Anatomy of a House No.17: Sun House, Frognal Way

Sun House, Frognal Way, Hampstead (1936) by Maxwell Fry

Anatomy of a House No.17

Sun House, Frognal Way, Hampstead
1936
Maxwell Fry

Maxwell Fry occupies a pivotal point in British modernism, his career stretching from the pre-modernist 1920s right through to the brutalism of the 1970s. For our 17th Anatomy of a House blog, we will be focusing on one of his early works, the Sun House in Frognal, Hampstead from 1936. Fry was born in Liscard, then Cheshire now Merseyside, on August 2nd 1899. His parents were Ambrose, his Canadian-born father, an entrepreneurial businessman and his mother, Lydia. He studied architecture at Liverpool University under Charles Reilly, who promoted his own blend of Neo Georgian architecture, and also town planning as part of the course. After graduating, Fry worked briefly in New York before joining the firm of Adams and Thompson, and then moved to Southern Railways. Under their chief architect, John Robb Scott, the railway was building a series of new stations for their services. Fry worked on three stations for Southern; Margate, Ramsgate and Dumpton Park (now demolished); all in a Beaux Arts style.  

66 Old Church Street, Chelsea by Maxwell Fry and Walter Gropius. Image from RIBApix

Fry left Southern and went back to Adams and Thompson, where he became a partner and worked with Wells Coates, who would go on to design the Isokon and Sunspan houses. Restless as ever, Fry set up his own practice after a few years, and in 1934 went into partnership with architect and former Bauhaus director, Walter Gropius, who had fled Germany. Gropius only stayed in Britain for two years, before accepting a position at Harvard. The pair designed a handful of buildings in this period such as Impington Village College and 66 Old Church Street in Chelsea, but the Sun House was a solo Fry design.

Sketch of the Sun House, from The Architectural Review

The house was commissioned by P.H. Goodbrook, of whom not much is known. What we do know is that he was a tailor, specializing in sports clothing, with premises in Hanover Square. He was also an exacting client, giving Fry a detailed explanation of what he wanted from the house, principally that it was to be architecturally innovative but at the same time modest and welcoming. The house is situated on Frognal Way in Hampstead, an unpaved road between Frognal and Fitzjohns Avenue. The area now sports modernist houses by Connell, Ward and Lucas and Ernst Freud, among others, but at the time of the commission from Goodbrook was largely genteel and Neo-Georgian in character.

Floor plan for the Sun House

The Sun House is neither of those things, firmly designed in the International Style of modernism, with its flat roof, bright white walls and tubular steel balconies. Unlike many modernist houses of the 1930s, the Sun House was actually built in concrete, rather than brick covered in white render. The south-facing, front facade is dominated by the curved projecting canopy on the right hand side, and two horizontal strips of sliding windows. The front balcony and sun roof terrace exemplify the idea of the time that many maladies, both physical and mental, could be cured by extra sunlight and air. A garage is integrated into the ground floor, accessed by a short, steep driveway. ​

A period colour image of the living room of the Sun House, with a portion of the Feibusch mural in the centre. Image from RIBApix.

The Goodhards wanted the house to be suitable for entertaining a number of guests, and so Fry set out the first floor with a 600 square foot living room area which connected to the dining room and kitchen/servery. The roof terrace was also connected to the kitchen via a dumb waiter, in case the drinks of the hosts or their guests ran dry whilst at the top of the house. The second floor contained a main bedroom with an attached dressing room, a guest room and a bedroom for the maid, as well as a photographic darkroom. The narrow, sloping plot allowed a small garden area to the rear of the house. The house was adorned with contemporary artworks, including mural paintings in the living room by artist Hans Feibush, better known for his ecclesiastical work, and a sculpture above the staircase by Henry Ellison.

The sun roof terrace at the Sun House. Image from RIBApix.

Fry designed a handful of other private houses in the 1930s including the even more opulent Miramonte in Coombe Park, Kingston upon Thames (1936) and flats such as 65 Ladbroke Grove in Notting Hill (1938). In 1942 he married fellow architect Jane Drew. They would form a personal and working relationship that would span the next 45 years. Fry, Drew and Partners became heavily involved in the modernisation of what was then British West Africa, building school, colleges, and offices. They were also asked to be involved with the creation of the new city of Chandigarh in India, working alongside Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneart, designing a variety of buildings including housing, schools and health and leisure facilities. 

Government Hostel for Women, Chandigarh, India (1961) by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Image from RIBApix.

The Sun House has suffered some alterations over the years, with the long strip windows changed to less dynamic smaller frames and the small open balcony which leads from the master bedroom has been boxed in. Nevertheless, the house was listed in May 1974, and remains a great example of 1930s international modernism. Fry retired from architectural practice in 1873, and moved with Drew to County Durham, where he continued his other artistic interests, including painting, poetry and writing. He died in County Durham on 3rd September 1987. 

Maxwell Fry outside the Sun House, 1970. Image from RIBAPix.

Maxwell Fry is one of many modernist architects featured in our new guidebook, Modernism Beyond Metro-Land, exploring the best modernist architecture in London's eastern and southern suburbs, including Miramonte and Passfields, both by Fry. Just follow THIS LINK to get your copy 

References

Historic England Listing Page
Heath and Hampstead Newsletter 2006
Niklouas Pevsner, et al- Building of England: London North 
FRS Yorke- The Modern House in England