Fred Pooley
Encyclopedia
Fred Bernard Pooley CBE
(April 18, 1916 - March 11, 1998) is best known as the county architect of Buckinghamshire
, and his futuristic monorail proposals for a new town in north Bucks that eventually became Milton Keynes
. Pooley was born in West Ham
, east London and trained at the Northern Polytechnic in the evenings, while working in the West Ham engineer's department by day. He qualified as an architect
, planner
and surveyor
before serving with the Royal Engineers
during the second world war. He also qualified as a structural engineer
and arbitrator.
He married Hilda in 1944 and had three daughters and lived in Whiteleaf
, outside Aylesbury
, Buckinghamshire.
He was a supporter of mid-ranking architects, and ensured that project/job architects' names were put on all Buckinghamshire County Council
buildings, not just the county architect, and promoted this idea to the wider profession. He was noted for his strong support of public transport, firstly with his monorail
proposals for the new city that became Milton Keynes, and his later role in London where he identified the growing problem of the car and its impact on the city.
in the same role where he helped plan the country's first pedestrianised city centre. In 1954 he moved to Buckinghamshire County Council to become County Architect. Following his modern work in West Ham and Coventry, and his dramatic county hall building in Aylesbury
from 1966, his architectural style became restrained; being more contexual and rural, predominately being brick with pitched roofs.
In 1973 he became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects
for two years. As well has sorting out various conflicts within the institute, he used his time to promote the broader benefits of architects at all levels of government, and in 1974 he was quoted in Parliament by Sydney Chapman
with regards to the boom and bust construction cycles: "The hand operated tap that used to produce stop-go in the building industry must be replaced by an automatic ball valve designed to allow sufficient work to flow to the industry to keep it working at the right level."
One of Pooley's last important works for the county was the establishment of Buckingham
as a university town, which eventually became Buckingham University, Britain's first independent university. He also created the Buckingham Development Company to regulate and enable development around the small market town.
Due to the local government reorganisation in 1974, he left Buckinghamshire County Council for a new role of Controller of Transport and Planning at the Greater London Council
In 1978 he took on the additional responsibility of architecture after the post of Architect to the GLC, held by Sir Roger Walters was not filled. One of his successes was how badgered the railway authorities into creating Thameslink
. He was also involved with resolving major developments around London including Piccadilly
, Liverpool Street, St Katharine's Dock, and took part in the initiation of the London Docklands development. He retired in 1980.
The Architects' Journal said of Pooley: "Liked by almost everyone who worked with him, he was a quiet-voiced pragmatist - but one whose leaps of imagination could surprise".
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(April 18, 1916 - March 11, 1998) is best known as the county architect of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and his futuristic monorail proposals for a new town in north Bucks that eventually became Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
. Pooley was born in West Ham
West Ham
West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...
, east London and trained at the Northern Polytechnic in the evenings, while working in the West Ham engineer's department by day. He qualified as an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, planner
Planner
Planner may refer to:* A diary for planning* Planner programming language* Planner * Urban planner* Route planner* Meeting and convention planner* Planner , part of GNOME Office...
and surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
before serving with the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
during the second world war. He also qualified as a structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...
and arbitrator.
He married Hilda in 1944 and had three daughters and lived in Whiteleaf
Whiteleaf, Buckinghamshire
Whiteleaf is a hamlet in the civil parish of Princes Risborough and the ecclesiastical parish of Monks Risborough in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 7 miles south of the county town of Aylesbury and 8 miles north of High Wycombe...
, outside Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Buckinghamshire.
He was a supporter of mid-ranking architects, and ensured that project/job architects' names were put on all Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council
Buckinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom. Its area of control does not include Milton Keynes, which is a unitary authority...
buildings, not just the county architect, and promoted this idea to the wider profession. He was noted for his strong support of public transport, firstly with his monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
proposals for the new city that became Milton Keynes, and his later role in London where he identified the growing problem of the car and its impact on the city.
Career
After the second world war, he joined the borough of West Ham as deputy architect and planner and then moved to CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
in the same role where he helped plan the country's first pedestrianised city centre. In 1954 he moved to Buckinghamshire County Council to become County Architect. Following his modern work in West Ham and Coventry, and his dramatic county hall building in Aylesbury
Architecture of Aylesbury
The architecture of Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire, reflects the ordinary architecture which can be found in many small towns in England where the buildings of the town were designed by local architects. This is characteristic of the built environment of Aylesbury, itself a good...
from 1966, his architectural style became restrained; being more contexual and rural, predominately being brick with pitched roofs.
In 1973 he became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
for two years. As well has sorting out various conflicts within the institute, he used his time to promote the broader benefits of architects at all levels of government, and in 1974 he was quoted in Parliament by Sydney Chapman
Sydney Chapman (politician)
Sir Sydney Brookes Chapman is an English politician and architect. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet from 1979 until he stepped down at the 2005 general election....
with regards to the boom and bust construction cycles: "The hand operated tap that used to produce stop-go in the building industry must be replaced by an automatic ball valve designed to allow sufficient work to flow to the industry to keep it working at the right level."
One of Pooley's last important works for the county was the establishment of Buckingham
Buckingham
Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
as a university town, which eventually became Buckingham University, Britain's first independent university. He also created the Buckingham Development Company to regulate and enable development around the small market town.
Due to the local government reorganisation in 1974, he left Buckinghamshire County Council for a new role of Controller of Transport and Planning at the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
In 1978 he took on the additional responsibility of architecture after the post of Architect to the GLC, held by Sir Roger Walters was not filled. One of his successes was how badgered the railway authorities into creating Thameslink
Thameslink
Thameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
. He was also involved with resolving major developments around London including Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, Liverpool Street, St Katharine's Dock, and took part in the initiation of the London Docklands development. He retired in 1980.
The Architects' Journal said of Pooley: "Liked by almost everyone who worked with him, he was a quiet-voiced pragmatist - but one whose leaps of imagination could surprise".
Notable buildings and projects
- Plan for AylesburyAylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
town centre (1962) - Royal Latin SchoolRoyal Latin SchoolThe Royal Latin School is a co-educational grammar school in Buckingham, England. In September 2011 the school became an Academy.. It takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18 and has over 1260 pupils, including a sixth form of 390 pupils. It maintains a staff of over 160...
New Block, BuckinghamBuckinghamBuckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
(1963) - Buckinghamshire County CouncilBuckinghamshire County CouncilBuckinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom. Its area of control does not include Milton Keynes, which is a unitary authority...
building, AylesburyAylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
(1966). A 12-storey tower that became known as "Fred's Fort" and "Pooley's FollyFollyIn architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
" - Lady Spencer Churchill College of Education, Wheatley, OxfordshireWheatley, OxfordshireWheatley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford.-Archaeology:There was a Roman villa on Castle Hill, about southeast of the parish church. It was excavated in 1845, when Roman coins dating from AD 260 to 378 and fragments of Roman pottery and Roman tiles were...
(1966). Now Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes UniversityOxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
, Wheatley Campus (acquired 1976). - North Bucks New City. Pre-cursor to Milton KeynesMilton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, based on a monorail connecting high density residential areas with a central core, sometimes referred to as "Pooleyville" - Prototype mini-home, Buckingham (1970)
- Milton Keynes Development CorporationMilton Keynes Development CorporationMilton Keynes Development Corporation was established on 23 January 1967 to provide the vision and execution of a "new city", Milton Keynes, that would be the modern interpretation of the Garden city movement concepts first expressed by Ebenezer Howard 60 years earlier...
offices, Wavenden Tower, Milton Keynes