John Penrose, the Minister for Tourism & Heritage at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, has granted listed status to some of the country’s finest Modern houses including four in Cambridge.

These are the remarkable Echenique House – a landmark in Modern timber-frame design (pictured), a pair of 1970s houses by David Thurlow and a 1960s house by John Meunier & Barry Gasson that features ramps throughout instead of stairs.

These listings confirm Cambridge as the most important British city beyond the capital when it comes to Modern residential architecture. The Modern House Estate Agents have just sold one of Cambridge’s other post-war listed houses, the wonderful Laslett House by Trevor Dannatt (pictured). These listings also signal Penrose’s sympathy towards Modern architecture, something that many previous Ministers of the last twenty years have sorely lacked.

Laslett House – Image taken from the book ‘Trevor Dannatt: Works and Words’ published by Black Dog’

Echenique House – Albert Hill/www.themodernhouse.com