The Fives Court: The Centenary History of a House in Pinner

Description

This book has been published, in a limited edition, to celebrate the Centenary of a house in Pinner, Middlesex, England and to bring to the notice of a wider public the skill and craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts architects, Smith and Brewer. Their first major work was said by Pevsner to be "one of the most charming pieces of architecture of its time." It tells the story of two brilliant cousins, Sir Ambrose Heal, whose furniture designs transformed the lives of thousands, and the Gold Medallist architect, Cecil Brewer, whose premature death cut short a striking career. The book describes the house they planned together in 1900, and it also includes some of the families who have lived in it for the past hundred years. William Morris, Heath Robinson, the Suffragettes, Ramsey MacDonald, Utility Furniture, and 101 Dalmations all feature in the story.