58C Annan Road, Gretna

Raymond Unwin, with C M Crickmer as site architect, designed this block of flats in 1917 as part of Gretna's wartime development. It is Grade B listed.

The building is a symmetrical two-storey block of flats in the Edwardian Renaissance style, arranged in a U-plan with a long principal north front and single-storey ranges adjoining each outer south gable. The exterior is red brick with some red ashlar dressings. The long north elevation features outer bays with shallow advanced ground floor Venetian windows that are pedimented and architraved, with a pedimented and architraved main door at the centre flanked by small-paned sash windows, all set within shallow recessed vertical panels. An eaves course and mutule cornice run along the roofline, with axial chimney stacks and slated roofs. The flanking six-bay elevations also have architraved doorways. The westernmost low wing now serves as the Tourist Information Office.

The building is prominently sited at a key junction in Gretna village and is well-detailed with prominent wide chimney stacks and cornice decoration. The regularly spaced windows and simple classical detailing of the Venetian windows and pedimented door pieces contribute to its architectural interest. It was formerly the Police Barracks for Gretna village.

Gretna was constructed between 1916 and 1918 to house workers at a nearby munitions factory that stretched for nine miles along the banks of the Solway Firth and produced Cordite explosives. During the First World War, the British government commissioned the factory in response to ammunition shortages for troops. Thousands of workers from across Britain and Ireland were brought in to build and work at the factory. The township was designed along Garden City lines by Raymond Unwin, with Courtnay M Crickmer as resident architect, featuring green spaces, a wide central street with shops and community facilities, and curving residential streets. The township also included churches, a dance hall, a school and a cinema. After the war, the factory was dismantled.

Raymond Unwin (1863–1940) was one of the most important figures in early 20th-century British town planning, best known for his work on Letchworth Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb. He advocated high standards of design for social housing and informal planning approaches.

C M Crickmer (1879–1971) was a London-based architect who served as resident architect for Gretna's development and later worked with Unwin at Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb.