The Barn, Exmouth
Encyclopedia
The Barn, in Exmouth
, Devon
, England
, is a seaside house, now a hotel, dating from 1896 and designed in Arts and Crafts
style by the architect Edward Schroeder Prior
.
Prior's most influential and perhaps extraordinary building, it was reported in Hermann Muthesius
’s Das Englische Haus of 1904-5 and gained considerable fame. Indeed Muthesius adapted the plan for his Freudenberg House in Berlin of 1907-08 and the house influenced architects such as Thilo Schroder, Otto Bartning
and Bruno Taut
.
The house demonstrates all of Prior’s concerns at the time. It is possible the Prior got the commission as a result the model being seen by the client, Major Henry Wetherall. However Wetherall was an Old Harrovian
and had known the Priors all his life.
The Barn’s butterfly plan was similar to that of a cottage model exhibited to considerable acclaim by Prior at the Royal Academy
in 1895. It has two wings radiating from a central six sided, double height hall. The house is orientated to the south. This garden side is broken to capture the sun between the two wings. The east wing contains the dining room which faces the garden, kitchen and service quarters. The west wing contains the drawing room, study and staircase. A gallery over the hall connects the bedrooms in the east and west wing on the first floor. A central stair from the first floor to the attic rooms, that were additions to the scheme depicted in the model. The attic rooms were originally nurseries. Other alterations to the model scheme included a basement darkroom and a lift, and floor level changes to accommodate the site’s topography.
The house is designed to be orientated to the sun and views. It is based on what became known as a butterfly plan, enabling it to make the best use of the site and Prior to integrate the house and garden. The wings embrace the entrance courtyard at the front and at the back, open up the house into the garden through a roughed verandah. Prior designed the house and the garden as a whole scheme. Prior described the aims of this planning and aesthetic;
"Its enclosing walls, 9ft high and thatched for coping, will give shade; its angles provide arbours and shelter from every wind, so that hour by hour, and day after day, there can always be ease and delight in it and never monotony as the seasons come and go and cloud and sunshine alternate."
The walls were curved to echo the original thatch. The columns of the verandah echo the smooth curved chimneys.
The house has a ten-faced symmetrical plan, with two wings radiating from a six sided hall. The symmetry is part reinforced and part broken by the handling of voids. The north entrance porch and the arches over the bedroom windows in the south facade reinforce the symmetry, whereas the south west porch, the bays and the windows provide asymmetry. The asymmetric disposition of the functions of the rooms is reflected in the positioning of the windows.
Horizontality is emphasised by the linearity of the casement window
s and the verandah, verticality by the central gable and tall slender chimney stacks.
By 1897 Prior had developed his theory of texture. Prior tried to find a way beyond historical style and vernacular logic. The wall surfaces are highly textured, incorporating the philosophy Prior expounded in his paper. The cavity walls are of brick, with a locally quarried red sandstone outer leaf. Pebbles from the beach and river are embedded in the mass concrete, adding pattern and texture to the walls. The stone is roughly dressed, uncoursed and varied by the inclusion of large boulders. The building was originally thatched. The large chimney stacks were lined with terracotta flues and cased in sandstone with spark arresters. The upper floors are constructed of concrete reinforced with 9 inch logs at 2 and a half foot centres. This was partly done as fireproofing.
Little information is available on the building procedure adopted for the Barn. It is not known whether Prior used a traditional contract system, or the clerk of works and day labour approach he operated at Home Place, Kelling
and the Burton Bradstock
Church restoration scheme. Prior produced plans and sections for the house, but no elevations are known. He may have used a model to guide the building process. Certainly some aspects of the building were decided upon as building progressed, particularly the texturing and use of materials on the facades.
The Barn suffered a serious fire in October 1905. It was restored by the Bristol firm of Jacob Williams with tiled roof and gables. The wings of the front entrance were also altered in a sympathetic fashion, squaring up the walls and enlarging them.
The Barn is now a hotel. It remains largely intact, as do its gardens. The interiors have suffered a little from modernisation.
Exmouth
Exmouth is a town in Devon. It may also refer to:Places*Exmouth Peninsula in Southern Chile*Exmouth, Western AustraliaPeople*Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth , a British naval officerShips...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a seaside house, now a hotel, dating from 1896 and designed in Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style by the architect Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior
Edward Schroeder Prior was an architect who was instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsmanship and the building process and subsequently influencing...
.
Prior's most influential and perhaps extraordinary building, it was reported in Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius
Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German architectural modernism...
