Landfall (house)

Modernist house in Poole, England

Landfall

Location| 19 Crichel Mount Road, Poole, Dorset, England[1]
Coordinates| 50°42′21″N 1°56′24″W﻿ / ﻿50.70583°N 1.94000°W﻿ / 50.70583; -1.94000
OS grid reference| SZ 04267 89454
Built| 1936–1938
Architect| Oliver Hill
Architectural style(s)| Modern Movement

Listed Building – Grade II*

Reference no.| Listed Building England 1267436

Landfall is a house in Poole, Dorset, England, that was built between 1936 and 1938 by the architect Oliver Hill in the modernist style. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building by Historic England.[1]

The house was designed and built for Edna and Dudley Shaw Ashton.[1] A film was made of the construction of the building which won a national amateur film award. Dudley Shaw Ashton became a film director. The circular room in the centre of the house doubled up as a film cinema and was inspired by the 1934 British musical film, Evergreen. It had a circular rug by Marion Dorn in off white with a central motif. The fitted furniture was designed by Betty Joel. Flying circular stairs, constructed of reinforced concrete, led from the balcony to the garden terrace. Beneath the terrace is an air raid shelter. Ship's stairs led from the first floor up to the sun room on the roof.

The Ashtons were socialites, with Landfall being visited by many famous people from the arts, cinema and authors . They were asked to sign the back of the door of the cloakroom. Signatures include Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, David Hockney, Ceri Richards, John Hutton, Frances Richards, Terry Frost, Roland Penrose, Thorold Dickinson, Anthony Asquith, John Grierson, Jacquetta Hawkes, Hugh Ross Williamson and William Kean Seymour.

Landfall is referenced by the architectural historian Alan Powers in Modern: The Modern Movement in Britain.[2] It was featured in his 1989 exhibition Oliver Hill : Architect and Lover of Life 1887–1968, and in an associated publication.[3] Landfall has been referenced in numerous books, journals and newspaper articles.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Landfall and attached screen walls and terrace". Historic England. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
2. ^ Powers, Alan (2005). Modern : the modern movement in Britain. Morley Von Sternberg. London: Merrell. pp. 144–5. ISBN 1-85894-255-1. OCLC 57485094.
3. ^ Powers, Alan (1989). Oliver Hill, architect & lover of life : 1887-1968. Oliver Hill. London: Mouton Publications. ISBN 0-9514250-0-5. OCLC 20365503.
4. ^ Open House In A Wood' in Country Life, vol 86, supplement, (25th September 1939), 35-7
5. ^ 'Landfall House, Oliver Hill' in Architectural Review , Vol. 85, (May 1939), 224-5
6. ^ Newman, E (1942). "Grace in Modern Architecture". Ideal Home and Garden: 288–292.
7. ^ York, FRS (1944). The Modern House In England. Architectural Press.
8. ^ Newman, John (1972). Dorset. Nikolaus Pevsner. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 337\. ISBN 0-14-071044-2. OCLC 683757.
9. ^ Gradidge, Roderick (1980). "The Architecture of Oliver Hill". The Architectural Review: 30–33.
10. ^ Cornforth, J (2 February 1989). "Houses of Oliver Hill". Country Life: 70–73.
11. ^ Calloway, Stephen (1991). The Elements of style : an encyclopedia of domestic architectural details. London: Mitchell Beazley. pp. 448, 451, 460, 466. ISBN 0-85533-905-5. OCLC 59817188.
12. ^ Tabitha Salmon, 'A Celebration of 1930's Architecture' exhibition of paintings, The National Theatre, Southbank commissioned by The Building Centre 1991
13. ^ Landfall, Poole Arts Council (Bulletin 13, 1993) p12
14. ^ Landfall, Poole Arts Council visit report, 3rd Jun 1993 p1-10
15. ^ Nichols, D (2 October 1994). "Tearing the heart out of thirtysomethings". Financial Mail on Sunday. p. 31.
16. ^ Myers, E (27 August 1995). "Art Deco: Still Not Forgiven for Being Fun". The New York Times. p. 32.
17. ^ Powell, K (12 October 1996). "House for Third Programme types". Weekend Telegraph. p. 9.
18. ^ Whiffin, M (April 2002). "Daring to be Different". Pure Dorset. pp. 20–24.
19. ^ Worsley, Giles (27 July 2002). "Master Builder, Oliver Hill". Telegraph Property. p. 12.
20. ^ Eddy, Paul (2004). "'Ship Shape', Landfall". Dorset Society. pp. 31–33.
21. ^ Powers, Alan (2004). The twentieth century house in Britain : from the archives of Country Life. Country Life Limited. London: Aurum. ISBN 1-84513-012-X. OCLC 56639675.
22. ^ "Poole and Art Deco | Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine". Retrieved 2022-04-18.
23. ^ Booton, Peter (2009). "A Modernist Seaside Home". Dorset Magazine: 76–83.
24. ^ Hill, Michael (2013). East Dorset Country Houses. Reading. ISBN 978-1-904965-46-6. OCLC 861211292.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
25. ^ Powell, Ken (2001). The modern house today. Nick Dawe. London: Black Dog Pub. ISBN 1-901033-72-4. OCLC 48963145.

## Further reading[edit]

* Landfall. Degree thesis, Open University. SG Mottram 1982
* Oliver Hill – A Master Of Style. Graduate Diploma, School of Architecture, Huddersfield, David S. Beaumont (Jan 1988) RIBA commendation
* Oliver Hill and the enigma of British modernism during the inter-war period PhD thesis by Vanessa Vanden Berghe (University of East London, September 2013)

## External links[edit]

* Photograph of the flying circular stairs at Landfall