LITTLE HOLLAND HOUSE Named in homage to the Victorian artist George Frederick Watts, who had lived in a house called Little Holland House near Holland Park in Kensington, this home was designed, built and furnished by one remarkable man - Frank Reginald Dickinson (1874-1961). Inspired by the ideas of John Ruskin and William Morris, he dreamed of living in a house that would meet their approval and, realising that on his wage he could not afford to employ an architect, he determined to build his own home. In his unpublished autobiography, Frank says that he wanted "a house with beautiful things inside, a house solid looking and not showy". He came to Carshalton, lured by Ruskin's praise of this area, and managed to buy a plot of land "amidst fields of lavender, herbs and corn". Frank then drew up the plans for his "ideal house", studying trade journals such as The Builder, and consulting with his fiancée, Florence, as well as beginning to make the furniture for his future home - working at night in his parent's cellar on the enormous planks of pine and walnut he had bought. By joining a Mutual Building Society, Frank eventually secured an interest-free sum of three hundred pounds but the estimates for building the home of his dreams were around six hundred pounds, so he was compelled to take the whole project into his own hands.
In October 1902, with the services of a labourer and two of his brothers, Frank began to dig the foundations. The only other workman hired was a bricklayer. Within three months the main structure was finished, including the doors, doorframes, windows and stairs. From February 1903 Frank, with Florence to assist, worked on the interior during weekends and holidays to provide the bare essentials to live there. Finally on their wedding night, 28th March 1904, Frank and Florence moved into the unfinished house, and spent their honeymoon sanding down the window frames, cleaning and staining floors and making the house a home. As part of her devotion to Frank's vision of an 'Ideal House', Florence's savings, intended for her wedding trousseau, had been used to purchase the green Cumbrian slate for roofing the house, when Frank ran out of money. According to Frank, "our home became a centre for gatherings and festivities, country dancing, play acting, musical evenings and discussion groups". He was also involved in many local societies. The Dickinsons lived on a small income. Frank raised extra money by making furniture for local residents and selling his paintings at exhibitions here in the house. A daughter, Isabel (known as Julie) was born in 1905 and a son, Gerard, in 1907. Frank died in 1961. Florence remained in the house until 1972, when she moved to a care home nearby, and the family put the house up for sale to fund her stay. The London Borough of Sutton bought and restored the building, opening it to the public for the first time in April 1974. All quotes in italics come from Frank s unpublished autobiography a copy of which can be viewed at Little Holland House. Visit Us Little Holland House 40 Beeches Avenue, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3LW The house is located 5 minutes walk from Carshalton Beeches Station. Bus 154 goes past the door. Open 1.30pm 5.30pm on the first Sunday of each month plus bank holiday Sunday and Monday (except Christmas /New Year) Admission is FREE Group Tours Outside normal opening hours, pre-booked tours are available at 5.50 per person, (minimum group price 50). Maximum group size 24 adults. School groups by arrangement. Contact Us For more information and bookings please contact Jane Allen at Sutton Museum & Heritage Service St Nicholas Way, Sutton, SM1 1EA; telephone 020 8770 4622; email jane.allen@sutton.gov.uk
A Look Inside Entrance Hall The front door is deliberately wider than normal since Frank believed "a narrow door suggests meanness and does not give the idea of welcome". On the upper panels of all doors are scenes painted by Dickinson. An early self-portrait is on the door to the downstairs toilet, the only door added during the restoration of the house. Norfolk latches are found throughout the house, and hand-made copper fingerplates are on the ground floor doors. Frank Dickinson, self-portrait The Living Room You enter the room by passing under the stairs "and there on your left is the foot of the stairs with its finial post and quaint landing and handrail forming a small platform". This doubled as a small stage when the Dickinson s and their friends put on entertainment. Painted panels amongst the pine dado show family portraits by Frank plus, on the right, a panel devoted to John Ruskin. The copper frieze over the fireplace depicting a landscape with setting sun is also Frank's work and the tiles are from the Doulton factory in Lambeth, for whom he worked as a draftsman when he was building his house. Above the fireplace the triptych contains copies by Frank from original works in the Tate Gallery by Turner and Watts. Panels of Florence Dickinson and John Ruskin by Frank Dickinson
The Sitting Room This room was designed as an extension of the Living Room, sharing one long herringbone parquet floor "for dancing". The fireplace has a carved 'Tudor' arch in redbrick, Doulton tiles, a hand-beaten copper hood and a moulded plaster panel over the arch. Above is another triptych - one of Frank's best oil paintings. The theme is the dignity of the workingman, entitled "Give to Us Each Day our Daily Bread". The Master Bedroom Appropriately the theme of the master bedroom is 'sleep', and the two main hues are green and blue. A carved inscription on the bedhead is taken from Coleridge's Ancient Mariner. The fireplace has a hammered copper surround with raised art nouveau style ornament with a plaster panel above which borrows its composition from the Burne Jones pictures of The Sleeping Beauty legend.
The Small Bedroom This was once his son Gerard's room. A table made by Frank still holds Florence s sewing machine. Next to it is a 'marriage chest' created by Frank and Gerard together for Gerard's wedding in 1937. The oak '30s style dressing-table was made by Gerard, using the skills his father had taught him. This room also contains a painting entitled The Death of Ananias which Frank considered to be his best work. He submitted it to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1946. To his disappointment, it was accepted, but not hung. The Death of Ananias by Frank Dickinson