Or 549 Lordship Lane, is another local landmark that S E Londoners may recognise. Not just the rat infested wreck I dismissed it as, it’s a Grade II listed building believed to be the only surviving example of a 19th Century concrete house (1873) by builder Charles Drake. Drake set up the Patent Concrete Building Company so that he could explore concrete construction in the architectural style of his time. Something of a trend forecaster he declared shortly afterwards: “Much has been written and said lately about the demand for a new style of architecture.  May I suggest that this may be found in studying the right architectural treatment of concrete buildings.”

It’s as if he knew those concrete-loving Modernists of the 20th Century were coming…

There is some conflicting opinion about the place, but it’s thought (by the Dulwich Society among others) that Drake built the house for his family, calling it The Ferns. It was listed on the English Heritage Buildings At Risk register after the last owner jeapordised the structure by building on the site without planning permission. However, Southwark Council lately obtained the site under compulsory purchase and the Heritage of London Trust is due to reconstruct what’s left of it as Housing Association flats, reinstating the original name The Ferns.

I’ll leave you with a flavour of the affection that exists for the place – from a bizarre video on You Tube to this nice memory of the house in the 70’s:

“I grew up in East Dulwich and the house on the corner of Lordship Lane and Underhill Road was a childrens home in the 70’s – definitely. It was run by a woman known as Auntie Lena and I had a few friends at the time who lived in there, so I used to be round there quite a bit! I cant remember any of the kids there being much older than me and I think there were only about 8 kids there at any one time. Every time I go past there I have fond memories!”

Let’s move to…

The tiniest village you’ve never heard of, Ladywell is in south east London, hidden between Brockley, Crofton Park and Lewisham. When I was flat-hunting this is where I most wanted to be, and though I now live up the hill, I still watch developments on the mini-high street with interest. There was already and excellent […]

Fly by

I broke the lampshade off my standard lamp this week then walked past Persephone Books on Lambs Conduit Street and saw this: Could the two be linked? Large lampshade in Black Goose fabric by E. Q. Nicholson, £60. Tempted

Sofa snob

Patterned sofas? For someone who loves print and pattern I have some pretty strict rules about where I will and won’t use it. The short version is I don’t believe in patterned sofas, patterned curtains or patterned coats (because they make you look like a sofa).  But I’m nothing if not fickle, and I quite […]

Never mind the jumper

Spotted in the interrogation room at Copenhagen Police HQ: Found dangling above the dining table in Colonel Jarnvig’s military barracks home: Discovered lurking by the kitchen table in the same house:* By the time The Killing Series 2 had introduced the Minister of Justice’s office (marble walls, parquet floors) I’d stopped reading the subtitles altogether. […]