Listings report, Spring 2007

Added

St Paul’s Cathedral Choir School, New Change, The City, London; Architects’ Co-Partnership, Leo de Syllas, 1962-7, Grade II*
With the threat of insensitive window replacements we put forward this excellent school for listing at Grade II in July last year (see Newsletter Autumn 2006 p5 for the casework report on this). We were very positively surprised when the qualities and significance of the building were recognized with a Grade II* listing in January.

Former Gas Showroom,
70-72 Sandgate Road, Folkestone, Shepway, Kent; JL Seaton-Dahl FRIBA, 1938, Grade II
The buildings exterior of brick, stone and polished granite has been little altered by anything, except the weather. Its Moderne massing was praised but it was the impressive deco interior that most impressed the inspectors. The buildings grand, ovoid staircase, lit by ‘Lalique’ glass panels decorated with marine themes was considered to be ‘extremely rare’.

Garden Ground, 193
Bulford Road, Durrington, Salisbury, Wiltshire; Robert Townsend, 1949-1953,
Grade II
Listed for being one of the most complete examples of a British interpretation of a Usonian House built on Wright’s principles. It was also noted that the house was built to a very high standard, despite the constraints on materials at the time of construction.

County Hall, Threadneedle Street/Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex; F Whitmore, 1909, J Stuart with Vincent Harris, 1929-38, H Conolly, 1959-65, Alan Willis, 1984-8, Grade II
Listed for external architectural quality and the quality of the interior fixtures and fittings. Attention was also paid to the importance of the murals by Gill, Lawrence, Thompson and Fleetwood-Walker. EH described them as particularly significant for the development of c20 mural painting generally.

Turned down

Gulliver, Craigmillar, Scotland; designed by Jimmy Boyle while in Barlinnie Prison, built by a local team, 1976, unlisted
In January we had requested that Historic Scotland consider this fabulous piece of public art for listing at Category B. Practically by return post we were informed that the sculpture was turned down because it did not meet “the necessary rigorous standards for inclusion as a building of special architectural or historic interest.” And further: “You will appreciate that we must maintain a high standard for the lists or we risk diluting a designation that must be defensible against legal challenge.” We will try to keep this in mind….See casework report.

The Studio, Upper Court Road, Wokingham, Surrey; Elie Mayorcas, 1938, unlisted
This private house was turned down for listing because of the replacement of ground floor windows, the loss of the original fireplace in the living room and some loss of the original floorplan.

Muirhead Tower, University Road, Birmingham; Philip Dowson of Arup Associates,1969-72, unlisted
Turned down by EH because of structural problems and the lack of sufficiently good interiors. They also stated that it compared unfavourably to the more elegant and already listed Athlona and Strathcona buildings.

Put forward

Barn Hall, Thorpeness, Suffolk; devised by Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie with architects Forbes Glennie and W Gilmore Wilson, begun 1909, Barn Hall 1926, unlisted but conservation area
We have requested that this important context building be listed at Grade II. See casework report.

Desert Quartet, Montague Centre, Worthing, Sussex; Dame Elisabeth Frink, 1989
C20, together with the Public Monuments and ScuLptures Society, (PMSA),have put the Frink heads and the Loggia on which they sit, forward to EH for Grade II*. Getting them listed would be a major achievement as there are currently no sculptures this young listed at that grade.

K8 Telephone Boxes, Four Sites in Swindon, Wiltshire; Bruce Martin, 1968
We used the four boxes seen on a site visit to Swindon as the basis for our listing application to save the remaining 13 that BT currently has on its books. There do seem to be more and we will make a judgement about forwarding them for consideration in due course. See casework report.

Stonecrop, Campden Hill, Ilmington, Warwickshire, West Midlands; Robert Harvey, 1955-7
This house, the architect’s own until recently was put forward in response to unsympathetic development proposals which would have seen the footprinted virtually doubled. Featured in Louise Campbell’s essay in Twentieth Century Architecture 4, Post-War Houses, Harvey’s houses are both elegant and subtle. Stonecrop is perhaps his finest all-round achievement and we continue to stress the importance and urgency of this application.

Inner Court, Old Church Street, Kensington, London; Joseph Rykwert, 1971
The only surviving building by Professor Rykwert, Inner Court is still under threat from Foster Associates, who want to knock down both it and the adjacent Victorian school building for luxury flats. See casework report.

Historic Scotland Post-War listing consultations

Last autumn we were consulted on the possible listings for several buildings by Morris & Steedman and Stuart Renton, which we endorsed. The following listings have resulted:

Avisfield, 5 Cramond Ward, 12 Cramond Road North, Edinburgh, Scotland; Morris and Steedman, 1955
Listed at Category B.

Calderstone House, East Kilbride Parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland;
Robert Russell Steedman of Morris and Steedman, 1964
Listed at Category B.

Meadowland, Isla Road, Perth, Scotland; James Morris of Morris and Steedman, 1964 with 1976 additions by the same architects
Listed at Category C(S).

Scadlaw House, Humbie Parish, East Lothian, Scotland; James Morris of Morris and Steedman, 1968-9
Listed at Category B.

Clapperfield House, Old Mill Lane, Nether Liberton, Edinburgh, Scotland; Stuart Renton, 1959 with later extensions by architect in 1964 and again in 1971
Listed at Category B.

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