39-575: WGC may refer to: Welwyn Garden City , town in Hertfordshire, England Welwyn Garden City railway station , Hertfordshire, England, by National Rail station code Willard Grant Conspiracy , an American band William Gershom Collingwood , artist World Gliding Championships World Gold Council , a non-profit association of the world's leading gold mining companies World Golf Championships Writers Guild of Canada Warangal Airport ,
78-466: A maritime or oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb ), in common with the rest of the United Kingdom. The town experiences warm summers and cool winters. Ever since its inception as a garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are: Welwyn Garden City was once well known as
117-428: A service from Harlow via Welwyn Garden City to Heathrow Airport , stopping at places such as Watford and Rickmansworth . The railway station is in the town centre. Trains are operated by Thameslink and run south to London King's Cross and Great Northern to London Moorgate and Thameslink run north to Stevenage , Hitchin , Cambridge . Welwyn Garden City is well-served by major arterial road routes, namely
156-638: A youth cricket programme. WGCCC First XI competes in the Saracens Herts Premier League. The town has a rugby club called Welwyn RFC. The lake in Stanborough Park is the home of Welwyn Garden City Sailing Club (founded 1973) and the WGC Angling Club. See List of people from Welwyn Garden City Louis de Soissons Louis Emanuel Jean Guy de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons CVO RA FRIBA (1890–1962)
195-453: Is Andrew Lewin ( Labour ). The nearby town of Hatfield and the village of Welwyn have parish councils with limited responsibilities, but Welwyn Garden City has none, although it had one between 1921 and 1927. The land earmarked for the town in 1920 straddled the parishes of Hatfield , Digswell , Welwyn and Tewin . On 1 October 1921, a civil parish called Welwyn Garden City was created from parts of those four parishes. The new parish
234-704: Is a Grade II listed building on Handside Lane. Welwyn Thalians, an amateur dramatic and operatic group, has performed in the town since 1929. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC London and ITV London . Television signals are received from either the Crystal Palace or the local relay transmitters. BBC East and ITV Anglia can also be received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Three Counties Radio on 90.4 FM, Heart Hertfordshire on 106.9 FM and Radio Verulam on 92.6 FM. The Welwyn Hatfield Times
273-516: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( / ˈ w ɛ l ɪ n / WEL -in ) is a town in Hertfordshire , England, 20 miles (32 km) north of London . It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It
312-473: Is laid out along tree-lined boulevards with a neo-Georgian town centre. It has its own environmental protection legislation, the Scheme of Management for Welwyn Garden City. Every road has a wide grass verge. The spine of the town is Parkway, a central mall or scenic parkway, almost a mile long. The view along Parkway to the south was once described as one of the world's finest urban vistas. Older houses are on
351-413: Is located near the town centre. Welwyn Garden City's Music Society gave its first concert in 1921 within weeks of the town's foundation; its choir and orchestra, led by James Ross , have performed a regular concert season in the town ever since. The town also boasts a Concert Club, which promotes chamber music recitals, and a Male Voice Choir. Welwyn Garden City Band was founded in 1934. The Barn Theatre
390-460: Is provided by Centrebus, connecting Welwyn to Codicote and Hitchin . The bus station is close to the railway station. Uno buses serve the nearby towns of Hatfield, St Albans, Potters Bar , Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Barnet . Uno buses also serve further out into North London. Both the 601 and 653 also provide links to the University of Hertfordshire . Green Line bus route 724 runs
429-594: Is the home of Hatfield Hyde Cricket Club since 1889, predating Welwyn Garden City by 31 years. The playing field was once used by the England football team for training. During the 1966 football World Cup the French, West German and Argentinian football teams stayed at the Homestead Court Hotel alongside the King George V playing fields. There are three golf courses: Panshanger, owned and operated by
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#1732766263544468-542: Is the town's local weekly newspaper. The Gosling Sports Centre houses a dry ski slope, golf driving range, indoor and outdoor tennis, squash, football pitches, an athletics track, velodrome, a gym and bowls as well as a trampoline park. Welwyn Garden City football team founded in 1921, known as the Citizens, are based in Herns Lane. The King George V playing field, on the boundary of the old Hatfield Hyde village
507-490: Is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and exemplifies the physical, social and cultural planning ideals of the periods in which it was built. Welwyn Garden City was founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in 1920 following his previous experiment in Letchworth Garden City . Howard had called for the creation of planned towns that were to combine the benefits of the city and the countryside and to avoid
546-731: The A1(M) and the A414 . The Great North Road also passes around it next to the A1(M). In addition, there are other links to St Albans, Harpenden and Luton (via B653), Hatfield (via A1000 and A1001) and Hertford (via B1000). During the growth in car ownership in the 1950s and 1960s, the town struggled to build enough garages or hard-standing spaces for the additional vehicles, which has led to many properties losing their traditional hedges and front gardens to accommodate driveways. Welwyn Garden City has five secondary schools: A campus of Oaklands College
