The Quadrangle, Herne Hill

This philanthropic housing development consists of small flats designed for professional unmarried women. The original quadrangle was built in 1911 to designs by Edward A Ellis for the South London Provident Society, with an extension built in the early 1920s following Ellis's 1914 plans. Further alterations were carried out in 1963-1964 and later.

Materials and Construction

The buildings have red brick plinths with textured render above, now painted white. Early photographs suggest the render was originally roughcast. Brick quoins emphasise the corners, and a modillion eaves cornice runs beneath the roofline. The roofs are covered in plain tiles and feature axial brick stacks of Tudor inspiration with heavy caps. External stacks are positioned at the north-east corner of the quadrangle and on the outward-facing north elevation. Each archway leading into and out of the quadrangle is surmounted by a gabled bay with timber framing to the gable. At first-floor level, timber galleries or walkways provide access to the upper flats, with crazy-paved passages beneath.

The majority of original doors and windows survive. The windows are small-paned timber casements with ovolo-moulded glazing bars in early 18th-century style, fitted with iron fittings. The doors feature matchboard panels below and glazed panels with leaded lights above, with many retaining their original door furniture including latches, knockers and letter boxes. Original cast-iron rainwater goods remain in place, with hoppers on the eastern frontage bearing the date '1911'.

Layout and Planning

The original flats are arranged on two levels around a quadrangle, with the south side left open. The main entrance is set back from Herne Hill, with a drive passing through a carriageway at the centre of the eastern and western ranges. The 1920s extension runs westwards from the north-west corner on a long rectangular footprint. Each flat has its own external front door, with first-floor flats accessed via walkways within the quadrangle and along the later range.

Historically, the flat north of the principal entrance carriageway was occupied by the resident warden and continues in use as a flat. The room above the carriageway served as the common room until its conversion to a flat in 1963-1964. Laundry and bathroom facilities were originally located at the north-west corner of the quadrangle at both ground and first-floor levels; these spaces were converted to flats in 1963-1964. The kitchen block which projected westwards from the north-west corner of the quadrangle, linking with the 1920s range, was also converted to a flat in 1963-1964.

Original Flat Layouts

In the original quadrangle, flat plans varied somewhat but generally followed a standard pattern. Each flat had a small entrance lobby giving access to a water closet on one side and a coal cupboard on the other. The lobby opened to a living room, with most flats having a bed recess; a small number had a separate bedroom. A scullery with a larder was accessed from the living room. The original plans remain largely intact in most flats, though alterations have been made in each to provide a bathroom, taking space from the bedroom or bed recess, larder, and/or living room.

In the 1920s range, the standard plan featured a small entrance lobby opening to the living room, with a bed recess along one side. Service areas were arranged along the rear of the flat, with a lobby giving access to the scullery on one side (with combined larder and coal cupboard) and the water closet on the other. Here, bathrooms have been created either within part of the bed recess or by enlarging the former water closet.

Exterior Character

The architectural style is eclectic, showing the influence of the Queen Anne Revival with strong Tudor elements. A distinctive feature is provided by the timber-framed gables marking the carriageway openings. On the outward-facing east elevation, the common room above the central carriageway occupies a jettied bay supported on timber posts with moulded brackets. Timber studding appears at first-floor level and in the gable. The common room window is mullioned and transomed with Tudor-arched openings below and shield motifs incorporated in the leaded lights above. Otherwise, this elevation has a neo-Georgian character, with tripartite 'Serlian' windows at ground-floor level having sunbursts in their arches. Doorways with timber hoods on moulded brackets give access to the ground-floor flats. The eaves are broken by plain gables above tripartite windows.

Within the quadrangle, the western face of the common room bay has a timbered gable above a doorhood with scrolled brackets of early 18th-century inspiration. The door is more elaborate than those found elsewhere, being unglazed with upper panels decorated with key pattern and a lower panel with concentric ellipses. The first-floor walkways are protected by painted timber balustrades with plain balusters interspersed with vase-shaped splat balusters featuring a cut-out central lozenge. The balustrade has seen some replacement following the original pattern, with the loss of the ball finials that originally topped the posts. The walkways are accessed by quarter-turn brick staircases shown on the original plans, with solid brick balustrades featuring curved copings and angle buttresses. Beneath are storage vaults with arched brick openings.

