The Percy Johnson-Marshall Collection
Fonds — Multiple Containers
Identifier: PJM
Scope and Contents
The Percy Johnson-Marshall Collection consists of papers, plans, books, journals and photographs collected or created by him throughout the course of his career. These reflect both his employment situation, his involvement in professional organisations and educational bodies, his involvement in World Development issues and his general interest in architecture and planning. The collection contains material relating to:
- University of Liverpool studentships, 1931-1938
- Willesden Borough Council, 1930-1938
- Coventry City Council, 1939-1959
- London County Council, 1937-1968
- World War II service in India and Burma, 1940-1956
- Association of Building Technicians, 1940-1965
- Service Arts and Technical Organization (SATO), 1943-1946
- School of Planning and Research for National Development, 1946-1957
- Ministry of Town and Country Planning, 1948
- International Centre for Regional Planning and Development (ICRPD), 1955-1962
- teaching duties at the University of Edinburgh, 1959-1988
- Percy Johnson-Marshall & Associates, 1962-1985
- United Nations
- Ministry of Overseas Development
- Association for Planning and Regional Reconstruction
- Housing Centre Trust
- International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISoCARP)
- Modern Architectural Research Group (MARG)
- Mars Group of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne
- Royal Institute of British Architects
- Royal Town Planning Institute
- Society for the Promotion of Urban Renewal (SPUR)
- Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC)
- collected books
- collected journals
- mixed correspondence and papers
- collection of slides
Dates
- 1931-1993
Creator
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Some material is subject to access restrictions under the Data Protection Act, 1998. Material relating to living individuals may be restricted under the same act.
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Director of Collections. Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents.
Biographical / Historical
Percy Edwin Alan Johnson-Marshall (1915-1993) was one of the most energetic of a generation of town-planners who began their careers in the 1930s and, after the Second World War, dedicated their lives to the creation of a new world of social equity through the radical transformation of the human environment.
Born in Ajmer, India, he was brought by his parents, via the Middle East, to England in the 1920s. In 1931 Percy followed his brother Stirrat Johnson-Marshall to the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool. Here he studied under the two most eminent professors of the period, Sir Charles Herbert Reilly and Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie.
After gaining the Diploma in Architecture (with distinction), in 1936, Johnson-Marshall entered public service as assistant architect, first for Middlesex County Council, then for Willesden Borough Council (1936-1938). In the meantime he had taken a postgraduate certificate in Civic Design, at the University of Liverpool Department of Civic Design.
In 1938 Coventry City Council created its new City Architect's Department, appointing the highly respected Donald Evelyn Edward Gibson, later Sir Donald, as Chief Architect. Johnson-Marshall was hired by Gibson and given the post of Senior Assistant Architect in charge of redesigning the obsolete city-centre, in 1939. The design of the new civic centre was given added impetus when Coventry was devastated in a bombing raid in November 1940.
Johnson-Marshall was called-up for military service in 1941 and, after basic training in England, saw service with the Royal Engineers in India and Burma. During his time in the army, he lost his first wife in Coventry and met and married his second wife in India. He was also actively involved in the Service's Architect's Technical Organisation (SATO), leading teaching groups, giving lectures and writing articles on planning. Having achieved the rank of Major, he was attached to the Government of Burma as an advisor on reconstruction and, with William Tatton-Brown, devised a reconstruction plan for the country (1946).
After demobilisation, Johnson-Marshall worked as Assistant Regional Planning Officer for the newly created Ministry of Town ∓ Country Planning (1946-1948). During this time he took the intensive completion course, at the School of Planning and Research for Regional Development (SPRRD), in order to gain his Diploma in Town Planning.
In 1949 Johnson-Marshall was appointed Senior Planner, in charge of Comprehensive Development Areas to the Architect's Department of the London County Council. He was also a part-time teacher at the SPRRD and, from 1948, Secretary of the School of Planning Club. From 1956 to 1959 he was Group Planning Officer for North-East London before taking up a post as Lecturer in Planning at the newly-created Department of Architecture, at the University of Edinburgh. There he set up the Planning Research Unit, in 1962, which undertook a number of regional surveys for the Scottish Development Department. In 1964, he became Professor of his own Department of Urban Design and Regional Planning. He retired from this post in 1985, becoming the director of the Patrick Geddes Centre for Planning Studies, until his illness in 1987-1988.
After Johnson-Marshall was appointed Planning Consultant to the University of Edinburgh, a firm of planning consultants, Percy Johnson-Marshall ∓ Associates, was set up, in 1960. During Johnson-Marshall's lifetime, a number of major commissions were carried out, including regional and sub-regional plans, conservation areas, comprehensive redevelopment areas and residential development plans.
During his career, Johnson-Marshall was a member of a number of institutes and involved in numerous other activities. He was elected member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1938 and served as a member of council and of the Education Committee. In 1947 he was elected member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, also serving as a member of council and of the Education Committee. He was a founding member of the International Centre for Regional Planning and Development (ICRPD), in 1954. He was also a member of: the Executive Committee of the Housing Centre Trust, the Society for the Promotion of Urban Renewal (SPUR), and the MARS Group of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. He sat on the World Health Organisation's expert panel on Environmental Health and Planning (1970) and was consultant on Human Settlements for the United Nation's Conference on the Human Environment (1972), Chairman of the Royal Town Planning Institute's Town and Country Planning Summer Schools, and, from 1977-1980, Vice President of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISoCARP). In 1975, Professor Johnson-Marshall was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), in recognition of his contribution to the planning profession.
