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A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land

By Joshua Abbott

Art Deco, Modernist & Brutalist architecture in the suburbs of London

Architecture | Illustrated

122% funded

962 supporters

Published

Publication date: October 2020

REWARDS
ABOUT THE BOOK

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FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

Paperback with Small T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with a small sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

Paperback with Medium T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with a medium sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

Paperback with Large T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with a large sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

Paperback with XL T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with an XL sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

1 pledge

Paperback with XXL T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with an XXL sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

FEATURED REWARD

$25 + shipping

Arnos Grove Art Print - SPECIAL OFFER

An 8x10" digital art print of Charles Holden's "round" station - Arnos Grove. Includes a paperback copy of the book.

FEATURED REWARD

$25 + shipping

1 pledge

Chiswick Park Art Print - SPECIAL OFFER

An 8x10" digital art print of Charles Holden's "round" station - Chiswick Park. Includes a paperback copy of the book.

FEATURED REWARD

$25 + shipping

Southgate Art Print - SPECIAL OFFER

An 8x10" digital art print of Charles Holden's "round" station - Southgate. Includes a paperback copy of the book.

$10 + shipping

4 pledges

Paperback - 50% OFF

A paperback edition of the book.

$20 + shipping

3 pledges

Paperback & Tote - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with an exclusive tote bag.

$20 + shipping

651 pledges

Metropolitan

Paperback edition of the book

$25 + shipping

41 pledges

Frank Pick: Chiswick Park

First edition paperback and your name in the back plus an 8x10" digital art print from a choice of three. Choose one of Charles Holden's "round" stations; Chiswick Park, Southgate or Arnos Grove.

$35 + shipping

108 pledges

Northern

Paperback first edition with your name in the back plus a Modernism in Metroland tote bag

$40 + shipping

19 pledges

Victoria

First edition paperback and Modernism in Metroland t-shirt

$40 + shipping

47 pledges

Holden

Save on postage: Two paperback editions of the book and your names in the back sent to the same address

$40 + shipping

25 pledges

Piccadilly Circus

First edition paperback and your name in the book plus three 8x10" digital art prints of Charles Holden's "round" stations; Chiswick Park, Southgate and Arnos Grove, as well as a Modernism in Metroland T-shirt.

$50 + shipping

11 pledges

Piccadilly

First edition paperback and one 10x12" digital art print from a choice of 5, pictured (clockwise from top left): Arnos Grove, Park Royal, Sudbury Town, Wealdstone Motors and Curry's Factory.

$65 + shipping

10 pledges

Central

First edition paperback and three 10x12" digital art prints from a choice of 5, pictured in 'Piccadilly' level, above: Arnos Grove, Park Royal, Sudbury Town, Wealdstone Motors and Curry's Factory.

$75 + shipping

4 pledges

Circle

Save on postage: Four paperback editions of the book and your names in the back sent to the same address

$95 + shipping

1 pledge

District

First edition paperback plus Modernism in Metroland t-shirt, tote bag and 10x12" digital art print from a choice of 5, pictured in 'Piccadilly' level, above: Arnos Grove, Park Royal, Sudbury Town, Wealdstone Motors and Curry's Factory.

$125 + shipping

12 pledges

Bakerloo

First edition paperback, tote bag, t-shirt, 10x12" digital art print (pictured in 'Piccadilly' level, above) and “Jewels of Metro-Land” tour (limited to groups of 15, travel, food, drink and accommodation not included)

$190 + shipping

1 pledge

Jubilee

First edition paperback and portrait with building of choice from website

$190 + shipping

1 pledge

Hammersmith

10 Paperback editions of the book and your name in the back

$1,250 + shipping

Patron

Five paperback books, tote bag, t-shirt, Jewels of Metro-land tour (limited to groups of 15, travel, food, drink and accommodation not included) and 10x12" digital art print of portrait with building of choice from website, with your name or company logo printed in the book with special thanks

$6,250 + shipping

Goldfinger

Personalised leatherbound hardback book, tote bag, t-shirt, Jewels of Metro-land tour (limited to groups of 15, travel, food, drink and accommodation not included) and 10x12" digital art print of portrait with building of choice from website, with your name or company logo printed in the book with special thanks

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Modernism in Metro-Land started as a website in 2011 and has grown to explore modernist buildings throughout suburban London. Inspired by John Betjeman’s Metro-Land (1973) television programme and the architectural books by Ian Nairn, the website examines the growth of the suburbs from the 1920s to the present day through its modernist designs. Featuring architects such as Charles Holden, Erno Goldfinger and Norman Foster, Modernism in Metro-Land also shows the development of modernist architecture in Britain from its introduction in the 1920s right up to the brink of the 21st century. As well as the website, Modernism in Metro-Land also hosts tours of the modernist stations of the Piccadilly and Central Lines, as well as being a fixture of the annual Open House London weekend with its Stanmore Art Deco house walking tour.

