Letchworth was set up in 1903 as the world’s first garden
city by social campaigner Ebenezer Howard, who wanted to improve
living conditions for the poor. 
In his shared community, people lived in the healthy countryside,
working close to their homes and benefiting from any income generated
by the company that owned the town’s resources. Today Letchworth
Garden City Heritage Foundation, heirs to the original Garden City
company and now established as an industrial and provident society
with charitable status, continues Howard’s work.
In line with his philosophy, it has wide tree-lined avenues and
many houses on spacious plots. The original garden city cottages
are now much sought-after, particularly the ones built for a 1905
competition to provide affordable homes for £150.
Letchworth GC has two museums, one run by the Heritage Foundation
and the other, Letchworth Museum, by NHDC. Here visitors can learn
about the earliest days of North Herts based on the Council’s
extensive archaeology collection including Celtic and Roman artefacts.
There is also a natural history gallery including an example of
the famous black squirrel and two art galleries with changing exhibitions.
Close to Letchworth Museum and the library is the Broadway Cinema,
the only one in the district, which has been restored to its Art
Deco glory. It features four screens and is the venue for a thriving
film club.
Another of Letchworth’s attractions is the children’s
farm at Standalone which features lambs, rare breeds of poultry,
ducks, pigs and calves as well as an exhibition barn.
The Greenway network of paths was opened to mark the garden city’s
centenary in 1903. It covers 13.6 miles around the town and includes
an arboretum, wood and pond as well as providing an ideal mostly
off-road route for walkers and cyclists.
The Settlement, set up in Ebenezer Howard’s day as the pub
with no beer, later became an adult education centre which includes
its own drama group and theatre.
Letchworth is home to the only vegetarian school in the country,
St Christopher’s, which takes both boarders and day pupils.
St Chris is co-educational unlike the town’s other private
school, St Francis, which caters for girls and occupies a stunning
set of buildings in the Broadway. It includes a theatre that was
opened by Edwardian actress Ellen Terry and was used by Sir Laurence
Olivier when he was a boy living in the town where his father was
a rector.
Letchworth also has two popular secondary schools, Fearnhill and
Highfield, as well as a wide range of primary and nursery provision,
while North Hertfordshire College runs a variety of business courses
from the purpose-built Goldsmith Centre.
The town’s housing stock has grown steadily over the years
with the large Grange estate being built in 1947, followed by Jackmans
in 1961 and Lordship and Manor Park 10 years later.
The town benefits from excellent communication links, with a direct
rail line to Kings Cross, the AI(M) close to the centre and Stansted
and Luton airports nearby. But for residents who want to stay near
to home there is no shortage of activities to keep them occupied,
from walking on Norton Common to taking children to the open air
paddling pool or swimming at the Leisure Centre. Sports facilities
include a deluxe tennis club and a golf range.
The Broadway Gardens, standing at the end of the main gateway to
the town, were restored to mark the town’s centenary by North
Hertfordshire District Council with the help of Lottery funding.
There are similar plans to return Howard Park and Gardens on the
other side of the town centre to their former glory.
The Heritage Foundation now has ambitious plans for remodelling
and improving the town centre shopping area and the first stages
of these have now received planning permission from the District
Council. The next stage of Letchworth Garden City’s growth
is under way.
Contact numbers:
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation – 01462 476000
Letchworth Museum – 01462 685647
First Garden City Heritage Museum – 01462 482710
Letchworth Arts Centre – 01462 670788
Standalone Farm – 01462 686775
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