Cherrill Scheer 1939–2024

Cherrill Scheer sitting on a Fred Scott Supporto chair. Image from Furniture Makers.

I have just found out that Cherrill Scheer, part of the Hille furniture manufacturing family, passed away suddenly at the beginning of February. I met her a few times whilst guiding tours of Stranmore for Open House, so I would just like to share a small story about meeting her. Open House asked me to do a tour for Open House weekend in 2016, despite the fact I had never guided any tours before. I chose the Warren House estate opposite Stanmore station with its mix of inter and post war modernist houses as a fairly straightforward tour.

Cherrill explaining the design of thier house on an Open House Tour.

I had no idea how many people would turn up, so I asked Open House to put a max of 25 in the guidebook, expecting that I wouldn’t get that many for the morning or afternoon tours. In the end around 75 people attended each tour! Rather overwhelmed at all the unexpected people, I began the first tour, introducing myself and starting my spiel, before moving along Kerry Avenue to see the houses. An elderly lady sidled up to me and asked if we would be stopping outside no.16, I said yes, and carried on pointing out the features of the streets 1930s houses. Only a minute later did the penny drop that no.16 was her house, she being Cherrill Scheer, who I had seen a photo of whilst researching the tour.

The front of No.16 Kerry Avenue, Stanmore

I hadn’t accounted for the owner of the houses listening to my inexpert ramblings about them! When we got to no.16, I started talking about the house and then introduced everyone to Cherrill and Ian, her husband, and rather graciously they took over my job and began talking about the house, designed for them by Gerd Kaufmann in 1968. It was built on a plot of land given to the couple by Cherrill's parents, who had lived at no.14, an interwar modernist house designed by Reginald Uren, the New Zealand architect known for designing Hornsey Town Hall and Rayners Lane Tube Station. Kaufmann designed the house in brick, like its neighbour, with large windows to create differing light levels in each room, depending on their function, lower level light in the bedrooms. 

The Hille offices, Albermale Street in Westminster by Peter Moro, 1963.

They then let me and all these people trample around their garden and peer into their kitchen. I carried on the tour which went to the top of Stanmore Hill and back again to the station, with everyone very pleased to have seen inside one of the houses. They kindly repeated hospitality for the second tour, and for a couple of years after that as I guided the tour for Open House, in later years waving from the kitchen as I dragged my guidees onto their driveway. I will always remember the kindness and generosity of Cherrill and Ian on that first tour and afterwards.

Cherrill had a distinguished career as part of the Hille company, launching the Robin Day Poly Chair in 1963. Hille of course had offices and showrooms designed by Erno Goldfinger in Watford and by Peter Moro in Albemarle Street, Westminster. You can read more about Cherrill’s life and career HERE and HERE.