30 Victory Avenue, Gretna

30 Victory Avenue, Gretna

Designed by Raymond Unwin and Courtnay M Crickmer in 1916, this is a U-plan grouping of three rows of two-storey terraced housing arranged around a central courtyard. The buildings are constructed in red brick, an unusual residential building material in Scotland, with the exception of Nos 46-52 which have later pebble dash applied.

The south row is symmetrical across nine bays and features a pair of advanced central gables topped with ball finials. The east and west rows each comprise eight bays. All three rows have entrance doors with consoled flat canopies and mostly segmental-arched ground floor window openings. The roofs are piended with grey slates and corniced ridge stacks.

Most of the windows have been replaced with non-traditional materials and glazing patterns, replacing the original small pane timber sash and case windows visible in early photographs. The original window and door designs have been similarly altered.

This U-plan grouping is a significant surviving element of Gretna's planned townscape and exemplifies Garden City principles, which emphasised small groups of housing with accessible green space. 30-52 Victory Avenue is the only remaining example of these small U-plan housing groups in Gretna and is therefore a key part of understanding the town's overall planning strategy.

Gretna was constructed between 1916 and 1918 to house workers and their families for the nearby munitions factory, which was commissioned by the government during the First World War to produce Cordite explosives. The factory stretched for nine miles along the banks of the Solway and employed thousands of workers brought from across Britain and Ireland. Alongside temporary timber housing, permanent brick structures were erected. The township was designed on Garden City lines with green spaces, a wide central street containing shops and community facilities, and curving streets. Raymond Unwin oversaw the development with Courtnay M Crickmer as resident architect. Additional facilities for workers and their families included several churches, a dance hall, a school and a cinema. The factory was dismantled after the war, leaving only a few remnants.

Raymond Unwin (1863–1940) was one of the most important figures in early twentieth-century British town planning. He advocated high standards of design for social housing and informal planning approaches. He is best known for his planning of Letchworth Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb, though he worked predominantly in England.

Courtnay M Crickmer (1879–1971) was a London-based architect who served as resident architect for Gretna township and had previously worked with Unwin at Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb.