30 C O N T E X T 1 3 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 Prior to 1919, the association was funded entirely by voluntary contributions. In the case of the Longniddry cottages, generous donations were received from Caledonian Societies and other support groups based in North America. A policy was adopted whereby major donors were encouraged to name a cottage and mount a plaque on the front facade. Many of the original plaques for the early SVGCA developments have remained in situ, often with an inscription commemorating the loss of a loved one killed in the war. After the Armistice, it was virtually impossible to develop additional SVGCA settlements without some form of public subsidy, since the cost of residential construction had virtually tripled during the course of the war.With the passage of the Housing andTown Planning Act 1919, central government grants became available for housing purposes to registered public utility societies. A decision was therefore taken to register a subsidiary body, the Scottish Garden City Housing Society, which served as a funding conduit for new developments. Both the parent organisation and the decentralised network of district committees remained intact. Through the continuing efforts of the district committees, an interesting range of additional projects was undertaken during the 1920s. The district committees tended to appoint different architectural practices, but careful attention was generally given to the design specifications for the cottages, and the layout of public and private open spaces.Well before such features became standard practice, SVGCA houses were fitted with gas and electricity supplies, electric cookers, running hot and cold water systems and storage, internal toilets and baths and large kitchen/living rooms. Especially innovative for the time were the specific provisions to meet the needs of severely disabled occupants. All SVGCA cottages were fitted with generous doorways to allow easy access, and many of the two-storey properties had ground-floor bedrooms and specially designed bathrooms. In addition to Longniddry, three other early SVGCA developments contain listed buildings.Two were designed by the Glasgow-based practice of John Stewart and George Paterson for sites in Perthshire.The development at Callander, known as Esher Crescent, has a Category B listing. It was started in 1920 with significant support from the town council and Lord Esher. Initial plans, based on the Longniddry concept, were scaled back to a simple crescent of 12 stone-built cottages with Scottish neo-vernacular details. The development at Pitlochry, known as Rie-Achan,was completed in 1922. Category C listed, it comprises eight charming stone-built cottages in a more open setting, about a half mile from the centre of the town. Earl Haig Gardens was built on a site donated by the family of Lord Salvesen in theTrinity area of Edinburgh. An overall plan for the site was prepared by Henry and Maclennan, based on a quadrangle of neo-Georgian houses around a small green. A total of 31 houses were built in three phases between 1920 and 1922. Henry and Maclennan designed the houses in the first and third phases of construction.The arts-and-crafts-style houses of the second phase were designed by the Edinburgh practice of Burnet Orphoot, FrankWhiting andWilliam Bryce (based on a winning submission by Orphoot to an architectural competition). All the houses at Earl Haig Gardens have a Category C listing. Collectively, the early SVGCA developments were arguably the most impressive contribution made by a voluntary housing body in Scotland during the inter-war period.Through an adaptive, decentralised approach to development and management, highly attractive forms of low-density cottages were provided for severely injured veterans and their families, offering security, amenity, a sense of community and genuine possibilities for independent living. This account of the early history of the SVGCA, from 1915 to 1930, is based largely on original records held at the SVGCA head office in Edinburgh. Lou Rosenburg is an honorary fellow based at the Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies, University of Edinburgh. With Jim Johnson he co-authored Renewing Old Edinburgh: the enduring legacy of Patrick Geddes and he is writing a book about the influences of the garden city movement in Scotland. John Rosser has been employed by the former National Building Agency, community-based housing associations in Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and the National Trust for Scotland. Earl Haig Gardens was built on a site donated by the family of Lord Salvesen in the Trinity area of Edinburgh (once a part of Greater Leith).The plan was based on a quadrangle of neo-Georgian houses around a small green.
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