Monks Lane Filling Station

The Monks Lane Filling Station, now a service station, was built in 1934 by R.A. Wickens of Newbury for Messrs. Murray and Whittaker. It is a rare and mostly intact example of an early petrol filling station, which is of group value as a building type that played a key role in the early 20th-century landscape.

The building is constructed of rendered brickwork behind a concrete porte-cochere with a flat roof and a pyramidal hipped roof to the centre, which flares slightly upwards at its base. The porte-cochere is supported by square piers, each with wide elliptical spandrels on three sides. The roof is covered in green pantiles, and continuous green pantiles trim the flanking flat-roofed wings. Corner piers formerly supported lights, with one light fitting remaining in situ. There are three pedestrian entrances, centrally located and one to each side of the porte-cochere. A wide garage door is on the right side, while display windows are to the centre and left, each outlined in slightly advanced plain architraves. The original petrol pumps and entrance piers are no longer present. The interior has not been inspected.

Opened in March 1934, the station was notable for its electrically operated service, a new technology at the time. The development of petrol filling stations reflects the effects of the 1927 Roadside Petrol Pumps Act and subsequent legislation, which sought to control the appearance of these buildings following a period of unregulated roadside pumps. Contemporary accounts, such as a newspaper article titled 'Petrol Pumps and Good Taste,' highlighted the station's attractive design and range of services, reflecting the emerging focus on aesthetic considerations in the design of these functional buildings.