Varsity Line

• "The Varsity Line and the lines it meets. Disused or freight-only sections are in blue." Source of svg file: Wikipedia (2008)

• "Cambridge—Milton Keynes loose links may well provide additionsl fragmented educational servicing web (cf. Atom, AD 5/68)."
• (Cedric Price, AD 5/69)

[edit] Introduction

When I first started my slot as Designing Buildings' Guest Editor I searched the site using the term 'Varsity Line'. There's a particular and personal reason for this: I worked in Oxford and lived In Cambridge (late nineties) and there was no direct railway route linking these university cities - in this particular case the line between Bicester and Oxford was closed to passengers and the line from Bedford (Goldington Power Station) to the junction at Cambridge was closed completely. In fact, I don't think anyone had seriously considered an alternative to travel by road.

The results of my search on the site stated:—

• "This page does not exist. Click here to create the page "Varsity Line"

I therefore created the page "Varsity Line" with a copy of the image shown above:—

• 10:42, 11 March 2024 Archiblog (Talk | contribs) (274 bytes) (Created page with "File:Item 24789 - Varsity Line.png • The Varsity Line and the lines it meets. Disused or freight-only sections are in blue. (By Dtcdthingy - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0) [[http...")

My next step was to search the web using the same term - see Appendix.

Below are my reasons for having chosen two articles describing the Varsity Line.

[edit] Why have I chosen the following articles?

I have chosen two related articles:—

1. Wikipedia contributors (last edited 12 March 2024, at 12:16) 'Varsity Line', Wikipedia;
2. Disused Stations contributors (last updated 2019-06-10) 'Disused Stations', disused-stations.org

[edit] Notes

[1] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Bedford Railway', in 'Varsity Line', Wikipedia.

[2] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Buckinghamshire Railway', in 'Varsity Line', Wikipedia. (Also 'Buckinghamshire Railway', Wikipedia.)

[3] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Bedford and Cambridge Railway', in 'Varsity Line', Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia:—

• "(the Bedford and Cambridge Railway) adopted the alignment of an earlier private scheme, the Sandy and Potton Railway."

See also note [4] below.

[4] Wikipedia contributors (2023) 'Sandy and Potton Railway', in 'Potton railway station', Wikipedia.

[5] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'London and North Western Railway', Wikipedia.

[6] Wikipedia contributors (2023) 'Big Four (British railway companies)', Wikipedia.

[7] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'The Bicester cut-off', Wikipedia.

[8] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Great Central Main Line', Wikipedia.

[9] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'British Rail', Wikipedia.

[10] Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Transport Act 1947', Wikipedia.

[edit] Reference

Wikipedia contributors (2024) 'Varsity Line', Wikipedia.

[edit] Further reading

Wikimedia Commons contributors (2018) 'Category:Varsity Line', Wikimedai Commons.

[edit] Appendix (incomplete)

Frearson, A. (2017-11-30) 'Oxford and Cambridge need good design to become "UK's Silicon Valley" say architects', dezeen.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (2018-09-27) 'BBOWT launches legal challenge against government's Oxford to Cambridge Expressway proposal', Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Harrabin, R. (2018-10-27) 'Oxford-Cambridge Arc: Row over central England mega-plan', BBC.

Bidwells (2018-04-05) 'Introducing the Oxbridge Growth Corridor', bidwells.co.uk

Kindersley, S. (2018-10-22) 'Open Letter to Mr R Brighouse', CamBedRailRoad.

Beament, E. (2018-10-27) 'Campaigners warn thousands of acres of woodland could be destroyed by Oxford to Cambridge development', Cambridgeshire News.

Johnson, B. (2018-09) 'Notes on Preliminary Railway Alignment', CamBedRailRoad.

The countryside charity (2018-10-25) 'Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford: A Corridor of Uncertainty for the Countryside', cpre.org.uk

East West Rail (2019-01) 'Eastern Section: Prospectus for Growth', East West Rail.

East West Rail (2019-01) 'East West Rail Bedford to Cambridge Route Option Consultation', East West Rail.

East West Rail (2019-01) 'East West Rail Bedford to Cambridge Route Option Consultation: Route Option Maps', East West Rail.

East West Rail (2019-01) 'East West Rail Bedford to Cambridge Route Option Consultation: Technical Report', East West Rail.

CamBedRaiRoad (2019-01) 'Arguments for a Northern Approach into Cambridge', CamBedRailRoad.

