The blight of the
"mocky horrors"

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THE CONTEMPORARY CHILTERNS

Initially this may appear to be a contradiction in terms but amongst so much postwar expansion courtesy of the Metropolitan Line there are real gems to be discovered. A very busy architect in the area was Peter Aldington. I went to meet him at his home Turn End in Haddenham. Turn End was Peter’s personal project. He created three houses in the centre of Haddenham (after a very significant planning battle) and lives in one. The relationship between houses and garden is marvellous. The gardens are open to the public during various times each summer and are very worthwhile visiting. There is over an acre of creative garden to enjoy. Now Grade II listed the development encountered considerable planning challenges which caused unnecessary and costly delay to Peter. A book about the creation of these unique homes has been written - A Garden and Three Houses (Author: Jane Brown).

Peter was also responsible for the marvellous Clayton House that is also Grade II listed. It was commissioned by an Amersham store owning family – in the style of Frank Lloyd-Wright. It’s a stunning home which subsequently had an indoor pool added in the same style.

Some of the most well known homes in the area are the Sunlight houses and High and Over. At the age of thirty-five Bernard Ashmole, an expert in numismatics and classical sculpture, took up the chair at UCL in 1929. There he met Amyas Connell a New Zealander who was influenced by the work of Corbusier, which at the time outraged the architectural establishment. The result of their collaboration was High and Over. A stunning building that was split into two homes some years ago. The central stairwell had a fountain, which projected a jet of water to the first floor. Concealed fittings washed light over the walls. The architect also designed much of the furniture.
It was every inch a contemporary house.

Gerrards Cross is not a location one immediately associates with contemporary architecture – but before the Luddite developers trampled their way into the locale it had many Art Deco houses. Not all were good it has to be said but one Classic that has been retained and wonderfully restored is White Gables. A Cunard Captain commissioned this wonderful building and I am sure there is a hint of the ‘flying bridge’ about it. When not at sea I feel sure he looked over the ‘bridge’ to see if “cast off” was going to plan.

More recently the lovely Halvorsen was sold. I know I went to look at it and arrived shortly after the present owner who had already put in a robust offer, which secured this gem. The story of the planning battle for this house is quite something. It was stuck in planning for six years – appalling. Objections were many from residents. The old story: the shock of the new. The Architect was Ms. Halvorsen who designed it for her mother. During the planning battle Ms Halvorsen’s mother developed a debilitating illness and she only lived in the house for 6 months before her death.

A landmark in the area is the Coleshill Water Tower – now the home of Andrew and Deborah Tate. This featured on Grand Designs when they created a contemporary extension to the tower, which is their living space. Andrew and Deborah are about to start going up the tower to create bedrooms and bathrooms. Again planning was a massive challenge. Here was a tower that the water company had no use for – and really had no intention of maintaining. The option for the Planning Committee was either to let the tower fall down in a state of disrepair sometime in the distant future – ot permit the Tate’s to create the contemporary living space in open green belt – and have someone look after and maintain this local landmark. The Councillors to a man were wringing their hands - why? Permission was eventually granted with a majority of one.

It’s also odd that here is a tower which if the original application was received today would be turfed out on its ear. Now people are happy to keep it and fear its disappearance - the shock of the new and loss of the familiar.

The next Contemporary home to appear on the scene in the Chilterns was Jacobs Ladder. Designed by Niall McLaughlin the award winning property is on a steeply sloping site. Many of the materials used in the interesting design have industrial applications. The views from the property are notable and the design takes full advantage of these.

Then came Cloud 8. I don’t need to tell you about this but as you know we secured permission. I now consider this as tokenism after the dreadful debacle with Halvorsen and the unnecessary challenge given to Coleshill Water Tower.

A recent application was made to Chiltern District Council for a stunning new home very close to High and Over. Needless to say it’s bumped into some planning challenges. Apply for a Tudorbethan and the visual illiterates on the committee will fall over themselves to approve it - contemporary only gets a look in periodically.

