Kings Willow

Reasons for Designation

King's Willow Hilton, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST: Kings Willow is a bespoke private house from the inter-war period, which by virtue of its careful attention to massing, proportion, planning and form, has a rationalised elegance and crispness that exemplifies the ethos of Modern Movement architecture.

* INTACTNESS: The building is notable for its particular level of external and internal intactness including the survival of its original plan-form as well as a number of internal fixtures and fittings such as original sanitary ware, light fittings, floors and staircase.

* HISTORIC INTEREST: The house is designed by Bill Dyson, a well-known local architect, with published work to his name, as well as a former Head of the School of Architecture at Cambridge, of which, distinguished teachers and alumni include Sir Leslie Martin, Sir Hugh Casson, Colin St John Wilson, Edward Cullinan and Sir Richard MacCormac.

Details

HILTON

992/0/10023 Kings Willow 15-NOV-10

II A private detached house of 1939 designed in the Modern Movement style by Bill Dyson of the architectural practice Dyson and Hebeler.

MATERIALS: The building is of brick construction. The north and east elevations are painted white. It has a flat roof which is covered with concrete slab.

PLAN: The building is rectangular in plan.

EXTERIOR: The building has two-storeys, with a single-storey range to the west. The building has a horizontal emphasis which is expressed through the flat, facing brickwork and ribbon glazing at ground and first floor. The original metal-framed casement windows survive throughout the building, including the full height curved landing window and round porthole windows on the principal (north) elevation. The original front door and a secondary door also survive on the north façade, and there is also a door on the west elevation allowing access to the garden. The facing brickwork is flat, the only detailing is plain concrete hood moulds above the windows, and simple concrete slab canopies over the front and rear door.

There is an ornamental pool in the rear garden and a detached double garage to the north-east corner of the site.

INTERIOR: At ground floor there is a rectangular entrance hall with a semi-circular staircase leading up to a first floor landing. A corridor leads off the hall to a day nursery at the west end of the house, and a large sitting room and smaller dining room with curved internal wall, are accessed to the south. The kitchen and pantry are accessed from the east side of the hall. There is also a WC in the north-west corner of the hall. Many of the original fixtures and fittings survive including hardwood floors, internal doors and light fittings. There is also an original fire place in the nursery in stylized Egyptian design with green marble surround. In the hall the servants' bell and room indicator board survive.

At first floor there is a large central landing with a full height curved window over the stair. There are eight bedrooms of varying sizes, three of which are accessed from the landing and the other five via a corridor on the west side. The master bedroom on the south side has an ensuite bathroom and balcony which overlooks the garden. A family bathroom is located on the east side of the landing. Original fixtures and fittings survive in the first floor rooms including internal doors, sinks and baths with original taps. The original spiral stair, with marble treads and the original balustrade and moulded handrail, also survives.

HISTORY: The house, originally known as Wheatfield House, King's Willow was built for a private client by Bill Dyson of the local architectural practice Dyson and Hebeler. Bill Dyson was a well known local architect, who designed a number of other modernist houses (not listed) around the county as well as the ADC theatre in Cambridge (also not listed). Dyson was also Head of the Faculty of Architecture at Cambridge during the early 1950s. The property originally included a 1500 acre farm but this was separated from the house when it was sold in 1953.

SOURCES Pevsner, N, Buildings of England, Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough (1968) 263 The Architectural Review (October 1938) 159-160

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION King's Willow Hilton, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * ARCHITECTURAL INTEREST: Kings Willow is a bespoke private house from the inter-war period, which by virtue of its careful attention to massing, proportion, planning and form, has a rationalised elegance and crispness that exemplifies the ethos of Modern Movement architecture. * INTACTNESS: The building is notable for its particular level of external and internal intactness including the survival of its original plan-form as well as a number of internal fixtures and fittings such as original sanitary ware, light fittings, floors and staircase. * HISTORIC INTEREST: The house is designed by Bill Dyson, a well-known local architect, with published work to his name, as well as a former Head of the School of Architecture at Cambridge.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

505535

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry