71, Danson Road

This is a detached, four-bedroom house built in 1934 in the Modern Movement style. It was designed by Mr D C Whadwa, an Indian architect practicing from Imperial House, Regent Street, and constructed by the local firm Martin and Company. The house is built of brick, rendered smooth, with a flat roof and two rendered chimneystacks, incorporating metal balustrading. It is two storeys high, with a further sun lounge extending from the roof. The windows are predominantly metal-framed Crittall windows, mostly original but with some replacements made to the original specifications.

The front elevation features a projecting right-hand section with four-light casement windows wrapping around the side. The left-hand side is set back, with small corner windows on each floor and a doorcase under a flat hood, incorporating a 1930s door. A further small window is present on each floor of the left-hand side elevation projecting to the rear. The right-hand side elevation has a single window on each floor. The rear elevation also has a projecting right-hand section, with two triple windows on the first floor and a triple window to the kitchen, alongside French windows to the dining room. The sun lounge has Crittall windows.

The interior retains its original flush-panelled doors with large, L-shaped mouldings, and coved cornices that have been reinstated to the original design. The dining room features an original wooden fireplace with a metal surround, a black marble base, and a circular 1930s electric fire. The staircase has a wooden handrail and square moulded newel posts, four leading to the sun lounge. The first floor bathroom contains the original D-shaped bath and wash hand basin.

These were the first houses built in this style in the Bexley area, and this house is one of eight similar properties in Danson Road, representing the best-preserved example. The employment of an Indian architect for residential construction in England was an unusual occurrence in the 1930s.