The house at Sparoza

There has recently been a renewed interest in the design of the house at Sparoza. It was built by Jaqueline Tyrwhitt in the 1960s to a design by the American/Polish architect, Jerzy Soltan, who did not visit the site during the construction of the building. Jaqueline Tyrwhitt and her architect chose to build in stone at a time when masonry skills had mostly disappeared in Greece with the predominance of reinforced concrete construction. The Sparoza house and two other stone houses subsequently built in the same era on the hill were the work of two local masons who were largely a law unto themselves and probably made numerous small changes to the architect’s plans. One instance was the so-called annex behind the garage which they set up for themselves with a WC as a place for resting and eating.

On Jacqueline Tyrwhitt’s death in 1983 the Sparoza estate was bequeathed to the Goulandris Natural History Museum on the understanding that the house and garden would be under the museum’s care. She ensured that the estate could not be sold by adding a clause to her will that the house was to be available for specified uses by a relation and a friend in perpetuity.

After several years of neglect, the estate was rented by John and Jay Rendall who kept the house in good repair and restored the garden. Since 1995 Sally Razelou has resided at Sparoza and has put her skills to work in the garden until it has become internationally renowned as an example of a water-wise mediterranean-climate garden. The Mediterranean Garden Society has held the lease for the estate since 1999 at which time Mrs Razelou became the full-time Custodian of the garden on behalf of the MGS. The house is still Mrs Razelou’s private residence.

Click or tap on the images to enlarge and read the details. Click here to read more about the MGS Garden at Sparoza as it is today.

THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN is the registered trademark of The Mediterranean Garden Society in the European Union, Australia, and the United States of America

Data Protection Consent

website designed and maintained
by Hereford Web Design