Bedford Park, London
Encyclopedia
Bedford Park is a suburban development in west London
, England. It forms a conservation area that is mostly within the London Borough of Ealing
, with a small part to the east within the London Borough of Hounslow
. The nearest underground station is Turnham Green
(District Line
).
, Hampstead Garden Suburb
) it created a model that was emulated not just by the Garden city movement
, but suburban developments around the world. Sir John Betjeman described Bedford Park “the most significant suburb built in the last century, probably in the western world”. Herman Muthesius, the celebrated German critic who wrote The English House in 1904 said, "It signifies neither more nor less than the starting point of the smaller modern house, which spread from there over the whole country."
The developer was Jonathan Carr who in 1875 bought 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) of land just north of Turnham Green Station in West London which had been constructed six years earlier. The City of London
was only 30 minutes by steam train and the site was blessed with many fine trees. The desire to protect the mature trees led to the informal plan that is major feature of Bedford Park. The first architect for the estate was Edward William Godwin
a leading member of the Aesthetic Movement, but his plans came in for some criticism in The Builder, the leading professional journal of its day, and Godwin and Carr parted company. Some designs were commissioned from the firm of Coe and Robinson, but in 1877 Carr hired Richard Norman Shaw
the leading architect of his day to be the Estate architect. By then the layout of the Park had been set but Shaw’s house designs, in the Queen Anne style, proved remarkably successful in creating an impression of great variety whilst employing a limited number of house types.
In the 1880s with its church, parish hall, club, stores, pub and school of art, living in Bedford Park was the height of fashion. W. B. Yeats
, the actor William Terriss
, the actress Florence Farr
, the playwright Arthur Wing Pinero
and the painter Camille Pissarro
lived here. Bedford Park is Saffron Park in G. K. Chesterton
’s The Man Who Was Thursday
and Biggleswick in John Buchan’s Mr. Standfast. So fashionable did it become that Bedford Park came in for some gently ribbing in the St James's Gazette in the Ballad of Bedford Park.
As the 20th century drew on the place became less a centre of fashion; the houses were multi occupied and bus conductors called out "Poverty Park" when they stopped on the Bath Road. The demolition by Acton Council
of The Bramptons and its replacement by a five storey old people's home led directly to the foundation in 1963 of the Bedford Park Society. Through the activities of the society, in 1967 the government listed the greater part of the estate, a total of 356 houses. A few years later both Ealing
and Hounslow
councils designated Bedford Park a conservation area. Since that time the area has gradually improved. Houses have returned to family use and many have been renovated. At the turn of the 21st Century, the artistic credentials of the area had begun to reform, with the emergence of a bright new crop of talented youth from the area, many of whom have gone on to study at the best Universities in the country. It remains to be seen whether this new 'Bedford Park School' can produce the same sort of works that made Bedford Park such a famous centre of artistic excellence in the late 19th Century.
. Through Grogan 356 of Bedford Park’s houses were Grade II listed and in 1969 and 1970 the borough of Ealing and Hounslow respectively declared conservation areas for their half of the suburb. Tom Greeves was secretary and de facto leader of the society for many years. He died in 1997.
Today the society can be content that it has successfully stayed the hands of demolition and has protected the general architectural quality of the estate and its surrounding area. However, much needs to be done in informing residents- particularly new one – of the significance of the place and how it should be maintained for future generations. Today the pressures to significantly alter houses are growing. The society has always taken the view that some change is inevitable and indeed necessary if the estate is going to continue to house a vibrant community. The artistic credentials of the area still hold true today with the emergence of a bright new scene including the burgeoning young talents of poet and songwriter Jack Collins and actor Joseph Kelly. The BPS Log Book, which is issued to every listed house, helps owners learn about the history of their dwelling and how it should be maintained. The society reviews all planning applications and gives its views to the local authorities. The society's main role is to protect the amenity of the first garden suburb. It is not a residents' association per se but it does get involved in more general issues such as parking and traffic where these have an environmental impact. A newsletter is published once a quarter, the committee meets every month. The Annual Party is held in January, the Annual General Meeting in April, the Betjeman Lecture in November and the society takes a stall for Green Day in June.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England. It forms a conservation area that is mostly within the London Borough of Ealing
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...
