9. Annabel & Patrick Dott in Barnes: 1923 to 1937

Patrick and Annabel stayed in Barnes for 14 years.  They had come to a beautiful place.  The area of Barnes Rectory was described in 1936 as

one of the beauty spots of a really beautiful borough ... of some three to four acres, consisting of the church, the rectory, the homestead and cottage

The Rectory adjoined the church.  It was a Georgian house of 28 rooms, and required work.  Patrick and Annabel are reported to have spent £2,000 on renovations on their arrival.  Patrick's gross stipend, according to Crockford's Directory of 1930, was £578 a year (£520 net plus house); he later said the rectory was so vast a building that it imposed a considerable strain on the incumbent's resources:

A house of this sort cannot be maintained on much under £1000 a year ... Only a man who has an income of at least £500 or £600 a year of his own can possibly accept this living

I have only been able to find a few newspaper articles relating to Patrick at Barnes, but luckily an article in the West London Observer of 31 March 1933, when there was a rumour that Patrick was leaving the parish for a city church, gives a brief account of how active he had been in the parish during his first ten years:

Mr Dott came to Barnes from Croydon in 1923, and during his ten years tenure he has been closely associated with the Barnes Nursing Association, League of Nations Union, Animals' Welfare Centre, Barnes Rotary Club, and many other local institutions.  He played a prominent part in the recent successful Charter celebrations, being Chairman of the sub-committee responsible for arranging the historical tableau in the procession. 

One of his first considerations on coming to Barnes was to raise funds for the building of a church hall which now stands in Kitson Road.  This was opened by Dean Inge in the Spring of 1928. 

During his rectorate Mr Dott has been instrumental in effecting many improvements both within and without the church, and at the moment he is endeavouring to raise sufficient money for a fund the object of which is to repair the older part of the roof of the historic Parish Church which, incidentally, dates back as far as the fifteenth century, and also the belfry steps and the bells.

The building of the Kitson Road church hall had also been Annabel's project:

West London Observer, 8 June 1928

NEW CHURCH HALL

Plans designed by Rector's Wife 

A new recreation hall for Barnes Parish Church, erected on a site in the Rectory grounds adjoining the church, was dedicated by the Dean of St Paul's and formally opened by Lady Lowther in the presence of a large and distinguished assembly last Saturday afternoon.  The fact that the plans of the hall were designed by his wife was revealed by the rector during the ceremony. 

The Rev W P Dott, who presided, read a message from the Duke of York, who has taken a keen interest in the efforts to provide a recreation hall, in which His Royal Highness expressed his pleasure that the hall had been completed.  It was a very great day for those who had had the matter on their hands for more than three years, the Rector said, and it was really a fine achievement that they had provided such a building, for the religious and social welfare of the parish.  They had had to encounter many difficulties in building the hall; at first they tried to find a site in front of the Rectory gardens, facing the main road, but it was found that this meant going beyond the building line.  The site was accordingly backed to the level of the old Rectory.  The first plans which were submitted by the honorary architect, the Rector continued, were found to be too costly, and finally, speaking with all modesty, the Rev Dott said the hall was designed by his wife.  (Applause).  "This is a time when the Church of England is being rent asunder," he said, "and it is pleasing to reflect that the Church of England in Barnes during this time of controversy has got on with the job." (Applause) ... 

A financial statement submitted by Mr Bowes Loddiges showed that £3,838 18s 6d had already been received, of which £2,842 12s 2d had been paid away.  Further demands amounted to £1,116 and as the cash in hand was £1,036, there was a deficit of £80.  In addition to this, he estimated that a further £180 would be required for equipment, etc. ... 

Following the opening ceremony, Mrs W P Dott presented Mr W Taylor, the foreman employed by the builders, with a handsome watch 

[There follows a short list of the more significant attendees:  councillors, and clergy from Holy Trinity Barnes, St Michael's Mortlake, and the West Kensington Jewish Synagogue]

This building is still the St Mary's Church Hall, generally known as Kitson Hall (the entrance is on Kitson Road)

Kitson Hall, Barnes

Annabel was still attracting press attention.  A story that she claimed to be able to build workers' houses at two-thirds of the cost of council houses appeared in several papers – her print persona was to be unorthodox and slightly eccentric, and how much of what is reported of her is true, is impossible to judge.  This is from the Dundee Evening Telegraph, 8 June 1928

If only the builders to-day would forget about the pretty villas with paper-like walls and unnecessary rooms that they are building," she said, "and go back to the simple old Elizabethan cottages, the housing shortage would be solved in half the time. 

The working man and the small clerk need only one large living room, with furniture such as sideboards and cupboards let into the walls.  Two rooms are more expensive, twice the work, and quite unnecessary. 

