Model village
Encyclopedia
The term "model villages" also refers to the organised resettlements of refugees in Guatemala and Vietnam, developed by the national governments to isolate civilians from guerrillas.
Villages in the United Kingdom
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
and Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
built housing for their workers, but fully developed settlements are more typical of the nineteenth century and continue into the twentieth. Most on the news recently has been Poundbury
Poundbury
Poundbury is an experimental new town or urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England.The development is built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It is built according to the principles of Prince Charles...
, a model village in rural Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
guided by the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
.
Model villages were built by philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
industrialists such as Titus Salt
Titus Salt
Sir Titus Salt, 1st Baronet , born in Morley, near Leeds, was a manufacturer, politician and philanthropist in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. His father Daniel Salt was a businessman and was sent Titus to Batley Grammar School...
and George Cadbury
George Cadbury
George Cadbury was the third son of John Cadbury, a Quaker who founded Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company.-Background:...
to house their workers and provide social amenities. 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...
s associated with the movement include the designer of Woodlands Model Village and Creswell Model Village, Percy B. Houfton
Percy Bond Houfton
Percy Bond Houfton was a late-19th Century and early-20th Century architect. He became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1925. His best known works were Woodlands model village in South Yorkshire , and Creswell Model Village in Derbyshire...
. They were influential in the development of 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...
.
There were often significant restrictions for living in model villages, often depending on the particular views of the builder. For example, Bournville model village had no pubs, because Cadbury abjured alcohol. And because they tended to be quite a distance from work, transportation also became an issue—perhaps the first time in history that commuting
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
became significant (though it was not called that).
There are also some agricultural villages which can be seen as model villages. English examples are seen when a medieval settlement has been rebuilt by a rural landowner, as at Edensor
Edensor
Edensor is a village in Derbyshire, England. It is the closest village to Chatsworth House and much of it belongs to the Dukes of Devonshire. Originally the village was close to the River Derwent immediately below Chatsworth, but the Dukes had it moved out of sight over a hill, apart from one...
(on the Chatsworth
Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Chatsworth is a civil parish in Derbyshire, England, within the area of the Derbyshire Dales and the Peak District National Park.The population is largely in and around Chatsworth House and is considered to be too low to justify a parish council...
estate) and Selworthy
Selworthy
Selworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brandish Street and Allerford.At Selworthy Beacon, which is...
.
England
(Chronological order)- TrowseTrowseTrowse, also called Trowse with Newton, is a village in South Norfolk which lies about south-east of Norwich city centre on the banks of the River Yare. It covers an area of and had a population of 479 in 233 households as of the 2001 census....
, NorwichNorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
- (1805) - Blaise Hamlet, Bristol - (1811)
- SelworthySelworthySelworthy is a small village and civil parish from Minehead in Somerset, England. It is located in the National Trust's Holnicote Estate on the northern fringes of Exmoor. The parish includes the hamlets of Bossington, Tivington, Lynch, Brandish Street and Allerford.At Selworthy Beacon, which is...
, SomersetSomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
- (1828) - SnelstonSnelstonSnelston is a village and civil parish three miles south-west of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. It includes Anacrehill. A tributary of the River Dove flows through its centre....
, DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
- (1840s) - Railway Village, SwindonSwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
- (1840s) - MelthamMelthamMeltham is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Holme Valley, below Wessenden Moor, four and a half miles south-west of Huddersfield on the edge of the Peak District National Park...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
- (1850) - SaltaireSaltaireSaltaire is a Victorian model village within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
, West Yorkshire - (1853) - Akroydon, West Yorkshire - (1859)
- NentheadNentheadThe small village of Nenthead in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at 1,500 feet. It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain...
, CumbriaCumbriaCumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
- (1861) - CopleyCopley, West YorkshireCopley is a village in the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Halifax and east of Sowerby Bridge, by the River Calder and the Calder and Hebble Navigation. It is known locally for the odour from the sewage works.-History:It is the site of a...
, West Yorkshire - (1874) - BournvilleBournvilleBournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
, West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
- (1879) - Port SunlightPort SunlightPort Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
, MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
- (1888) - CreswellCreswell Model VillageCreswell Model Village is an arts and crafts style model village built in the English town of Creswell, Derbyshire in 1895 by the Bolsover Colliery Company, designed by architect Percy B. Houfton to accommodate the workers and families of the newly founded Creswell Colliery...
, DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
- (1895) - New BolsolverNew Bolsover model villageNew Bolsover model village is a village adjoining the town of Bolsover in Derbyshire.-History & Etymology:It was begun in the early 20th century, by the Bolsover Mining Company, the term "model village" refers to the fact that this was a planned village, built in a philanthropic attitude, to...
, Derbyshire - (1896) - New Earswick, North YorkshireNorth YorkshireNorth Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
- (1901) - Woodlands, South YorkshireWoodlands, South YorkshireWoodlands is a model village, 3 miles north of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It was designed and built in the early 20th century by Percy Bond Houfton as tied cottages for the miners of the neighbouring Brodsworth Colliery...
