8/8A Old St Andrew'S Mansions

Two flats with integral garages, built in 1936 by Ernest George Trobridge. The exterior is brick, with render to the upper storey and gable, punctuated by patterned brickwork defining the stack on the end gable, a detail characteristic of Trobridge's style. There is a half-timbered two-storey porch, and tiled roofs. The building is two storeys high, with an external brick stair leading to the upper flat behind a brick retaining wall. Some rebuilding has occurred to an adjoining wing containing a garage. The windows are timber casements with lattice paned glass; the original doors have been stripped and varnished. The interiors, which have not been inspected, are understood to retain panelling to the living rooms, including a picture rail, deep frieze and ceiling cove. Doors are lined with the same timber. Other rooms feature coved ceilings, and the bedroom has a picture rail. These flats are included for their significance within the best-surviving group of flats designed by Ernest George Trobridge, a local architect. His own house on Slough Lane is already listed. Trobridge gained recognition in the 1920s for building timber-framed houses using unseasoned timber and employing ex-servicemen to create affordable, distinctive homes. In the 1930s, he designed brick flats with quirky detailing; only Nos.1/1a-12/12a St Andrew's Mansions survive in listable condition. The detailing of the building draws inspiration from Trobridge’s devout Swedenborgian beliefs, a system of correspondence that related worldly, spiritual, and divine ideas. Trobridge believed that this philosophy influenced every aspect of his designs, resulting in idiosyncratic chimney stacks, staircases, and external details. This understanding of timber also enriched the interiors. The outcome creates remarkable artisan rented housing.