Description

798-1/0/10381 GAINSBOROUGH GARDENS
10-JAN-11 7 AND 8

II
Pair of semi-detached houses. 1888 by HS Legg, Surveyor to the Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust, for Thomas Clifford, lessee, as part of the development of Gainsborough Gardens between 1882-1895. Subsequently divided into flats.

MATERIALS: Red brick with rubbed and moulded-brick details; red sandstone dressings; tile-hanging; pebbledash render to gables and eaves cornice; clay tile roofs

PLAN: 2 storeys with lower, set-back 2-storey side bays, attic and basement. Mirror plan with entrance hall and stair to rear.

EXTERIOR: Domestic Revival manner. Each house of 2 bays. Assymetrical composition, but united through symmetrical first floor and coved eaves cornice. Varied fenestration, comprising sashes, some paired with central mullion and top-hung casements; and French windows to balconies. Basement and ground floor windows with keyed cambered arches. Some windows have decorative iron guardrails. Both houses have timber porches carried on bulbous balusters; roof to that to No. 7 is gabled, that to No. 8 single pitched. Panelled front doors with stained-glass lights. Moulded brick cornice to ground floor. No. 7 has canted mullion-and-transom bay window at ground floor and balcony above with decorative ironwork; corresponding balcony to first floor of No 7 is carried on heavy scrolled stone consoles. No 7 has set-back 4-light dormer with a deep cornice decorated with leaf-pattern, and pargetted gable, plus smaller hipped dormer to left. No 8 balances this arrangement with a single, large gable set flush with front elevation, with dentilled cornice and small triangular pediment above window. Set-back bay of No 7 is canted; that to No 8 square with decorative ironwork to parapet, each with with timber balustraded parapet to balcony above. Pitched roof with overhanging gablets to side elevations. Stacks with deep moulded collars.

Rear elevation window arrangement reverses that of front; square bay mullion-and-transom bay window to ground floor of No 8 and bracketed balcony to first floor of No 7; ground floor windows to latter also with balcony; ironwork similar to front elevation. 4 hipped dormers. Modern single-storey rear extension to No 8 is not of special interest.

INTERIOR: No. 7 inspected in part only. In essence the plan survives since the stairs and major partitions remain but front and rear rooms of the ground floor are knocked through. Moulded cornices, skirtings and architraves remain but doors replaced and original chimneypieces removed. No 8 is more complete, retaining some original chimneypieces (some are imported), ceilings and most joinery. Both houses have strapwork plaster ceilings to entrance halls and attractive stairs with arcaded balustrades (that to No 7 partly boxed-in), matching that to No 6.

HISTORY: Gainsborough Gardens was laid out between 1882 and 1895 on land belonging to the Wells and Campden Charity Trust. Plots were developed speculatively under the close scrutiny of the Trust and their Surveyor Henry Simpson Legg (1830-1906), a local architect and landowner. The development adopted the newly-heralded ethos shown at Bedford Park, Chiswick, developed from 1875, where different styles of building cohere informally in a planned, leafy environment. EJ May, recently appointed as principal architect at Bedford Park designed the first building, Nos. 3 and 4 Gainsborough Gardens, in 1884. Both architecturally and historically, this was a significant step in changing attitudes towards the emerging suburbs. This is set against the background of steps to limit expansion onto Hampstead Heath and the preservation of Parliament Hill Fields, an achievement attributed to CE Maurice who built and lived at No. 9A. He was married to the sister of Octavia Hill, philanthropist and founder of the National Trust.

The history of Gainsborough Gardens is prominent in the history of the protection of open spaces, particularly in Hampstead where the seeds of national awareness were sown. The whole scheme and individual houses are well documented, giving an important record of the development of the Gardens. The outcome is a scheme of significant architectural and historic interest and particular aesthetic quality, based on a fine balance between building and open space, both of which survive almost intact.

Nos 7 and 8, with No 6, were designed as a group by Henry Legg, Surveyor to the Trust, and built by Thomas Clifford. No 8 was occupied by the noted Baptist minister, FB Meyer. From 1913-1931 it was the home of Arthur Bolton, architectural historian and architect (1864-1945) co-founder of the Wren Society, principal of the Architectural Association, and Curator of the Soane Museum. After this it was occupied by Arthur Greenwood MP, known for his anti-appeasement stance in the late 1930s, until his death in 1954.

SOURCES: David A L Saunders, Gainsborough Gardens Hampstead and the Estate of the Wells and Campden Trust. An account of their development with houses, 1875-1895, (1974)
Architectural History, Vol 27 (1984), 429 -442
London Suburbs, English Heritage (1999)
Victor Belcher, Proof of Evidence, Public Enquiry, No 9A Gainsborough Gardens and land Adjacent, London NW3, (2006)

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: Nos 7 and 8 Gainsborough Gardens are designated for the following principal reasons:

* Special architectural interest for quality of design and materials
* Survival of internal decorative features (principally No 8)
* Strong group value with other listed houses in Gainsborough Gardens
* Strong contribution to the overall planning interest of Gainsborough Gardens

Reasons for Listing

Nos. 7 and 8 Gainsborough Gardens are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Special architectural interest for quality of design and materials
* Survival of internal decorative features (principally No. 8)
* Strong group value with other listed houses in Gainsborough Gardens
* Strong contribution to the overall planning interest of Gainsborough Gardens

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087430

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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