The White House (Simpson’s House, Hayes Cottage)
Five Elms Road
Locally Listed
About 1830
The White House is situated within the Hayes and Keston Commons Conservation Area. It was built on land given to the Parish of Hayes by Vicary Gibbs of Hayes Court in 1797 in exchange for enclosing two acres of common near his house. The rent was used to help poor parishioners.
About 1810 there was a building which became known as Simpson’s House in 1821 when it was leased by Adam Simpson.
Alexander Findlay & family 1830 – 1897
In 1830 Alexander Findlay, a geographer and engraver, took over the lease and built a red brick house in which he lived until his death in 1870. It was the typical Georgian style with two rooms at the front and two at the back on both floors, on either side of a central doorway, and with a central staircase, downstairs corridor and landing. Various small extensions were added to the rear during his life time. It was known as Hayes Cottage.
His daughter, Sarah Kettle, was widowed in 1862 and returned to her family home in Hayes. After her parents’ deaths the lease was taken over by her elder brother Alexander George. She continued to live there and agreed a new 21 years lease after her brother’s death in 1875. The rent was £40 a year providing not less than £300 was spent in enlarging, repairing and improving the house.
Sarah died in April 1881. Her son Daniel, a geographical draughtsman and a nautical publisher, became the leaseholder and lived there with his brother William, a hydrographer. On William’s marriage in December 1897 and a proposed rent increase to £60 a year Daniel decided not to renew the lease.
Extension
It was around this time that the house was extended although it is unclear whether this was the cause of the rent rise or occurred after the arrival of the new tenants.
The extension on the north of property was built in grey London brick with a slate roof over French windows. The front and portions of the side were stucco-rendered and it was probably then that the whole house was painted white to match the front of the house which had been painted white by 1864. It became called The White House
William Birbeck Harris & family 1897 – 1938.
William Birbeck Harris, an insurance broker, lived at the White House after his marriage to Kathleen Carey. They had four children, Edward, Norman, Audrey and Sophia. Their eldest son Edward died of diphtheria in 1899 and Norman had just celebrated his 16th birthday when he became the youngest person from Hayes to be killed in the First World War.
In 1901 the Trustees of the Poor’s Land Trust, which oversaw the provision of help to the poor from the rent of the White House, approved an extension which was paid for by William Harris. In 1910 the house was described as a detached stucco and slate house in a poor structural and decorative repair. ‘Cesspool. No gas. First floor 4 bedrooms and a maid’s room, bathroom & dressing room combined. Stall and chaise house not used. Value £825’.
In 1923 agreement was given for a temporary ‘motor house’.
After their father’s death in 1924 Audrey and Sophie took over the lease until 1938.They formed the well know Motley Company which had a major influence on costume and stage design.
Second World War
Captain Ronald Harmer RN took the lease but shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War he returned to active service. In December 1940 he was awarded a DSO for courage and resource in successfully attacking enemy submarines.The previous month The White House was damaged during aerial attacks on the Common.The builders, William Smith & Sons of Gravel Road, were asked to do ‘first-aid repairs’ to the roof & windows and provide an estimate for the proper repair of all the damage to the White House. By 1943 the occupants of the White House were Mr & Mrs Harry Chandler. Further repairs were needed at the end of the war but it was not until July 1951 that a payment for War Damage of £170.10.0 (£170.50) was received.
The Chandler family continued to live at The White House until 1960.
Tenants after 1960
1960- 1968 Mr & Mrs Patrick Barry
1969 – 1975 Robert & Audrey Tims
1976 – 1977 Michael & Margaret Griffiths
1977 – 1987 Mr & Mrs James Harris
James Harris, whose greengrocer’s shop was in Hayes Street, took over the lease of the White House in 1977 for £1250 a year. By the time the lease expired in 1987 the rent had increased to £1650.
Sale of the White House
The Trustees of the Poor’s Land Charity decided to sell the property because a large sum of money was required to upgrade the nearby Simpson’s Cottages which were rented to poorer families in the community.
In 1989 the property was bought by Richard and Pamela Taylor and their family still live there. A number of changes have been made to the building with permission granted for a replacement conservatory in 2006 and more recently an addition to the back of the house which has mirrored the existing windows and patio doors.
Further information:
Richard H Taylor, The History of the White House 1999