Ebenezer's Welwyn Vision

Hertfordshire has a key place in the history of the Garden City Movement. Within the county are Letchworth, started in 1903, and Welwyn Garden City, the theme of this walk, started in 1920. The movement was the inspiration of the utopian socialist Ebenezer Howard, who published the cumbersomely titled Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform in 1898. It inspired the foundation of the Garden City Association in 1899 and the book was rewritten in 1902 with the somewhat snappier title, Garden Cities of Tomorrow.

Letchworth was started by Howard in nearly 4,000 acres (1,620ha) of land to the west of Baldock. After the First World War he began his next venture, refining his ideas after the lessons of Letchworth. Howard bought 1,688 acres (684ha) south east of Welwyn at auction from the Cowper estate in May 1919, adding a further 694 acres (281ha) in October of that year. In April 1920 he formed Welwyn Garden City Limited and the first houses were occupied by Christmas. The aim of both Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City was to create a complete town with industry and commerce giving a viable economic base. The railway that cuts through the middle of the city, running north to south, had a profound influence on its layout, which was master-minded by a young, idealistic architect called Louis de Soissons. The principal boulevard is Parkway, which has parallel avenues of trees. Parkway and the semi-circular Campus at its north end have the same axis as the railway, which also served to separate the city into two. On the east side were working class housing and factories. West of Parkway is middle class housing, much of it occupied by commuters to London. Our route crosses The Campus, goes down Parkway and then west to wind through the middle class housing with its trees and hedges, many retained from the previous farmland. The style of buildings here is 'cottage Georgian', which works well at this scale. However, to the east of Parkway the larger-scale 1930s buildings, also by de Soissons, are in an over-blown Neo-Georgian style, complete with pedimented porticos or temple fronts.

Welwyn is a remarkable achievement. Its shredded wheat factory, designed by de Soissons in 1925, is now a listed building. Other notable early factories included Norton Abrasives and Roche, whose laboratories and offices, opened in 1938. After the Second World War a third generation of planned towns arrived and Hertfordshire received its fair share - Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield.

What to look for

At the start of the walk, in Parkway, there is a memorial to Sir Theodore Chambers who, from 1920 to 1950, was 'Chairman of Welwyn Garden City Ltd, the company which planned and established this town'. On The Campus is a memorial wall to Louis de Soissons (1890-1962), the architect 'who designed this town'. This memorial was unveiled by the late Queen Mother in 1976.

While you're there

In a steel-roofed structure beneath the A1(M) near Junction 6 is a remarkable Roman site, Welwyn Roman Baths. Near to Welwyn village, the site was excavated just as the motorway route was confirmed. The bath house was built in the 3rd century ad, and belonged to a prosperous Roman villa. It is complete with hypocaust (under-floor heating) and is now open to the public.

Where to eat and drink

There are pubs, restaurants and cafés aplenty in Welwyn Garden City. Some are in the modern Howard Centre shopping mall east of Parkway. In Lemsford, the Sun Inn, an inn since at least 1716, serves food, as does the Waggoners at Ayot Green, an 18th-century, painted brick building and a pub since 1851.