White House

House, 1934-5, designed by Charles Evelyn Simmons (1879-1952) of the architectural practice Simmons and Grellier, and built for M Preston of Haymills Ltd, the builders and developers. The building exemplifies the Moderne style applied to a traditionally-planned domestic residence.

The house is constructed of rendered brick with a flat asphalt roof and tall rendered chimney stacks. It comprises two storeys with a roof-top sunroom and basement, arranged on a square plan with rounded corners to the principal rooms on the southern elevation. The most distinctive features are the curved corners with continuous windows on the ground and first floors, which create a sun-catching effect. The third floor contains a glazed sunroom on three sides, set beneath deep timber eaves.

The fenestration consists of steel casement windows set in timber soffits, with strong vertical mullions and delicate horizontal glazing bars; these proportions are echoed in the steel balcony to the rooftop terrace and the first-floor balcony above the porch. The entrance comprises double doors set back behind fluted mouldings to either side, with opaque glass panels and a central circular double door handle incorporating the letterbox and lock. A long narrow top light above features horizontal banded glazing with a central oval. A 'V'-shaped moulding tops the tall projecting staircase window to the left of the entrance. The north elevation has smaller windows.

The basement contains four rooms, accessed via a trap and stairs in the kitchen floor and a sunken entrance at the rear. The main rooms are reached from the entrance hall, which retains opaque secondary doors. A dogleg stair to the left has a solid central panel with a small timber balustrade continuing as a solid balustrade at the left of the first flight. All rooms retain original stepped moulded cornices. The drawing room and dining room (their uses reversed from the original plans) have lost their fireplaces but are otherwise unaltered and are linked by double doors. The principal bedrooms above these rooms have similar cornices. The balcony is accessed through the dressing room. The principal bathroom is little altered and retains its original bath and tiles; taps are set in the side wall with a green inset soap holder, and a glazed door opens to the shower. A mirror hides a cupboard set behind the bath. The sunroom has a plain ceiling and is overlooked by a curved 'sun roof' bounded by low walls. A garage stands to one side of the house and a utility room to the other; the latter was added later in matching style but is not of special interest.

The White House is an unusually large and imaginative early example of a 1930s house given Moderne features while retaining a traditional plan. It is distinguished by its unaltered facade, in which the proportions of the horizontal glazing and balconies contrast with the square staircase tower and curved sun-catching fronts to the principal rooms. Its detailing is far more inventive than most houses of this type. Haymills was a leading building firm in North London during the 1930s, with a tradition of employing distinguished architects. The White House survives in better condition and with greater grandeur than comparable speculative houses erected by the firm in the area.