Designer Of The Barley Mow, John Morton, Has Died

A Chiswick resident, he was honoured with an MBE for his innovative workspace project

The architect and designer John Morton, a longtime Chiswick resident, who has died, aged 97, was responsible for transforming the Sanderson wallpaper factory into the Barley Mow.

The Barley Mow workspace, a collaboration between Morton, architect David Rock and office space expert John Townsend, created over 70 workspaces for craftspeople, architects and designers, and opened in 1976. It was an influence on many similar projects and John Morton was appointed MBE for his contribution.

The project came about by accident as Morton was on his way to the Post Office in Chiswick when he noticed that the Sanderson factory had closed. This inspired him to think of a creative way to use the workspace, and the Barley Mow idea was born. As well as the builders, furniture designers, jewellers, violin makers and architects the space attracted, it also housed a very succesful restaurant. Throughout his long life he was involved in the cooperative movement for small businesses, which often grew into flourishing and larger enterprises.

Born near Birmingham he attended Hinckley grammar school, before training as a woodwork teacher at Saltley College, a teachers’ training college linked to Birmingham College of Art. During the war, he served in the Middle East and later joined the RAF as a pilot.

He studied architecture after the war and became influenced by Scandinavian design in the late 1940s. Along with fellow student Tom Lupton, the pair set up a furniture factory in Wallingford, in Oxfordshire, where they began to create innovative designs, including a range of flat-pack furniture known as Campus which was very popular in the 1960s, particularly in universities. They supplied furniture to offices and corporations (the Quorum range) and also took on bespoke designs such as the boardroom at Shell headquarters on the South Bank, and at the observation deck at Heathrow Airport. In 1969 LM Furniture was acquired by Ryman Conran

John Morton and his Danish wife Kathe lived in Chiswick since 1970, firstly at the Orchard and later at Barrowgate Road for many years where they were well-known members of the community.

He is survived by his wife, a son Peter and a daughter, Lone, a Chiswick resident and a writer of children's books and also part of (with Chris Mc Court), the Isokon Plus furniture design company. This was based in Turnham Green Terrace for many years before relocating to Hackney Wick. Chief Coffee, which is located in the former Isokon building, is run by John Morton's grandson, Sam.

May 12, 2017