, with a small part to the east within the London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
. The nearest underground station is Turnham Green
Turnham Green tube station
Turnham Green is a London Underground station in Chiswick in west London. The station is located on Turnham Green Terrace, but the actual green is much closer to Chiswick Park station. The station is served by the District and Piccadilly Lines although Piccadilly Line trains normally only stop at...
(District Line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
).
History
It can be justly described as the world's first garden suburb. Although it was not built in the co-operative manner like some later developments (Brentham Garden SuburbBrentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in cooperative principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb by some years...
, Hampstead Garden Suburb
Hampstead Garden Suburb
-Notable Residents :*Theo Adams*Martin Bell*Sir Victor Blank*Katie Boyle*Constantine, the last King of Greece*Greg Davies*Richard & Judy Finnigan*David Matthews*Michael Ridpath*Claudia Roden*Jonathan Ross*Sir Donald Sinden*Marc Sinden...
) it created a model that was emulated not just by the Garden city movement
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
, but suburban developments around the world. Sir John Betjeman described Bedford Park “the most significant suburb built in the last century, probably in the western world”. Herman Muthesius, the celebrated German critic who wrote The English House in 1904 said, "It signifies neither more nor less than the starting point of the smaller modern house, which spread from there over the whole country."
The developer was Jonathan Carr who in 1875 bought 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) of land just north of Turnham Green Station in West London which had been constructed six years earlier. The City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
was only 30 minutes by steam train and the site was blessed with many fine trees. The desire to protect the mature trees led to the informal plan that is major feature of Bedford Park. The first architect for the estate was Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by The Stones of Venice, then moved on to provide designs in the "Anglo-Japanese taste" of the Aesthetic...
a leading member of the Aesthetic Movement, but his plans came in for some criticism in The Builder, the leading professional journal of its day, and Godwin and Carr parted company. Some designs were commissioned from the firm of Coe and Robinson, but in 1877 Carr hired Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
the leading architect of his day to be the Estate architect. By then the layout of the Park had been set but Shaw’s house designs, in the Queen Anne style, proved remarkably successful in creating an impression of great variety whilst employing a limited number of house types.
In the 1880s with its church, parish hall, club, stores, pub and school of art, living in Bedford Park was the height of fashion. W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, the actor William Terriss
William Terriss
William Terriss was an English actor, known for his swashbuckling hero roles, such as Robin Hood, and in Shakespeare plays, and for his murder outside a London theatre. His daughter was the Edwardian musical comedy star Ellaline Terriss.-Life and career:Terriss's real name was William Charles...
, the actress Florence Farr
Florence Farr
Florence Beatrice Emery Farr was a British West End leading actress, composer and director. She was also a women's rights activist, journalist, educator, singer, novelist, leader of the occult order, The Golden Dawn and one time mistress of playwright George Bernard Shaw...
, the playwright Arthur Wing Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
and the painter Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro
Camille Pissarro was a French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas . His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms...
lived here. Bedford Park is Saffron Park in G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
’s The Man Who Was Thursday
The Man Who Was Thursday
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book is sometimes referred to as a metaphysical thriller.-Plot summary:...
and Biggleswick in John Buchan’s Mr. Standfast. So fashionable did it become that Bedford Park came in for some gently ribbing in the St James's Gazette in the Ballad of Bedford Park.
