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the Milton Keynes travel guide
Chapter 1:
The story of Milton Keynes
Already before the Industrial Revolution, the lush hills of Buckinghamshire developed as a resting stop for merchants visiting London. The importance of this particular stop only grew when the Industrial Revolution started and new railroads were built to connect London and Birmingham. The villages in the hills, which had always profited from the larger cities in the area, became the planned area for the Second Generation New Town of Milton Keynes. The designated area was 9000 hectares and included the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford, Wolverton and New Bradwell, together with 13 villages and the brickfields to the south west of Bletchley. The New Town of Milton Keynes should accommodate a population of 150,000 Londoners over a period of 20 years and had a target population of 250.000 by the year 2000. This chapter elaborates on Milton Keynes’ history, from the invention of the Garden City Idea to the dissolution of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation. To tell the story in an orderly manner, five periods have been distinguished: Before Milton Keynes, The planning process of Milton Keynes (1965-1972), The first years of development (1972-1979), Expansion of Milton Keynes (1979-1992) and finally, Milton Keynes of today and tomorrow.