Hillcroft

Hillcroft is a two-storey house built in 1901 as a pair of semi-detached cottages. The design was by Edwin Lutyens, who converted the cottages into a single house in 1904, adding a rear extension at that time. A further two-storey extension was added mid-20th century to the south. The house is constructed of red brick laid in stretcher bond, with a gable roof covered in plain tiles.

The house has a 'T' shaped plan, with a front range and a projecting rear extension. The façade features two central angled ridge stacks, each with three interlocking flues and pots. A central recessed porch provides access to a contemporary two-leaf, part-glazed entrance door, with three dormers above. The rear elevation incorporates a single-storey, double-height rear extension, and an end stack. Timber casement windows are present throughout, although some have been replaced in the later 20th century.

The interior reflects the 1904 conversion, but the original plan of the 1901 cottages is still discernible. A brick-built inglenook fireplace on the ground floor is flanked by recessed arched panels. A cast-iron grate remains in a first-floor bedroom fireplace. Contemporary battened doors are found throughout. The Lutyens rear extension is partly double-height, with a brick-built fireplace against the rear wall; the stack above is recessed, emphasising the casement window above the fireplace.

Hillcroft was designed in 1901 by Edwin Lutyens for his brother-in-law, Earl Lytton of Knebworth House. Earl Lytton commissioned Lutyens to design several other properties and a golf clubhouse in Deards End Lane prior to World War I. Initially designed as a pair of cottages for estate workers, the house was converted into a single residence in 1904 with the addition of the Lutyens rear extension.