John Dennis Lennon (23 June 1918 – 16 April 1991) was a British architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. He was responsible for the interior design of the ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

'' and of 190-192 Sloane Street, London. Lennon worked for Fry, Drew & Partners and became the first director of London's Rayon Centre. In 1950, he formed his own firm, Dennis Lennon and Partners, later significantly contributing to the 1951

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

. He took over Hamper Mill, near Watford, restoring decaying buildings. He was the recipient of the Military Cross for his service during the Second World War and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work as an architect and designer.

Early life

John Dennis Lennon was born on 23 June 1918.

Career

190-192 Sloane Street (geograph 2678107)

He studied architecture, qualifying ARIBA, and worked for Fry, Drew & Partners. He was the first director of London's Rayon Centre, in an 18th-century town house close to

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...

, which opened in 1948. Having seen

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989 The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran " ...

's textiles at an end-of-term show halfway through his course at the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

, Lennon offered him a job at the Rayon Centre, where Conran later became art director. Lennon also gave a job to interior decorator

David Mlinaric David Mlinaric (born 12 March 1939) is a British interior decorator. Early life Mlinaric is the son of an English mother and an Austro-Hungarian father, a furrier who had emigrated to England in 1912 from modern-day Slovenia. He was educated at ...

, early in his career. In 1950, Lennon started his own firm, Dennis Lennon and Partners, in Manchester Square, London. He did "quite a lot of work" for the 1951

. He designed furniture and a table of his with a black ebonised base is in the collection of the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

as is a wall light he designed. Pieces by Lennon appeared in '' The Studios survey of interior design for 1953–54. He was the set designer on many productions at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...

from 1963 to 1998. Lennon designed the interiors at 190-192 Sloane Street, completed in 1965, and originally occupied by Sekers Silks, the British fabric manufacturer founded by

Nicholas Sekers Sir Nicholas Thomas "Miki" Sekers (born Miklós Szekeres, 12 December 1910 – 23 June 1972) was a British-based industrialist who, with his cousin, founded Sekers Fabrics. He was also a patron of the arts. Early life He was born Miklós ...

. His original interiors have not survived. Among the architectural projects designed by Lennon's firm was the

Chalcots Estate Chalcots Estate is a council housing estate on Adelaide Road and Fellows Road in Swiss Cottage in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed by Dennis Lennon and Partners. The Chalcots Estate was built on land owned by Eton College, which ...

in Camden from around 1965 to 1970. It was refurbished in 2006–10 which changed the external appearance. In the late 1960s, Lennon was responsible for co-ordinating the interior design of

Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermu ...

's ocean liner, the ''

'', and his team included

Jon Bannenberg Jon Bannenberg, RDI (1929 – 26 May 2002) was an Australian-English yacht designer. Biography Bannenberg was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated at Canterbury Boys High School and later at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In the earl ...

and Gaby Schreiber, although his original designs only remained intact for three years. At the time, he said, "What we have tried to create is a setting for the world’s best party." In 1977, Cunard employed him to design additional space at a cost of US $1M.

Honours

Lennon received the Military Cross in 1943 as an officer in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 1968 Birthday Honours.

Personal life

In the 1950, Lennon took over Hamper Mill, near Watford, restoring decaying buildings and turning them into homes. He lived at the Grade II listed Hamper Mill House. His son Peter Lennon is married to Pam Lennon; they are both interior designers, based at Hamper Mill, and trade as Chess Interiors.

Death

Lennon died on 16 April 1991 leaving an estate of £210,815.1992 Probate Calendar, p. 5232.
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References

External links

Dennis Lennon showing Modernist Chandelier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennon, Dennis 1918 births 1991 deaths 20th-century British architects British furniture designers Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects British interior designers British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Glyndebourne Festival Opera Opera designers Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Engineers officers