1960s Cockaigne Housing Group property in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Updated, but with features intact, this 1960s Cockaigne Housing Group property in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, is up for sale.
I have featured a few of these in the past, with the majority (if not all) in largely original condition and some needing some work. This one is at the other end of the spectrum.
But this is still consistent with the other houses on this development, designed by architects Peter Phippen, Peter Randall and David Parkes in the mid-1960s, with the scheme described by English Heritage as ‘the leading English manifestation of the courtyard house’. Grade II-listed, as you might have worked out from that.
It’s still a much-loved development, especially for fans of midcentury modern architecture. But it isn’t only about the house design. It is also about the scheme’s layout, which follows that forward-thinking 1960s ethos of giving its residents land and social space—something we have long given up on today.
If you saw a patch of land now, the average developer would be looking at squeezing another house on, not a tennis court. More on that particular selling point in a moment.
The houses are/were designed around internal courtyards and set out with linear front-to-back layouts of flowing spaces, variable in length. Together, they form what is described as a long and staggered unified terrace.
The house sits back from the road and is approached via a path of herringbone-laid brickwork that cuts across the front garden. The front door is ‘recessed between two lateral wings’, with immediate views across the house’s length, the hallway, and the open living spaces to the rear terrace and courtyard garden beyond.
As I mentioned earlier, this one has been updated. It was bought some years back in largely original condition but also looking a touch tired – and presumably in need of work to bring it up to standard for the 21st century.
According to the seller, they have ‘replaced more or less everything’ right down to the wood, turning it into a more ‘practical family home’, but also attempting to ‘make it fun’.
However, significantly, despite all the updates, the house hasn’t lost the original look and feel of the design and the era. That’s always the tricky bit. Yes, the kitchen is modern, there are contemporary touches here and there, and there is even an EV charging point. But this is still a piece of architecture from the early 1960s, which in turn took inspiration from Danish housing schemes of the day.
The design is still all about the wood, the block walls, the open space, and the natural light via the floor-to-ceiling glazing and the skylights above. If you have a thing for midcentury modern architecture, this will almost certainly appeal.
I love the sliding doors, too, which add some flexibility to the configuration of the floor space.
As for the layout, that’s arranged across two long bays – the kitchen, dining room, living room and boot room sit within the wider bay, while in the narrower are the house’s four bedrooms (one being an en-suite) and the bathroom. One of the bedrooms is currently split in two and used as an office and a painting studio. Obviously, there are options to change that if art (or working from home) isn’t your thing.
The focal point of the house is the open-plan living space. Lined in matt-finished, douglas fir cladding, it has an entire wall of glass at one end, opening onto the terrace and courtyard garden beyond.
A sliding door offers easy access to the bright dining space and kitchen, which is the most recently updated area of the house and very much the ‘entertaining’ kitchen that houses tend to feature today.
The central courtyard has been partially enclosed, providing what’s described as a ‘lovely winter garden-style ambience’ in the inner hallway.
The main bedroom has plenty of built-in cabinetry and an en-suite bathroom. A further bedroom has floor-to-ceiling glazing overlooking the garden, while the third bedroom has ‘cleverly conceived bespoke storage’. Off the hall is the modern family bathroom, illuminated by a large skylight.
A utility and boot room completes the layout, opening directly to the workshop and storage.
Outside space, too, with a front and rear garden, along with a patio adjacent to the living room. Owners of Cockaigne houses also have a share of extensive communal gardens across the site, spanning just under three acres in total, which includes a tennis court and a secure children’s play area.
Note also the community house, which hosts yoga sessions, supper clubs, and Christmas get-togethers, and a self-contained one-bedroom guest flat, which residents can book for visitors at a nominal charge.
It is very much the 1960s dream, but with updates for 21st-century living. Now on the market, it is up for £850,000.
Images and details courtesy of The Modern House. For more details and to make an enquiry, please visit the website.
