6 And 7, Recreation Ground

The pair of houses at 6 and 7 Recreation Ground date to 1876, as indicated by a plaque. They are constructed of red brick with half-timbering and patterned tile-hanging to the first floor. The roof is tiled, featuring some fishscale patterning, and has three brick chimneys with pilasters. The houses are two storeys and have an asymmetrical two-bay design on the north side. Twentieth-century casement windows are set within original openings. The right bay is gabled and projects, featuring a jettied first floor with a coved overhang and an oriel window with a coved base. A half-glazed door in the left return wall is sheltered by a tiled lean-to hood supported by brackets. The left bay has a smaller gable. The west side includes a gabled bay with a first floor and oriel window, both jettied on brackets, along with an altered lean-to, previously a porch with turned wooden balusters to the right. A hipped dormer window sits above the porch. Extensions to the south and west were added in the twentieth century. The design is similar to that of 22 and 24 Leighton Road, and they form part of a group of picturesque estate cottages built for Hannah de Rothschild, reflecting the influence of George Devey’s work at Ascott.