DSCF0797 Richmond’s Coaches YJ65 EVD in Letchworth - 23 Feb 2018

Friday 23 February 2018 (1115) – Richmond’s Coaches YJ65 EVD, an Optare Solo new in December 2015, seen on Broadway in Letchworth about to work the 1120 service 91 to Royston.

Although it might not seem apparent, the whole backcloth is the Morrisons Supermarket. The portion behind the rear of the bus (with five upper storey windows) was built in the late 1990s and blends in with the portions to its right (above where the middle of the bus is) which is now a façade of the early 20th Century building. The portion on the extreme right was the town’s original police station/magistrates court..

A lovely period photograph of the original building may be seen here: letchworthgardencity.com/heritage/tour/morrisons.htm

Letchworth, full title Letchworth Garden City, the world’s first Garden City established in 1903 inspired town planning across the globe. Created as a solution to the squalor and poverty of urban life in Britain in the late 19th Century based on the ideas of Ebenezer Howard as published in his book of 1898 ‘Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Reform’.