Summary
House, built around 1938 to designs by Frank Jennings, extended in the late C20.
Reasons for Designation
Box Bush, a house built around 1938 to designs by Frank Jennings, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a picturesque and idiosyncratic building that demonstrates Jennings’ reverence for historic fabric and his care in its re-use;
* its timber-framed structure and architectural detailing are typical of the vernacular style prevalent in Suffolk, characterised by plain and pantile roofs, red brick chimneystacks, weatherboarding and exposed timbers to the gables, and pink coloured render to the exterior;
* it is particularly well-preserved both internally and externally, retaining a high proportion of its exposed timber frame, fixtures, fittings and joinery.
Historic interest:
* it represents a dominant trend in the architectural taste of the inter-war years for recreating older styles, part of the wider craze for Tudor architecture and the perennial myth of Elizabethan ‘Merrie England’ that was symptomatic of a nostalgia for pre-industrial society;
* for the legacy of Jennings' work in Walberswick, which contributed to the idyllic setting of an important artistic colony.
History
Walberswick is a historic village, which by the medieval period was a fishing and trading port of considerable importance. The village was affected by fire in the later C17 and again in the mid-C18, and as a result relatively few substantial merchants’ houses survive from this period in comparison with other coastal villages in Suffolk. From the late C18 improvements to the mouth of the River Blyth brought a rapid increase in maritime traffic and the population of the village grew. In 1879, a narrow-gauge railway opened between Halesworth and Southwold with a station at Walberswick, and provided a connection to the East Suffolk Railway. This spurred the construction of new lodgings for tourists and artists and second homes for wealthy London merchants. Demand for new dwellings continued into the interwar period, and development was carefully vetted by the Blois estate who owned the land, and their architectural adviser Frank Jennings. Walberswick flourished as an artists’ colony, and many of the new houses were designed with artists’ studios and views of the picturesque coastline.
Frank Jennings (1877-1961) came from a Newmarket horse racing family, and was the youngest son in a family of 14 children. His father Thomas was a successful racehorse trainer who himself won many classic races and founded hospitals and the waterworks in Newmarket. After a childhood illness left Frank partially deaf, he worked as a stable boy in France, where in his spare time he sketched historic buildings. He persuaded his father to apprentice him to an architect in Bury St Edmunds, and although he trained as an architect, he never formally qualified but is mentioned in the RIBA archives. In 1903 Frank bought three plots at the corner of Millfield Road and The Street in Walberswick. On the middle of the three plots, he built ‘Gazebo’ for his then fiancé Mildred Hall, with a butterfly plan addressing the curve of the road. He developed the other two plots on Millfield Road as ‘Three Ways’ (1905) and ‘Grey Roof’ (around 1906). Jennings enthusiastically collected architectural fragments from buildings being demolished throughout Suffolk and incorporated much of his collection into the ten or so houses he designed at Walberswick; he amassed such a large collection that he needed to bestow some 200 items to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1922. In 1908, Frank was travelling through Lavenham when he saw a C15 timber-framed building being demolished. He purchased the timber frame for £80, carefully numbered the elements, and re-erected it in Walberswick as ‘Mercer’s Hall’ for his sister Marie Rose Gabe (listed at Grade II in 1984); Jennings also designed its gardens in the Arts and Crafts style. In 1908 Frank purchased land from Sir Ralph Blois on Leverett’s Lane and built ‘Marshway’ for his growing family. Elsewhere on Leverett’s Lane, he designed ‘Whitebarn’ for his brother George around 1910, ‘Toby Cottage’ (formerly known as ‘Due South’) around 1910 for his sister Marie Rose, and ‘Sunset Cottage’ in 1911 for his mother-in-law.
