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Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council.
The district is approximately 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long by 1 km (0.6 mi) wide and occupies some of the highest land in the city. It contains (behind the Central Library) the historic site of the moot hill for Secklow (or Sigelai) Hundred. It is the site of the central retail, business, law enforcement and governmental districts, Milton Keynes Central railway station and around 2,000 residential dwellings.
Occupying 342 hectares (850 acres), the district lies between Portway (H5, A509) to the north, the West Coast Main Line and A5 to the west, Childs Way (H6) to the south and the Grand Union Canal to the east. It is crossed from north to south by (in west to east order, major roads only) Grafton Gate (V6), Witan Gate, Saxon Gate (V7) and Secklow Gate, and Marlborough Street. It is crossed from west to east (in north to south order, major roads only) by Silbury Boulevard, Midsummer Boulevard and Avebury Boulevard. Midsummer Boulevard is the primary spine.
The district rests like a saddle across a long north-south ridge with its highest point here at a little over 110 metres (360 ft), falling east to 75 metres near the Grand Union Canal and 85 metres near the Central railway station. This area is almost the highest point of Milton Keynes and includes the site of Secklow Mound, the moot mound (meeting place) for the Secklow Hundred and a scheduled ancient monument, just behind the central library.
Midsummer sunrise is somewhere to the east – not actually on the alignment of Midsummer Boulevard: [...] But it was a good urban myth to lay down. Let's call that road Midsummer Boulevard because you could tell people that on Midsummer's Day, the sun rises at the end of it, which it nearly does. And the other two? We'll refer to our Anglo-Saxon heritage, because this is not an American new town... It's an English new town, in an English place, on a Common, where three Saxon Hundreds used to meet at that little mound behind the library. So we refer to Avebury and Silbury as being part of our historical and cultural references.
I've always been interested in astronomy. It's something you've got to know as an architect when you're designing buildings: where [does] the sun rise in winter? Where [does] it set in summer? You've got to know that, otherwise you don't know where you're putting your building in relation to the cosmos. That goes in pretty early.
While still on the drawing board, planners noticed that the planned main streets in the proposed city centre would almost frame the rising sun on Midsummer's Day. This story has become embellished over time and, according to subsequent reports, they consulted Greenwich Observatory to obtain the exact angle required at the latitude of CMK, and persuaded the engineers to shift the grid of roads a few degrees in response. Physical reality does not match this report. From the highest point on Midsummer Boulevard, where the eastward horizon is unobstructed, the sunrise at 'first flash' is not aligned with the Boulevard. In reality, the sun is somewhat elevated before alignment occurs, 40 minutes later.
The park, with housing either side, takes up the larger part of the district. It was named in honour of the first chairman of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Lord Campbell of Eskan. It stretches just east of the shops and theatre down to the Grand Union Canal. Among the features of the park is a belvedere with extensive views over Bedfordshire to the east and the Light Pyramid, a modern beacon. There is also a cricket ground with pavilion. The Milton Keynes Parks Trust, which manages the park, grazes sheep on it to keep the vegetation under control.
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Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council.
The district is approximately 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long by 1 km (0.6 mi) wide and occupies some of the highest land in the city. It contains (behind the Central Library) the historic site of the moot hill for Secklow (or Sigelai) Hundred. It is the site of the central retail, business, law enforcement and governmental districts, Milton Keynes Central railway station and around 2,000 residential dwellings.
Occupying 342 hectares (850 acres), the district lies between Portway (H5, A509) to the north, the West Coast Main Line and A5 to the west, Childs Way (H6) to the south and the Grand Union Canal to the east. It is crossed from north to south by (in west to east order, major roads only) Grafton Gate (V6), Witan Gate, Saxon Gate (V7) and Secklow Gate, and Marlborough Street. It is crossed from west to east (in north to south order, major roads only) by Silbury Boulevard, Midsummer Boulevard and Avebury Boulevard. Midsummer Boulevard is the primary spine.
The district rests like a saddle across a long north-south ridge with its highest point here at a little over 110 metres (360 ft), falling east to 75 metres near the Grand Union Canal and 85 metres near the Central railway station. This area is almost the highest point of Milton Keynes and includes the site of Secklow Mound, the moot mound (meeting place) for the Secklow Hundred and a scheduled ancient monument, just behind the central library.
Midsummer sunrise is somewhere to the east – not actually on the alignment of Midsummer Boulevard: [...] But it was a good urban myth to lay down. Let's call that road Midsummer Boulevard because you could tell people that on Midsummer's Day, the sun rises at the end of it, which it nearly does. And the other two? We'll refer to our Anglo-Saxon heritage, because this is not an American new town... It's an English new town, in an English place, on a Common, where three Saxon Hundreds used to meet at that little mound behind the library. So we refer to Avebury and Silbury as being part of our historical and cultural references.
I've always been interested in astronomy. It's something you've got to know as an architect when you're designing buildings: where [does] the sun rise in winter? Where [does] it set in summer? You've got to know that, otherwise you don't know where you're putting your building in relation to the cosmos. That goes in pretty early.
While still on the drawing board, planners noticed that the planned main streets in the proposed city centre would almost frame the rising sun on Midsummer's Day. This story has become embellished over time and, according to subsequent reports, they consulted Greenwich Observatory to obtain the exact angle required at the latitude of CMK, and persuaded the engineers to shift the grid of roads a few degrees in response. Physical reality does not match this report. From the highest point on Midsummer Boulevard, where the eastward horizon is unobstructed, the sunrise at 'first flash' is not aligned with the Boulevard. In reality, the sun is somewhat elevated before alignment occurs, 40 minutes later.
The park, with housing either side, takes up the larger part of the district. It was named in honour of the first chairman of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Lord Campbell of Eskan. It stretches just east of the shops and theatre down to the Grand Union Canal. Among the features of the park is a belvedere with extensive views over Bedfordshire to the east and the Light Pyramid, a modern beacon. There is also a cricket ground with pavilion. The Milton Keynes Parks Trust, which manages the park, grazes sheep on it to keep the vegetation under control.