Bevin Court is a housing project in

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

, London. It is one of several

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

housing projects designed in the city in the immediate postwar period by the

Tecton The Tecton Group was a radical architectural group co-founded by Berthold Lubetkin, Francis Skinner, Denys Lasdun, Michael Dugdale, Anthony Chitty, Val Harding, Godfrey Samuel, and Lindsay Drake in 1932 and disbanded in 1939. The group was one ...

architecture practice, led by

Berthold Lubetkin Berthold Romanovich Lubetkin (14 December 1901 – 23 October 1990) was a Georgian-British architecture, architect who pioneered International style (architecture), modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint I, Hi ...

. Following the dissolution of Tecton, the project was realised by Lubetkin,

Francis Skinner Sidney George Francis Guy Skinner (191211 October 1941) was a friend, collaborator, and lover of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Biography He was born in 1912 in Kensington, London, England, and educated at St Paul's School, L ...

and Douglas Carr Bailey. The project was completed in 1954.

Location

Located in Cruikshank Street, London WC1, the scheme is built on the site of the bomb-destroyed Holford Square in Finsbury. It incorporates the main building of Bevin Court, plus the smaller

Holford House Holford House was an English country house built in the Regent's Park in 1832, then on the outskirts of London. It was used at various times in its history as a private residence and an educational college for Dissenters before being destroyed by a ...

(which echoes the form of its larger neighbour) and Amwell House (itself of interest as a modernist interpretation of the bay-fronted Victorian terrace). The group of buildings as a whole reflects Lubetkin's respect for the pre-existing urban environment, a characteristic that makes his work stand out from that of many modernist architects of his generation. Post war austerity had imposed far greater budgetary constraints than in Tecton's housing showpiece

Spa Green Estate Spa Green Estate between Rosebery Avenue and St John St in Clerkenwell, London EC1, England, is the most complete post-war realisation of a 1930s radical plan for social regeneration through Modernist architecture. Conceived as public housing, it ...

, forcing Lubetkin to strip the project of the basic amenities he had planned; there were to be no balconies, community centre or nursery school. Instead Lubetkin focused his energies on the social space. Fusing his aesthetic and political concerns he created a stunning constructivist staircase — a social condenser that forms the heart of the building.

History

The building occupies the site of the 1902–03 home of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, which he occupied while in exile editing the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n socialist newspaper

Iskra ''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History Due to political repression under Tsar Nicho ...

(Spark).Simpson, Theo. "Bevin Court occupies the site of Lenin's former home while he was exiled in London in 1902" (''The Independent'')
/ref> In honour of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

leader, the building was initially planned to be named "Lenin Court". In addition the building was to incorporate Lubetkin's memorial to Lenin, which had been located on the site of Holford Square since 1942. However the memorial proved unpopular with the public and was repeatedly vandalised, to the extent that it required a 24-hour police guard. The end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

marked the end of the brief thaw in

Anglo-Russian relations The Anglo-Russians were an English expatriate business community centred in St Petersburg, then also Moscow, from the 1730s till the 1920s. This community was established against the background of Peter I's recruitment of foreign engineers for his n ...

and Finsbury Council lost their enthusiasm for both the memorial and the proposed name for the building. When it became clear that the Borough were no longer willing to keep the memorial on site Lubetkin buried its remains under the central core of the staircase. The proposed site of the monument (to the right of the main entrance) and a viewing aperture designed to allow the building's porter to oversee its wellbeing exist to this day. Before the building was completed the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

had intensified and as a result the scheme was renamed Bevin Court (honouring Britain's firmly anti-communist foreign secretary

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–19 ...

). On 28 September 2013, Bevin Court became the first council residential building to unveil a commemorative plaque, dedicated to the artist Cyril Mann who lived and worked there between 1956 and 1964. Notably, the building successfully made significant use of prefabricated floor and wall components. The building was given grade II* listed status in December 1998 and was restored by the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

in 2014–2016.

Artwork

The building also incorporates a mural in the ground hall entranceway painted by Lubetkin's collaborator

Peter Yates Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer. Biography Early life Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...

, depicting Finsbury's coat of arms and aspects of its history. After long-term exposure to vandalism, wear and various unsuccessful attempts at repair, in 2015–16 the mural was restored to its original design using authentic materials for the period. The missing bust of Ernest Bevin was recreated at the same time and now occupies its original location in the wall opposite the mural. Glass screens were installed to protect both assets.

References

External links

Design Museum page
about Berthold Lubetkin *

Searchable database listing alterations requiring Listed Building Consent at Bevin Court hen accessed on 29 November 2014, this link was no longer functional/small>

Utopia London website page about Bevin Court {{Coord, 51.5304, -0.1131, type:landmark_region:GB-ISL, display=title Modernist architecture in London Residential buildings in London Berthold Lubetkin buildings Residential buildings completed in 1954 Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington 1954 establishments in England

Location

History

Artwork

References

Further reading

External links