Bracknell Development Corporation Research Guide: The last piece of the Project
In 2022-2023, the records of the Bracknell Development Corporation were catalogued by a dedicated Project Archivist. This blog looks at the creation of the Bracknell New Town Research Guide which was produced in 2024 to encourage potential researchers to utilise this newly available resource.
The aim of the guide is to highlight the diverse ways in which a collection can be used for a multitude of possible research avenues. This guide can now be accessed online and may be updated and amended over time.
Bracknell was part of the New Town movement to help rebuild the country after the Second World War. The New Towns Act 1946 enabled the Government to designate self-contained areas as New Towns to address the urgent need for housing. They sought to improve lives through healthy environments, modern accommodation and facilities for leisure and work. Bracknell was designated a New Town on 17 June 1949 and construction was managed by the Bracknell Development Corporation which was formed on 20 October 1949.
The cataloguing of this collection was made possible by a joint project called, ‘New Jerusalems: Unlocking New Town Archives’, which was funded by the Wellcome Trust. The aim of the project was to support the cataloguing and conserving of several New Town collections across the country. More information about the other New Town collections can be found on the New Jerusalems website.
A key output of the New Jerusalems partnership is the creation of research guides for all the New Town collections that have been made more accessible through this project. The first guide to be produced was by Essex Record Office about the Harlow and Basildon New Towns. When creating the Bracknell guide, the logical place to begin was to read this guide and visit Essex Record Office to meet the staff who were involved in its construction.
The visit to Essex Record Office (ERO) was part of a meeting of the Architectural Archivists Group in early June. This was a great opportunity to meet other people in the sector working with similar records. Staff from ERO and a representative from the New Jerusalems project were generous in offering advice and insight into how to construct the research guide. There was also an opportunity to see some Basildon and Harlow New Town records on display in the public searchroom along with a digital interactive screen.
Feeling inspired, the next stage was to become familiar with the records and the rich history of Bracknell New Town. This began with watching a video interview with the Project Archivist, captured in the last few days of her time at the Royal Berkshire Archives (RBA). A recent exhibition called ‘Bracknell: A New Community’, produced by the RBA in collaboration with Bracknell Library, also provided some inspiration for the guide.
The research themes selected for exploration were Urban planning; Parks, green spaces and other natural landscape; Building communities and migration; Health and leisure; Housing, design and architecture; and Women in the New Town. There are many more possible topics for research than those which we were able to fit into the guide. However, it is hope that this will be a good starting point in which to explore the resources that are available and spark inspiration.
Some sections came together quicker than others. There was a wealth of information about women who worked at Bracknell Development Corporation and the abundance of green spaces that were preserved for residents. Whereas information about interior design and details about community building took a bit more digging.
A few drafts later, and the final document was produced. This was made available online and copies were printed in time for the UK and Ireland Planning Research Conference study day to Bracknell in early September. The guide was distributed amongst delegates, before a few talks were delivered about the regeneration of Bracknell Town Centre in the last 7 years. The Bracknell Development Corporation (BDC) was wound up in 1982, so it was interesting to learn more about the changes that happened after that time and how those involved tried to keep in mind the original spirit of the New Town concept.
The study day ended with a walking tour of the town centre where delegates could see for themselves how the town has changed. The features of the town as we know it today can be contrasted with how it appears in the BDC plans. For example, the canopy was once the site of a band stand which can be seen in the architectural drawings held at the RBA.
This was the perfect end to the completion of the research guide because it demonstrated how towns are ever changing to meet the needs of residents and continue to encourage people to live and work in Bracknell and enjoy leisure activities on their doorstep. We hope the research guide will be a useful legacy from the project to aid future researchers.
If you would like to read the guide, please see Bracknell New Towns webpage on the RBA wesbite.