A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land will be a pocket guide to the modernist buildings of the suburbs. Covering nine London boroughs and two counties, the book will help you explore the modernist heritage of Metro-Land, with over 100 colour photographs. There will be a short description of each building as well as a map for each area to help you find the buildings you want to see.

* From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro-land: Metro-land (or Metroland) is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north-west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century that were served by the Metropolitan Railway (the Met). The railway company was in the privileged position of being allowed to retain surplus land; from 1919 this was developed for housing by the nominally independent Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Limited (MRCE). The term "Metro-land" was coined by the Met's marketing department in 1915 when the Guide to the Extension Line became the Metro-land guide. It promoted a dream of a modern home in beautiful countryside with a fast railway service to central London until the Met was absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

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FEATURED REWARD

$25 + shipping

1 pledge

Chiswick Park Art Print - SPECIAL OFFER

An 8x10" digital art print of Charles Holden's "round" station - Chiswick Park. Includes a paperback copy of the book.

FEATURED REWARD

$20 + shipping

1 pledge

Paperback with XXL T-Shirt - SPECIAL OFFER

A paperback edition of the book with an XXL sized 'Modernism in Metro-Land' t-shirt.

View all 25 rewards

Metro-Land and Modernism

The idea of Metro-Land has been around for just over 100 years. In 1915, an employee of the Metropolitan Railway, James Garland, came up with the concept of Metro-Land to help sell some the excess land the Met had acquired in extending its railways out from the capital into the greenery north of London. The expansion of the Metropolitan Railway was driven by the company’s General Manager, Robert Selbie, who wanted an extension to link up the capital to villages such as Wembley, Harrow, Pinner and Ruislip, and towns such as Amersham and Aylesbury. The surplus land was handed over to a newly formed company, the Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Limited (MRCE) which drew up plans to create commuter suburbs at some of the villages along the new railway. The first estates were built at Neasden (Kingsbury Garden Village), Wembley (Wembley Garden Suburb), Pinner (Cecil Park and the Grange Estate) and Rickmansworth (the Cecil Estate). These new garden villages were largely fashioned in the Arts and Crafts style, created by architects such as Oliver Hill who designed Wembley Garden Village.

The idea of Metro-Land, echoed by the tiled cottages of the garden villages, was to create a rural idyll for the commuter to escape to (via the Metropolitan Railway) after a day working in the city. Posters show houses surrounded by gardens and parks where the harassed white collar worker could enjoy his free time and live in harmony with nature (at least until Monday morning). Metro-Land didn't just have the MCRE to publicise it, but also it’s own Poet Laureate. John Betjeman hymned Metro-Land praises in verses such as “Harrow-on-the-Hill” and “Middlesex”, where the poet talked of such obscure places as Perivale, Wealdstone and Ruislip Gardens. Later on screen his Metro-Land documentary, broadcast in 1973, would become a television classic.

Read more...
Joshua Abbott has written 1 private update. You can pledge to get access to them all.

15th November 2020 November 2020 Update

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to send a quick message now A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land has been published. Hopefully everyone who pledged for a copy of the book has now received it. I hope you are enjoying it despite, (or maybe because of?), the current lockdown situation. We couldn’t have produced it without your support, so once again thank you.

Hopefully those of you who selected…

7th January 2020 January 2020 Update

Hello All,

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone!

It's been a little while since I updated on progress to A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land, but things have been happening behind the scenes. The book has now been laid out and proofed, and we are almost ready to go to print. The book should be published in July.

I am pleased to share with you the cover design for the guide…

7th November 2019 November 2019 Update

Hello Everyone,

I just thought I'd send you a quick update and let you know what is happening with A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land.

The proofs arrived this week, as you can see in the photo. So now I need to go through and double (triple) check everything with a red pen and a large coffee! Hopefully that won't take too long and then we will be nearly ready to go to print. Of course once…

19th August 2019 August 2019 Update

Hello All,

It has been awhile since I sent an update about the progress of A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land, so I thought I would let you know how things are going. The book is currently in the Final Design stage, with the layout being finalised. The copy has all been edited and checked, and the maps for each section created. The book is due to be published next year, and a firm date will…

17th January 2019 100%

Hi Everyone,

As I am sure you all know by now, on Wednesday we passed the 100% funding mark, which means A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land will be published! Thanks once again to all of you for pledging towards the book and making it a reality. Thank you to everyone who supported the project by publicising it on their social media channels as well, the momentum really helped push the project forward…

13th January 2019 So Close!

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year, and I hope you all had a good festive period. "A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land" is now 95% towards funding with over 700 supporters. Thank you to all who have pledged and made a donation to the project. Hopefully you will be able to get your hands on the book sooner rather than later now!

