Description

DARTINGTON DARTINGTON HALL
SX76SE Warren House
1/140 No 10 Warren Lane
31.10.83

GV II

House. 1935 by W E Lescaze of Howe and Lescaze of America, assisted by R
Hening; for Kirt Jooss. Painted rendered brick cavity walls, concrete
coping to the parapets concealing the flat roof which is partly tiled for a
roof terrace.
Plan: an International Modern Style house. Overall the plan is L-shaped
with a flight of steps up to the entrance porch in the angle leading to a
central hall which gives access to all the ground floor rooms. To the left
the living and dining rooms have a sliding partition between and the dining
room has a verandah on the left side of the house. The kitchen is in the
front left-hand wing over the garage which is on the lower ground level of
the front. The 'back' stair is next to the kitchen off the hall. There is
a curved parition wall separating the hall from the drawing room at the
back. To the right of the house at the back is Kurt Jooss's dance studio
with a study library off and at the front eh main staircase to the first
floor. The first floor plan is similar to that of the ground floor but has
2 principal bedrooms, a dressing room, bathrooms, visitors' bedrooms or
nurseries and the nurse's and maid's rooms. The front left-hand bedroom
has a balcony on the flat roof of the kitchen wing and the rear right-hand
bedroom has a smaller balcony over the studio; both balconies were intended
for outside sleeping. The main stiars rises to a tower giving access to
the flat roof. Small extensions have been added to the left-hand front
wing. The house is situated on a sloping site which had to be excavated;
the higher ground level is at the back. Although the garage is in a
basement storey under the front wing and the stair tower rises above the
main roof the house is principally on 2 storeys.
Exterior: Asymmetrical elevations. Basically 3 interlocking cubes on 2
levels with 3 roof heights. As seen from the east entrance front the
tallest block is set back to the right its back wall is pierced by
rectangular window openings and rises to a flat-roofed stair tower. Set in
the angle with the left-hand block steps lead up to the main entrance with
a flat concrete canopy supported on a steel post. The left-hand block is
lower and has an horizontal window band on the first floor with french
doors giving access to the roof terrace over the projecting kitchen block
which has a window band on the right-hand corner. The garage at the lower
ground level below and a vertical window to the left partly concealed
behind the later extension on the front of and to the left of the kitchen
block; there is also a later canopy over the garage doors.
The left-hand (south) return has asymmetrically disposed windows, the
ground floor right of the higher block is recessed and the corner above is
supported on a slender steel post to form a verandah for the dining room
which has a large fully glazed window area.
The right-hand (north) elevation has a narrow horizontal window band (now
divided into 3 windows) lighting the dance studio and a slightly deeper
window band on the first floor.
The rear (west) elevation, the dance studio projects on the ground floor to
the left over which there is a roof terrace with access from a doorway in a
band of windows on the first floor which continues to the right; 2 windows
below to the right.
The roof terraces have a steel tube and wire net balustrade. The stair
tower has a flat roof which is cantilevered on the inner side forming a
canopy. A rendered chimney rises from the flat roof of the lower block to
the south. All the windows are steel frame casements and the doors flush
plywood.
Interior: The dog-leg staircase has a curved solid balustrade faced in
Columbian pine plywood with moulded black ebonised handrail sliding
partition between the drawing room and dining room. The drawing room has a
small fireplace with a plished marble surround. The dining room has a
fitted cupboard forming a screen faced in walnut plywood; it has drawers
and serving hatches with wooden roller shutters. The first floor has a
fittedlcupboard forming a screen faced in walnut plywood; it has drawers
and serving hatches with wooden roller shutters. The first floor has a
fitted wardrobe in one room. the other rooms have small simple fireplaces
with tiled or slate surrounds. The doors throughout are all flush plywood.
The metal skirtings are coved at the junction with the floors which are
hardwood boarded in the hall and round the other rooms; the dance studio
has a floor of jarrah wood. The main stairs rise above the roof into a
tower which contains the water tank and givers access to the flat roof
terrace. Dartington Hall became the headquarters of the Ballets Jooss and
this house was built for its creator, the dancer Kurt Jooss.
Reference: Country Life 4th June 1938. The architects drawings in
Dartington Hall archive.

Listing NGR: SX7991663164

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26610547

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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