Discovering the Landscape: Dublin of the Future (1922)

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie's 1922 'Dublin of the future'

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie’s 1922 ‘Dublin of the future’

This post highlights Dublin of the future: new town plan by Patrick Abercrombie, Sydney Kelly and Arthur Kelly (University of Liverpool Press, 1922) – a title from our MERL Library Landscape Institute collections with intriguing context and provenance.

Patrick Abercrombie (1879-1957) was a town planner active in the interwar period.  He played a leading role in planning for the redevelopment of a number of urban areas, such as London and Plymouth.  Abercrombie retained a love of traditional landscapes and historic towns.  His 1926 article ‘The preservation of rural England‘ published in the Town Planning Review led to the foundation of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE – of which we hold an archival collection.

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie's 1922 'Dublin of the future'

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie’s 1922 ‘Dublin of the future’

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie's 1922 'Dublin of the future'

Plan of Dublin from Abercrombie’s 1922 ‘Dublin of the future’

The foreword of Dublin of the future gives us an impression of the impact contemporary events were having on the day to day life of the time.  The Civics Institute of Ireland launched a competition in 1914 to encourage plans for a ‘greater Dublin’, to stimulate innovative ideas for how the city might be developed and address its housing shortage.  The competition was won by Abercrombie, Sydney and Kelly.  The outbreak of World War I in 1914 marked the beginning of several turbulent years for the city.  In 1922, Abercrombie returned to his plans for Dublin:

The members of the Institute feel that with the recent change in National circumstances a new epoch has begun, and that the present is a most opportune time to arouse the interest of the Citizens, hence it is that the design and report prepared… in the year 1916, now appears.

T. W. Sharp signature on our copy of 'Dublin of the future'

T. W. Sharp signature on our copy of ‘Dublin of the future’

Interestingly, the copy of Dublin for the future we received from the Landscape Institute has been inscribed with the signature ‘T. W. Sharp’ on the front endpaper (left).

It seems a fair assumption that this signature belongs to Thomas (Wilfred) Sharp (1901-1978).

Thomas Sharp was a town planner and writer, who we can imagine was was inspired by Abercrombie’s work.  Sharp shared Abercrombie’s enthusiasm for the landscape and its protection (he was President of the Landscape Institute, 1949-1951).  Coming into his own as a town planner following World War II (working on towns such as Oxford, Exeter and Salisbury) that this is likely to be Sharp’s copy of Dublin is a very rewarding aspect of the provenance of the book.

Upon first opening the book – the reader is presented with a striking and unusual frontispiece (below).

'The last hour of the night' frontispiece illustrated by Harry Clarke

‘The last hour of the night’ frontispiece illustrated by Harry Clarke

On first inspection – you could almost wonder why this illustration is used as a frontispiece in a publication largely about the technicalities of town planning. Harry Clarke (1889-1931) was born in Dublin and worked as a book illustrator and stained-glass artist.  Clarke was also a prominent figure in the Arts and Crafts movement in Ireland.

Clarke’s The last hour of the night makes plain to the reader the damage incurred by the city during the preceding years of war and battles for independence.  It is a haunting image that alludes to the challenge faced by Abercrombie and his team to rebuild, redevelop and reinvigorate the city.

Few towns have suffered a change, physical and psychological,  during these intervening years of war, trade boom and subsequent depression: but Dublin has added the double tragedy of war and civil war within her gates.

(Dublin of the future, p. ix). 

You can see Dublin of the future in full here.

Find our more about our Landscape Institute collections here.

Questions?  Then please get in touch with us at merl@reading.ac.uk

Claire Wooldridge: Project Librarian (Landscape Institute) 

Discovering the Landscape: World Landscape Architecture Month (#WLAM2016)

April is World Landscape Architecture Month (#WLAM2016): an international celebration of landscape architecture.

Read on to find out more about #WLAM2016 and how you can get involved.

Celebrating World Landscape Architecture Month at the University of Reading's  London Road campus, Clock Tower Memorial Garden

Celebrating World Landscape Architecture Month at the University of Reading’s London Road campus, Clock Tower Memorial Garden

Established by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the purpose of World Landscape Architecture Month is to celebrate landscape architecture in our public spaces.

The aim is to highlight how the open, public spaces we inhabit every day are shaped by landscape architecture and the impact this has on how we feel about (and use) these spaces.

WLAM is truly international – people are invited to take part in a social media campaign, by sharing images of designed spaces using the hashtag #WLAM2016. Entries have been received from all over the world via twitter, instagram and Facebook.

ASLA have even created a card which you can print out to feature in your landscape photos.  You can download the card here.

Here in the UK the Landscape Institute is encouraging participation.  Just post or tweet using #WLAM2016.

A Scottish contribution to #WLAM2016 - posted to twitter by Landscape Institute Scotland (@LI_Scotland).

A Scottish contribution to #WLAM2016 – posted to twitter by Landscape Institute Scotland (@LI_Scotland).

A picture of Central Park, New York for #WLAM2016

A picture of Central Park, New York for #WLAM2016

Though we may be the Museum of English Rural Life, as many landscape architects work on projects around the world, our Landscape Institute collections have an international edge.  James Corner, who designed  New York’s much loved High Line and the South Park Plaza of London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, delivered a lecture here last year.

Landscape architects that we hold collections for, such as Geoffrey Jellicoe, Peter Shepheard and Brenda Colvin, completed projects in the UK and abroad.  You can find our more about our Landscape Institute collections here.

Take part in and follow #WLAM2016 to celebrate World Landscape Architecture Month.

Claire Wooldridge: Project Librarian (Landscape Institute) 

Hot off the lorry: the Landscape Institute archive and library has arrived!

written by Nancy Fulford, Project Archivist.

We are really excited to welcome the archive, library and associated architect’s collections of the Landscape Institute at MERL. Earlier this year the Institute decided that we would be the new home for these collections which have largely been in storage and inaccessible since 2008.

The Landscape Institute Archive arriving at our Store

The Landscape Institute Archive arriving at our Store

The Landscape Institute  was founded in 1929 with a formal library established in 1967 and archive collections in the 1990s. The archive collections include architectural drawings, photographs, slides, project files, notebooks and scrapbooks and include the drawings and personal realia (such as drawing equipment) of founder member of the Institute and landscape architect Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. The library contains over 15,000 books, journals and pamphlets which we will be starting to catalogue and make accessible over the coming months alongside archive cataloguing. The archive boxes are on the shelves and we’re making our way through the 75+ crates of books before moving on to the drawings.

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These collections are an invaluable resource for researchers, landscape architects, picture researchers and those with an interest in landscape design, gardens and gardening. In our redevelopment we’re hoping to be able to show off the richness of our Archive collections, so look out for regular updates on the MERL blog which will include current research, cataloguing updates and highlights from the collections.