161 Central Avenue, Gretna

161 Central Avenue, Gretna, is a Grade B listed building comprising two symmetrical terraces of workers' housing, designed by Raymond Unwin with C M Crickmer as site architect and completed in 1917 for munitions factory workers during the First World War.

The building consists of two facing rows of three blocks each, with each block containing four houses. The blocks are linked by low porches and face one another across a wide avenue. The construction is brick-built, though two blocks have since been rendered with pebble dash. The original glazing consisted predominantly of small-paned sash windows, though many have since been replaced with various materials and glazing patterns.

The inner house blocks feature two advanced square bays, while the outer blocks are L-plan in form, with three terminal bays set forward. The original inner doors are paired, with doors and side lights all contained within semi-circular arched heads. Brick end and axial chimney stacks rise prominently, and the roofs are piended slate. The red brick used for construction was unusual for domestic buildings in Scotland at the time.

These terraces form the central core of Gretna village, which was designed along Garden City principles. The buildings line the central street through the village and are well-detailed and distinctive, with their piended roofs, prominent chimney stacks, advanced bays, round-arched entrances, and small round windows contributing to their architectural interest.

Gretna was constructed between 1916 and 1918 to provide housing and community facilities for workers at a nearby munitions factory stretching for 9 miles along the banks of the Solway, which produced Cordite explosives. The township was designed with green spaces surrounding the houses, a wide central street with shops and community facilities, and curving streets following Garden City principles. In addition to housing, the township included churches, a dance hall, a school, and a cinema. The houses were originally built as dormitories for factory workers but were designed so they could be converted into private housing. After the war, the factory was dismantled, though only a few remnants now remain.

Raymond Unwin (1863-1940), one of the most important figures in early 20th-century British town planning, oversaw the development of Gretna and advocated high standards of design for social housing and informality of planning. He is perhaps best known for his planning of Letchworth Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb. C M Crickmer (1879-1971), a London-based architect, served as resident architect for Gretna's design and also worked with Unwin at Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb.