Building record MDO47385 - The Beacon, Courtland Drive, Weymouth

A substantial detached house built in 1936 in a pared down classical style with Moderne elements. It is built of Portland stone with an internal steel frame, Cornish slate hipped roof and tall stone stacks with moulded caps. A continuous moulded string course between the floors and a cill band give the impression of a frieze. The house has an L-shaped plan, comprising the main house and a self contained service wing; distinguished by a blocking course and a moulded cornice respectively. The house is of two storeys with attics. Apart from single storey additions to the left of the entrance bay (No. 91A), and to the rear of Little Beacon (No. 91B), the footprint is unaltered. The position of the house takes advantage of its sea front aspect, overlooking Weymouth Bay, through plentiful windows and a wide bow that reaches out towards the sea. Windows throughout are bronze framed casements set without any mouldings; though one to the service wing has been replaced in uPVC. The Beacon stood in extensive landscaped gardens with a detached chauffeur's house, and a detached garage. The house was divided into three units in the 1960s and the surrounding area was transformed into a residential suburb.

The Beacon, or Beacon House as it was sometimes known, was built in 1936 as a private residence for Miss (Sydney) Renee Courtauld (1873-1972) who was the niece of the English industrialist and art collector, Samuel Courtauld, and brother of Samuel Courtauld, the founder of the Courtauld Institute and Gallery. The house replaced a late-19th century villa on the site. The architect is unknown, but it may be the work of a local firm. A number of fittings within the house, including book shelves, are marked on the reverse in chalk with 'Eltham-Weymouth'. This may indicate that some of the materials used in the construction of The Beacon were possibly either left over from the building of Courtauld House (1933-5) at Eltham Palace near Greenwich [AMIE NMR number 408051, TQ 47 SW 1], which was designed by the architects Paget and Seely for Renee's uncle, Sir Stephen Courtauld; or that some fittings were initially taken to Eltham prior to being transported to Weymouth.

The Beacon stood in extensive landscaped gardens with a detached chauffeur's house, which is the subject of a separate assessment [AMIE NMR number 1508696, SY67 NE251], and a detached garage. The house was divided into three units in the 1960s and the surrounding area was transformed into a residential suburb.

It is a substantial detached house in a pared down classical style with Moderne elements. It is built of Portland stone with an internal steel frame, Cornish slate hipped roof and tall stone stacks with moulded caps. A continuous moulded string course between the floors and a cill band give the impression of a frieze. The house has an L-shaped plan, comprising the main house and a self contained service wing; distinguished by a blocking course and a moulded cornice respectively. The house is of two storeys with attics. Apart from single storey additions to the left of the entrance bay (No. 91A), and to the rear of Little Beacon (No. 91B), the footprint is unaltered. The position of the house takes advantage of its sea front aspect, overlooking Weymouth Bay, through plentiful windows and a wide bow that reaches out towards the sea. Windows throughout are bronze framed casements set without any mouldings; though one to the service wing has unfortunately been replaced in uPVC.

EXTERIOR: The principal (north front) elevation has symmetrical proportions and consists of three sections: the service wing to the right (west); a projecting central block (No. 91) and the left hand (east) section, now No. 91A. The former service wing has four two-light casements and a central entrance, with a simple moulded surround and late-20th century uPVC door, flanked by small windows. There are three-light casements to both floors of the central section, to either side of which are single-light windows, though the lower left hand window has been replaced with a late-20th century half glazed timber door. In the angle between the central and eastern sections is a round-headed doorcase with moulded stone architrave and a stone cartouche inscribed SRC. 1936. To either side of the entrance are bronze lamps. To the left is a large stair window with glazing bars which cuts through the frieze, and a semi-circular dormer above. The return has a regular arrangement of three- and four-light casements and an entrance (No. 91A) with round-headed, moulded surround with keystone; the door is recessed with a batwing-style fanlight above. The garden (south) elevation is dominated by a ground floor bow window with a central four-light casement flanked by strip pilasters that rise through the frieze and three-light casements to the sides above. The frieze above, which is adorned with a large ammonite, forms the parapet to a first floor balcony. The bow window is flanked by loggias with round-headed arches on Tuscan columns, and each has three bays to the front and two bays to the return. They have flagged floors and glazed double doors leading into the house. The right hand loggia has been glazed since the late 20th century. The large first floor windows are treated as a grid of bands with a strong vertical emphasis. The terrace balustrade has turned stone balusters and a moulded handrail, and is broken by two sets of steps that lead to the garden. To the left, the rear elevation of the former service wing is plainer, with two-light windows, one replaced in uPVC, to both floors. The west return has a tall, projecting stack with casements to either side at ground and first floors.

