Rereading St Ann’s Hill

Abstract

Among the earliest and most celebrated examples of modern landscape architecture is St Ann’s Hill (1935–1937). Christopher Tunnard designed the landscape and he worked closely with architect Raymond McGrath on the house, St Ann’s Court. The project graced the pages of numerous architecture magazines in the 1930s and 1940s and it made several appearances in Tunnard’s highly influential book Gardens in the Modern Landscape (1938/1948). While the project was designed exclusively for Tunnard and his male lover, there have been no analyses of the project regarding the role that sexual subjectivity played in its design. The following offers a rereading of the project through the lens of queer theories in architecture and domesticity, revealing that St Ann’s Hill hides in plain sight while challenging conventions of the time and likely pays homage to a couple who lived on the site previously and whose relationship also demanded secrecy.