Shipwrights

Shipwrights is a house built around 1937 by Wells Coates for the Director of Ekco. The walls are rendered and painted, topped with a flat roof featuring a curved superstructure and a roof shelter. It has a central chimney stack and is two storeys high. An angled staircase on the left leads to a full-width balcony on the first floor, which has metal rails, central two-light metal doors, and a two-light window with a door to the right. A staircase on the right side leads to the roof. The ground floor has two and three-light windows, with a three-light door to the right. The rear (south) face features a recessed ground floor supported by reinforced concrete piloti, with both floors fully glazed. The piloti supports also extend to the left (east) side. In 1937, Wells Coates was designing radio cabinets for Ekco, along with their factory in Southend-on-Sea. The design shows the influence of Le Corbusier, particularly Villa Poisey.