The group of nine single-storey houses for which the British architect John Penn is best known is a unique phenomenon in British architectural history. Alongside his architectural practice, Penn was also a soldier, painter, furniture designer, poet and clarinet player. In later years he concentrated on painting, leaving the series of Suffolk houses as perhaps his greatest legacy.

John Penn was born in Northamptonshire in 1921 but his family had deep connections to Suffolk; his mother painted its countryside repeatedly throughout her lifetime. After a childhood upbringing at Bawdsey Hall he began studying history at Trinity College, Cambridge before wartime service interrupted his studies.

Penn was fascinated by classical temples and the Italian Renaissance architect Palladio, and this is clear in the firmness of plan and symmetry in his designs. The influence of Penn’s time working for Richard Neutra is apparent in the Beach House living space, where full-width windows flood the space with natural light and frame the view of the sea.

The designer Margaret Howell first saw Beach House while walking on the Suffolk coastline near her own home, and found the others later. She describes her response: “These houses, I felt, were right; harmonious in themselves and their setting. They warmly invited you in to share their space, light and joy in their location…