In 1919 the Jennings family moved to London, and Frank formed the architectural practice of Jennings and Soimenow, and they were later joined by the Coleridge brothers to become Coleridge, Jennings and Soimenow of Westminster. Amongst other buildings, the partnership designed a development of 13 blocks of flats at Manor Fields, Putney, innovative at the time for its design around existing trees. In 1928 Frank sold Marshway and restored a C16 weaver’s house in Essex, but continued to be employed by the Blois estate as their architectural adviser at Walberswick. In the 1930s, he revamped ‘Valley Farm’, and reconstructed an old barn next to Valley Farm as the village cinema; the barn was later reconstructed again as a house called ‘Longshaw’ in the 1950s. It is likely that Frank’s last works in Walberswick were constructed around 1938, just before the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45). He is credited with the construction of Box Bush and Saltlick on Sevenacres Lane; these houses are not shown on the six-inch Ordnance Survey (OS) map surveyed in 1938 and published in 1948, but are shown on the six-inch OS map revised between 1946 and 1947 and published in 1951. Undated plans and elevational drawings of Box Bush bear the name of Coleridge and Jennings Architects, with an address at 21 Tothill Street, London, SW1; their architectural practice was dissolved in February 1939 indicating a construction date of around 1938. The timber frame of Box Bush was reputedly salvaged from Bedingham in Suffolk. In 1939 Frank transported a C16 farmhouse from Brantham in Suffolk to Wendens Ambo in Essex for his companion Kathleen Riley, a fellow collector, craftsperson and follower of William Morris. They named their new home Blythburgh House (listed at Grade II), and lived there together until Frank’s death in 1961.
Details
House, built around 1938 to designs by Frank Jennings, extended in the late C20.
MATERIALS: The roofs mainly have a plain tile covering, and the timber-framed and red brick walls are smooth rendered with margined pargetting.
PLAN: The building is roughly rectangular on plan, with an attached single-storey former garage projecting from the east end of the north elevation, and a single-storey open porch in the south-west return with a glazed conservatory added in the late C20.
EXTERIOR: Box Bush comprises a two-and-half storey three-bay range aligned east-west, a two-storey bay to the west gable, a single-storey bay to the west gable of the two-storey range, a single-storey lean-to porch in the south-west return, and a single-storey former garage projecting from the east end of the north elevation. The roof of the two-and-half storey range has a red brick chimneystack to the ridge, plain-tile covering, dormer window to the south slope, and the north slope sweeps low over the single-storey former garage. The two-storey bay has a plain-tile roof covering and a red brick chimneystack on its west gable, the single-storey lean-to on the west gable has a pantile covering, and the single-storey open porch has a plain-tile covering. The walls are smooth rendered over a red brick plinth with plain margined pargetting to each storey. The walls of the former garage were formerly weather boarded with double garage doors to the west side but were rendered when the garage was converted to residential use in the late C20. The front elevation of the two-and-half storey range has a flat-arched shallow canopy, and moulded door surround containing a four-panelled door with applied vertical panelling to the exterior. The single-storey porch in the south-west return has a ledged stable door; the doors throughout feature reclaimed door furniture. The two-and-half storey range has a single bay of windows to its east gable, and three bays to the south elevation; the east bay of the ground floor has a box window with exposed red brick to sill height. The windows throughout are timber-framed with two mullions and contain rectangular or diamond leaded lights; the windows on the west and south sides of the two-storey bay were replaced in the late C20. A single-storey canted conservatory was added to the south-west return in the late C20.
INTERIOR: The timber frame, reputedly relocated from Bedingham, is exposed throughout the interior and displays evidence of reuse; some timbers are pegged. From the stair hall on the north side of the two-and-half storey range there is a spacious parlour or sitting room to the east, dining room to the south, and kitchen, pantry and toilet to the west. From the first-floor landing there are four bedrooms to the north-east, south-east, south and west, the south-east being the largest, and a bathroom to the west of the stair hall. The attic of the two-and-half storey range has one large room to its east side. The ground-floor parlour and east first-floor bedrooms each have a chamfered beam with lamb’s tongue nicked stops (found in substantial mid-C17 houses in Suffolk). The winder stair is timber-framed with simple newel posts, handrails and treads. All rooms feature reclaimed ledged timber doors with reclaimed door and window furniture. Most bedrooms feature an inbuilt cupboard with a reclaimed door and door furniture; the largest bedroom in the south-east corner has a substantial double cupboard on its east wall. The ground-floor stair hall, parlour, pantry and toilet have a gault brick floor, the dining room has a red brick floor, and the gault-brick floor of the kitchen was largely replaced with tiles around 1970. The fireplaces generally have rendered flat-arched or shallow-arched brick surrounds, red brick hearths and chamfered timber hearth surrounds; the parlour fireplace is more substantial and features a chamfered bressummer. The former garage north of the parlour was adapted for residential use around 1970, and contains two small rooms; the south walls retain the margined pargetting of the exterior.
