Sycamore House

February 13, 2010

I gave a talk on 10th Feb for the Clapham Society which had a wonderful turn out – It was also great to be able to do so much research into a rather magical home ‘Sycamore House’

I won’t go into the entire hour lecture but here are some rather interesting highlights;

Sycamore House – my home , was built in 1787 , right at the peak of the Robert Adam design movement – A fine three story house and a semi basement double fronted mansion , in grey stock brick with Tri- partite windows and Lunettes. Set back from the Road in its own double entranced gateway with a large stucco portico. A Mr. Benjamin Bentley.

4 Old Town

The Mansion that stood next door and was built at the same time and had the same design elements with the Lunette windows – this postcard of the 1890’s shows the mansion as it stood in its last days having been turned into a show – and just before it was demolished. I have sketched on the left hand side the relationship that it would have had with Sycamore house.

sketch

I also managed to find a wonderful picture of the back of this house from the same period or just before it was demolished in 1900.

19thC Back of Sycamore House

Syacmore house stoped being a private house in 1841 when Mr Daniel Turton Johnson left the house ,like most large houses in Clapham it was turned into a school and in 1880 it was purchased by Alexander Dennis Leman who open it up as Sycamore Laundry- These are the pictures of the Laundry in the early days taken in the house and its gardens in the 1890’s.

2010

1890′s


19thC Laundry Sycamor

map of 1864 close up of sycamore house

Map of 1864 showing the extent of gardens

The House continued to have a booming Laundry Business in it , and it grew by turning the gardens into factory spaces; these are some shots from the early 1960’s and 1970’s – including the visit of HRH the Duchess of Gloucester to Sycamore House on st George’s day in 1980.

The Callendar rooms - sycamore house -1970's

The Entrance Hall of Sycamore house with HRH The duchess of Glocester

The front of Old Town , the houses next door turned into Shops – First the shops in the 1920’s – then into the 1960’s and finally into the 1970’s –

1926 clapham old town cropped

1962 clapham old town cropped

1970's Sycamore house - 4 old town

The last picture I have is of Sycamore House in the 1980’s with all of the Royal Warrants on the front of the building – and a photograph I took this week to bring her right up to date.

Sycamore House 1978

As soon as the New Plaster room is finished I will post some amazing pictures of the interior of the restoration project which to date has used over 790 sheets of gold leaf …

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1890’s, 1900, Clapham society, Duchess of Gloucester, gold leaf, Gosling, Old Town, Robert Adam, royal Warrants, Sycamore Laundry

About timgosling

TIM GOSLING - DIRECTOR Tim graduated from the Central School of Art & Design in 1987 with a BA (Hons.) degree in Theatre Design. His work in theatre included creating set and stage scenes for major West end productions such as Miss Saigon and Starlight Express as well as working as a set designer for Las Vegas shows. In the late 1980s Tim joined David Linley and became a director in 1993. At Linley he was instrumental in developing the company's design style and expanding their bespoke commission over the last 18 years. In 2005 Tim set up his own company, Gosling, giving himself the freedom to design a wider range of furniture and interiors while continuing his working relationships with interior designers world-wide. The company's objective is to create a bespoke service of design and furniture that has style and longevity. His world renowned furniture designs draw inspiration from classical architecture and styles. Each commission begins with the very intimate process of working with the client to ensure the designs reflect their needs and taste. Every piece of furniture is made to the most exacting standards using the finest materials and traditional cabinet-making techniques, and each element of the interiors is addressed with the same care and attention to detail.

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