Cedar Chase
Taplow, Bucks
Architect: Eric Lyons
Register for similar homesWe are pleased to offer this three-bedroom house in fine original condition, with a garden and garage, located on the Eric Lyons-designed Cedar Chase estate in the village of Taplow on the Buckinghamshire / Berkshire border. Eric Lyons was the principal architect for Span, perhaps the most highly regarded development company of the post-war period.
Cedar Chase consists of 24 houses built between 1964 and 1966 and set in approximately 5 acres of landscaped gardens. It is without doubt one of the most attractive and best kept of the thirty estates built by Span in Britain. Commended in the ‘Good Design for Housing’ scheme in 1967, the estate retains its original architectural charm and community atmosphere.
This house has only had two owners over the last fifty years and it still has many of its original features, including wood parquet flooring. The house is light and airy, with plenty of glazing, and has a courtyard terrace area overlooking a south-facing walled garden.
Accommodation includes, on the ground floor, an entrance hall (with an original built-in mirror unit), a wonderful living room with full height glazed doors, a dining room with original parquet flooring, a kitchen fitted with ‘90s Poggenpohl units, a utility room and WC. On the first floor the double-aspect master bedroom features a high raked ceiling and views over green belt land towards Windsor. It also has a built-in 1960s desk unit and bed head unit. There are two further bedrooms on this floor and a family bathroom.
The rear garden incorporates a courtyard terrace area covered with a grape vine on a wooden pergola. Steps lead down to a south-facing walled garden with lawn and established plantings. The property has a rare original Span mushroom light. A gate leads out onto the 5 acres (approx.) of mature landscaped private grounds, to which all owners at Cedar Chase have access.
Cedar Chase provides a tranquil environment, with good transport links to London and the West. It lies within a conservation area in the centre of the unspoilt historic village of Taplow, which is on an escarpment high above the Thames. Cedar Chase is in the catchment area of the highly regarded St Nicolas Primary School and there are several excellent secondary schools within easy reach. The playgroup, pub and church can also be found on the village green. There is a Sainsbury’s and a large Tesco a short drive away and further shopping and entertainment opportunities can be found in nearby Maidenhead. There are numerous good pubs and restaurants in nearby villages, such as the world-renowned Bray.
Taplow train station is one mile from Cedar Chase, and the journey to London Paddington takes approximately 40 minutes. The M4 is approximately 5 minutes drive away and Heathrow is accessible in less than 30 minutes. Crossrail services will operate from Taplow station from December 2019. This will give journey times of 34 minutes to Paddington, 38 minutes to Bond Street and 52 minutes to Canary Wharf. For more information on Crossrail click here.
There is an annual maintenance charge of approximately £90 per month.
For a comprehensive guide to Cedar Chase and life on the estate click here.
Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.
History
The development company Span built 30 housing estates between 1948 and 1984. In his book The Spirit of Span Housing, James Strike says: “Span housing was the inspiration of two young men, who, during the 1930s, met as architectural students at the Regent Street Polytechnic. Eric Lyons and Geoffrey Townsend both had a keen interest in modern architecture… They believed that there was a market for well-designed houses in carefully designed landscapes for the sort of people who recognised good design when they saw it – and they were right.” Lyons was an architect with a strong Modernist pedigree having previously working with Maxwell Fry and Walter Gropius, who spent a brief spell in the UK having fled Nazi Germany. Lyons worked on Gropius’s Impington Village College in the late 1930s, a building that is now Grade I listed.
Span housing was the subject of an exhibition at the RIBA in 2006, and the accompanying book, entitled Eric Lyons & Span (ed Barbara Simms), gives a comprehensive survey of its history. “The work of the architect Eric Lyons,” it states, “is as well-loved now as it was vibrantly successful when first constructed. Built almost entirely for Span Developments, its mission was to provide an affordable environment ‘that gave people a lift’.”
Cedar Chase is one of the most celebrated of the Eric Lyons / Span collaborations. Using a strong black and white palette and with planting by Preben Jakobsen, it won a ‘Good Design for Housing’ award from the Ministry of Housing. The judges described Cedar Chase as “an outstanding example of how to use the minimum amount of materials to greatest effect, producing simple but very effective domestic architecture”.
Martin Knight, an architect and resident of Cedar Chase, calls it “a unique and brilliantly-conceived estate of family homes that has become an exemplar for modern, low-density housing… as an architect, the opportunity to buy into the Span legacy has provided a first-hand demonstration of the value of excellent design”.
Knight has also commented that “vital to the longevity and success of the development is the overall planning of the estate, and in particular its sympathetic positioning within a large, existing garden. The retained trees and shrubs were complemented by a new landscape and planting design that is now beautifully mature and well-maintained, and which continues to provide year-round variety and interest as well as a great place for families to play”.
