Revisiting the playground: Charles Wicksteed, play equipment and public spaces for children in early twentieth-century Britain

Jon Winder

doi:10.1017/s0963926821000687

Abstract

AbstractThis article offers the first detailed history of the children's playground in Britain in the early twentieth century. Despite being a common feature of towns and cities, the playground has rarely been examined by historians. In response, the article charts how changing conceptions of childhood, alternative visions of the city, technological innovation and shifting ideas about health and exercise shaped both the imagined function and material form of the playground ideal. Making visible the historical assumptions hidden in playground swings and slides helps to contextualize both existing scholarship on the mid-twentieth-century adventure playground and present-day efforts to create more equitable urban environments.

Highlights

The children’s playground is a common feature of towns and cities across Britain
Despite being a common feature of towns and cities, the playground has rarely been examined by historians
Making visible the historical assumptions hidden in playground swings and slides helps to contextualize both existing scholarship on the mid-twentieth-century adventure playground and present-day efforts to create more equitable urban environments

Summary

Introduction

The children’s playground is a common feature of towns and cities across Britain. At the same time, the principle that children need dedicated spaces to play has been broadly accepted for at least a century. While park historians have explored the social, cultural, economic and environmental values at work in the creation, evolution and use of green amenity spaces, the specific history of the children’s playground has rarely been discussed in detail.. From the late nineteenth century, the evolution of the children’s playground in Britain was dominated by two competing visions, both of which were influential far beyond the specific places where they were conceived Both visions shared assumptions about the problematic nature of urbanization and the curative benefits of green space and had sharply divergent views on the politics of play and the future of the city. As Wicksteed Park celebrates its centenary in 2021 and struggles to survive in the face of pandemic-induced financial difficulties, it seems timely to explore the initial assumptions and values that helped to create a landmark site and shaped the playground ideal type for decades to come

The playground in its infancy

Conclusion