CamBedRaiRoad (undated) 'EWR – CS: CBRR route & Cambridge North Station', CamBedRailRoad.

CamBedRaiRoad (undated) 'CamBedRaiRoad Proposal', CamBedRailRoad.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (2021-03-18) 'The Oxford to Cambridge Expressway: a threat to wildlife', Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

Lock, D. (2023) 'Oxford MK Cambridge (O2C)', David Lock Associates.

Bidwells (2024) 'Oxford to Cambridge Arc', bidwells.co.uk

CamBedRaiRoad (2024) 'CBRR's Guidance Notes and more detailed maps', CamBedRailRoad.

--Archiblog 11:00, 20 Mar 2024 (BST)

• "A firm re-assessment of housing requirements together with an avoidance in the first stage of development of any civic design indicates the real order of priorities."
• (Cedric Price, 1966, 'PTb', AD 10/66, p.484)

[edit] • EXPEDIENCY ON TRIAL

"After the Second World War a new type of state-subsidized house appeared in Britain. The two-bedroom temporary bungalow was produced ostensibly to provide much needed housing in the immediate post-war period and some 156,623 houses were supplied between 1945-1949 as part of the scheme. The bungalows differed from pre-war state-subsidized housing in a number of ways including their method of construction.For the first time in Britain one of the ideals of the Modern Movement was realized: a house was manufactured on a production line in a factory." (1995, p.viii) In 1965, the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community sponsored a competition entitled:— 'International Competition for the Design of Industrially Fabricated Dwellings'. (Canadian Centre for Architecture) According to the CCA:— "Requirements called for rapid assembly/disassembly, and flexible unit plans that could be altered by home owners and appeal to a wide range of owners and their preferences." (ib.)

The first thing is the title: 'Housing in the UK'.

Thus this article rethinks the architectural contribution of Cedric Price.The term has been taken from the

assumes:

• ... that 'Expediency' was the underlying hypothesis constructed by Cedric Price as a basis for further ongoing research.

This term was used by Cedric Price in 'Expediency' ...

This article ... Housing in the UK / it has been selected for further investigation*.

• NOTE: In the same investigation* ...

• ... that the short life housing study was a working hypothesis constructed by Cedric Price as a basis for further ongoing research.

• ... that the system designed by Cedric Price can achleve relevance; and
• ... that it requires a re-think and updated commentary.

This article assumes:—

• ... that housing in the UK is in crisis; and
• ... that the short life housing study proposed by Cedric Price is a solution.

Key terms:—

• 'human-conditioning'
• 'socio-political'

Learn More

This article assumes:—

• ... that the short life housing study was a working hypothesis constructed by Cedric Price as a basis for further ongoing research.

Cedric Price's outline was published in 1969, thus this article assumes:—

• ... that both 'Expediency' and the short life housing study require rethinks and updated commentaries.

Housing in the UK has therefore been selected as a starting point for further ongoing research.

ANALYSIS OF EXPEDIENCY

[edit] 1869

"St Martin’s Cottages, completed in 1869 in Ashfield Street, Vauxhall – the first council housing to be built in England."

The ‘cottages’ were tenements – 146 flats and maisonettes in two four-storey blocks, brick-built with open staircases and separate WCs placed on the half-landings. The result was so bleak that even the trade magazine The Builder concluded that those who built for the poor should ‘mix a little philanthropy with their per-centage calculations’.

[edit] Housing in the UK - BEFORE 1967

For example:—

According to the NeiroLaunch editorial team:—

• "Human conditioning is a particularly fascinating area of study. We’re not just passive recipients of stimuli; our cognitive abilities allow us to reflect on and even manipulate our own conditioning processes. This is where concepts like high order conditioning come into play, showing how we can form associations not just with direct stimuli, but with more abstract concepts and ideas."
• [1]

• "Human conditioning is everywhere, often operating behind the scenes of our daily lives. It’s in the way our favorite song makes us feel instantly happier, or how the sight of a dentist’s chair can make our palms sweat. But unlike our canine counterparts, we humans bring an extra ingredient to the mix: cognition."
• [2]

This article shares an aspiration stated in The Observer on 26 January 2025 by George Monbiot, namely:—

• "...to see lots of new social and genuinely affordable housing built as part of a massive programme to solve the worst housing crisis of any wealthy country."
• [1]

• ARBITRARY ...

