Oakhill
Somerset
Architect: Bob & Tim Organ / MJW Architects
Register for similar homesThis truly remarkable house in a stunning rural setting in Somerset was originally designed and built by Bob & Tim Organ in the early 1970s and was significantly and sympathetically extended by Michael Williams of MJW Architects in 2010.
Making the most of a beautiful site (estimated by the current owner to be two acres in size), the house has a largely glass south-facing façade along one side. This creates a series of light and airy spaces with open views over the gardens and neighbouring farmland.
Accommodation is currently arranged over two floors (although planning permission has been granted in the past to create a third floor). The house is reached via steep drive that leads to a parking area and an attached garage / utility room. The front door opens onto a wonderful, glazed entrance hall, from which one can go into one of the house’s three ‘wings’. To the west is the bedroom wing, which incorporates a large end bedroom, two smaller bedrooms and a family bathroom. Steps lead downstairs to the master bedroom, which has a generously sized en suite bathroom. This bedroom has floor-to-ceiling glazing on one side giving views out to the garden and leading out onto a terrace.
Another wing contains the main living area, with a small study at one end. This spectacular space is divided by a hearth which has been fitted with a wood-burning stove.
Another wing, designed by Michael Williams of MJW Architects and built in 2010, is where the kitchen / dining room can be found. This features another double-height, glazed space overlooking the dramatic rear garden that has been landscaped to fit into the existing rock face. Williams describes the project as:
“A contemporary extension to a modernist 1970’s architect designed house tucked away in a village setting. The new glass extension ‘wings’ provide an exciting new entrance and kitchen with spectacular views of the extensive gardens. More importantly it works with the existing modernist house, whilst adding a dynamic contemporary edge to the original design. The new entrance hall provides a great focal point on arrival which stands out and directs visitors to the front door. The new open plan kitchen acts as the hub of the house that now easily links to the gardens.”
The gardens are one the main attractions of this property. Estimated by the current owner to be approximately two acres in size, they form a gentle valley with the house built into one slope. With large areas of lawn, a wide variety of specimen trees and shrubs, a vegetable garden and even a small maze, the grounds are a true delight.
Brothers Bob and Tim Organ, who owned a pioneering design and development firm called Artist & Constructor, were the developers, designers and contractors on the original house. Although widely celebrated at the time, Artist & Constructor only completed a small (but highly distinctive) number of projects before they went their separate ways. For more on Bob and Tim Organ, see the History section.
The house is located on the edge of the attractive Somerset village of Oakhill. Although small, the village is home to a highly regarded pub (the Oakhill Inn) and a state primary school. The larger town of Shepton Mallet is three miles away whilst the cathedral city of Wells is six miles. Bath, fifteen miles away, offers fantastic shopping, dining and cultural opportunities, as does Bristol (twenty miles).
Bristol also has an international airport. Railway services can be found in Bristol, Bath and Castle Cary (ten miles away). There is a wide range of schools in the area including Whitsone and Sexey’s (state) and Downside, Millfield, Kings and Wells Cathedral School (private).
Babington House, a renowned members country club, is 7 miles away and offers a cinema, restaurant and a range of leisure facilities. The Glastonbury Festival site at Pilton is 6 miles away.
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
Having formed Artist & Constructor (with Bob the artist and Tim the constructor) in 1968 to great acclaim, the Organs were the toast of the contemporary architecture world when the house as Oakhill was built.
They featured frequently in books, architectural journals and newspapers and were the subject of a large article in The Times by Tony Aldous.
Based in the West Country, the Organs were the sons of an architect but neither of them had received formal architectural training themselves (although both taught the subject at the Architectural Association in London). It is the expressiveness of their designs – the daring forms of their buildings – that mark out the Organs from their contemporaries. Almost sculptural in appearance, their houses, schools, apartment blocks and other buildings still seem daring to this day.
Admirers of Modern architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto (whose work they travelled to see), the Organs preferred their more organic architectural style to the severe approach of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe..
In the 1970s, Bob Organ gave up architecture to pursue painting. He is still an active and successful artist to this day. His brother, meanwhile, went on to form the J. T. Group with John Pontin OBE. Still running today, this Bristol-based architecture and development firm was a pioneer in issues of sustainability in building. When Tim Organ left the J. T. Group, he set up his own firm and he is still a practising architect based in Wales.
