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Basic Biographic Details

Raymond Unwin
Architect
Exact Date
Exact Date
29/06/1940
Raymond Unwin was born at Whiston, Rotherham on 2 November 1863, the second son of William Unwin, a tutor at Balliol College, Oxford and his wife Elizabeth Sully. Unwin was educated at Magdalen College Choir School, Oxford, where he became aware of the Socialist principles of John Ruskin and William Morris. In 1883 he settled in Chesterfield as an engineering apprentice and came into contact with the Socialist philosopher Edward Carpenter at Millthorpe, Sheffield; and in 1885 he obtained a post as an engineering draughtsman in Manchester where he was local secretary of William Morris's Socialist League, writing articles for its newspaper 'Commonweal'. In 1887 he moved again to the Staveley Coal and Iron Company in Derbyshire, and although he had no training in architecture, began planning mining communities for which he designed schools, chapels and churches.

In 1896 Unwin went into partnership with his younger half cousin, Richard Barry Parker. The early work of the practice consisted mainly of large houses influenced by Voysey, Baillie Scott and the American Gustav Stickley of which Balnagowan, Edinburgh is one of the best examples. Unwin became convinced that Arts and Crafts principles should be applied to working-class housing, and in 1898-99 they published designs for co-operative housing, Unwin also writing an important paper 'Co-operation in Building'. This was followed by ‘The Art of Building A Home’ published in 1901 and by a second, more developed, paper by Unwin given at the Garden City Association conference in Bournville in September 1901 which brought the commission for the garden village of New Earswick from the Quaker cocoa refiners Joseph and Seebohm Rowntree. These publications were followed by tract entitled ‘College Plans and Common Sense’ in 1902.

In the following year the founder of the Garden City Movement, Ebeneezer Howard invited Parker & Unwin to advise on the site for Letchworth and in February 1904 Unwin won the limited competition for its layout. This in turn brought the commission for Hampstead Garden Suburb from Henrietta Barnett in February 1905 in which they worked in association with Edwin Landseer Lutyens. Their work and philosophy became well-known in America, Parker publishing thirty articles on Stickey’s magazine ‘The Carftsmen’ between 1902 and 1916.

In 1908-09 Unwin wrote ‘Town Planning in Practice’ a major work influenced by German practice and J S Nettlefolds ‘Practical Housing’ published in 1907. Together with his advocacy of town planning legislation from 1902 onwards, it made him an international authority on housing and town planning. He organised the International Town Planning Conference held in London in 1910 and his time became increasingly taken up with public sector work. In 1911 the RIBA appointed him a delegate to the Third National Conference and American City Planning Exhibition in Philadelphia, the Unwins subsequent tour of North America including Chicago and Montreal. On his return he became a lecturer at the University of Birmingham with an endowment from George Cadbury. Although these activities brought the partnership much new business, they left Parker almost wholly responsible for its management and the first steps towards dissolution were taken in 1914. The practice became Parker’s in May of the following year, Unwin having been appointed Town Planning Adviser to the Central Government Board in December 1914. Nevertheless in addition to a large general practice which included the enlargement of New Earswick in the 1920s Parker had a continuing town planning practice, advising on Oporto, Portugal in 1915 and Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1917-1919 and from 1927 Manchester City Council on the development of Wythenshawe where he had a continuing role until 1941. He died at Letchworth on 21 February 1947.

In 1915 Unwin was seconded to the Ministry of Munitions to design the villages of Gretna, Eastriggs and Queensferry, (Mancot Royal, Cheshire) and from 1917 had an influential role at the Tudor Walters Committee on working-class housing. His report was published in 1919, the year in which he was appointed Chief Architect to the newly formed Ministry of Health, a post which had become Chief Technical Officer for Housing and Town Planning by the time of his retirement in November 1928. He became technical adviser to the Greater London Regional Planning Committee on 1 January 1929 and largely wrote its two reports, the first published in that year and the second in 1933. From 1933 until 1934 he was chairman of the Building Research Board which he had helped found in 1920.

Unwin was President of the RIBA in 1931-33, was knighted in 1932 and received the RIBA’s Gold Medal in 1937. Unwin made an extended tour of North America in 1933-34 in the course of which he met the Roosevelts. This was followed by his appointment as visiting professor of town planning at Columbia University in September 1935. Throughout the later 1930s he continued to give advice to housing associations, universities and the British and US governments and was one of the founders of the School of Planning and Research for National Development with Frank Pick, Steen Eiler Resmussen and others, the preliminary meeting to set it up being held at his house. Unwin was lecturing in the USA when the Second World War broke out in September 1939. Unable to return home, he thereafter lived with his daughter Margaret Curtice Hitchcock (1899-1982) and it was at her house at Old Lyme, Connecticut that he died 28/29 June 1940 (not at her apartment in New York as sometimes stated). The Unwins had one other child, Edward, born 1894 who also became an architect and worked with his father on the Greater London plan but he predeceased him in 1936.

Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From Date From TypeDate ToDate To TypeNotes
Buxton Derbyshire EnglandBusiness1896
Wyldes North End Hampstead London EnglandBusiness1914

Employment and Training

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):

Employers2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Parker & Unwin202214In year 1896In year 1915Partner

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this person (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
John Murray Easton204997After 1912Before 1914Assistant
Thomas Alwyn Lloyd205361In year 1907In year 1912Assistant

RIBA Proposals

This person proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

PersonDate ProposedNotes
Alfred Hugh Mottram1911/12/04for Associateship
John Carrick Stuart Soutar1926/06/01for Fellowship
Alfred Hugh Mottram1939/03/06for Fellowship

Buildings and Designs

This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2 classic

Building NameDate StartedTown, District or VillageIslandCity or CountyCountryNotes
BalnagowanIn year 1906MurrayfieldEdinburghScotland
Westerton Garden Suburb, 1-31 and 2-16 NorthviewIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotlandActed as consultant
Westerton Garden Suburb: Village HallIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotland
Westerton Garden Suburb, 2-16 Stirling AvenueIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotlandActed as consultant
Westerton Garden Suburb, 25-107 and 46-64 Maxwell AvenueIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotlandActed as consultant
Westerton Garden Suburb: Tennis Club and Bowling ClubIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotlandConsultant
Westerton Garden Suburb: Master PlanIn year 1913Westerton, BearsdenGlasgowScotlandAs consultant
23-33 Canberra RoadIn year 1916GretnaDumfriesshireScotlandMasterplan with Crickmer as site architect
House and shop, 50 Annan RoadIn year 1916GretnaDunfreisshireScotland
Garden Village, GretnaIn year 1916Gretna GreenDumfriesshireScotlandMasterplan - With Crickmer
Post Office EastriggsIn year 1916EastriggsDumfriesshireScotlandDesign carried out by (one of) a group of architects acting under the directorship of Raymond Unwin
Eastriggs Garden VillageIn year 1916EastriggsDumfriesshireScotlandMaster plan
2-32 Canberra RoadIn year 1916GretnaDumfriesshireScotlandMasterplan with Crickmer as site architect
St John the Evangelist Episcopal ChurchIn year 1917EastriggsDumfriesshireScotlandSuperintended work
St Andrew ChurchIn year 1917GretnaDumfriesshireScotlandMasterplan with Crickmer as site architect

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
Miller, MRaymond Unwin: Garden Cities and Town Planning1992
Miller, MLetchworth the First Garden City1989
British Architectural Library, RIBADirectory of British Architects 1834-19142001
Jackson, FrankSir Raymond Unwin, Architect Planner and Visionary1985London
Grove Dictionary of ArtGrove Dictionary of Art
New DNBNew Dictionary of National Biography