   DREAM HOMES FOR THE REAL WORLD Whether your grand design is building your dream home or re-designing your kitchen, bathroom, or landscaping the garden 'Grand Designs Magazine' gives you practical solutions and inspirational interiors and products to fit your aspirations and your budget'. There are stunning shoots of beautiful houses, interiors to linger over, in-depth building studies, product surveys, shopping select to inspire, specific studies on specific areas of the home like the loft and the basement, all sorts of practical guidance on locating, planning, commissioning designing, and furnishing your home. |
In March 2004 Channel 4's Grand Design Magazine had a 20 page in depth look into the Wonder of Span Estates, with the following introduction:
THE GRAND GUIDE: SPAN HOUSES
Ever wished you lived somewhere where a sense of community still existed, where kids could play safely outside, and neighbours were friends, not strangers?
Well, places like this do exist: they're called span developments and sprung up post-war in the Home Counties. The brainchild of architect Eric Lyons, they were communities that bridged the gap between monotonous 'speculative' buildings and outlandish architectural designs. They were loved then and much sought-after now.
This included an 8 page look into the Span estate 'New Ash Green' in Kent. Click on the following links to download pages: 1-2 , 3-4 , 5-6 , 7-8 , Entire article
If you don't have Acrobat Reader to enable you to view the files Click here
The full magazine edition can be ordered through the contacting the Grand Designs team here
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The following letter was written by a resident of Weymede to Grand Designs after reading their magazine feature, and his letter was later included in the Grand Designs magazine, May 04.
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Dear Grand Designs Congratulations on drawing attention to the long forgotten and much undervalued Span Developments in your March issue. Claire Barret's feature was both informative and refreshing, especially for those of us who have been fortunate enough to find a Span Property to purchase, and enjoy the sense of community that exists within these developments, as mentioned in your article. I managed to buy my K2 house three years ago on a little known development called "Weymede" in Surrey. What was unusual about Weymede when it was built in 1964 was that it was the largest of the Span developments to date, approx 15 acres, and one of its boundaries runs along the middle of the river Wey giving all of Weymede's residents access to the riverbank over several hundred yards. With broad swathes of grass, and a large protected stretch for the children to play, in the summer the residents can picnic there away from the houses. Span also secured fishing rights before handing the completed project over to the residents committee that had been formed to oversee the day to day running of the development. Today a developer would build on stilts right to the rivers edge and sell each unit for an astronomical amount. 'Weymede' consists of 141 two and three story town houses built of yellow brick and roofs pitched one way, with lots of glass. Interestingly within this development are also ten of the K2's, which were apparently the prototypes for "New Ash Green" and photographed for the latter's brochure before construction began in Kent. There is a reference in your feature by a Span owner that these developments are not suitable for the non conformist, and I understand and agree with that, especially where the architecture is concerned. I have always considered myself a Non Conformist, and knew before I purchased about the Covenants, and the Rules and Regulations that were attached. But it was when I viewed my first Span house and walked around the landscaped grounds that I realised there was something going on that was missing from other places I had viewed. That missing ingredient was the sense of community that I mentioned at the beginning of my letter, and how all the developments seemed able to accommodate and embrace all age groups within their confines without being intrusive; it made a Non Conformist like me want to fit in. The only problem I had was the length of time it took for me to find a Span house, over a year. Usually they are snapped up through word of mouth before being advertised through an estate agent, and most estate agents don't seem to know how to value or market these properties. One agent who arranged a viewing for me, said, "it's not everyone's cup of tea, it's one of those modern sixties places, but some people like them". Thankfully that blinkered mind set is changing, and people are once again discovering the ethos that was 'Span', thanks in no small part to articles like yours. Sometimes 'Grand Designs' can be affordable and within reach, so keep up the good work and "well done". I look forward to the next issue. Yours sincerely Tony Rowland Weymede, West Byfleet |
It may be worth mentioning, Tony was awarded the 'Star Letter Prize' of the May issue with the above letter: a stylish state of the art designer coffee percolator.
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'Grasmere' in West Byfleet is the Original design
Tony Rowland more recently sent us this interesting information about an area called 'Grasmere',
Sept 05
Dear Webmaster,
I don't know if this would be of any interest to residents of Weymede other than
those who are already familiar with the history of Span and are devotees of
modern architecture, but did you know that the eleven houses just inside the
Weymede boundary and almost hidden from view by trees (HN's 5-15) were
originally known as 'Grasmere', and were the prototypes of the 'K'-range' of
houses that preceded the development of 'New Ash Green' in Kent? It was these
houses that were photographed for the NAG brochure before construction began. Almost all of the early photos in books and magazines and on the Span-Kent
website were taken here on Weymede and used to promote the future development of
the Kent project.
