Middlefield: the development of a provincial post-World War Two council estate in Lincolnshire, 1960–1965

Waites, Ian (2015) Middlefield: the development of a provincial post-World War Two council estate in Lincolnshire, 1960–1965. Midland History, 40 (2). pp. 264-285. ISSN 0047-729X

Full content URL: https://doi.org/10.1179/0047729X15Z.00000000059

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Middlefield: the development of a provincial post-World War Two council estate in Lincolnshire, 1960–1965
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Item Type:Article
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Abstract

Scholarly, local-historical, studies of provincial, low-rise post-World War Two council estates are rare. This article attempts to remedy this by examining one such example, the Middlefield Lane estate in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, which was completed in 1965. Using two key primary sources, the minute books of the Gainsborough Urban District Council’s Housing Committee and the Gainsborough Evening News, the article will provide a narrative account of the planning and development of Middlefield, and of the experiences of the estate’s new residents as they settled in there. Post-war council estates have long been criticized as being socially and architecturally problematic. This article aims to present a more nuanced historical perspective on this by demonstrating that these estates were carefully and thoughtfully planned, and have rich and meaningful histories that are worth chronicling.

Keywords:Council Estates, Gainsborough, Housing, Social history, Architecture, The 1960s, NotOAChecked
Subjects:K Architecture, Building and Planning > K421 Urban Planning
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V147 Modern History 1950-1999
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V320 Social History
K Architecture, Building and Planning > K100 Architecture
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V210 British History
K Architecture, Building and Planning > K450 Housing
V Historical and Philosophical studies > V321 Local History
ID Code:19753
Deposited On:09 Dec 2015 09:53

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