Although sounding for all the world like a comedy double-act Parker and Unwin were very significant in the history of house design in the early 20th century, their residual influence stretching on through the century.
Barry Parker (1867-1947 and see above) started an architectural and town planning partnership with Raymond Unwin (his brother-in-law) in 1896. Both men were disciples of the Arts and Crafts Movement and sought to apply these principles to working class house design. In fact there had been a long-running public debate about the design of working class housing with the objectives of making working class communities more appealing (Parker and Unwin disliked the by-law housing and grid-plan street pattern so prevalent in Hull at the time, this especially so north and south of Hessle Road), housing better-built, lay-out plans considering aspect and as much greenery as possible. The then periodical The Builder provided a platform for much of this debate.
In 1902 the partnership secured the contract to design the new industrial village, New Earswick, to the north of York for the Rowntree family. Soon after they were designing houses for the first new town influenced by the principles of the Garden City Movement at Letchworth, north of London. Their third great contract of the early 20th century was to design some housing for the developing Hampstead Garden Suburb, outer north London.
The Garden City Movement had been set in motion following the publication of Ebenezer Howard’s book ‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow’, 1902.
Between the wars Barry Parker concentrated on town planning and the planning for large new estates such as Wythenshawe, south of Manchester. Like North Hull Estate before it, Wythenshawe was for a time one of the largest new council estates in Europe.
So why are we noting these things when our remit is Humberside? The answer is simple, because their ideas and plans influenced so much that was to follow across the whole country.
(to be continued)