70 And 72, Chestnut Grove

Nos. 70 and 72 Chestnut Grove are a pair of semi-detached houses built in 1913 by Parker and Unwin for the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust. Constructed from brick with a French tile roof, these parlour cottages feature projecting outer wings and a small squared projection at the angle that contains the staircase and a larder. The houses are two storeys high and have six first-floor windows, with paired gables at either end; the inner gable is lower and set back. They have standard "New Earswick" window panes throughout. The replacement doors flanking the 2-light casements share a porch supported by wooden posts and a bressumer. The projecting outer wings have 3-light casements. On the first floor, there is a central pair of low 2-light flat-topped dormers, with 2-light casements in the smaller gables and 3-light casements in the larger gables. The original stacks have been removed. New Earswick is particularly significant for its role in the development of low-cost housing in Britain. The experiences and practices established here were extensively incorporated into the Tudor Walters Report of 1918, which played a crucial role in the passing of the Addison Act of 1919. Plans from New Earswick also influenced the Government Manual on low-cost housing that followed the Act.