Grayswood Point

Grayswood Point is a block of 42 flats constructed between 1952 and 1955 by the London County Council’s Architect’s Department Housing Division. Rosemary Stjernstedt was the architect in charge, with A W Cleeve Barr and Oliver Cox as principal job architects, and Ove Arup and Partners as engineers. The building is based on a reinforced concrete frame, faced with grey 'clinker block' brickwork, with the concrete floors expressed as bands in the design. It features a flat roof and a projecting, rounded service tower.

The building is arranged around a picturesquely asymmetrical plan, with three flats on the ground floor and four on each upper floor, organized in corners. The flats comprise one 1-bedroom and three 2-bedroom units, and have partially projecting balconies at the corners. A central lift lobby contains two lifts serving alternate floors, and two escape staircases; the stairwells were originally brightly painted. The ground floor is partially set back and painted, with storerooms retaining their original galvanised steel windows. Flat windows have been renewed in UPVC-coated aluminium within original openings and to a similar pattern, although some mullions have been eliminated. The balconies have their original panelled fronts, and each entrance is distinguished by patterned tilework using white and two varieties of black and white speckled tiles, creating a contrasting grey and near-black effect – the pattern is identical to that at Longmoor Point. The original sign is also made of tiles.

Grayswood Point was notable for pioneering mechanical ventilation in lavatories and bathrooms, alongside central heating for high-rise housing. The flat interiors are not of particular architectural interest beyond their layout. The design represents the best examples of the London County Council's pioneering work in grouping tall flats, having benefited from influences including the Swedish ‘punkthus’, English housing traditions, proximity to earlier LCC work, and consideration of tenant preferences. The site’s sloping topography is maximized through picturesque massing, with existing Victorian planting retained and enhanced from previous gardens and villas, and the point blocks positioned to shield traffic noise.