26, PENTLEY PARK

Reasons for Designation

No. 26 Pentley Park has been designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* The building is an example of a Modern Movement- influenced house by an architect for his own use, its customised design a response to both his domestic and workplace requirements.

* The building survives in almost unaltered form, retaining many original fixtures and fittings and the original plan form.

* The building's design was a conscious contrast to the neo- Georgian style of Louis de Soisson's master plan for the development of Welwyn Garden City, and its construction was sanctioned by de Soissons.

* The house provides an unusual and valuable insight to the influence of both the Garden City and Modern Movements upon the changing approach to the design of private and public sector housing in the 1930's.

Details

968/0/10011 PENTLEY PARK 13-AUG-08 26

II Detached House. 1936-7, with minor late C20 alterations. By Paul V.E. Mauger, architect (1896-1982), for himself.

MATERIALS: Buff-coloured stock brick with concrete detailing and a flat roof concealed by a shallow parapet.

EXTERIOR: 2 storey main frontage range with 3 storey north-west bay incorporating an advanced garage with roof balcony accessed from first floor doorway to tower. 2 storey section with recessed doorway below a shallow hood. 4-panel glazed door. To the left, a circular window, to the right, a wide 6-light window with metal frame below a shallow hood. Above, 3 regularly-spaced 2 light windows, similarly detailed. Projecting chimney breast to south-east end. Rear elevation with set-back 2 storey end bay, its first floor doorway opening on to roof balcony above a formerly open seating area, now glazed. Further right, garden front with 2, 4-light ground floor windows and 3, 3-light upper floor openings, all with metal casement frames and shallow drip mouldings. Attached single storey store with flat roof to north-west end.

INTERIOR: Off-centre entrance leads into stair hall, with cloakroom to one side and double sliding doors to main ground floor living room to the other. Stepped approach to dog-leg stair with handrail partition. The kitchen and dining room to the rear of the house are accessed from the hall and the main living room. The outside sitting area is accessed from a doorway in the dining room. The sitting room retains plain flush doors, built-in cupboards and bookshelves, tiled hearth surround and a ceiling made up of full width panels. There are boarded floors throughout the house, except for the entrance threshold, kitchen and bathrooms which are tiled. The upper floor is accessed from a landing, and corridor with flush doors to storage cupboards leading to a bedroom corridor. On the other side of the landing is the doorway to the balcony over the garage, and a ceiling hatch to the upper floor of the tower, believed to have been the architect's studio, accessed by means of a fold-away ladder stored in a tall wall cupboard.

HISTORY: The house was one of 3 Modernist designs at Pentley Park sanctioned by Louis de Soissons which were in complete contrast to the neo-Georgian style of de Soisson's Garden City masterplan. The house designed by Mauger survives in almost unaltered form, having been occupied by Mauger and his family, and then the present owner. Mauger began his architectural career in the 1920's and continued in practice until the 1980's, strongly engaged with domestic architecture and public authority housing. He became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1938 at the recommendation of Sir Raymond Unwin. Sources: Oliver Bradbury 'An introduction to the forgotten work of Paul Victor Edison Mauger, F.R.I.B.A'. (1896-1982),(unpublished).

Reasons for Designation Decision

No. 26 Pentley Park is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* The building is an example of a Modern Movement-influenced house by an architect for his own use, its customised design a response to both his domestic and workplace requirements.

* The building survives in almost unaltered form, retaining many original fixtures and fittings and the original plan form.

* The building's design was a conscious contrast to the neo- Georgian style of Louis de Soisson's master plan for the development of Welwyn Garden City, and its construction was sanctioned by de Soissons.

* The house provides an unusual and valuable insight to the influence of both the Garden City and Modern Movements upon the changing approach to the design of public and private sector housing in the 1930's.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

504804

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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