THE houses of architects always have a special interest, as they reveal much about their occupants’ taste and approach to professional practice. Church Cottage at Humbleton is no exception. It is the Yorkshire home of Digby Harris, who, for many years, was a senior partner in the Bridlington-based practice of Francis Johnson & Partners, until his recent retirement. The firm, founded by the late Francis Johnson (1911–95) in the 1930s, was a leading purveyor of traditional classical architecture in Britain for nearly 100 years and is best known for its country houses, many of which have been featured in COUNTRY LIFE.
Mr Harris joined the firm in 1989, towards the end of Johnson’s life. He had studied architecture at Newcastle University and he has maintained the unique spirit of the practice, producing good-looking, unflashy, literate classical buildings like a latter-day Carr of York. He worked with Francis Johnson on Hilborough House in Norfolk, a large flint-faced building of 1990–97 for the late Hugh van Cutsem, and has been
