Person    | Male  Born 2/11/1863  Died 29/6/1940

Sir Raymond Unwin

Categories: Architecture, Property

Countries: USA

Born Whiston, near Rotherham. Architect & town planner. With his partner Barry Parker he designed Letchworth Garden City in 1903 and Hampstead Garden Suburb in 1907. Died in Connecticut, where he was visiting professor of town planning at Columbia University.

2022: The Guardian told a nice story about Unwin and Parker: "British domestic architecture has also been shaped by idiosyncratic rules that contribute to its poor environmental credentials. For instance, in many parts of the UK, homes that face each other at the rear are required to be built 21 metres apart. This large distance means that instead of clustering buildings together around cool courtyards or shady streets, as is common in hotter climates, many homes in new neighbourhoods are directly exposed to the sun. The 21-metre rule is, according to the Stirling prize-winning architect Annalie Riches, a bizarre hangover from 1902, originally intended to protect the modesty of Edwardian women. The urban designers Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker walked apart in a field until they could no longer see each other’s nipples through their shirts. The two men measured the distance between them to be 70ft (21 metres), and this became the distance that is still used today, 120 years later, to dictate how far apart many British homes should be built."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sir Raymond Unwin

Commemorated ati

Sir Raymond Unwin - blue

The original designer of Hampstead Garden Suburb, Sir Raymond Unwin, architec...

Read More

Sir Raymond Unwin - purple

The original designer of Hampstead Garden Suburb, Sir Raymond Unwin, architec...

Read More

Other Subjects

John Young & Son

John Young & Son

Architects active in 1862. Our picture is of John Young, 1797-1877, and the picture source says "Mr Young's eldest son, also called John Young, was to become a successful architect/surveyor in his ...

Group, Architecture

1 memorial
Giles Dance

Giles Dance

Architect/mason.  Father of George Dance the Elder (1695 - 1768) and grandfather of George Dance the Younger.  Member of the Merchant Taylors Company.  The dates are approximate.

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Edward Middleton Barry

Edward Middleton Barry

Third son of Sir Charles Barry. Born 27 Foley Place. Work in London: St. Saviour's Church Hampstead, Charing Cross Hotel, new chambers at Inner Temple and at Middle Temple, the colonnade at Borough...

Person, Architecture

1 memorial
Guy Nicholls

Guy Nicholls

Architect active in 1950. Possibly the borough surveyor for St Marylebone but we cannot confirm that.

Person, Architecture

1 memorial

Previously viewed

King Edward VII

King Edward VII

Reigned: 1901 - 1910. Born and died at Buckingham Palace. Victoria's eldest son, born as Prince Albert and known as Bertie in the family, he took the name Edward when he became king, aged almost 60...

Person, Royalty, Seriously Famous

43 memorials
J. R. McDonald, Tpr.

J. R. McDonald, Tpr.

Imperial Camel Corps, Australian Contingent, 3rd Battalion

Person

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Sebastian Gahagan

Sebastian Gahagan

The brothers Lawrence and Sebastian Gahagan, sculptors of note in London between 1760 and 1820, were Irishmen called Geoghegan at home.

Person, Sculpture, Ireland

1 memorial
Shakespeare's tree

Shakespeare's tree

NW3, Primrose Hill

The plaque is now lost.

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Austin Dobson

Austin Dobson

SW10, Redcliffe Street, 10

London County Council Austin Dobson, 1840-1921, poet and essayist, lived here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator