Spangate
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"A triumphant contemporary homage to Eric Lyon's legacy"
This immaculate two-bedroom apartment lies on the ground floor of Spangate, part of Blackheath's sought-after Cator Estate. It was built in 1963 by Span, a widely celebrated development company who took inspiration from Scandinavian modernist architecture. The current owners – the third to have ever owned it – have worked with Studio R\W Architects to undertake a meticulous yet sensitive renovation. The best connected of the Cator Estate development, Spangate is minutes from Blackheath and its railway station, which connects to London Bridge in 10 minutes.
Spangate
£725,000
History
The development company Span built 30 housing estates across the UK between 1948 and 1984. In his book The Spirit of Span Housing, James Strike writes:
“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.”
In 2006, Span housing was the subject of an exhibition at the RIBA, and the accompanying book, 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’.”
Graham Morrison of Allies & Morrison Architects, who bought a Span House in the early 1980s, describes the joy of living on the Cator Estate: “I find it hard to imagine a more pleasant and safe place, so close to the city, in which to bring up young children. A shared garden made the making of friends easy and a sensible management structure helped to ensure the maintenance of not only the buildings and gardens but also the aims of the community.”
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