The 1920s Extension

The 1920s range to the north-west follows a similar style to the original development but is somewhat simplified. The central gable is not timbered but instead consists of a raised section of tiled roof with a louvered gablet. The brick stacks are simpler in form than those in the main quadrangle, with a single projecting band. The flats are entered from the south, with ground-floor flats accessed from a raised stone-paved walkway with steps at east, west and centre. First-floor flats are accessed via a timber walkway as in the main quadrangle, but with a central timber stair consisting of two opposing flights rising to join in a single upper flight.

Interior Features and Surviving Details

A limited number of flats (numbers 6, 18, 20, 21, 32 and 35) were inspected in 2019, understood to provide a representative sample of the different flat types and varying levels of survival. The former common room, now flat number 12a, was also inspected.

In general, the original fitting out of the flats was simple, with surviving features identifiable in many flats. Those in the main quadrangle had wooden floors to the living areas and black and red tiles to the lobbies. Water closets were tiled to shoulder height. A picture rail ran around the living room, with cement skirtings featuring an incised bead. Service area doors were boarded, with plain panelled doors to the living areas. In the flats inspected, doors remain in the lobbies for the coal cupboard with a cupboard above. Most of the flats inspected have Edwardian cast-iron chimneypieces of differing designs. A number of flats are understood to retain glass-fronted bookcases in the living rooms.

A notable surviving feature in most flats is the balustrade that framed the upper part of the opening to the bed recess. Made of painted timber, this consists of three chunky vase balusters separated by diagonally-set stick balusters on a moulded rail, supported at either end by concave brackets.

Specific Flat Details

Flat number 21, on the first floor at the south end of the western range of the quadrangle, is one of those designed with a separate bedroom which occupied the southern part of the living space. The western part of the bedroom, which contained its own corner fireplace, is now a bathroom, and the surviving bed area is now open to the living room. The balustrade framing the enlarged opening is understood to have been brought from another flat (number 15). A new window has been inserted in the south wall to light the bed area. Throughout the flat, floor coverings and internal doors have been replaced, the chimneypiece has been replaced, and stained glass has been inserted in the glazed panel of the front door.

Flat number 6, on the ground floor at the centre of the north range of the quadrangle, has a distinctive plan, sharing its entrance lobby with number 7. Water closets are located to either side of the lobby, accessed from the lobby rather than being contained within the flats. (The same plan is found in flats 16 and 17 above.) The coal cupboard at the north end of the lobby has been integrated into the former scullery, now kitchen, and a bathroom has been created by combining the former larder with part of the bed recess. Otherwise, the area survives as a bed recess with its balustrade intact. This flat has a glass-fronted bookcase, possibly original with alterations; other cupboards within the flat are more recent.

In both flat number 18 and flat number 20, on the first floor in the western range of the quadrangle, the scullery (now kitchen) is in the north-west corner of the flat. The former larder to the north of the service area has been opened into one end of the bed recess to create a bathroom. In both, the bed recess survives in use with its balustrade intact. Number 18 has exposed timber floors and original internal doors, as well as a small bookcase set into the living room wall above the coal cupboard. Number 20 has a simple timber chimneypiece.

Within the flats in the 1920s range, the bed recesses appear not to have had a balustrade but were instead framed by two simple ogee brackets. These survive at number 32, where there is a small window between the lobby and the bed recess. Both number 32 and number 35 (first-floor flats) retain small cast-iron chimneypieces. Number 32 survives relatively intact, with a bathroom created by expanding the water closet area. Number 35 is much altered, with the removal of the scullery wall. The entrance lobby survives with its cupboard above, and the position of the former bed recess is indicated by the survival of the southern section of partition with a single attached bracket.

The former common room is a large rectangular space with evenly-spaced timbers to the ceiling. The substantial fireplace opening indicated on plans is no longer apparent. The area to the south of the entrance has been enclosed to provide a bathroom.