Seaspan

House, 1934–1935, designed by Oliver Hill.

This is a two-storey house with a flat roof and L-shaped plan, featuring a sweeping curve to the front elevation. The walls are constructed in concrete, painted white, with tubular steel balconies and uPVC windows.

The front elevation is dominated by strip windows that follow the curve at both ground and first floor levels, fitted with regularly spaced vertical glazing bars. To the south-east of the curve sits a garage with a balcony over it; the door to the balcony is narrow with horizontal glazing bars. Beside this is a later single-storey garage built in the 1970s. To the north-west of the curve are narrow doors at ground and first floor levels, positioned one above the other, each with horizontal glazing bars. The upper door is flanked by side windows and projects forward onto a balcony with tubular steel railings. At ground floor level a curved concrete screen conceals the side passage, accessible through a steel gate. The side elevation contains three triple-glazed windows to the first floor and two to the ground floor, all with vertical glazing bars except for a narrow first-floor window; there is also a triple-glazed window to the first floor in the curve of the wall. The rear elevation has an irregular stepped pattern of three triple-glazed windows and two slender windows at ground floor level. Two single-storey projections extend from this elevation: the larger contains the garages, the smaller a back-door porch and store. An original metal ladder rises from the garage roof to the house roof.

Inside, the front door opens into a hall with a parquet floor, from which all ground-floor rooms are directly accessible. To the right lie a long narrow lavatory, stairs and kitchen; to the left is the L-shaped living room and dining area. The front door has a port-hole window, and a similar window overlooks the garage. A third port-hole window appears in a cupboard door opposite. The parquet flooring continues into the living room, which terminates at a fireplace with a marble-effect surround edged in silvered trim. The dining area connects to the kitchen via a small serving hatch. The kitchen is fitted with modern units but retains its original tiles. Beyond the kitchen, opposite the back door, lies accommodation for a maid, now used as storage and utility space.

The staircase incorporates a series of curves: around the ground-floor wall end, around the stairwell itself, and in the solid balcony and handrail as it turns to meet the first-floor corridor. The staircase window retains its original marble sill. Five bedrooms are arranged around the landing and corridor. The three south-facing bedrooms all have access to a balcony, with the south-east balcony shared between two. Two bedrooms contain their original built-in cupboards. In the bedroom with curved windows, the broad sweep is mirrored by a tighter curve in the opposite corner. The north bedroom contains a smaller curved window. The bathroom walls are lined with vitriolite tiles, not original to the house but reclaimed from another Oliver Hill house on the estate.

The house was designed as part of the Frinton Park Estate. In 1934 the South Coast Investment Company Ltd acquired 200 acres straddling the railway line to the north-east of Frinton and proposed an ambitious development comprising 1100 houses, a town hall, college, churches, a shopping complex and a sweeping cliff-face hotel. The 40 acres east of the railway line, closest to the sea, were designated as a showcase for modern houses. Oliver Hill was appointed principal architect for the estate, responsible for supervising its overall design and layout. Hill insisted on employing young progressive architects including Thomas Tait, Wells Coates, Maxwell Fry, Frederick Eschells and Marshall Sisson. By the end of 1935 the project had foundered. Many architects had withdrawn and Hill resigned in August 1935. The scheme ultimately failed due to conflict between architectural idealism and commercial profitability, and public resistance to experimental design and new materials such as concrete. Only about 40 modernist houses and part of the shopping centre were completed. Oliver Hill designed 12 houses, of which 10 survive, including the estate office (The Round House) and No.55 Quendon Way, both listed at Grade II. No.55 Quendon Way is a smaller version of No.4 Audley Way; both follow the standard design Hill developed for many of his Frinton Estate houses.

Recent years have seen the reversal of alterations made to the house, including the partition of the living room and dining area and the application of pebbledash to the exterior.

After the Second World War the remainder of the estate was developed to a more modest plan.