LETCHWORTH

town (parish), North Hertfordshire district, administrative and historic county of Hertfordshire, England, north of London. Britain's first planned garden city, much copied elsewhere, it was founded in 1903 by Sir Ebenezer Howard, founder of the new town movement. The commercial centre and the residential and industrial areas are carefully separated. Industries include engineering, printing and publishing, and light manufactures. Pop. (1991) 31,418.