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This site is for anyone loving classical English architecture.
Most of us do not live in Georgian houses. Those who wish to may be deterred by the seeming cost. Nor is there much hope of finding an architect who abides by the principles of classical architecture. But I have found over an interesting life that it is a simple matter to design and build a classical country house. I hope this site will encourage others – but caution is needed – it easily becomes a passion.
I chose the profession of law. I was drawn by the attraction of earning fees by arguing. I am not, nor do I hold myself out to be, an architect. Embarking on house design was prompted by necessity. We had a small Georgian house in Sussex which had not been renovated at any time. It had the original pine poles for joists which yielded to any pressure. It urgently needed reviving.
But the brickwork was beautiful. The bricks had no frogs and were twice as dense and heavy as a modern brick. The stretchers had a lovely pink/ red colour with subtle grey salt glazed headers. The mortar joints were just ¼” and of slaked lime. They were laid in Flemish bond.
In 1968 no local builder could be found willing to match this brickwork or the mortar or the size of joints or the brick arches. It thus fell to me to scour Sussex for exactly matching bricks – thousands of them – and to take on the building work with a colleague from the village.
By then I had fallen in thrall to the 18th century, its music, furniture, painting, and the elegance of classical design even for the most modest objects. I entered the realm of classical design and began to produce all the drawings we needed for the mouldings, doors, architraves, windows, cornices, staircases and handrails , parapet copings, pier caps and stone steps for our house.
It seemed to me - as it does today - that to reveal beauty in architecture there must be a surrender of any notion of striving for individual originality. There must be a disciplined submission to the dominion of grace, proportion and harmony governed by a sense of what it fitting and informed by the play of tension and resolution. Is this not the source and well of natural originality?
I have stumbled into no less than 12 house design projects of which 8 of were actually built. The properties shown are the principal ones.
These were of country houses and one group of small town houses. I usually worked with one builder who has become a close friend of myself and family and a very small building team. I am solely to blame for the shortcomings of design. Supervision of the actual works –other than Soham -also fell to me.
No professions were involved save for structural engineers on major steel work. As Soham was commissioned, a local architect took over the completed plans and made the planning application. Other planning applications were made direct by myself or jointly with a planner draftsman. I called in specific trades for the electrics, heating and plumbing works. All were sole traders save for Thurnwood where we used a small good local firm.
Joinery was the main exception. For all of the projects on this site - except Soham -the joinery was produced by Geraghty Wood Products of Claregalway Co Galway. They were willing to tolerate my errors and demands and were faithful to all my plans. Dealing with them has been one of life’s delights. The staircases and windows shown on this site are testament to their quality and skill.
Most of us do not live in Georgian houses. Those who wish to may be deterred by the seeming cost. Nor is there much hope of finding an architect who abides by the principles of classical architecture. But I have found over an interesting life that it is a simple matter to design and build a classical country house. I hope this site will encourage others – but caution is needed – it easily becomes a passion.
I chose the profession of law. I was drawn by the attraction of earning fees by arguing. I am not, nor do I hold myself out to be, an architect. Embarking on house design was prompted by necessity. We had a small Georgian house in Sussex which had not been renovated at any time. It had the original pine poles for joists which yielded to any pressure. It urgently needed reviving.
But the brickwork was beautiful. The bricks had no frogs and were twice as dense and heavy as a modern brick. The stretchers had a lovely pink/ red colour with subtle grey salt glazed headers. The mortar joints were just ¼” and of slaked lime. They were laid in Flemish bond.
In 1968 no local builder could be found willing to match this brickwork or the mortar or the size of joints or the brick arches. It thus fell to me to scour Sussex for exactly matching bricks – thousands of them – and to take on the building work with a colleague from the village.
By then I had fallen in thrall to the 18th century, its music, furniture, painting, and the elegance of classical design even for the most modest objects. I entered the realm of classical design and began to produce all the drawings we needed for the mouldings, doors, architraves, windows, cornices, staircases and handrails , parapet copings, pier caps and stone steps for our house.
It seemed to me - as it does today - that to reveal beauty in architecture there must be a surrender of any notion of striving for individual originality. There must be a disciplined submission to the dominion of grace, proportion and harmony governed by a sense of what it fitting and informed by the play of tension and resolution. Is this not the source and well of natural originality?
I have stumbled into no less than 12 house design projects of which 8 of were actually built. The properties shown are the principal ones.
These were of country houses and one group of small town houses. I usually worked with one builder who has become a close friend of myself and family and a very small building team. I am solely to blame for the shortcomings of design. Supervision of the actual works –other than Soham -also fell to me.
No professions were involved save for structural engineers on major steel work. As Soham was commissioned, a local architect took over the completed plans and made the planning application. Other planning applications were made direct by myself or jointly with a planner draftsman. I called in specific trades for the electrics, heating and plumbing works. All were sole traders save for Thurnwood where we used a small good local firm.
Joinery was the main exception. For all of the projects on this site - except Soham -the joinery was produced by Geraghty Wood Products of Claregalway Co Galway. They were willing to tolerate my errors and demands and were faithful to all my plans. Dealing with them has been one of life’s delights. The staircases and windows shown on this site are testament to their quality and skill.
