ModernMovement housesinCambridge CONSERVING TWENTIETH CENTURY BUILDINGS John Preston discusses some conservation issues. Protection- butonlyat thesecondattempt Cambridge has some good Modern Movement houses of the 1930s, notably a group in Conduit Head Road which includes three 'white' houses (White House of 1930, and Willow House - originally Thurso - of 1932, both by George Checkley, and Hugh Hughes's Salix of 1934), and M J Blanco White's weatherboarded Shawms 0938). Willow House and Shawms are both listed grade II*,the others are grade II. Other listed Modern Movement houses include D Cosens' 9 Wilberforce Road of 1937, and Marshall Sisson's 31 Madingley Road of 1932 and 26 Millington Road of 1934 (all grade II). These houses have all been listed since 1992. In 1976, the Council had prepared a list of 45 "architecturdlly important unlisted buildings" (both turn of the century and interwar) which was submitted to the DoE for spot-listing; the DoE rejected the submission on the grounds that the Statutory List for Cambridge had been produced only recently "and was complete". The'white houses'ofConduitHeadRoadacasestudy The Conduit Head Road buildings were set in a rural landscape, with a 'wilderness' to the west of the three white houses in large gardens. This setting, and in particular that of the Checkley houses, has been threatened by a series of development proposals. Conduit Head Road was designated a conservation area in 1984. The site histo1y and outcomes (including a series of appeal decisions) reflect changing attitudes to White House, Cambridge, by George Checkley Context65 March2000 CONDUIT HEAD ROAD, CAMBRIDGE Conservation Area designated 1984 Willow House (II*), Salix (II) and White House (11)listed 1992 f SITE WEST OF WILLOW HOUSE outline for 2 houses approved 198 renewed 1984, 1987 renewed application refused 1990 appeal dismissed 'outline for 1 house refused 1995 appeal dIsmIssed I I I I ' I ~-- ' OUSE , I • ' SITE EAST OF WILLOW HOUSE outline for 1 house refused 1981 appeal allowed renewed 1985, 1988, 1991 (details 1994) 1 house Modece Architects) approved 1995 1 house (revised scheme) approved 1996 BRADRUSHE FIELDS (east of Conduit Head Rd) 15 dwellings approved 1990 WHITEHOUSE \ 12 flats (replacing the house) approved 1972 \ 8 new flats (retaining the house) approved 1975 \ pitched roof and 2 extra flats on new building - refused 1988, allowed on appeal TheConduit Head Roadarea of Cambridge Modern Movement buildings, and the sometimes tenuous threads by which they (and their settings) may su1vive, as well as some important current issues. White Housesaved,butitssettinglost In 1972, the Council granted permission for a block of flats, replacing Checkley's 'White House' of 1930 (Cambridge's first Modern Movement building). The White House's survival is thanks to Nicholas Hellawell, the City Council's then Conse1vation Officer, who persuaded the developers to retain the house and build in the garden; however the new building cuts White House off from Conduit Head Road and from any meaningful relationship with its contempora1y neighbours. He did not manage to get them to provide a building in keeping with the house - a failure magnified by a 1988 appeal decision allowing a pitched roof with two extra flats. He also tried without success to get a new 15 house development (Bradrushe Fields) on the east side of Conduit Head Road to respond to the character of Conduit Head Road's landscape and buildings. Changingattitudes-anddecisions The setting of Checkley's other house, Willow House, had been threatened in 1981 by outline applications for two houses in the garden to the west, and a single house on the tennis court to the south east. The Council granted permission for the houses to the west; this permission was renewed in 1984 and 1987. The application for the house to the east was refused, but allowed on appeal and renewed in 1985 and 1988. The designation of the conservation area did not affect the planning decisions until the next renewal applications. The application for the houses to the west was refused, on the grounds of impact on the conservation area and the 'wilderness' site of nature conservation interest in the western part of the garden. In preparing its case for the subse11
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