Bentley Priory Stanmore,

Middlesex

CLIENT: St Modwen

SCHEME: 95 homes

SITE: 23 ha

DATE: Completed in 2017

MASTERPLAN: ADAM Urbanism

ARCHITECTS: ADAM Architecture, Giles Quarme & Associates

Bentley Priory in Stanmore began life as a country house, originally designed by Sir John Soane. It was altered in the nineteenth century and served as Headquarters Fighter Command for the RAF during the Battle of Britain. While the house is listed Grade II*, it was surrounded by utilitarian structures built for the RAF. The cessation of military use in 2008 gave the opportunity to replace these within the form and scale of the site, and in keeping with Bentley Priory itself.

The client’s brief was to provide a broad mix of luxurious classically elegant new homes and apartments across the site. A total of 95 units have been built on the footprint of the previous buildings, in compliance with Green Belt policy within which Bentley Priory is contained. The housing mix provides choice and creates a balanced community. Due to its Green Belt location, and the need to maintain openness, the density of development has been kept exceptionally low compared to other developments in the area, such as Stanmore Park.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Liz Lake Associates

Features such as the restored Italian Gardens and the onsite museum commemorate the site’s illustrious history. The client’s approved design positioned new dwellings in four distinct areas, each with their own architectural style and character to give an individual identity to each development section. The architectural design and layout of the buildings closest to the mansion is informed by the simple, restrained architecture of the existing Soane mansion, and by the historic landscape. Other buildings on the outer edges of the estate have an Arts and Crafts character that directly refers to the local vernacular and the loose urban grain of the surrounding neighbourhood.

The housebuilder of the new architecture was Barratt Homes, while City & Country were the property developer for the conversion work.