The Pantiles

The Pantiles is a block of 40 flats dating from 1934, designed by J B F Cowper. The building is constructed of brick, with the upper floors rendered and finished with green glazed pantiled, shallow hipped roofs. It comprises three storeys, with a basement. The design is a pastiche of the Italianate style.

The building features 40 flats accessed via five staircases, and is laid out with an open half-courtyard plan, with projecting ends. The windows are small-paned steel casement windows, some of which are canted. The ground floor has arched windows, balconies, and entrance doors with profiled tracery, all served by imposing flights of steps from Finchley Road, flanked by parapets topped with stone pantile copings. The brick staircase towers have full-length glazing and flat parapet roofs, displaying the influence of modern styling. The rear elevation includes flat roofs creating a continuous fire escape balcony on the third floor, with a decorative banding to the projecting staircase turrets.

The interior has not been inspected.

This building exemplifies the short-lived popularity of the Italianate, or 'hacienda' style, during the 1930s, demonstrating unusual verve and attention to detail. James B F Cowper was a specialist flat designer, gaining recognition after winning a competition for Heathcroft in Hampstead Garden Suburb. The Pantiles represents a well-preserved example of his mature style, demonstrating his meticulous detail and careful massing.