If only I could have the designing of the L.C.C and other Council estates being built for the workers I would put them up at two-thirds the cost, double the comfort, and make them solid, beautiful and lasting"

By this time, the work that Annabel had begun in Sussex in 1920 was nearly complete.  As the 1921 article in the Worthing Herald had said, she aimed to combine at Grey Wood, East Hoathly, "all the delights of Jacobean residences with all modern conveniences".  Her use of electricity attracted the attention of the trade press:

The Electrical Journal, vol 92 1924

Mrs Annabel Dott, wife of the Rector of Barnes, has designed and had erected 17 cottages [actually 14 dwellings in all] in Grey Wood, near East Hoathley, Sussex.  A special electrical generating plant has been equipped, and the cottages are supplied with current for lighting, irons, kettles, etc., while there are also a communal electric laundry, electric bakehouse and electric washer-up

Annabel had created a little hamlet at Greywood – a quirky collection of cottages, houses and supporting out-offices in a variety of styles.  As with the houses in Goathland, Annabel had used reclaimed materials.  She seems to have envisaged a self-sufficient little community, sharing facilities without living in each other's pockets, and enjoying a woodland and lakeside setting.  There was no architectural unity to the scheme – the cottages were thatched, the supporting out-offices were built in a half-timbered style, the houses were very individual – it was an eclectic collection of styles that must have appealed to Annabel herself.

The scheme cannot have been the success for which she had hoped, because she put the little estate up for auction at the end of May 1929 and the auction announcement in the Sussex Agricultural Express of 31 May shows that only two of the thatched houses in The Quad (see photograph below) were tenanted, and only one of the outlying houses.  The estate was to be sold as a whole or in lots, and prices ranged from £550 to £1,450.  

Quadrangle, Greywood, East Hoathly

The sales brochure which describes Greywood is written in a style so reminiscent of Annabel's own that it must surely have been written by her:-

The Grey Wood Estate consists of nearly Fifty Acres of beautiful woodland in which are built a Quad of Nine Thatched Houses, a Flat in the Little Quad, and four outlying Cottages.  It is about a mile from East Hoathly, a Village on the main London to Eastbourne Road, and is in an unspoiled rural district, its comparative isolation being its chief asset – it is so hard to get real country within fifty miles of London. 

People are tired of crowded towns, with the jostling on the pavement, and the rush of traffic.  It is a boon to get a small house away from the dust and noise of modern life.  Such a house with a really big living room and modern conveniences can be a comfortable home for a quiet-loving man, or a week-end refuge in the peace of the countryside.  The very distance from a station is a gain in these days of the small car and the motor 'Bus. 

The big Power Station makes it possible to supply its own electric light. 

The Quad is not a communal settlement, as at the 'Varsity, a man can "sport his oak" when he chooses; as in a London block of Flats, the Tenants do not necessarily have an intimate acquaintance, so in the country one's friendships depend on one's inclination. 

It is hoped to attract Tenants from the Services, especially Naval, Army, Indian Civil Servants, 'Varsity and Literary Men needing quiet; lovers of the Country and country life.

The Quad consisted of nine thatched houses built on three sides of a square:

Each House has a long low Living Room with panelled walls and oak floor, a small Kitchen, Dining Room, 3-4 Bedrooms, Bath Room.

Wired for Electric Light.  Radiators

Constant Hot Water could be arranged.

Telephone if desired.

The Little Quad, an L-shaped, black-and-white timbered adjunct to the Quad:

consists of boiler house, fuel store, electric laundry, the Estate Office, the Bakehouse, with a three-tier oven, an electric washer up for 200 people, and a store room for luggage may be added.

Above is a long Balcony, from which Three small Guest Bedrooms open in the manner of a little Swiss chalet hotel.

There is also a Flat with Drawing Room, Dining Room, Kitchenette, and Three Bedrooms and Bath Room.

The Quads at Greywood, East Hoathly

There were, according to the brochure, "four outlying cottages".  One was 'Fairview'

a house with wide open views across the Valley.  It is built of English oak weatherboard, lined with a wall of Moler Blocks making it warm and cosy.  The house is wired for electric light.  Living Room (oak floor), 20ft x 12 ft with casement Windows, radiator, Dining Room, 20ft x 12 ft, radiator.  Third small sitting Room.  Kitchen with independent hot water boiler.  Loggia, partly roofed to serve as open air sleeping porch.  The house stands in an acre of ground.

Another was 'The Little House', which

stands in a charming small garden about one acre, part of which is wild woodland, the rest fruit trees, flower beds and grass.  It is built of brick and English oak weather board, with a tiled roof.  The big long Living Room has an oak floor and Casement Windows.  A Dining Room and Small Kitchen are also on the Ground Floor.  Above are 3 Bedrooms and the Bathroom.

The description of the other two "outlying cottages" is fairly baffling, and seems to describe just one house:

Round Houses stands in an acre of ground and is copied from a house in S. Africa, which has four Round Rooms.  It is built of oak weather board and is thatched.  There are two Large Panelled Living Rooms, a charming Round Room for Smoking or a Man's Den, five Bedrooms, Bathroom, Kitchen, etc, and a cloak Room with W C and lavatory basin.  It is wired for electric light, has an independent hot water boiler, radiators in the Living Room, and is most easily worked.  There is room for a Garage and Tennis Lawn.  The Gate is a fine piece of old English ironwork.

