Garden City Collection

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The Garden City Collection is Letchworth's ACE-Accredited Museum service

We tell the story of the Garden City Movement and the history of Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City. Our collection and archive is housed in our Study Centre and features in exhibitions around the town, on our website and by our Store Tours or Collections Explorer sessions.

09/10/2026

This week, we’re sharing a photo of Commerce Avenue in the 1960s.

The black-and-white photograph shows two shops, Gelgray and Minelle, along with a classic telephone box outside the building.

Do you have any memories of these shops? We’d love to hear them in the comments!

02/10/2026

Today’s historical photograph is from the 1915 May Day celebrations.

This copy negative, made from a postcard, shows a posed group of children in matching fancy dress. The image was identified by the donor as Norton Road School’s May Day 1915 May Queen’s attendants.

See more of Letchworth’s history at http://gardencitycollection.com/home

25/09/2026

This week’s historical picture is a black-and-white photograph of Nott’s Bakery.

Circa 1915, the photo shows the exterior of Nott’s Bakery and Grocers. The shop-front windows display cakes and other wares, while a sign to the left of the building advertises Nott's Restaurant.

Do you have any memories of Nott's Bakery or Restaurant? We'd love to hear them - please share your stories in the comments below.

And you can find more historical photographs of Letchworth on the Garden City Collection website: http://gardencitycollection.com/home

11/09/2026

This week’s historical photograph is of Norton Vicarage.

The sepia-tinted photograph shows the exterior of Norton Vicarage around 1907, with figures standing outside. A handwritten description on the back of the card reads "Norton Vicarage, Rev. E J Pierson, nonagenarian vicar. His two daughters. His sister, Mrs Clarkson & Rev J Foxley. Date about 1907."

04/09/2026

How much do you know about the 1905 Cheap Cottages Exhibition?

This week's historical photograph depicts 'The Roundhouse' of Norton Road, entry number 73 in the 1905 Cheap Cottages Exhibition. The interestingly-shaped cottage was designed by Hesketh and Stokes, 110 Cheapside and was built by Messrs Cubitt manufacturers of Cubitt's Reinforced Concrete.

The 1905 Cheap Cottages Exhibition was an event that helped to shape and establish Letchworth Garden City soon after its birth. The event responded to the shortage of cottages in rural areas, caused by restrictive by-laws that allowed only expensive materials. Mr J. St Loe Strachey started a campaign to solve this after his article, 'In Search of a £150 Cottage', and the Garden City Company approved the idea of an exhibition and provided it with sites in the centre of Letchworth. Architects were able to produce innovative designs, without the restrictions of by-laws, using new materials to build affordable cottages for rural labourers. The eighth Duke of Devonshire opened the exhibition of 131 cottages on 25 July 1905 and the event attracted over 60,000 visitors.

You can see more cottages from the exhibition at http://gardencitycollection.com/themes/1905-cheap-cottages-exhibition

28/08/2026

For this week’s historical post, we’re sharing another inspirational woman from Letchworth: Mrs Maude Deuchar.

Maude Deuchar was born c1887, and came to Letchworth Garden City from Glasgow with her husband in 1917. They lived for many years at 122 Wilbury Road. Maude wrote novels, short stories and poetry, usually under pseudonyms, such as Herbert Tremaine. She famously wrote ‘The Feet of the Young Men’ published c.1920 and the play Handmaidens of Death. The former was highly regarded by a number of well-known authors, and apparently H G Wells called it the ‘best war novel’! She had around 10 books published overall.

26/08/2026

Today is National Dog Day, so we have scoured our collections to show you some our favourite historic good boys of Letchworth..

Where are your favourite dog walking locations around Letchworth?

Send us a picture of your pup in an iconic Letchworth location!

21/08/2026

This week’s historical photograph is a colour slide from Norton School's Archive.

The photo shows the entries into Norton Secondary School's annual Christmas cake-making competitions. This particular photograph is dated December 1962.

To see more photos from Letchworth’s history, visit: http://gardencitycollection.com/home

14/08/2026

This week’s historical photograph is of Dorothea Hunter and St Edmundsbury Weaving Works employees.

Dorothea Hunter first visited Letchworth, with her husband Edmund, to view the 1905 Cheap Cottages Exhibition. Impressed by the opportunities in the new Garden City, they decided to move their business, the St. Edmundsbury Weaving Works, here from Haslemere, Surrey. The new factory building was created on Ridge Road, and their family home on Sollershott West.

The Hunters were known as fair employers, providing staff with good working conditions and allowing them paid holiday. Dorothea was fond of poetry and mysticism and was responsible for some of the Garden City’s early pageants.

As an early settler in Letchworth Garden City, Dorothea was part of the Letchworth Book of Pioneers. To have your signature in this book meant that you had moved to or were born in Letchworth between its founding in 1903 and1908. They were known as pioneers, facing the muddy surroundings daily, and living with basic amenities as the town was established!

06/08/2026

How much do you know about the Arts and Crafts movement?

The values of the Arts and Crafts movement have in many ways helped to shape the way the Garden City was built and the way people lived.

Architects such as Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin were exploring new ways of designing houses in Letchworth. Key features of their designs were to allow as much sunlight as possible into homes and to explore open-plan living, as seen in Baillie Scott's designs. Other key ideas were to build using local materials and to focus on the owner's specific requirements.

This week’s historical photograph is a sepia tint photograph of Glaed Hame, Pasture Road, designed by Parker and Unwin and built in 1906. Many Arts and Crafts elements can be seen from this exterior photo, including a gable, mullion window, and Clissett-style chair.

To see more Arts and Crafts architecture, head to http://gardencitycollection.com/themes/arts-and-crafts-influences-in-letchworth-garden-city

Address

Wilbury Study Centre, Wilbury Hills Road
Letchworth
SG64LB

Telephone

+447713565650

Website

http://www.gardencitycollection.com/

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