Birds Hill Estate is a Grade II listed building in the North Hertfordshire local planning authority area, England. A Early 20th century Residential estate. 65 related planning applications.
Birds Hill Estate
- WRENN ID
- standing-oriel-tide
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- North Hertfordshire
- Constituency
- North East Hertfordshire MP: Chris Hinchliff (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Type
- Residential estate
- Period
- Early 20th century
- Address
- Birds Hill Estate, 2-122, Ridge Road
- OS grid reference
- TL 223 327
- Coordinates
- 51.98019, -0.22007
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Birds Hill Estate, built in 1906 by B Parker and R Unwin, represents a pioneering estate designed for the Garden City Tenants Limited. It consists of thirteen grouped terraces arranged around a cul-de-sac and village green, creating a distinctive layout. The buildings are mostly one and a half storeys high, with largely single windows and irregular frontages accented by a variety of large and small dormers and gables. They have tiled roofs and multi-form brick stacks. A prominent feature is the central, large gabled structure encompassing the properties at Nos 100 and 102. The walls are roughcast, and the windows are mullioned casement windows with tile labels and glazing bars, though some have been altered. Recessed entrances lead to arched doorways. The estate is recognised as the earliest example of its type, serving as a prototype for subsequent council house developments nationwide. The village green layout concept was initially proposed in 1898/9 and subsequently published by Parker and Unwin in "The Art of Building a House," with the Westholm scheme also drawing inspiration from this design.
Local climate
Birds Hill Estate sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 79% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 55% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 15 transactions since 1996
- Related listed building consents — 65 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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