Thomas Wilfred Sharp
Encyclopedia
Thomas Wilfred Sharp was an English urban planner and writer. He was born in Bishop Auckland
in County Durham
, England. He attended the local grammar school
and then spent four years working for the borough surveyor. He later became regional planning assistant to the South West Lancashire Regional Advisory Group, but after credit for his vast report was given, as was traditional, to the honorary surveyor, he angrily resigned, and was unable to find work for two years.
Sharp used this enforced leisure to write Town and Countryside (1932), which established him as a formidable polemicist. He challenged the popular garden city movement
, which sought to unite town and country, by insisting on their separate individuality. He finished the book in the family home in County Durham, an area which was a lifelong inspiration to him.
Sharp 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 produced his celebrated Town Planning (1940), a Pelican Book that sold 250,000 copies.
Sharp made a major contribution to the Scott report which laid the foundations for post-war countryside protection. He 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, was perfect in his analyses of historic towns and cities – notably Durham
, Exeter
, Oxford
, Salisbury
and Chichester
.
Latterly, Sharp was a consultant based in Oxford, but his inability to compromise made employment hard to find. He spent his time on poems and novels, for the most part unpublished. His last planning book was Town and Townscape (1968).
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England. He attended the local grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
and then spent four years working for the borough surveyor. He later became regional planning assistant to the South West Lancashire Regional Advisory Group, but after credit for his vast report was given, as was traditional, to the honorary surveyor, he angrily resigned, and was unable to find work for two years.
Sharp used this enforced leisure to write Town and Countryside (1932), which established him as a formidable polemicist. He challenged the popular garden city movement
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
, which sought to unite town and country, by insisting on their separate individuality. He finished the book in the family home in County Durham, an area which was a lifelong inspiration to him.
Sharp 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
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. Here also he edited the Shell Guide to Northumberland and Durham (1937) and produced his celebrated Town Planning (1940), a Pelican Book that sold 250,000 copies.
Sharp made a major contribution to the Scott report which laid the foundations for post-war countryside protection. He 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, was perfect in his analyses of historic towns and cities – notably Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
and Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
.
Latterly, Sharp was a consultant based in Oxford, but his inability to compromise made employment hard to find. He spent his time on poems and novels, for the most part unpublished. His last planning book was Town and Townscape (1968).