Coventry City Council, 1939-1959
Sub-Fonds
Identifier: PJM/CCC
Scope and Contents
Papers and plans relating to the Coventry City Council
- papers, photographs and plans from Coventry City Architect's Department ,1939-1944
- collected reports and plans regarding Coventry's redevelopment, 1931-1959
Dates
- 1939-1959
Creator
Language of Materials
This material is in English
Physical Description
0.3 metres(1 box, 1 plan box and 1 plan drawer)
Conditions Governing Access
Material relating to living individuals may be restricted under the Data Protection Act, 1998.
Biographical / Historical
Percy Johnson-Marshall was employed by Coventry City Council in the Coventry City Architect's Department between 1938-1941. During his employment the City Architect was Sir Donald Evelyn Edward Gibson. Gibson was an innovative architect and town planner who embraced a project planning comprehensive redevelopment of the civic centre. These plans became reality after the destruction of the city's historic centre during a World War II bombing raid on 14 November 1940 left the city centre destroyed. Gibson was also interested in social housing and undertook some of the earliest use of prefabricated housing and other innovative construction techniques.
Johnson-Marshall was an enthusiastic and valued member of Gibson's team. He participated in the construction of the first model for the redevelopment of the Civic Centre during his spare time. He was also one of the organisers of the "Coventry of Tomorrow Exhibition" mounted by the Coventry Branch of the Association of Architects, Surveyors and Technical Assistants (AASTA) in 1940, which show cased Gibson's ideas. When Johnson-Marshall was called up for active service in World War II Gibson made appeals for him to be repatriated to rejoin his team.
Johnson-Marshall's period of employment with Coventry City Council had a profound effect on his later career, introducing him to the reality of planning for reconstruction and comprehensive redevelopment. He later used materials he collected both during and after his employment as the basis of a chapter of his book addressing these topics, Rebuilding Cities ( 1966) .
Johnson-Marshall was an enthusiastic and valued member of Gibson's team. He participated in the construction of the first model for the redevelopment of the Civic Centre during his spare time. He was also one of the organisers of the "Coventry of Tomorrow Exhibition" mounted by the Coventry Branch of the Association of Architects, Surveyors and Technical Assistants (AASTA) in 1940, which show cased Gibson's ideas. When Johnson-Marshall was called up for active service in World War II Gibson made appeals for him to be repatriated to rejoin his team.
Johnson-Marshall's period of employment with Coventry City Council had a profound effect on his later career, introducing him to the reality of planning for reconstruction and comprehensive redevelopment. He later used materials he collected both during and after his employment as the basis of a chapter of his book addressing these topics, Rebuilding Cities ( 1966) .
Extent
0.3 metres
Arrangement
The arrangement of This material is in 2 series. Series A, consists of material collected by Percy Johnson-Marshall while an employee of Coventry City Architect's Department, or relates to work he was actively engaged in there. Series B consists of material he collected at a later date while undertaking research for his book Rebuilding Cities, 1966.
Bibliography
Johnson-Marshall, Percy, Rebuilding Cities, ( Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1966)
- Johnson-Marshall, Percy, Rebuilding Cities, ( Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1966)
Physical Description
0.3 metres(1 box, 1 plan box and 1 plan drawer)
Archivist's Note
None
Sarah Higgins 01 October 2003
Sarah Higgins 01 October 2003
- Architects
- Association of Architects, Surveyors and Technical Assistants (1924-1942)
- Civic Centers
- Coventry (England)
- Coventry City Council
- Coventry City Council, Coventry City Architect 's Department. Coventry City Architect's Department
- Gibson, Sir Donald Evelyn Edward, 1908-1991 (architect and town planner)
- Housing
- Housing Development
- Johnson-Marshall, Percy, 1915-1993 (professor of urban design and regional planning, University of Edinburgh)
- Local Government
- Postwar Reconstruction
- Prefabricated Houses
- Urban Renewal
- World War, 1939-1945
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk