1/1A-5/5A Old St Andrew'S Mansions

Block of ten flats on Old Church Lane, built in 1936 by Ernest George Trobridge. The building is constructed in brick with render, particularly to the upper storeys and gables, combined with some half timbering, especially to bays and gables. The tiled roofs feature hips and gables, topped with extraordinary stacks characteristic of Trobridge's distinctive style.

Each pair of two flats is treated as a separate house in an irregular picturesque composition, with external stairs leading to the upper flats. The exterior displays opening casement windows under latticed toplights in timber frames (except those to Nos. 4 and 5, which have been renewed and are not in keeping). No. 4a features leaded lozenge glazing to all lights, though this appears unusual and may always have been so. The main four-light windows are set in square bays with staggered, irregular grouping, punctuated by flourishes of idiosyncratic brickwork, particularly to the stacks and staircase balustrades. All gables have decorated timber barge boards.

Prominent steps lead to No. 1a. Nos. 2, 2a, 3 and 3a share an elaborate grouped chimney with three flues linked high above eaves level. An arch between Nos. 3/3a and 4/4a provides entry to those flats, surmounted by curved stairs with machicolated brick balustrading leading to the upper flats. Nos. 5/5a are entered from the side via a projecting staircase with stepped balustrade, culminating in an open porch under a timber gable with partial glazing containing leaded lights. Original panelled doors feature small timber lights throughout.

The interiors, though not inspected, are understood to retain panelling to living rooms with picture rail and deep frieze and ceiling cove. Doors are lined in the same timber. Other rooms have coved ceilings, with bedroom featuring picture rail.

Trobridge was an eccentric local architect whose surviving works are concentrated in the Kingsbury area where he lived. His own house in Slough Lane is already listed. He gained attention in the 1920s through a series of timber-framed houses, developing a method of using unseasoned timber and unskilled ex-servicemen to build affordable yet characterful homes for returning soldiers. In the 1930s he turned to building flats in brick with quirky detailing; only Nos. 1/1a to 12/12a of St Andrew's Mansions survive in listable condition.

Trobridge's detailing was inspired by his devout Swedenborgian beliefs. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) proposed a system of "correspondence" whereby worldly, spiritual and divine ideas could be related together. Trobridge wrote in 1909 that "the philosophy of Swedenborg affects every detail of every structure... the doctrine of degrees enables one to divide each problem into end, cause and effect." This manifested in the idiosyncratic expression of every chimney, staircase and external detail, while his understanding of timber enriched otherwise humble interiors. The result makes his artisan rented housing quite remarkable.