It is thought that it may have had rounded corners or round rooms at the corners, rather than being a round house.

Greywood was fully equipped with its own electrical generating plant, a brick-built water tower, pumping sheds (with an Amanco engine and a Pettar engine), a hydro extractor, vats and tanks, a boiler house to provide hot water for 9 houses, circular saw, fire appliances, chicken sheds, bee barn and garage.

There was a small lake and, true to her love of entertainment in the country and of acting, Annabel had planned an open air theatre in the woods.

I do not know what happened at the sale in 1929.  In 1936 she evidently still owned the woodlands:

Sussex Agricultural Express, 1 May 1936

By kind permission of

Mrs Patrick Dott

The Woodlands,

(40 acres)

Greywood,

East Hoathly,

will be opened to the Public on

Wednesday, May 6th

between the hours of 12 noon and 7 pm

The charge for admission will be 1/-, which will be devoted to the Funds of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution

Although Patrick and Annabel spent more time in Barnes than in any other parish, I have been able to find very few references to Annabel in the local press.  An article in the West London Observer of 26 February 1932 shows that she was the Secretary of the newly-formed Society of Friends of Barnes Church.  Dean Inge was the chief visitor at a public meeting of the Society, which was presided over by Patrick, who pointed out 

that they had recently made a great improvement to their churchyard, but they now had at least £500 to spend on repairing the fabric of the Church ... They had started a fund to meet their expenses.  

Annabel, the Society's secretary

explained how they had formed the Society to help the Church, and added that she thought they were the first parish church in the country to start such an organisation, although they had been run in conjunction with the various cathedrals.  Dean Inge had supported the idea and agreed to become their President.  To her mind, all who were proud of the parish church at Barnes should support the Society.

It's possible to follow parish activities in the pages of the West London Observer.  In the early 1930s Patrick was Mayor's Chaplain to Mr J D Firmston, J.P., the Charter-Mayor of Barnes.  The Rectory Grounds were used for fund-raising – in June 1933, there was Dogs' Jamboree in aid of the RSPCA.  And the new church hall – by mid-1935 it had become known as the Kitson Road Church Hall and often simply as Kitson Hall – was in regular use.  A quick look at the second half of 1935 shows: a display by a dancing school; a "flannel dance" held by the Tennis section of the Church Fellowship (Mr and Mrs Dott "looked in"); a play about Leonardo da Vinci; a Jubilee Bridge Drive held by the Badminton Section of the Church Fellowship; a two-act play translated from Spanish, called 'The Cradle Song', given by the Student Players; whist drives held by the Barnes Habitation of the Barnes Primrose League; the play 'Journey's End', by the Student Players; a sale of work and a concert in aid of Barnados ... 

But Annabel disappears from the press in the 1930s, as far as my searches of digitised newspapers show.  Perhaps she concentrated on parish life, or on her private life, or was very occupied with work for her favourite projects, such as the Women's Pioneer Housing.  A clipping pasted by Patrick into a notebook suggests that in 1934 he and Annabel were planning to move back to South Africa.  It appeared in the Church Times of 16 June 1934:

The Rev W P Dott, rector of Barnes, has been appointed chairman of the Capetown Diocesan Association in succession to the late Archbishop of Capetown, Dr Carter, who has accepted the position of President.  Mr Dott was rector of Woodstock, Capetown, for four years, and Acting Warden of St Paul's Theological College, Grahamstown.

Perhaps it was then that the first symptoms of Annabel's cancer appeared and they changed their minds.

Patrick and Annabel's last major activity in Barnes was, it seems, to apply to build a block of flats on the Rectory grounds, together with a new rectory, and for the old Georgian rectory of 28 rooms to be turned into chambers.  This was their solution to the problem of what to do with a rectory that was far too expensive to run – and it was natural, given their view of the need in London for more accommodation suitable for the needs of the post-War population.  

However, their proposal ran into trouble from the well-organised Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen Ratepayers' Association and was rejected by the Council.  The Dotts took their application to appeal, and it was rejected at an inquiry in early 1937.  It cannot be a coincidence that in March 1937, the Association held a public meeting at which their President gave an address on the subject, "Are flats a menace in Barnes?"  

But Annabel and Patrick would soon be gone.  By mid-March 1937 they were in Wiltshire.

The Rev W Patrick Dott at Barnes

With very many thanks to 

Jane Seabrook, local historian in East Hoathly, who has provided me with so much information on Greywood 

Cheryl Cole at Kitson Hall for use of the photograph

Descendants of the Dott family for the photograph of Patrick at Barnes
Martin Hulbert for the information from Patrick's private notebook

Next:  10. Annabel & Patrick Dott in Wiltshire: 1937 and 1938