book list
This guide was issued by authority of Welwyn Garden City Urban District Council.
It has about 60 pages of information about the town and 40 pages of advertisements.
The information pages are illustrated by 17 black and white full- or half-page
photographs by Peter C. Brown of Welwyn Photographers Ltd, and two maps (one
of Hertfordshire and a pull-out street map 14" by 10" of the town).
I cannot find a name for the authorship of the written information.
First there is an account of the origins of the Council, the division into wards (Haldens, Handside, Hollybush, Howlands, Peartree and Sherrards), Council Offices opening times and meetings, Officers of the Council, the rates and how they are spent, and a list of present councillors.
Next is a description of the town's armorial bearings which were granted by the College of Heralds in 1958 (and appear on the cover of the guide).
Then there is an account of the New Towns Commission, the Local Committee of which manages the rented housing in the Urban District. The members of the Local Committee are listed. (The U.D.C. is responsible for roads, health, rating, town planning etc.)
Next is information about local transport including bus routes.
There is a section on Education which lists local schools.
There is a section on Health and Welfare which gives information on clinics, midwives and health visitors, and hospitals, etc.
There is a short piece on housing under the Development Corporation, and one on public services (water, electricity and gas).
There is a section on Sport, Recreation and Entertainment which describes parks, playgrounds, stadium, swimming pool, and sports clubs of which 39 are listed, and indoor recreational halls.
The next part of the guide lists Cultural, Recreational and Social Clubs in the town under the headings Art, Drama, Music, Sport, Hobbies Social and General, Clubs for the Elderly, Youth Clubs and Activities. Following this are lists of political parties, miscellaneous organisations, places of worship, and a section headed General Information and Useful Addresses.
The next part of the guide gives some historical information - a bit of archaeology, a bit on Ebenezer Howard and the purchase of the land of which the town was built, a bit on the New Towns Act of 1946 and the acquiring of the real estate in 1949 by the Development Corporation, and the Master Plan. The post-war development of the four quadrants of the town - North-East, North-West, South-West and South-East - is described briefly. Next are some tables showing the growth in housing and shops since 1961. Finally in this section is a piece headed The Present Urban District which describes recent housing developments in the four quadrants plus the hospital, stadium, swimming pool. There are also short pieces on the Parish Church of St John and Sherrards Park Wood.
All this information is very interesting but I must say the order in which the items are presented is a bit of a muddle. However, at least this guide has some new information in it whereas previous guides I have contain the same old information regurgitated year after year.
The final part of the guide is entitled Industrial Review and has a piece on industrial zoning and siting of factories, followed by a paragraph or two on each of 30 local firms including Rank Precision Industries, the Natural Rubber Producers' Research Association, British Lead Mills, Tolwood Engineering, F.E. Weatherill, and Graphic Litho Ltd.
I have scanned an image of the council offices and fire station, and a view
of some housing in The Reddings near Sherrards Park Wood.
click on the images for a better view