Herbert Collins (1885–1975) was a British architect, born in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonto ...

. He designed many of the suburban developments in the city of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Life

Collins designed houses in Southampton from 1922, became a director of the

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

Company in 1924 and co-founded the

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...

Housing society A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...

on 26 November 1925. Collins, along with his cofounders, accountant and civic leader Fred Woolley (the society's first chairman) and

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages i ...

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...

director Claude Ashby, put up £200 worth of shares. Collins' father, William, loaned the fledgling company £14,000. Collins lived at 38 Brookvale Road in

Highfield, Southampton Highfield is a suburb of Southampton, England. The suburb is situated to the north of the city centre, and is bounded by (clockwise from West) Southampton Common, Bassett, Swaythling and Portswood. Highfield is home to the main campus of the Un ...

from 1930 to 1973, and a commemorative

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was installed there in July 2004. During his time living there, Collins was responsible for the design of Swaythling Methodist Church in Burgess Road, built in 1932. In an effort to contribute to the post-war housing efforts, Collins submitted a suggestion to the July 1945 edition of the journal ''Architectural Design and Construction'' regarding constructing

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

s from

rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...

combined with a small quantity of cement; his suggestion was repeated in ''The Architects' Journal'' in 1946. In 1957, Collins retired as a fellow of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

and his professional partnership with J. Normal Calton was dissolved by mutual consent; the pair had been trading as Collins & Calton. At this time, Collins was living at 32 Carlton Crescent in Southampton. Collins' retirement, however, did not mean an end to his interest in architecture and town planning, and in January 1962 a letter from Collins, sent from his Carlton Crescent address, was published in the ''Journal of the Town Planning Institute''.

Work

Collins' housing estates have a distinctive style, usually with rows of terraced houses set around wide areas of greenery. Collins also made plans for a garden city around

Marchwood Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water and directly east of the New Forest. The population of the village in the 201 ...

, but these proposals were unrealised.Mann, John Edgar and Ashton, Peter: "Highfield: A Village Remembered". Halsgrove, 1998.

Rookfield Estate

The Rookfield estate (also known as Rookfield Garden Village or Rookfield Garden Estate) is situated near

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

in the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of t ...

. It comprises Cascade Avenue, Rookfield Avenue and adjacent roads. The Rookfield Estate

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

was designated on 26 March 1976 and an Article 4 direction has been in place for the estate since 1978. Collins' father William Jeffries Collins began the development of the Rookfield estate some time before 1910 on land purchased in 1899. When William Jeffries Collins moved his business to Southampton in 1911, his sons Herbert and William Brannan Collins took over the development. The estate was completed in 1936.

Uplands Estate

The Uplands estate, in

was built between 1922 and 1936. It was the first development undertaken by Herbert Collins in Southampton. The Uplands Estate (Highfield) conservation area was designated in January 1986.

Bassett Green Estate

The

Bassett Green Bassett Green is a suburb of Southampton, which has grown from the original small village of Basset. It remains part of the electoral ward of Bassett (q.v. for population). The area is mainly residential, with a mixture of Herbert Collins-design ...

estate, which comprises Ethelburt Avenue and parts of Bassett Green Road and Leaside Way, was developed on land bought by William Jeffries Collins in 1925. The Ethelburt Avenue (Bassett Green Estate) conservation area was designated by

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local ...

in September 1988.

Swaythling Methodist Church

Swaythling Methodist Church was built in 1932 in a neo-Georgian style. It is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Climping Village Hall

The village hall in

Climping Climping (also spelt as Clymping) is a village and civil parish containing agricultural and natural sandy land in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The parish also contains the coastal hamlet of Atherington. It is three miles (5 km) ...

West Sussex was designed by Herbert Collins.

Orchards Way

The Orchards Way estate is situated in

West End, Hampshire West End is a parish in Hampshire in the borough of Eastleigh, east of the city of Southampton. The village of West End is small and generally classed as an area in the outer suburbs or rural urban fringe of the borough of Eastleigh because of ...

. Designed in 1936 for the Hampshire Rural Cottage Improvement Society, it originally comprised 32 cottages, grouped in short terraces, two shops and a fire station and was more rurally situated than Collins’ earlier developments. The Orchards Way conservation area was designated by

Eastleigh Borough Council Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

in 1999.

Chandler's Ford United Reformed Church

Originally Chandler's Ford Congregational Church, the building was designed by Collins in 1929. It has been extended and enlarged since then but the significant elements of the original style retained as shown on the church's website.

References

External links

Herbert Collins Estates Residents' Association

Swaythling Housing Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Herbert Architects from London History of Southampton 1885 births 1975 deaths People from Edmonton, London