Murdoch Road Conservation Area
A designated Conservation Area is one with special architectural and historic interest which a Local Authority has deemed worthy of preservation. Building work can still happen in Conservation Areas, but is likely to be scrutinised more carefully than in other places in order to maintain the special character and amenity of the area.
Although there are currently 16 designated Conservation Areas in Wokingham District, there are only two in Wokingham town, namely the Murdoch Road Conservation Area and the Wokingham Town Centre Conservation Area.
South Drive is situated in the Murdoch Road Conservation Area, which was designated in February 2003 following a recommendation of the Wokingham Borough Council Conservation Officer. This was based on an independent professional appraisal on architectural and historic interest by the firm Conservation Architecture & Planning Limited at the request of residents of Murdoch Road, supported by the Wokingham Society. The appraisal’s conclusions explain why Designated Conservation Area status was granted:
It is considered that Murdoch Road, with adjoining roads, is of special architectural and historic interest warranting Conservation Area designation for the following reasons:
a. This estate marks the start of Wokingham’s expansion at the turn of the 20th Century through development of the surrounding field system. It expresses architectural distinctiveness and individuality on account of the designs of the locally important family firm of Morris & Son, architects. Like others of the Arts & Crafts Movement, their work could serve an emergent middle class who previously would not have been able to commission such houses. It is historically interesting for the portrayal of the economic conditions that created this type of layout, plot size and plan form.
b. Notwithstanding some alterations, infills, and the beginnings of redevelopment, the estate survives in large measure, in its layout, forms and external materials, as well as its original use. This may be largely due to the restrictive covenants placed on the buildings by the PIC [The People’s Investment Company Ltd].
c. The main architectural features are the acknowledged Morris houses. These have clearly influenced the designs of other houses in the appraisal area, many of which bear a resemblance to, or copy features of, the Morris houses. Further study may reveal more houses in Crescent Road, South Drive or Sturges Road influenced by Morris & Son.
d. Morris & Son undertook a number of public and ecclesiastical commissions as well as residences within the Reading area, as well as London, where they executed a major church commission.
e. The links with the Arts & Crafts Movement of the late C19 and early C20 and the affinity of the area with well known Garden City layouts.
f. The work of the family has been published in learned journals including: Transactions of the Ancient Monument Society; The Architect; The Builder; and Building News.
g. The firm included one of the UK’s first women Chartered Architects. Violet Morris is strongly represented in the appraisal area. Her style developed further when she built homes in the Arts & Craft Style in Somerset. Cassalla on Murdoch Road probably denotes a turning point in her stylistic interpretation, being closely modelled on the work of CFA Voysey, the most widely published of all Arts & Crafts architects.
h. The extent and relationship of open space between the buildings in Murdoch Road.
i. The relatively low density development which contrasts with the development density of the town centre.
Development pressure is currently placing such locations under threat of redevelopment with high-density housing. Driven by housing targets, unprotected Edwardian suburbs in the District similar to that in the appraisal area are being progressively redeveloped at higher densities. Substantial Edwardian and Victorian houses of quality, such as those in the Murdoch Road area, are this potentially at risk.
The Murdoch Road Conservation Area as designated in February 2003 includes all properties in Murdoch Road, South Drive (except 9A, 9B and 10), Crescent Road, Sturges Road and several properties on Easthampstead Road. South Close lies just outside the Conservation Area.
One of the consequences of Conservation Area designation is that tree work requires prior approval of the Council’s Tree Officer. Planning Applications are also accorded greater scrutiny, and the importance of restrictive covenants in increased.
For more information on Conservation Area Status, please see the Historic England website.
Langborough Recreation Ground, which is located immediately to the West of the Murdoch Road Conservation Area and adjacent to the West side of South Drive, is not situated within a Conservation Area. However, the LRG has been a Registered Village Green since 23 January 1968. Registered Village Greens are strictly protected against redevelopment under the Commons Registration Act 1965 and other legislation. The LRG is one of only two Registered Village Greens in Wokingham District.
