Building record 1246003000 - Red House, Cherry Lane

HISTORY Red House was built in 1956 by the eminent architect Ernö Goldfinger for John Wallis. The original flat-roofed design was rejected on aesthetic grounds by Amersham Rural District Council on 28 June 1955. The owner submitted an appeal 12 July 1955 which was dismissed by the Planning Inspector on 17 March 1956 for reasons that the 'building does not fit in with surrounding buildings' and would be an 'alien intrusion on the landscape'. The design was 'so radically different from buildings on the High Street that it would be quite an incongruous addition to the town'. Amersham RDC's comments to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government prior to the appeal decision were that the building was 'extremist, if not futuristic in its conception and design and must inevitably be discordant in such close proximity to the village.'
After refusing the planning application, on 10 October 1955 Amersham RDC offered suggestions as to how Goldfinger's flat-roofed design could be altered to suit the council: 1) a low double pitched roof of approved material (cedar shingles, green mineral felt or copper; 2) a single pitched roof of approved material; 3) if flat roof then it should have wide projecting eaves with a shallow fascia.
In a letter to his client dated 12 October 1955, Goldfinger noted that the proposals by ARDC were 'absurd, none in any way considered to be in the local tradition or make the design harmonise with the surrounding landscape - it would only result in wrecking of the design... The introduction of elements like cedar shingles or green mineral felt on a double or single pitched roof seems most extraordinary, ill considered from persons upholding Georgian tradition... The introduction of a roof would make the house bulky and the roof may show over the wall and intrude into the landscape which the present design would not do... Overhanging eaves would destroy the design of the building aesthetically...'
Goldfinger responded to Amersham RDC, writing 'conditions completely unreasonable - the result would be a hybrid concoction which would be unsatisfactory from ARDC's and client's point of view.' Goldfinger managed to get support for his original design from Sir Hugh Casson, Sir Patrick Abercrombie, John Summerson, and JM Richards of the Fine Arts Commission and their letters were included in the appeal to the Inspectorate, but to no avail. Publications at the time also disapproved of the council's decision.
The current owners have lived at Red House for 27 years and the loft conversion was already in place along with the glazed gable end on their arrival; it is presumed the conversion was carried out around the original trusses. These owners installed rooflights, the current stair and knocked the two principal ground floor bedrooms into one.
DETAILS The house was designed and built in 1956 as a single-storey building, the final design altered to incorporate a single pitched roof. It is built of local red brick with white sandlime bricks indoors (now painted white). Roofs are plain tiled. Windows are timber casements, originally with carefully proportioned lights; those in full-height recessed bays contrast with clerestory kitchen windows. Shallow windows have a painted panel below.
The entrance is set back and leads to a hall and spinal passage and doors to the principal south-facing rooms. To the left, a larder and pantry led to the kitchen and dining room, both separated from the living room by sliding screens and built-in cupboards. Three bedrooms also overlooked the garden; two are separated by built-in cupboards while a fourth bedroom next to the entrance also has built-in cupboards. Since the mid-1980s stairs have been inserted in the inner bedroom, and the two principal bedrooms have been knocked through.
Fitted cupboards, sliding screens and kitchen fittings, designed by Goldfinger, are in waxed gaboon mahogany. The floors are varnished tongued and grooved pine, ceilings of ply except in the kitchen (now pine) and bathroom where they are plastered as are the walls (tiled in the kitchen). The fireplace in the living room has a brick surround (now painted white). Joinery was originally painted white with the exception of internal doors which were painted in primary colours.
CRITERIA/ASSESSMENT Red House is assessed against the Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings (March 2010) and the English Heritage Selection Guide: Domestic 4 – The Modern House and Housing (April 2011). The post-war years were one of the most exciting and imaginative periods in private house building, attracting international admirers for the creative use of materials, planning and landscaping exhibited in this country. In assessing post-war houses particular attention is paid to innovative design and use of materials, to the plan form and the relationship of internal spaces and rooms. Joinery, internal finishes and built-in furniture are often extensive and of high quality or invention. Buildings by architects of national importance may have an added significance, and further interest may apply where architects are designing for themselves, or for a relative or friend. The bar for post-war listing is set high and a high degree of intactness is expected of the exterior, while lack of alteration to the plan and principal spaces is also a key factor in determining designation.
Goldfinger was an architect of international standing, one of few continental architects trained in European modernism, who found acceptance in England. His influential and innovative designs are recognised by listing, often at high grades, across the range of his work. He completed relatively few private houses, and those which were executed, were often commissioned by notable clients such as Idlecombe Farmhouse (also Bucks), the bungalow built for the toymakers, Paul and Marjorie Abbatt, who were keen modernists. Where they do survive well they will often merit listing. His own house, 2 Willow Road, Hampstead Heath built in 1938 was not only listed at Grade II* as early as 1974 but was acquired by the National Trust in 1992. The Perry House, Windlesham, Surrey of 1967 is also listed Grade II*. Unfortunately, very few of his houses have proved sufficiently intact to merit listing. Despite its rarity, the survival of the shell and much of its internal plan and fittings, and its strong historic interest, Red House does not meet the criteria for listing for the following principal reasons:
- Architectural interest: from its inception, Goldfinger's carefully proportioned, flat-roofed design was compromised to meet planning requirements;
- Intactness: the insertion of upper floor windows has further compromised the otherwise intact exterior and precise ratio of windows to walls;
- Plan form: internally the house retains much of its original character, defined by its built-in fittings. However, although it was built with flat ceilings rather than being open to the roof, the inserted upper floor and stair and new materials detract from the flow, function and spatial relationship of the original building.
CONCLUSION Although Red House does not meet the very high bar set for post-war listing and is not recommended for listing, it is of strong local interest for its contribution to the body of innovative Modernist houses in the Chilterns designed by eminent architects (B1).