Home > About Voysey > Buildings > The Orchard
Date: 1899
Client: C.F.A. Voysey
Listing: Grade I
Pevsner's Hertfordshire (with Bridget Cherry, 1977) says:
CHORLEYWOOD. The architectural significance of Chorleywood is connected with the name of Charles FA Voysey, who built himself a house here in 1900-1. It is called THE ORCHARD and situated in Shire Lane. The garden front is especially characteristic, with two identical gables (with Voysey's typical tiny ventilation slits), but a gentle, carefully balanced asymmetry in the centre. Some of the trees in conjunction with which the house was meant to have been seen have been replaced. Inside, the hall with the staircase and fireplace is one of the best Voysey designed. The metalwork such as the door hinges as also in the daintiest Voysey fashion.
Metro-land is a BBC documentary film written and narrated by John Betjeman, who edited the Architectural Review article of 1931 which was a turning point in Voysey's reputation. The film was first broadcast on 26th February 1973. It celebrates suburban life in the area to the northwest of London that grew up in the early 20th century around the Metropolitan Railway, later the Metropolitan line of the London Underground. Amongst other places, Betjeman visits Chorleywood and The Orchard.
Page last amended 30th May 2025