As the 20th century drew on the place became less a centre of fashion; the houses were multi occupied and bus conductors called out "Poverty Park" when they stopped on the Bath Road. The demolition by Acton Council
Municipal Borough of Acton
Acton was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1865 to 1965.In 1865 the Local Government Act 1858 was adopted by the parish of Acton, and a twelve-member local board of health was formed to govern the area. The Local Government Act 1894 constituted the area an urban district, and...
of The Bramptons and its replacement by a five storey old people's home led directly to the foundation in 1963 of the Bedford Park Society. Through the activities of the society, in 1967 the government listed the greater part of the estate, a total of 356 houses. A few years later both Ealing
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...
and Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
councils designated Bedford Park a conservation area. Since that time the area has gradually improved. Houses have returned to family use and many have been renovated. At the turn of the 21st Century, the artistic credentials of the area had begun to reform, with the emergence of a bright new crop of talented youth from the area, many of whom have gone on to study at the best Universities in the country. It remains to be seen whether this new 'Bedford Park School' can produce the same sort of works that made Bedford Park such a famous centre of artistic excellence in the late 19th Century.
The Bedford Park Society
The society, a registered charity, was formed in 1963 by two local residents Harry Taylor – president of the south Acton conservatives - and architect Tom Greeves who lived in Newton Grove and was a founder member of the Victorian Society. Their concerns about the future of Bedford Park were united by the demolition of The Bramptons in Bedford Park to make way for an old people’s home. Harry became chairman of the fledgling organisation, Tom the Secretary and John Betjeman the first patron. In the first year the society grew to 200 members who were exhorted not to make unsuitable improvements to their homes. However Greeves was aware that the only real protection for the whole estate lay in getting the buildings statutorily listed. The breakthrough came in 1967 with the exhibition Artists and Architecture of Bedford Park 1875 -1900 staged in the ground floor of the Vicarage. The exhibition was visited by Arthur Grogan, a government inspector from the Ministry of Housing and Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government....
. Through Grogan 356 of Bedford Park’s houses were Grade II listed and in 1969 and 1970 the borough of Ealing and Hounslow respectively declared conservation areas for their half of the suburb. Tom Greeves was secretary and de facto leader of the society for many years. He died in 1997.
Today the society can be content that it has successfully stayed the hands of demolition and has protected the general architectural quality of the estate and its surrounding area. However, much needs to be done in informing residents- particularly new one – of the significance of the place and how it should be maintained for future generations. Today the pressures to significantly alter houses are growing. The society has always taken the view that some change is inevitable and indeed necessary if the estate is going to continue to house a vibrant community. The artistic credentials of the area still hold true today with the emergence of a bright new scene including the burgeoning young talents of poet and songwriter Jack Collins and actor Joseph Kelly. The BPS Log Book, which is issued to every listed house, helps owners learn about the history of their dwelling and how it should be maintained. The society reviews all planning applications and gives its views to the local authorities. The society's main role is to protect the amenity of the first garden suburb. It is not a residents' association per se but it does get involved in more general issues such as parking and traffic where these have an environmental impact. A newsletter is published once a quarter, the committee meets every month. The Annual Party is held in January, the Annual General Meeting in April, the Betjeman Lecture in November and the society takes a stall for Green Day in June.
Conservation area
The Bedford Park conservation area stretches from Esmond Road in the West, to Abinger Road in the East, from Flanders Road in the South to Fielding Road in the north. Within the Conservation area planning permission is required for most new building work, alterations and extensions. Cladding, new dormer windows and the erection of satellite dishes all require permission.Listed buildings
Most of the early buildings in Bedford Park are Grade II listed. This means that the whole building is protected, including the interiors, outhouses and boundary walls and fences. Listed building consent is required for any alterations, extensions, excavations and demolition.Trees
All trees in the conservation area are protected and it is an offence to carry out works on a tree without written permission of the local council.Planning committee
The Bedford Park Society is invited by the two local authorities to review all planning applications. The views of the society are taken into account when determining applications. Additionally, Ealing has a conservation area advisory committee which also comments on applications.Further reading
- Girouard, Mark (1977). Sweetness and Light: The "Queen Anne" Movement, 1860-1900.