Letchworth Museum & Art Gallery

Letchworth Museum and Art Gallery stood in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire. It was a single-storey building designed by Richard Barry Parker, a leading architect of the early Garden City movement. The museum opened in 1914 to hold collections gathered by the Letchworth and District Naturalists’ Society. Its displays covered the natural history of North Hertfordshire, including the rare black squirrel. Artefacts from prehistory to the early 20th century were also shown. The museum’s first curator was W Percival Westell, a noted natural history and archaeology writer. He took charge in 1914 and remained until his death in 1943. During his time he produced 84 books and gave 145 radio talks for the BBC. After Westell, Albert T Clarke served as curator from 1944 to 1968. The building was enlarged in the 1920s and again in 1960–63 by Courtenay Melville Crickmer. Visitors found displays on local wildlife and ancient objects inside the museum. The collections reflected the natural and archaeological heritage of North Hertfordshire. The building itself reflected the ideals of the Garden City movement. After the museum closed, its role was taken over by the new North Hertfordshire Museum in Hitchin.