585-875: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Greece and Italy. Among de Soisson's designs was the Coriano Ridge War Cemetery in Coriano , Italy. Later the practice’s buildings included a number of important buildings, such as the Wellcome Foundation , The Leathersellers Company , (a reconstruction in 1948 after wartime bombing), the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Regent's Park and
624-487: The Howard Centre , was built in the 1980s, incorporating a replacement for the original "temporary" railway station . There is a resurgence of interest in the ethos of the garden city and the type of neighbourhood and community advocated by Howard, prompted by the problems of metropolitan and regional development and the importance of sustainability in government policy. On the outskirts of Old Welwyn village,
663-772: The International Wool Secretariat in Carlton Terrace , London . He also designed the Hobbs' Gates at The Oval cricket ground, in memory of Sir Jack Hobbs , the noted Surrey and England player, and a statue of George VI . The Crown Estates Commissioners retained the firm to restore Cumberland and Chester Terraces, by John Nash . For the MCC work has been carried out on seating. Work for academic institutions included Eton College , and Exeter and Cambridge Universities. The firm changed tack in
702-467: The Royal Institute of British Architects , enabling three years of European travel and study. The first major commission of the practice he set up (Louis de Soissons Partnership) was the 'master plan' (so-called - a very early use of the term) for Welwyn Garden City (1920), a planned town created by Ebenezer Howard in neo-Georgian style, built on cheap redundant farmland . Louis de Soissons
741-744: The Welwyn Roman baths are preserved in a steel vault underneath junction 6 of the A1(M) and are open to visitors. The local civic society, which aims to preserve and conserve the garden city ethos, is the Welwyn Garden City Society. The international ecumenical Focolare movement has its British headquarters at Welwyn Garden City. In 2008, during construction of a site for HSBC , 60 unsecured argonite fire suppressant cylinders discharged, killing one person, injuring six others and causing substantial damage. Three firms were later convicted of health and safety offences. 2020 saw
780-741: The 100th anniversary for Welwyn Garden City with a series of celebrations planned. They could not all be done amidst the Coronavirus pandemic . Welwyn Garden City had a population of 46,619 in 2011, and 51,735 (estimated) in 2016. Welwyn Garden City is part of the Welwyn Hatfield Borough and comprises seven local authority wards. It is in the county of Hertfordshire and the parliamentary constituency of Welwyn Hatfield . Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has its offices in Welwyn Garden City. The MP for Welwyn Hatfield
819-778: The 1960s, and commercial work such as the Brighton Marina shows a greater deference to modernism . The firm's headquarters are now in Luton , Bedfordshire . In 1923 Louis de Soissons became a fellow of the RIBA and a member of both the Town Planning Institute, later RTPI , and the Société des Architectes Diplômés par le Gouvernement . He was made an academician - a fellow of the Royal Academy - in 1953 and
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#1732766263544858-576: The IATA Airport code Weak gravity conjecture , a hypothesis in theoretical physics Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title WGC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WGC&oldid=1233885661 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
897-652: The borough council, Mill Green Golf Course located in Gypsy Lane, and the Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, of which Nick Faldo was once a member. The Digswell Park Sports Association brings together Welwyn Garden City Cricket Club, Welwyn Garden City Bowls Club and the Digswell Park Sports and Social Club, at Digswell Park, Knightsfield. Welwyn Garden City Cricket Club was founded in 1921 and runs 7-weekend senior sides along with
936-682: The corner of Bridge Road and The Campus. The new building was formally opened in January 1937. This building served as the headquarters of Welwyn Garden City Urban District Council until its abolition in 1974. Between 20 May 1948 and 31 March 1966 the development of the town was also administered by the Welwyn Garden City Development Corporation, set up under the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68). Welwyn Garden City Urban District Council
975-418: The disadvantages of both. It was designed to be 'The Perfect Town'. The Garden Cities and Town Planning Association had defined a garden city as "a town designed for healthy living and industry of a size that makes possible a full measure of social life but not larger, surrounded by a rural belt; the whole of the land being in public ownership, or held in trust for the community" In 1919, Howard arranged for
1014-494: The home of the breakfast cereal Shredded Wheat , formerly made by Nabisco . With its large white silos, the disused Nabisco Shredded Wheat Factory is a landmark on rail routes between London and the north of England. The factory, designed by de Soissons and built in 1924 by Peter Lind & Company, is a Grade II listed building . Production moved to the Cereal Partners factory at Staverton , Wiltshire in 2007 when
1053-521: The major nearby towns of Stevenage , Hatfield , St Albans and Hemel Hempstead , as well as neighbouring villages Woolmer Green and Knebworth . The 301 additionally connects both the nearby hospitals in Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City, while the 300 provides a direct link to recreational areas such as Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn Garden City and Verulamium Roman town in St Albans. Service 314
