Numbers 13-16 Vincent Square, At Former Raf Biggin Hill

Numbers 13-16 Vincent Square form a terrace of four houses, built in 1929 as part of a larger group of 26, commissioned by the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings. The buildings are part of a historically significant group of married quarters located at the former RAF Biggin Hill, designed according to Garden City principles and predating the RAF’s later expansion.

The terrace is two storeys high and runs straight. Each house has a hipped roof to the right and a gable to the left. They are entered via a door on the right side of each property, with living, dining, and kitchen areas on the ground floor and three bedrooms above. Originally, each dwelling included four open fireplaces, with two fireplaces on each floor shared with the adjacent property. The terrace is situated on the west side of Vincent Square, near the northern end.

The exterior is characterised by painted brickwork, cavity walls, and slate roofs, with lead detailing on the bay windows. Windows are generally plain wooden sash windows set in half-brick reveals, with concrete sills. The first floor features four windows, separated by narrow brick piers, with the outer windows being narrower than the central ones. Below these, a flat-roofed bay window incorporates brick mullions, a large central window, and smaller side-lights. A flush-panelled entrance door, with a square glazed top panel, is set back two steps under a flat concrete hood with a roll-moulded edge, supported by concrete brackets. Large ridge stacks are positioned to the left of each house, with an additional end stack to the left; these stacks have deep stepped cappings. The end returns are plain, and the rear elevation features a double sash window with a brick mullion on the first floor, above a replacement casement window, a door, and a small side light. A datestone prominently displays the carved date ‘1929’. Simple eaves are present on three sides, and the left gable has a clipped verge.

The interiors were not inspected but have been restored by a Housing Association as part of the renovation of the entire square.

Six of the original houses were demolished following raids in 1940, but the remaining twenty-six maintain a planned arrangement around a central grassed area. The land for these married quarters was acquired between 1923 and 1925.