SIR EDWIN LUTYENS
and other architectural building blocks.
He designed Hampstead Garden Suburb,
a block of modern flats in Westminster (a
rare misfire), and even Queen Mary’s Dolls’
House, an intricate creation for the wife of
King George V that included miniature
objects made by more than 1,500 leading
artists, books and craftspeople, which now
lives at Windsor Castle. His gargantuan
Roman Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool
was abandoned in 1941 and building work
never resumed on it – times were changing.
Lutyens died in 1944 as the Second World
War was drawing to a close, having left a
distinctive mark on British architecture.
Where he led however, very few followed.
In the post-war years, architecture becamemore functional; overnight he seemed out
of date. Edwin Lutyens’ personal life was
a mixed bag. He and his wife Lady Emily
Bulwer-Lytton produced five high-achieving
children, but the couple were semi-
estranged for most of their marriage.
Her adoption of theosophy and eastern
religions didn’t help. She even rebuked
him for accepting a knighthood in 1918.
Lutyens meanwhile created great war
memorials across the British Empire, from
Johannesburg to Saskatchewan, but his
own abiding memorial remains the English
country house. In 2001, historian Gavin
Stamp described him as “surely the greatest
British architect of the 20th (or of any other)
century” and it is hard to argue with that. nVISITING LUTYENS
Five of the architect’s greatest
designs to discover across the UKGoddards, Surrey
Leased by The Landmark Trust, guests can
not only visit but also stay at Goddards in
Abinger Common near Dorking. Lutyens
was commissioned to design this Surrey
home for Sir F Mirrielees in 1898.
http://www.landmarktrust.org.ukGreywalls, Muir eld
Now a hotel, it was originally built for The
Honourable Alfred Lyttelton in 1901, with
views over East Lothian and walled gardens
designed by Gertrude Jekyll; a great
example of their partnership in action.
http://www.greywalls.co.ukCastle Drogo, Devon
Lutyens designed the gardens and castle
at Drogo [see issue 210], inspired by the
brooding Dartmoor tors that surround it.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-drogoGreat Dixter, East Sussex
Nathaniel Lloyd employed Lutyens
to restore and enlarge Great Dixter, which
involved the acquisition and re-erection of
a 16th-century timber house as one section
of his ambitious design.
http://www.greatdixter.co.ukHestercombe Gardens, Taunton
This 50-acre landscaped garden
demonstrates the genius of Lutyens and
Jekyll, layered upon Coplestone Warre
Bampfylde’s pre-existing Georgian design.
http://www.hestercombe.com THE ROYAL COLLECTION. © HER MAJEST Y QUEEN ELIZABETH II/DAVID CRIPPS/TERRY MATHEWS/ALAMYThis image: Queen
Mary’s Dolls’ House
Below left: The
Victorian Terrace
at Hestercombe
House and Gardens