Blog 69

Sir Herbert Baker lived at Owletts his home in Kent for most of his life. His family had lived there since the 17^th century and it was only his success as one of the leading British architects of the early 20^th century which allowed him to sustain it. Shortly before his death he bequeathed the house and most of its contents to the National Trust and it has remained open to the public ever since, that is, until this year.

For the first time, it failed to appear in the National Trust Handbook last month and (long after the handbook had already gone to publication) the current tenants, his great Grandson and his family, were informed that the house would only open for two ‘Heritage Days’ later in the year. They were also informed that the Trust would like to renegotiate their lease and, with the building now effectively closed to the public, they fear that the rent which will now be demanded will be far beyond their means.

Owletts is one of only two National Trust properties in Britain which are the former homes of prominent architects (the other being Erno Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road) and it has now been closed to the public without either notice or consultation. As Sir Herbert’s home it still contains many of the artefacts of his day to day life including books, drawings and several pieces of furniture which he designed specifically for the house including a dining room suite which was carved by the prominent sculptor Joseph Armitage. If it is now let as a private house then all this will simply be placed in long-term storage and the unique environment which Sir Herbert created at Owletts destroyed.

It would be a tragedy if this were allowed to happen just as interest in Sir Herbert’s work is finally growing. The Trust have described the closure as an ‘experiment’ though quite what they are measuring is unclear – effect on visitor numbers? A petition to reverse the closure has now been started and if you are as concerned as I am as to this loss of our architectural heritage, I hope that you will join me in signing it. The link is below and please forward this blog to friends to help spread the word and have this decision reversed before the house is cleared:

https://chng.it/RyvKrLRhR7

You can read more about Sir Herbert and his life at Owletts in my biography Sir Herbert Baker : Architect to the British Empire which was published last year. If you don’t want to miss out on further blogs then please follow me on johngooldstewart.com

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