The model village and its cottages

by William Alexander Harvey

Roads.—The buildings will not be sky-scrapers, and the roads, therefore, will not, in order that they may be ventilated, have to be set out in straight lines in order to be wind-swept, intersecting at unpleasing right angles like a gridiron. Though the main streets should be planned with some degree of straightness for the convenience of getting to and from important places, there is no reason why regularity should be sought after for its own sake; at the same time an unnecessary irregularity should be as much avoided. Where one straight road unavoidably meets another at right angles, it is a good plan to widen the point of intersection. This particularly applies to a road taking a hill straight—that is, at its shortest length. A pleasing perspective will be given by thus widening, and on the triangular space formed might be erected a fountain or monument, with or without a grass plot. As an alternative, if the ground is too valuable to be so disposed of, the road might be terminated by slightly curving it to the left or right, and the corner remaining used for building upon. In the residential portion of the village or garden city, roads running due east and west should be avoided if possible. When this precaution has been taken, much scheming to get the sun on the front as well as the back of the house will be spared. As is well known, a kitchen with a south aspect is unbearable in the heat of the summer. Where the road unavoidably runs east and west, the gardens of houses on the north side should occupy the front and not the back of the plot.

Trees should be planted in all roads, and the chief roads should be arranged on the boulevard plan, allowing the utmost freedom to the pedestrian. A few spaces might be reserved for shelters, and the site for a bandstand might be timely chosen. As much as possible should be done to give breadth to all thoroughfares, and to this end the building-line of the houses should be well back from the road—thirty feet at least—the ample front-garden giving a refreshing greenness to the prospect, besides a better perspective to the houses. The width of roads should be from forty to fifty feet, with paths of from eight to twelve feet, not less.

Minor open spaces, such as playgrounds for young children, are pleasant along the road side, but road-making is costly, and economy in all probability will have to be studied; back land, therefore, should be utilised for them at the bottom of garden plots.

Street Elevations.—In building a road of houses the expense would of course be considerable if to get variety a different plan and different details were employed for each house. Other methods must be adopted. In the case of twenty houses it would be well to get as many details, such as windows, doors, and door-frames, the same (or, at any rate, half of one kind and half of another), and monotony should be avoided by variation in the disposition of these features. An extensive elevation may also be made interesting by the treatment of a porch here, the addition of a bay window there, and the use of rough-cast somewhere else. An irregular building-line, where possible, is to be preferred. In a block of three cottages a pleasing effect is gained by projecting or recessing the middle one, or putting it with its long axis parallel with the road, and so forming a forecourt in front.

Service of Natural Advantages.—Whatever natural advantages the land may possess, such as woods, pools, or streams (where they are not included in a park), should border, or be seen from, the road—that is if they merit the expense of road-making. Few things are more picturesque than a stream at the roadside (as at Tissington in Derbyshire), especially if spanned here and there by small bridges (as at Bourton-on-the-Water), and by their presence the road will be widened from house front to house front. The water of a stream should never be utilised for a manufacturing purpose where it afterwards flows through the village, except for generating electric power or other clean uses. If there is an avenue of old trees it should be secured for one of the roads.

Shopping.—The chief shopping will be best placed just without and surrounding the main centre, and that of less importance round the minor centres.

Factories.—Supposing that the raison d’être of the village or garden city be one or more industries in which many of the inhabitants are employed, where, it will be asked, are the factories to be placed? Without a definite example of land, it is difficult to give a definite reply. Many things are essential to such sites—for instance, the adjacency of a stream, river, or railway—and if the manufacturer transfers his works to the country, he will rightly choose the most convenient and advantageous site for them that offers, and other arrangements will have to be made in concert with him. Nevertheless, the factory or factories should be as far as possible from the main centre, that is on the village or city outskirts. The preferable position would lie between the north-east and south-west, for the prevalent south-west wind will then carry away the smoke in summer, when the villagers indulge in outdoor life, while the north and easterly winds of winter will carry it over the village when they are indoors. Screens of trees should be planted between the village and the factories as soon as possible.

Plots for Houses.—As to the treatment of the plots for houses: should the road cut into the land it need not necessarily be levelled, but taken as it is; the gables will thus present a desirable variation of level, and the ridge line will be less monotonous. An endeavour should be made, however, always to get the plots not less than 18 ins. above the level of the crown of the road, otherwise the drainage will be troublesome and expensive.

As soon as the house is erected, it is well to set hedges of thorn or beech, both along the roadside and between the houses. Until these are grown, the ordinary iron hurdle, or light-railed wooden fence, might serve.

It is advisable to arrange the building plots so that the houses on either side of the road do not come exactly opposite each other; the houses should be so arranged as to face the open space opposite.