Nos 10-11 The Close

A pair of Arts and Crafts style houses by W Alexander Harvey and W Graham Wicks, built in approximately 1915.

MATERIALS: the houses are constructed primarily of red brick with some pale stone detailing, clay tiled roofs and some vertically hung tiles to the first floor.

PLAN: the pair of houses are L-plan on form, with an additional rear wing extending from no 11.

EXTERIOR: The principal façade is orientated southwards, forming a close with nos 1-5. The long range of the building features an off-centre double height porch with a centrally located door under a segmented brick arch and a single window above; below the upper floow window is a small, pale stone engraved with the initials A.F.T. To the outermost bay at the eastern end of the building, the upper floor of the building is covered with vertically hung clay tiles; within this is another window. The remainder of this section of the building is comprised of three bays, two with wide windows to the ground floor and the final bay has the entrance to no 10 within a single storey porch, abutting the junction of the L-plan. The porch and the two bays all feature a catslide roof. Within the roof, there are two gabled dormer windows and another is located above the porch on the return of the building.

At the rear of no 10, at the western end of the block, there is a single arch within a pierced screen wall. This is located behind the single storey block, creating a small courtyard, which is enclosed with a modern, single-storey garage block. There is a similar courtyard to the side of no 11 enclosed with a brick wall with a porthole.

The property has a total of five chimney stacks: one is located to the rear cross wing, and the remainder are evenly divided amongst the roof of the L-plan section. Two of the chimney stacks are coupled star section stacks, with a brick string course and dentil detail; the others are straight stacks, although with the brick string course and dentil.

INTERIOR: the principal door to both properties leads to a small, internal lobby, with a secondary timber door leading to the hallway of the houses. From both of these hallways, a timber staircase with surviving balustrade leads to the first floor. There are surviving elements of historic architrave in the hallways of both houses and leading into the other ground floor rooms. The ground floor doors appear to have been replaced with modern fire doors.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: protruding from the eastern end of the building is a brick screen wall. The wall is built into the fabric of the building and is topped with hipped clay tiles. The walls each have three arches, some unevenly spaced. It is likely that it was intended to adjoin another, unfulfilled dwelling to complete the group.