Manning Clark House Remains Remarkably Intact and Embodies Many Design Features

Sixty-nine years after its completion Manning Clark House remains remarkably intact and embodies many design features which were innovative for its time,but are now accepted as sound design and sustainable features for modern houses.

The site was selected by Manning Clark in 1951 shortly after arriving in Canberra to take up a position in the History Department at the Australian National University. The house was designed in 1952 with construction completed in 1953.

The House

The house is sited along the high side of a north sloping block, taking advantage of the north aspect and outlook to the well-laid-out garden. The house is of simple masonry construction, with bagged walls painted light grey with charcoal trim, timber-framed windows and metal-deck roof.

Two separate parallel wings divide the living and sleeping areas, which are connected by a glass walled passage and entrance. Either side of this passage is a courtyard, one facing north and the other (the main entrance) facing south. The walls of the south courtyard are brick grills, screening the windows of the bathroom on one side and the laundry on the other.

Positioned over the entrance is the study, which meets Manning Clark’s original requirements for an isolated work area. Access to the study is by a very steep flight of steps. The study contains a large portion of Manning Clark’s extensive library and is a significant element of the house.

The living room, study and two bedrooms face north and have an outlook through big windows shielded by white louvred eaves. The living area incorporates the dining room and kitchen under the pitched roof which slopes upwards, following the stepped-up level of the kitchen and adjacent laundry and utility room. The exposed beams of the ceiling were originally painted white against a galah pink ceiling, while the unplastered brick walls were painted grey.

The Grounds

The garden was designed and created by Dymphna and Manning Clark, with the assistance of their family.  It may be divided into three distinct, yet related areas including the vegetable patch and chook shed, the garden between the house and Tasmania Circle and the terraced lawns below the house which finish at the japonica hedge, and which is overlooked by the study.

The two courtyards created by the peninsula of the house are each softened by their own distinctive climbers. The courtyard facing the entrance of the house features the ornamental grape (Vitis alicante), and the courtyard on to which Manning Clark’s study looked, is framed by wisteria.

Layout

Boyd’s placing of the house pavilions and ancillary buildings along the site contours helped to minimise site disturbance through earthworks but it did result in some intriguing spaces relating to the house. One such issue led to the early change of the original garage for its intended purpose and the installation of the carport.

Furniture and Objects

Manning Clark House contains a substantial number of objects from its period of occupation by Manning and Dymphna Clark and their family.  These range from furniture and other household objects to artworks, books and documents. This remains a part of the functional house.