Goddards Surrey House, Abinger Common Home, Lutyens Property, Gertrude Jekyll England, Building

Goddards House Architecture

Major Work by Sir Edwin Lutyens in Surrey, England, UK, with Gertrude Jekyll garden

post updated 21 Mar 2021

Goddards, Abinger Common

Dates built: 1898-1900

Design: Sir Edwin Lutyens Architect

Location: Abinger Common, Surrey – near Dorking

In 1898 Lutyens was commissioned to design Goddards for Sir F. Mirrielees (wings added 1909-1910).

West Wing:

photograph : Charles Latham (1847-1912), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

extended by Lutyens in 1910

Garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll

Built as a ‘Home of Rest’ by Frederick Mirrielees. The house was remodelled in 1910 for Mirrielees’ son to live in. From 1953 it was owned by Mr & Mrs Hall. Goddards was given to the Lutyens Trust by them in 1991. The property is run by the Landmark Trust at time of writing so available for holidays. https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/news-and-events/visiting-landmarks/visiting-goddards/

Lutyens Trust website : www.lutyenstrust.org.uk

Ground Floor Plan (left) and First Floor Plan (right):

photograph : Lawrence Weaver 1876-1930, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Information re Goddards from the Lutyens Trust

In 1991 Mr Bill Hall bequeathed his home Goddards to the Lutyens Trust in memory of his son, Lee, who died in 1988. The initial plan of the Trustees was to make Goddards a centre for Lutyens studies and promote appreciation of the architect’s work through opening Goddards to the public and running it with a resident administrator.

However this plan proved too ambitious and a solution was found through leasing the property to the Landmark Trust on a 99 year lease for use as a home for holidays, with the Lutyens Trust keeping the library for sole use and having the whole house for one week in the summer. This arrangement satisfied the Trust’s desire to retain ownership of the property, maintain the fabric and ensure that interested members of the public could have access to an example of Sir Edwin’s early work.

Since 1996 when the Landmark Trust took over the responsibility of Goddards, the Lutyens Trust has concentrated its energies on architectural casework, arranging a programme of activities, publishing a newsletter and awarding grants to promote Lutyens studies or other architectural projects.

Edwin Lutyens Architect

Location: Abinger Common, Surrey, England, UK