Cottages at The Wilderness, Leyton

COTTAGES AT THE WILDERNESS, LEYTON - These cottage buildings on the Wilderness Playing fields at Leyton have the interest arising from variety in form, purpose and situation. Messrs Adshead and Ramsey have tackled the fascinating problem of combining cottage buildings with an entrance to the playing fields, with cricket pavilion a garage on original lines, which lead to a departure from the usual cottage type.  This problem is by no means easy of solution for a very clear appreciation of architectural values is necessary before just the right tone and character can be given to these small dwelling houses set in association with other buildings in some respect more important than themselves. It is noteworthy that the art of designing an entrance lodge was almost entirely lost during the Victorian period, for it was forgotten that a cottage in such a position is not free to take to itself a style quite independent of that of the house itself but must express its association with the latter.  On the other hand, there is a danger that if the cottage assumes too much of the architectural panoply of the major edifice, it will appear over-dressed and presumptuous. Thus, it be seen that the architect needs to steer a very careful course if he is to avoid one or other of these errors. Messrs Adshead and Ramsey are especially qualified to provide satisfying solutions of these and similar problems, because in their work there is expressed them is some instinct for all the nuisances of civic design. The Wildness playing fields gateway here illustrated, is an example of a very skilful combination of architectural elements. In this instance an institutional air is given to the building though the emphatic accentuation of the archway.  This is accomplished by rusticated quoins and heavy keystones, the centre of which is decorated by a delightful sculptural representation of a boy cricketer, executed by Mr H Poole ARA. The dignity of the entrance is further upheld by the attic with segmental pediment above, While the dormers are incorporated in formal patterns comprising pairs of capped piers with blind windows inset. A handsome tiled roof crowns the whole, and this is raised a few feet above the cornice in compliance with a new fashion first popularised by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The roof is here really resting on a parapet, for the cornice must be held to be the terminal member of the façade. The practice here has the interest attaching to novelty, but old-fashioned architectural critics will not immediately be reconciled to a parapet of which the vertical dimension is indeterminate. The curved screen walls of the forecourt are a pleasing factor in the general composition, for not only do they conceal from public view the asymmetrical arrangement of the ground-floor windows, but they help to lead one up to the central entrance. The rear of the building, quite properly less formal than the frontage towards the road, is set in association with a long pavilion in front of a bowling green. Adjacent to the last-mentioned building is a groundsman's cottage, in which a slight departure is made from the style of the gateway to the playing fields. Here a more domestic note is struck, and the overhanging eaves of the pan-tiled mansard roof enable a wide loggia to be formed in front of the doorway. The trellis-work of this loggia is kept in countenance by the trellis fence and gateway of the neighbouring building, which is further brought into harmony with the cottage by a similarity in material and general style. The plan of this cottage, as is also that of the one connected with the gateway, gives ample provision for family life—three bedrooms, parlour, sitting-room and the usual offices economically and conveniently arranged. Another cottage at Leyton. here illustrated, shows an elevation in a more urban style. Here the eighteenth-century tradition is more closely followed and the rectangular outlines of the building with its low-pitched pantile roof are highly pleasing. A new cottage and garage at Quarter Mile Lane is an interesting composition, comprising a covered entrance way with a garage on one side and three store-rooms on the other, a first-floor storey over the whole area being occupied with a flat. Room has here been found for three bedrooms. kitchen-scullery. bathroom. hall, and living room. from which is obtained to a large flat over the garage. This is a very attractive design reminiscent of certain Italian examples. The external staircase is elegantly treated, the loggia outside the front door being a particularly successful feature. We have here a delightful mixture of formality and informality, and the unexpected combination of rectangular plan and plain gabled roof with groups of window openings. asymmetrically arranged, produces an effect of freshness and novelty. In the front elevation it will be observed that in the first-floor windows there is a suggestion of symmetry which is quite sufficient to give the requisite formality to the facade, while at the same time we have the agreeable feeling that there has been no straining after patterns of fenestration for their own sake. The road elevation will, it may be assumed, be seen by few people, and this justifies the absence of all attempts to create an ordered arrangement of apertures. The contrast of white walls, golden pantiles and painted shutters help to produce an effect of daintiness. which is enhanced by the refined treatment of all the details of the building. One feels that the simplicity of the slender cast-iron railings of repetitive design is exactly right, the pitch and overhang of the roof has been carefully studied, the chimney is just the right height, while the clock above the centre archway justifies its existence not only practically but aesthetically also. There can be no doubt that on this estate at Leyton some noteworthy architectural developments are taking place.  [Architect and Building News 21 October 1927 page 645-648]

Reference           Architect and Building News 21 October 1927 page 645-648