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Additions and alterations to 78 Derngate, Northampton

M333 Additions and alterations to 78 Derngate, Northampton

Address: 78, Derngate, Northampton NN1 1UH
Date: 1916–17
Client: Wenman J. Bassett-Lowke
Authorship: Authorship category 3 (Office with Mackintosh) (Office with Mackintosh)
c. 1815–25
76, 78 and 80 Waterloo Terrace, later Derngate, built. 1
1916
31 May: 'Notice of Intended New Building' for alterations to 78 Derngate submitted to Northampton County Borough engineer and surveyor by Alexander Ellis Anderson, architect, for client W. J. Bassett-Lowke. 2
20 June: Alterations to 78 considered by the County Borough of Northampton Highways Committee. 3
1 July: Joseph Tom Lowke purchases 78 from Messrs J. Willoughby and J. Bosworth for £250. 4
4 July: Alterations to 78 approved. 5
31 July: Letter from Bassett-Lowke replying to Mackintosh's letters of 28 and 29 July. He has taken possession of the house that day, has received Mackintosh's drawings and reports that his 'friends are commencing the work'. Bassett-Lowke's letter outlines details of the dining room door and the design and fitting of carpets. 6
2 November: Letter from Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh. A meeting appears to have taken place on 1 November. Bassett-Lowke seeks advice on the design of various furnishings and fittings and reports that 'I am getting one of my works draughtsmen to make you a 1" scale drawing of all of the walls of the hall so you can proceed with your decoration scheme'. 7
30 December: Joseph Tom Lowke purchases a plot of land S. of 78 and 80 for £70. The land previously belonged to 74 Derngate. 8
1917
11 January: Letter from Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh regarding carpets. A handwritten postscript asks for suggestions 'for the Bed Spreads of the Oak Bedroom'. 9
12 January: Letter from Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh regarding materials for the hall screen and with an update on the progress of the fitted dining-room furniture. Bassett-Lowke looks forward to receiving more drawings from Mackintosh. A postscript refers to a table lamp for the dining room. 10
14 January: Letter from Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh regarding materials for the hall screen and the design of the dining-room door, which he said 'must be severe and plain'. Bassett-Lowke encloses booklets on Erinoid, a plastic material he recommends for the hall screen and as an inlay for furniture in the dining room. 11
21 March: Marriage of Wenman Joseph Bassett Lowke to Florence Jane Jones. 12
c. 1920–2
Lounge-hall refurbished: walls, fireplace and lattice screen are repainted in a light French grey with a new Mackintosh stencil on the walls; a new carpet and central lighting pendant are fitted; furniture is reupholstered. 13
1921
26 September: Joseph Tom Lowke conveys 78 to his son for £325. 14
27 September: Bassett-Lowke takes out a mortgage on 78 from his father at a rate of 'five pounds per centum per annum'. 15
1922
Mackintosh designs a Christmas and New Year greetings card for Mr and Mrs Bassett-Lowke. 16
1924
Bassett-Lowke makes contact with German architect Peter Behrens whom he has selected to draw up plans for a new house in Northampton. 17
1925
21 March: Behrens's final plan for Bassett-Lowke's new house is marked out on site. 18
18 April: Bassett-Lowke and builder Charles Green meet Behrens in Paris. 19
1926
June: Mr and Mrs Bassett-Lowke move to their new home, New Ways, Weston Road (now Wellingborough Road). 20
By 31 July: 78 Derngate sold to Harold Moore Scrivener, an architect, for £975. 21
1964
House purchased by Northampton High School for Girls. Initially it is rented out as office space but later is used by the school for upper-fifth and sixth form Maths and History classes. 22
1993
Northampton High School for Girls vacates the property. 23
1994
December: Conservation survey of 78 and 80 Derngate by Troughton McAslan Ltd, architects, London. 24
1995
Northampton High School for Girls sells 78. 25
1996
June: Assisted financially by local entrepreneurs Northampton Borough Council takes a 999-year lease on 78, 80 and 82. 26
1998
78 Derngate Northampton Trust founded. It takes a 99-year lease to restore 78 and remodel 80 in order to open both to the public. A further long-term goal is to remodel 82 as an arts space. John McAslan + Partners, architects, London are to carry out the work. 27
2001
October: Following extensive local fundraising, a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £999,000 is approved. 28
2002
Conservation survey of 78 and 80 by John McAslan + Partners. 29
9 September: Restoration of 78 and complete remodelling of 80 as visitor centre and circulation space by John McAslan + Partners, building contractors William Anelay Ltd of York and numerous conservation specialists begins. Further fundraising required for the remodelling of 82. 30
2003
11 November: Official opening of 78 and 80 Derngate. 31
2007
82 Derngate opens as an art gallery with conference and dining facilities, and shop. It is connected internally with 78 and 80. 32

Notes:

1: Perilla Kinchin, 78 Derngate Northampton, guidebook, Northampton: 78 Derngate Trust, 2005, 2nd edn 2010, p. 4. Registers of planning applications show that the section of Derngate containing 70–80 was known as Waterloo Terrace, or simply Waterloo, until at least 1912. Northampton, Northamptonshire Record Office: County Borough of Northampton, Register of Deposited Plans, February 1911–October 1913, alterations to house at 70 Waterloo, 24 September 1912, Z152.

