Elizabeth Denby (1894 – 3 November 1965) was an English social housing expert and consultant.

Biography

Denby was from Bradford, Yorkshire, the daughter of a doctor. She went to

Bradford Girls Grammar School Bradford Girls' Grammar School is a Free school (England), free school for girls aged 5 – 16 and boys aged 5 – 11. Founded in 1875, the school is on the outskirts of Bradford city centre in West Yorkshire, England. Recent public examination ...

and then studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. In 1931 Denby was the organising chair of the first "New Homes for Old" exhibit held at Methodist Central Hall (and subsequently as part of the biennial Building Trades Exhibition at Olympia between 1932 and 1938). In 1934/35 she held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship into low cost housing in Europe. In 1936 she addressed a sessional meeting of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

(RIBA) on her paper on 'Rehousing from the Slum Dweller's point of view', becoming the first women to do so. After travelling around Europe she published a book entitled "Europe Rehoused". She set herself up as a housing consultant, based in West

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She was a member of the Board of Trade Committee for 7 years and became an honorary member of the RIBA. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she argued for new methods to make cheap but attractive furniture, for example making tables with one central pillar rather than four legs. Denby focused on constructing affordable homes which reflected

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

needs. Several prominent architects worked with her. Notably Maxwell Fry collaborated with her with his essays on the Modern Movement style: the scheme for low rental flats, Sassoon House in Peckham, which was completed in 1934, and the later

Kensal House Kensal House is a housing estate of two curved blocks of 68 housing association Apartment, flats at the northern end of Ladbroke Grove, London, completed in 1937 and designed by the architect Maxwell Fry. It was the first Modern architecture, mo ...

(1937) which was commissioned by the Gas, Light and Coke Company. Denby and Fry collaborated on this project for four years, but in 1937, Denby's name was omitted from the credit list for both schemes in two major publications. She is credited with prompting Fry to adopt a more progressive style. Denby's work to create more affordable living for the working class eventually resulted in houses that appeared cheap and unrealistic. Denby demonstrated her interest in social housing during World War II when she lived in London. In May 1942 she organised with

Noel Carrington Noel Lewis Carrington (1895 – 11 April 1989) was an English book designer, editor, publisher, and the originator of Puffin Books. He was the author of books on design and on recreation and also worked for Oxford University Press and Penguin Book ...

an exhibition "Living in Houses" in London, a sequel to the successful exhibition "Living in Cities" held the previous year, showing solutions to the problem of providing, after the War, new houses "suitable and convenient for the ordinary man and his wife and children". On 27 March 1943 Denby gave a talk in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

on "The homes we want".''The Times'', 27 March 1943

Bibliography

* ''Europe Re-Housed'', with a Foreword by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Horder, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1st ed. 1938 * ''Europe Re-Housed - Re-building Europe after World War Two'', London, George Allen & Unwin, 2nd ed. 1944

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denby, Elizabeth 20th-century English architects 1894 births 1965 deaths British urban planners Women urban planners Architects from Bradford British women architects Alumni of the London School of Economics