3A, Ellers Road

Private house, 1967-8, designed by Peter Aldington of Aldington and Craig.

The house is a single storey detached building with a U-shaped plan, set at the end of the garden of an existing house and largely hidden from the road. It was designed for close family friends of the architect.

The external walls are of untreated concrete blockwork. Window fascias, jambs and sills are of stained softwood, and glazing is framed in aluminium. The flat roof is felted, with a structure of timber joists and steel beams.

The plan arranges four bedrooms on the outer edge, along the north (entrance) and east sides. A small courtyard garden is enclosed between two of them on the north-east corner by the perimeter wall. The entrance lies between the two north bedrooms, with a store and carport alongside. The kitchen is at the core of the house, with bathrooms adjacent. The kitchen, living room and the smallest north bedroom form three sides of the courtyard, now covered by a lightweight conservatory added later by Aldington. To the south, the fourth bedroom, dining room and living room look out on to the garden.

The north (entrance) façade is extremely reticent. The two larger bedrooms and their courtyard are screened from view on approaching the house. The entrance, end wall of the smaller bedroom, store and carport are recessed under the timber-lined roof, with only one small window visible. The east side of the house with its small courtyard forms the site boundary, and the west side partially encloses the principal courtyard, with walls substantially glazed. The south (garden) façade is punctuated by large full-height windows of the living and dining rooms and a large bedroom window, each recessed under its fascia, with the bedroom projecting furthest into the garden.

Inside, full-height doors and largely full-height windows create a strong relationship with the external spaces and an impression of open planning. Concrete block walls are painted white, and ceilings are of varnished softwood boarding, continuing outside to line the eaves. Flush doors and cupboard doors are painted white. Floors are tiled in the principal spaces and the outside spaces, with carpeting in three of the bedrooms.

Original fitted furniture in European redwood, varnished and painted, survives throughout. The kitchen has original fitted cupboards and a breakfast bar with fold-down leaves on the outside, designed specifically for the family with storage beneath. All bedrooms have built-in wardrobes with original handles. The master bedroom has a built-in dressing table and bedhead. The cloakroom has original furniture and fittings. The living room has a built-in floor-to-ceiling unit at one end incorporating shelves, cupboards and an electric fire. Former sliding partition walls enabled the separation of the living and dining areas to provide extra accommodation if required; these have been removed but the floor and ceiling slots and the cupboards which contained them remain.

The house displays high levels of craftsmanship and good quality materials both externally and internally, and is virtually intact with a wealth of original and individually designed details surviving.