According to Steve Howell, writing in Big Issue:—

• "...the number of companies accounting for more than half of all private sector housebuilding is set to fall from 10 at the start of the decade to six: Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Barratt Redrow, Vistry, Bellway and Berkeley."
• [2]

• * DOMESTIKIT: UK Begun January 1972, first iteration finished 1977.

Back to Top

[edit] References

1. Savills News (2024) 'UK housing value dips by a marginal -0.3% to £8.678 trillion', Savills
2. Shelter (2009) 'Factsheet: Housing Tenure', shelter.org
3. NeuroLaunch editorial team (2024) 'High Order Conditioning: Exploring Advanced Learning Processes in Psychology', NeuroLaunch.com
4. NeuroLaunch editorial team (2025) 'Conditioning: A Comprehensive Guide to Its Meaning and Applications', NeuroLaunch.com
5. NeuroLaunch editorial team (2025) 'Pavlov Conditioning: From Dogs to Humans – The Science of Learned Responses', NeuroLaunch.com
6. George Monbiot (2025) 'Home truths: the only thing Labour is building is a bigger, more dysfunctional housing market', The Observer, 26 January
7. George Monbiot (2025) 'Homing Device', monbio.com
8. Steve Howell (2024) 'How Labour's housebuilding target of 1.5 million new homes hinges on just six private companies', Big Issue, 26 July

Back to Top

[edit] Bibliography

Aditya Chakrabortty (2025) 'Call it Thatcher’s timebomb: the great council housing selloff, a crisis hidden in plain sight', The Guardian, 13 February

Charlotte Crouch (2022) 'What does it mean to be a Guest Editor today?', Linkedin

Norman Fellows (2023) 'File 081: Housing Research - CP Ordering / CCA', Google Drive

Burnett, John (1986) 'A social history of housing, 1815-1985', London ; New York : Methuen

Anderson, A (2019) 'Good Life Now - Leisure and Labour in Cedric Price's Housing Research, 1966-1973', Footprint

Norman Fellows (2023) 'Housing Research by Cedric Price', Designing Buildings

MHCLG (2024) 'National Planning Policy Framework', gov.uk

Sharon Jane Taylor (2024) 'Building the homes we need', UK Parliament

Matthew Pennycook (2024) 'Building the homes we need', UK Parliament

Shelter (2019) 'Building for our Future: A Vision for Social Housing', Shelter

Shelter (2019) 'Three million new social homes key to solving housing crisis', Shelter

Trident Modular Housing (2025) 'Need a Home or a Garden Room? Faster. Smarter. Better', Trident Modular Housing

George Sandeman (2024) '‘Perfect storm’ blocking thousands of desperately needed social homes', BBC News

Sammy Gecsoyler (2024) 'Labour plan for 1.5m new homes is not feasible, housebuilding firm says', The Guardian, 14 December

Alexandra Hasek (2021) 'Are prefabricated houses the solution to the UK’s housing crisis?', PlanRadar

Yashika Narula and Stephen Finnegan (2024) 'Can light gauge steel frame (LGSF) modular housing achieve net zero and support the UK social housing crisis?', Journal of Building Engineering

Cedric Price (1967) ‘A change is required in our current attitude to “Housing”’, Architectural Design, May, in extremelyprovocative.wordpress.com

Cedric Price (1969) 'Expediency', AD 9/69

George Monbiot (2019) 'Land for the many', Labour Party

Rachael Williamson and John Perry (2023) 'How we can end the housing crisis and fix the UK, explained', Big Issue, 11 September

Rowan Moore (2023) 'Property', The Guardian Bookshop

Rowan Moore (2023) 'From right to buy to housing crisis: how home ownership killed Britain’s property dream', The Guardian, Sun 29 Oct 2023 07.00 GMT

Rowan Moore (2025) 'Peace, permanence and affordable prices: six ways to solve Britain’s housing crisis', The Observer (Guardian), 1 February

Strutt & Parker (2018) 'Can modular homes solve the UK's housing crisis?', Strutt & Parker

