Town Hall

Letchworth Town Hall is a Neo-Georgian civic building from the mid-1930s on Broadway, the main street of Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. It is Grade II listed and stands as one of the key public buildings of the world's first garden city.

What is Town Hall in Letchworth?

Letchworth Garden City was founded in the early twentieth century as a planning experiment: a town designed around greenery, healthy housing and local work. The town hall served as the seat of local government and remains one of the most recognisable buildings in the town centre. It is not a medieval market-square guildhall, though. It is an interwar building, restrained and understated in style.

When and why was it built?

Letchworth grew quickly enough to become an urban district in 1919. Part of that growth came from workers drawn to local employers, including the Spirella Corset Company. The council needed a proper home, and open land on the east side of Broadway was chosen for it.

The original masterplan envisaged a group of civic buildings around a central square. The First World War delayed the scheme, and in the end only the town hall was built, between 1934 and 1935.

Who designed it?

The architects were local men Robert Bennett and Wilson Bidwell. Both had trained under Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, the planners of Letchworth. Bennett and Bidwell designed many listed houses in the town as well as other public buildings, among them the Broadway Cinema. The town hall is therefore the work of architects who understood the garden city idea from the inside.

What does the building look like?

The town hall is Neo-Georgian. Its walls are red brick with stone dressings, with stone string courses marking the floors and a projecting cornice at the top. The centrepiece is a square central clock tower.

Inside, the staircase rests on polished stone Doric columns. The Council Chamber retains its wood panelling and the Letchworth coat of arms. The overall impression is of quiet elegance without excess decoration.

Is it worth visiting?

For anyone interested in twentieth-century architecture, town planning or the garden city movement, yes. It works best as part of a walk through central Letchworth, where the layout of streets, greenery and buildings tells the story of the first garden city. It will not fill half a day, but it is a worthwhile stop on a tour of the town.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Letchworth Town Hall? On Broadway, in the centre of Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire.

When was it built? Between 1934 and 1935.

Who designed it? Robert Bennett and Wilson Bidwell, local architects who trained with Parker and Unwin.

What style is the building? Neo-Georgian, in red brick with stone detailing and a square clock tower.

Is it a listed building? Yes, it is Grade II listed.

Was a whole group of civic buildings planned? Yes. The masterplan placed several civic buildings around a central square, but after delays caused by the First World War only the town hall was built.