Sun Shelter, Cliff Gardens

A sun shelter, completed in 1928.

MATERIALS: the shelter is built of brick and Portland stone. The roof is covered in asphalt.

PLAN: the building forms a segmental arc facing south over the Thames estuary.

EXTERIOR: the sun shelter stands at the top of the Westcliff. The rear parts of the shelter are built into the cliff, and its flat roof merges into the promenade along Westcliff Parade.

The shelter has a bowed central section of three bays, symmetrical wings of three bays, and terminates in projecting square pavilions of a single bay. The bays are formed by Doric columns of Portland stone, round where they are in an open colonnade and square where they are joined to an unglazed grid of astragals.

There is a rooftop parapet of brick laid in Flemish bond, changing to a stone balustrade over the wing colonnades.

INTERIOR: wooden benches with arm rests run along the rear walls of the interior, facing out to the gardens beyond and the estuary below. Two grids of unglazed astragals separate the central bow from the wings. The floor and walls are finished in cement.