The vista below is a personal favourite - it was the first welcome glimpse of my
family’s home when we visited. From The Chequers the lane gently winds until the
cottages slowly appear, framed by high hedges which part like curtains in a theatre.
In 1913/4, Lutyens designed a row of six estate cottages at Chequers Lane, Preston
for Mr H. G. Fenwick of Temple Dinsley. They ‘show how Lutyens was able to turn the
simplest of buildings into fine architecture’.
The row is symmetrical with a projecting cross-wing at both ends.The walls of the
cottages are solid, with no cavity, built in Flemish garden wall bond which interposed
‘headers’ at every fourth brick. A patchwork appearance is achieved by mixing the
colours of the narrow bricks which are dark red and blue.
The row is two storeys high - the first floor being hung with red tiles which have
aged pleasingly. The roofs have a steep pitch and are made of red tiles which were
hand made.The row had small-paned, flush, wooden casement windows and front doors
constructed of vertical planks in wooden frames.
The distinctive appearance of the cottages is enhanced by the dominating chimneys
- six square and fat along the ridge with a waisted cap and corner pilasters. Launched
from the cross-wings are two imposing rectangular slabs of chimneys, each with two
square shafts. They bear the Lutyens’ stamp.
At the centre of the row is a brick central passageway which is barrel-shaped and
was originally the common entrance to the rear of the cottages. The tunnel was eerily
dark at night. I’ll always remember the crunch of the gravel as I passed through,
the momentary pitch-darkness until I emerged in the sunlight - to be greeted, as
often as not, by George Jeeves’ beaming grin. Then, running the gauntlet of Mr and
Mrs Smith peeping out from among their geraniums in the porch of No. 4 and finally
scenting Auntie Nan’s steak and kidney pudding.
The cottages had a kitchen with a black cooking range. No. 5 had a living room which
ran from the front to the rear of the home and three bedrooms.
At the rear of the row are three single-story brick outhouses or storage barns which
have hip-roofs. The central outhouse was divided by a passageway which continues
the lines of the entrance tunnel. The outhouses mirrored the design of the buildings
around the rose garden at Temple Dinsley. Attached to them were pumps that were connected
to underground storage tanks which collected rainwater. I remember the pungent smell
in these barns from the vegetable which were stored over winter.
The first three photos below are of the front and rear of Chequers Cottages circa
the 1930s.
