Tower and Town, June 2023 (view the full edition)Editorial: St John's CloseSt John's Close is a development of 28 original terraced and semi-detached houses, located at the top of Cross Lane and Hyde Lane, adjacent to the Common. The first social housing project in Marlborough, it was created between 1908 and 1910, according to the principles of the Garden Cities, which were popular at the time. Designed to have access to green space, fresh air and light, the houses are set in a horseshoe each facing or adjacent to an open area of allotments, garages and a community garden, created after 2019 from an unused allotment, courtesy of Marlborough Town Council. The Community Garden is now an integral part of life in the Close. It has won 'It's Your Neighbourhood' awards for three consecutive years, as part of Marlborough in Bloom and was particularly valuable during lockdown for outdoor, open air contact between neighbours who would otherwise have been isolated. This is also when we started an oral history group to record the memories of some of the current and past residents. Having an edition of Tower and Town dedicated to St John's Close has provided an opportunity to pull together in one place our links with the College Masters who founded and funded the development, the underlying inspiration of the Garden City concept, mixed with information about longstanding residents and their memories over time. Many local families will still have connections with the Close, which has now been recognised in the Neighbourhood Plan as an area of special quality in the town, due to its history, architecture and community spirit. St John's Close Community Garden is one of the stops on the popular Merchant's House Open Gardens' scheme, this year taking place in the afternoon of Sunday 25th June. If you have a connection with the road, come up and chat to one of our local volunteers. We are always interested to learn more about our history and the people who have lived here. Jo Payne |