Meston Walk, Crombie Halls Of Residence

Sir Robert Matthew, designed 1953-6, built 1957-60. Large complex of residential buildings. 5-storey, 6-bay entrance block with single storey, curved wing to E and loosely arranged 2 and 3 storey courtyard to N, linked by single storey sections. Variety of materials including harling, timber cladding and bullfaced random rubble cladding. Timber framed windows, mostly horizontally orientated; distinctive L-shaped door and window ensembles to ground floors of some courtyard blocks. Predominantly pitched, pantiled roofs; flat roofs to single storey linking sections and S block of courtyard. Distinctive rounded corners to inner edges of glazed timber door frames.

ENTRANCE BLOCK: rubble and timber cladding to ground floor, harling above with some sections of timber cladding. To W elevation, ground floor extended to form terrace, accessed by external concrete steps; to upper stories of W elevation, 2 slightly recessed bays to right. Single bay N and S elevations; gable end stack to N elevation. To E elevation, single storey timber clad entrance foyer projecting to left; to right, long single storey, timber and rubble clad, wing with curved S elevation and long strip window, set-back inverse-pitched clerestory and double height glazed E end.

COURTYARD BLOCKS : S block: rectangular plan, 2-storey block, predominantly timber clad with some harling; flat roofed. W block: intersects with linking section from S block at centre; 3-storey rectangular block; harled with rubble clad gable ends and projecting stair tower. N block: 2-storey, rectangular-plan; timber clad central section with continuous glazing to both floors; flanked to both ends by harled sections. E block: 3-storey, rectangular-plan block; harled with rubble clad gable-ends and slightly projecting single stair bays to E and W elevations.