Lady Allen of Hurtwood (1897-1976) was a landscape architect,
and campaigner and advocate for children's rights and welfare. She
was a founder leader of OMEP: The World Organisation for Early
Childhood Education, and she worked with UNESCO and UNICEF on
international projects. In terms of children's play, she is
remembered for her passionate interest in adventure playgrounds and
in planning for children's play.
"The Adventure Playground quite simply
tries to answer one question: What kind of play did we all most
enjoy when we were young and how can we best provide these
opportunities in a crowded city?"
(Lady Allen, 1961).
She was a founder member of the International Playground
Association and The Handicapped Adventure Playground Association,
which set up adventure playgrounds for disabled children.
Lady Allen also wrote a number of books and pamphlets, including
Adventure Playgrounds (1961), Design for Play (1965) and
Planning for Play (1968).
The archive is held by the Modern Records Centre, University of
Warwick Library, and includes various papers, articles, photographs
and press cuttings.
Online archive catalogue
For more information on visiting the Modern Records Centre,
please visit their
website
For more information about Lady Allen of Hurtwood visit the the
Lady Allen of Hurtwood Memorial Trust website