http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/

The Perfect Village

Introduction

Restoration’s conservation architect, Ptolemy Dean, charts the vernacular history of Britain through the stories of its villages, and attempts to find 'The Perfect Village'.

Ptolemy Dean - presenter of 'The Perfect Village'

Why do some villages prosper where others decline? Why do some delight while others disappoint? What are the magic ingredients that make some so cherished while others are ignored? What role is played by the design of the buildings, their arrangement and the materials used? How important is a sense of community? Is it vital for a village to be living and changing – or can it be preserved in aspic yet remain attractive and functional?

Ptolemy’s tour paints a picture of the past, but will also look ahead. What issues do villages face today? Are they coping successfully or are they floundering?

Dedham and Alderley Edge (Essex and the North West)

Theme: Wealth and its influence on village development

Dedham lies in the valley of the River Stour in Essex and is famous for its association with John Constable, who was schooled at Dedham Grammar School - now a private house. The village prospered from the wool trade in medieval times and much of its architecture hints at this past wealth. In their time, the wool barons represented ‘new money’ and were looked down on by the aristocracy. The new gentry chose to live in fashionable Dedham because it was away from the humdrum of Colchester. Architect Raymond Frith worked in Dedham as does his partner and successor Quinlan Terry. Dedham is an architect’s heaven and prides itself on being an unspoilt village, without street lighting or modern buildings - a place which exemplifies order, continuity, decency and lasting values.

Alderley Edge has a population of 4,000 and boasts the highest number of millionaires per square mile in the country. It’s also the home of several premier league footballers. The village developed after 1842 when the Birmingham and Manchester Railway Company opened a station there. Incentives were offered to build large houses, which heralded the arrival of some of Manchester’s cotton barons and started the village’s association with affluence and wealth. The wealthy cotton barons built their houses on the slopes leading up to the Edge itself, while the less affluent had homes in the village. Today the high street groans under the weight of the constantly passing luxury cars. The employees of coffee bars, boutiques, designer shops and beauticians commute from Manchester and its surrounding area to Alderley Edge to work. It’s still a commuter village for the wealthy, but it’s also a destination for those who aspire.

Bourton on the Water and Ardglass (The West and Northern Ireland)

Theme: The reality and myth of the village

Bourton on the Water

Bourton on the Water has a population of 4,000 and is the most visited village in the Cotswolds (last year over 75,000 visitors passed through the doors of its visitor centre alone). Literally coachloads of tourists come each summer to experience what is perceived as the epitome of Cotswold villages. Bourton is a tourist village and has arguably become a parody of itself. There are a number of attractions, including the Model Village which is a miniature replica of Bourton – a Bourton within Bourton.

The villagers have learned to accommodate their visitors. They’ve provided jobs and a good income, but there’s a different life behind the touristy façade. Most of their homes are away from the village centre and are very quiet, and the locals tend to shop early in the morning before the visitors arrive.

Ardglass

Like Bourton, the picturesque Irish fishing village of Ardglass in County Down is steeped in history - it boasts no less than seven fortified medieval tower houses and retains its original medieval street plan. Once a royal port and fashionable spa, it’s now a centre for the fishing industry. In the early hours of every morning, around 25 boats head into the Irish Sea to fish for langoustines, although Ardglass itself has no fresh fish shop. The marina has a capacity of approximately 80 craft and there are plans afoot to regenerate the village waterfront, a move which would help Ardglass develop as a tourist destination.

Rogart and Tonyrefail (Scotland and South Wales)

Theme: Living off the land with limited resources and a diminishing market, and the challenge of adapting

Rogart is a small village in the Highlands of Scotland near Inverness. Although the population of Rogart Parish is 300-400, the village itself has about 150 inhabitants scattered in dwellings across an area of about two miles – a typical feature of Scottish crofting communities. Rogart’s crofters produce livestock for sale to larger farms further south for fattening and slaughter. Their crofts range in size from 4-5 acres up to 50 acres and only require part-time management, so most of the crofters have a second job. The village has a pub, a shop, a village hall and a ‘request stop’ railway station.

People in remote areas have a tradition of interdependence, pooling their skills and resources to protect themselves against the elements. Although today this reality is cushioned by 20th-century technology, there remains a strong sense of community and ‘place’ exemplified by the number of youngsters who leave to go to university but often return later in life. Architecturally, the dwellings are a mixture of either local stone with slate roofs or newer whitewashed bungalows.

Tonyrefail

The village of Tonyrefail in south Wales was once a thriving coal mining village and, like its neighbours, has suffered great hardship. Losing its main source of industry with the closure of the pits in late 1980s, the village faced an uncertain future, but its spirit stubbornly refuses to be beaten. The survival and growth of Tonyrefail illustrates one of the key elements of village life - its people and their strong sense of identity.

