11/11A-12/12A OLD ST ANDREW'S MANSIONS

Two pairs of flats, built in 1936 by Ernest George Trobridge. The buildings are constructed of brick with render and half-timbering to the upper storey and gable, and have tiled roofs. They are two storeys high, with a flat on each floor, and an external brick stair leads to the upper flats, set between a brick retaining wall which links the two otherwise independent units. The windows are timber casement windows with lattice panes, some of which are under projecting hoods. The original doors have been stripped and varnished. Interiors are believed to retain panelling to the living rooms, with picture rail, a deep frieze, and a ceiling cove above. Doors are lined in the same timber. Other rooms feature coved ceilings and the bedrooms have picture rail. The complex is significant as part of the best-surviving group of flats designed by Trobridge, a local architect. Trobridge developed a construction method using unseasoned timber and unskilled ex-servicemen to build cheap and charismatic homes. In the 1930s, he built flats of brick with idiosyncratic detailing, of which only numbers 1/1A to 12/12A Old St Andrew’s Mansions survive in listable condition. The detailing is inspired by Trobridge's Swedenborgian beliefs, which influenced the expression of chimneys, staircases, and external details, as well as the enrichment of the interiors with timber.