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Author Simon Pollock tells us about the bits of Bucks & beyond that inspired his book, I Love Suburbia: The Joys of Life on London’s Outskirts
Suburbia used to have a bad name (especially if you were a teenager looking for fun). But Simon Pollock’s book I Love Suburbia, celebrating iconic landmarks on the fringes of the Tube map has proved one of the year’s runaway hits. Daisy May Cooper calls it: “Brilliant. A glorious celebration that will leave a big smile on your face.”
From stations that wouldn’t be out of place in Miami Beach to cinemas converted to mega churches, I Love Suburbia brings to life the joys outside Zone 1. Simon, creator of Instagram’s @LondonSuburbia, has revisited simpler days in the suburbs to discover the pioneering interwar architects who brought modernism to Britain, and delight in the elegance of Art Deco buildings given a new lease of life. Filled with stories of the people who live, work and play in the outskirts of London, this full-colour book over 200 original photos is an exploration of the capital’s overlooked everyday treasures.
“Without any Green Belt in place, London’s suburbs were expanding almost unchecked in the 1930s,” says Simon. “New railways and trunk roads were being built all around the city and, along the newly placed commuter routes, huge estates of semi-detached cottages sprang up. Nowhere was more famous for this rapid growth than Metroland, a vast area of rural villages and towns of northwest of London, heading from places like Wembley and Harrow and spreading outwards towards Buckinghamshire. Although the Metropolitan railway reached as far as Aylesbury back then, the sprawling suburbs never really made it much beyond Uxbridge before the war slowed everything down and gave the powers that be the chance to draw up the plans for the Green Belt, stopping the march of the semi just before the borders of Buckinghamshire.
“That’s not to say that Bucks is without its own interwar architectural gems. Indeed one of the buildings that inspired some of the coolest art deco houses in London’s suburbs sits high on a hill in Amersham. Built way back in 1931, the High And Over is considered one of the most important modernist homes in Britain with its white walls, flat roofs, sun decks and sweeping spiral staircases. Just down the road are the Sun Houses, a group of smaller modernist homes that are no less beautiful to look at.
“But to me, if you want the ultimate 1930s experience then you can’t beat an afternoon out at Bekonscot model village in Beaconsfield. Started in the 1920s in Roland Callingham’s back garden it grew to become one of the quaintest tourist attractions in the South East. Frozen in time and reflecting life in Britain just before the war you can find everything there, from tiny figures playing village cricket surrounded by thatched houses to pastiches of ultra modern buildings of the day, such as the Hoover Factory, Charles Holden’s tube stations and even a tiny art deco Odeon.
“Of course the Metropolitan Line is still there, even though it now only gets as far as Amersham, but it’s well worth taking a trip deep into Metroland.”
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