The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at the St. Thomas’s Centre on Thursday September 5th. The Chairman and Secretary presented their reports, and the Committee reconfirmed with the following changes. Daniel Botham has stepped down, and Darrell Clark will now take his place at the monthly meeting.
The brief meeting was followed by our guest speaker Dr. Hugh Ellis, the Policy Director of the Town and Country Planning Association.
In an engrossing talk he took us through the history of the Garden City Movement and most importantly linked it firmly to our own town and district. The influence and importance of Edward Carpenter and Raymond Unwin in our local environment were fully explored. The thought that Letchworth and all that ensued grew from meetings around a kitchen table at Millthorpe is inspiring.
His talk finished with a discussion of the significance of the Boythorpe Estate, and the importance of St. Andrew’s Church in Barrow Hill. A group discussion followed, and our thanks are owed to Hugh for a most stimulating and thought-provoking evening.
Thanks are also owed to Janet Murphy for the work she has done on the history of Chesterfield Council housing and Boythorpe, and a link to a detailed history can be found below.
