_The great British revival of the US Ambassador’s country estate
When it comes to property, it’s long been established that there are three crucial elements: location, location, location.
So it stands to reason that a property set on four and a half acres in the heart of the Wentworth estate’s central island is pretty special – even before its exceptional architecture and design are taken into consideration.
Indeed, it was the property’s superior setting that initially made it so irresistible to its current owners ten years ago. And then there was the building’s compelling use of curves; its entrance, for example, framed on either side by long walls curving to embrace the surrounding trees in a manner rarely seen in the predominately cubic forms of Modernist designs. It was clear that a sensitive restoration would be no easy feat – but it proved a challenge too intriguing to refuse.
Sunroom overlooking landscaped garden
And so began the next chapter of the Wentworth property’s illustrious story: the restoration. Little did those involved know that it was one destined to span a decade, involving locations as distant as Brazil and an array of individuals – from architects to historians, councils to authors – with conflicting opinions united by one goal: to give this unique piece of English architecture the respectful renovation that it deserved.
The property’s notable history began when British architect Oliver Hill was commissioned to design it in 1935. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Hill wanted the Modernist movement to inspire his designs without dictating them; a meditative approach that continued during the property’s renovation. The property whispers – but never shouts – Art Deco, instead exhibiting a thorough understanding of how to draw on different periods and styles to give an effortlessly luxurious finish, behind which cutting-edge technology and infrastructure operates smoothly to ensure the highest levels of comfort.
It is clear that this is a renovation that has had no expense – or attention to detail – spared.
Such was the standard of the property that it featured in the Modern Architecture exhibition in England at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) some two years after its design was commissioned, in 1937.
It is therefore unsurprising that the property boasts an impressive lineage of owners: Katherine Newton, director of England’s largest industrial company Newton Chambers & co.; film producer Ivar Campbell; and, perhaps most notably, US Ambassador John Hay Whitney.
An American philanthropist with a fortune so vast he ranked among the ten wealthiest people in the world, Whitney’s purchase of the property – his self-proclaimed ‘Surrey estate’ – is significant in itself. Whitney was a figure renowned for choosing only the very best; a reputation that subsequently offers a clear insight into the unparalleled splendour and sophistication of the Wentworth estate.
Pictured left to right: Queen Elizabeth II, President Richard Nixon, Betsy Whitney and US Ambassador John Hay Whitney
Whitney spent at least a month at the property during each of the 30 years he owned it, and it’s clear that his association with the best of everything also extended to friendships; his circle of friends included silver screen legends Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, as well as the Queen and Prince Philip. One can only begin to imagine the dinner parties that took place in the property’s enchanting dining room.
When establishing their own vision of the Wentworth property’s restoration, the developers aptly looked to Hill’s admiration for Mies van der Rohe, a leading Modernist architect of the twentieth century. Mies subsequently became the project’s fundamental design reference point, an implementation patent throughout the property’s architecture and unique palette of materials.
West wing living room
Take, for instance, the breath-taking onyx wall in the living room; the product of millions of years of geological processes, extensive research and a trip to Italy’s Carrara.
The onyx wall is not the only notable material on offer, either – the Wentworth home could quite easily be mistaken as a private museum of rare materials gifted from Mother Nature herself. There’s the moody Brazilian granite of the underground swimming pool; the spectacular Verde Tinos wall in the garden; the zebra-veined Calcatta marble and hard Canadian Eramosa marble of the bathrooms. It is clear that this is a renovation that has had no expense – or attention to detail – spared.
In addition to striking materials, the property offers a uniquely nuanced rebellion against conformity. Not only does it refuse to adopt one obvious style, but it also presents a rather unexpected lay-out; there is not a single front-room to speak of.
Instead, we are presented with a series of back-rooms.
Coupled with the building’s many expansive windows, this unusual orientation ensures that every millimetre of the property’s 60-metre wide footprint is fully optimised. The rooms face south and are subsequently flooded with warm golden sunlight for hours on end. On a clear day, you can quite literally follow the sun around the house.
After making their way down the long gravel driveway, visitors are likely to be welcomed into the rebuilt east wing, where they can enjoy the home cinema, dining room and wine cellar. The west wing offers a more formal and intimate space, with a grand double-height reception room that’s guaranteed to impress even the most discerning of guests. And that’s before they bear witness to the stainless steel indoor pool, complete with moving floor, deftly disappearing into the ground in a sight that wouldn’t look out of place in the latest James Bond film.
Guest pavilion
James Crawford, Partner at Knight Frank, has come across many newly developed properties during his extensive 30-year career, but none have quite compared to this house. He describes: “the most coveted houses tend to be those completed by the end-user; someone who has devoted everything – their time, attention, money – into producing a property that exceeds the expectations of all those who encounter it.
Just to wander through the meticulously designed property renders you speechless; to learn that its painstaking restoration was completed by a developer rather than somebody intending to spend their life there is, almost, unbelievable – and deeply impressive.”
While this home’s restoration chapter comes to a close, there’s no doubting that there are many pages left in the story of this modern masterpiece – and the title of the next chapter has already been decided. For as each person wanders in awe through the lovingly renovated rooms of this Wentworth property, the same singular syllable is repeatedly uttered, regardless of the speaker’s native tongue. ‘Wow’.
The Wentworth estate is available for sale through Knight Frank. Contact James Crawford for more information: +44 20 7861 1065