By Chris Guy posted on 23 Jan 2017 in Urban
Milton Keynes 1987. Urban road with cars and a lorry approaching under a green traffic light; cobbled pavement and railings line the right side.

Central Milton Keynes, 1987

Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire was designated a New Town on 23 January 1967 – 50 years ago today. I’ve visited twice, once in 1987 and again in 2012. I think it’s a great town (surely it should have city status by now) and although some neighbourhoods were looking a little weathered in 2012 there was also lots of new and original housing being built.

Milton Keynes has a spacious feel about the place and I love the futuristic thecentre:mk (now part of Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre) with its steel-framed, Mies van der Rohe inspired, architecture. Designed by Derek Walker in 1973 this building is over 1km in length and now has Grade II listed status.

Below are some of my shots from those visits to Milton Keynes showing The Centre, Tinkers Bridge, Broughton, Witan Gate, Oxley Wood and finally the Art of Silence sculpture by Bernard Schottlander in the grounds of Challenge House.

Unfortunately I only have two scans from the 1987 visit, but I hope you enjoy the views and Happy Birthday MK!

Tinkers Bridge

Quiet suburban cul-de-sac with mid-century houses in red and green panels, bare winter trees, parked cars and an overcast sky.

Tinkers Bridge, Woughton, Milton Keynes

A grassy courtyard with bare trees between white brick walls, a colourful cartoon mural of a tea-party on the far wall and a lone figure walking along the right-hand path.

Mad Hatters Tea Party, Tinkers Bridge

Suburban corner with a 'Brent' street sign, bare winter trees, houses in the background and a discarded pink inflatable among leaf-strewn shrubs.

Brent, Tinkers Bridge

Long row of colourful two-storey houses with a triangular end wall, a tall streetlamp and a bare tree beside the pavement under a cloudy sky.

Colne, Tinkers Bridge

A row of mid-century terraced houses with flat canopies and carports, leafless trees lining a quiet street under an overcast sky, parked cars and sparse winter vegetation.

Tinkers Bridge Housing

Weathered small motorboat on a trailer parked on a residential driveway beside cars and bare trees, with garages and flats in the background.

Boat, Tinkers Bridge

The Centre

Modern glass-fronted shopping centre with an open paved plaza, benches and small groups of people enjoying a sunny day under a clear blue sky.

thecentre:mk shopping centre

Glass-fronted modern building showing a suspended cube clock with Roman numerals visible through the windows.
Four-faced suspended clock with Roman numerals and visible chimes, mounted on a metal frame in a bright glass-walled atrium.

Clock Tower, thecentre:mk

Quiet city road with traffic lights and a modern glass office building; two cars drive along a wide carriageway under a bright blue sky.

Secklow Gate

A modern glass-fronted building with mirrored façades beside an empty road, a tall streetlamp and birds on the roof beneath a bright blue sky.

Secklow Gate

Child-sized mannequin with bobbed hair and ornate dress stands by a market stall, shoppers and stalls blurred in the sunny outdoor market background.

Milton Keynes Market

Busy outdoor market with striped stalls and colourful fruit and veg, shoppers browsing beneath a bright blue sky and a modern glass-fronted building.

Milton Keynes Market

Empty curved road with a solitary lamppost casting a shadow, low shrubs with red berries and bare trees beneath a pale blue sky with scattered clouds.

Curve with lampost

Colourful painted canopy at a car park entrance amid leafless trees, with rows of parked cars and urban buildings in the background on a bright, late‑winter day.

Pedestrians Do Not Have Prioity

Sunlit urban road at golden hour, with cars and buses, bus stops and streetlights, trees along the left and a busy car park to the right.

Central Milton Keynes, 1987

Broughton

Black and white photo of timber-clad modern houses along a gravel path, with a streetlamp, cycle route sign and leafless shrubs under an overcast sky.

Foxfield, Broughton

Black-and-white photo of a row of modern suburban houses across a grassy park, a lone sapling in the foreground and a broad cloudy sky above.

Foxfield, Broughton

Row of modern three-storey houses with gabled roofs and large windows, cars parked outside, set behind a grassy verge beneath a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Broughton Housing

Witan Gate

Contemporary apartment block with repetitive wooden slatted cladding and glass-fronted balconies against a clear blue sky.

Vizion, Witan Gate

Two modern apartment blocks frame a rooftop terrace with a glass balustrade and a row of bare trees against a clear blue sky.

Vizion, Witan Gate

Empty wide street flanked by modern glass-fronted apartments and offices with balconies; a distinctive red tower rises against a pale blue sky.

Vizion, Witan Gate

Oxley Woods

Row of modern cube-like apartment blocks with panelled façades and recessed rectangular windows, bathed in warm low sunlight against a deep blue sky.

Oxley Woods

Modern row of modern white and grey townhouses with large windows, parked cars and young trees along a sunlit residential street under a clear blue sky.

Oxley Woods

Geometric modern townhouses with white and rust-red panelled façades, a tall streetlamp and sharp shadows under a deep blue sky.

Oxley Woods

Row of modern modern townhouses with white facades and red roofs, set behind a low fence and a dry grassy field beneath a clear blue sky.

Oxley Woods

Modern three-storey house with geometric brown and white panels, large windows and a striking red angled roof feature against a clear sky.

Oxley Woods

Modern two-storey building facade with red and white panels, a dark door, windows, a green wheelie bin and a red angular roof detail under a blue sky.

Oxley Woods

Quiet housing estate at dusk with a curved road, dry verges and a sign reading 'ROAD PASSING BAY' beside rows of red-roofed houses.

Road Passing Bay

Challenge House

Bright red abstract Bernard Schottlander metal sculpture like a folded ribbon with a stepped end, tree shadows across it, standing on grass beneath a blue sky.

The Art of Silence, sculpture by Bernard Schottlander

Thanks for reading. You can see the full image set on Flickr.

Tagged with:
1980s new town

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