Drummers Yard (Birchens Spring)

Beaconsfield

Buckinghamshire

England

Circa Date: 1938 w/20th & 21st century alterations

Status: Fully Extant

House Open to Public: No

Country House: Yes

Built / Designed For: C. Rissik

House & Family History: In the 1950s Drummers Yard was operated as a home for children of parents suffering from tuberculosis. The famous movie actor Dirk Bogarde acquired the house in 1960, after the TB home closed. Mr. Bogarde renamed the house Drummers Yard (it was originally named Birchens Spring), supposedly after a 17th century lead statue of French drummer boy that the actor brought to each home in which he lived. Bogarde only kept the house for two years, selling in it in 1962 to his friend and colleague Peter Rogers, most famous as the producer of the "Carry On" films. In 2024 the house, together with 12 acres, was listed for sale for £10 million.
Architect: John Archibald Campbell

Date of Birth: 1878
Date of Death: 1948
Nationality: British
Notes: Campbell, who often worked in an updated Arts & Crafts style, was born in Wolverhampton, where he studied and later taught at the School of Art, today part of the University of Wolverhampton. In 1914 he was appointed regius professor of architecture at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich, Germany. In the 1920s he was a partner in the firm of Falconer, Baker & Campbell.

Date: 1938
Designed: House for C. Rissik

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Country Life: Jan 29 & Feb 5, 1938
House Listed: Grade II

Park Listed: Not Listed
Past Seat / Home of: C. Rissik, early 20th century. Dirk Bogarde, 1960-62. Peter Rogers, 1962-92.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No

Drummers Yard (Birchens Spring)

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