Sir Edwin Cooper's - Civic Pride

10 Trinity Square

Last month it was confirmed that the 490,000 sq ft 10 Trinity Square in the City of London was ear-marked for redevelopment into a hotel, spa and flats. The building is located on a diagonal plot on Tower Hill, overlooking the Tower of London and the Thames. Designed as the headquarters of the Port of London Authority by the architect Sir Edwin Cooper, the building was opened by the then Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1922. This iconic building’s finest hour was when it housed the reception for the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1946.

It is without question a truly striking building in the Beaux Arts style. The elements of this style of architecture can include; an imposing grand stairway, large arched openings, a variety of stone finishes, monumental columns, a classical ornamental entablature topped with a tall parapet, a balustrade or attic storey, a pronounced cornice and decorative swags, medallions, cartouches, and sculptures.

 

Sir Edwin Cooper



Initially I was horrified to hear that the redevelopment plan for 10 Trinity Square was to completely replace the rotunda that dominates the centre of the building, leaving only the facade (which I personally see as a lazy and ill-informed attempt to preserve the historic environment).

However, further research has revealed that due to significant bomb damage during World War II, the rotunda is in fact a post-war replacement and essentially it is only the exterior of this building that can be credited to Cooper. But not only is the building something of note – so is Sir Edwin Cooper. I researched one his other landmark buildings a couple of years ago – The Council House (otherwise known as Marylebone Town Hall) on the Marylebone Road, in London. In my opinion his architectural legacy is over-looked in the 21st century.



Marylebone Town Hall

Sir Edwin Cooper was born in Yorkshire in 1873. He studied architecture in Britain as well as France and Italy and was in professional practice from the 1890s. He became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1903 and was knighted in 1923. In 1931 he received the Royal Gold Medal from the RIBA.

It has been said that Sir Edwin Cooper designed more buildings in the City of London than Sir Christopher Wren a few among them including the Old Lloyd’s Building in Leadenhall Street, No 1 Princes Street and No 40 St May’s Axe.

 

No 1 Princes Street

He was also the architect of the Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond, Surrey, the Kingston-upon-Hull Guildhall and Law Court, The South London Hospital for Women (opposite Clapham South Tube Station), Devonport House, Greenwich and St Hilda’s College Oxford. As you can see, his reputation was in civic and public buildings. If his renown had extended to private residences he could well have been celebrated today as readily as his contemporary, another Sir Edwin – Sir Edwin Lutyens.

In 1937 he succeeded Lutyens as President of the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors. The irony with such an impressive career record was that he was unable to describe himself as a registered architect owing to his refusal to pay the annual subscription of 6 shillings and 9 pence to the Architects Registration Council. Sir Edwin Cooper died suddenly “with his boots on” in his office in June 1942.

So while only the facade of 10 Trinity House is to be retained. It would appear we weren't meant to have it in its original entirety anyway. And at least we will continue to see Cooper's amazing Beaux Arts facade in the years to come, when the building has been given renewed purpose.



The Blitz - Researching the Damage Today

The 70^th anniversary of the beginning of the Blitz in London has reminded me what I have seen in my research of the city over the past few years. One of the key aspects of my work as an historian is the impact, literally, of World War II on buildings in the capital. No research into the history of a house or area can be complete without checking if there had been any damage sustained between 1939 and 1945. Most of the local borough archives hold records of “enemy action”. 

Some of these archives hold the original, hand scrawled reports, written by air raid wardens at the time; of the death and devastation as it happened and which streets had been hit, how many people were injured and how many were dead. I remember particularly searching the Tower Hamlets archive in Poplar and seeing these reports, noting hundreds of dead, one street after another. Even from my safe position nearly 70 years later in the peace and calm of an archive, I shivered at the horrible reality of what these people went through.

The most revealing source of information which I use for every research assignment in the capital is the series of London County Council Bomb Damage maps (held at the London Metropolitan Archives). These were commissioned to detail the extent and nature of bomb damage across London. Each building that sustained damage was coloured depending on the severity of impact. 