This article was reprinted in Chiltern News, the magazine for the Chiltern Society.
December 2002 (Issue No 166)

Q: What is the difference between new house design in Banff, Bognor, Basingstoke, Bangor, or Beaconsfield? – A: None

No – I’m not an architect; I am a dangerous amateur. Isn’t it telling that one has to make this admission before you write further. I have deep concerns about the built environment in the Chilterns and the architectural vomit that is thrown up in all senses by house developers in the region. Every day I see new examples of Tudorbethan, Vicwardian, neo-Georgian confused by developers as a mixture of deep south Colonial and 'Gone with the Wind' (I wish they had) blighting the Chilterns.

No one has responsibility for arresting this avalanche of design free structures, so developers go on erecting them - and the visually illiterate amongst others go on buying them. There is no choice after all. Developers are then convinced 'this is what they (buyers) want' and around we go again to the next wave of blighted applications that result in the homogenous Mocky Horror (“MH”) nightmare we see nationwide.

The CDC Planning Committee have to give good reason to refuse these applications and are to an extent between a rock and a hard place - but most members embrace these appalling offerings seemingly happy that the Chilterns looks the same as Banff, Bognor, Basingstoke, or Bangor.

The making of a MH are the additions (fake post and beam - or planks to you and me, flint swatches, colonnades and so on) applied to a cheaply erected brick lump. These are aptly known in the building trade as "Gob Ons."

An example of a MH that would benefit from the attentions of a bulldozer exists in Long Bottom Lane, Beaconsfield. 'The Thing’ has been for sale for sometime. At a recent planning meeting a boisterous member of the committee complained about the 'adverse impact' a semi-contemporary application would have on the street scene in the same road. This latter application was well designed and located 75 yards from the road behind evergreens. Where was the Councillor when so needed to stop the cloyingly twee, in your face; Rhett Butler colonial eyesore that remains unsold at the time of writing. ‘The Thing’ received approval because presumably - in the opinion of the committee it's appropriate; doesn't adversely impact the street scene; is at ease with its site. HA! Seemingly the Councillor (and others) possess vision of scientific interest to stop considered design - but can't see what is clearly in front of them when it comes to 'pastiche retro.' Letting these proposals through planning blights the land on which they are erected, and contributes nothing to the built environment. I can probably show you at least 20 other versions of the same junk within 1760 yards radius so why do we need more?

If properties have to be the same as the one next door ("in keeping") we are going to end up living in a foul environment. All the Committee need do is look at Amersham Old Town, Edwardian; Victorian; Georgian; Tudor; juxtapose with each other and communicate comfortably. Different roof heights, pitches, materials: fenestration and finishes; it all works. What we need now are a couple of contemporary applications to keep things going - but if such a submission were made the Committee would likely have a collective seizure and end up in Amersham Hospital with its applied flint tokenism.

Regional building styles have disappeared because among other reasons we largely controlled by developers, who offer template solutions that are unacquainted with the pen of an architect.

I checked, we are in the 21st Century. Domestic architecture in the countryside remains in yestercentury. There are wonderful new materials, methods, and design ideas. Of course there will always be a demand for MH’s, but if we do not progress in design and demonstrate that The Chilterns built environment is "different" we will be the same as everywhere else. What a travesty.

Gerrards Cross has been wrecked - the same blight has spread to Beaconsfield, and now it is happening in Great Missenden. We sit and watch the spread of this homogenous nightmare and do nothing. Is it only in housing that a counterfeit product is serially purchased by the public?

Follow the Chiltern Planning Design Guide to which the Chiltern Society contributes, and whilst rightly encouraging preservation of that which exists, it nullifies progress. It is therefore a promotional document for the visually and developmentally inert. Aspic country.

If we wish the Chilterns Built Environment to be identifiable from elsewhere a policy needs to be developed that promotes variety. Developers need to be convinced there is a market, and proactively encouraged to experiment. The buyers are there – but why should developers change when they can get approvals easily and sell the junk they build?

© Tom Perry
13 October 2002.