EARLY HISTORY

Wendover Court, which was originally called Wendover Buildings, was constructed between 1890 and 1900 by the Artizans, Labourers and General Dwellings Company (also known as the Artizans Company), a philanthropic organisation which speicialised in building for the working class. In order to offer the flats at the lowest possible rent, the company built them without bathrooms but with shared washing areas on each floor.

This company was founded in 1867 by William Austin, a general builder who could neither read nor write. Mr Austin brought together a group of fellow workmen and clerks and they founded a joint stock company. Their aim – to build for the industrious poor. Although subsequently the Company’s main field was in London, the early initiatives were in other parts of England. By 1874 there were properties in Liverpool, Gosport, Baildon (Leeds), Salford and Birmingham. The company was distinguished by the fact that the workmen had a cooperative interest in their work; labour counted in profits as well as capital.

Impressed by these arrangements, Lord Shaftesbury, an ardent philanthropist and social reformer, gave the company his support. In 1874, the company completed its first major London estate – the Shaftesbury Park Estate in Battersea. This was opened by the newly elected Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli who declared himself “astonished” at what had been achieved. The estate consists of terraced houses – 4 different styles were used and street frontages varied to avoid monotony – plus a school, estate office and community centre (but no public houses). The estate was in many ways a prelude to the garden city, and the housing was far more attractive than that provided by the philanthropic organisations working at this period. Similar estates were later built at Wood Green, Queen’s Park, Hornsey and in other parts of London.

In circa 1895, the company built the Leigham Court Estate – a magnificent parade of shops in Streatham Hill, with streets of terraced housing leading back from it. These houses – like those of the Shaftesbury Park Estate – are now back in the private sector, and extremely popular.

In 1888, the company built its first apartment block. This stood in Lisson Grove, Marylebone, and was named “Portman Buildings” after the landowner, Lord Portman. The block was opened by Lord Rosebery who later became Prime Minister. This building was demolished by Westminster City Council in 1984. Other apartment blocks followed – Seymour Buildings (which was occupied by squatters in the 1970’s and is now run by a housing association), Crawford Buildings, Freshwater Court and Wendover Buildings (later renamed “Wendover Court”), also Grays Inn Residences in Clerkenwell.

In order to offer these apartments at a low rental, the company built them as “associated flats”, ie without internal bathrooms. However, they were adorned externally with a somewhat grandiose style of architecture. Subsequently, between 1955 and 1965 the flats were converted into self-contained dwellings. 

In the post-war period, the company built the Pinnerwood Park Estate near Hatch End, Middlesex. Although built in a different style, these houses exhibit the same elements of good design and sound construction which characterised the earlier buildings. These houses are known locally as “Artagen” properties, which was the 1950’s name of the company, a contraction of the original name. During the 1950s the company also participated in the planned redevelopment of parts of the Calthorpe Estate in Egbaston, Birmingham. In 1965/66, following the recommendations of the Milner Holland report, the company was forced to sell almost all of its London properties to the local authorities in the various boroughs and moved into the field of property investment.

MORE RECENT HISTORY

At the Annual General Meeting of WCML on 6 December 2001 there was unanimous approval of the plan to restore the nine entrances of our block. Leaseholders who are new to the block, or who live elsewhere, may appreciate a word of explanation as to why restoration is necessary. The answer lies in the history of the building.

In 1964 the Artizans Company embarked on a complete refurbishment of the block. By the end of this process the flats were self contained and the building had been renamed "Wendover Court", but the doorways had been drastically altered. In a misguided attempt to make the building look more fashionable, the elegant pilasters flanking each entrance had been demolished and replaced with mosaic tiled reveals.

Designs approved at the 2001 AGM allowed for the renewal of the pilasters, including the capitals and bases, to match the original profiles which have been copied from the examples which still exist between the shops.

The following sketch is taken from the architecural drawing "Proposal for the Reinstatement of the Entrances of Wendover Court" by Robin Wyatt, architectural historian. The images below show the difference between the entrance from the 60s compared with the reinstated entrance.