FRS Yorke: pioneer of modern architecture in Stratford-upon-Avon
Ian Farr
Image courtesy of Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (Flower and Sons, Brewery site plan, Birmingham Road, Stratford,1905)
Report on the Talk
The subject of the talk was the terrace of seven houses at Mayflower Green on Birmingham Road. The houses were built for workers at Flowers Brewery in 1938. The houses were Grade 2 listed in 1981. Ian showed us a picture of the terrace, which is dressed with concrete blocks at the end facing the road.
However, first, Ian gave us the background story of the architect Francis Reginald Stevens Yorke (1906-1962) and the modernist style of architecture that he espoused. Yorke originally worked in partnership with his father, FWB (Francis Walter Bagnall) Yorke, who was an exponent of the arts and crafts style of architecture. However, they had in common the idea of function first – aesthetics combined with practicality. Yorke’s father set up his architecture and design business in Stratford in the 1920s and he was also an expert in the restoration of old buildings. Elizabeth House was a landmark building of his: clean lines combined with function.
From 1919 to 1924 Yorke Junior was at school in Chipping Campden and knew the work of Charles Robert Ashbee (Arts and Crafts). From 1924 to 1930 he studied architecture at Birmingham School of Art where he met Frederick Gibberd, with whom he later collaborated. At first, Yorke worked with his father until he built up his own practice. From 1933-35 he wrote the Trade Notes column in the Architects’ Journal and in his late twenties he was one of the founders of the Modern Architectural Research Group (MARS), which promoted modern architecture, in 1933.
The emphasis was on open spaces and sunlight, when building housing, and public housing was very important to them. They entered competitions for new developments and in 1934 Francis was one of the architects for the Gidea Park estate in Romford, Essex. The buildings were modern and plain, with Crittall windows, and very European looking, influenced by Corbusier. This experience influenced the design of Mayflower Green, with a south facing aspect, sideways sliding windows, an open plan sitting/dining room and air bricks for ventilation. They also built larger private houses, white and simple, often with roof gardens.
In 1934 Yorke published The Modern House. From 1935-37 Yorke worked in partnership with Hungarian-born Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer and one well-known building was Sea Lane House in Angmering, Sussex. They used laminated plywood for the furniture and it also included the first use of local stone blocks that are a feature of Mayflower Green. Not everyone liked the style – Osbert Lancaster made fun of it accusing it of being exhibitionist! There is also another example of the modernist style in Eton College where some large houses were built for the school’s masters in 1937-38. Yorke was also involved with Rosenberg and Mardell in building private homes, hospitals, schools and the old Gatwick Airport buffet.
Yorke felt that council houses could also benefit from this style. He was influenced by and benefitted from association with Mary Crowley in 1936, building three family houses in Hertfordshire, similar to Mayflower Green. She is little known now; she specialised in schools and was affected at that time by being a woman in the profession. She was a Quaker and her father was a founder of the Garden City movement. We were shown a picture of some flats in Peckham that included a health centre.
Mayflower Green: Archibald Flower, who had commissioned Elisabeth Scott to re-design the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre after the fire in 1926, knew Yorke Senior. Yorke Jnr. was commissioned to build some cottages in the contemporary style, having worked on some workers’ cottages before. The bedrooms and living space faced south. Outside, the houses had a ‘village green’ feel about them. The eaves of the houses jutted out to protect the houses from rain and the rooves sloped backwards. There was white, and some red, paint on the eaves. The cost of the work was £462 per house, about £40,000 now. This was slightly higher than the £400 for a council house, as the specifications were superior. These were rented, but they would have had a purchase price of about £600.
Inside each house, the living room/dining room was open plan. The fireplace had a fire and water heater. There was also a little opening in the wall to the coal bunker, next to the door, so it was easily accessible. Only one house retains this feature now. At the dining room end there was a serving hatch through to the kitchen. There was also a chute in the kitchen for the rubbish to be thrown into the dustbin outside. The bathroom was above the kitchen and the bedrooms were a good size. There are seven houses in total, planted with 14 trees, and there was an open plan garden area and allotments. They were close to the brewery where the occupants worked.
From 1939 to 1945 Yorke worked on prefabricated houses for the government using plans influenced by those for Mayflower Green. Penelope Whitley developed plans for Harlow New Town using Yorke’s ideas for the pre-fabs. There was also the social problem of up-rooting people from rundown urban areas to the new towns, and Mayflower Green was a prototype for building houses from 1945 to the mid -1960s to deal with this. On the whole, they had good, modern ideas and were also affordable.
Report by Helen Elliott, Publicity Officer
Postscript: Sadly, the allotments were sold off long ago for housing development. Also, apparently, the steeply sloping roof was not as satisfactory as the architect had hoped, and the modern gutters can overflow in heavy rain.
