Flat Types in Ben Jonson House, Barbican Estate

Type Total Rooms Accommodation
F2C 66 2 1 bedroom, living room
M2A 42 3 1 bedroom, living room, dining area
M2B 44 3 1 bedroom, living room, dining area
M2C 2 2 1 bedroom, living room, store room
M3A 21 4 2 bedroom, living room, dining area, roof patio
M3B 22 4 2 bedroom, living room, dining area, roof patio
M3C 1 4 3 bedroom, living/dining room, store room, roof patio
M3D 2 4 2 bedroom, living room, dining area
M3E 2 4 2 bedroom, living room, dining area
M4A 2 5 3 bedroom, living room, dining area
TOTAL 204

Regular maisonettes and flats

The block contains mainly one-bedroom flats on one storey; two-bedroom (plus a few three-bedroom) maisonettes on two storeys; and penthouse maisonettes on three storeys. Some flats at the ends of the block have one-off configurations. The entrances to all flats are off central corridors (actually not quite central) on the second, third or fifth floors.

The flats with entrance doors on the south side of the corridor are all one-bedroom flats. They have a living room and a bedroom at the front, an open-plan kitchen at the back of the living room, and a bathroom behind the bedroom near the entrance. (Type F2C). The living rooms and the bedrooms of these flat types all have windows facing one way – south towards Frobisher Crescent.

The flats entered on the north side of the corridors are all two bedroom maisonettes on two storeys. The corridor is not quite central, so north-side flats are slightly deeper than south-side flats at the shared entrance level. At the entrance level, you come into a hall with stairs to the  other larger floor; further ahead is a bathroom off the hall; and finally there is a bedroom at the north window end. The fine mahogany staircase takes you up (or down) to the larger floor which spans the whole depth of the building and has windows at both ends. There’s a large living area with windows facing south towards Frobisher Crescent, a kitchen in the middle, and a dining room with windows facing north towards the Golden Lane area. (These may be Type M2A or Type M2B (which is infinitesimally smaller)).

Maisonettes entered on the second floor go down to the front-to-back larger storey on the first floor (which therefore has no corridor). Maisonettes entered on the third floor go up to the front-to-back larger storey on the fourth floor (which therefore has no corridor).

There is a different flat configuration at the end of the floors where the architects had to create a flat to fit the space available. The accommodation is all on one level, but it does not run through to the back of the block – its windows face only south – and the entrance door and stairs are the only parts on the second or third floor, from which you walk up or down to your flat as with a maisonette. It has a large living room and a bedroom at the front and a kitchen and bathroom at the back.  (Type M2C).

The four-room maisonettes are on two levels, extending right through the block. You enter at the bedroom level, and turn one way into the front bedroom or the other way into a corridor with the bathroom on one side and a second bedroom ahead. You then walk down (Type M3D) or up (Type M3E) a flight of stairs to the living room. There is a kitchen on the other side of the stairs, and then the dining room at the back.

Penthouse Flats

The penthouse maisonettes take up the fifth floor upwards. The front door is on the fifth floor. Since it is off the building’s central corridor, the floor is roughly half the depth of the building. The entrance is into a hall. There is a corridor leading to the bedroom, with a window onto Golden Lane, and there is a bathroom off the corridor. Stairs just inside the entrance go up to the middle floor which is full size. There is a living room at the front overlooking the garden, a kitchen in the middle, and a dining room at the back. A further flight goes up to the penthouse studio or bedroom, which is half the size of the middle level and either overlooks Golden Lane (Type M3A) or the garden (Type M3B). It is like Type M2A or Type M2B but with a penthouse level on top.

The other type of penthouse maisonette is like Type M2C but with a penthouse level on top. On the fifth floor there is only the entrance and stairs to the sixth floor. The sixth floor accommodation is double-width, with the living/dining room and bedroom at the front, and kitchen and bathroom at the back (with no windows). The seventh floor level has two rooms which can either be bedrooms or studios (Type M3C).

Finally, there is a layout similar to Type M3D but with the extra floor on top. The entrance is at fifth floor level with a bedroom at the front, a bathroom off the corridor, and a bedroom at the back. The middle level on the sixth floor has the usual layout of a living room at the front, a kitchen in the middle, and a dining room at the back. The penthouse floor has a single bedroom (Type M4A).