH A, 1945A Plan for Bath: The Report Prepared for the Bath and District Joint Planning CommitteeBath and District Joint Planning Committee, Bath
7.
AdsheadS DMinterC JNeedhamCWC, 1948York: A Plan for its Progress and Preservation (York)
8.
BandiniM, 1992, “Some architectural approaches to urban form”, in Urban Landscapes: International Perspectives Eds WhitehandJLarkhamP (Routledge, London) pp 133–169
9.
CocksR, 1998, “The mysterious origin of the law for conservation”Journal of Planning and Environment Law (March) 203–209
10.
CullenG, 1961Townscape (The Architectural Press, London)
11.
CullingworthJ B, 1975Environmental Planning 1939–1969 Volume 1: Reconstruction and Land Use Planning (HMSO, London)
12.
DelafonsJ, 1997Politics and Preservation (Spon, London)
13.
DiefendorfJ M, (Ed.), 1990Rebuilding Europe's Bombed Cities (Macmillan, Basingstoke, Hants)
14.
DixG, 1981, “Patrick Abercrombie 1879–1957”, in Pioneers in British Planning Ed. CherryG (The Architectural Press, London) pp 103–130
15.
EsherL, 1981A Broken Wave: The Rebuilding of England 1940–1980 (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middx)
16.
GazzardR, 1969“Conversation piece: Dr Thomas Sharp and the editor”Northern Architect4786–89
17.
GoldJ, 1997The Experience of Modernism: Modern Architects and the Future City 1928–1953 (Spon, London)
18.
GreenwoodC, 1945Chester: A Plan for Redevelopment (Phillipson & Golder Ltd, Chester)
19.
HasegawaJ, 1999“The rise and fall of radical reconstruction in 1940s Britain”Twentieth Century British History10(2) 137–161
20.
LambertR, 2000“The Bath Corporation Act of 1925”Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society4451–62
21.
LarkhamP, 1997“Remaking cities: Images, control, and postwar replanning in the United Kingdom”Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design24741–759
22.
LarkhamP JLilleyK, 2001Planning the ‘City of Tomorrow’, British Reconstruction Planning, 1939–1952: An Annotated Bibliography (Inch's Books, Pickering, Yorks)
23.
LilleyK D, 1999“Modern visions of the medieval city: Competing conceptions of urbanism in European civic design”Environment and Planning B26427–446
24.
LilleyK DLarkhamP J, 2000, “Imagining townscape: Aesthetics of scenography in British post-war planning”, paper presented at the 9th International Conference of Planning History, Espoo, Finland; copy available from the author, School of Geography, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast
25.
MellorT, 1950“Review of Warwick, its preservation and redevelopment”Town Planning Review21(1) 87
26.
ParkesC B, 1950“The plan for Warwick”Town and Country Planning18(72) 130–134
27.
ReillyC, 1945“A plan to be thankful for”Architectural Review197(581) 154
28.
SaintA, 1996, “How listing happened”, in Preserving the Past: The Rise of Heritage in Modern Britain Ed. HunterM (Alan Sutton, Stroud, Glos) pp 115–134
29.
SharpT, 1932Town and Countryside: Some Aspects of Urban and Rural Development (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
30.
SharpT, 1936English Panorama (J. M. Dent, London)
31.
SharpT, 1937, “The North East—hills and hells”, in Britain and the Beast Ed. Williams-EllisC (Readers' Union, London) pp 141–159
SharpT, 1945aCathedral City: A Plan for Durham (The Architectural Press, London)
34.
SharpT, 1945b“Power, people and plans”Architectural Review197(580) 117
35.
SharpT, 1946Exeter Phoenix: A Plan for Rebuilding (The Architectural Press, London)
36.
SharpT, 1948Oxford Replanned (The Architectural Press, London)
37.
SharpT, 1949Newer Sarum: A Plan for Salisbury (The Architectural Press, London)
38.
SharpT, 1968Town and Townscape (John Murray, London)
39.
SheailJ, 1981Rural Conservation in Inter-war Britain (Clarendon Press, Oxford)
40.
SlaterT R, 1984“Preservation, conservation and planning in historic towns”The Geographical Journal150(3) 322–334
41.
StampG, 1996, “The art of keeping one jump ahead: Conservation societies in the twentieth century”, in Preserving the Past: The Rise of Heritage in Modern Britain Ed. HunterM (Alan Sutton, Stroud, Glos) pp 77–98
42.
StansfieldK, 1981, “Thomas Sharp 1901–1978”, in Pioneers in British Planning Ed. CherryG (The Architectural Press, London) pp 150–176
43.
SummersonJ, 1949, “The past in the future”, in Heavenly Mansions Ed. SummersonJ (Cresset Press, London) pp 219–242
44.
TaylorN, 1998Urban Planning Theory since 1945 (Sage, London)
45.
TibbaldsF, 1992Making People-friendly Towns: Improving the Public Environment in Towns and Cities (Longman, Harlow, Essex)
46.
TiratsooN, 2000a, “City planners in British reconstruction after 1945: Context and constraints”, paper presented at the 9th International Conference of Planning History, Espoo, Finland; copy available from the author, Nottingham University Business School, Nottingham
47.
TiratsooN, 2000b“The reconstruction of Blitzed British cities, 1945–55: Myths and reality”Contemporary British History14(1) 27–44
48.
WardS, 2002Planning the Twentieth-century City: The Advanced Capitalist World (John Wiley, Chichester, Sussex)