’s Das Englische Haus of 1904-5 and gained considerable fame. Indeed Muthesius adapted the plan for his Freudenberg House in Berlin of 1907-08 and the house influenced architects such as Thilo Schroder, Otto Bartning
Otto Bartning
Otto Bartning was a Modernist German architect, architectural theorist and teacher. In his early career he developed plans with Walter Gropius for the establishment of the Bauhaus. He was a member of Der Ring...
and Bruno Taut
Bruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut , was a prolific German architect, urban planner and author active during the Weimar period....
.
The house demonstrates all of Prior’s concerns at the time. It is possible the Prior got the commission as a result the model being seen by the client, Major Henry Wetherall. However Wetherall was an Old Harrovian
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and had known the Priors all his life.
The Barn’s butterfly plan was similar to that of a cottage model exhibited to considerable acclaim by Prior at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1895. It has two wings radiating from a central six sided, double height hall. The house is orientated to the south. This garden side is broken to capture the sun between the two wings. The east wing contains the dining room which faces the garden, kitchen and service quarters. The west wing contains the drawing room, study and staircase. A gallery over the hall connects the bedrooms in the east and west wing on the first floor. A central stair from the first floor to the attic rooms, that were additions to the scheme depicted in the model. The attic rooms were originally nurseries. Other alterations to the model scheme included a basement darkroom and a lift, and floor level changes to accommodate the site’s topography.
The house is designed to be orientated to the sun and views. It is based on what became known as a butterfly plan, enabling it to make the best use of the site and Prior to integrate the house and garden. The wings embrace the entrance courtyard at the front and at the back, open up the house into the garden through a roughed verandah. Prior designed the house and the garden as a whole scheme. Prior described the aims of this planning and aesthetic;
"Its enclosing walls, 9ft high and thatched for coping, will give shade; its angles provide arbours and shelter from every wind, so that hour by hour, and day after day, there can always be ease and delight in it and never monotony as the seasons come and go and cloud and sunshine alternate."
The walls were curved to echo the original thatch. The columns of the verandah echo the smooth curved chimneys.
The house has a ten-faced symmetrical plan, with two wings radiating from a six sided hall. The symmetry is part reinforced and part broken by the handling of voids. The north entrance porch and the arches over the bedroom windows in the south facade reinforce the symmetry, whereas the south west porch, the bays and the windows provide asymmetry. The asymmetric disposition of the functions of the rooms is reflected in the positioning of the windows.
Horizontality is emphasised by the linearity of the casement window
Casement window
A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a...
s and the verandah, verticality by the central gable and tall slender chimney stacks.
By 1897 Prior had developed his theory of texture. Prior tried to find a way beyond historical style and vernacular logic. The wall surfaces are highly textured, incorporating the philosophy Prior expounded in his paper. The cavity walls are of brick, with a locally quarried red sandstone outer leaf. Pebbles from the beach and river are embedded in the mass concrete, adding pattern and texture to the walls. The stone is roughly dressed, uncoursed and varied by the inclusion of large boulders. The building was originally thatched. The large chimney stacks were lined with terracotta flues and cased in sandstone with spark arresters. The upper floors are constructed of concrete reinforced with 9 inch logs at 2 and a half foot centres. This was partly done as fireproofing.
-
- For brevity, the original text above has not been altered. The internal design was unfortinately lossed in the 1904 fire; the internal balcony and concrete floors (with timber reinforcement) no longer exist. The roofs are finished in natural slate rather than tiles.
Little information is available on the building procedure adopted for the Barn. It is not known whether Prior used a traditional contract system, or the clerk of works and day labour approach he operated at Home Place, Kelling
Home Place, Kelling
Home Place, Kelling, also called Voewood, is a house designed by Edward Schroeder Prior, near Holt, Norfolk, UK .Home Place is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of house design of the Arts and Crafts Movement. More than almost any other building of the period the house fulfils the ideals...
and the Burton Bradstock
Burton Bradstock
Burton Bradstock is a village in south west Dorset, England. The village has a population of 979 . Situated on the Chesil Beach, east of Bridport the village nestles around the church of St...
Church restoration scheme. Prior produced plans and sections for the house, but no elevations are known. He may have used a model to guide the building process. Certainly some aspects of the building were decided upon as building progressed, particularly the texturing and use of materials on the facades.
The Barn suffered a serious fire in October 1905. It was restored by the Bristol firm of Jacob Williams with tiled roof and gables. The wings of the front entrance were also altered in a sympathetic fashion, squaring up the walls and enlarging them.
The Barn is now a hotel. It remains largely intact, as do its gardens. The interiors have suffered a little from modernisation.