modernist masterpieces
Peter Womersley’s lyrical brutalism
Decay has a certain beauty, but when it is associated with a mid-20th century architectural masterpiece it brings only sadness. The first three photos in the gallery of Peter Womersley’s work are of the Category 'A' listed Klein Studio that sits in wooded parkland between Galashiels and Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. Unfortunately, it is also "Buildings at Risk" registered. In late 2017, compelled to act by the alarming deterioration in the structure, working with my cousin Michael Smith and Helen Hurst, an enthusiast and knowledgeable supporter of Peter’s work, we launched Preserving Womersley, a web-based initiative to raise awareness of the plight of the Klein Studio.
Commissioned by textile designer Bernat Klein and designed by renowned 20th Century British architect Peter Womersley, completed in 1972, it was the recipient of awards and plaudits for its innovation and design. It sits below the hill on which the Klein family home, High Sunderland. was built, itself perhaps Womersley’s best-known work and a Category 'A' listed building dating from 1958. Sir Basil Spence, when asked whose work he would recommend in the field of domestic architecture, responded simply: “anything by Peter Womersley”.
Now, with over 350 direct subscribers, over 1,000 followers on social media, Severl articles in The Times on the plight of the Studio, an appreciation of Womersley’s architecture published in the journal of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, offers of support, contributions by academcs, enthusiasts and owners to the website, and the generous engagement of the Klein and Womersley families, it is sad to report that there has been little done by the owner to remedy this awful situation. That said, a recemt artivle in the Times brought into the light an effort underway by leading Scottish cultural institutions and others to engage with the owner in an effort to rescue and reuprose the building in a public-facing role.
So it’s not all bad news: Professor Neil Jackson published a monograph on Womersley’s work under the imprint of the 20th Century Society’s series ‘Twentieh Century Architects’; and the four other buildings featured here (High Sunderland, the former Klein family home (1958); Galashiels Fairydean Football Stadium (1964), the Nuffield Trasnplant Unit at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary (1968), and the DIngleton Boilerhouse (1977)) are either fully occupied and maintained, in the process of refurbishment or repurposing. All are listed buildings and none are on the ‘at risk’ register.
Even as a child, I thought the spaces created by Womersley were magical.My parents were close friends of both Peter Womersley and Bernat and Margaret Klein. To have visited their homes, to have grown up with the fierce intelligence and cultural engagement that both Womersley and Klein brought to the table and to have had the privilege of their friendship and generosity, were gifts of lasting importance. so this one is personal.
To find out more about this extraordinary talent, his work and the efforts to save and maintain his priceless cultural legacy, please visit the Preserving Womersley website by clicking on the icon.
