201 & 203, YORK AVENUE

A semi-detached pair of concrete houses built in 1852 at East Cowes, with the architect unknown but probably designed by their builder Richard Langley. The houses were constructed using shuttered concrete wall construction, employing cement from the local Medina, Francis and Son's Cement Works. The construction method, reported in July 1852, involved one part Francis' Medina Cement mixed with six parts coarse gravel and grit, poured to a thickness of 12–14 inches.

The exterior consists of two storeys with a plain tile roof and a square concrete chimney, though the chimney may not be original as the original was reportedly replaced in the 1980s. The front elevation features three moulded columns—one at each corner and one centrally placed—with a moulded cornice above. Each entrance is topped with a moulded arch and flanked by side pilasters. Each house has a ground-floor sash-style bay window to the front, with two sash-style windows above at first-floor level; these upper windows are modern replacements in uPVC. The side wings have been altered by later extensions and renovation. There are also later brick extensions. The special interest of these houses lies principally in the exterior shell of the 1852 construction.

The interior shows extensive twentieth-century modification. While concrete may have been intended for internal walls, this was not carried out. All original fireplaces have been removed, and original fixtures and fittings are scarce. Number 203 retains a light above the inner hall door and an interesting arch in the hall which appear to be original features, though no other nineteenth-century fixtures or fittings remain. The floor plan of both ground and first floors has been altered to accommodate new rooms. Number 201 retains what appears to be an original staircase, and its floor plan is closer to the original than Number 203's, apart from the side wing extension.

These houses were built in 1852 during the construction of concrete 'cottage villas' near Osborne House, an initiative noted in contemporary articles in the Civil Engineer and Architects Journal. Richard Langley, the builder cited in these articles, had leased the plot earlier in 1852, and the use of concrete appears to have been a promotional device for the wider East Cowes Park development. The Medina, Francis and Son's Cement Works, which supplied the cement, was founded in 1840. The shuttered concrete pouring technique employed was relatively new for the period. Medina cement, a cement stone/septaria, was successfully used in the construction of the sea groyne in Sandown Bay, Isle of Wight, which still survives, and was also deployed at Dover Harbour. By the mid-nineteenth century, Portland cement was coming to the fore, and mixtures of Medina and Portland cement were experimented with; between 1848 and 1853 the main breakwater at Cherbourg harbour was built with a mixture combining Medina cement for its speed in drying with Portland cement for its strength. Many Medina cement rendered brick houses once stood on the Isle of Wight, though it is unclear how many now survive.