1092-755: The open country. "Welwyn, though far from perfect, made the New Towns Act possible, just as Hatfield, by its imperfection, made it necessary." In 1966, the Development Corporation was wound up and handed over to the Commission for New Towns . The housing stock, neighbourhood shopping and green spaces were passed to Welwyn Hatfield District Council between 1978 and 1983. The New QEII Hospital , completed in June 2015, offers outpatient, diagnostic and ante/postnatal services. A shopping mall,
1131-618: The owner, Nestlé , decided that the factory required significant and prohibitive investment, due to the age of the building. Tesco applied to build a supermarket on the site, but planning permission was refused by the local authority in January 2012 after significant public protest. In December 2018, the newly renamed "Wheat Quarter" area had planning permission approved for complete area redevelopment, consisting of 1,454 units, mainly homes, as well as office, retail and community uses. The former supermarket chain Fine Fare had its head office in
1170-432: The project was already being discussed generally as the "new garden city near Welwyn". On 29 April 1920, the company changed its name to become Welwyn Garden City Limited. Sir Theodore Chambers chaired the company, whilst Louis de Soissons was appointed as architect and town planner, Charles Purdom as finance director and Frederic Osborn as secretary. The first house was occupied just before Christmas 1920. The town
1209-551: The purchase of land in Hertfordshire that had already been identified as a suitable site. A company called Second Garden City Limited was formed in October 1919 to start buying the land and developing the town. On 4 February 1920, the company's board decided to call the new garden city Digswell , taking the name of the existing small village which would be surrounded by the development. Six days later they changed their minds, deciding instead to call it Welwyn Garden City, reflecting that
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1248-561: The town at one time, as did ICI's Plastics Division. There used to be a Xerox office located in Welwyn Garden City but it closed in 2016. There is a Sainsbury's in the town centre, and a Morrisons in Panshanger. Welwyn Garden City's proximity to London makes it a convenient commuter town . Buses are provided by Arriva Shires & Essex , Centrebus and Uno , with some assistance from Hertfordshire County Council . Arriva's 300/301 Centraline service links Welwyn Garden City to
1287-557: The west side of Parkway and newer houses on the east side The original planners intended that all the residents of the garden city would shop in one shop and created the Welwyn Stores, a monopoly which caused some local resentment. Commercial pressures have since ensured much more competition and variety, and the Welwyn Stores were in 1984 taken over by the John Lewis Partnership . In 1948, Welwyn Garden City
1326-745: Was appointed architect for the town in 1920 and the practice was significantly involved in its development over the next 60 years. He designed the Nabisco Shredded Wheat Factory for the eponymous Canadian company. Other important early projects included the Home Office and Duchy of Cornwall Estates in London , where the future Edward VIII was the effective client and the Nag's Head Estate in Bethnal Green, London, E2 which
1365-502: Was designated a new town under the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68) and the Welwyn Garden City company handed its assets to the Welwyn Garden City Development Corporation. Louis de Soissons remained as its planning consultant. That year The Times compared Welwyn Garden City with Hatfield . It described Welwyn Garden City as a world-famous modern new town developed as an experiment in community planning and Hatfield as an unplanned settlement created by sporadic building in
1404-674: Was granted a coat of arms on 15 December 1958. Welwyn Garden City Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 , merging with Welwyn Rural District and Hatfield Rural District to become the district of Welwyn Hatfield on 1 April 1974. There are some successor civil parish created for the town, and so it is governed directly by Welwyn Hatfield District Council (Borough Council after 2006). The Welwyn Garden City Urban District Council's former offices at The Campus are still used by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council as its headquarters. Welwyn Garden City experiences
1443-592: Was initially part of the Welwyn Rural District . By 1923, the Welwyn Garden City parish council was based in offices on Bridge Road, on the edge of the site identified for the new town centre of the garden city. The parish of Welwyn Garden City was made an urban district on 1 April 1927, making it independent of the Welwyn Rural District Council. New offices were built on the site of the former parish council's offices at
1482-514: Was one of the few private " slum clearance " projects undertaken by a private landlord. When young he had been much influenced by 18th-century Italian architecture, and gained a reputation as a classical architect, but with a deep humanism resulting from his new town work. After the Second World War the firm expanded to Plymouth and Exeter to carry out a wide variety of architectural work. Nearly 50 war cemeteries were designed for
1521-533: Was the younger son of Charles de Savoie-Carignan , Count de Soissons (with claimed descent, through an illegitimate son, from Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano ). An architect, he was professionally known as Louis de Soissons . de Soissons was born in Montreal, Quebec , Canada, but moved in childhood with his family to London . In 1913 he won the first year of the Henry Jarvis scholarship of
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