Book: A Garden & Three Houses

The dining area of Turn End, which opens onto the garden (p.43). All contemporary photos from ’A Garden & Three Houses’

(Image credit: photography by Richard Bryant)

published 31 August 2010

In 1963, the architect Peter Aldington and his wife Margaret found a small plot of land in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. Having already completed a small house in nearby Askett Green a few years earlier, the young architect was keen to evolve a contemporary rural architecture that owed as much to Corbusian ideals as it did the bucolic splendour of overflowing gardens, vernacular forms and a sense of historic evolution.

Intending to build their own house on the site, along with three others, the Aldingtons' design preserved mature trees and embraced the local tradition of garden walls, courtyards and enclosures.

This new monograph traces the history of the creation of Turn End and the neighbouring houses, following planning battles of startling complexity (the houses' construction coincided with the 60s-era mania for re-directing roads and new traffic schemes).

With contemporary images by acclaimed architectural photographer Richard Bryant, a host of archive shots, as well as explanatory captions by the Aldingtons, this is a very personal journey through the ongoing life of a house, from inception through to completion and beyond.

Raw concrete blocks in the early stages of development (p.50).

The turn End dining room — The absence of doors and use of full height glass windows allow sunlight to flood the Turn End dining room (p.50)

The living room with plants — Inside meets outside in the living room

The entrance court with three houses — The entrance court to all three houses under construction in 1965

The white walls contrast with the dominant wood beams in the dining room — The white walls contrast against the dominant wood beams in the dining room at Turn End

The passageway to the dining room — The view through the passageway to the dining room at Turn End

The kitchen with mullioned window — The closely mullioned window allows light to spill into the kitchen

The living room with floor rug and chair — The living room at Turn End

The design and materials used at Turn End — Trees played a major part in deciding on the design and materials used at Turn End

Area of the spring garden — Turn End as viewed from the No-mans area of the spring garden

Peter Aldington and Renate Einzig in an early picture of the Turn End courtyard garden by Richard Einzig (p.63)

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.

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