and the kitchens boasted sinks with double draining boards, electric cookers
and fridge/freezers. In the communal laundry room, there was an automatic
washing machine, spin dryer and tumble dryer. A television point in each
flatlet was connected to a communal aerial, there was sound proofing and a
sophisticated security and door entry system for the added safety of the
residents. And all of this in 1967 when the author of these lines lived in a
house which often had ice on the inside of the bedroom windows in winter,
an outside toilet, and coal fires!
18.8 The Opening Ceremony Penn Mead
Flatlets
Robert and Emily’s flatlets, given and endowed in memory of their sons and
managed by the Distressed Gentlefolk’s’ Aid Association on behalf of the
Penn-Pennsylvania Fellowship, were opened by Sir Henry Floyd, Lord
Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, in a special ceremony in Penn on Saturday
14 October 1967. Sir Henry’s speech—preceded by a short service in the
Church—summed up the purpose of the building; ‘This is not an old peoples
home in the ordinary sense of that term, it is a place where old people can
find security, comfort and companionship’
35 He continued to describe how
the new development blended into the existing character of Penn … ‘I came
over the other day to look at the building and I was immediately impressed by
its appearance. New buildings today so often look like glass matchboxes up
on end … [but] … as you come around the bend in the road you can see that
this piece of development is all that is best in Old England. I think it’s a very
fine building.’
35 One of the Trustees, Wilfred Henriques, thanked Sir Henry
and appealed to the villagers to lay the discontent of the past few years to rest;
‘We earnestly hope that all of you, whether you disagreed with us at the start,
will personally try to make this the success it ought to be.’
35 After the
speeches, Robert Le Rossignol, standing quietly in the background
throughout, presented the keys of the apartments to Sir Henry who ceremoniously unlocked the doors. The apartments were then open for inspection
by the villagers accompanied by Mr. Robert Goodell, cultural Affairs officer
from the American Embassy in London, invited to represent Penn’s ‘ancient
connection with America’ (Plate 18.6).
Over the years, the flatlets—expertly governed by the Fellowship’s dedicated Trustees—have proved to be a resounding success. But they were built
as part of a pretence viz., the need to ‘future-proof’ Penn, a pretence
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
483
and fridge/freezers. In the communal laundry room, there was an automatic
washing machine, spin dryer and tumble dryer. A television point in each
flatlet was connected to a communal aerial, there was sound proofing and a
sophisticated security and door entry system for the added safety of the
residents. And all of this in 1967 when the author of these lines lived in a
house which often had ice on the inside of the bedroom windows in winter,
an outside toilet, and coal fires!
18.8 The Opening Ceremony Penn Mead
Flatlets
Robert and Emily’s flatlets, given and endowed in memory of their sons and
managed by the Distressed Gentlefolk’s’ Aid Association on behalf of the
Penn-Pennsylvania Fellowship, were opened by Sir Henry Floyd, Lord
Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, in a special ceremony in Penn on Saturday
14 October 1967. Sir Henry’s speech—preceded by a short service in the
Church—summed up the purpose of the building; ‘This is not an old peoples
home in the ordinary sense of that term, it is a place where old people can
find security, comfort and companionship’
35 He continued to describe how
the new development blended into the existing character of Penn … ‘I came
over the other day to look at the building and I was immediately impressed by
its appearance. New buildings today so often look like glass matchboxes up
on end … [but] … as you come around the bend in the road you can see that
this piece of development is all that is best in Old England. I think it’s a very
fine building.’
35 One of the Trustees, Wilfred Henriques, thanked Sir Henry
and appealed to the villagers to lay the discontent of the past few years to rest;
‘We earnestly hope that all of you, whether you disagreed with us at the start,
will personally try to make this the success it ought to be.’
35 After the
speeches, Robert Le Rossignol, standing quietly in the background
throughout, presented the keys of the apartments to Sir Henry who ceremoniously unlocked the doors. The apartments were then open for inspection
by the villagers accompanied by Mr. Robert Goodell, cultural Affairs officer
from the American Embassy in London, invited to represent Penn’s ‘ancient
connection with America’ (Plate 18.6).
Over the years, the flatlets—expertly governed by the Fellowship’s dedicated Trustees—have proved to be a resounding success. But they were built
as part of a pretence viz., the need to ‘future-proof’ Penn, a pretence
18 Penn, Buckinghamshire 1949–1976
483