Nos. 1-12 Scroope Terrace, the 1959 rear extension to no. 1 Scroope Terrace and the railings to the front., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Summary

A C19 terrace extended to the rear in the C19, C20 and C21.

Description

MATERIALS: gault brick with plaster dressings and slated roofs. The 1959 extension to no.1 Scroope Terrace is built of reclaimed Cambridge stock brick and concrete.

PLAN: the C19 phases comprises a rectangular, symmetrical terrace of seven former dwellings, each of three window bays and each with off centre entrance doors. Two dwellings at each end break forward. The end dwellings have single-storey, flat-roofed entrance porches.

EXTERIOR: the three-storey terrace, with attic and semi-basement, has slate-covered gabled and hipped roofs, hidden by a front parapet, and gault brick ridge stacks. The façade has a uniform treatment comprising rusticated render at the ground floor; four-panelled entrance doors with square heads and fanlights; a rendered band at the second floor and a moulded cornice below the parapet. The windows are six-over-six vertical sashes with deeply moulded surrounds; all at the first floor have iron balconies with those at the end and centre ranges also having deeply moulded architraves.

The rear elevation of the terrace has a varied form. Nos. 6-12 (the Royal Cambridge Hotel in September 2012) generally has dormer windows to the attic and six-over-six vertical sashes with segmented brick heads. Projecting at the centre of the terrace is a flat-roofed, rendered, single-storey C20 addition serving as the rear entrance to the hotel from the car park. The rear elevation of nos. 1-5 (Cambridge University in September 2012) is eclectic; there are mid to late-C19 rear wings and added educational facilities of the C20 and C21.

To the rear of no.1 Scroope Terrace, is the brick, square extension by Colin St John Wilson and Alex Hardy. The building consists of a small cube of two floors with brick elevations supporting a concrete slab first floor and a flat concrete-beam roof with an original mechanical rotating louvre system to permit the entry of light from the roof. It has a plan area of 36 by 36 feet on a grid layout of 9 foot squares and is linked to the adjoining two-storey main building by a timber and glass stair tower. Horizontal and vertical bands of fenestration punctuate the elevations.

INTERIOR: some fireplaces, staircases and decorative plasterwork are retained in the C19 phases.

Both levels of the two-storey, 1959 extension are accessed from the rear wing of no. 1 Scroope Terrace by concrete, dog-leg stairs of three flights with simple timber handrails. Both floors are organised around a central, brick-built core of services. On the first floor are the exhibition space and the lecture theatre, both rooms with large centre pivot doors which allow the adjoining spaces to be opened up and combined. On the ground floor, the staff common room and suite of four offices are approached by three downward steps.

The finishes comprise brick, concrete, oiled timber or veneered plywood. Concrete beams with original lighting form the ceiling of the first floor spaces, but the staff room and offices have timber clad ceilings and brick floors. There are plain concrete shelves on both floors and in the offices on the ground floor are contemporary fitted wooden benches, cupboards and angle-poise lamps. The lecture theatre has a concrete mounting for the projector, a timber podium, pinboards, ventilation grilles and contemporary free-standing furniture.

The 2005 extension to the rear of no. 3 Scroope Terrace is too young to be included with the listing at this time (2013).

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
The C19 iron railings on a dwarf-brick wall to the front of the terrace are subsidiary features contributing to the special interest of the terrace.

Garden Railings was previously listed twice also at List entry 1126055. This entry was removed from the List on 8 November 2017.

History

The north part of Scroope Terrace was built in 1839, presumably as dwellings for the City’s increasing middle classes. It was extended to the south in 1864 and some of the rear wings are probably also of this date. Nos. 6-12 have also been extended to the rear in the late C20, and from the limited interior inspection of the C19 phases, there has been some interior remodelling in the C20. The C19 railings to the front of the terrace were refurbished in 2005.

In 1924, the University’s School of Architecture moved to Scroope Terrace. The first Professor of Architecture, (Sir) Leslie Martin, took up his post in 1956 and was succeeded by Bill Howell in 1973, then (Sir) Colin St John Wilson in 1975. St John Wilson (1922-2007) was one of a talented group of architects who cut their professional teeth at the London County Council under the direction of Leslie Martin between 1950-55. A lecturer at the School of Architecture from 1956, St John Wilson and Leslie Martin continued to design together; Harvey Court at Gonville and Caius College (Cambridge, 1960-62, Grade II*) being an example of their work. St John Wilson also designed, with Martin, extensions to the British Library, a project which took 30 years to complete.

The extension to no.1 Scroope Terrace was designed by St John Wilson and Alex Hardy and necessitated the internal reordering of the C19 rear wing to which it is attached. The project was intended to be a live teaching exercise with third year students contributing to the design and first year students following the construction in the summer of 1958, overseen by two members of staff. Visiting lecturers acted as consultant structural engineers (Frank Newby of Felix Samuely and Partners) and quantity surveyors (Peter Mill of Davis, Belfield and Everest). The desire to keep the cost level to £4 per square foot necessitated a simple form of construction, exhibited intentionally to expose the building's operation and untreated materials. The building was opened in 1959 by Le Corbusier who gave an inaugural lecture with Henry Moore and Leslie Martin, and is little altered; the pin-boards in the first-floor exhibition space have been renewed, the lighting in the staff room has been replaced and a small kitchen has been inserted on the ground floor. In 2005, Marcial Echenique commissioned a second extension to the rear of no.3 Scroope Terrace, known as the Studio, a two-storey, lightweight timber and glass structure with a series of north-facing lights, but this is too young to be considered for listing at this time (2013).

Reasons for Listing

No. 1-12 Scroope Terrace, Trumpington Street, Cambridge is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons.

* Architectural interest: the terrace of 1839 and 1865 is an architecturally distinctive and prominent building, the special interest of which is augmented by the 1959 extension to no.1 Scroope Terrace (Cambridge University School of Architecture) by Colin St John Wilson and Alex Hardy, which possesses a meticulously executed, simple brutalist design and thoughtful interior detailing;
* Intactness: the exterior of the C19 terrace retains a high degree of intactness and its special interest has not been compromised by internal alterations unduly. The 1959 extension remains largely unaltered;
* Interior: some fireplaces, staircases and decorative plasterwork survive in the C19 phases. The 1959 extension retains its finishes and distinctive fixtures and fittings such as the central pivot doors and lighting.
* Group value: the terrace lies close to a number of listed buildings and structures with which it has group value.

External Links

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