London 074 Dept of Energy 3 Whitehall Place (9185416307)

The Ministry of Works was a department of the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

formed in 1940, during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. After the war, the ministry retained responsibility for government building projects. In 1962 it was renamed the Ministry of Public Building and Works, and acquired the extra responsibility of monitoring the building industry as well as taking over the works departments from the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

and

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. The chief architect of the ministry from 1951 to 1970 was Eric Bedford. In 1970 the ministry was absorbed into the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

(DoE), although from 1972 most former works functions were transferred to the largely autonomous

Property Services Agency The Property Services Agency (PSA) was an agency of the United Kingdom government, in existence from 1972 to 1993. Its role was to “provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offi ...

(PSA). Subsequent reorganisation of PSA into Property Holdings was followed by abolition in 1996 when individual government departments took on responsibility for managing their own estate portfolios.

History

The tradition of building specific structures for military or governmental use began to break down at the time of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the unprecedented need for armaments prompted the rapid construction of factories in English locations where a skilled workforce was not easily recruited.

Precedents

The department originally derived from the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the England, English Royal Household, royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of W ...

(the King's Works) responsible only for royal properties (1378-1832) which became the Office of Woods, Forest, Land Revenues and Works (1832-1852). The Office of Works was founded in 1851 and became the Ministry of Works in 1940. Briefly this became the Ministry of Works & Planning (1942-3), the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) 1951-62, the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works (1962–70) before being subsumed in the Department of the Environment in 1970 and

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 1984.

Housing

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 ...

Frank Baines Sir Frank Baines, KCVO, CBE, FRIBA (1877–1933) was chief architect at the British Office of Works from 1920 to 1927. His most famous work was Thames House and its neighbour Imperial Chemical House (1929–30) in London. Thames Hous ...

(1877–1933) guided the rapid development of estates of houses, mainly in a terraced style, for workers and their families in places close to the required factories and depots. Examples included the Well Hall garden suburb south of the Royal Arsenal,

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

(between

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

and

Shooters Hill Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of , it is the highest point in t ...

), Aeroville near the Grahame-White aeroplane factory at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, and the Roe Green estate at Stag Lane in the London Borough of Brent. Considering the pace of their construction, these estates were surprisingly picturesque and were subsequently considered superior in scenic terms to many estates of municipal housing that followed in the peacetime of the 1920s, guided by the

Tudor Walters Sir John Tudor Walters PC (25 February 1866 – 16 July 1933) was a Welsh architect, surveyor and Liberal Party politician. He served as Paymaster-General under David Lloyd George from 1919 to 1922 and once again briefly in 1931 under Rams ...

Committee report of 1919 and the

Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 The Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (c 35) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was also known as the Addison Act after Minister of Health, Christopher Addison, who was Minister for Housing. The Act was passed to allow the ...

. Their styling owed much to the English

garden suburb 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, and ...

tradition (seen at Bournville,

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. Letchworth ...

, Saltaire,

Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...

and

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

) and garden areas and front boundaries were generally more varied than on contemporary estates within military bases where state ownership endured over a longer period. More modern examples include a large estate near central

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

built 1952-1953 for the scientists and personnel of TRE. The styling, though more up-market, resembled the typical council estates of semi-detached houses being built around the UK during the post-war years. By the late 20th century the Well Hall example had become known as the Progress Estate and legend has it that no two houses there are built to the same plan.

Monuments

From the 1880s the Office of Works was also responsible for the upkeep of ancient monuments, a role later taken on by the Department of the Environment and later, when responsibility for heritage matters was devolved, in 1977, by

and the other home country heritage organisations. As such it forms the basis for any research into official or historic structures ranging from post offices to palaces and all archaeological sites in state care, including Stonehenge. In conjunction with the Foreign Office it also was responsible for the fabric of British embassies and consulates across the world. Apart from English Heritage,

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

and Cadw, its vast archive is dispersed throughout many other organisations including national museums and galleries, other government departments including the

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

and the now hived-off agencies covering royal parks and palaces. Virtually every record office, every museum and every town council in the British Isles will hold files relating to the MOW who in 1947 enabled the first 'lists' defining and protecting historic buildings which now forms the heritage protection of over 400,000 sites. A detailed history of offices and staff remains to be written: the work of the almost completely anonymous civil servants who worked for this very large government department is largely absent from published or online sources unless these manifold official activities impinge on current specialised research on the military, archaeological or architectural links.

Origins

The Ministry of Works descended from a long line of offices with responsibilities for managing royal and then governmental property. These are summarised below. *1378–1832

. This office was established to oversee the building of the king's castles and residences. *1832–1851 Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings. The Office of Works continued to operate as the Works Department within the larger office. *1851–1940 Office of Works. The office was given a separate identity in order to bring it under the direct control of Parliament. *1940–1942 Ministry of Works and Buildings. The ministry was formed during the Second World War as the government's need for new buildings and the conversion of existing buildings became more urgent. *1942–1943 Ministry of Works and Planning. *1943–1962 Ministry of Works. See above. *1962–1970 Ministry of Public Building and Works. See above.

Buildings constructed by the ministry

BT Tower The BT Communication Tower is a grade II listed communications tower located in Fitzrovia, London, owned by BT Group. Originally named the Museum Radio Tower (after the adjacent Museum telephone exchange), it became better known by its unoff ...

, London *

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head office, Southampton

References

External links

Parliamentary Archives, Records of the Ministry of Works, 1940-1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Works (United Kingdom)

Works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

1943 establishments in the United Kingdom 20th century in the United Kingdom United Kingdom, Works 1970 disestablishments in the United Kingdom