The White House

The White House is a detached house built in 1908 by George Walton for Mr and Mrs George Davison, and constructed by T.H. Kingerlee & Sons of Oxford. A later single bay addition was made to the north. The house is rendered in white brickwork and has a tiled mansard roof with a southern cross gable, all featuring projecting eaves and a modillion cornice. Gable eaves are similarly detailed, with dormers and tall rendered chimney stacks also possessing projecting modillion cornices.

The house is two storeys and has attics, with an irregular grouping of windows. A central, double-height, projecting, semi-circular porch with a first-floor balcony is a prominent feature. The balcony and ground floor are supported by steel columns, paired together, with exposed bolting forms incorporated into the design, which are reflected in the balustrade of both floors. The porch and balcony are constructed of cantilevered rolled steel joists (RSJs) clad in concrete. The entrance comprises metal-framed, rectangular panel glazed doors, repeated on the first floor, and is accessed by curved steps with further balustrading on either side. Most windows are French windows with patterned, louvered shutters and diagonally crossed guards on both floors and all elevations, generally arranged in a 1:2:1 pattern in the gabled bay, with an attic oculus above. The southern elevation includes a verandah forming a first-floor balcony beneath overhanging and upswept eaves, incorporating two windows to each floor. The eastern elevation has a chimney stack forming the gable apex and two windows to each floor. To the right, the roof extends to first-floor level, with dormers. Enriched lead rainwater heads are present, one inscribed “GD” and two inscribed “George Walton, Architect, MCMVIII”.

The interior of the house is relatively plain, though it retains some original features, including a fine polished timber open well staircase with simplified column newels and balusters having exposed joints.

The garden retains some of its original layout with brick and tile walls.

George Walton, born in Glasgow, was primarily a designer and decorator, having trained through evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. He contributed to Miss Cranston's Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow, alongside Charles R. Mackintosh, and decorated a dining room at C.F.A. Voysey’s home, The Orchard, Chorleywood. Walton opened a London shop in 1897 and, through George Davison, head of European sales for Kodak, undertook interior design work for Kodak’s Clerkenwell Road offices and shops across Britain and the continent. Walton had limited architectural training and designed few houses; The White House is notable for its date, particularly the porch and balcony, designed for summer entertaining. The nautical feel was influenced by the proximity to the River Thames. Walton also designed a small cottage for George Davison further down river at Bourne End and a house boat.