Extent
178 metres
Arrangement
The following subfonds have been fully arranged in line with accepted archival standards:
London County Council
Association of Building Technicians
Coventry City Council
Edinburgh University Development
International Centre for Regional Planning and Development (ICRPD)
University of Liverpool studentships
Service Arts and Technical Organization (SATO)
Willesden Borough Council
United Nations
The following subfonds have been pulled together but neither sorted nor arranged:
School of Planning and Research for National Development
World War II service in India and Burma
Teaching duties at the University of Edinburgh
The remainder of the material remains in the order of the original handlist created when packing and transferring it to Edinburgh University Library.
London County Council
Association of Building Technicians
Coventry City Council
Edinburgh University Development
International Centre for Regional Planning and Development (ICRPD)
University of Liverpool studentships
Service Arts and Technical Organization (SATO)
Willesden Borough Council
United Nations
The following subfonds have been pulled together but neither sorted nor arranged:
School of Planning and Research for National Development
World War II service in India and Burma
Teaching duties at the University of Edinburgh
The remainder of the material remains in the order of the original handlist created when packing and transferring it to Edinburgh University Library.
Custodial History
This material was collected by Percy Johnson-Marshall through the course of his career and donated to Edinburgh University Library, after his death, by his widow, April Johnson-Marshall.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to Edinburgh University Library by Mrs April Johnson-Marshall in October 1999. The material was recorded in situ at the Johnson-Marshall family home, in Duddingston by Deborah Boyd-Whyte. It was then sorted, listed and packaged for transfer, and transferred to the Library.
Appraisal
This material has been appraised in line with accepted archival standards.
Accruals
Accruals are possible.
Existence and Location of Originals
Much of this material is original. However, a significant proportion consists of copies of maps, plans or papers (eg committee papers) for which multiple copies would have been made. Where originals exist of these items, it is likely that they will be held in the archives of the organisation from which the material originated. A full list of United Kingdom Archives and their holdings is maintained in the National Register of Archives (NRA), updated by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and this can be consulted via their website: http://www.hmc.gov.uk
Existence and Location of Copies
Other copies of much of the published material held in this collection will be available through a number of libraries. A significant proportion of the collection consists of copies of maps, plans or papers (eg committee papers) for which multiple copies would have been made. Further copies of these may exist in other archival collections, particulaly those of the originating bodies. A full list of United Kingdom Archives and their holdings is maintained in the National Register of Archives (NRA), updated by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and this can be consulted via their website: http://www.hmc.gov.uk
Bibliography
Johnson-Marshall, Percy, Rebuilding Cities, ( Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1966)
- Johnson-Marshall, Percy, Rebuilding Cities, ( Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1966)
Processing Information
None
Sarah Higgins 31 March 2004
Sarah Higgins 31 March 2004
- Abercrombie, Sir Patrick, 1879-1957 (professor of town planning)
- Ajmer (India)
- Architecture--Study and Teaching
- Association of Building Technicians (1942-1970)
- Buildings, War Damage
- Burma
- City Planners
- City Planning
- City Planning--Study and Teaching
- Civic Centers
- Commonwealth Human Ecology Council
- Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Mars Group
- Coventry (England)
- Coventry City Council, Coventry City Architect 's Department. Coventry City Architect's Department
- Edinburgh -- Scotland
- England
- Gibson, Sir Donald Evelyn Edward, 1908-1991 (architect and town planner)
- HM Government. Ministry of Town and Country Planning
- Housing Centre Trust
- India
- International Centre for Regional Planning and Development (1954-1960)
- International Society of City and Regional Planners (1965-:)
- Johnson-Marshall, Percy, 1915-1993 (professor of urban design and regional planning, University of Edinburgh)
- Johnson-Marshall, Stirrat, 1912-1981 (architect)
- Liverpool Merseyside England
- London (England)
- London County Council (1887-1965)
- Middle East
- Middlesex County Council (1888-1965)
- Modern Architectural Research Group
- Percy Johnson-Marshall & Associates (1962-:)
- Professional Associations
- Reconstruction
- Regional Planning
- Reilly | Sir | Charles Herbert, 1874-1948 (professor of architecture)
- Royal Institute of British Architects (1837-:)
- Royal Town Planning Institute (1914-:)
- School of Planning and Research for Regional Development (1940-1953)
- Service Arts and Technical Organization (1943-1946)
- Society for the Promotion of Urban Renewal (fl1950s)
- Tatton-Brown, William, fl1910-1986 (architect)
- United Nations (1945-: |)
- University of Edinburgh (Scottish University)
- University of Edinburgh, Department of Architecture, Planning Research Unit. Department of Architecture
- University of Edinburgh, Department of Architecture. Department of Architecture (1960-:)
- University of Liverpool (1881-:)
- University of Liverpool, Department of Civic Design. Department of Civic Design (1909-:)
- University of Liverpool, Liverpool School of Architecture. Liverpool School of Architecture (1895-:)
- Willesden (England)
- Willesden Borough Council
- World War, 1939-1945
- Title
- Percy Johnson-Marshall Collection
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
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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
is-crc@ed.ac.uk
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
is-crc@ed.ac.uk