Number 1 And Attached Garage

Number 1 Halsbury Close is a private house built between 1938 and 1939 by Rudolf Frankel, a German architect who emigrated to Britain. It is a brick structure with warm yellow facing bricks laid on a base of blue industrial brick, and stone copings to the parapets. The house has a flat roof hidden behind the parapet, and is two storeys high with a one-storey wing incorporating a garage, set at a right angle to the road. This layout positions the main rooms to face south and west, overlooking a sheltered, private garden. A cut-away corner creates a verandah on the ground floor, supported by a single column which carries the upper storey.

The entrance door, set back behind a porch, has a round window above it and is accessed by steps made of blue brick, matching the plinth. The principal rooms face the garden and retain their original custom-made metal windows, which have side-opening casements. A rear elevation features glass blocks to provide additional light to the dining room, and a trademan's door with a round window is sheltered by a thin concrete canopy. A verandah, accessed via pairs of fully glazed metal French windows with central transoms and top lights, is located at the corner.

The interior remains virtually unaltered, with oak flooring in the hall, living room, and dining room. Original features are preserved in the bathrooms and kitchen, including the bell system linking the kitchen to a former maid’s room and the living room, and bookcases are found in the lounge.

Rudolf Frankel was a significant architect with experience in Germany and Romania before coming to Britain. Number 1 Halsbury Close is his only pre-war English work. He later moved to the United States. The house is considered one of the most elegant and well-preserved private houses built before the Second World War and is notable for its use of layered brickwork, which anticipated architectural styles of the 1950s.