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Published: September 8th 2016
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Visit to The Homewood with National Trust colleagues I joined a trip to The Homewood with National Trust colleagues on 2 September. I met up with seven of them at Waterloo station. We took the train to Esher and caught taxis to Claremont Landscape Garden. I remembered Racecourse at Sandown, which we walked past on the way to Claremont Landscape Garden a few years ago.
Upon arrival at Claremont Landscape Garden, we were offered complimentary refreshments including a chocolate cake at the National Trust office there. We were told that The Homewood has been opened to the public since 2003 but shown by only the guided tours, and the booking appointments have been managed by the Claremont National Trust office. Having known that we were volunteers at 2 Willow Road, the staff kindly offered us free transport and tour at The Homewood.
A minibus brought us to the site of The Homewood in two minutes. A flat-roof concrete building was standing in the middle of the woodland – and the site was appropriately named as The Homewood.
While other visitors and we were
taking photos of the building, one of the National Trust guides appeared, and she explained to us the features of this concrete building – supported by brick-façade pillars – and Patrick Gwynne who persuaded his parents to let him design them a new home in the radical Modern Movement style in 1937.
At the entrance hall we were asked to wear plastic bags on our feet to protect carpets and floors in the house.
First, we were shown the study where Patrick Gwynne used as an office – sketching, drawing and receiving clients. His office showed a set of functional furniture, which allowed him, his colleagues and clients to do multi tasks – telephone conversation, drawing, drinking and filing. All the furniture looked very neat and smart – I could see how rigid and through he worked as an architect.
Next, we were asked to approach the central staircase. Like 2 Willow Road, The Homewood had a spiral staircase and it acted a centre of the building. She drew our attention to the pretty blue and white chandelier, which was rather mismatching with overall features at The Homewood. Having visited 2
Willow Road, she remembered some juxtaposition featured items – candlesticks, Staffordshire clock – were displayed there, the guide, Sue, explained to us and the fellow visitors that the modernists architects were keen to create juxtaposition displaying old and new items.
Patrick Gwynne designed bedrooms on the east side of the house; we were shown the Powder Room including the bathroom and the clock room and his bedroom. Like Erno Goldfinger who designed his family home at 2 Willow Road, Mr Gwynne used a number of new industrial materials innovatively – plastic pieces for the tambour-fronted sliding doors for the sideboard, glass-brick wall in the bathroom, cream leather-topped bed – and built-in furniture – cupboards, chest drawers, wash basin, and dressing-table desk were concealed in the wall.
We were all amazed by an airy, bright and exquisite living room displayed with stylish furniture and featured with large windows where we could see a beautiful woodland park garden. I learned that Patrick Gwynne lived in this big spacious house on his own most of the time: he lost his parents after the war and his sister Babs moved out soon after the marriage. Including her one
of the recesses displayed portraits of people – Hugh Latimer, Jack Hawkins, Laurence Harvey – who inspired his architectural career. Like Goldfinger family, Patrick Gwynne liked to entertain people – this living room was used as a gathering place. The wall was featured with recesses, half of which were connected to the kitchen – located next to the living room – and allowed kitchen staff to serve fresh food and drinks. We were shown the bar which swings out from the wall. All the sofas and armchairs, desks and writing tables looked modern and comfortable to use. We also noted various artworks including the pictures of bamboos on the folding screen.
Separated by this elegant folding screen, we entered the dining room. A beautiful piano and a black-topped laminate round table were displayed in the dining room. Patrick Gwynne designed the balcony adjacent to the dining room and put the dining table & chairs on the balcony so that family and guests could stand and overlook stunning woodland garden. ‘Gwynne’ is Welsh name; there were portraits of his family’s ancestors displayed on the niche in the dining room.
I can’t
remember which stairs we used to access to the garden. We were welcomed by the tenant, David, and he showed us around the garden. He explained to us that Patrick Gwynne was a keen gardener and he started creating this lovely woodland garden in the 1960s – creating artificial ponds, planting a wide variety of shrubs and trees, colourful heather garden, positioning ornamental furniture.
David showed us the outside kitchen with the barbeque grill on the terrace, which was fitted in the 1970s. This 40-year-old kitchen possessed a number of modern and functional features: as well as placing kitchen units and cupboard at the corner of the terrace, Patrick Gwynne installed the light lit orange above the kitchen unit and installed the fridge and the dishwasher concealed in the kitchen unit. The barbeque kitchen included the dinner table with the teppanyaki board so that diners could cook or heat up the meats and vegetables.
David then showed us the pool which Patrick Gwynne designed in the 1970s. Light-green coloured tiles were used for the pool; the green-hued water matched with a clump of shrubs and trees. While we were on the terrace, another friendly
tenant, Annie, his dog, appeared. He joined our walk.
He took us to the ground which included Heather Garden, Main Pond, Stepping Stone Pond, Bog Garden and South Vista. Having explored the woodland garden, I could see why Patrick Gwynne decided to built a new home in a secluded position, whilst demolishing the old home situated along the main road. He was fortunate that his family had inherited this large woodland on the Esher Common, and was given an opportunity to build this ambitious modernist home – not only concrete structured building but showing the concrete façade and making recreational space: the swimming pool and the barbeque kitchen. Unlike Erno Goldfinger at Willow Road, he had no neighbours to complain about the modernist structured building with innovative materials – he was able to build an idealised modernist building.
The Homewood possessed large windows and part of the compartments had a modern artwork. Its blue and light-green colours really matched with the surrounding woodland garden, and I admired the artwork from the different angles while strolling through the garden.
The woodland garden on Esher Common suffered drought and fire in
1976 and the great storm of 1987. Nevertheless, new shrubs and trees have been planted and they have enhanced the surrounding of this modernist house. It was quite surprising to see giant rhubarbs, gunnera, thriving by the pond.
Afterwards, we caught the 13:00 minibus and came back to Claremont Landscape Garden. We had lunch in the café. It was agreed that we would catch the 14:50 train back to Waterloo. I bought a guidebook for The Homewood. By showing the volunteer card, I got 20%!d(MISSING)iscount on the guidebook. The receptionist asked me which property, 2 Willow Road or The Homewood, better. I said, ‘I’m afraid I can’t answer your question fully at this moment.’ I did a 5 minute-walk in the Claremont Landscape Garden before going back home.
I enjoyed the visit to another modernist property, The Homewood, on 2 September. I might come back there one day.
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