Key: 

Black - Total destruction 
Purple - Damage beyond repair 
Dark Red - Seriously damaged, doubtful if repairable 
Light Red - Seriously damaged, repairable at cost 
Orange - General blast damage, minor in nature 
Yellow - Blast damage, minor in nature 

The map here shows the centre of the City of London. You can see the swath of purple denoting “Damage Beyond Repair”. It is impossible to think of such total destruction happening today, but it happened within living memory. If you get the chance to view the complete map collection in the London Metropolitan Archives, have a look at Stepney and the Mile End Road. That isn’t coloured purple, it’s black and covers acres of small back to back houses where ordinary working people were killed in their thousands.

I am often moved by the stories that emerge through my research. Cold official documents can reveal the human side of love and loss, triumph and disaster – but nothing achieves that more for me than the records and maps of 1939-1945.

A Home Fit for Heroes - and Pirates!

A few months ago I researched the history of Hammonds Place for a client. I have written an article about my findings in the current edition of "Listed Heritage" the magazine of the Listed Property Owners Club. Here in Building Storeys is an abridged version of that article. I hope you find it interesting.

Hammonds Place, in Burgess Hill, Sussex, was described by Nikolaus Pevsner in his book Buildings of England, as “The Best Building in Burgess Hill”.

The untold story of Hammonds Place was scattered far and wide, in the form of maps, deeds, letters, drawings and photographs. My research took me to both the West and East Sussex Archives, local government records and libraries, as well as the Royal Institute of British Architects Library, the National Archives and the National Monuments Record in Swindon. Using these sources, combined with a personal inspection of the house and grounds, I was able to bring the full story of Hammonds Place together for the first time.

Hammonds Place was built in the 1400s as a hall house on a north-south axis. It was virtually rebuilt in about 1500 on a west-east axis, retaining some elements of the original hall, creating a larger timber-framed structure.

By 1566 the house was in the possession of the Michelbornes, an influential and well-to-do local family. The Michelbornes made some extensive home improvements to “Hamonds”. They added to the timber-framed structure three further additions in brick, to the east, south and west, to create a fashionable Elizabethan quadrangle. The house became a manor house befitting an estate of over 200 acres.

During the house’s Elizabethan heyday, its owner Edward Michelborne was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I and was one of the founders of the East India Company. It was only when Sir Edward was accused of abusing his position by carrying out acts of piracy in the Pacific that his star waned. He was forced to leave Court and he retreated to Hammonds Place to live out the last years of his life.

My research found that the Michelborne family was associated with Hammonds Place until the 18^th century and by the 1780s the house was considered to be one of the finest in the county and was drawn by the notable artist and engraver Samuel Hieronymous Grimm (see picture below).

By the 1820s the new owner, Robert Podmore, decided to build a new manor house on the estate called Clayton Priory, just south of Hammonds Place. It is thought that bricks and other materials were taken from Hammonds to help with the new construction and subsequently the old manor house fell into disrepair. It was occupied by tenant farmers during the latter half of the 19^th century, but it wasn’t until the 1890s that a new tenant restored and repaired the house adding a contemporary extension to the 16^th century timber-frame and brickwork. My research revealed this tenant to be Thomas Arrowsmith Meautys, a local JP, who is remembered locally for the fact that he lost all three of his sons in World War I. The house bears a small memorial to them on the wall of the 16^th century porch of the house.

By1933 the Dutch Ambassador, Jonkeer Marinus Van Der Goes had taken a lease on the house, following extensive improvements in 1930. He lived at the house for about 5 years. In 1930 this part-medieval, part-Elizabethan, part-Victorian house was augmented with an Art Deco single-storey extension. The house is an unusual combination of eras but one that it seems to have grown into with ease.

Today Hammonds Place is no longer the manor house of a 200 acre estate. Over the centuries plots of land have been sold or reapportioned and now the house and gardens are a virtual island in a sea of 20^th and 21^st century developments. But it is a fine and beautiful building and it acts as an echo of times past, as every historic building does.

