The main characteristic of "InterWar" townscapes is their spacious environment resulting from the layout. Their housing is low density, which was a deliberate attempt to get away from the Victorian tenements. Most schemes incorporate a garden for each property. Streets are used as a design element, being curved to provide interesting vistas, and contribute to the general ambience with grass verges and trees. There are also parks - a 19th century legacy - and small areas of incidental landscaping. In essence these suburbs followed the larger examples of high-amenity, lowdensity planning at Letchworth and Welwyn Garden, which were internationally praised. Traditional construction in Scotland over the previous two centuries has consisted of vertically proportioned sash and casement windows, slate or sometimes paQ.tile roofs, and the extensive use of rendering on walls. It is not surprising that the designers of the new estates, faced with a similarity of building form, namely one or two storey dwellings, continued with the familiar materials and techniques. They had been tried and tested over time. Harling as an outers skin had, for example, been found to increase protection against the wind and rain. In addition, it could be coloured white or other light shades which were aesthetically compatible with the concept of new, attractive environments. Thus harmony of building appearance was a not inconsiderable element in these suburbs. In addition, a high standard of detailing prevailed; witness the use of astragals to form eight or twelve pane sash windows. This was to continue until the introduction of government-cutbacks in the 1930's led to cheaper forms of construction, interrupted the link with the past, and diminished the quality of later townscapes. To tackle the problem of overcrowding, especially in the cities, "Inter-War" estates were built not only around Scotland's four big cities, but also in every mediumsized burgh in the country. In pure townscape terms, the quality of these schemes varies. The features of the better ones have already been described. But some have boring, straight streets or uninteresting relationships between buildings, whilst in others dry-dash render or red, concrete roof-tiles may have been used. Those estates of lesser character are, as a rule of thumb, the ones built in the 1930's when the cut-backs operated. The better development in the 1920's shows how traditional design was taken and used beneficially for twentieth century planning. Inter War Conservation Areas The importance of "Inter-War" housing has been recognised. Conservation Areas have been designated at public sector estates at Piersland Park in Kilmarnock and Rosyth near Dunfermline; the latter was begun in the middle of the First World War to accommodate workers for the dockyard and building continued up to 1950. One private scheme, Cadham village, which was built for the workers of a paper mill, was also designated by Kirkcaldy D.C. Cadham Crescent These three are only the beginning of a proliferation of such schemes. A magnificent heritage of intact estates from the period existed at the beginning of the 1980's. The commercialism of this decade has, however, all but destroyed the legacy. The government requirement to sell public sector dwellings and the indirect compulsion for hard-pressed businesses (particularly public ones) to sell privately-rented housing has led to the destruction of most schemes homogeneity. Regrettably home-owners want to establish the fact of ownership and personalise their property with new doors, windows, shutters etc. At the same time the realisation that double-glazing is a vastly profitable industry has spawned even more salesmen than life insurance. The pressures on the average householder to rip out mullions and timber casements have been too great to resist. A Direction to control permitted development rights is required to prevent these minor alterations. There is reluctance to impose such measures after the changes have started; after all how do you tell someone they cannot have doubleglazing when the neighbour installed it before the restriction was m force? In such circumstances, protecting the layout and harmony is the best that can realistically be hoped for, by ensuring extensions and new buildings are in keeping. Very few "Inter-War" estates of any quality are now likely to remain in Scotland as orginally designed. Perhaps some still survive in England: the basis for this slender hope is that the more clement weather south of the border has not yet encouraged double-glazing everywhere. The purpose of this article is to awaken interest in the merits of "Inter-War" development in conservationists who have not otherwise appreciated it, and as a result maybe one or two more examples may yet be saved. Robert E. Walker MRPTl IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1111111111111111111111111 LllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllfll 11I1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1111111111111111 12
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