Mickling Barf with detached garage

Summary

Family home designed by Rex and Jenifer Critchlow for themselves and their family about 1962 and built in three phases between 1962 and 1982.

Reasons for Designation

Mickling Barf, built between 1962 and 1983 by Rex and Jenifer Critchlow, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it is a good example of a modern house built with a strong attention to detail and design focus which incorporates influences from a wide range of sources; * the 30/60 grid allows a design which provides unusual and interesting spaces, with fluidity and abundant natural light as a result, and interplay between internal and external spaces; * the use of simple materials such as timber and brick throughout is consitent and executed in a thoughtful way to bring character and contrast to the house; * there is a consistent use of bespoke design and inbuilt fittings which are of good quality and interest and underline the attention to detail throughout; * the house survives remarkably unaltered.

Historic interest:

* as an example of a family home built by the architects for themsevles; * the joint design by husband and wife gives additional interest.

History

Mickling Barf was designed about 1962 by Rex (1936-2010) and Jenifer (1936- ) Critchlow for themselves and their family and built in three phases - the main part of the house 1963 - 1965, with an office and bathroom added in the 1970s and an annexe space in 1982. The architects' model shows how the house was planned from the outset to be extended as the family grew.

Rex Stafford Critchlow and (Margaret) Jenifer (nee Pye) met when architecture students at Sheffield University, and married in June 1960. They worked in London before moving to Lincolnshire in about1962 to gradually take over Jenifer's father's practice on his retirement. J. Fred Pye (1893 - 1976) was a noted local architect working in a largely Arts and Crafts style, and long the chairman of the local society of architects. Rex Critchlow had worked for Eric Lyons in London before moving to Grimsby, where Jenifer worked for a local authority before largely giving up architecture once children began to arrive. She maintained an interest in landscaping and wrote a guide to the local church.

The Critchlows were friends of Peter and Margaret Aldington, also living in London in the early 1960s when Peter was working for the London County Council. They had first met as Maraget's parents lived in a house in Lincolnshire designed by Fred Pye. The Aldingtons were building their own house, Turn End, Haddenham (Grade, II*, NHLE 1375663) at around the same time as the Critchlows, and Mickling Barf shows similar influences to some of Aldington's work, including the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto.

Mickling Barf was designed on a 30/60 geometric grid with the three distinct phases planned from the beginning. The house retains in its second bathroom a GRP pod formed in two halves, designed from a patent by Rex Critchlow which was later sold to Ideal Standard. The garden and landscaping surrounding the house was also designed by the Critchlows and the plans executed over time. The house remained the family home of the Critchlows until 2022.

Details

Family home designed by Rex and Jenifer Critchlow for themselves and their family about1962 and built in three phases between 1962 and 1982.

MATERIALS: the house has painted brick exterior walls with large sections of glazing and timber cladding to the eaves.

PLAN: the building is designed on a 30/60 geometric grid and laid out in a cranked plan with two main wings and the adjoining annexe.

EXTERIOR: the building is single storey throughout with walls of brick painted white and deep overhanging eaves of stained timber and there are sections of full-height glazing at regular intervals around the exterior alongside smaller windows; all in wooden frames. The 30/60 grid is apparent throughout in the angles of the building.

The main door of the house is at its northern point in a recessed porch with a glazed entrance door and side light, and tiled floor of hexagonal Dennis Ruabon tiles; these continue throughout the interior of the house. The walls facing the adjacent driveway are largely blank with small windows and utility access; this is effectively the rear of the house.

At the garden side, the end wall of the house which runs from the main door protrudes into the garden to provide enclosure; beyond this the kitchen/dining and living areas have full-height glazed sections with doors providing access between the interior and exterior. Externally, these are divided by the tall chimney connected to the living room fireplace. Beyond these are windows to bedrooms, including a low, horizontal window to the main bedroom. Adjacent to this is a large oculus in the wall which provides an enclosed courtyard space off the main bedroom.

Beyond this is the final, annexe phase of the house with a further section of protruding wall to delineate the external as well as internal spaces..

INTERIOR: there is much use throughout the house of hexagonal Ruabon floor tiles and timber for doors, with sterling board cupboard fronts and built-in fixtures. Walls are generally of painted brick and full-height internal doors have top lights. Ceilings are clad in timber.

The main door opens into a small lobby with adjacent WC, and beyond this is the main living space with a sunken living room, hexagonal in plan, with steps down to the living area. This has a low fireplace with copper hood, and a slightly battered chimney adjacent which provides internal division between living and dining spaces (and extends to the exterior). At the rear of the living space, in the 'corridor' (divided from the living room by a curtain) is a built in telephone seat.

The dining area connects with the kitchen which retains its original fittings, Formica work surfaces and built-in fixtures.

Beyond the living space a corridor gives access to bedrooms and a utility room beyond. A triangular skylight gives light to the mid-corridor area, and all bedrooms retain their original fittings. In the principal bedroom, the low horizontal window behind the bed position has sliding shutters which close to act as a head board. The en-suite bathroom retains its sunken bath and original fittings.

Further round, in phase two of the build, there is an additional bedroom/study/games space with a rectangular skylight, and adjacent to this is the second bathroom with its GRP pod. Beyond this, in phase three, is the large library or annexe which has a small kitchen area.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES The detached garage, which was originally designed to have a canopy linking it with the house, is of bricked with timber cladding matching the eaves of the house. An extending brick wall denotes the location of the planned link.

Sources

Websites
Sales particulars and description, The Modern House, accessed 28.10.2022 from https://www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/barton-street/
Other
'Make It Flexible', Ideal Home vol.124, no.4 pp.10-13, Nov. 1982

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