Architecturally, the village still shows its strong mining legacy in the 18th century terraced housing built for the miners. Today, in place of the industrial might of the 18th century, stands new industry - from entrepreneurial individuals to wind farms and industrial parks.

Heighington and Milton Abbas (the North and the South West)

Theme: Village layout.

Heighington

The village of Heighington stands on a hill overlooking the Vale of York. The village boasts a number of interesting features including an almost complete natural historical outer ring road providing easy access to the surrounding fields. The central village green provided overnight security for cattle before they were let out into the fields again the following morning, and the cottages sat between the green and the ring road. The village would have been eminently defensible, with its steep approach roads and narrow entrances. The church has a watchtower which is one of only three in the area. The watchtower allows views to the south and north so that the village could be pre-warned of any trouble brewing in the local areas.

Milton Abbas

Created in 1780, the current village of Milton Abbas has a history which has led some to consider it to be the first planned town or village in England. When Lord Milton (later to become earl of Dorchester) built his new mansion in 1771 beside Milton Abbey, he found that the local town of Middleton was obscuring his view (and the sounds and smells were offending his sensibilities). Lord Milton’s solution was to demolish the town, rebuild it on the other side of the hill, and give it a new name: Milton Abbas. Once the town had been removed, a lake was created on the site. All but one of the townsfolk moved to the new village and when the last resident refused to leave, the sluice gates were opened anyway to create the lake.

Designed by Sir William Chambers, the new village was composed of a street of thatched cottages with large lawns at the front and horse chestnut trees in between (these were removed in 1953). Today the cottages retain their original charm and character and the street looks much as Chambers intended.

Polperro and Wye (the South West and the South East)

Theme: The risks of successfully adapting – the tourist attraction and the threat of expansion killing the village identity

Polperro

A traditional Cornish fishing village, Polperrohas a history of fishing and smuggling dating back to the 12th century. Pilchard was the main catch brought into Polperro, and these fish were sold as far afield as Italy. Although fishing is no longer the main industry, a few commercial boats still work from the harbour. Historically it was Polperro’s geography which aided smugglers. They would bring their contraband ashore into small coves and hide it in caves. Today tourism is Polperro’s main industry. The village, with its narrow winding streets and cottages overlooking the small harbour, draws visitors in with its charm - cars are not allowed into the village. The buildings are made either of granite or whitewashed cob with grey slate roofs, and many look over the harbour from the steep hillsides.

On the surface, Polperro looks as if it hasn’t changed for centuries, but in fact it exemplifies a delicate balance between the tourist village of today and the fishing village of yesteryear. It could, without careful management, slide into being a fishing village cum heritage theme park - a victim of its own success and adaptability.

Wye

Wye village in Kent has a population of 1,500 and is in an ‘area of outstanding natural beauty’. As a strategic crossing on the Great Stour River it’s been an ancient regional centre since Saxon times and is steeped in history. The original local industry was chalk-cutting and whiting manufacture - the disused chalk pit is nearby. There are 86 listed buildings in Wye, the majority of which are located on the original medieval streets.

It is also home to Wye Agricultural College, once part of the University of London. Imperial College took over in 2000 and bought 850 acres of the surrounding land. After phasing out the agricultural degrees in favour of science options they now want to build a £1billion research centre. This, they say, will regenerate the area and create thousands of jobs in the picturesque village. The villagers, united against the common enemy, are vehemently opposed to the plans, which will turn Wye into a small town. Locals have launched a campaign to stop the development going ahead.

Silver End and Poundbury (the East and the South West)

Theme: Creating the perfect village from scratch

Silver End is the 20th century’s earliest example of a planned village and garden community in Essex. It was the brainchild of Francis Henry Crittall, the man behind the manufacturing giant Crittalls. An industrialist with a social conscience, he conceived of a workforce with access to a better quality of life with all the amenities of a village. The result was Silver End, revolutionary in having its own water supply, drainage, churches and cinema centred around one of the most evocative trademarks of the village – the green.

Poundbury is the latest attempt at the model urban village. Situated on the outskirts of Dorchester, it was conceived by Prince Charles in 1988. Poundbury was designed by Leon Krier with a plan featuring architecture of various materials and styles. All the key elements of the archetypal village have been incorporated into its design, but with an emphasis on 21st century living. Streets are narrow and many double as pedestrian paths. Most parking is in rear alleys. Everything has been done to create a pedestrian ‘experience’ which is surprising and charming with variations in street widths, textures, vistas and open spaces.

Poundbury raises the question of whether something that usually grows organically over hundreds of years can be created in a single generation.

What makes the perfect village?

Ptolemy Dean - presenter

In the final programme, Ptolemy carefully assesses each village using his own set of criteria based on the village’s origins, its architecture and its future. Then, analysing the successes and failures, he will come up with the one village he believes deserves the title of 'The Perfect Village.'