An entrancing entrance
The late-19th century saw a lot of building activity in the Grosvenor Estate, that chunk of Mayfair owned by the Duke of Westminster. Green Street was one place where a number of new houses were built. The low numbers on the northern side of the street consists mainly of a run of brick houses that were speculatively built, but this particular house was a bespoke design. It was originally for the Hon St John Brodrick, but according to the Survey of London, Brodrick decided he couldn’t afford the house, so it passed to other owners who kept Brodrick’s choice of architects, Balfour and Turner.
Eustace Balfour and Thackeray Turner were from very different backgrounds. Balfour was Scottish and was the Harrow- and Cambridge-educated nephew of the former Prime Minister the Marquis of Salisbury and brother to a future PM, A J Balfour. As such he could talk to the aristocratic owners of the Grosvenor Estate, for whom his firm worked as surveyors, or almost equal social terms. Turner was a grammar-school boy from Wiltshire with a passion for old churches; he was a friend of Arts and Crafts luminary W J Lethaby. In spite of their different backgrounds, Balfour and Turner seem to have got on, going into partnership in the early 1880s and continuing until Balfour’s death in 1911. They shared an interest in the Arts and Crafts movement, a commitment to the work of the SPAB, and an ability to create work with considerable visual flair. They were kept busy in such Mayfair streets as Brook Street, Grosvenor Street, Green Street, and Balfour Street.
This house stands out both for its overall design, with its stone oriels, and the fine details. Loveliest of these details is the carving by the door, which Pevsner describes as a tree of life. It is probably by Laurence Turner, the sculptor brother of Thackeray Turner. It’s a wonderful urban alternative to the rural fashion for roses around the door.
11 comments:
My word, isn't that just a superb entrance. The fabulous bricks , carvings and, for me, best of all: the window that echoes the shape of the gorgeous front-door and what looks like original glass.
By the way, when I saw the title of this post I thought of Newham's Green Street, an Indian bazaar in east London!
Yes, it's a great study in curves, isn't it? The big arch, then the doorway, then the smaller curves atop the window and the relief next to it. Terrific.
I don't know the other Green Street - must investigate!
That is absolutely stunning. The carving is so crisp and the detail amazing, even down to the tree roots. If the exterior is so impressive, what must the interior look like? I'm thinking of grand staircases and William de Morgan tiled fireplaces!
VK: I've not been able to find anything out about the interior, but that sounds about right.
I am amazed by the similarity of this London "tree of life" doorway design with one which I found in Bucharest; see this link to my article: http://wp.me/pFpRa-Xj
The Bucharest one is decorated in a Byzantine fashion, pertaining to the local Neo-Romanian architectural style, while yours has an Art Nouveau slant into it. I think that there could be a possibility that the Romanian architect got inspired from this particular earlier British design, although I am inclined to believe that both owe their filiation from Art Nouveau motifs found in paintings, drawings, depicting the tree of life, adapted for the space economy of an arched doorway assembly.
Again, I found amazing these similarities spanning Europe from one end to the other, manifested in these different architectural styles.
Valentin M.
Oh my gosh...this literally took my breath away...I can't believe a photo of a front door would do that! How lovely.
Valentin: This is absolutely fascinating. I'm sure you're right - that the two designers were inspired by some other source, adding their own 'local' slant to it. But wherever the similarity comes from it's wonderful to see these similarities between cultures on opposite sides of the continent.
Mayfair is indeed a happy hunting ground. I really like Allen's butchers (still with game hanging up outside I believe) in Mount Street, by Harold Peto's practice I think, whose name and / or partner escapes me.
Peter: Yes, Mayfair is rich, in every sense of the word. Allen's (George and Peto) is a splendid place, and not a Wall's banger in sight...
I was following the links from your Voysey post via Hans Road and immediately recognised this front door. I lived here for 6 months in 1991/92. My husband's firm had just renovated the first floor flat and as we were in the teeth of the last recession we moved in. There was a spacious entrance hall with a dark oak staircase at the back, to the left hand side. Sadly, any original chimney piece in the flat had gone but I seem to recall one in the entrance hall, but no details. The carving round the front door used to brighten up my day as I lugged the pram up the steps. It also made it easy to recognise as one walked home!
Anon: Thank you so much for this comment. I always look out for this doorway when I walk along Green Street and it;s fascinating to here from someone who has known the building from the inside.
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