Lillington’s French Houses
Lillington’s “French” houses were built during a time when Leamington was expanding, so that housing was needed for the growing population. New developments, such as the Sydenham estate, were planned around the outskirts of Leamington, on what was farmland. The “ French “ houses were built on the site of the famous Lillington Stud Farm , at the end of Epsom Road. The land was sold for housing after the death in 1970 of the owner, Sidney Mc Gregor, a trainer of Derby and Grand National winners. It had earlier belonged to the Wise family.
Some was acquired by a French building company, La Maison Familiale, which hoped to break into the English housing market. In 1974 the company had set up an English branch to pursue this goal. As well as the Lillington development , the French House Company also built a few houses elsewhere in Warwickshire, of a different design. The Lillington Estate lies between Rugby Road and Valley Road. The estate roads were given racing-related names, in memory of the stud farm and the famous horses which had been bred there: Epsom Road, Sandown Close, Redcar Close, Ascot Drive ,Kempton Drive and Aintree Drive .
Two types of house were built but the style of these was different to that of the traditional English suburban house, which was normally built of brick, perhaps with dark woodwork. The French houses were lighter and intended to be more rustic and more elegant. On the external walls of one style of house white-painted cladding was used. In France more natural colours would have been used, for example cream or beige. The houses had steeply sloping roofs, including dormer windows. There were also sets of French windows, sometimes two, at the front and the back. They had traditional painted wooden shutters, set flat against the wall on each side of the windows. Two types of house were built, both with the same dimensions, on very generous plots. The Camerica 7 had an integral garage while in the Camerica 8 this was replaced by a separate dining room, with a garage built alongside the house.
A French house, Aintree Drive
The estate is still there, although surrounded by more conventional housing. Many of the houses have been altered in later periods of development. French-style features have been replaced , in order to make maintenance easier, giving the houses a more traditionally English appearance easier. Some of the painted shutters have been stripped and stained; others are painted in bright colours. Wood has been replaced by PVC on some houses. Other features have also been altered. The estate is still quite open, as hedges and walls are not allowed above 45 cm high.
A nearby ‘English-style’ house
Unfortunately the company ran into financial difficulties in the recession of the 1980s, by which time most of the houses had been built. It ceased trading in 1982, meaning that work was not completed on the remaining plots of land on Aintree Drive. These were sold to another builder, who finished the building in a more English style, as described above. The photograph shows one of the French-style houses. In comparison with the English type of house on the remainder of the estate, seen in the other photograph, the difference is clear.
I find it a matter of regret that more “French” houses were not built and that more of the original ones could not be maintained in such a way that their distinctive style was still visible.
The La Maison Familiale, the parent group, still trades successfully all over France, where it has 47 centres, but has undertaken no further work in England.
Barbara Lynn