Art Deco Concrete Architecture Conference in Lee-on-the-Solent

Over 70 delegates from across the south-east of England gathered in Lee-on-the-Solent on Saturday 23rd March 2024 for a conference about famed architects John Seely and Paul Paget.

If the names of John Seely and Paul Paget seem vaguely familiar to you it might be because you have visited the National Trust property Mottistone Manor on the Isle of Wight. The conference heard that the remodelling of Mottistone Manor was the first work they did together and in the garden they built "The Shack", a tiny house intended as their country office and retreat. John Seely became the 2nd Baron Mottistone in 1947.

The guest speaker to the Art Deco Concrete Architecture Conference was the academic, Dr Peter Forsaith from Oxford Brookes University. Dr Forsaith engaged the audience with the stories of the lives and work of John Seely and Paul Paget in the location of their first big commission, St Faith’s Church in Lee-on-the-Solent.

The event had been organised by the St Faith’s History Group and delegates attended from Portsmouth, Southsea, Reading, Woking and of course the local area.

Some of the other works mentioned included their transformation of Eltham Palace, a medieval palace on the outskirts of London, into an art deco mansion in 1936, their links with the ULTRA–Secret Mulberry Harbour project built for D-Day 80 years ago, projects to repair the damage caused to London and the surrounding area by bombing during the Second World War and the design of the church of St Andrew and St George in Stevenage – the largest parish church built in England after 1945. They were also responsible for restoring the Westminster Abbey precinct and parts of Eton College in Berkshire.

John Seely was appointed surveyor to the fabric of St Paul’s Cathedral in 1947 and was succeeded by Paul Paget when John Seely died in 1963.

Even the Evening News received a mention during the conference. The Evening News on 25th May 1962 published an articles showing what our own Portsmouth Cathedral would look like with a extension to the west end submitted by the Cathedral Architect, Lord Mottistone to replace the "temporary" red brick wall built in 1940 at the start of the Second World War.

One of the coveted limited edition Seely and Paget Event 2024 Badges was awarded to Mrs June Witham from Lee-on-the-Solent for the best question from the floor. Her query stumped both the experts and the audience. She asked whether the impressive reinforced concrete arches of St Faith’s Church were cast on the ground and pulled upright or alternatively cast in-situ standing upright.

Evidence was presented for both scenarios and opinion was divided about how this was achieved over 90 years ago. In the end the experts had to admit that they didn’t know. But maybe one of our readers has the answer through hearsay or photographic evidence. We would love to know the answer.