No. 34 Belsize Lane by Georgie Wolton listed

garden view of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

(Image credit: Historic England)

published 1 November 2023

Georgie Wolton's No. 34 Belsize Lane, a lesser known piece of modernist architecture in London, has been awarded a prestigious Grade II listing. This is the first building by the relatively little-known post-war British architect on the National Heritage List for England.

exterior of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

Georgie Wolton’s No. 34 Belsize Lane: a lesser-known modernist gem

The project was designed by Georgie Wolton (1934-2021) as her own personal home and studio and created in 1975-1976. It's a rare piece of architecture for Wolton, who played a pivotal, though short-lived role in the formation of the famous architectural practice Team 4 in the early 1960s, before going on to form her own studio and increasingly focus on landscape work within the span of her long career.

aerial of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, says: 'In Georgie Wolton’s generation, architecture was largely a man’s world. Building her own home exactly as she wanted it, could be seen as a subversive and powerfully feminist act.'

conservatory of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

'34 Belsize Lane is a really subtle and understated project, a very personal work which has survived remarkably intact. Behind an unassuming boundary lies a small masterpiece – a house she called the “last of the English follies”, one totally in touch with the exciting architectural zeitgeist of its day, but also unique and uncompromising.'

34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

Meanwhile, critic and author Jonathan Meades describes her as the 'outstanding woman architect of the generation before Zaha [Hadid]'.

interior of 34 Belsize Lane, Camden by Georgie Wolton

The project remains a private home and the current owner will be documenting their restoration journey on Instagram via @georgiewoltonhouse.

TOPICS

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).

Georgie Wolton’s No. 34 Belsize Lane: a lesser-known modernist gem

Wallpaper* Newsletter