The suburban development and urban sprawl around
London was driven by a desire to own a house (which came from an anti-urban
sentiment that idolised country living) and the appearance of reliable
infrastructure (to effectively make the move beyond the city possible as
proximity to the workplace was no longer a guiding factor in housing). Along
the metropolitan railway many suburban developments were built by the train
company (so-called Metro-land). In other places rail infrastructure preceded
planned and unplanned development. Most early development was unplanned or at
best piecemeal.
In 1875 Jonathan Carr bought 24 acres (97.000 m2) of
land near Turnham Green Station which had opened six years earlier. From here
it was only 30 minutes by train to the City of London. The site he acquired had
many large trees standing on it and it was this character that lead to a
development plan being drawn that was very different from the usual Victorian
housing development. To protect the mature trees on site an informal plan was
made. The new streets around Bedford House don't follow older country lanes (as
we saw in Merton Park), but instead fan out from the edge of Acton Green Common
(Turnham Green is actually located further west on the edge of Chiswick near
Chiswick Park station). A north-south street (The Avenue) connects the
development to the station. Streets are typically rather short and straight or
have a curve at beginning or end.
Most of the buildings were designed by Richard Norman
Shaw, one of the leading architects of the day, who used ornament and detailing
to create great visual variety with a limited number of house types. The houses
were designed in a typical Queen Anne revival style. Shaw eclectic style often
also included Tudor element like massive chimney stacks, half-timbered panels,
hanging tiles and projecting gables. The development also included a church,
parish hall, pub, art school and a row of shops near the station.
This suburb is often called the first garden suburb in
the world. This isn't accurate, as Merton Park predates it by some years,
although most of the buildings in both estates were constructed around the same
time. Bedford Park however did directly influence the Garden City Movement and
served as a spatial model for other suburban developments around the world. The
estate was praised by Sir John Betjeman, founding member of the Victorian
Society, and Hermann Muthesius. Bedford park is mentioned in Das Englische
House (1904): "It signifies neither
more nor less than the starting point of the smaller modern house, which spread
from there over the whole country." Each house had a custom designed fence on a
low wall with gate along the front garden. This gave the whole estate a more rural
feel. Hence also the name garden suburb, as the front gardens were so visible
the building were effectively set within gardens. This contrasted with typical
Victorian developments where the facade dominated the streetscape and gardens
were hidden from view at the back of buildings.
The development of Bedford park shows rapid
urbanisation. From a large manor house (called Bedford Park) standing among the
fields on the edge of a small common the area developed into a suburb. Bedford
House still remains as the end of a row of shops. Initially the large trees
around the house were built around. and the new streets were planted with a mix
of ornamental trees. The listed status doesn't extend to additions after 1910.
After the 1950s the estate became overcrowded as a
result of the large houses being split into flats and bedsits. When a large
building was demolished in 1963 and replaced by a five-storey retirement home,
the Bedford Park Society was set up aimed at preserving this historic place. As
a result the government listed most of the estate in 1967. This was followed by
the councils of Hounslow and Ealing
designating Bedford Park a conservation area. The area has much improved since.
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