407, Wake Green Road

This is a prefabricated bungalow with a shed, constructed in 1945 under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act by the Ministry of Works. The City Council provided the site and foundations. It is a “Phoenix” design, characterized by a welded steel tube frame clad in cream-painted corrugated asbestos sheeting with internal timber lining and partitions. The bungalow has a shallow-pitched corrugated asbestos roof with a felt covering, a central apex, and a low chimney. It is a single story and follows the dimensions of the 1944 Portal bungalow prototype (32 feet 4 inches by 21 feet 3 inches). The layout replicates the prototype's design: two bedrooms to the left of the hall, a living room to the right, and a standard Portal kitchen and bathroom unit, delivered ready assembled. Timber windows have metal opening casements and toplights, with the living rooms featuring distinctive double casements mirrored around a central mullion. A renewed central door is covered by a curved metal porch, an idiosyncratic detail of the Phoenix design. Similar casement windows are present at the rear. A shed of identical date and construction is located at the rear. The interior was designed to be fully fitted, reflecting the post-war shortage of furniture and fixtures. The principal bedroom (at the rear) has fitted cupboards, while the living room has fitted shelving. The kitchen, bathroom, and separate WC are combined as a single unit designed by the Ministry of Works, and some original features remain.

Approximately 2,428 Phoenix prefabs were erected in the United Kingdom as part of the Temporary Housing Programme, which built around 156,623 temporary bungalows between 1944 and 1948. This scheme, devised by Lord Portal, Minister of Works, aimed to address the post-war housing shortage when conventional building materials were scarce and wartime industries needed repurposing. The Phoenix is one of the rarest of eleven approved types but is notably well-constructed. The bungalows were modeled on the Portal “prototype bungalow” exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1944 and are distinguished by their fully fitted interiors, which initially included kitchens equipped with washing machines and refrigerators. These bungalows are detached and feature more carefully planned designs and internal fixtures, setting them apart from other prefabricated housing of the period and contributing to their historical interest.

The group of prefabs in Wake Green Road represents a rare and well-preserved example of the Portal bungalow variant, notable for its exceptional condition and few alterations.