Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Northampton


Perceptions of the doors (1)

Doors and doorways can tell you quite a lot about a building, or about the people who live there. I’m rather fond of my own front door, a lump of well seasoned oak that’s very old indeed – considerably older than the house to which it gives entry, in fact. And I like some of my friends’ doors, too, not only because of their design but also because they seem to symbolize the smiles and welcomes that I know are waiting when they’re opened – a pale wooden door in Oxfordshire, broad and inviting next to a narrow window that reveals two retreating cats and the owner’s vibrant abstract paintings; a glass door in a whole wall of glass in the Cotswolds, where the welcoming waves and grins can be seen well before you enter; a 19th-century Gothic front door leading straight into a room full of books. It doesn’t always work like this of course, but a door can be a powerful symbol of both house and owners.

So what are we to make of these two doors in an unassuming terrace of early-19th century houses in Northampton? On the right, there's an original-looking door with its neat stained-glass window above, circa 1815. On the left, a doorway and door transformed, that seem to invite us into another universe, a place in which architecture and design are so far from the mainstream that it’s hard to give it a label. It seems to belong to no movement, exemplify no style, attract no label. Which is fitting, since this doorway belongs to a house that bears the fingerprints of the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It’s the doorway to 78, Derngate, the only house in England with an interior (and a door) designed by the Scottish master, whose work draws on Art Nouveau and on the Viennese Secession (of which he was a long-distance member), but is uniquely his own.

Mackintosh made over this house in 1916–19 for W J Bassett-Lowke, retailer and manufacturer of toys, especially model railways, when Bassett-Lowke got married. It’s not a big building, and this compact terraced house is very modest for the owner of an expanding company that already had at least one shop in London. But inside, the entire interior was redesigned – a dazzling black and gold living room full of Mackintosh’s trademark grid patterns and a surprisingly stripy guest room, anticipating op art, are among the highlights. So this unusual door is a fitting prelude to an unusual house, home to a man who did not want to show off with a mansion, but who cared about architecture and design – and wanted people to know it.

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There are pictures of the interior of 78, Derngate here, plus lots of information about the house, and visiting times. It opens after the winter break on 1 February.

12 comments:

  1. I have loved 78 Derngate for a few years, and have used the interiors and fittings to demonstrate various aspects of CRM and his impact. The dazzling black and gold living room, full of Mackintosh’s trademark grid patterns, is as you say the most CRM of the entire house.

    But I have never stared at the front door and never compared it to any other front door in the street. So thank you.

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  2. Looks like it could be the entrance to a speakeasy,

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  3. Hels: The door stands out wonderfully. And like everything else CRM did did, it's not quite like anything by anyone else.

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  4. Miss Rayne: I'd not thought of that. Chuckle. Hic.

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  5. Stunning as the black and lacquer interior is, one can sympathise with Mrs Basset-Lowke when she said that Mackintosh had never used a duster as the black surfaces showed up the dust, which is why the colour scheme as later changed to grey.

    After WW1 Basset-Lowke employed Peter Behrens to design a new house in Northampton called 'New Ways' which unfortunately is not open to the public. Basset-Lowke's interest and admiration for German design caused him some trouble with the outbreak of WW1. I have often wondered how much of the design of 78 Derngate was determined by Basset-Lowke and how much by Mackintosh.

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  6. I like staring at front doors, particularly after I've just knocked or rang. If it has that bubbly bathroom type glass I'm relieved when I see the abstract patterns of someone moving inside, until I realise that it's my own reflection.

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  7. Stephen: Thanks for your comment. CRM did the designs for Derngate at arm's length, with a local architect overseeing the job, so some of the work may be attributable to him too. It would be interesting to see inside the Bassett-Lowke's second house, New Ways - it's possible to see the front from the street, but no more than that. The rear, which I know only from photographs, looks much more interesting. And it's a white house, so one wonders how Mrs B-L fared with her mop and duster!

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  8. Peter: Indeed. The anticipation one experiences on the doorstep. Will there be an answer? What will be within? And who? These are moments of heightened perception - or apprehension.

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  9. May I recommend the write up by Diamond Geezer from a visit last year - http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2011/02/78-derngate.html

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  10. Anon: Many thanks, that's a good account of the place. Good advice to take one of the guided tours.

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  11. Apart from the front door, one might walk past this house without remark.
    However, I found lots of images at Bing and it looks marvellous inside.
    I think there is something mysterious about many front doors. Perhaps one's imagination is fired by the possibilities of what may be hidden beyond!
    Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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  12. Bazza: Yes, it's fascinating inside. The link I posted gives panoramic views of the main rooms.

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