411, Wake Green Road

This is a Phoenix prefab with a shed and Anderson shelter, constructed under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act by the Ministry of Works, with the City Council providing the site and foundations. Built in the 1940s, it is a rare example of this type of temporary housing, designed to address the post-war housing shortage.

The prefab features a welded steel tube frame clad in cream-painted corrugated asbestos sheeting with internal timber lining and partitions. It has a shallow-pitched corrugated asbestos roof covered in felt, a central apex, and a low chimney. The overall dimensions are based on the 1944 Portal bungalow prototype, measuring 32 feet 4 inches by 21 feet 3 inches, incorporating two bedrooms to the left of the hall, a living room to the right, and a standard, pre-assembled Portal kitchen and bathroom unit. The design includes timber windows with metal opening casements and toplights, with the living room windows featuring distinctive double casements mirrored around a central mullion. A central door is sheltered by a curved metal porch, a unique feature of the Phoenix design, and similar casement windows are found at the rear. A shed and an Anderson shelter at the rear were built at the same time and of similar construction.

The interior was designed to be fully fitted, reflecting the scarcity of furniture and fixtures at the time. The principal bedroom, located at the rear, contains 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 retain some of their original features.

Approximately 2,428 Phoenix prefabs were erected in the UK as part of this Temporary Housing Programme, which constructed around 156,623 temporary bungalows between 1944 and 1948, overseen by Lord Portal, the Minister of Works. The Phoenix represents one of the rarest and most substantially built of the eleven approved prefab designs. They are notable for their fully fitted interiors, including early examples of fitted kitchens, and their carefully planned layouts, initially modeled on the Portal prototype bungalow exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1944. These prefabs are distinguished from other prefabricated housing by their especially well-planned design, internal fixtures, historical interest, and detached nature.

The prefabs on Wake Green Road represent an unusual and well-preserved example of this rare variation of the Portal bungalow, with few alterations made since their original construction.