Sharp was born in Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. He attended the local grammar school and, between 1918 and 1922, spent four years working for the borough surveyor. He then moved to Margate to work on the town's development plan, before working in Canterbury and London where he worked for the planning consultants Thomas Adams and Francis Longstreth Thompson. His next post was as regional planning assistant to the South West Lancashire Regional Advisory Group, but after credit for his lengthy report was given, as was traditional, to the honorary surveyor, he angrily resigned, and was unable to find work for two years.[1]
Sharp used this enforced leisure to write Town and Countryside (1932), which established him as a formidable polemicist. He challenged the garden city movement, which sought to unite town and country, by insisting on their separate individual qualities. He finished the book in the family home in County Durham, an area which, with its contrasts between deprived coal mining areas and the fine architecture of the city of Durham, was a lifelong inspiration to him. As a consultant, he advised on the protection of the city from development that would compromise its environmental quality.[1]
Sharp loved the urban architecture of Renaissance and medieval towns. He thought the man-made landscape of England the most beautiful in the world and the English village as the perfection of the village idea. His thoughts in this area were expressed in English Panorama (1936), written after an unplanned move into the University of Durham's architectural department in Newcastle. Here also he edited the Shell Guide to Northumberland and Durham (1937) and wrote his celebrated Town Planning (1940), a Pelican Book that sold 250,000 copies.[1]
Between 1941 and 1943, Sharp worked in London, as a senior officer in the Ministry of Works and Planning, and made a major contribution to the Scott report which laid the foundations for post-war countryside protection. Sharp later wrote The Anatomy of the Village (1946), which became a classic on the subject of village design. His notions of townscape, then a novel concept, were perfected in his analyses of historic towns and cities – notably Durham, Exeter, Oxford, Salisbury and Chichester – for which he wrote development plans just before and then after the end of the war. After a brief return to Durham to found the first undergraduate town planning course in the country, he returned to establish his own planning consultancy in Oxford, and was personally disappointed when Durham University failed to appoint him as its first chair of town planning.[1]
Sharp became president of the Town Planning Institute in 1945–6, and of the Institute of Landscape Architects in 1949–51. He was appointed CBE in 1951. However, as a consultant based in Oxford, Sharp's inability to compromise made work hard to find. He spent much of his time on poems and novels, for the most part unpublished. His last book on planning was Town and Townscape (1968).[1]
He married Rachel Dorothy Morrison in 1963; they had no children. She survived him following his death in Oxford in 1978, aged 76.[1]
Published worksedit
Town and Countryside: Some Aspects of Urban and Rural Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1932.
^ abcdefK. M. Stansfield, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
External linksedit
Town and Townscape: the Work and Life of Thomas Sharp
Maps and plans of Oxford by Thomas Sharp on Oxfordshire County Council Heritage Search
November 09, 2023
thomas, sharp, town, planner, thomas, wilfred, sharp, april, 1901, january, 1978, english, town, planner, writer, built, environment, contents, biography, published, works, references, external, linksbiography, editsharp, born, bishop, auckland, county, durham. Thomas Wilfred Sharp 12 April 1901 27 January 1978 was an English town planner and writer on the built environment Contents 1 Biography 2 Published works 3 References 4 External linksBiography editSharp was born in Bishop Auckland in County Durham England He attended the local grammar school and between 1918 and 1922 spent four years working for the borough surveyor He then moved to Margate to work on the town s development plan before working in Canterbury and London where he worked for the planning consultants Thomas Adams and Francis Longstreth Thompson His next post was as regional planning assistant to the South West Lancashire Regional Advisory Group but after credit for his lengthy report was given as was traditional to the honorary surveyor he angrily resigned and was unable to find work for two years 1 Sharp used this enforced leisure to write Town and Countryside 1932 which established him as a formidable polemicist He challenged the garden city movement which sought to unite town and country by insisting on their separate individual qualities He finished the book in the family home in County Durham an area which with its contrasts between deprived coal mining areas and the fine architecture of the city of Durham was a lifelong inspiration to him As a consultant he advised on the protection of the city from development that would compromise its environmental quality 1 Sharp loved the urban architecture of Renaissance and medieval towns He thought the man made landscape of England the most beautiful in the world and the English village as the perfection of the village idea His thoughts in this area were expressed in English Panorama 1936 written after an unplanned move into the University of Durham s architectural department in Newcastle Here also he edited the Shell Guide to Northumberland and Durham 1937 and wrote his celebrated Town Planning 1940 a Pelican Book that sold 250 000 copies 1 Between 1941 and 1943 Sharp worked in London as a senior officer in the Ministry of Works and Planning and made a major contribution to the Scott report which laid the foundations for post war countryside protection Sharp later wrote The Anatomy of the Village 1946 which became a classic on the subject of village design His notions of townscape then a novel concept were perfected in his analyses of historic towns and cities notably Durham Exeter Oxford Salisbury and Chichester for which he wrote development plans just before and then after the end of the war After a brief return to Durham to found the first undergraduate town planning course in the country he returned to establish his own planning consultancy in Oxford and was personally disappointed when Durham University failed to appoint him as its first chair of town planning 1 Sharp became president of the Town Planning Institute in 1945 6 and of the Institute of Landscape Architects in 1949 51 He was appointed CBE in 1951 However as a consultant based in Oxford Sharp s inability to compromise made work hard to find He spent much of his time on poems and novels for the most part unpublished His last book on planning was Town and Townscape 1968 1 He married Rachel Dorothy Morrison in 1963 they had no children She survived him following his death in Oxford in 1978 aged 76 1 Published works editTown and Countryside Some Aspects of Urban and Rural Development Oxford Oxford University Press 1932 English Panorama London J M Dent amp Sons 1936 Northumberland and Durham a Shell Guide B T Batsford 1937 Town Planning Harmondsworth Pelican Books 1940 Cathedral City A Plan for Durham London The Architectural Press 1944 Exeter Phoenix A Plan for Rebuilding London The Architectural Press 1946 The Anatomy of the Village Harmondsworth Penguin Books 1946 Oxford Replanned London The Architectural Press 1948 Georgian City A plan for the preservation and improvement of Chichester London The Architectural Press 1949 Newer Sarum A plan for Salisbury London The Architectural Press 1949 Town and Townscape John Murray 1968 ISBN 0 7195 1799 0 References edit a b c d e f K M Stansfield Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyExternal links editTown and Townscape the Work and Life of Thomas Sharp Maps and plans of Oxford by Thomas Sharp on Oxfordshire County Council Heritage Search Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Sharp town planner amp oldid 1143182339, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