Wikipedians (2025) 'Housing in the United Kingdom', Wikipedia

• History
  • Pre Victorian era

• ** Victorian era

• ** 1914–1939
  • *** Renting during 1900–1939

• ** *** Debates on high-rise housing

• ** *** Ownership

• ** Post War

• ** 1980s onwards

• Demography

• Supply and construction

• Purchase price of a dwelling

• Renting
  • Renters Reform Bill and Renters Rights Bill

• Homelessness

• Housing quality

• Energy efficiency

• Empty homes
  • Long-term empty homes

• Housing cooperatives

• See also

• References

• Further reading
  • Historiography

According to Wikipedians:—

• "Housing in the United Kingdom represents the largest non-financial asset class in the UK; its overall net value passed the £8 trillion mark in 2023. This reflects a marginal decrease of 0.3% from the previous year, yet it remains £1.585 trillion higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. [1] Housing includes modern and traditional styles. About 30% of homes are owned outright by their occupants, and a further 40% are owner-occupied on a mortgage. About 18% are social housing of some kind, and the remaining 12% are privately rented. [2007] [2]
• The UK ranks in the top half in Europe with regard to rooms per person, amenities, and quality of housing.[3][4] However, the cost of housing as a proportion of income is higher than average among EU countries,[3] and the increasing cost of housing in the UK may constitute a housing crisis for many especially in London,[5][6][7] — the rate of over fivefold house price increases far exceeding the inflation rate of just little above twofold over the last three decades[8][9] — with housing nationally being typically the larger driver of inflation over the three decades preceding 2022 compared to food and non-alcoholic beverages. [10]
• Housing and planning decisions are administered by local authorities, but overall comes under the jurisdiction of the Minister of State for Housing as part of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at Whitehall in England,[11] with the responsibilities as Devolution devolved matters to corresponding departments in the Scottish Government at Holyrood, the Welsh Government at the Senedd in Cardiff, and the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont, responsible for communities and local government in their respective jurisdictions."
• (Wikipedians, 2025. 'Housing in the United Kingdom', Wikipedia)

However,

In September 1969 AD published a special issue entitled:—

• Despite popular demand . . .
• . . . AD is thinking about architecture and planning

The issue contained an outline taken from Cedric Price's short life housing study which illustrated some of the factors and orientations used to produce and test his solutions, namely:—

• 'Expediency'
• (Cedric Price, AD 9/69, p.493)
• "After the Second World War a new type of state-subsidized house appeared in Britain. The two-bedroom temporary bungalow was produced ostensibly to provide much needed housing in the immediate post-war period and some 156,623 houses were supplied between 1945-1949 as part of the scheme. The bungalows differed from pre-war state-subsidized housing in a number of ways including their method of construction.For the first time in Britain one of the ideals of the Modern Movement was realized: a house was manufactured on a production line in a factory.

vvv

The term 'popular demand' may be defined as:—

• a request made by or a desire shared by many people (MW)
• when a lot of people have asked for something to be done, performed etc (Longman)

This begs a couple of questions, namely:—

• What demand?
• How was such demand created?

• "Housing in the UK has been selected for investigation* since I consider it a critical element of the man-made environment which through prolonged misrepresentation and mis-applied design theory has become probably the least sensitive element of artificial human-conditioning."
• [...]
• * SHORT LIFE HOUSING STUDY—U.K. Begun January 1967, due to finish 1969."
• (ib.)

AD September 1969 was a special issue entitled:—

• Despite popular demand . . .
• . . . AD is thinking about architecture and planning

It continued the paradigm shift of AD (Architectural Design) in the late 1960s and early 1970s from a 'professional' magazine to a 'little' magazine identified by Norman Fellows. [1]

The title ... a mismatch between popular demand and the paradigm shift of AD (Architectural Design).

The mismatch suggested in the title is encapsulated in the opening paragraph of the architectural contribution made by Cedric Price (left):

• "Housing in the UK has been selected for investigation* since I consider it a critical element of the man-made environment which through prolonged misrepresentation and mis-applied design theory has become probably the least sensitive element of artificial human-conditioning."

Given the crisis affecting housing in the UK today, this article assumes:

• ... that the equation between popular demand and architecture/planning in the 2020s is still not valid.

The issue contained an outline taken from Cedric Price's short life housing study which illustrated some of the factors and orientations used to produce and test his solutions, namely:—

• 'Expediency'
• (Cedric Price, AD 9/69, p.493)

The paradigm shift signified by the title is exemplified in the architectural contribution made by Cedric Price, namely:—

• 'Expediency'. (See left)

• "Housing in the UK has been selected for investigation* since I consider it a critical element of the man-made environment which through prolonged misrepresentation and mis-applied design theory has become probably the least sensitive element of artificial human-conditioning."