Cambridge 2000: Southacre Drive: Chippenham and Barrington
These two blocks of flats are on the Southacre site, which is
located between Chaucer Road and Latham Road. The freehold
for the site was purchased by the university from the
Pemberton family in 1940. The university built two anodyne
blocks of flats on the grounds in 1950-1951, and these are for
university staff.
The university was keen to develop the site further, for
commercial reasons, and after a decade of argument over
various proposals, in 1988-1990 five blocks of flats (all
designed by Cound Page) and twelve houses were added to
the site, mostly on the eastern edge, bordering Trumpington
Road.
These two blocks of flats were added on the western edge.
They are located on almost the same footprint as the house,
Southacre, built in 1880 for Henry Latham (Master of
Trinity Hall),
from which the site gets its name. That house was demolished
in 1989 as part of this extensive redevelopment.
Houses at numbers 1 and 3 Chaucer Road were also demolished
in order to provide not only access but also land for some of
the new houses.
These two blocks are similar in spirit
to
Oast House
and
Redwood Lodge
on the Pinehurst site on Grange Road, which were built around
the same time.
Other photographs within 200 m: