Today I had a wander down to the Park since my friend could not join me for our usual walk. It was a rather cloudy morning . I wandered around the Village taking a few photos not many people about other than one or two dog walkers. The park was still locked so walked a little more.
I have lived in the Village and my house is one of the original flat roofed houses, since 1988 and it has been interesting living and learning about how the village came to be....
Silver End was built by metal window manufacturer Francis Crittall as a site for a new factory and housing for his workers. It was designed to be self sufficient.
Within a year of Crittalls unveiling of his planes to his workers, the village factory had started production, some of the houses were occupied and Francis Crittall known to his workers as the Guv'nor was about to move into his village home the Manors.
The village was to be a total environment, with its own water and power supplies, allotments and the like he was a man with a vision, All residents were expected to live, work and play in the village.
500 houses were built in five years with great care given to ensure their modernity and efficiency.
These were award winning and as deliberate policy were designed by different architects to avoid regimentation. It was the modernist houses that attracted most comments and continue to attract attention today. The resulting avenues of white painted flat roofed houses become the trademark of silver End.
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| Crittall flat roof house |
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| Flat roof house silver street |
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| Francis Crittall house. The Manors |
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| Entrance to the park |
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The iron gate that his workers worked for free
as a sign of gratitude |
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| the pond with a Japonese pagoda |
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| The village hall |
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| The old hotel! Now an old peoples home |
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