Dolphin Square
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dolphin Square is a block of private apartments built near the River Thames at Pimlico in London, between 1935 and 1937.
At the time of their construction the development was billed, according to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as the "largest self-contained block of flats in Europe" and, to an extent, their design has been a model for later municipal developments.
A. P. Herbert, 'Dolphin Square', 1935 (illustrations by H. M. Bateman) described the Square as 'a city of 1250 flats, each enjoying at the same time most of the advantages of the separate house and the big communal dwelling place'; the provision of a restaurant made him fear that 'fortunate wives will not have enough to do. A little drudgery is good for wives, perhaps. The Dolphin lady may be spoiled'. This booklet was produced as a promotional puff for the firm that owned and built the complex, Richard Costain Ltd. On purchasing the site, Richard Rylandes Costain remarked to a colleague: ‘in two or three years we'll either drive up to this spot in a Rolls-Royce, or we'll be standing here selling matches’.[1]
Sir Max Joseph bought the complex in 1958 for £2.4 million, selling it to Lintang Investments. Westminster Council later owned the estate.[2]It was sold to Westbrook Holdings (January 2006), and the hotel/restaurant closed down in 2006 only to have another hotel open in its place.
Accommodation is provided in thirteen 'houses' each named after a famous navigator or admiral. At the south (Thames) side of the Square the houses are Grenville, Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins. Moving from the river up the west side, there are Nelson, Howard, Beatty, and Duncan. An hotel and administration offices, situated at the north side of the Square, is in Dolphin House, previously known as Rodney. Heading south from the hotel there is Keyes, Hood, Collingwood and Frobisher.
The estate contains a swimming pool, bar, brasserie (all of which closed for renovation in 2007), gymnasium, and shopping arcade. In the basement are a launderette and car park. A tennis court and croquet lawn overlook the River Thames.
For many years, the estate had a reputation for being a 'Bourgeois Council Estate', with many judges, senior civil servants, and MPs living at favourable market rates. Distinguished residents have included comedian Ben Lyon; actor Peter Finch; politician Harold Wilson; lesbian writer Radclyffe Hall; Christine Keeler; Anne, the Princess Royal and, it is rumoured, MI5 and Soviet spies. John Vassall, the Soviet spy, was arrested at his Dolphin Square apartment in 1962.[3] It provided a base for the Free French during World War II. Comedian Bud Flanagan used to live in the Square - a bench in the gardens is dedicated to him. A hawk is kept in the estate to control the pigeon population.
The Dolphin Square Tenants' Association (DSTA) represents the interests of tenants in the Square and publishes a regular newsletter DolphinTimes. Back issues of the DSTA's previous newsletter TenantTimes are archived on the web. A social and welfare club, The Blue Dolphin Club, also exists.
[edit] References
- ^ Norman Kipping, “Costain, Sir Richard Rylandes (1902–1966),” rev., in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004), http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/32580 (accessed March 7, 2007).
- ^ Richard Davenport-Hines, “Joseph, Sir Maxwell (1910–1982),” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004), http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31295 (accessed March 7, 2007).
- ^ Cahal Milmo: " Secrets revealed of gay 'honey trap' that made spy of Vassall", The Independent, 30 June 2006