Edwardian Baroque and Roll

One of the most fascinating buildings I have researched this year has been the London Road Fire Station, in central Manchester. The building is a rare Grade II* example described in its listing description as “Ebullient Edwardian Baroque”. In recent years this beautiful building has been sadly neglected but is now seeing a new  future, hopefully as an hotel. A great deal of restoration is required, but a significant amount of its original exterior and interior features are still in situ and will be retained.

The building, completed in 1906, was the design of architects John Henry Woodhouse, George Harry Willoughby and John Langham of Manchester.  It set the standard for quality of building design and technological innovation in fire stations around the world. In addition, one of the most eye-catching features of the building are the beautiful Art Nouveau sculptures that adorn the exterior. These are by the artist John Jarvis Millson and if it wasn’t for the technology setting this building apart, then the sculptures and reliefs certainly would.

The construction took two years and by early September 1906 forty men, thirteen horses and six engines had moved in.  But it didn’t just serve the firemen, it was also home to their wives and children. The building incorporated a laundry, gymnasium, billiard room and children’s playroom. Flats were provided for thirty-two firemen and their families and for six single men. The Chief and Second Officers were provided with lavish accommodation too. Electric bells and lights in the flats alerted the men in case of a turnout and they were able to reach the engine house by means of poles which lead directly from the flats above.

The fire station served as the headquarters for Manchester’s Fire Brigades in the first half of the 20^thcentury. It also accommodated a bank, police station and coroner’s court. It finally closed all civic functions in the late 1990s. But in its heyday it was considered by its first chief  officer to be “The Finest Fire Station in This Round World”. 

Strawberry Hill Forever

I received an email yesterday from my old building conservation tutor at the Architectural Association. It was a call to students present and past to come to the aid of one of this country's finest houses, Strawberry Hill.

The restoration of Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, the beautiful neo-gothic mid-18th century castle built by Horace Walpole, is nearly finished. It opens again to the public on Walpole's birthday 24th September. But before then there is still a lot to do to get the place ready in time.

I checked it out a little more and I found this link for the Friends of Strawberry Hill  http://www.friendsofstrawberryhill.org/ who are coordinating voluntary help. So, want to get your hands dirty? Want to help out with one of the most deserving and important restoration projects this side of the decade? Give them a call.

Simply Red House

One of my enduring passions is the architecture and designs of the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Feeding this fascination, I visited Red House last week. This is one of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts homes in Britain and certainly one of the oldest.

Built between 1858 and 1860 by Phillip Webb for the celebrated artist and designer William Morris it emerged during the height of the popularity for Pugin/Gothic that was the prevailing architectural style of the time.

The house is in Bexleyheath in Kent and is today surrounded on all sides by 20^th century suburbia but the gardens of the house are still substantial and the plan and plantings are little altered since Morris, his wife Jane and his friends Dante-Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal and Edward Burne-Jones frequented the house. It was Burne-Jones who described the house as “the beautifullest place on earth”.

The house is an outstanding example of Arts & Crafts. Although currently sparsely furnished (it does not have examples of Morris’s famous fabric and wallpaper designs) it is the architectural detail, the decorated elements; the ceilings, murals, handcrafted stairs, stained glass and doors that make this building so special. There is an air of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s decorative style too and the ubiquitous hand-crafted “one off”, not mass-produced detail.

The design by Phillip Webb tries to show a house older than it is – that has been altered and extended over time, to have organically grown, while in reality it is one construction.

The house recently came under the care of the National Trust but on a day to day basis cared for by the Friends of Red House. These people are all highly knowledgeable about Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. If you visit, any question you may have about the house will be answered with a depth of knowledge only possible from true enthusiasts.

Building Mystery

I’m researching a 15^th century house in West Sussex. So right now I am in Chichester at the West Sussex Record office. The timber-framed building has all the evidence of having been a medieval hall but with a “modern” extension  ie 16^th  century in limestone.

The records have revealed an estate map of 1783 which shows the building at its height with a limestone quadrangle, which is now sadly reduced to 2 sides. Victorian maps show it greatly reduced.

Now I have to find who lived there before 1566 and therefore when the oldest part of the building was constructed. But I also need to find out why most of the Elizabethan stone extension disappeared in the early 19^th century.   

I'll keep you posted!