Place:Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Letchworth, officially Letchworth Garden City, is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 33,600 (21st century estimate). It was a civil parish until its status was abolished on 31 March 2013.

The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded (the other two being Willian and Norton) – all of which featured in the Domesday Book of 1086. The land used for the "garden city" was purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the area and build a Quaker community. The town was laid out by town planner Raymond Unwin (1863-1940) as a demonstration of the principles established by Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) who sought to create an alternative to the industrial city by combining the best of town and country living. It is also home to the United Kingdom's first roundabout, which was built in 1909.

As one of the world's first new towns and the first garden city it had great influence on future town planning and the New Towns movement; it influenced Welwyn Garden City, which used a similar approach and inspired other projects around the world.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Letchworth.

Research Tips

• The hundred of Broadwater: Introduction and map as provided by British History Online in the Victoria County History of Hertfordshire, volume 3, pp 52-53
• The parish of Letchworth ibid, volume 3, pp 118-124