‘New Towns’ are often thought of as a twentieth century phenomena, but they have been a constant feature of the evolving British landscape – especially since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Teesside is strewn with such Victorian creations, though several did not see light of day until later.
Dormanstown
wasn’t even conceived of until the rush of industrial activity brought on by
World War I. Dorman Long, the company made famous by its later construction of
both the Tyne and Sydney Harbour bridges, was in urgent need of extra workers
at the time, and decided to built a new settlement on its own doorstep at the
very height of international hostilities.
The work began in 1917, and by 1920 was pretty much finished. The marshy site went from a single building
(Westfield House) to 300+ dwellings, as architects Adshead, Ramsey and
Abercrombie literally ‘went to town’ on their fancy ‘garden village’ plans.
Most of the
houses were built with steel frames and clad with concrete, but were modestly
elegant affairs in the Georgian style – though most (all?) have now been
demolished. The town was added to
further in the following decades, including the construction of what is
believed to be England
The town was, of
course, named after Sir Arthur Dorman, the joint-founder of the Dorman Long
company.
[The above image
is taken from the ‘Historyof Dormanstown’ website – at which MUCH further information is available
(click through to the extra pages, too)]
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