HN11 was the show-house and the interior of this house is
illustrated in the brochure and some still appear to this day alongside articles
about Span housing. In all the books about Span, 'Grasmere' is said to be located
in West Byfleet and so those students of architecture that make the pilgrimage
to see the houses are confused when they are re-directed to the road in Byfleet
called Grasmere Way, and are confronted with traditional suburban houses.
I don't know how or when 'Grasmere' was incorporated into Weymede, but I believe
the initial construction was of six prototypes and at some point early on this
was extended to eleven. It was completed in 1966, two years after Weymede.
Weymede also owns the small green adjacent to the garages at the back of HN's
5-10 and this too was originally part of 'Grasmere', and could well have been
intended as the entrance to the houses before it was decided to include them
into Weymede.
Both the exterior and the interior of these houses differ. HN's
9-15 were clad in Blue/Black tiles and HN's 9-10 have two bedrooms and a
separate dining room. HN's 5-8 are clad in Brown Weatherboarding and HN 6 has
four bedrooms. There was a winding footpath that led across the green in front
of these houses and past the sandpit, but that was grassed over long ago and has
been lost along with the sandpit. The path is clearly visible in the old
photographs although the view has changed now that the landscaping has matured.
Last year a coach-load of architects, journalists and architectural students
descended on Weymede accompanied by Ivor Cunningham, one of the original
architects of Span and the man who was responsible for the landscaping of
Weymede along with most of the other Span developments. My information is that
this tour was arranged by the 'Royal Institute of British Architects', and was
part of the renewed interest that is taking place in Span, accompanied by a
retrospective exhibition of Span at RIBA and a book. It was this that inspired
the twenty page feature on Span housing in this year's March edition of 'Grand
Designs', and has generated the desire in a new generation of younger people to
find a property within a Span development. Dr James Strike also published his
book this year,' The Spirit of SPAN HOUSING'.
The Purists realise the increase in value to their property that continuity
brings when replacing or improving the exterior of a Span house with the new
materials that are available today, and it is unfortunate that Weymede has
succumbed over these last few years to the appearance of mock period doors;
which this new generation of potential buyers consider an anathema. This reduces
the percentage of prospective buyers who are willing to pay a premium for a Span
house and do not see their purchase as a cheap option, unlike some estate agents
who are not only ignorant to the fact that there are people who are actively
seeking a Span house (as I did), but are also unable or unwilling to put a realistic
valuation on these properties because they have become blinkered and seem to
have no knowledge of Span developments or the attraction of the architecture
contained within.
The future does seem encouraging because there is so much renewed interest in
the concept that was, and to some extent still is Span. We as a community should
grasp this opportunity with both hands as other Span estates have. The house you
live in is usually your biggest asset but more than that, it is the place you
feel comfortable and at ease in. A place where you are safe and secure. All
these things are contained here within Weymede and the new website has given
Weymede a positive and desirable profile to those people who have visited the
site, whether they live here or are potential purchasers.
Currently the committee of WRS is in the process of implementing several
re-generation projects, and has plans and ideas to improve and renew our
surroundings. Of course all this takes both dedication and money but, when carried
out, will have the twin advantages of a better looking environment and the
prospect of increased property prices. It also requires the support of all
residents if our elected representatives are to succeed in their endeavours and
restore the areas of Weymede that need its attention; and there are always those
that do not see the bigger picture when the canvas is laid out before them. But
there is one thing we can all be sure of if we as a community are successful in
these goals, and that is, all of us will benefit in more ways than one.
Although time moves on and changes occur and our world is a far different place
to the one the photograph's show in the old Span brochures of forty years ago,
there still exists an ethos that was far ahead of its time and has both endured
and survived into the 21st Century, even though it appears to have frayed at the
edges. Some decisions made in the distant past with hindsight were wrong and
some plain stupid, and over the years other things have been neglected, but at
least we can be reassured by the efforts of our present committee, and can only
look forward and proceed with more caution as we embark on this new
re-generation programme. Finally, to return to 'Grasmere', there is one thing
from the past we can be proud of, and that was the decision to include it within
the community that is Weymede.