Cedarwood

Cedarwood is a house built in 1960 on Beaconsfield Road in Woolton, designed by Gerald Beech and Dewi Prys Thomas. The building exemplifies mid-century modern domestic architecture and was selected as the Women's Journal House of the Year in 1960.

The structure employs an innovative construction method with brick walls on the ground floor supporting wooden beams that hold an upper floor of wood frame construction. The plan form is distinctive: the ground floor occupies the full width of the site but is shallow in depth, while the upper floor is narrower and overhangs at both front and rear. A garage sits to the left at the front, connected by a side wall to the kitchen.

The front elevation demonstrates careful attention to material expression. The ground floor walls are rendered in Tyrolean plaster, while the upper floor is clad in narrow vertical planks of Canadian cedar. The ground floor extends beyond the first floor at either side; conversely, the first floor projects forward of the ground floor. The four Glu-lam wooden beams supporting the upper structure are deliberately exposed between the floors. A projecting curved outer wall section of narrow vertical cedar slats forms the external part of the cloakroom and contains a single square window near the centre. The front door, in plain cedar, sits to the left, with a projecting wall dividing the main frontage from a narrow open courtyard between kitchen and garage. The first floor features an irregular window pattern with single-pane white frames, mostly with a horizontal emphasis and wrapping the corners. The roof is conical and largely invisible from outside. A free-standing chimney stack to the right, constructed of grey slate waste bricks, serves the central heating boiler.

The rear elevation shows a ground floor with two large patio doors in the central section, a single window to the right, and later wood and glass doors opening to a conservatory area on the left. The first floor has windows at the corners, a large picture window towards the left, and a continuous run of smaller slit windows between. On the left return, a door from the first floor opens onto the roof of the ground floor, with an external metal stair descending to the rear garden.

The interior demonstrates sophisticated spatial planning. The entrance door leads to a hall featuring an open tread staircase suspended on steel tubes. The tapered stair treads are of Douglas fir with an offset central wooden spine. A crossways spine wall, clad in horizontal cedar panelling, divides the hall from the rest of the accommodation and is pierced by rectangles of coloured glass with a niche for a bust at the foot of the stairs. Cedar wood doors with textured Pilkington glass provide access through this wall.

An egg-shaped cloakroom capsule, clad and lined in cedar, projects outward and inward into the hall. It retains its original sanitary fittings, a circular window in the door, clerestory window, and stiletto heel coat hooks.

To the right, the living room occupies the full depth of the house and features exposed Douglas fir veneered Glu-lam beams (one replaced in the 1990s with internal steel support). Clerestory windows sit between the outer ends of the beams. A feature fireplace incorporates a built-in surround with a long shelf for television and other items, a slot for a telephone, telephone book niche, and a niche for a coal scuttle. Built-in bookshelves and a glass wall to the garden are integrated into the space, along with a glass door to the conservatory area. Throughout the ground floor, floors are of sapele wood. A concertina vinyl Lionide screen divides off the dining area, which backs onto the cedar-clad spine wall with slots and niches for bottles. A glass wall with door to the back garden features a built-in cabinet with a reeded glass serving hatch to the kitchen.

The kitchen retains its original exposed beam ceiling, two sinks, Jonelle kitchen units, and 'Citron' Formica worktops with curved backs. A door opens to a 'drying area' between the kitchen and the side of the garage. Beyond the living room, the conservatory provides access from the front of the house. A coal chute is incorporated in the base of the chimney stack. The wooden-framed glass doors to the garden are not original; the conservatory was originally smaller, ending in line with the chimney stack.

The first floor features walls to the landing in 'etched' Douglas fir plywood panels. The landing gives access to four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a separate toilet. Floors throughout are Douglas fir plywood. The main bedroom has fitted wardrobes; all bedrooms feature grooved wooden pelmets concealing strip lights and curtain rails. Some original Rotaflex light fittings remain. The bathroom retains its original bath and basin, a pale blue Formica-topped vanitory unit, and a Formica panel beside the bath with a rose design.

The rear garden is integral to the design, with an original landscaped paved patio area, rectangular reflecting pool, artificial mounds, and tree planting.

This house demonstrates outstanding design quality and remarkable preservation, representing contemporary interests in modular planning, flexible living spaces, modern materials and construction techniques, and the application of a fresh approach to modern domestic design. Its selection as a national house-building competition winner enhances its special architectural and historical significance.