I’d love to live in a Span House. When I say that a lot of people go, “Huh? What’s one of them?”

Parkleys, Ham - Photograph by Tim Crocker

Span Houses were the brainchild of architect Eric Lyons OBE (1912–1980). Built after WWII (almost entirely by Span Developments Ltd.), Lyons aim was to provide affordable well designed family housing situated in a landscaped environment that fostered the idea community living. Together with fellow architect Geoffrey Townsend, and landscape architects Ivor Cunningham and Michael Brown, Eric Lyons created a set of houses that introduced European Modernism to the masses.

Examples of Span House estates include New Ash Green in Kent, Templemere in Surrey and numerous parts of the Cator Estate in Blackheath .

New Ash Green, Kent - Photograph by Tim Crocker

Today these aims and the houses that embody them are just as desirable. They are sustainable, modern, community-spirited, light filled, open plan and are just great looking places to live. Unfortunately, a lot of other design minded individuals think so too so they aren’t as affordable as they were in the 1950s and 1960s!

Last year RIBA had an exhibition that we missed on Span Houses and their creator Eric Lyons. It was just after we bought this place, so we were probably a little distracted at the time. Never mind, a lovely book of the exhibition was produced and on the RIBAPix website there is a whole gallery of wonderful black and white photographs of Span in all their modernist glory. Tim Crocker also has a beautiful gallery of Span photographs in colour. Resident of New Ash Green, Patrick Ellard, and James Strike of Fieldend, Twickenham have both written articles and books on Span from a residents perspective.

If you have a recent Lottery win burning a hole in your pocket I’d suggest looking at The Modern House estate agent site. It has examples of some of the best modernist houses in the UK for sale. I drool. This one in particular in Blackheath really is a gorgeous example of Span housing.

Brooklands Park, Blackheath

Oh, well I’d better push off to buy that Lottery ticket.