| Michael Searles |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT MICHAEL SEARLES | |
| 1750 births | |
| 1813 deaths | |
| english architects | |
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Landowner John Cator granted development leases to Searles and builder William Dyer to design and build a series of high quality dwellings, intended to appeal to upper middle class buyers, situated on the south-east side of Blackheath. Facing the Heath, South Row and Montpelier Row were erected from 1794 to 1805. However, Searles' masterpiece was the adjacent Paragon, a 14-house perfect crescent occupying a semi-circular plot in the corner of the Heath. The Paragon (today Grade 1 Listed Building s) comprises seven blocks of semi-detached houses, each linked by a single story colonnade, with a lodge house at each end. Each house was different internally: Searles would provide the buyer with a brick shell which could then be fitted out to suit the buyer’s tastes and budget. However, the scheme nearly ruined Searles financially; the development took ten years to build, with the last house not occupied until 1805. Apart from his own home at 155 Old Kent Road , other London works include:
He built another Paragon before 1787 on the south side of New Kent Road , near the junction with Old Kent Road. This consisted of six blocks of semi-detached houses linked by a single-story colonnade. It was later extended to a complete semi-circle fronting New Kent Road by the addition of a pair of houses at each end. It was demolished in the 1890s to be replaced by more modest housing and a Council school, which has since been converted into apartments and been given the name The Paragon. |
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