22, Avenue Road

This is a private house constructed between 1953 and 1954 by James Cubitt and Partners, with Fello Atkinson as partner in charge and Brenda Walker as job architect, for Mr and Mrs H Goddard. The house is an excellent example of an early 1950s architect-designed property, influenced by American design principles and notable for its open plan and high-quality built-in fittings. It was widely published at the time as a demonstration of a new approach to design and living, and remains entirely unaltered.

The external appearance is characterized by white brick walls sitting on a recessed base of red brick, with a dark green painted timber fascia. The flat roof incorporates ‘Benfix’ timber and light steel joists, with 2-inch Thermacoust panels made of wood wool bonded with cement. The house has an L-shaped plan, comprising open-plan living spaces and a children’s wing. The entrance is set back from the street, approached via a driveway and a timber gate leading to a garage. A cobbled area with a raised paved platform features a projecting timber porch, painted duck-egg blue and supported by thin steel columns. A flush timber front door, also painted dark blue, is flanked by vertical timber panels, also painted duck-egg blue. A garage is located to the right, with white-painted timber doors on a track. Most windows are steel-framed with hardwood subframes. The front garden includes a full-height window to the living room fitted with steel top-hung lights, a roller blind housed in a box, and a full-height wall section alongside a bedroom window with a combination of fixed and opening lights. The rear of the garage is distinguished by vertically boarded cladding, painted bright yellow, recessed under an overhanging roof and supported by steel columns with a boarded soffit. To the right, a glazed garden door (with a replaced aluminium frame) is positioned above timber-framed windows, with a similar arrangement adjoining at a right angle in the wing. A timber-boarded water tank and a small brick chimney project from the flat roof; there are no visible external drainpipes.

The interior features a small entrance hall with a built-in cupboard. The living room is accessed through a glazed door from the kitchen and incorporates an exposed brick fireplace wall, a Westmorland slate hearth and mantlepiece. A door leads to a bedroom on the left, while a recess on the right contains a fixed cherry-wood display cabinet and twin fitted drop-front desks, constructed by Pegram, London. The dining area is characterized by sycamore panelling (now painted over) and a built-in shelf unit with a hatch to the kitchen and a built-in picture frame. The flooring is of African Mahuhu wood blocks. The kitchen includes coloured plastic sliding cabinet doors and a skylight. A bedroom incorporates a fitted wardrobe and a bathroom. Within the children’s wing, there is one single bedroom and another incorporating a sliding central door/partition with paired fitted desks in each half. Underfloor heating is a feature throughout the building. A freestanding garden room, listed separately, contributes to the overall composition.