Ministry of Works - Citizendia

The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943, during World War II, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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. In 1970 the Ministry was absorbed into the Department of the Environment, 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 Subsequent reorganisation of PSA into Property Holdings was followed by abolition in 1995 when individual Government departments took on responsibility for managing their own estate portfolios.

The tradition of building specific structures for military or governmental use began to break down at the time of World War I, when the unprecedented need for armaments prompted the rapid construction of factories in English locations where a skilled workforce was not easily recruited. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

Architect Frank Baines (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. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction Sir Frank Baines KCVO CBE FRIBA (1877 - 1933 was at one time the Architect heading Her Majesty's Office of Works. Examples included the Well Hall garden suburb south of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich (between Eltham and Shooters Hill), Aeroville near the Grahame-White aeroplane factory at Hendon, and the Roe Green estate at Stag Lane in the London Borough of Brent. See also Woolwich Arsenal railway station, Arsenal FC The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren Woolwich (ˈwʊlɪtʃ or /ˈwʊlɪdʒ/ is a suburb in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Eltham is a district in the London Borough of Greenwich. It is a suburban development situated east south-east of Charing Cross. Shooter's Hill (or Shooters Hill) is a place and an electoral ward in the London Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Hendon is a London suburban development situated 7 miles (113 km north west of Charing Cross. The London Borough of Brent ( is a London borough in north west London, UK and forms part of Outer London.

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 Committee report of 1919 and the Housing & Town Planning Act. Their styling owed much to the English garden suburb tradition (seen at Bournville, Letchworth, Saltaire, Port Sunlight and Welwyn Garden City) 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. Bournville is a Model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and Chocolate For the US businessman see William Pryor Letchworth. For the New York State Park see Letchworth State Park. Saltaire is the name of a Victorian era Model village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire Port Sunlight is a Model village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. Welwyn Garden City is a Town in Hertfordshire, England. Welwyn Garden City is also referred to in Council parlance as WGC or less correctly 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.

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 Office of Works. The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences 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 Commission of Woods Forests and Land Revenues was established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods 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 World War II 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, London