397, Wake Green Road

This is a 1945 prefabricated bungalow, constructed under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act by the Ministry of Works, with the City Council providing the site and foundations. It is a "Phoenix" design, featuring a welded steel tube frame clad in cream-painted corrugated asbestos sheeting, with internal timber lining and partitions. The roof has a shallow pitch covered in felt, with a central apex and a low chimney. The bungalow is one storey high and measures 32 feet 4 inches by 21 feet 3 inches, following the dimensions of the 1944 Portal prototype. The layout mirrors the original Portal design, with two bedrooms to the left of the hall, a living room on the right, and a standard Portal kitchen and bathroom unit that was delivered ready assembled. The windows are timber with metal opening casements and toplights; the living room windows are distinctive, featuring double casements mirrored around a central mullion. A renewed central door sits under a curved metal porch, an idiosyncratic feature of the Phoenix design, with similar casement windows at the rear. A shed of identical date and construction is located at the rear. The interior was initially fully fitted due to post-war shortages of furniture and fixtures. A fitted shelving unit is in the living room, and the principal bedroom (at the rear) features fitted cupboards. The kitchen, bathroom, and separate WC were originally fitted as a single unit, designed by the Ministry of Works, with some original features remaining. Approximately 2,428 Phoenix prefabs were built in the United Kingdom as part of the Temporary Housing Programme, initiated by Lord Portal to address the post-war housing shortage. These were modeled on the Portal prototype bungalow exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1944 and are notable for their fitted interiors, which originally included features such as washing machines and refrigerators. This bungalow is a rare variant of the Portal bungalow and is remarkable for its exceptional state of preservation and lack of alterations.