Lady Allen of Hurtwood (née Majory Gill Allen), 1897-1976, English landscape architect and promoter of child welfare
Lady Marjory Allen (nee Gill), landscape architect, campaigner for pre-school education
and promoter of child welfare, was born on 10 May 1897. After taking a horticultural
diploma course at University College, Reading, between 1918-20, she worked as a
landscape gardener during the 1920s and 1930s, and was elected the first fellow of the
new Institute of Landscape Architects in 1930. She served as the vice-president of the
Institute of Landscape Architects between 1939-46.
From the 1940s onwards, Lady Allen became increasingly interested in child welfare. Her
official posts included chairman (1942-48) and president (1948-51) of the Nursery Schools
Association of Great Britain; founder-president of the World Organisation for Early
Childhood Education (OMEP); and chairman of the United Nations Children's Fund (1950-51). Her
campaigning focused on the plight of children in institutions and the inner-cities, and
promoted the idea of adventure or junk playgrounds; it also proved instrumental in the
passing of the Children's Act in 1948. Lady Allen died on 11 April 1976.
She was a founder member of OMEP, the International Playground Association and the Handicapped Adventure Playground Association.
Sie reiste nach Emdrup um den Bauspielplatz kennenzulernen. Das neue Spielkonzept machte sie ab 1946 in England bekannt, wo es auf grosse Resonanz stiess. Der "National Under Fourteen's Council" nahm die Idee auf und schon bald entstanden auf zerbombten Grundstücken Londons die zwei ersten "Junk Playgrounds" (Legepladser, 1952, S. 68)
Lady Allen förderte ebenfalls die Entwicklung von geeigneten Spielplätzen für Kinder mit einer Behinderung.