We have a special offer on the Piccadilly Circus pledge level, which…

19th November 2018 November Update

Hello Everyone,

This update is to let you know about our crowdfunding progress, and about three new pledge levels we have introduced. We have now reached 84% towards our total with over 600 supporters. Thank you to everyone who has pledged so far. We know you all eager to get your hands on a copy of the book, and we thank you for your patience. We are getting closer and hopefully it won’t…

28th August 2018 August Update

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update on progress for A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land. We are now at over 70% towards our total, with 500+ backers, so we are getting closer and closer! Thanks again to everyone who has pledges and also spread the word on social media.

In terms of the putting the book together,I am nearly finished visiting all the extra buildings I wanted to add, recently…

13th June 2018 June Update

Hi Everyone,

We are now officially over the halfway mark towards funding A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land, currently at 51% and over 430 supporters! Thank you very much everyone who has pledged for the book and anyone who has helped by promoting it on social media.

The last couple of months have been busy with promoting the crowdfunding campaign. I was a guest on the Robert Elms…

17th April 2018 April Update

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to give you a brief update on our crowdfunding campaign for A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land. We are currently at 35% towards our total with over 315 backers! So we are over a third of the way there, thank you for your pledges and your support.

Once again, if there is anyone you know who might be interested please send them the link for pledging https…

6th March 2018 March Update- 20% Reached!

Hello,

I just wanted to send a quick message to everyone who has pledged to support A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land, and say THANK YOU! Your backing for the project at this early stage has been wonderful and I am really grateful for your support.

We have now reached 20% and have over 160 supporters, but there is still a long way to go. If there is anyone you know who might be interested…
These people are helping to fund A Guide to Modernism in Metro-Land.

Peter Marshall

Rick JORDAN

Tony Swettenham

Stephen Usins Yeardley

Stephen Usins Yeardley

Alison Hobro

Catharine Braithwaite

Rob Challis

Charlotte Day

Matthew Hill

David Aldworth

dov Goldberg

Julie Dugdale

Tony Clayden

Chris Peyton

Helen Waites

Simon Moon

Nicole Clough

Sally Yates

Sally Yates

Matthew Dodd

Luigi Burgio

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Jonathan Howarth asked:

When is the book expected to be published/shipped?

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Jonathan, From the time the pledge target is reached, it can take up to a year for the book to be published. So the quicker we get to 100% the quicker you can get a copy! Josh

Kenneth Henderson asked:

What is the pledge target amount? It doesn’t seem to say this anywhere.

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Kenneth, The pledge target amount is just over £17,000. Josh

Chris Bailey asked:

Bit new to this pledging business and I can't see a recommended (or required) amount anywhere, am I missing the obvious?!

Joshua Abbott replied:

There are different levels of pledge; from £15 for a copy of the book with your name in it right up to £5000 for all the bells and whistles. You can also donate a sum on top of your pledge if you'd like via the "Donate" button. The reward levels should be shown on the right hand side of the the crowdfunding page. Josh

Nicky Temperton asked:

I changed my pledge from one to two books on 14 Jan 2019 but Paypal tells me I'm only being charged for one copy! Please can you tell me when the second copy will come?

Unbound replied:

Hi Nicky, Thanks for getting in touch. You've made two payments (one for the first pledge and one for the upgrade), and you're now at the 'Holden' level so you'll definitely receive two copies. I hope this helps! Unbound Support

darren russell asked:

Hello Joshua, when will you be conducting the Metro-land tour many thanks Darren Russell

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Darren, The tour will follow the publication of the book. Once we have a firm date for publication we will email you regarding the date of the tour. Regards Josh

Michael Flexer asked:

Any updates on when the book might be posted out? Impatient to have it! All best wishes, Michael

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Michael, We are currently in the process of laying out the design of the book. The copy has been edited and the maps finalised. Once the layout is confirmed and signed off we will be able to go to print. You will get an official update via Unbound when this happens. Thank you for your patience, I know the book has been coming a long time! Josh

Lau Mandal asked:

Hi, which are the 9 London boroughs covered by the book please? Thanks!

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Lau, The boroughs covered in the book will be Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond plus parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Josh

Luz Rodriguez asked:

Hello Johua, I hope you and your family are well and safe. Please, would you be so kind to contact me because you are a real expert in Art Deco. I would be most grateful if you help me to present a document to Historic England in order to save a beautiful Art Deco building from destruction. My details are: Luz Rodríguez luz@luzrodriguez.co.uk WhatsApp: +447703937858. It is important. Thank you, Luz

Joshua Abbott replied:

Hi Luz, Thanks for your message.Please send an email with more details to info@modernism-in-metroland.co.uk. Also, contact the C20 Society who are experts at conserving 20th century buildings, https://c20society.org.uk/contact-us Regards Josh

Simon Bailey asked:

Hi, when will the Tote Bags be posted out? I received the splendid book (very many thanks for that) and the message that the Bag would come separately. When might that be, so I can complete my gift? Many thanks, Simon

Unbound replied:

Hi Simon, The totes were posted out a week ago so you should have received yours by now. If you haven't please get in touch via support@unbound.com and we can look into this for you.

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