Ewart Gladstone Culpin (3 December 1877 – 1 December 1946) was a British Labour Party politician and

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

who served as the Chairman of London County Council.

Biography

The son of Ben Ephraim Lamartine and Eliza Culpin, Ewart attended Alleynes Grammar School and

Hitchin Grammar School Hitchin Boys' School (HBS) is an academy-status secondary school, with sixth form, located in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1632 by John Mattocke, the single-sex school currently educates around 1,500 male pupils. The sixth for ...

. He became a journalist, based in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchwort ...

, where he developed an interest in town planning and the

garden city movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, a ...

. In 1906, he was appointed as secretary of the

Garden City Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

, and in 1907 he founded the International Garden Cities and Town Planning Association. Enthusiastic about the positions, in his spare time he qualified as a town planner and as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Through the association, he promoted low-density housing schemes, whether designed as new towns or as extensions to existing ones, and in 1913 he toured the United States speaking on this topic. His approach was opposed by

Ebenezer Howard Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication '' To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whi ...

, founder of the movement, and in 1918 he was replaced by Charles Purdom, who, like Howard, championed only new town developments. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Culpin was president of the Belgian Society for the Reconstruction of Belgium, and he chaired the Standing Conference on London Regional Planning from 1926 until his death. In 1930, he was the president of the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors, while in 1937/8 he was president of the

Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gran ...

. He also became a Fellow 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 suppl ...

. Culpin became active in the Labour Party, for which he stood unsuccessfully in

Islington North Islington North () is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Jeremy Corbyn. He served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from 2015 to 2020. Co ...

at the

1924 United Kingdom general election Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

. In 1925, he was appointed to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

, serving until 1937, when he moved to become a councillor in

Battersea North Battersea North could refer to: * Battersea North (UK Parliament constituency) * Battersea North (London County Council constituency) * Battersea North (electoral division), Greater London Council {{disambig ...

. He chaired the council from 1938 to 1939. Culpin received several honours, including becoming an officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown, a grand officer of the Romanian Order of the Crown, and a commander of the Dahomean

Order of the Black Star The Order of the Black Star (''Ordre de l'Étoile Noire'') was an order of knighthood established on 1 December 1889 at Porto-Novo by Toffa, future king of Dahomey (today the Republic of Benin). Approved and recognised by the French government o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culpin, Ewart 1877 births 1946 deaths English urban planners Labour Party (UK) councillors Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Members of London County Council People educated at Hitchin Boys' School People from Letchworth Presidents of the Royal Town Planning Institute