Bowes Road Clinic

Bowes Road Clinic is a health clinic built between 1938 and 1940 by the Middlesex County Council Architect's Department, with W T Curtis as the County Architect and H W Burchett as the Assistant Architect to the Education Committee. The building features brown brick laid in English bond with an attractive diaper pattern and flat felted roofs supported on concrete beams. It has an 'L'-shaped plan and is single-storied, with a stepped profile created by rooms of differing ceiling heights. A corner boiler stack is present, and the entrance is located at the front under a projecting porch, accessed via a short flight of steps set at right angles, leading to a timber set-back door. All windows are metal, featuring a horizontal pattern of small panes, with side-opening casements and pivoting or hinged toplights. The interiors are intentionally simple, showcasing some surviving timber doors with glazed upper panels and exposed roof beams. A small post-war extension is noted but is not of special interest.

Curtis and Burchett developed a distinctive architectural style for Middlesex County Council starting in 1932, influenced by Willem Dudok, the architect of Hilversum in the Netherlands. This style combined a partial concrete frame with brick cladding, resulting in a streamlined and modern appearance that was relatively inexpensive to construct while still conveying civic dignity and a strong presence. The clinic is part of a cohesive group with the slightly earlier adjoining swimming baths and library, representing one of their most accomplished designs, characterized by careful massing and judicious use of simple ornamentation. It was originally intended for the medical inspection of school children.