DOI issue:
Nr. 190 (January 1909)
DOI article:Morris, G. L.: Edwin L. Lutyens, F.R.I.B.A., architect of houses and gardens
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20965#0303
Edwin L. Lutyens, F.R.I.B.A
BERRYDOWN COURT, OVERTON : ENTRANCE FROM ROAD
EDWIN L. LUTYENS, ARCHITECT
a less degree “ The Hoo,” another interesting
house in Sussex, suffers from a similar defect.
Among Mr. Lutyens’ smaller houses, Barton St.
Mary, at East Grinstead, Surrey, is, perhaps, one
of the most successful. It is a quiet and dignified
English home of the best kind. The walls are
covered with rough-cast, red brick mullions and
jambs frame the window openings, and the
chimneys are of brick.
It is worth pointing out
that, while there are many
instances of Mr. Lutyens’
adoption of new combina-
tions of materials, he is
content in the main to
draw upon the large re-
sources of our English
building traditions, not by
a merely servile imitation
but rather in the spirit of
an alchemist who would
put the past into the
melting-pot to transmute
its contents into a new and
living beauty. Witness, for
example, a house by him
at Witley. The design
could not be mistaken
for the work of anyone
else, and yet it is redo-
lent of the old buildings
in Surrey. Such a small
280
detail as the galleting of
the masonry joints follows
the traditions of the neigh-
bourhood, but with a dif-
ference. In all the old
work in Surrey known to
the writer, the pieces of
stone inserted in the joints
are smaller and closer to-
gether than in the new
building. This detail,
together with the varia-
tion of the courses of
brickwork and the intro-
duction of tile banding,
may appear but small
matters, but they illustrate
a characteristic of Mr.
Lutyens, who holds that
it is not sufficient to rely
on tradition alone, but
that an architect’s work
must be constantly vivified by personal initiative.
There are other aspects of Mr. Lutyens’ art to
which we shall hope to return on some future
occasion, for he undoubtedly represents and reflects
the best characteristics of that school of architects
who are doing so much to revive the beauty of the
English country home. To compare one of his
buildings, such as Marshcourt or Berrydown, with
BERRYDOWN COURT, OVERTON : THE ROSE GARDEN
EDWIN L. LUTYENS, ARCHITECT
BERRYDOWN COURT, OVERTON : ENTRANCE FROM ROAD
EDWIN L. LUTYENS, ARCHITECT
a less degree “ The Hoo,” another interesting
house in Sussex, suffers from a similar defect.
Among Mr. Lutyens’ smaller houses, Barton St.
Mary, at East Grinstead, Surrey, is, perhaps, one
of the most successful. It is a quiet and dignified
English home of the best kind. The walls are
covered with rough-cast, red brick mullions and
jambs frame the window openings, and the
chimneys are of brick.
It is worth pointing out
that, while there are many
instances of Mr. Lutyens’
adoption of new combina-
tions of materials, he is
content in the main to
draw upon the large re-
sources of our English
building traditions, not by
a merely servile imitation
but rather in the spirit of
an alchemist who would
put the past into the
melting-pot to transmute
its contents into a new and
living beauty. Witness, for
example, a house by him
at Witley. The design
could not be mistaken
for the work of anyone
else, and yet it is redo-
lent of the old buildings
in Surrey. Such a small
280
detail as the galleting of
the masonry joints follows
the traditions of the neigh-
bourhood, but with a dif-
ference. In all the old
work in Surrey known to
the writer, the pieces of
stone inserted in the joints
are smaller and closer to-
gether than in the new
building. This detail,
together with the varia-
tion of the courses of
brickwork and the intro-
duction of tile banding,
may appear but small
matters, but they illustrate
a characteristic of Mr.
Lutyens, who holds that
it is not sufficient to rely
on tradition alone, but
that an architect’s work
must be constantly vivified by personal initiative.
There are other aspects of Mr. Lutyens’ art to
which we shall hope to return on some future
occasion, for he undoubtedly represents and reflects
the best characteristics of that school of architects
who are doing so much to revive the beauty of the
English country home. To compare one of his
buildings, such as Marshcourt or Berrydown, with
BERRYDOWN COURT, OVERTON : THE ROSE GARDEN
EDWIN L. LUTYENS, ARCHITECT