Thank you to all who attended this year’s Trust Winter Lecture.
In recent years, the Trust has organised several winter lectures on a variety of subjects in hopes to interest, entertain and provoke thought among the audience.
This year there was a warm atmosphere at the Henrietta Barnett School for this well-attended event, despite the cold air outside. Residents and others with an interest in town planning, the Suburb and related subjects came together to mingle, and enjoy a glass of wine and a mince pie or two, before taking a seat for the lecture. We were especially pleased to welcome the Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Brian Salinger.
Our special guest speaker this year was Simon Conibear, who for many years was Estate Director for Poundbury, the Duchy of Cornwall’s urban extension of Dorchester.
Simon delivered an interesting, thought-provoking, and often rather amusing lecture which covered the establishment and development of the project.
Although it could be argued there are more differences than similarities between Poundbury and Hampstead Garden Suburb, Simon’s presentation brought a number of interesting points for the audience to consider, in terms of town planning, residential building design, and vernacular styles of architecture, amongst others.
It was particularly illuminating to see Poundbury’s approach to the use of local architectural styles and building materials in stark contrast to other modern housing developments.
Simon’s fascinating and well-illustrated lecture also generated a number of salient questions from the audience.
We hope everyone had an enjoyable evening.