INTERIOR: The internal plan is double-depth with the principal rooms laid out on the garden side of the property. The house has been sub-divided firstly along the division between the family and service wing (Little Beacon), and also between the central section (No. 91) and the third to the left of the entrance (No. 91A). The central section containing the double height hallway, Moderne-style staircase with solid balusters and solid drum newels, and principal ground floor rooms, is the least altered internally. Many of the rooms retain stepped and moulded ceiling surrounds, skirting and architraves. Elsewhere some of these mouldings look altered or less assured; mouldings have been matched where the landing is blocked off. The drawing room has a good chimneypiece, flanked by built-in shelving units, with a continuous mantelpiece; the dining room has a simpler fire surround with stepped moulding. To the first floor are several principal bedrooms: one has wardrobes with curved doors set into two of the corners of the room and French doors opening onto the balcony; another has a separate sunroom, divided from the bedroom by a pair of half-glazed, bronze doors. A plain staircase leads into the attic, where a set of steps with its sliding roof canopy, provide access to the roof.

The eastern third (No. 91A) of the building contains the former study/library and flower room to the ground floor. There is a bevelled timber fire surround and some fixed shelving in the study; upstairs what was one of the principal bedrooms has been reconfigured, and the doors to its sunroom have been removed. The former service wing to the west, now Little Beacon, retains few historic features, except for some glazed doors and a simple timber staircase.

To the west of the house is the detached garage block. It is built of rendered brick with hipped and half-hipped roofs of Cornish slate that match the house. It comprises the central, garage section and small potting or storage rooms to either side. The garage retains its sliding timber doors, but its interior has been sub-divided.

This is a particularly good example of a substantial inter-war house. The attention to detail is high, reflecting the use of craftsman rather than the standardised fittings often seen in houses of this period. To be considered of more than local interest, we would expect a house of this date to possess exceptional architectural distinctiveness, whether as a late example of the traditional genre, or of emerging modernist styles, and preferably to be associated with a noted architect or designer.

The Beacon is a large and imaginative example of a traditionally-planned house from the 1930s given classical and Moderne features. It stands out in the area for its distinguished and largely unaltered garden elevation, in which the proportions of the horizontal glazing and the loggias contrast with the curved bow window to the principal reception room. Its detailing is far more inventive than on most houses of this type, but its quality has been diluted by its subdivision and conversion into three properties. The house has many admirable qualities but it does not meet the rigorous criteria for listing, primarily because the architectural quality is not consistent throughout the design. The internal planning is well-conceived; the finishes and detailing, where surviving beautifully executed. The dramatic stair hall and principal sitting room which flows seamlessly into the garden are spaces of real quality and imagination. Externally however, the building's claims to architectural interest are weakened by the frontage which is understated and rather lacking in sophistication and impact. In contrast the garden facade is an impressive, coherent composition, dominated by the large bow window flanked by loggias.

Inter-war houses that are listed include the remarkably complete and lavish Dorchester House in Lambeth, Greater London, which dates from 1936 and was designed by the architects Kemp and Tasker; and Yaffle House in Poole, Dorset which was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Edward Maufe in 1930; it retains a complete contemporary interior. A more recent (2008) addition to the statutory list, at Grade II, is Crow Clump in Weybridge, Surrey. Although built earlier than The Beacon, in 1914, this house has also been also sub-divided into three properties, but it survives remarkably intact and is also of interest for forming part of the speculative private estate of St George's Hill. In contrast, the impact of the 1960s conversion of The Beacon has regrettably had a detrimental effect on the building's appearance. Although the external changes (such as the small scale additions to the front and the rear of No. 91A and Little Beacon (No. 91B) respectively) that have occurred are slight, the glazing-in of one of the loggias; the replacement of one of the bronze windows which are intrinsic to the aesthetic of the house, in uPVC; and the introduction of a new entrance to the front elevation have somewhat diluted the external character of the building. Perhaps more significantly though, the sub-division has had the greatest impact on what was formerly an elegantly balanced internal layout, distorting the clarity of the original room arrangement and circulation through the house. The alterations are most apparent in the eastern third (No. 91A) of the house. Here, the first floor plan was reconfigured during conversion: the walls to the principal bedroom and its dressing room have been repositioned, and the wall and bronze French doors to the sunroom were removed, and the space incorporated into the bedroom. A new staircase has been introduced; the former flower room on the ground floor remodelled as a kitchen, and also some of the shelving in the former study/library has been removed. Such changes have undermined the overall integrity of the house, reducing its special interest. The small addition to the front of No. 91A and the glazed enclosure of its loggia to the rear are not too detrimental, but the former has led to new openings being made in the structure. The former service wing, though always much plainer than the rest of the house, has had its plan changed and retains little in the way of historic features, except of some doors and its staircase.

It must be acknowledged that The Beacon is a 1930s building of some quality that was commissioned for a member of the Courtauld family. It has clear local interest, and its loss would be highly regrettable. Had the quality of design, so clearly manifest in the garden elevation and parts of the interior, particularly the central section, been consistent and survived the following subdivision then the case for listing might be clearer. However, despite its intrinsic interest and important provenance, small-scale external alterations and the internal changes have eroded its character. Overall, it is not of the required consistently high standard throughout and in the national context, the rigorous criteria for listing post-1914 buildings are not quite met. <1>

<1> English Heritage, English Heritage Listing File, Case 166689, in file 505654/001 (Scheduling record). SDO17502.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1508661 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 15 2023 2:16PM