164 Central Avenue, Gretna

Central Avenue, Gretna comprises two symmetrical terraces designed by Raymond Unwin with C M Crickmer as site architect in 1917 for munitions workers. Each terrace consists of three blocks, with each block containing four houses. The blocks are linked by low porches and face one another across a wide avenue.

The buildings are constructed in brick, with two blocks now part pebble-dashed. The original glazing consisted mostly of small-paned sashes. The inner house blocks feature two advanced square bays, while the outer blocks are L-plan 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 stacks support piended slate roofs.

These two rows of houses form the central core of Gretna village, designed according to Garden City principles. They line the central street through the village and display well-detailed and distinctive architecture. The piended roofs, prominent chimney stacks and varied decorative details—including the advanced bays, round-arched entrances and small round windows—add architectural interest. The use of red brick is unusual for domestic buildings in Scotland. The houses were originally built as dormitories for factory workers but were designed to be convertible to private housing.

Gretna was constructed between 1916 and 1918 to provide housing and community facilities for workers at a nearby munitions factory, built to produce Cordite explosives along a nine-mile stretch of the Solway banks during the First World War. Thousands of workers from Britain and Ireland were brought to the site. The township was designed along Garden City lines with green spaces, a wide central street containing shops and community facilities, and curving streets. Besides housing, the township included churches, a dance hall, school and cinema. Raymond Unwin, one of the most important figures in early 20th century British town planning and designer of Letchworth Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb, oversaw the development. Courtnay M Crickmer, a London-based architect who also worked with Unwin at Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb, served as resident architect. After the war, the factory was dismantled.

Many original windows and doors have been replaced with various materials and glazing patterns. Early photographs show the original glazing pattern consisted predominantly of small-pane timber sash and case windows.