401, Wake Green Road

This is a "prefab" with a shed, constructed in 1945 under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act by the Ministry of Works, with the City Council providing the site and foundations. The structure is a Phoenix design, featuring a welded steel tube frame clad in corrugated asbestos sheeting with timber internal lining and partitions. It has a shallow-pitched, corrugated asbestos roof with a central apex and a low chimney. The bungalow is single-story and based on the dimensions of the 1944 Portal prototype bungalow (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 Portal kitchen and bathroom unit delivered fully assembled. Timber windows have metal opening casements and toplights; the living room features distinctive double casements mirrored around a central mullion. A central door is protected by a curved metal porch with an arched fanlight, an unusual characteristic of the Phoenix design. Rear windows are similar in style. A shed of identical date and construction is located at the rear. The interior was designed to be fully fitted due to post-war shortages, featuring fitted shelving in the living room and fitted cupboards in the principal bedroom. The kitchen, bathroom, and separate WC are combined as a single unit designed by the Ministry of Works, with some original features remaining.

Approximately 2,328 Phoenix prefabs were built across the United Kingdom as part of the 1944 Temporary Housing Programme, which aimed to alleviate the post-war housing shortage using temporary bungalows. The scheme was initiated by Lord Portal, Minister of Works, to repurpose wartime industries and address material scarcity. The Phoenix prefab is one of the rarer types, noted for its robust construction, fully fitted interiors (originally including kitchens with washing machines and refrigerators), and carefully considered layout. These bungalows are distinguished from other prefabricated housing by their more detailed design, internal fixtures, detached nature, and historical significance. They were modeled on the Portal prototype bungalow exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1944. The group of prefabs in Wake Green Road represents an unusual and well-preserved example of this rare variant, with few alterations.