Description

963/0/10150 HERNE HILL
09-FEB-04 Dorchester Court

GV II
Development of 96 flats in eight blocks around a central landscaped courtyard (q.v.). 1933-4 by Leslie H Kemp and Frederick E Tasker for Mr Morrell, a local builder and developer. Moderne style. Red brick with concrete roof and floor slabs that extend as balconies to the principal rooms. Flat roofs. Four storeys. The four corner blocks are 'L'-shaped, with sixteen flats per block, arranged around a staircase set in the angle. The central blocks are simpler, with eight flats, two per floor, set either side of a central stair. Projecting bands of brickwork at sill level, exposed concrete floor slabs and horizontal glazing bars to the casement windows set up a strong horizontal rhythm, enhanced by projecting balconies in blocks, the uppermost with projecting flat concrete roofs. This horizontality is countered by full-height staircase windows that carry through the floors and which in the corner blocks are set back, and by soldier courses of brickwork above the windows. To Herne Hill and Dorchester Drive there are long balconies divided by set-back columns, while to the courtyard glazed screens with horizontal glazing bars provide some privacy to the balconies. Eight flats have had some window replacement in UPVC. Integral planting boxes at ground floor level either side of set-back doors, those to corner blocks set in the angle and all with projecting flat concrete hoods. Glazed timber double doors lead to small-paned glazed timber screens with single doors giving entrance to stairwells. The interiors retain glazed lifts with glazed double doors set in the stairwell. Moderne cast iron balustrades in front of the windows. Other staircases are solid with brass handrails. Cast iron fronts to inset radiators with art deco swirls. Woodblock floors to public areas with timber doors to flats.

Included as a complete and little altered development of moderne-style flats, not denuded by the limited window replacement that has taken place, most prominently to the block containing nos.49-64. The ensemble remains exceptionally well detailed outside and within. Kemp and Tasker were best known as cinema architects, but they also designed the listed Dorchester House alongside, also for Morrell.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087036

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.

Recommended Books

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  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
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  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
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  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
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  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
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  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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