- (1905) - Silver EndSilver EndSilver End is a small village in Essex, between Braintree and Witham in England, UK. It was conceived as a model village by the industrialist Francis Henry Crittall who established a factory there to manufacture components for metal windows.-History:...
, EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
- (1926) - StewartbyStewartbyStewartby is a model village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, originally built for the workers of The London Brick Company. The village housing and town community centre was designed by the noted neo-Georgian architect Sir Albert Richardson a later and more modern development than such...
, BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
- (1926) - PoundburyPoundburyPoundbury is an experimental new town or urban extension on the outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England.The development is built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It is built according to the principles of Prince Charles...
, Dorset - (Construction started 1993 - ongoing)
Some villages were built around coal mines. In Yorkshire, the villages of Grimethorpe
Grimethorpe
Grimethorpe is a large village which is part of the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,873....
, Goldthorpe
Goldthorpe
Goldthorpe is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Anciently a small medieval farming village, Goldthorpe is recorded in the Domesday Book and was under the Manor of Bolton upon Dearne which was once owned by Roger de Busli.Goldthorpe railway station...
, Woodlands
Woodlands, South Yorkshire
Woodlands is a model village, 3 miles north of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It was designed and built in the early 20th century by Percy Bond Houfton as tied cottages for the miners of the neighbouring Brodsworth Colliery...
and Fitzwilliam
Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire
Fitzwilliam is a small village on the edge of West Yorkshire, England. It is located in the City of Wakefield district. Technically, it is part of the town of Hemsworth and governed by Hemsworth Town Council as well as Wakefield M.D.C., but the Land Registry and Post Office recognise Fitzwilliam...
were all built to house workers at the colliery, around which the houses were built. Following the mass pit closures of 1984-94, many of these villages suffered from huge losses in population.
Ireland
(Chronological order)- MilfordMilford, County ArmaghMilford or Millford is a small village about one mile southwest of Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area and had a population of 301 in the 2001 Census.- Name :...
, Armagh, Northern Ireland (1800s) - PortlawPortlawPortlaw is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated some 19 km west-north-west of Waterford City, where the Clodiagh meets the Suir.-History:...
, Waterford, Ireland (1825) - Sion MillsSion MillsSion Mills is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on the River Mourne. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,050 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area...
, Northern Ireland (1835) - BessbrookBessbrookBessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...
, Northern Ireland (1845) - LaurelvaleLaurelvaleMullavilly-Laurelvale is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was once two settlements but they have since merged. The village is 3 miles south of Portadown and 1.5 miles northwest of Tandragee. In the 2001 Census Mullavilly-Laurelvale had a population of 1,258.-Name:The village covers...
, Northern Ireland (1850s)
Italy
In Italy's LombardyLombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
region, Crespi d’Adda is a particularly well-preserved model workers' village, and has been a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
since 1995. It was built from scratch, starting in 1878, to provide housing and social services for the workers in a cotton textile factory erected on the banks of the river Adda
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
.
Spain
The town of Nuevo BaztánNuevo Baztán
Nuevo Baztán is a municipality southeast of Madrid, near Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It consists of a small historic centre and modern housing estates. The historic centre was designed as an industrial and housing complex laid out on a grid plan...
outside of Madrid dates from the mercantilist and entrepreneurial ambitions of an industrialist from the early 18th century.
United States of America
Model villages were also built in the United States along the same lines as planned industrial communities, for example at Gwinn, MichiganGwinn, Michigan
Gwinn is an unincorporated community in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is in Forsyth Township at on M-35 near the forks of the east and middle branches of the Escanaba River. Gwinn is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, and the CDP includes the...
and Pullman, Illinois. There were also such agricultural communities as the 18th century Davis Bend
Davis Bend
Davis Bend, Mississippi was originally founded by planter Joseph E. Davis as a model plantation slave community. He and his younger brother Jefferson Davis, future President of the Confederate States of America, had large plantations about 20 miles south of Vicksburg.-History:Davis was influenced...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
Mexico
The first Model Villages, appeared with the Porfirio DiazPorfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
regime, being the most notable: Metepec and Tlacotalpan
Tlacotalpan
The city of Tlacotalpan is located in the eastern coastal region of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Although the area had been inhabited since pre-Columbian times, the modern-day settlement was founded as a river port on the banks of the Río Papaloapan in the mid-16th century...
Venezuela
- JajíJaji, VenezuelaJají is a community in the Campo Elías Municipality of Mérida state in Venezuela, in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental, at an altitude of 1781 m. It is 34 kilometers from the city of Mérida....
, Campo Elías MunicipalityCampo Elías MunicipalityThe Campo Elías Municipality is one of the 23 municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Mérida and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 100,192...
. A planned village in the AndesAndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, Jají was restored in the twentieth century in Spanish Colonial style.
India
India has its equivalent as model town. The first was Model Town, Bathinda put up with exclusive purpose of housing the employees of Guru Nanak Thermal Plant. Similar model towns are attached with many Indian cities.See also
related 'Idealised' town building schemes- New Towns in the United KingdomNew towns in the United KingdomBelow is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
- Garden CitiesGarden city movementThe 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...