Lock, oak iron and brass, London, 1908

This lock comes from the garden shed belonging to the house, No.8 Meadway, London NW!!. This house was one of a terrace of four houses designed by the architect Baillie Scott (1865-1945) and built in 1908. The first owner of the house was a C. Adams whose name is carved above the door of the garden shed from which this lock comes.

C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941) designed many of the fittings for the houses in the terrace but only built the garage for No.8. This was specially built for a subsequent owner of the house, the actor Robert Donat (1905-1958) so that he could reach his car without having to run the gauntlet of the crowds of fans waiting outside. Robert Donat's first wife, Ella, was Voysey's niece. The above information was supplied by the donor, Mr Bernard Lott. The lock consists of a rectangular case of oak cut with a bevelled edge top and bottom. The front face of the lock is mounted at each side with a wrought iron plate pierced with two crosses. Plain back mounted with a raised shield-shaped key-hole escutcheon of brass. The main bolt is also of brass.