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“Beautifully restored, this light-filled two bedroom Span apartment sits amidst the gardens of the wonderfully tranquil Parkleys Estate”
This characterful two-bedroom top-floor apartment in Herrick Court forms part of the Grade II-listed Parkleys Estate, built by renowned architects Span in the 1950s. Parkleys was the first project by Span co-founders Eric Lyons and Geoff Townsend and is one of London’s finest residential modernist estates. It is set among beautiful communal gardens planted with flowering trees and expansive stretches of lawn that are much loved by residents. The estate is located in leafy Ham, a pretty suburb with a lovely high street, which sits between Richmond Park and the River Thames in south London.
Herrick Court
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History
Span are perhaps the most celebrated of all 20th-century residential developers. The company built 30 housing estates between 1948 and 1984, and many of their buildings throughout the south of England are now listed. Founded by architect-turned-developer Geoff Townsend and Eric Lyons (thoroughly schooled in the modern movement having worked for Bauhaus designer Walter Gropius from 1936-37), their designs sought to bring the tenets of modernism – light, openness, a sense of order – to suburban areas on a domestic scale.
Parkleys was the first estate conceived by Span, built between 1954 and 1956. It remains one of the best-preserved examples of the characteristics for which Span are renowned, with a considered design throughout, particularly evident in the building’s ironmongery, signage and colour schemes. The interlinked courtyards, continuous glazing and glazed doors and screens create a sense of seamlessness between the interior and exterior landscape; this is characteristic of Span, who aimed to integrate architecture fully into the landscape, notably eschewing private gardens in favour of shared external spaces.
In recognition of its architectural importance, Parkleys was listed Grade II by English Heritage in 1998 and designated a Conservation Area by Richmond Council in 2003.
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