Records of the Festival of Britain Office

Division within WORK

1948-1952

Records of the Festival of Britain Office and its predecessors, inherited by the Ministry of Public Building and Works, are in WORK 25

Public Record(s)

English

• Festival of Britain Office, 1949-1953
• Treasury, Festival Headquarters, 1948-1949

1 series

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Topics

Events and exhibitions

Proposals for an international exhibition to celebrate the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 were made as early as 1943, and in 1945 a committee under Lord Ramsden was appointed by the Department of Overseas Trade to consider schemes. Although the detailed recommendations of the committee were not approved, it was decided in 1947 to hold a national display illustrating the British contribution to civilisation, past, present and future, in the arts, in science and technology, and in industrial design under the title 'Festival of Britain 1951'. The Lord President of the Council was given responsibility for the Festival, and he appointed a Great Exhibition Centenary Committee of interested departments to create a festival organisation, define the framework of the festival and to be responsible for liaison between government departments and the festival organisation. The latter consisted of an executive committee of officials, responsible to an honorary and advisory Council of the Festival of Britain 1951 composed of persons eminent in public life and representing the main political parties. The council included the chairmen of the national committees set up for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the chairmen of the Arts Council and the Council of Industrial Design, and of two bodies specially created for the festival, the Council of Science and Technology and the Council for Architecture, Town Planning and Building Research.

A Festival Headquarters was set up by the Treasury in March 1948. Assisted by an exhibition unit of the Central Office of Information, it formed the nucleus of the Festival of Britain Office, which existed as a separate department from April 1949 to March 1953. The Festival of Britain Office had its own vote which covered most of the festival expenditure, but the Ministry of Transport bore the cost of rail and road works and other transport services provided for festival sites, and grants in aid were made to the Council of Industrial Design, the Arts Council, the British Film Institute and the National Museum of Wales for work undertaken as part of the festival. Festival projects in Northern Ireland were undertaken by the government of Northern Ireland.

The Festival Pleasure Gardens at Battersea were managed by a specially-formed private company financed by loans from the Festival Office and the London County Council.

The Festival Office included finance and establishment, architecture, contracts, exhibitions and science departments. After the festival the office was responsible for the dispersal of buildings, exhibits, display material and works of art. Much was sold, but certain scientific and artistic material was presented to national museums and other public institutions at home or overseas. In 1953 the office was abolished and its records taken over by the Ministry of Works.