2: Northampton, Northamptonshire Record Office: County Borough of Northampton, Notice of Intended New Building, 31 May 1916, F250.

3: Northampton, Northamptonshire Record Office: County Borough of Northampton, Register of Deposited Plans, November 1913 – October 1916, p. 83, 1 June 1916, F250.

4: Oliver Bradbury, 'Harold Moore Scrivener and the Purchase of 78 Derngate, Northampton', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 81, Autumn 2001, p. 5; No. 78 Derngate Archive: copy of certificate of conveyance, 1 July 1916; Perilla Kinchin, 78 Derngate Northampton, guidebook, Northampton: 78 Derngate Trust, 2005, 2nd edn 2010, p. 4.

5: Northampton, Northamptonshire Record Office: County Borough of Northampton, Register of Deposited Plans, November 1913 – October 1916, 1 June 1916, F250.

6: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: letter from W. J. Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 31 July 1916, GLAHA 41411.

7: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: letter from W. J. Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 2 November 1916, GLAHA 41414.

8: Oliver Bradbury, 'Harold Moore Scrivener and the Purchase of 78 Derngate, Northampton', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 81, Autumn 2001, p. 5; No. 78 Derngate Archive: copy of certificate of conveyance, 30 December 1916.

9: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: letter from W. J. Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 11 January 1917, GLAHA 52357.

10: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: letter from W. J. Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 12 January 1917, GLAHA 41984.

11: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: letter from W. J. Bassett-Lowke to Mackintosh, 14 January 1917, GLAHA 41985.

12: Janet Bassett-Lowke, Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke, Chester: RailRomances, 1999, p. 97–100.

13: Roger Billcliffe suggests a date of c. 1920 for the refurbishment: Roger Billcliffe, Charles Rennie Mackintosh: The Complete Furniture, Furniture Drawings and Interior Designs, Moffat, Dumfriesshire: Cameron & Hollis, 4th edn, 2009, p. 309; Perilla Kinchin gives c. 1922 as a likely date. Perilla Kinchin, 78 Derngate Northampton, guidebook, Northampton: 78 Derngate Trust, 2005, 2nd edn 2010, p. 22;

14: Oliver Bradbury, 'Harold Moore Scrivener and the Purchase of 78 Derngate, Northampton', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 81, Autumn 2001, p. 5.; No. 78 Derngate Archive: copy of certificate of conveyance, 26 September 1921.

15: Oliver Bradbury, 'Harold Moore Scrivener and the Purchase of 78 Derngate, Northampton', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 81, Autumn 2001, p. 5.

16: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: GLAHA 41101.

17: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: W. J. Bassett-Lowke, 'Brief Outline', typescript, 22 August 1939, p. 1: Bassett-Lowke says he contacted Behrens via the German Consul after seeing some of his work in an old copy of the 'Werkbund Jahrbuch'. In a letter to Thomas Howarth of 24 January 1945 Bassett-Lowke says he met Behrens in Austria.

18: Janet Bassett-Lowke, Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke, Chester: RailRomances, 1999, p. 174.

19: Janet Bassett-Lowke, Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke, Chester: RailRomances, 1999, p. 174.

20: Perilla Kinchin, 78 Derngate Northampton, guidebook, Northampton: 78 Derngate Trust, 2005; 2nd edn 2010, pp. 14, 30.

21: By this date Scrivener is recorded as already resident at the house. No. 78 Derngate Archive: copy of certificate of conveyance, 31 July 1926.

22: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivius: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 5; http://www.78derngate.org.uk/content/78-derngate-history-part-5 Accessed 25 October 2011.

23: www.78derngate.org.uk [accessed 25 October 2011].

24: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow: 78 Derngate building file.

25: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivus: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 5.

26: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivius: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 5; www.78derngate.org.uk [accessed 25 October 2011].

27: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivus: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 5; www.78derngate.org.uk [accessed 25 October 2011].

28: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivus: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 5.

29: John McAslan + Partners, 'Conservation Schedule for no. 78 Derngate', 78–80 Derngate, March 2002, revised July 2002.

30: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivius: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, pp. 5–8.

31: Sylvia Pinches, 'Derngate Redivivus: The Restoration of 78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 86, Spring 2004, p. 8.

32: '78 Derngate', Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Newsletter, 93, Spring 2008, p. 16.