The brainchild and leading voice behind Hampstead Garden Suburb was Henrietta Barnett. Building started in the years before the First World War with the aim of creating a planned community for all classes which would avoid the problems of inner-city slums and the perceived monotony of the suburbs which were spreading rapidly with the outward expansion of the Underground.
The walk will introduce the main features of the Suburb, a selection of its housing and open spaces and culminate at its centrepiece of Central Square planned by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Hampstead Garden Suburb is world famous as a planned garden suburb, yet despite conservation area status and a wealth of listed buildings it often overlooked as a gem of north London.
There will be opportunities to talk about the architecture of the Suburb, the extent to which Henrietta’s aims were achieved and how the Suburb is adapting to the future ways of living.
