Virginia House

Virginia House

House built in 1937-38 in dressed coursed fine-grained sandstone in Moderne style. A compact two-storey, three-bedroomed house with attached garage featuring flat roofs throughout, Crittall style windows, and curved walls forming interlocking cubes.

EXTERIOR

The main elevation facing north has a central doorway with a window to the left, recessed between two incurving walls with a central pillar to the front. To the right, the wall continues its curve to form a semicircular stair tower, beyond which is a further window set back from the front. To the left is the integral garage with triple folding doors. The stair tower has a full height window set within a projecting panel on the outer edge of the tower. There are three windows on the first floor, the left hand one with French windows set back from the main facade behind a balcony with solid parapet. A slightly projecting canopy supported on plain consoles runs across the front above the door, continuing at a slightly lower level above the garage doors. The parapet wall has a coping which echoes these lines, with a low turret at the corner.

The south garden elevation has a projecting ground floor with curved corners to both sides, almost entirely glazed to ground level. The window on the left corner does not extend to ground level, and to the right is a solid wall concealing the side entrance. The set-back first floor has French windows to the balcony to the left, and a square bay to the right with two windows to the front. All the windows are Crittall style, though actually wooden framed, including those with curved glass. The west elevation has a square bay to the ground floor with corner windows and a chimney breast rising against the first floor wall above.

INTERIOR

Light switches (dolly switches either in bronze on glass plates or in plastic) and veneer internal doors with furniture are original throughout, as is the cornicing. All the walls are plain painted plaster. The main rooms are to the right and rear, and the service rooms to the left and front of the house.

The front door opens into a hall from which the stairs rise in a curved dog-leg to the right. Integral curved cornices extend up the stairwell, and there is an arched niche in the wall near the top. There is a fully panelled cloakroom under the stairs with an original radiator.

The living room is to the rear right with an original tiled fireplace within the bay, flanked by windows. There is a further bay to the rear with French windows and a curved window to the right corner. Fluted plasterwork appears on cornices and pillars, and there is an integral square Art Deco light fitting in the ceiling.

The dining room to the centre rear has an original tiled fireplace with fluted plasterwork above, extending onto the ceiling to surround the central light fitting (now lost). The bay to the garden has doors to either side and a full height window across the front.

The kitchen to the left of the hall is fully tiled and fitted with original floor and wall cupboards with pull handles and vitrulite shelves, teak worktops, stainless steel sink, built-in range and remnants of the linoleum floor. There is a service bell panel and original light fittings. The kitchen leads to a store room, WC with original sanitary ware, coal store and garage.

On the first floor, the first and second bedrooms have fitted washbasins with pillar taps, mirrors, light fittings and Art Deco tiled surrounds. Bedroom one has fluted plasterwork on the wall behind the bed and French windows to a terrace overlooking the garden. Bedroom three has French windows onto a balcony to the front, which extends over the garage.

There is a separate WC and a house bathroom with all original sanitary ware including wash basin, taps, recessed soap holders, light fittings and extensive decorative Art Deco tiling around the wash basin and built-in bath which has a ceramic mixer spout.

HISTORY AND CONDITION

The plans for the house are said to have been brought from the Ideal Home Exhibition and realised by a local builder in 1937-38. The house has been maintained in its original condition until the death of the original owners, since when the property has deteriorated though nothing has been altered.

Although Art Deco houses are fairly numerous, mainly situated in the south of England, most have undergone widespread alterations. This house is unusual in its location in the Yorkshire Pennines and imaginative in its use of local materials while maintaining the major principles of the Moderne movement.

Its significance lies principally in its intactness: the house has undergone no alteration since it was built, whether to structure, fittings, fixtures, or room decoration. Although there has been some deterioration, mainly due to water penetration from the flat roof, all the elements of the original house survive, forming a rare and unusually complete showcase of the style and period.