is a
Town (not a
City ) in
Hertfordshire ,
England . Welwyn Garden City is also known as '''WGC''' or, somewhat incorrectly, "Welwyn". This can cause confusion as the village of
Welwyn actually lies a few miles to the northwest of WGC. However Welwyn Garden City is also called '''Welwyn GC'''.
Welwyn Garden City, as its name suggests, is a
Garden City , founded by Sir
Ebenezer Howard in the
1920s following his previous experiments in
Hampstead Garden Suburb and
Letchworth Garden City , and designed by Louis de Soissons. Howard had called for the creation of
New Town s of limited size, planned in advance, and surrounded by a permanent belt of agricultural land, as a role model for lower-density
Suburb an development. Howard believed that such Garden Cities were the perfect blend of city and nature.
The
BBC TV series ''
Superstars '' was filmed in Welwyn Garden City throughout the
1970s and
1980s .
Famous former and current Welwyn Garden City residents include
The Subways ,
David James (England goalkeeper), Artist
Damien Hirst ,
Nick Faldo (golfer),
Lisa Snowdon (model) and
Rolling Stones '
Mick Taylor .
Sandra Marshall , one of the co-founders of the women's movement,
Feminenza , is a local inhabitant.
Welwyn Garden City is well known by avid readers of the side of breakfast cereal boxes in Britain as the town where
Shredded Wheat and
Shreddies are made, at the former
Nabisco factory (now part of
Nestlé ). The factory is due to close within the next few years, as Nestlé say that the current site is too small, and that production should be moved to Devon.
One company that seems to be committed to Welwyn Garden City is
Tesco , which has a substantial head office site in the north of the town. The former supermarket chain
Fine Fare now part of
Somerfield had its head office in the town at one time.
The local newspaper is the
Welwyn & Hatfield Times , edited by Terry Mitchinson.
Welwyn Garden City has since local government reorganisation been part of the greater Welwyn Hatfield District. Whilst Hatfield has retained its own town council (albeit limited in responsibilities), Welwyn Garden City has not, and its position within the District is anomalous since (Old) Welwyn also has its own parish council.
One of the lesser known ideas of the Puritan architects was that all citizens of the town would shop in the same shop. Thus the Welwyn Store was established as a central landmark on the 'Campus' (centrally-located green semi-circular area in the town). Commercial pressures have ensured much more competition and variety since, and the Welwyn Department Store is now part of the John Lewis PLC group of stores.
